The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 17

"Fate or luck," Cassie repeated with a small smile. "It seemed to be on my side that week."

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Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

"Alright, Cas," Bella said.

It was morning, near the end of the week, a few days after we'd last talked about the sleepover. We hadn't spoken about it since. Both my father and Edwards insisted I should give Bella the time she'd asked for to think things over.

"Alright what?" I said bitterly, wondering what I'd done wrong this time.

"Alright, you can go to Carmilla's sleepover," Bella said. 

"I knew you'd say n... wait, what?" I gasped. "I can go?!"

"You can go," Bella chuckled. "I meant what I said..."

"Right, right," I agreed. "No pranks, no leaving the house. I'll even tell Carmilla to cancel the keg and male strippers." 

"Cas," Bella said warningly.

"God, I'm kidding. You know my friends, Bella," I laughed. "I can really go?"

"You can really go," Bella nodded.

"You're the best," I said. Actually, I might have squealed at that point. There may also have been bouncing.

As I dashed upstairs, to call Carmilla and tell her, I overheard Edwards and Bella talking.

"It's good to let her go, ma'am," Edwards said to her.

"You agree with Mortimer that I'm being overprotective," Bella said. 

"It's not my place to say," Edwards said. "Still, she's not a little girl anymore. She's grown into a fine young woman."

"The world can be a dangerous place, especially for 'fine young women,'" Bella sighed. "We both know that."

Up in my room, after calling Carmilla, I was faced with what, at the time, seemed to be the most important choice of my life - What was I going to wear?

I mean, it was a sleepover, so it was going to be sleepwear... but my usual sleepwear in those days was an old tank-top and pajama pants. Comfortable but not really... well... not really intended to make an impression.

The tank-top would be OK, I thought. Maybe I could swap the pajama pants for a nice pair of shorts. That would still be comfortable, while showing off my legs to nice effect. After all, I had nice legs. I mean, if I wanted to make an impression maybe...

Of course, given the fact that our school uniform included those ridiculous pleated skirts, it wasn't like she... I mean, my friends... hadn't seen my legs.

Maybe... 

I mean, there were people who did sleep in a tank-top and underwear... and it wasn't like those panties were really that small. I mean... they would definitely make an impression...

Alexander chose that moment to barge into my bedroom. "Cas, I... Why are you checking out your own butt?"

"Alexander!" I shrieked.

"I wanted to talk to you," my annoying little brother insisted.

"Knock first!" I snapped. "Creepy little geek."

"What were you doing?" Alexander asked.

"None of your business," I snarled, pulling on my pajama pants. 

"Oooh," Alexander grinned. "I get it."

"No, you don't," I said firmly.

"You're going on that sleepover," Alexander crowed. "Gwen's going to be there, and you want her to check out your butt!"

"No!" I gasped.

"You want Gwen to look at your butt, because you LIKE her!" he said. "Gwen and Cas/sitting in a tree/K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Shut up, geek," I growled.

"No," Alexander laughed. "Besides, Gwen's nice. I like her... and you LIKE her. Don't worry, I won't tell mom you're going to show her your butt." 

"I... I'm not... I'm not doing that," I stammered. "And I don't... I mean... I..."

"Yes, you do," Alexander laughed again. "You should just kiss her."

"What do you want, Alexander?" I said.

"I need a favor," Alexander said, hopping up on my bed, "before you go on your sleepover."

"Oh, good job buttering me up first," I said sarcastically, sitting down next to him. "I'm totally in the mood to do you a favor now."

"Come on, Cas," he wheedled. "Don't be like that..."

"What do you want," I sighed.

"Can you... can you spray for the monster under my bed before you go," Alexander asked quickly. "'cause only sometimes mom isn't here to do it and dad's busy writing and Edwards locks his door at night and..." 

You might think it was weird for my brother, who was almost twelve, to still be worried about the Monster Under the Bed... but we're Goths. The occasional, mostly imaginary, Monster is part of the deal, and everyone knew Ophilia Villa was supposed to be haunted. So, waking up in the middle of the night to spray under Alexander's bed and drive away the Monster was pretty normal for me.

"Of course, I will," I said with a smile. "Don't let me leave without doing it."

"Thanks Cas," Alexander smiled.

I mean, Alexander was a geek and an annoying pest, but he's my little brother. We've got to stick together, especially when it comes to monsters.

The Raven's Apprentice - Second Interlude, Part 2

Police Central, Oasis Springs, 1978

"Doctor Key, I'm Detective John Willis," the detective said. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Thank you, detective," Key smiled, "and thank you for your call. We don't always enjoy such enthusiastic cooperation from local law enforcement."

