Storm Of Magick Part 19

Little white dots danced in front of my eyes. I clawed and pulled at Alex's hand. From out of nowhere, Paris tackled Alex, forcing him to release me. They fell into a heap on the floor with Jarod. I took a gasping breath. If it weren't for Ronan holding me around my waist, I would've fallen.

With a movement of Ronan's hand, Alex froze. Ronan was learning to control his new ability quickly, and I was impressed. If someone already has magickal abilities, they learn new abilities at a remarkable rate.

"The magick in Alex has to be bound. After that he will have to find someone to help him control his new powers," I said in a raspy voice. That was twice in one d.a.m.n night someone had tried to choke me. My throat hurt and I knew I had already had a bruise. I mark up very easily. I could just imagine how my neck looked.

I stepped away from Ronan. I don't like feeling vulnerable. "Okay, I'm going to need a white ribbon, a picture of Alex, and a white envelope," I said, looking at Paris.

"Those items can be found in the library," Ronan said.

Paris got to his feet and left the room. Ronan and Jarod got Alex into a chair. I whispered a sleep spell over him. I needed to keep him knocked out so I could complete the binding. Plus, I didn't want to worry about him trying to kill me. He tended to do that when he was awake.

"What can be expected after the binding? I mean, how long will it take for Alex to get back to normal?" Jarod asked. I appreciated him not pointing any fingers at me.

"It's immediate. I'm not sure how long the binding will last though. In theory it could last a lifetime, but there's no way to be sure," I said.

I took a couple steps back. I needed a little s.p.a.ce between me and the man who kept attacking me. Just call me cautious. I adjusted my trench and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.

Ronan walked to me. "You know, you can take the magick you gave Alex away and put it into someone else," he said, face empty.

"And you know as well as I do that could kill him," I snapped. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Before I could scold Ronan for the comment, Paris returned with the things I asked for. Ailin followed Paris into the room. He, like Ronan, didn't look any worse for wear, though they both looked weaker and paler than usual.

"Have you two fed recently?" I asked, but I already knew the answer. They didn't have their magickal glow about them. Not only that, but their magick frequency in my head felt weak.

"We will have to feed soon," Ronan explained.

"I think you need to feed now. I may need your help with the binding. For the best possible result, you will have to be at full strength," I said.

"She is correct," Ailin added, looking at me.

"We shall return as quickly as possible," Ronan said with a bow. He and Ailin pa.s.sed Lewis as they left the room. Lewis walked towards me.

"I thought you would like to know that the heart has been destroyed," he said. "And I'm taking the body to be destroyed right now."

"Thanks for letting me know I really appreciate it. When the body is destroyed, you can give the amulet to Ronan," I said with smile.

Lewis gave a slight bow of his head. The gesture looked out of place coming from him. He left the room, heading for the library. Paris walked towards me and stopped just shy of touching me. The surge had been quiet, but why tempt fate? Right.

"You know, I just thought. What about Frost and the Dracae?" Paris reminded me. "What will they do now Palmira's dead?"

He was right: neither of them came here with her. It would be nice if they just cut their losses and left town. But, for the Dracae, I didn't think it would be that easy.

"I don't know if the creature can just go back to where it came from. It had to be summoned here by someone, so there must be a ritual to put it back," I said.

I needed to contact the Keeper, who I hadn't seen for at least a day, maybe two. Lewis, with Connor's help, carried Palmira's body through. They had to go through the living room to take the body wherever it was going, and again I really didn't need to know the details.

"How long will Alex stay out?" Jarod asked, hovering around his King as he had all evening.

"I could keep him out for a few days if I had to," I answered, thinking to myself that it might be a good idea to let him sleep for a month. Yeah, him and Sleeping Beauty.

Jarod looked a little relieved. He wouldn't have to wrestle with his King anymore tonight. Well, that's the theory anyways. From out of nowhere, I smelled the fragrance of lilacs. I love that smell.

"Witch, I wish to be put back into my slumber. I was awakened four thousand years too early," the Dracae said in his now-familiar low voice. It was sad that I was getting used to people popping into my head to talk to me.

"Where and how?" I asked.

"One task at a time. When you are finished with a couple more duties, we will talk," the creature said, and then he was gone.

"Was that the Dracae? I smell lilacs," Paris said.

"Yeah, that was the creature. It wants me to put it back to where it came from. We need Caleb so he can help with the scrolls translation," I said.

"I'll go check on Blaze, see Doc, and bring Caleb back with me," Paris said.

"Great, thanks," I said, a tired smile on my face.

Paris left the room. A second later Ronan and Ailin returned. The last body was being taken away, but the clean up was far from over, there was plenty of blood to be scrubbed up.

