I eye her dubiously. “Are you sure? This will be unpleasant.”
“I’m your guinea pig. Lay it on me,” she confirms.
Niven nods hesitantly, eyes darting between me and Esmeralda.
The expert steps forward and picks up the Forged Ruby. “Ready?” he asks both of us. “This is completely untested. I’ve used relics before, but they’re all a little different. If I’m being frank, this may knock you on your ass, Esmeralda.”
Both of us voice our agreement. The rest of the group steps back to give us plenty of space, though a couple are positioned behind Esmeralda to catch her if she falls. The glow inside the red gem pulses malevolently as the witch whispers some words that seem to activate it. “Just telling it my intent to drain her magick,” he tells the crowd.
His focus returns to the gem and Esmeralda. I sense the source of power stretching itself. It is easy to differentiate Esmeralda’s magick from it. I draw from the threads of the fae magick as they extend from the enchantment into Esmeralda and direct them into the quartz around my wrist. When she shudders and starts to sway on her feet, the witch whispers again and the glow of the gem returns to its normal state. The two nearby witches rush to her side and help her to a chair.
“Wow, that’s strong stuff!” she declares. “The fae weren’t messing around when they made that. It took less than a minute to drain most of my magick. I feel exhausted, but not ill. This isn’t something I’d want to do every day, but I’m okay.” She holds her hands out in a reassuring gesture.
Niven comes over to her and pats her shoulder in a friendly gesture. “Thank you, Esmeralda. This test will make tomorrow go that much smoother. Would you like any coffee or water? Some food?”
“No, I’m alright,” she assures him. “Just no strenuous activity for me the rest of the day.” She gives Niven a lighthearted smile and a thumbs up that he returns.
Niven addresses the group again. “Alright, I’d say that was successful. Tomorrow we’ll absorb magick from the rest of thecoven, whoever is willing to help. We need a strong burst of it to flow into Ada. The power of her entire coven if possible.”
The witch who volunteered them earlier takes out her phone. “What time do you want them here?” she asks.
“We’ll take them in shifts starting at eight in the morning. We’ll take every step of this very slowly. We don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he announces.
The witch nods and turns around to make a phone call.
“Well, it looks like we’ll have a lot of guests tomorrow,” Ada jokes as she walks up beside me.
“Everyone wants to see you healthy and recovered.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her close.
“I know. I’m grateful for the lengths everyone has gone for me. And especially you. Thank you,” she says, her voice muffled by the pelt on my chest, where she rests her head.
Ada, Walt, Acton, and I move into the kitchen to talk. The witches and Elgar are still fussing over the relics, figuring out the least dangerous way to use the crown. We leave them to it as Walt and Ada need to discuss Acton’s decision.
Walt takes Acton’s hands in his and gazes at him. Acton leans forward and rests his forehead on his mate’s. “My bluebell, this is decided. My selfishness dictates it. I want both of you in my life as long as possible.”
“Acton, petal, what if it hurts you? I couldn’t stand it if anything happened,” Walt argues.
“There is great reward in this risk. The yetis and witches are very capable. They will not let it get to that point,” he maintains.
“It seems like the magick boost will enough,” Ada insists.
“It may not. Even the fae believed both would be needed to cure you of its evil spell. It was compelled to tell Niven the truth.” Acton is undeterred.
“Nothing to do with the fae and their magick is straightforward in this realm. But Niven is confident in what the fae revealed,” I add.
“What even islife force? Is it the body’s natural aging process? This is all too theoretical for me. I don’t want to change who I am or who Ada is,” Walt worries. “Is it something unique and fundamental to each of us like a soul?”
Acton carefully considers his response, tilting his head in thought. “My small amount of magick is tied to Mother Earth and the nature she commands, the life that grows from the ground and everything it nourishes and creates. What I’ve come to understand is that the origin of life and magick within all of us and everything that is known as life force is not unique, like the human concept of a soul would be. It’s another building block of nature. Ours is the same, I just have more to sustain me over a much longer lifetime. Even the fae shares it, so it seems.”
I will relate this explanation to Niven since life force seems an archaic topic even among witches. It is a small comfort knowing witches must have long ago shunned this topic and any attempts to manipulate it within themselves and others.
“I don’t like it, but I know I won’t change your mind,” Walt says ruefully, pulling Acton into an embrace.
“Don’t worry overmuch for Acton,” I soothe Ada. “I will make sure nothing happens to him. I would break the relic before I let it harm him.”
Her eyes look sad when they meet mine. I crowd her against the kitchen counter where she was leaning, wrapping my arms around her possessively.
She nods her head into my shoulder. “It still makes me nervous, but I trust you.”
