Half Magic | Book 2

Forty Six: A Black Night

The candles flickered across the table, casting a warm glow across the yellowed pages of the witches' books. Teyber had brought in a large tray of food from the kitchens and the rest of us had pulled out the bundle of books I had brought from the valley. When I entered my room to get everything, a beautiful book sat on my bed. The cover was light blue linen, the same color as Schula's eyes. The corners were embellished in silver and white threads that formed a vine of little flowers that wound around the edges of the book. I knew right away what it was, and I clutched it close to me as we got everything ready.

And then, the search for information began.

Teyber sat, bewildered, flipping through the pages of a tome and making the slowest progress, since he was the least sure of what he was searching for. Nassir, who had made amazing progress with his awareness of his surroundings, still wouldn't be able to read. Instead, he meditated on his chair and occasionally talked out some things we found with what he knew from centuries past. Schula was very helpful, taking notes and whizzing through books. Marking down what parts of which books held details that she found.

And then there was me, hunched over Lark's book and soaking in every word. I did hope to find how she bound Teyber's words, yes. But I also wanted to know more. Know, everything. The early pages were filled with the same kinds of spells I had in mine. Notes of things she did wrong and things she found worked better for her. It was the later pages that held the most telling things.

She had spells I had never seen before. She had learned the sort of conjurings that I didn't learn with Gilly and Purda. It was mesmerizing to read. Illustrations of hand movements, plants, seashells, bird feathers, and a number of other important bits of information to her spells told me that Lark wasn't the best artist. My lips turned up into a smile every time I saw a scratched out drawing next to another attempt. The written notes were more useful than the illustrations.

"Wren," Schula pulled my focus from Lark's spells to one of the books. "I found a passage here with a few fae names they met up with on their initial meeting in the Wyldes."

"Really?" I put Lark's book down. "Let me see."

"I don't know any of these names," she said. "There is a chance none of them are still around."

"Hm, what names?" Nassir asked. "I may remember them."

Schula read a short list of fae and where they met the witches at the southern borders. Nassir nodded slowly.

"All Summer fae, as far as I can remember. If you want to hear if they are still around, you'll have to travel to the Summer city," Nassir said.

Schula sighed and began writing down the names on her notes. "I still don't know if they will be of help, performing a witch's spell. But it's worth looking into."

My shoulders sagged a little. But just because this wasn't the lead we were looking for, doesn't mean there wasn't another on the next page. So back to the books we went.

The candles wore down as we turned the pages. As Teyber's grunts of frustration became more frequent, it wasn't such a surprise when he stood from the table.

"I don't think I can keep going. Besides, I should check on the late night patrols, it's been a while since I surprised them." A sly smile spread across his otherwise tired face. "It's good for them. Keeps them on their toes."

"Do you think the council meeting is almost over?" I asked as a yawn began to overtake me.

But Teyber shook his head. "Doubtful. The first rule of elves, Wren, is to not rush them. Expect it to go well into tomorrow. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be the first to know once Kalor returns.