Page 125 of The Demon's Spell

Relief flooded my body as I took the Wand in my hand. “Thank you,” I told the tree.

The leaves above us shook, as if the tree was responding.

“We did it!” Talia cried. “How did we do it?”

“Nadine and I buried Cooper’s bones,” Lucas said. “We must’ve somehow proven ourselves to the tree. It must trust us to take care of the Wand.”

I held it out to Talia. “Here. It belongs to your Cast.”

“This means we can get out of here!” Grant cried. He picked Talia up and spun her around in celebration, and she laughed as she held the Seer Wand over her head.

Lucas and I hugged, and Cooper gave Miles a high-five that never quite touched him. I could hardly believe we’d done it. Everyone laughed in relief.

“Awesome,” Miles said once the celebrations settled. “Can we do the spell now?”

“Yes!” Talia held up the Wand, and we all watched on curiously, waiting for something to happen. When Grant had used the Alchemy Wand, magic had twisted up his arm and glowed green.

But when Talia tried it… nothing happened.

She furrowed her brow. “It’s not working!”

“It’s a fake?” Cooper asked.

Talia shook her head, and I could see the heartbreak in her eyes. “The Wand has to choose you. We banked our whole plan on it choosing us. We proved ourselves to the tree, but not to the Wand.”

My stomach sank, because I couldn’t imagine why the Seer Wand wouldn’t choose her. Talia was one of the most honest, caring people I knew. She was brave and had a kind heart. Why wouldn’t the Wand want to work with her?

The silence within the forest was deafening.

Talia turned to Miles. “You’re a Seer, too. You should try it.”

He looked skeptical. “If it didn’t choose you…”

“It’s worth a shot,” I said, though I still couldn’t wrap my head around the Wand rejecting Talia.

Miles took the Wand from her. I held my breath, expecting something to happen. I could feel Lucas stiffen beside me. But several long moments passed, and nothing happened.

“I don’t feel anything,” Miles said, sounding defeated. He handed the Wand back to Talia.

“It’s hopeless?” Talia’s voice cracked.

“No,” Lucas protested. “It’s not. We’re getting out of here.”

“But how?” Grant asked. “Without a Mentalist or the power from the Seer Wand, we don’t have enough power to stabilize the spell. The only thing we can do is sit around and wait for the doorway to open again.”

“That could take years down here,” Lucas pointed out. He tried to mask the panic in his tone, but I still picked up on it. “We’re out of food. We don’t have the luxury of waiting. I say we try the spell anyway. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”

“Your friend is right,” Cooper said. “You never know when the doorway will open. A day up there could be anywhere from hours to months down here. You’re running out of time. You should at least try your spell.”

I was skeptical, but without the help of the Wand, we were out of options. “Okay, let’s try it. Everyone, grab hands.”

As we all joined hands, I felt the collective buzz of my friends’ magic surrounding me. “Lend me your magic, and I’ll do the rest, all right?”

They all nodded, and their magic began sweeping through me, traveling around our circle chaotically. We were powerful, but not nearly as powerful as when I performed spells with the priestesses. The power of all five Casts was unmatched… I hoped four Casts was enough.

I closed my eyes and focused on the magic surrounding me, stabilizing it until it flowed smoothly through our circle. Once I was confident our power was in sync, I began citing the incantation I’d learned for space-bending spells. As soon as the spell took hold, I’d be able to manipulate the stairwell to my will and stabilize its energy.

“Da mihi potestatem spatio,” I concluded in Latin, the language of our ancient spells.

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