Surprisingly it's not as hard as I thought it was going to be to find the spell.
I also want to kick myself too though.
The spell that will separate Neo and Niko is the one that I had looked at, but wasn't able to process any information about.
But as I read it my supper started to churn in my stomach and up my throat. This was not going to be an easy or clean spell.
I read over the spell again, making notes along the way so I don't forget to mention anything to Neo.
Prosuto atauttikut is a spell used to separate a witch or wizard from a devwI'. The spell requires a lot of step up. You must:
Find an open spot with no one around
Grab salt and make a large circle
Have a bowl of sage ready to burn
Once all of the step up is complete, have the witch/wizard who has the devwI' living in them stand in the center of the salt circle.
Beep!
I look up from the spell. I reach for my phone which sits somewhere in my bag. After searching for it and finding it in the second largest pocket I check the message.
It's Mia.
Did you find anything?
I stare at the text for a moment. Should I tell her I did? It would be the polite thing to do since she helped. But... if I tell her I did she'll want to help with the ritual. And right now I don't think she's ready. She'd probably just get in the way and make everything worse.
No :(
I was really hoping that would help! Guess it's back to the drawing board :(
I sigh. Why do I feel bad for just wanting to protect her?
I nagaviate out of our conversation without responding to her and into mine and Neo's conversation. The last text there is the one from right before our tutoring session of me telling him I'm on my way.
I bite my lip.
Do I tell him I found what we were looking for? It only seems right to. But I can't tell him over text, this is too important.
Hey Neo, can we meet up?
It takes a minute before the three little dots appear. I bite my lip harder, the metallic flavoring of blood seeps into my mouth as I wait.
Sure. The Little Corner Cafe?
That works! See you in a few
See ya
I sigh. The Little Corner Cafe is a small coffee shop in the middle of town. At this time of day it should be empty of anyone except for maybe a few students getting some homework done.
I grab my little notebook with all the details I'll need to tell him about and race downstairs.
***
When I enter the cafe I glance around looking for Neo. He isn't at the tables that make a little aisle up to the counter where no one stands to greet me. A few students sit crunched over textbooks and notebooks with a cup of coffee beside them at the tables. He also isn't at any of the booths that line the two sides of the shop. The shop is colored in pastels. All the tables are white but the seats and booth seats vary in pastel colors.
I make my way up to the counter where the cash register sits between two display cases. I glance at the doughnuts, cookies and muffins that sit in them while waiting for someone to help me.
"Hello! Sorry for the wait."
I look up and find a lady with dark hair sitting in a bun and dark skin grinning at me.
"It's fine," I say, turning to face the counter.
Her green eyes squint as she looks at me. "Lumi, right?"
I nod.
"I was at your ceremony," she supplies when she must notice a look of surprise on my face.
I nod. That's how everyone seems to know me now.
"Can I get a muffin and a hot chocolate?" I ask. I'd order for Neo, but don't know what he'd want.
She nods before turning and punching my order in.
"Can you add a sprinkle doughnut and coffee to that please?" a voice asks behind me.
I turn and find green-eyed Neo behind me. Green is the good one... right?
"Neo!"
"Hey," he chuckles.
The lady nods, gets me to pay and hands us our food and drinks. Once we've made it into a back corner booth farthest from anyone else I ask, "How's it going?"
Neo shrugs. "Some days are better. Other days Niko is almost in full control."
I reach out and place my hand on his. "I'm sorry."
He shrugs. "It's my fault."
I almost open my mouth to tell him it isn't but... can I really tell him that and not have it be a lie? He did lose his focus, but this also wouldn't have happened if Madam Mara hadn't slipped up.
I cringe. It's still weird to think that she would slip up.
I wrap my hands around the hot mug. I don't meet his eyes, instead I look down into the fluffy white whip cream, hoping that it can do this for me.
Would Madam Mara be disappointed in me for how I'm handling this?
I really hope she wouldn't be.
I take a deep breath. "I've found a solution."
I don't look up, but Neo's gasp tells me everything.
"You have?" he whispers.
I nod, still not looking up.
After a long moment of silence I look up. Neo's running a hand through his hair. His green eyes are wide open with... shock? Happiness? I can't tell. But I sigh in relief when I don't see any blue fighting for control.
I take a sip of my hot chocolate before continuing. "I have everything you need to know. All we really have to do is choose a date."
Neo looks around the cafe before turning to me. His voice is low when he speaks. "Saturday?"
I nod. "That'll do. All I'll need you to do is-"
He holds a palm up to me. "Don't tell me anything. I don't want Niko to know anything."
