Page 67 of Magical Mayhem
My stomach clenched. “Nova, I don’t want to—”
“You fear looking,” she said, not unkindly. “That is wise. But fear alone does not defend. The book cannot sway a heart rooted in light. Yours is very much the light in the darkness, Hedge Witch.”
I shook my head, nerves fluttering. “I’ve made enough mistakes to know that’s not always true.”
Her mouth curved, not into a smile but into something gentler. “Purity is not perfection, child. It is intention. You carry enough love and loyalty to shield yourself from harm. You will not be swayed.”
I swallowed, staring at the book. It sat there, patient and waiting. The shadows outside pressed against the windows like nosy neighbors, eager for me to open it.
“Maeve.” Nova’s voice softened. “You must see what we are up against. Only then can you decide how to fight it.”
My breath shook, but I nodded. “Alright.”
Her hands worked the clasp, metal scraping faintly. With a creak that sounded more like a sigh, she cracked the book open.
The lanterns dimmed in reverence.
Or fear…
The crystals on the shelves thrummed louder, some flaring bright, others flickering uneasily.
And I… I was stunned.
The pages weren’t made of ink and parchment, but something stranger and quite alive.
Symbols crawled across the surface like vines, glowing faintly crimson. They shifted when I looked at them too long, forming shapes…wolves with eyes like burning coals, wingsmade of smoke, faces half-hidden behind masks of shadow. Spells were written in words that pulsed and rearranged, as if testing whether I deserved to read them.
Images bloomed, flickering like memories not my own.
I spotted a man standing beneath a sky torn open by fire, which transformed into a circle of witches with blackened veins stretching up their arms, and finally, a creature rising from the Wilds, its antlers twisted into horns.
My breath caught. The power there was raw, dangerous, intoxicating, and terrifying all at once.
Nova watched me, calm but intent. “Do you see?”
I nodded, unable to look away. “It’s… it’s like the shadows outside. It’s the same energy. I feel darkness, but with...”
“Yes,” she interrupted. “This is not simple darkness. This is crafted. Fueled. And whoever is stirring the skies has found a way to drink from this well.”
“Malore.”
“We don’t know for sure, do we?” Her question stilled me.
The pages rippled under my gaze, as though the book itself recognized me. A single line of text brightened, words lifting from the page like smoke.
Balance requires darkness and light. The union of two creates a sacrifice of one to save the chosen.
The words seared into me, familiar in a way I didn’t understand. My heart thudded. “Nova—”
Sacrifice.
My mind flashed to Keegan…to Gideon, and to my dad or me.
She leaned closer, eyes narrowing. “What did it show you?”
I pointed with a trembling finger. The words faded as quickly as they’d come, leaving only shifting symbols in their place. “It said… balance requires dark and light.”
I didn’t tell her everything by choice, and I wouldn’t until I understood what the sacrifice meant.