At least the binding wouldn't take long. Most binding of power spells are simple. But, you need to have a certain level of magick to be able to do it well, at least for it to hold for any amount of time. Unless the witch you're binding is extremely powerful, you don't have to break out the heavy-duty spells. But, working with a bear king, I needed a little extra fire power - hence the vashon power jump, if I needed it.

"Are you ready?" Ronan asked me.

"Yes. I want to release him from his torture," I said, and that was exactly how I felt. I was single-handedly torturing Alex and I felt horrible about it.

I handed the small white envelope to Ronan. We moved to stand in front of Alex and I told Ronan what to say. We began to chant the spell. As usual when chanting a spell, it came faster and louder as we went on. While we chanted, I took the white ribbon and wrapped it around Alex's picture. The final stage was to seal the wrapped photo in the envelope.

"Now in theory, Alex will be back to normal. But just to be on the safe side, Jarod please stay close," I said, a sinking feeling in my gut.

I took a couple of steps back and said another spell. Alex started coming around and I wanted to give him some room. He opened his incredible blue eyes. He looked around as if he wasn't sure of what was going on, but as soon as he saw me, he jumped up and started for me.

"I'll kill you!" Alex yelled, his eyes wild.

Jarod had to reach over the high back chair to hold on to him, and let me tell you, Jarod is no small man. Yet Alex was flinging him around like he was nothing. It couldn't have been easy to hold on to him. I whispered the sleep spell again. Alex's body went limp and he fell back into the chair.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to pull out the big spells. His magick is like a powerful witch's," I said. I looked at him, puzzled. I felt s.h.i.+tty that this was happening to him, but in the back of my head, I couldn't help think it served him right.

"I think you have to do a blood potion. I will have Ailin look for such a spell in the library. We may have to piggy-back it on binding spell," Ronan suggested.

I rubbed my forehead. I was so getting a headache over this whole mess. Ailin glided to the corridor towards the library. I had a few minutes; so again, I decided to check on the wounded. Sometimes my worst quality was worrying about everyone around me.

"Jarod, stay with your King. I'll do my best to fix this," I said in a low voice. There was no way I was going to promise; because I wasn't a hundred percent, sure I could fix this.

I gave Alex one last look and walked towards the corridor. It went deeper into the Realm, and to my brother. The hall was quiet, far from the chaotic living room. I got close to where Blaze lay sleeping. Usually the doors were kept closed. But, doors to two of those rooms were open.

One of those rooms was where Blaze lay. I walked to the doorway and looked in to find Doc checking on Blaze. Caleb and Paris stood back out of Doc's way. Doc tended to get a little p.i.s.sy if people kept getting in his way.

"How's he doing, Doc?" I asked, watching him.

"He looks to be gaining his strength. He should be waking up soon," Doc explained.

I had a lot of questions, but I knew Doc probably couldn't answer them. As natural witches, we healed as fast as lycanthropes, almost. What I wanted to know was would there be any lasting effects from the loss of magick energy?

"How are these two?" I asked, jabbing my thumb towards Caleb and Paris.

"Well, Paris has a couple broken ribs. I wrapped his chest temporarily. But, other than that he'll be fine. Caleb is all healed," Doc said.

I heard walking in the corridor. I was pretty sure it was Connor. I walked towards the door but before I could stick my head out, I smelled sweet hyacinths, confirming who it was.

"Hey Connor, can you come here please?" I asked.

I went back to the middle of the room. Caleb was still in joggers and a t-s.h.i.+rt. He pulled his body out of the chair. "Paris was filling me in on the Ripper problem. He also said something about the scrolls," Caleb said. He looked like he felt better for moving around.

"I need you to get on the computer. Pull up any suspected unofficial victims of the Ripper. I want to know how many victims' people thought Jack the Ripper killed. Also on the scrolls, do you remember seeing anything about putting a Dracae back to wherever it came from?" I asked him.

"I'll have to check my notes on the scrolls. I'll get started right now," he said. He walked out and was gone.

I turned to Connor. Even after the slice and dice he'd pulled in the corridor, he wasn't b.l.o.o.d.y. I tuned into his magick frequency, and it totally freaked me out. In my head, it sounded the same as mine and Blaze's frequency. I shook my head and looked at him.

"Logan, are you okay?" Paris asked, taking a step towards me.

"I'm fine. Connor, would you stay with Blaze? Doc says he should be waking up soon. I really don't want him left alone," I said.

"Yes, I will stay and watch your brother," Connor said. He leaned against the wall, another strangely modern gesture. Old vashon are usually a proper bunch with customs and formalities.

"Thank you. Please come and get me when he wakes up," I said, heading for the door.

Connor gave a slight bow and I walked out. Everyone was acting a little too strangely for my taste tonight. Paris was right behind me. I had to go to Ronan's room to find the white card the Keeper gave to me. I opened the door to the white and gold room. As soon as I walked in, the scent of jasmine enveloped me.

