CHAPTER 29 - MEDRA

I lay back against the pillows on my bed, The Dark Art of Eternal Bonds cradled in my hands, and scanned the page with the spell for the hundredth time.

Florence was in the library studying. She'd left me behind with clear instructions to go into her room at seven o'clock and feed the fluffin. The little animal had been safely ensconced in her chamber ever since that day in the arena. Blake had come to fetch his bag, but Florence had brought it to him herself. I hadn't even had to talk to him. Thankfully.

At least, the fluffin had been mostly safely ensconced. The pup had developed a bad habit of darting out the door anytime it was left open. He would disappear for hours, even overnight, then reappear outside of Florence's room with a happy yap.

At least the pup felt comfortable navigating the school and finding his way back.

In the meantime, Florence was desperately fighting her conscience. We weren't supposed to keep pets so she was breaking the school rules. But since she was a warden she was also getting away with it–for now. Some of the other students had glimpsed the fluffin. They'd kindly offered their silence...in exchange for the occasional chance to cuddle with the adorable creature.

Florence was basically offering bribes in the form of fluffin snuggles.

But I wasn't about to point that out to her.

While Florence had gone off to the library, Naveen had gone to practice in one of the training yards.

But just in case one of them decided to walk in, I'd pushed a heavy chest in front of my door.

The ritual had to be performed at night, under the open sky, and in a place of ancient power.

I already had a place in mind. I'd use the Dragon Court. There was no doubt it was a place of power. The sculptures seemed to have been standing there for centuries. Not to mention there was a grove of trees there and part of the ritual involved using the earth.

The Dragon Court was usually empty during the day time. I was sure it would be completely quiet at night. No chance of interruption.

Then came the ingredients.

One was easy. I needed to use some of my own blood. Blood was the essence of the living soul. It served as the basic conduit for breaking the bond within me.

The next was a little more tricky. I needed the blood of someone I either loved or hated. It had to be a strong emotion. I only needed a few drops, but apparently the connection was key.

"Love and hate are the only emotions potent enough to fuel such a dangerous spell," the ritual text read. "They are the emotions that bind souls, making them the only ones strong enough to undo such bonds."

I already knew who I had to use. There was only one obvious solution. Blake Drakharrow. I hated him.

I might have tried to use Florence but our friendship was still fairly new. I wasn't sure if what I felt for her as a friend would count as a strong enough emotion.

I also didn't want to involve her in this in any way. So Florence was out.

Getting Blake's blood might have been a problem, but I'd thought of a possible way to do it.

Lastly, there were two ways the ritual could be cast.

One involved an anchor. The soul would enter an inanimate object and be bound to it until such time as the anchor was destroyed. Orcades could live for hundreds, even thousands of years, if she entered an anchor.

The downside to casting the ritual this way was that the caster could inadvertently become consumed by the emotion from the second conduit's blood, potentially transferring not just the soul they wished to expel, but part of their own essence into the anchor.

The other way did not involve an anchor. It was also safer for the caster.

I'd thought my mother would prefer the option with the anchor but to my surprise she chose the latter.

Now there was just the matter of getting my hands on some of Blake's blood.

Oh, and the tiny little issue of my technically not being able to do magic at all.

I'd basically failed all of Professor Wispwood's tests. That would have been enough to discourage most people from attempting what was probably one of the most difficult spells in existence.

The ingredients might have been basic, but the power required to make everything work was not.

And if I messed this up, the results could be disastrous. According to the book, a number of things could happen in the event of failure to cast the spell properly:

I could die. That was simple enough.

Or, my soul could be snuffed out. That was a different kind of death. My body would live on, but my mother would be in control. She'd basically get a second chance at life. I guess it was an outcome many highbloods would have loved.

Yet here I was, feeling fairly confident I'd be able to cast this thing successfully. Maybe it was arrogant of me to put so much trust in the very soul that had invaded me, but I didn't really see how I had any other choice.

I might not have had magic but Orcades did. She'd been incredibly powerful once. Now she'd promised me she'd put everything she had into helping me cast the spell successfully.

A few hours later, I slipped out of the First Year dormitory and made my way towards the arena.

At night, the school was quiet and bathed in torchlight.

When I reached the arena, there were no torches to light the rest of the way. Instead, moonlight cast an eerie glow over the huge colosseum, lending it a silent, foreboding air.

I walked slowly down the tiers of stone, my eyes scanning the ground in the center for any glint of light.

When I reached the bottom, I crouched low, moving from platform to platform, searching in between the wide cracks in the stones for the prize I hoped to find.

An hour later, I was sweaty and annoyed but I'd finally found it.

Coregon's dagger. The one he'd used to stab Blake. It was wedged between two stone platforms, much farther from the center where the fight had been than I'd expected. I'd been able to remember Blake kicking it off the platform and seeing it flying through the air that day, but not where it had landed.

I still couldn't believe Blake had given up the dagger in the first place. He'd taken a risk, choosing to fight Coregon without the weapon.

I picked up the blade carefully. The hilt was coated in dried blood. Blake's blood.

For a moment I wondered why Coregon had chosen the dagger. It was clearly not the finest weapon. Tarnish covered most of the blade in an ashen sheen. Faint writing snaked along the length of the blade but I couldn't make out more than a few letters under all the discoloration.

I looked around the arena. For a fleeting moment, I considered doing the ritual right there. It was certainly a place of power. I could feel the abiding presence of violence all around me.

But something about the arena felt wrong for this kind of magic.

I tucked the dagger beneath my cloak and left the arena behind, making my way to the Dragon Court.

The towering stone dragons took shape in the distance, their silhouettes stark against the moonlit sky.