"Sir, I've served Queen and Country all my life," Willis said. "I was a solider in the Tomarang jungles and now I'm a cop here. The way I see it, we're all working for the same goal - to make a safer world."

"Exactly right," Key nodded. "Now if you don't mind, Detective Willis, I'd like to see the subject."

"Right this way, doctor," Willis replied.

"I have to admit, doc, I was surprised to see this file tagged with a request to call the Agency," Willis said, having led the Doctor into the observation room.

"Tell me what you see, detective," Doctor Key asked softly.

"Well, sir, she's a hooker," Willis replied. "Her ID says her name is Isabella Bachelor, age 19, resident of the Bedrock Strait trailer park... but it's a fake. For one thing, if she's older than 16, I'm the Prince Regent."

"You arrested her for solicitation?" Key asked.

"No, sir, but she's got two priors for it," Willis said. "We picked her up this time for knifing her pimp."

"Interesting," Key breathed, more to himself than to the detective.

"I guess," Willis shrugged. "He's hurting but he'll live. Which is good for her. I'd hate to put her away for murder, especially over that piece of trash."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir," Willis continued when Key said nothing, "why is the Agency interested in her? I mean, is she some kind of hooker-spy? What do you call it... a bee trap?"

"Honey trap," Key corrected, clearly amused. "No... no, nothing like that. I'm afraid our interest in Ms. Bachelor is classified. I'd like to speak with her, if I may."

"Of course," Willis nodded. "I'll stay here, make sure no one listens in."

"Thank you, detective," Key smiled, wondering briefly if Willis's curiosity would overcome his patriotism. No matter, such things were easily dealt with. 

"Ms. Isabella Bachelor," Key said, settling into the interrogation room chair opposite the young woman. 

"Bella," the girl corrected.

"Indeed," Key smiled slightly. "I am Doctor Key."

"A doctor," Bella smiled. "Say doc, how about you get me outta here? You could give me a full examination, if you know what I mean. If I happened to walk away after, well, who's to blame..."

"Interesting," Key breathed again to himself. "No, Ms. Bachelor, while your talents in that area may not be without future merit, I'm afraid you will find me unreceptive to offers of sexual bribery."

"Right," Bella said, surprised, recovering quickly enough to sneer, "I guess you'd prefer a boy."

"In fact, no," Key replied, unruffled. "It is simply a matter that holds primarily academic interest to me."

"So, what, you're some kind of head-shrinker," Bella said.

"No. Though I am not unacquainted with the discipline, psychology is not my primary field," Key replied. "I am a physicist."

"What do you want from me?" Bella asked, clearly suspicious.

"You were arrested for assault with a deadly weapon," Key said. "A knife attack on a Mr. Mack, who I understand to be your... pimp."

"That's what they tell me," Bella replied.

"Why did you stab him?" Key asked.

"I didn't say I did," Bella said.

"Ms. Bachelor, it is not my intention to illicit a confession from you," Key said patiently. "In fact, if I find your responses satisfactory, it is my intention to have these charges, and indeed your entire criminal record, expunged. Now, I will ask you again, why did you stab him?"

"He was going after Penny," Bella cautiously.

When Key said nothing, she went on. "Penny's new. Fresh off the bus, like. Mack likes 'em like that. Finds you, lost and alone, and offers you food, a bed, a safe place he says. Safe. That's some bullshit. He puts you to work, on the streets... but first he gives you a little 'test drive,' to check out the merchandise. Penny had never been with a guy. She told me so herself. She was screaming and kicking but Mack was just getting on top of her. I got him off her."

"So, you attacked Mr. Mack to protect your friend from a sexual assault," Key said evenly. "Is that correct Ms. Bachelor?"

"Yeah," Bella said hotly. 

"And it's Bella," she added, "Just Bella. OK?"

"Who is 'Bella?'" Key asked. "Not Isabella Bachelor. No, 'just Bella,' who are you? Where are you from? What is your real surname?"

"What do you care?" Bella huffed.

"I care, because you... don't... know," Key smiled coldly.

"How... how did you know that?" Bella gasped.

"Shall I tell you what you remember? You have a vague recollection of a family. A mother, a father, siblings... a brother perhaps... a loving family, a beautiful home. You almost remember their names," Key said softly.

"You can't know that," Bella whispered.

