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“Me?” Tansy chewed her lip. “I can barely cast anything.”
“You have enough magic for it,” Sybil assured her. “You just need practice. Start with the easier spells and work your way up.”
“A witch I met told me she could see my magic.”
“Yes, your magic is quite strong. Not trained, but strong. That’s why Amrita hid you from magical circles; anyone who could see magic would be able to see yours right away. That must have been why she chose you.”
We’d learned this morning that, while the soul itself was magical, it didn’t wield magic. It relied on the innate talent present in its host. Dean’s body had very little magic, so Amrita was stuck without magic until she found a better host. It explained why she was so set on Tansy, even though controlling her body now that she knew about Amrita would be a struggle.
Most likely, Amrita’s plan was to keep Tansy under control and catch her when she was weakened. What better way to weaken a strong woman’s soul than to put her through an emotionally abusive relationship?
But that would never happen now. Not on my watch. Tansy deserved so much more. Even a lowly demon like myself was better.
“It might be better if you can control your magic and hide it from anyone who might want to use it for personal gain. I can show you how, but I suggest taking some lessons from Seth. He’s a wizard. A nice one.”
I growled low at the name. “No. She won’t be learning from no stinking wizard.”
“Seth is different, and he knows more about things like this than I do. Controlling an immortal, body-stealing spirit is more like controlling a demon than building wards.”
That was precisely why neither Tansy nor I was going to be seeing him.
“No. She’s not going anywhere near Seth. I don’t care if he’s not part of the WEC anymore. Once a wizard, always a wizard.”
I knew I was lumping all wizards into one big group, but I had my reasons.
Tansy cocked her head and studied me. “The WEC. That’s the wizard council I keep hearing about in the news.” Her eyes softened. “We don’t need to ask a wizard for help if you don’t want to. I’m sure I can find the spell if I keep digging. Besides, I need to start small.” Tansy pulled out a children’s book from her bag. “From the beginning.”
“That’s a great one. The spell to hide your magic is in there. It’s one of the first things mothers teach their daughters to prevent them from being targets.”
The white rat returned, pulling a bigger black rat with her.
Sybil rubbed her temples. “I said, bring me paper. Not Pepper.”
Salt pulled Pepper a little closer to the witch, still not hearing the difference.
“Pepper.” She focused on the rat with the shiny black coat. “Bring me paper. Pa-per!”
The chubby black rat ran off, and Salt, the white one, ran off behind him.
Tansy was grinning from ear to ear at the interaction. “The witch also mentioned getting a familiar. Eamon told her I have a parrot. Her name is Nugget.”
“Birds are great familiars. Practice the exercises from that book you borrowed with her around, and she’ll help just by being there. And remember to take lots of rest and eat heartily after you practice.”
The two rodents returned, this time with the right items: a pen and a notepad with little mice around the edges.
“Thank you.” The witch gave the two some treats before scribbling a few words on the notepad. She ripped it off and handed it over to me. “You should stay close to her. You might not be able to stop the takeover, should it occur, but as a demon, you can detect spirits and stray souls. You can warn her.”
“I will try my best.” I looked down at the list. “Vervain, sage, rue, and tansy.” I glanced over at Tansy.
“It’s a flower,” Tansy explained. “More like a weed. I was named after a weed.”
“It’s an herb for longevity,” Sybil said wryly. “Amrita hid everything in plain sight. Iris will know more, and she should have all these growing in her garden.”
“Who’s Iris?” Tansy asked.
“Iris is Shelby’s grandmother. Shelby also didn’t know she was raised by a witch,” I explained. “Except Iris is nice and not controlled by an evil spirit. We’ll give her a visit.”
The sound from next door chose that moment to start up again. And again, Sybil got up to bang on the wall. The horrible noise continued unabated. The sound reminded me of those videos where people played music and sang next to their rhythmically pounding washing machines.