"Do you know where the card the Keeper gave to me is?" I asked, looking around. The room was bigger than some apartments. I had no clue where to look. Paris walked around me to one of the clear plastic drawers. He opened the top drawer and pulled out the business card. I took it and put the card in my inside coat pocket.

"I felt magick earlier. Did you try a binding spell on Alex?" Paris asked.

"Yeah, but it didn't work. Ronan has Ailin looking for a stronger binding potion. A spell alone isn't strong enough. Ronan also suggested we piggy-back spells," I said. We started walking back to the living room.

"What do you think about piggy-backing spells? Is it common?" he asked me.

"I've never done it before but I know other witches that have. If I had my own Book of Shadows, I would be more comfortable. But, it can't wait, Paris. Alex is an insane lycan. I did it and I have to fix it," I said in a low voice.

We entered the living room. Only Jarod and Alex were there. "Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"In the library," Jarod said shortly.

I nodded and journeyed down the corridor to the library. I enjoyed the musty-smelling room. Anything was better than the copper scent of blood that seemed to linger in the living room. Someone had turned on the overhead lights, which brightened the room a h.e.l.l of a lot. I didn't even know there were overhead lights. One of the large bookcases had been tipped and leaned against the next one. The books toppled off and lay in a pile on the floor. There were papers strewn all over the floor. Some of the papers had Palmira's blood on them. I was surprised there wasn't a bigger mess, actually.

Caleb sat at the computer and every once in a while I heard the click of the mouse. Ronan and Ailin stood at the table, looking at a very thick old book.

"Find anything?" I asked, joining them.

"There is only this one," Ailin said, pointing at a spell. There was a potion that needed to be made. Ailin and Ronan informed me that it would be ready in about twenty minutes.

Chapter 22.

Ronan and Ailin left the room, heading to the kitchen to make the potion. A vashon doesn't need a kitchen to eat, but they sure as h.e.l.l need one to cook potions. I read the spell a couple of times silently to myself to familiarize myself with it. You never read a spell out loud, not unless you intend to use it. Witchcraft isn't something you dabble with.

Paris and Caleb had their noses stuck in the computer. I went to see what was so interesting - maybe they'd found something useful. "What are you two reading?" I asked, standing behind them.

"Well, after searching several websites, it seems there's a debate over several possible extra victims," Caleb explained. "One before the first known victim, and maybe thirteen victims after the last recorded one. Jack the Ripper is the most popular serial killer in history. Did you know that?"

"I'm thrilled that Jack's popular, but does it mention how the other victims were killed?" I asked, looking at the monitor.

"From what I can tell, a woman named Martha Tabram was killed several weeks before Mary Nichols. Martha was stabbed numerous times around the neck and private areas. Call me crazy but it sounds like the Ripper to me," Caleb said. When Caleb did research he totally geeked out, but in a good way.

"It sounds like the Ripper's style to me. As a matter of fact, it sounds a lot like the first victim. What about the scrolls?" I asked.

He got up, walked to one of the long wood tables, and started shuffling through the papers. "You may want to see this," he called to me.

Paris and I looked at each other and walked to the table where Caleb stood staring down. I looked down to find the Mannuz, the hooked shaped blade that Sam found. I looked around and counted all three scrolls sitting on the table.

"Well, I guess we don't have to worry about looking for those anymore," Paris stated.

"No, but after I put the Dracae back, the scrolls will have to be destroyed or locked away. I mean, I can't give those items back to Sam. She was almost killed over the d.a.m.n things. It's just something I can't chance," I said, wis.h.i.+ng that Sam never found them in the first place.

I took out the card that the Keeper gave me and studied the single word on it. 'Salus'. I focused and said it aloud. I wondered how long it would take for the Keeper to get a hold of me.

"What about your notes, Caleb?" I asked, still waiting for the information.

I don't know what Caleb felt or saw, but he shook as if he had a chill. He picked up a spiral notebook and flipped through several of the pages. He stopped on one page and started to read.

"To return the Dracae to wherever it came from, you'll need two major essentials to the ritual. A Shaman and a blue geode orb. Without those two specific items, it can't be done," he read.

I pulled my cell from my pocket. I needed to call Doyle and tell him that the Ripper was more than likely not done here after all. The Twilight Zone ring tone caught me off guard and I jumped. Yeah, I'm a big tough ghost hunter-witch.

"Logan Wolf," I answered.

"h.e.l.lo, Logan, it's the Keeper," he said.

"It's time to put the creature back," I said.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he said. The Keeper hung up and I was left with dead air as usual. I ended the call and then dialed Doyle. Don't you just love speed dial?

"Doyle," he said.