Page 43 of Mochas and Minotaurs

“Talk to me, Kitten.” I felt useless. How could I fight something I couldn’t even detect? “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think so. I’m just trying to get over that vile feeling.” She blew out a breath. “It felt like the world was ending. It was dreadful, and it fucking sucked.”

In her arms, Triscuit perked up. “Focking Socks! Focking Socks! Focking Socks!” He sounded just like Gigi.

“Oh no!” Gigi grumbled. But it had lightened the mood, and Gigi was already looking much more relaxed, and my need to go fight some invisible foe waned.

“Oh no!” Triscuit mocked. “Stop it! Stop it!”

I grinned. “He already knows what you’re going to say.”

“Yeah. He thinks if he says it first, then I can’t say it.”

“Focking Socks!”

Gigi put Triscuit back into his cage, and he complained by screaming the line several more times at the top of his lungs, which was quite a bit more powerful than a creature his size should have the right to be.

Gigi made her way into her second bedroom, which she used as a spare room and a mini library full of books. She stood in front of one of the bookcases and scanned the spines.

“Well, the good thing is I think we found it. But we need to be careful. The spell on it is strong, and it didn't really start affecting me until I realized we weren’t seeing the same thing. Like it knows.” She turned and frowned at me. “Did you not feel an overwhelming sense of doom when you saw the empty spot on the wall?”

“No, not at all.”

“Hmm. I wonder if that means whatever it is wants to convince me it’s not there but doesn’t care about you.”

“It took me a while to find it too. And I looked in that area before. The first time, remember? I took that side of the room. I still missed it.”

“It might be two separate spells. One could be something like a look-away spell. Those are not targeted and have a certain area of effect instead, so it affects both of us. But the magic making me scaredistargeted if you’re not feeling it, but I am.” She rubbed the goosebumps on her arm.

“Now that I’m away from it, I realize it is irrational. There was nothing to be afraid of. If it was really dangerous, it wouldn’t need to trick me with a spell.”

“I don’t like how you’re talking about whatever we’re looking for like it’s alive.”

“You’re right. They could be spells put there by the witch who’d lived here. If it only uses power when it’s active, like trying to stop us from seeing it or scaring me, she could have left a source of magic for it so it would work long after she was gone. Or she could have set it to use whatever source of magic that was nearby. Like me. Ah, there it is.”

She picked up a book and flipped through it before repeating the incantation on a page that had a lion on it. I couldn’t feel anything happening, but something must have happened because she seemed quite pleased with herself.

“Okay,” she said resolutely. “I think I can do it now. Let’s go back down there and see what we find.”

“What did you just cast?”

She grinned sheepishly at me. “The spell is calledLionhearted. I borrowed some courage.”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t last long. And it could become a crutch and have negative side effects if used too often. But it’s safe to use once in a while. Come on, let’s go before it wears out.”

“Are you sure?” I didn’t like how terrified she was.

“Yeah, I am. That fear was completely irrational. There is nothing to support it. It was clearly put there to convince me I didn’t want to look at or even be anywhere near it. It was fucking with my brain, trying to control me with fear.” She looked angry.

“And that only pissed you off.”

“Damn right it did! Don’t fuck with my brain or tell me what to think. It was the wrong spell to use if they wanted me to leave it alone. Plus, I’m a hell of a lot more curious now. I want to know what it’s hiding.”

Her sudden bravery was affecting me as well. We could do this. Together.

“Alright then, Kitten. Lead the way.”

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