Page 34 of Enspelled

“You think your friend killed her sister?” he asks in the same calm tone.

Is this sort of thing normal for him that he doesn’t seem the least bit fazed by it?

I peer over my shoulder, glaring when I see he hasn’t even moved. “I think Briar doesn’t have control of her gift, and if she feels threatened, that’s when she’s most likely to lash out at someone.”

“But she didn’t lash out at the bullies you told me about.” Curiosity creases his eyes.

“She was young then. Her powers have grown.”

I don’t always feel the magic in her, but sometimes I do, and it’s like no other power in Madden Grove. There’s no doubt in my mind that if she wanted to, she could flatten just about anyone in town with it.IncludingDiana Calla and Layla Markham.

He slow-blinks. “She blew up her house when she was eleven, and you’re telling me—”

“Look, that was the first spark. The first spark is always powerful. We don’t have time for this. Call Briar now.”

His gaze goes to the bag in my hand. “And what will you be doing?”

“Buying her some time.”

“By…?”

“Bodie,” I snap. “She’s in danger. Can you please just—”

He lifts both hands in the age-old symbol to stop. “Got it,” he says. “You really care about her that much, huh?”

“She’s my best friend. Of course I do.” Although he eyes me for a long moment, as if waiting for me to explain, now isn’t the time to go into all the reasons why I’m determined to help her. So I say nothing.

When he pulls my cell phone from the bedside drawer, I sink to my bedroom floor.

After placing a large circle of small rose quartz stones for protection around me, I sit cross-legged and empty the contents of the white fabric bag in front of me.

It’s been years since I used the contents to help Briar when the Calla sisters were being particularly vicious, but I’ve always been in the habit of purifying the stones and charms before putting them away.

Once I’ve laid out everything the way I want, I slip the necklace I wear—a tiny silver pentacle—over my head, conscious that Bodie is observing me.

“What’s with the necklace?” he asks.

“It was a present from Briar,” I murmur, laying it out flat on the woven cream rug. “I can use it to create a protection spell for her.”

“I thought you needed hair or something.”

“Hair can work.” I light the small white candle with a box of matches I keep in the bag. “But the necklace was expensive, so it must have taken her a long time to save up for it. Whether Briar knew it at the time, when she touched it, she left behind her love and her hope that it would make me happy. So now it contains a part of her essence.”

“And the stinky thing?”

I lift my head from the tiny glass jar secured with a wooden stopper to glare at Bodie, who isn’t even trying to hide his smile even as his nose twitches, reminding me just how sharp a wolf’s nose is. “A mix of herbs and oils with protective qualities. Rosemary, lavender, sea salt, black pepper, and marjoram, among other things.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “Sounds like it would make a great seasoning for steak.”

Shaking my head, I move the jar, a large amethyst stone, the candle, and my necklace into a position that feels right to me, but I don’t start yet.

The incantation I learned as I child is the most important ingredient, but first I need to be in the right frame of mind to do it. I have to push aside the doubt creeping in, because if a witch doesn’t believe her spell has power, it will have less. And I need this spell to be as strong as I can make it.

Before I begin, I lift my head and meet Bodie’s curious eyes. “This spell is going to take it out of me, so you’re going to take the spell to Briar while I recover.”

His gaze dips to the items in front of me. “And what will it do?”

“Itshould—emphasis on should here—make it harder for Georgia to use magic to track and hurt Briar. Since the protection spell will work better the closer to her it is, the best place for the necklace is around her neck.”

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