started in on the salty fries.
“Brain what?”
“Brain freeze,” I repeated. “You know, when you drink something icy really fast and then you end up with a terrible stabbing pain in your head and sometimes in your chest?”
Victoria gave me a strange look and then shook her head. “Why would you do that to yourself if that was the result?” she asked, horrified.
“Well, I suppose for the same reason you drink it,” I said.
“Nothing tastes good enough to cause yourself physical harm … although—” She paused and stared down at the cup. “—I guess if I was going to come to physical harm drinking this, I probably still would….”
Grinning, I started back into the fries once more, my mind wandering back to the forest and the ghost that had knocked me back down the hill. At first I’d wondered if she was one of the dead, but I hadn’t felt anything like her at the first crime scene and she was definitely human and not Fae. I just couldn’t figure out what her deal was.
“Tell me what he tried to do,” Victoria said quietly.
“Who?” I asked, the salty taste of the French fries quickly turning to ash on my tongue as I realised who she meant.
“The Fae that attacked you, what was he trying to do?”
“He wants to control me, use me as a weapon,” I said, shuddering at the memory of his breath on my cheek as he’d lain across my body and tried to force his will onto mine, slowly smothering me beneath the weight of his power.
“When the Shadow Sorcerers of old walked the earth there was a spell they used to keep the Fae from their heads.”
“I just don’t get how he can do it—I mean, I have all this power that I barely understand but I can’t stop him from waltzing right into my head and taking over. The only thing that holds him at bay is the demon mark,” I said, lifting my hand and slowly brushing it over the raised brand on my shoulder.
“The Fae’s power is different and yet the same; we all draw our power from the same place, but the Fae have had centuries to hone their skill set. You have not; there is magic within you that you will likely never conquer in your short lifetime and you have potential that you will probably never even realise you have.”
Victoria’s words didn’t bring me any comfort; I didn’t want him able to just walk into my head. And the demon mark was already dangerous—the last thing I wanted to do was give it any more of a hold over me than it had. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it already had far too much of me.
I could feel it waiting, biding its time until the perfect opportunity arose and then it would sweep in and take control. When that happened….
“As I said, there is a spell you can do to ward yourself against such intruders. But I do not know where you can gain access to such a spell,” she said.
Victoria didn’t know, but I did. The grimoire that belonged to Brigid Dubhacht would have the spell, that I knew for certain. There was only one problem: my translation of the text was beyond slow and I didn’t really have that kind of time….
“How’s your Gaeilge?” I asked, side-eyeing Victoria carefully.
“Bad, why, how’s yours?” she asked naively.
“I’ve got a grimoire, and if such a spell exists, it’s going to be in that, but I’m crap at translating it…” I said.
“Your mother would help,” Victoria said, drinking down the last of her milkshake.
“She’d probably turn me over to the Elite faster,” I said bitterly. I still hadn’t spoken to her, ignoring the missed calls on my phone and the voicemails she’d taken to leaving for me. After everything, she was the last person I wanted to talk to.
It was childish, but I couldn’t help it. She’d blocked off my memory, hidden a part of me from myself, and in the process had left me alone and vulnerable with no help to come to grips with my true nature.
“I don’t think so. She loves you.”
The French fry I’d been eating caught in the
“Brain what?”
“Brain freeze,” I repeated. “You know, when you drink something icy really fast and then you end up with a terrible stabbing pain in your head and sometimes in your chest?”
Victoria gave me a strange look and then shook her head. “Why would you do that to yourself if that was the result?” she asked, horrified.
“Well, I suppose for the same reason you drink it,” I said.
“Nothing tastes good enough to cause yourself physical harm … although—” She paused and stared down at the cup. “—I guess if I was going to come to physical harm drinking this, I probably still would….”
Grinning, I started back into the fries once more, my mind wandering back to the forest and the ghost that had knocked me back down the hill. At first I’d wondered if she was one of the dead, but I hadn’t felt anything like her at the first crime scene and she was definitely human and not Fae. I just couldn’t figure out what her deal was.
“Tell me what he tried to do,” Victoria said quietly.
“Who?” I asked, the salty taste of the French fries quickly turning to ash on my tongue as I realised who she meant.
“The Fae that attacked you, what was he trying to do?”
“He wants to control me, use me as a weapon,” I said, shuddering at the memory of his breath on my cheek as he’d lain across my body and tried to force his will onto mine, slowly smothering me beneath the weight of his power.
“When the Shadow Sorcerers of old walked the earth there was a spell they used to keep the Fae from their heads.”
“I just don’t get how he can do it—I mean, I have all this power that I barely understand but I can’t stop him from waltzing right into my head and taking over. The only thing that holds him at bay is the demon mark,” I said, lifting my hand and slowly brushing it over the raised brand on my shoulder.
“The Fae’s power is different and yet the same; we all draw our power from the same place, but the Fae have had centuries to hone their skill set. You have not; there is magic within you that you will likely never conquer in your short lifetime and you have potential that you will probably never even realise you have.”
Victoria’s words didn’t bring me any comfort; I didn’t want him able to just walk into my head. And the demon mark was already dangerous—the last thing I wanted to do was give it any more of a hold over me than it had. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it already had far too much of me.
I could feel it waiting, biding its time until the perfect opportunity arose and then it would sweep in and take control. When that happened….
“As I said, there is a spell you can do to ward yourself against such intruders. But I do not know where you can gain access to such a spell,” she said.
Victoria didn’t know, but I did. The grimoire that belonged to Brigid Dubhacht would have the spell, that I knew for certain. There was only one problem: my translation of the text was beyond slow and I didn’t really have that kind of time….
“How’s your Gaeilge?” I asked, side-eyeing Victoria carefully.
“Bad, why, how’s yours?” she asked naively.
“I’ve got a grimoire, and if such a spell exists, it’s going to be in that, but I’m crap at translating it…” I said.
“Your mother would help,” Victoria said, drinking down the last of her milkshake.
“She’d probably turn me over to the Elite faster,” I said bitterly. I still hadn’t spoken to her, ignoring the missed calls on my phone and the voicemails she’d taken to leaving for me. After everything, she was the last person I wanted to talk to.
It was childish, but I couldn’t help it. She’d blocked off my memory, hidden a part of me from myself, and in the process had left me alone and vulnerable with no help to come to grips with my true nature.
“I don’t think so. She loves you.”
The French fry I’d been eating caught in the
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