Page 56 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

Even with all my barriers in place, I could feel his fear and the way his heart was breaking as all the possibilities unfolded before him – possibilities that didn’t bear thinking about.

I stepped forward and pressed my hands on his shoulders. ‘There’s no real sign she’s here. A couple of powerful objects could have been taken by anyone. The fact that Dahlia is definitely alive… well, she’s been alive for the last decade and I’m still here. I’m not spending my life hiding from her. Ernie, you know I have to do this.’ I looked at him entreatingly. ‘But I could do with some help. I need to know how we destroy the cup and the Codex.’

‘I’m not sure about the cup – I need to look into it. We could try smashing it but the fact that it’s been around this long probably means it’s not that simple. But the Codex is easier. We’ll need witch fire – strong witch fire.’

Fuck. Today I’d been introduced to a fire witch and I’d royally pissed her off. The chances of her willingly helping me were slim to none.

Ernie continued. ‘I can find the incantations that you need and a potion to act as an accelerant, but you’ll need a fire witch to light the fuse.’

‘I’ll see what I can do,’ I said. ‘Yanni might know someone.’ Hopefully someone other than Farah.

‘I’ll prepare thosenow,’ he said. Panic was radiating from his body so forcefully that it was making the air tremble.

‘Ernie.’ I squeezed his shoulders again. ‘Ernie, I know you’re scared but, please, think logically. The items were stolen more than a week ago. Don’t you think that if Dahlia had them already she’d have increased her power and come for me?’

He nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. ‘Before you go, can I place a protection spell on you?’

‘What kind of protection spell?’ Between my parents binding me and Fraser’s pelt, I’d had way too much magic donetome, rather than donebyme.

‘It links your power to mine,’ he said. ‘It means you can draw on me if you need to.’

‘Ernie, I don’t want to draw on your power! I can barely handle my own.’

‘That’s the point. You are very, very powerful, Beatrix – at least you will be once you have control of your magic. But at the moment you haven’t got that. I have control of my magic and it is more malleable, more predictable than yours. Having access to it will help to control yours. You might not need it but it would be better to have it and not need it than the other wayaround.’

I had to admit that made sense. ‘Is there a downside for you?’

He hesitated for long enough that I knew there was. ‘Spill it, Grandad!’

He smiled. ‘That’s the first time you’ve ever called me grandad.’

‘It is. Don’t avoid the question, Gramps.’

He winced. ‘Maybe not Gramps? It makes me feel a hundred and I’m not even seventy.’

‘Ernie,’ I growled impatiently. ‘Tell me!’

‘It will drain me if I hold this protection over you for very long. But let me put it on you now and we can reassess things on a week-by-week basis.’

‘It won’t cause you permanent damage?’

‘No – and it’s entirely a one-way street. I won’t be able to access your magic. Please, read me if you need to. You’ll see that I’m not lying to you.’

‘I’m not going to do that.’

‘I need you to, and I think you do too. You need to read me to see that the power is there within you and it’s safe for you to use. You can’t be afraid of your powers or you’ll hesitate when you really need them. Doing that could condemn others, not just you.’

I was torn. Diving into someone’s head was something I’d promised myself I would never do again, but he wasright: this could be a life or death not just for me but a heap of other people, too.

‘I’ll do it,’ I whispered.

Ernie nodded and held out his hands. I took them in my own.

I was yanked into Ernie’s mind with a flash and a tug. This wasn’t like with Kaz, who had resisted me and tried to prevent me having access to her thoughts and memory. Ernie wanted me to see it all, to feel it all. It felt the same as when Fraser had showed me his moments with Lorenz: easy, willing, safe.

And then the memories started rolling. A flash of fear when Ernie had first seen my face, when I knocked on his door. Disbelief when we’d been in Sonny’s, and anger at himself after he had thrown Fraser across the café. The flood of relief when I’d brought Maddie to see him – not only because he knew he could save her but because he got to see me again, to tell me the truth. Through it all I felt pure, unconditional love that he’d been harbouring since the day of my birth, waiting for a chance for it to be released. A desire to do nothing but help me and keep me safe.

He wasn’t lying: that was what he wanted this spell for. And now, I needed to get the hell out of his thoughts while his mind was still intact.

---