"What you remember most clearly is The Light," Key continued. "The Light that took you away from all of that. The Light that erased everything before it... and everything immediately after it. You woke up here, in Oasis Springs, perhaps six or nine months ago. You were lost, alone and confused, just another teen runaway for someone like Mr. Mack to prey upon."

"Who are you?" Bella breathed.

"I told you, I am called Doctor Key, and I am a physicist," Key answered with a cold smile.

"Right, and I'm Isabella Bachelor," Bella smiled back just as coldly. "Who are you really?"

"A researcher," Key answered. "One who can help you and who needs your help."

"Why?" Bella looked at him, levelly.

"What if I told you that what happened to you made you special?" Key said. "Made you uniquely suited to an important task. There are dangers in this world that make your Mr. Mack look like a schoolyard bully. The Agency I work for seeks to make the world safer. Most people go to bed at night blissfully unaware of the monsters in the dark. You and I know better. Work for me, and I will teach you to protect people from the monsters. To make the world safer." 

"On one condition," Bella said.

"Do you really think you are in a position to set conditions?" Key asked, genuinely amused.

"Yeah," Bella smiled. "I have something you want - me. So, you give me something I want, and you get what you want. Make sure Penny and Mack's other girls are safe. No jail time for any of them. Someplace where they'll be really safe. Do that and I'm your girl."

"How very interesting," Key smiled. "I believe I can arrange that, Bella."

"And you teach me how to fight monsters," Bella added.

"I believe we have a deal," Key nodded.

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Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

"You taught me a lot, Doctor," Bella mused to herself. "You taught me that the best lies are always true. You didn't say one untrue word that night, did you, but you still lied your ass off. 

"You said I was going to learn how to fight monsters, but you didn't tell me what I'd have to give up to do it. You were no better than Mack. Worse. He just made me a whore. You made me a killer.

"You taught me to fight the monsters in the dark, Doctor Key, but I learned for myself that you were one of them."

The Raven's Apprentice - Second Interlude, Part 1

Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

Earlier that evening

"Just don't mention her," Bella said firmly.

"I don't understand," Mortimer objected. "Vlad's a friend. He knew Ari..."

"You're forgetting how... obsessed... he got with her at University," Bella said gently. "She was afraid of him, Mortimer."

"She didn't need to be," Mortimer said defensively.

"It's different for women, Mortimer," Bella said patiently. "Trust me on this, please. Just don't mention Gwen to him. Ari wouldn't want him to know she was here, I know that."

"Alright, Bella," Mortimer sighed. "You're right. I don't always see that side of him. What do we do if he mentions her."

"If he does, just let me handle it," Bella smiled.

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"Viking," a man's voice answered the phone.

"Rose Red," Bella replied. "Confirm secure."

"Line secure," Viking answered.

"Line secure," Bella confirmed.

"So, Bella, rumor has it you're pissing in Section 6's pool," Bjorn said brightly.

"Every girl needs a hobby," Bella smiled. 

"You ever consider taking up lion taming?" Bjorn asked. "It would be safer than making an enemy out of Key."

"I did that fourteen years ago, when I left Section 6," Bella said with confidence she didn't feel.

"I need a favor," she continued.

"I figured this wasn't a social call," Bjorn chuckled, "this being an Agency secure line and all."

"Off the books," Bella added.

"It's never easy with you," Bjorn sighed.

"If you can't..." Bella started.

"Tell me what you need," Bjorn said. "I still owe you for that Tartosa thing."

"You should know better than to turn your back on a swallow with a knife," Bella said.

"What can I say, I have a soft spot for brunettes," Bjorn smiled.

"I don't remember it being soft that often," Bella smirked. 

"What do you need, Agent Goth," Bjorn said with mock seriousness.

"A trail of false breadcrumbs," Bella said. "I've got some Code 5 interest complicating my 'pissing in the pool' situation."

"Jesus, Bella," Bjorn cursed. "Never easy with you."

"I need their attention somewhere else," Bella continued. "I can send you enough for you to lay out a trail, lure them away from me... but it has to be off the books. If Bridges knew there was Code 5 involvement, she might hand the op back to Section 6."

"She should!" Bjorn snapped. "From what I hear, this should already be their op. Add leeches and you are ass deep in shit, Bella, and sinking fast."

"Are you going to help or not?" Bella pressed.

"Of course I'm going to help," Bjorn snarled. "Send me your info, I'll lay out your breadcrumbs and lure the bloodsucking bastards off you. On one condition... you watch that fine ass of yours, Agent Goth. You might be a genetically enhanced, but you aren't immortal."

