Divination (Spells and Sins)

Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

"In magic, as in life, intention defines outcome."

Lunara

“ T his place definitely looks historical.” The aging brick crumbling at the corners gave me pause. If the exterior was in such bad shape, there was no telling what the interior would look like. Elysia and I could very well be putting ourselves in danger if the inside looked as dilapidated as the exterior.

Even in Faerie, we made sure to keep up with our homes. If not, the elements made sure to sneak in and ruin things.

Elysia chuckled. “Yeah, it looks more like a home for the elderly.” As she located a parking spot, she added, “Actually, I think it might have been one previously.” She parked and got out, staring up at the structure that had seen better days.

The gutter on the right side hung lower than the rest and the front window had a crack in the corner. The closer I looked, the more I found wrong with the facade.

As I climbed out of the car, my concerns turned to those who worked inside. The evenings had a bite and would be turning bitter cold soon, so I hoped they were going to get the imperfections fixed before winter moved in.

I sauntered up next to Elysia on the sidewalk. “Hopefully, they take better care of the things inside than they do the outside.”

She shrugged. “We’re a small town with an even smaller budget.”

I laced my fingers with hers. “Maybe you should come to Faerie with me when this is all over.”

“To visit?” she asked.

It was my turn to shrug. “Maybe? Maybe not.” I winked and tugged her toward the front door of the historical society. “Let’s go check out some blueprints.”

My heart raced as we entered the building. Each step forward was a moment closer to finding the orb and my return to Faerie. Could I convince Elysia to go with me? Would she be happy there? Hell, would I still be content with my life in a place that ridiculed me?

While returning didn’t sound the most appealing right now, I wasn’t sure staying was a better option; not with the disdain Morgana seemingly expressed to Elysia.

Maybe if we just lived out on our own like Elysia did now, we could focus on the two of us, tucked away from society and living our best life.

At the front desk, Elysia pulled over a worn notebook and jotted down her name on an empty line, then slid it over to me. “We both have to sign in.”

“What?”

“It’s a visitors log.” She held out the pen to me that was chained to the desk.

Signing my name, I set the pen down. “Makes me wanna steal the pen out of spite.”

Elysia snorted. “Be good,” then took my hand in hers again.

I snickered, running my thumb along the back of her hand. Stealing the pen was the least naughty thing I had planned where Elysia was concerned. But those thoughts needed to wait. We were on a mission, and I needed to point all of my thoughts toward finding the blueprint before I made another move on Elysia.

We were just about to step away from the desk when an older woman approached, her curly dark hair was like heavy curtains at the edges of her face, almost covering her dark brown eyes.

“Can I help you?” Her eyes drifted down to our joined hands with a skeptical scowl that had Elysia easing her hand from mine.

“Hey, Serena.” Elysia took a step towards the counter before resting her elbow on the surface. “Morgana said to let you know she’s got that poultice ready for you.”

Serena’s assessing gaze made me tense, but I tried to shake it off as I scanned the nearby bookshelves full of ancient looking texts.

“I’ll have to stop by after work.” Serena’s response should’ve eased my anxiety, but the way she spoke through a clenched jaw only made me more restless.

“Give her a call first. We’ve had some…” Elysia paused to bite her lip before she continued, “...issues that may keep her away from the house today.”

“Will do.”

As I glanced in Serena’s direction, I didn’t miss the judgmental stare she tossed my way. Did she know who, or what, I was? Was the animosity I felt because Elysia and I had been holding hands, or was she more than just another human in this realm?

“You ready?” Elysia asked, pulling me from my troubling thoughts.

I nodded, following a couple feet behind her as she headed deeper into the historical society. Thankfully the interior didn’t seem in as bad of disrepair as the exterior. It was a small miracle.

The dust, however, was stifling. Every breath I took was filled with the musty scent that nearly sent me into a coughing fit. “Let’s find that blueprint and get out of here as quick as we can.”

“Fine by me.” Elysia’s smile was enough to pull me out of my anxious funk.

We seemed to set out at a snail’s pace, scanning the various contents of the historical society until we came to a room with some of the larger texts. One massive bookcase full of long rolled up documents caught my eye, and I felt a pull that said I was headed in the right direction.

“Over here,” I called without ever looking back to see if Elysia followed. As I pulled the first roll from the shelf, I unwound the paper and found a blueprint inside. Unfortunately, this one was for the courthouse in the center of town; not the clock tower.

“What’d you find?” Elysia nestled in behind me, leaning so close that her body heat radiated into mine.

“It’s not the right blueprint, but at least it appears we’re moving in the right direction.” I rolled it back up, a little more haphazard than I found it and hurried onto the next.

Elysia headed to the opposite end of the bookcase, starting at the top as she began to unroll one of the blueprints to examine it. Roll after roll, we searched for the mysterious clock tower’s blueprint, but as Elysia and I grew closer and closer in our search, I started to fear it wasn’t here.

There was only one column of shelves left to search and I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Do you think there’s somewhere else it could be?”

Elysia held an unfurled blueprint in her hands, studying the contents with a curious expression on her face.

“Did you find it?” I tucked the latest roll back in its spot as I headed Elysia’s way.

“Why would the blueprints for Morgana’s house be here?” She carried the drawing to a shorter set of shelves and flattened it on the surface. “This is strange.” Elysia seemed enamored by one portion of the draft in particular.

“What?” I peered over her shoulder, wondering what she’d found.

“There’s a room drawn on the second floor that no longer exists.” She leaned closer, studying the measurements and exact location of the door.

“Maybe they decided not to add it to the floor plan.” What other explanation could there be? Surely Elysia’s been in every inch of that house, so she’d know if it was still there.

“I wonder if Morgana knows about these plans.” While I appreciated Elysia’s curiosity, time was of the essence and we came here in search of one blueprint in particular.

As I turned back toward the collection of blueprints, I noticed the clock on the wall. “We better finish going through these rolls before this place closes.”

Elysia curled Morgana’s blueprints back up, but the lines at the corners of her eyes told me she was still unresolved about that mysterious room, real or not. Hesitantly, she reached for the tube, looking as if she’d pick it up to return it to its spot, but then left it where it lay.

“You good?” I asked as she wavered in place, her eyes glued to that document.

“Huh?” As if emerging from a trance, she looked at me, blinking the confusion from her eyes.

“Just one section to go. You coming?” If we were going to look through every last one of these before closing, I was going to need her help.

“Yeah.” She took one last look at Morgana’s plans then joined me at the shelves, taking a seat on the floor as she started at the bottom.

I pulled the first roll from the top shelf, noticing the tattered edges and stained paper as I carefully opened it. With every inch, I feared the paper would crumple in my hands. Holding my breath, I opened the document and studied the contents.

The Crystal Lantern

The letters were harder to read, written in an old English style, but as I realized what the letters said, a distant memory came to mind; one where the elders discussed what I’d assumed was an object at the time, but suddenly made so much more sense, knowing it was an actual business from yesteryear.

“Did you find it?” Elysia asked, as she returned one of the drafts back to the shelf.

I shook my head, still studying the plans and spotted a pair of runes at the bottom of the page. As I ran my thumb over the symbols, I marveled as words began to appear surrounding the outer walls of the drawing. “What the heck?”