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Once in the basement, I crawled under one of the big wooden tables—the same one my men and I had worked at—and waited. My spells should hide me from even the cop’s witches, but they could still walk into me, so I needed to stay out of their way until they left.
Sitting under the table, I fiddled with my folded-up papers. I had found a memory spell in a dark magic shop, and the owner, Nelcar—or maybe it was Falcar, I didn’t remember—was kind enough to give it to me for free when I said I needed it to end the reign of evil portals. With it, I had recovered the portal spell and redrew it on the pages I now held.
Portal spells used a shit pile of raw magical power, and alone, I was only able to open portals the size of my palm. It would be enough to see if anyone was alive and to get help from Ram or Juniper, except I couldn’t get past the blocking spell. It kept me from both Juniper and Ram, Jag, Elliot, and Moe.
I had tried many times over the last couple of days, but I just couldn’t break it. Without Ram, I couldn’t read the tattered remnants of the portal book to find more info. Not that there was much left of it. Violet, the librarian, was searching for a translation guide but hadn’t found one yet. It might not exist since witches and covens were super secretive about their made-up magical languages.
I had used Screech to find local witches willing to help. The first two didn’t have any ideas and couldn’t read the book either. The third, the owner of the magic shop, was very slowly working on a translation of a few torn pages on the promise that I pay him later. Another witch refused to try when he found out I had no money, and the last one… well, they had recognized me as a fugitive and snitched on me to the cops.
If anyone knew the witch who was closing rogue portals, they weren’t telling a stranger on the internet.
So, I sat under the table, rubbing the pages of a spell I couldn’t cast, and remembered Jag sitting at this very table with his chair tilted back and his bare legs on display as he winked at me. Elliot bent over books, smiling to himself as he read. Moe ran and hopped around the table with a small volume in his hand, claiming that movement helped him focus. Ram scribbled on paper as we pieced together the spell that would save a dozen Silver Springies.
And doom my mates.
I stared at my chest. The golden ribbons that had connected me to Jag, Elliot, and Moe were gone. I don’t think the spell had been broken since I hadn’t experienced the same pain as when Ram had ended our mateship. It just had no one to attach to anymore, so it whipped around inside my chest, lashing and cutting my heart.
The spell didn’t doom them,my brain said.You did.
I know.
I put my head on my knees to block out the world. If only I had listened to Ram, if only I hadn’t insisted on the amplifier spells, they’d still be here. They’d still be safe.
Alive.
You had a good thing, Sa-Sa,my brain sneered.And you fucked it up.
We always do.
You should have kept Jag, Elliot, and Moe out of this. You should have left them behind somewhere, but noooo, you have to have cock.
I clenched my jaw.It wasn’t cock; you were the one who wouldn’t shut up about their dicks and asses.
Yeah, yeah, I know, if my brain was thinking of cock, then I was too. I wasn’t insane. I knew I was arguing with myself, but most everyone had an internal monologue; mine just hated me half the time.
I waited under the table with my invisibility spells as the cops searched around the library. The bastards were taking their sweet time. While my friends and mates could die at any moment—if they were still alive—I had to waste time waiting for dumbass donut-guzzling assholes to stomp around a library as though they were working.
Fuck this.
Crawling out from under the table, I snuck past the cops on basement duty and slid past the ones on the stairway. The main floor was crawling with them, so I wouldn’t be able to use the computers to search for help anymore today.
Fuck, I should just steal a cell phone and mind-trick a human into paying for the plan. I was trying to be a good guy who didn’t do shit like that, but it was impossible to achieve anything with no money and no friends.
I lingered by the front door until one of the cops, a massive troll with big stomping feet, left. I darted out behind him. He whirled as though he sensed my presence or felt the air from my movements, but I sidestepped him and raced down the street.
Once clear of the police, I dropped to a walk but kept my invisibility and magic-hiding spells wrapped around me like blankets. My head ached from lack of sleep, food, and too much magic use. I was grimy. My pink suit was stained with the ash of the portal spell, and my hair was greasy and limp. But I couldn’t take time out to care for myself. I had to find my mates and friends before I lost them for good. If I hadn’t already.
On top of that, I didn’t know where Juniper now lived to crash at her place and I had no money for a hotel room. Maybe I should just start robbing people again.
Since I couldn’t look for help on Screech with the cops in the library, I did things the old-fashioned way. As I trekked through town, I let my magic linger in the air around me like sea sponges waiting for food to cross their path.
I was looking for the unsettling touch on the back of my neck that meant someone was using dark magic. It could lead me to the witch who was closing portals, the asshole who was casting the blocking spell, or maybe just a fellow dark witch who would be willing to help.
As I walked, I ignored the throb in my head and the ache in my bones from too much magic use. I slouched and stared at the ground. Keeping my head raised took more strength than I had right now.
When the pavement turned to grass under my clunky prison boots, I looked up. I stood at the edge of a park. In the distance, a patch of grass was burned black in the shape of a circle. The kids chasing each other through the fall leaves gave it a wide breadth.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my lips together against the emotions rising up my throat. Everyone was gone. Everyone.
