Page 37 of A Touch of Brimstone

The sympathy on her face made me question if I could rely on anything she told me regarding her prophecy. “It’s the burden of my magic. We can’t lie about our visions. Even if I wanted to, it’s not possible.”

I really needed to work on keeping my thoughts from showing on my face.

Her adherence to truth was the reason she was delaying answering me.

Damn. I’m going to die.

12

No, death would not be the end of this journey. I refused to accept that fate. But Nailah wasn’t going to give me a definite answer and seemed content with us remaining silent. I’d change whatever was necessary to give myself a new fate. I returned to my task of going through the books with a renewed determination and had finished all but three books by the time Dominic quietly returned.

Sliding into the chair next to me, he had a hard etch to his features. The deep brood in his eyes made holding his gaze much harder, and I was about to return to the books when I felt Nailah’s eyes boring into me. Even without seeing her do it, I would have known. The weight of it flowed over me like I was standing under a waterfall. It couldn’t be ignored. Her lips curved into a reassuring smile, uncoiling the tension in my chest at her evading my question.

“I don’t see your death,” she announced, standing. She and Dominic exchanged meaningful looks.

Even in my relief, I fixated on the ambiguity of her divination. She didn’t see my death today? Tomorrow? Seven days from now? What was the timeframe of this sight?

She gave Dominic’s arm a squeeze and exited before I could question her further. How did Dominic change my future?

“How far are you?” he asked.

“Just three more books.”

With quiet determination, he reviewed the spells I’d highlighted and transferred them to the notebook he’d used the other day. After he finished, he hastily scribbled spells on a separate page.

Ignoring me, he continued to work with the strained silence he exhibited earlier. He was focused, on a mission. An hour later he walked to the corner of the room, retrieved a cylindrical container, and opened it, spreading out an aged piece of vellum on the table.

“This will contain the spell here and hopefully direct me to its caster,” he told me.

Dominic had requested Nailah’s return after the second failed spell. Her presence did nothing to ease his tension or improve our success. By the fifteenth spell, Dominic was pushing the invocations out through clenched teeth.

“I’m about to do this spell,” he told her, pointing to a new spell.

“Like the other one, I don’t see anything.” She made another attempt to see the future success of the spell, then shook her head.

He nodded.

“I think there’s a protection spell entwined in the markings,” she informed him.

“I think so, too.”

The next spell he invoked caused lines to illuminate in a cycle of pale colors that eventually changed to bright orange. My finger felt like it was in a vice. I sucked in a ragged breath, convinced this was the one.

“Keep going,” I said in a strained voice when he hesitated. He continued. I’d never experienced acid being thrown on me, but I was sure it felt similar to this. Doubled over, I balled the other hand into a fist, waiting for the pain to subside.

It didn’t, but the spell fizzled like the others and I remained marked.

My breathing was rapid and my finger stung. I cradled my hand against my chest, the slightest movement sending sharp pain as if there was a strain in the joint or a break in the bone.

Dominic’s eyes lost some their intensity as he searched my face. His touch was featherlight as he took my hand into his. Coolness wrapped around my hand, and the pain lifted and receded. Tranquility overtook me, relaxing me to the point I could have slipped easily into sleep. The room no longer felt sentient. It felt comforting, airy, and cloudlike. I loved this easiness. The tension that had plagued me had uncoiled.

“You’re okay?” he inquired in a hushed voice. He’d moved closer and I resisted the urge to rest my forehead against his.

I nodded.

“Want to continue?”

Why not? The pain before wasn’t that bad. Before I could agree, Nailah intervened.

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