Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

I MMY

Poor Edge. I couldn't imagine being forced into a life of crime all to satisfy the twisted demands of an evil witch, which is what Aurelia had to be. I never sensed that about her, but I didn't doubt Edge and no one with pure intentions would ever demand that someone commit crimes for innocent reasons.

Grimoires were very personal items for witches. Many witches created their own, and some families often passed them on, each generation adding to them to keep power and knowledge within the line. My own family had their own grimoire that I was raised with, though I knew it would be handed off to my brother or sister. I didn't have the power to command the spells inside of it. Once I realized that, I began compiling my own grimoire of spells, potions, and charms that worked for me. Who knows? Maybe one of my nieces or nephews would be cursed with my terrible magic someday and my experience would work for them.

Grimoires weren't always good and the Coven Council hunted down as many of the dark magic grimoires they could, destroying them or binding their magic before they could be used for nefarious purposes. What was in this grimoire that Aurelia had been hunting for it for over three hundred years? I may not be good at magic but I was always good at research. After Matuk's witch visited, I would head to the library to do more research, now that I knew what I was looking for.

I finished making my wards, reinforcing them as best I could, using stronger herbs, charms, and non-magic traps. If anyone tried to get in, it wouldn't just be magic they would have to overcome. I counted on the fact that Aurelia was used to only relying on magic and might not consider non-magical means like trip wires and simple alarms.

I had just finished when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to reveal an older woman, slightly rounded, and dressed in a brightly colored peasant dress of so many clashing colors that they blinded my eyes for a moment.

She smiled brightly at me and stuck out her hand. "You must be Imelda. Your wards are very well done. Different than traditional ones. I sense a unique signature to them. I'd love to talk with you about how to set them."

I shook her hand, bemused by the conversation. "I don't know about the different method. Magic always works a little weird with me so I've looked for my own way to make it effective."

She cocked her head for a moment, studying me. "You have a deep pool of magic that is not being tapped. It's almost like you're blocked or maybe locked away from your magic. Have you ever been cursed?"

I frowned. "Why would anyone do that to me? Everyone likes me. Well, the few people who actually know me. Most people ignore me since I don't have any magic to speak of."

"Tut tut. You have magic. Lots of it. You just need to access it. We'll deal with that in a while. First, let's deal with Edge and that nasty witch who has cursed him. I sense there's a connection. I'm Sybil, by the way."

I smiled and gestured for her to come inside. "I assumed that. Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some blackberry with honey, if you have it." She beamed at me.

"Of course. I just made myself a cup in fact. Join me in the kitchen."

We settled in the kitchen and Edge floated in, settling in the chair, sinking until his chin was part of the table instead of above it. I subtly gestured for him to rise up and he blushed and rose a bit until he was even with us.

"Your tea is delicious. Now, tell me everything you remember, Edge." Sybil was suddenly all business, not the absent minded witch I met at the door, her sharp gaze intent on Edge.

He quickly ran through his story, including the memory of Aurelia. I then added my experience with the witch and Sybil examined my hand with the splinter, along with the recipe to supposedly remove the splinter. Her expression grew more grim as the story finished.

"Oh dear. This witch sounds familiar to me. I don't know if you have heard my story. It's much too long to go into here, but I too have lived a long time. Unlike Aurelia, I did not choose to live a long time. I have amends to make and must live until I do that. Aurelia is a witch I have crossed paths with in my time on this earth. She is a nasty piece of work, a witch who has evaded punishment by the Coven Council for many centuries. She desires power and control, not over the witches or anything so mundane, but over the world and everything she can see. There is something in that grimoire that can give her the ultimate power she seeks. I don't know what is in there, but it can never fall into her hands."

I glanced at Edge, who seemed frustrated. He rose and floated around the kitchen, too agitated to sit still. "Sybil, we already knew that, or at least suspected that. What we don't know is why I was chosen or where it is or how to stop her. Can you help us with that?"

Sybil looked sad. "I'm sorry, Edge. I don't know what more I can offer. I can talk to my sources, though few witches talk to me anymore. I do have a few contacts with the Council who might consider speaking with me about this, or looking into it." She reached for him but her hand went through his. She let her hand drop to the table. "But know this. You may not remember everything but I doubt you were a bad person. The fact that you are trying so hard not to help her now tells me that you did all of this under duress, that you were and still are a good person. Don't doubt that."

She then took my hand in a surprisingly strong grip. "I may not have all of my powers but I have one. I sense that you two have been bound together for a reason and that is why you are together now. Trust each other, work together, and you will succeed."

After Sybil left, with a promise to check with her contacts and to look into why my powers seemed wonky, even though I never asked her to do it, Edge and I sat at the kitchen table, still processing her words.

Edge slammed his hands on the table, not that they made a sound. In fact, they went right through the table, which only frustrated him further and he let out a yell that startled Loki. Loki yowled and stalked out of the room, tail high.

"This was a waste of time. We're no closer to an answer than before the witch came. I will never find peace."

His despair pierced my heart and I felt his pain, understanding how hard this must be for him to deal with constant disappointment. I had lived with it my whole life too, only it was a few decades while he had three centuries.

"Edge," I reached out and was able to take his hand. He ignored me for a moment, and I repeated his name. Finally he looked at me, the sadness in his eyes taking my breath away.

"Edge, we may not have our answers yet, but we have more information. We now know for a certainty that Aurelia is our villain, the one who cursed you. We may not know why, but we'll figure it out. There aren't many dark grimoires out there that the covens don't have control over. We'll find it. And we'll free you."

"And what about us? Sybil believes we were meant to be together, bound through some kind of magic, not just my plank." He leaned forward, looking at me intently with deep blue eyes. "Immy, I believe we were meant to be together, bound through eternity to find each other, then bound to break this curse together. I believe I was never meant to move on until I found you. My plank didn't keep me here. It only held me until I found you. You're the reason I'm here. You've always been it for me, only I didn't know it."

That was a whole other situation that I wasn't sure I was ready for, though, as I thought about it, it felt right. Edge felt right. But how was a ghost and a human ever going to be together?