When I arrived at the courtyard, it was as empty as I'd hoped.

I felt more at ease here. The grove that lay behind the red dragon seemed the perfect place, powerful and primeval.

I stepped into the space between the trees, my breath steady but my nerves already on edge.

Kneeling down, I pulled out the dagger, then two books. One I'd stolen from Rodriguez. The other I'd taken out of the Bloodwing library. It contained a simple spell to turn solid matter into liquid.

I flipped it open, then whispered the short incantation. I could feel Orcades presence swell inside me, lending me her aid.

So close, my darling. You're doing well, she whispered, her voice skimming across my mind like the gentle touch of fingertips.

I was hit with a sudden wave of loss.

Was this really what I wanted? I had never met Orcades in life. Never seen her face to face. Now my mother was present, within me, every day. She was full of power, not to mention a surprising amount of wisdom.

I'm not sure we're doing the right thing, I whispered back, a lump stuck in my throat. Maybe we should put this off for a while. We have the book now. What's the hurry?

No. Her voice was surprisingly firm. We're doing what we must. A pause. Please don't misunderstand, my love. I have no wish to leave you. But this union of souls... It's wrong. I see that now. It's endangering you. And I would never want that, Medra. You deserve to live a long and happy life. As for me, I could never be happy living with the fear I might be threatening you somehow, child.

I didn't respond.

The longer I'm here within you, she insisted, the more danger you're in. I have no wish to live forever. That desire vanished the moment you were born. I would do anything to protect you. Now let me go.

Tears slid down my cheeks. I ignored them and looked down at the knife. The dried blood had liquefied. The spell had worked.

Blake's blood shimmered darkly in the moonlight.

I tilted the knife and the blood dripped down the blade, pooling at the tip.

I had to do this now or I would never find the courage. I pressed the dagger across my palm, wincing as it cut me. Drops of blood welled on my hand. I rubbed them over the blade, letting them mingle with Blake's. A sharp sting shot through my hand, but it barely registered. My mind was fixed on the next part of the spell.

I held the dagger over the earth, letting the blood drip down onto the ground, and began to speak the ritual words:

By blood and breath, by night and sky,

The binding of souls I sever,

Let what was trapped be freed to fly,

No longer bound forever.

From heart to soul, from blood to bone,

Let life return where stone has grown.

What's chained away, shall now take flight,

Awakened be the soul tonight.

The final words hung in the cool night air as I finished.

I waited for something to happen.

Did it work?

My heart sank. We'd failed.

I can still hear you, I said sardonically. So, no, it didn't work. Fuck. What do we do now?

We don't use curse words, for one , my mother chided.

Really? You're going to lecture me about that now, of all times? I exclaimed. I would have thought you'd be more worried about the fact that, oh, I don't know, that you're still here .

It is strange, Orcades said thoughtfully. I feel different. And yet as you say, we're still intertwined.

I stopped breathing for a moment. Realization hit me in the head like a brick.

I stared down at the dagger in my hand.

"Oh, shit," I whispered aloud.

Well, that was only our first attempt, my mother continued, still oblivious to what had happened. We'll try again tomorrow night. If that doesn't work, there are always other books. We'll figure this out, Medra, one way or another. I suppose I was too greedy to think I might simply go free. Perhaps the option with the anchor would have been simpler somehow.

I think you're right, I said slowly. It would have.

A pause. You sound rather certain about that, darling.

I am certain, I said, gritting my teeth. Because it's already happened. You aren't in my head anymore, Mother. You're in this dagger.

A longer pause this time.

By the gods, I think you might be right. Oh, for fuck's sake. Of all the slip-ups. I should have foreseen this. You were holding the object as the blood fell.

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing hysterically.

But we used the right words, I reminded her. We used the spell that would free you. Not the incantation for the anchor. So why didn't it work?

She sighed. That's magic for you, darling. Magic is a fucking mess.

Oh, we're allowed to curse now... I meant to tease her, but the words caught in my throat as the ground beneath my feet suddenly trembled.

A shudder ran through the Dragon Court as all around us the castle walls began to shake.

I fell backwards, hitting the rough bark of a tree, my hand still clutching the dagger.

The trees swayed slightly, leaves rustling in the unnatural wind.

Then the wind fell silent. The ground stopped shaking.

I breathed a sigh of relief. What the hell was that?

Some sort of minor earthquake, I suspect, Orcades said thoughtfully. Perhaps this place is built over some sort of a plate in the earth. Like the ones in the arena. They shift from time to time, you know.

I frowned. I was about to say that sounded as preposterous as a theory I had once read in a book that claimed the entire world of Aercanum was being carried on the backs of four prancing unicorns when suddenly, I saw movement across the courtyard. I slunk down closer to the ground, my head leaning against the tree trunk.

Blake Drakharrow strode into the Dragon Court. He scanned the area, clearly checking to make sure no one had followed him.

I knew he had heightened senses as a vampire. I wondered if those extended to being able to see in the dark.

Nervously, I crouched even lower into the shadows.

Blake walked swiftly towards the grove and my heart sped up. If he came much closer, he'd see me.

But to my relief he stepped behind the sculpture of the red dragon. Bending down, he touched something on the ground. One of the flagstones.

I heard the rasping sound of stone on stone and risked raising my head a little.

There. On the ground amongst the flagstones, I could see a small area of pitch black. An opening of some kind had appeared.

Blake glanced around one more time. Then, he stepped down into the opening. A hidden staircase.

Follow him, my mother suggested. You know you want to. We'll deal with this situation later.

I nodded, quickly wiping the dagger off on the grass, then sliding it into my boot.

Slipping out of my hiding place, I moved towards the secret stairs.