"I never should have told you about that," Bella sighed.

"What can I say? You couldn't resist my rugged Nordic good looks," Bjorn smiled. "Watch. Your. Ass."

"Don't worry," Bella smiled. "I'm working with Felix. The only time he stops watching my ass is to look at my tits."

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Standing outside, Bella deeply breathed in the crisp October night air. With each breath, she focused on slowing her pulse, setting aside her tension, her fear, her anger. Was it ironic, she wondered, that it was Doctor Key who had taught her that particular calming exercise. 

Letting her mind drift, she slowly pulled down the rigorous mental barriers she had used to block Straud's psychic gifts. She knew she couldn't have blocked the old monster if he'd pressed, but it had been enough to confound his casual probes of her family. The headache that had been building behind her eyes all night was a small price to pay. Another trick in her arsenal courtesy of the good Doctor.

She was confident Bjorn would do what was needed to draw off Straud and his brood. It should be enough to keep the old monster out of her way for a while.

Leaving Bella to deal with the other monster on the field.

Doctor Key.

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Author's Note

Swallow - a female agent employed to seduce people for intelligence purposes... or so says the International Spy Museum website anyway, and it sounds cool.

Code 5 - Properly Code V, an Agency term for vampires which I first used on College Years, shamelessly lifted from a late '90s BBC vampire drama series Ultraviolet.

-L

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 16

 "My magic had awoken," Cassie said, smiling slightly at the memory. "It's strange now to think of my life without magic. Strange to remember that most people go through their lives without knowing that magic is a real and vital force in our lives, oblivious to the beings of magic that live in secret alongside them. I don't think even Carmilla, with her fascination in the occult, ghosts and vampires, really in her heart believed in them at the time (though she would never have admitted that)."

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Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

I had believed more than most. I had performed seances with my father, heard the voices of the spirits who responded to him. I was fascinated by family stories of witches and magic, but I had always believed that that deeper magic was gone from the world, lost in an age of science and technology.

Now, I called magic, and it answered me. Ok, so I'd set fire to the room... but I was encouraged by Edwards's words. I needed to be careful, but I didn't need to be afraid.

My mother was going to teach me magic. If she had been the Raven, I thought, now I was the Raven's Apprentice.

Early the following morning, before school, I looked through the Book of Shadows and found what my mother's notes called practice exercises. 

I think, with that fire spell, she had wanted to start me out with something impressive. That's always made me wonder a little what it would have been like to learn from her in person. 

I was a little nervous. Had I really done what I thought I'd done or had the fire just been some kind of freak accident? Was any of this actually real? Was I going to burn down the house?

The centering exercise came easily. I could almost hear Gwen's voice, guiding me through it. Then, in a rush of shivering power, the magic flowed through me again. It was real (and this time I didn't start any fires)! 

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Gwen...

Even in the excitement of the night before, I hadn't forgotten my last words to her. I really owed her a big apology. Would she even listen to me? Did she hate me now? Seriously, being a teenager was not fun.

I spent my morning classes imagining nightmare scenarios in which Gwen refused to forgive me, called me a total freak and ultimately declared her undying love for Elly. I avoided my friends entirely over lunch, hiding out in the exercise room of all places, enduring Elly's jibes and trying not a fall on my face on a treadmill. 

By the end of afternoon classes, I had pretty much decided that my best option was to move to Senbamachi and live out the remainder of my days as hermit on the slopes of Mount Komorebi. I seriously considered making a break for the car after school, but I decided to just get it over with and ruin my life completely.

So, I steeled myself and intercepted Gwen on her way to the bus.

"Gwen," I said in a voice I imagine is usually reserved for last words before a firing squad, "I..."

"Oh Cas, I'm so sorry!" Gwen said tearfully, before I could say more. "I handled that all wrong. Of course I know how important your mother is to you. I totally should have..."

"No, I'm sorry!" I insisted, talking over her. "I reacted in completely the wrong way. I was just..."

"... considered your feelings," Gwen continued, "but that really was Roac's message. I thought you'd be happy... but I should have realized how hard it would be to hear."

"... so caught off guard and Edwards is right about me being emotional and," I said.

"Can you ever forgive me?" we both said at once. 

At that point, what else could we do? Laughing and crying, we all but fell into each other's arms.

Everything was alright between us again.

"So," Gwen smiled at me, "Did you find the book Roac was talking about?"

"Yes," I smiled back. "It's... Gwen, it's amazing. I want to tell you everything!"