"But-"
He shakes his head. "He could mess it up. Just tell me where to meet you."
"But it could be handy for you to know. What if something goes wrong but you think it's part of the spell when it's not?"
Neo shrugs, like it's no big deal that his life is on the line. "It's worth the risk."
"But it's not!" My voice hitches. I glance at the cafe to see if anyone is watching us. Only the clerk is. Her brow is raised as if to ask if everything is okay. I give her a tight smile before turning back to Neo with a lower tone. "Your life is at stake here. If anything goes wrong you have a good chance of losing it."
Neo looks me in the eyes. He's not blinking. It's like we're having a staring contest. When he does blink he closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them they're hard as stone with resolve. "I trust you with my life."
I glup.
"You shouldn't," I whisper.
I couldn't save Madam Mara. Or Anastasia. So what makes him think I'll be able to save him?
Neo doesn't waver as he speaks. "Madam Mara wouldn't have picked you to be protector if she didn't believe and trust in you."
The words hit my heart. I can't tell whether it's a good or nervous flutter. Did she pick me because she trusted me? Or just because I'm more qualified?
Was she even the one who picked me?
I stare down at my drink again as tears prick my eyes. "I miss her so much."
I almost don't hear him say, "I do too."
My heart clenches.
What are we doing? Grieving when we come here to plan? But how can we plan when Neo won't let me tell him anything? How did he end up comforting me when I should be comforting him?
"Why do you trust me?" I whisper. How can he trust me to do something that hasn't been done in probably almost one hundred years? How can he trust me when I haven't finished my training?
Neo's eyes soften. "I've known you forever. You're always there to help others, always trying to lift them up. When my mom fell sick you gave up your magic lessons so Madam Mara could help my mom. You sacrifice so much for others. So it didn't surprise me when you were chosen. That's why I trust you."
The tears that had been waiting are falling like a waterfall.
I didn't know how much I needed to hear that. That I've been more than my magic this whole time. It fills me with a warmth that I know would be able to melt my ice.
"Thank you," I whisper.
Neo smiles.
My worries still buzz in the back of my head. I'm scared to mess this up. I don't know what the results will be like, or if I'll even succeed. But with Neo having confidence in me I have a little more in myself.
"So, since you don't want to know anything about the spell itself, I'll tell you this much; we'll be doing it in the unused fields. I need you there by six o'clock."
Neo nods like all of this is a normal thing to be planning in a cafe over hot chocolate and muffins.
"Sounds like a plan," he says before taking a sip of his drink.
I nod, unsure of what to say now.
I glance around the cafe as a thought floats to the front of my mind. My fingers start to tap my mug. Tap, tap, tap
Do I ask? Or do I make the call by myself? But... What if Mia could help with this? It would take some weight after my shoulders since Neo doesn't want to know anything. But what if having her there messes it up? Or she causes me to lose focus?
I sigh.
It's silly. I know she would be helpful, and that she wouldn't distract me from this. She wants to help Neo as much as I do. But, there's still a part of me that wants to believe she isn't ready. That Madam Mara would frown upon me at having her help. Or would she be glad to know that I'm not alone anymore?
She used to talk about how fun it was to have others like her. How they could practice and talk about magic with each other. It always made me wonder why she didn't tell us about the other magic users. When I asked her the first few times all she said was that it was for the best. Eventually she did tell me.
"It was nice to be a part of something," she said with glossy eyes. "But there was always fear."
"Fear?" I had asked.
Madam Mara looked down at me and smiled sadly. "It was a competition to become the protector of Roseborn. If there was no one else with magic then there was no competition."
I don't remember if I knew what she meant right away, but I understood that she was trying to protect us.
"Lumi?"
I shake my head of the memory and look at Neo. His green eyes are soft with concern. "You okay?"
I nod and smile. "I'm fine. Just thinking."
"About?"
I chew my lip for a moment before deciding what to tell him. "Do you think it would work for Mia to help?"
He raises a brow. "Why wouldn't it be?"
I shrug. "I'm just getting in my head."
He reaches out and places his hand on mine. All I notice is how warm it is. "I think it would be great to have her help, but if you have doubts don't invite her. It's up to you."
I nod.
Ping!
Neo's hand flies off mine as he reaches for his phone. He glances at it and types something before looking at me with a frown. "Sorry. I gotta go."
I nod. "Sure. Have a good night."
He stands and puts his coat on. "You too," he says as he walks away.
I don't stay for long after that. But I think about Mia and having her help. She has helped so far. She was the one who had the idea to look in the book at the library that helped with finding the spell. So, if I invite her to help, what could possibly go wrong?