“Harris?” called a British-accented voice from the front door.
“In here!” I shouted.
Seconds later, a woman with thick, wavy strawberry blonde hair, a face full of freckles, and dressed in a patterned maxi dress appeared. “Oh, my goddess,” she cried, racing to us. She immediately dug into a pouch at her hip, bringing out a vial and opening it. She then sprinkled the liquid over us as she recited what sounded like a spell.
Although Camilla’s writhing had subsided, her face was still scrunched in pain, her eyes closed. I pressed her tighter to me,rubbing her arm in my best attempt to soothe her. “What’s happening, Kaylor?”
My witch on retainer looked between us with wide green eyes, her hands pushed out. “Magic. Death magic. It seems someone put a spell on you to kill you.”
I growled in frustration. This had to be an enemy. I thought things were getting better. Safer for her. “Both of us were bespelled?”
Kaylor nodded and bent down in front of us. She brushed a hand over Camilla’s face, and seconds later, she opened her eyes. Her breath had slowed down, and she seemed much calmer.
Kaylor shook her head. “But, Harris, I didn’t break the spell. It’s still there. I just paused your pain so I can figure out what’s happening. Do you know who could have done this?”
“I have a couple of enemies still around.” I kept my eyes on Camilla, who wordlessly listened to us. She looked so weak, exhausted. I felt the same, but hated seeing her this way. This was the very thing I wanted to avoid.
Kaylor pulled out another object from her pouch, which appeared to be a crystal, and hovered it over us. “What about her?”
Camilla rolled her forehead into my chest, and I heard her release a slow groan. “I don’t have any enemies. At least none that would do this,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
“How do you feel?” I asked, brushing several of her braids away from her shoulder.
“Like I was hit by a car and then backed over and then run over again. But it was getting better before you came. As soon as Harris hugged me.”
Kaylor arched a brow. “Intriguing. You may be the unlucky recipient of a spell most likely made for Harris. Death magic can be spell-based or food-based. Did you eat anything recently? Ittakes almost an immediate effect. Just like for Snow White when she ate the poisoned apple.”
I shook my head. “No, we didn’t eat. We just ran into each other, not even an hour ago.”
Kaylor narrowed her eyes. “Tell me everything that happened.”
I recapped our painful puppetry for her, leaving out the part where I was already at Camilla’s cottage and was jogging discretely in her vicinity as she rode her bike like a child new to riding. She really should have just walked, she was so slow. “We then came here and talked for a while. Everything was fine until I stepped outside and closed the door. Then, not even a minute later, pure pain.”
Camilla sat up, still allowing me to wrap her in my arms. “It was weird, but then it quickly went away. Like my whole body was vibrating.”
I furrowed my brows, irritation growing. “I felt the same.”
Kaylor rubbed her chin. “That was the magic. I desperately hate death magic. Any kind of dark magic is a challenge. It requires a lot to use and a lot to break. Technically, you both should be dead by now. However, this magic seems slow-moving.”
Camilla gasped. “So, we’re dying?”
“Yes, but not right now.”
“What doesnot right nowmean?”
Kaylor looked helplessly between the two of us. “I’m sorry. I don’t honestly know. Slow death magic, usually because the welder was weak or didn’t sacrifice enough, can take a few months at the longest. But you just don’t know. What I find curious is that you didn’t both feel pain until you separated. Now that could have been a coincidence, but I don’t like to assume things.” She looked to Camilla. “I’m Kaylor, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Camilla.”
“Hi, Camilla. I’m a witch. What are you? I can feel your aura, and it is chock full of magic.”
“I’m half elf, half mage. Realm mage.”
Kaylor lifted an index finger, brows raised. “Ah, makes sense. Realm magic is quite beneficial. Conjuring, potions, teleportation. You breathe it. Don’t even need spells when you’re a mage.”
I adjusted, wanting to get us off the floor. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that perhaps the death magic isn’t working the way it was meant to because of your lady friend’s magical aura. It dulled its effects.”