"OK, I... oh no, the bus!" Gwen jumped suddenly. "Cas, I have to go. Lilian is waiting for me. She's taking me down to the City for a couple of days, to see the big gallery there. I'll be back for Carmilla's sleep over. I'll see you there. Tell me everything then. I l... uh... I'll see you there."

"Oh... Ok," I said. "I... I'll see you there... I guess."

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Of course, now it was absolutely imperative that I convince Bella to let me go to Carmilla's sleep over.

"I mean, it's not like a party party," I explained, trying to sound as 'polite and respectful' as I could manage. "It'll just be me and my friends, hanging out..."

"All night, at Carmilla's house, with her mother out of town," Bella put in dubiously.

"Mrs. Duplantier will be there," I insisted, "and she's very responsible..."

"She's also very old," Bella pointed out, "and will probably be asleep long before your 'not-a-party' party really starts."

"It's not like we're going to have boys and a keg," I snapped before I could rein in my frustration.

Bella gave me a look that suggested that was exactly what she thought we were going to do.

"I'll consider it," Bella said. "On the following grounds - no boys, no booze or pot or God forbid anything harder."

"Bella, we don't," I started, shocked that she would even think that.

"No leaving the house," Bella continued, "and wandering over to the graveyard, or pulling Halloween pranks on the neighbors."

"Then I can go?" I asked, practically quivering.

"I'll consider it," Bella said again. 

"Forget it," I huffed. "You're just going to say no anyway. I'm just going to my room... alone, where I will live as a cloistered nun for the rest of my life."

"Cassandra," Bella said, equally exasperated.

"Let her go. She needs to cool off and you need to 'consider,'" My father said soothingly, adding to his chess partner, "Check."

"If you don't mind an old man's opinion, Bella," Count Straud put in, "I have two daughters of my own - Lilith and Marie-Belle. Head-strong and rebellious, both of them... though in very different ways. Still, sometimes we need to give our children the freedom of their little rebellions. They grow stronger for it."

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"Wait, wait, wait," Miranda said. "Count Straud? Vlad Straud? Vlad Straud, the master vampire who had just wiped-out Gwen's family and has tried to kill us all! Vlad Staud was in your living room, playing chess with your father?!" 

"Yes," Cassie nodded.

"What?" Mariah gasped.

"He and my father were good friends," Cassie said. "At the time, I had no idea he was anything but a slightly odd old man. Yes, he'd been giving me increasingly creepy looks since I'd grown boobs... but honestly, that was true of most of my father's friends. 

"Looking back, I think my father knew Vlad was a vampire," Cassie continued, "but for whatever reason he wasn't worried that his old friend might eat his family. I have no idea what Bella knew or guessed at the time. She did keep close to me whenever he was in the same room as I was, but I put that down to his creepy looks and her overprotectiveness.

"Honestly, I'm amazed that we avoided a disaster that night. If, as I now believe, Vlad was in Willow Creek looking for the daughter of Ari Silveroak, all it would have taken was one wrong word from any of us, one probing question from him, and he would have found her. If I'd just said Gwen's name out loud, he might have guessed. God, I must have been thinking of her so loudly I'm surprised he didn't pluck it from my mind. I don't know what fate or luck protected us that night, but I'm glad of it."

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 15

"It wasn't exactly the high point in our budding relationship," Cassie said wryly. "But, running away from the park... from Gwen and from the raven's message... I was about to learn that some things really are inescapable."

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Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

I took a back way home from the park, wanting to avoid anyone and everyone.

Ophilia Villa is no less impressive from the back - a huge, old house of dark brick, complete with looming gargoyles, added by some ancestor of mine who clearly felt that brooding old mansion somehow wasn't sufficiently playing into the family mystique, and the tower. I thought of it as my tower, because it held the music room and above that the room my father and I used for our séances. 

Ravens were circling the tower. 

Do you know what they call a group of ravens? An unkindness. 

An unkindness of ravens circled my tower, calling out in their raucous voices, "Cas. Cas. Cas!"

How can I describe how I felt then? Cold. Numb. Afraid. 

The anger that had sent me running from the park was gone. The feeling of betrayal - that the raven had delivered my mother's long hoped for message to Gwen and not to me - flared again briefly and died, unable to endure against the summons of the Unkindness.

And it was a summons, calling me up the broad stairs that led to the family rooms, then up the narrower stairway to the attic (where Alexander and Edwards had their rooms) and to the highest tower room.

The séance room.

My father had never advertised his spiritual skills. He probably could have and been famous for them. He was as skilled and talented a medium as I have ever known, with a powerful connection to the spirits of the Netherworld. Still, he preferred his books. His powers were chiefly reserved for himself, his family and his own private insights into what lay Beyond.

He always said I had inherited his talent. That room was ours, where he taught me what he knew about the spirit world and how to reach it.

When Gwen had mentioned my mother's book, I'd known immediately what she meant. If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have remembered that Gwen couldn't have. It was something my father and I didn't talk about. 

Mother's book - my father called it her Book of Shadows - had stood in the corner of the séance room for as long as I could remember. Once when I was a little, I had tried to look in it. I remember my father had found me, laying on the ground near it and he scolded me very sternly (which was unusual for him). He said I wasn't old enough for that book. 

I had ignored it ever since, at times genuinely forgetting the significance of that dusty old book in the corner.

Now, with Unkindness still calling my name overhead, it seemed to be the only thing in the room that mattered.

Hesitating, I went to the book and looked at its pages for the first time since I was a child. Those pages were thick and old, smelling of dust and old secrets. The writing, and it was hand-written, was neat calligraphy like some medieval manuscript and decorated in the same way.

Did the Unkindness really go silent as I looked down at the book, or did I just imagine they did? I can't be sure. 

I do remember the first words that I read from that book. My eyes were drawn to the margins of the page where, like a student writing notes in the margins of a textbook, someone had added to the text. My eyes were drawn to my name. 

My dearest Cassandra, I wish with all my heart that I may yet escape the Doom that is laid on me. I wish that I could watch you grow into the brilliant young woman I know you will become, and that we may read these words together and be glad of it. But I think I cannot escape Fate, not even for my wonderful daughter. So, I leave you this book, with all my love. The secrets within are your birthright. Learn them well and become the great woman I know you will be.

- Your mother, Victoria

I turned to the main text of the page, still written in my mother's elegant hand, and read:

Here begins the First Lesson. You must find your center.

Feel the wind, blowing over you. 

Listen to the water, flowing by. 

Smell the green grass as it grows. 

Be warmed by the Sun and touch the memories of the Moon.

"That's what Gwen said," I whispered to myself. "That's the meditation her mother taught her, for her painting."

Following that came a string of words in a language I didn't know, but which seemed familiar to me, like I remembered them from a dream, Somehow, I really didn't think this was about painting.

Stepping back, I focused on the words of the mediation. Even inside, I imagined I could feel the wind, hear the water, smell the grass. 

I should have felt foolish, reciting those strange, unknown words, but I didn't. It felt as if the words were flowing through me. As if the wind and water moved with those words.

I felt wonder.

It was magic, answering my call for the very first time.

The feeling of it is almost indescribable. It is like the first time I stepped on stage and played to a cheering crowd, like the first kiss of love or the first embrace of passion. It was thrilling and frightening. It was life changing. 

Centered and full of my awakening power, I cast very my first spell.

I set fire to the séance room.

Really, my mother needed to write her instructions much more clearly. Actually telling me what the spell did before the incantation would have been helpful. (Through the whole of her Book of Shadows she never did, and I quickly learned to read all of the instructions before trying the spells.)

As the fire spread across the floor, I must have cried out because suddenly Edwards came running in. (His rooms were just across the hall, and he must have been resting before preparing dinner.) 

I just stood there dumbfounded, just watching the fire - the fire I had conjured - grow. As quickly as Edwards appeared, he dashed out again and came back with a fire extinguisher. He certainly saved the room and probably me too.

"How did that happen?" Edwards asked me, sounding more shocked than accusing. 

"I... it just..." I stammered. "I was looking in my mother's book and then the fire just started."

"Aye yes, that book," Edwards said knowingly. "I tried to dust it once, when I first started here. I had blisters on my fingers for a week. There are many strange things in this room, cher, but I think that book is the strangest."

As he spoke, I remembered suddenly being a child, my little hands blistered from where I had touched the book, while my father scolded me and told me the book was not for me. Not yet. 

Not until today. 

"I... I'm sorry," I said. "About the fire. I didn't mean to..."

"Maybe you be careful around that book in future," Edwards smiled, "and maybe we keep a fire extinguisher in here, too. Just in case."

"I wouldn't..." I started.

"Aye yes, but you didn't mean to this time either," Edwards pointed out. 'I have eyes, cher. I can read while I dust. I know that your mother meant that book for you. I think she kept it safe for you, until you were ready. You be careful with it, but don't be afraid. Never be afraid of being great."