Divination (Spells and Sins)

Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

"To walk between worlds, one must first understand their own."

Elysia

“ W hat is it?” I asked, trying to lean my head into the hole next to hers, but I couldn’t manage a safe enough vantage point to not lose my balance and fall in.

Lunara tilted her head to look at me. “I—I think there’s a fae ley line running along the edge of this building, which is crazy!” She pushed herself up and sat back.

“Why is that crazy?” I asked. Magic had always run through this town in some capacity, whether it was fae or witch. It just so happened that it had been primarily witch for quite some time. So it didn’t surprise me that there was some secret fey sorcery lingering beneath this particular historic establishment.

She shook her head and gazed at the square hole glowing faintly of magic from down below. “We’ve lost so much, including our ley lines. So many things have crumbled in the human realm, long forgotten, or faded away. It’s almost as if the humans had tried to wipe our existence completely away.”

“But there were also witchcraft symbols on the door.” I nodded toward the piece of flooring leaning up against the utility shelf. The runes and witchcraft symbols were no longer glowing like before. Instead, it looked like an ordinary piece of wood flooring.

“I just need more hazelnut creamer, Becca,” someone called out nearby.

“Shit,” Lunara muttered under her breath as her eyes widened. “Come on…”

She grabbed the square door and shooed me toward the opening.

Looked like I was the one being volun-told to be the first to go into the creepy dark hole glowing of fae magic. Could it hurt a witch?

I hoped not.

Footsteps stopped just outside the flimsy curtain. “I know! I’ll grab that, too,” the worker shouted back at whoever called orders from the coffee shop.

Jumping feet first into the hole, I landed hard against a dirt packed floor and crumpled to the ground. I’d barely rolled out of the way in time to avoid Lunara landing on top of me.

A grunt escaped her chest as she collapsed into a heap on the dirt-riddled floor beside me. Somehow, she managed to quickly recover, getting back to her full height and nearly bumping her head against the rafters overhead.

“Are you okay?” I could only marginally make out the shape of her face in the dim glow that crept through the cracks overhead.

“Shhh!” She leaned down to place her finger against my lips as the worker clomped into the storage room.

They muttered curse words above us as it sounded like they were searching the shelves for something that may or may not be there. “I don’t see it.” The girl’s voice carried down to us even with the trapdoor firmly in place.

We remained quiet until the worker finally left, but as I pulled away from Lunara’s finger, I sent a ball of light through the room, illuminating the mysterious space. As I looked around at the area we’d fallen into, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The room was vast, stretching underneath the cafe and probably down the whole length of the block in one long hallway.

Large, gray stones lined either side of the corridor with more runes and witchcraft symbols seemingly coming to life, as the symbols became a beacon of soft blues and purples. Decrepit wooden beams extended overhead, lining the low ceiling and appearing to give minimal support to the building overhead. “There must be some serious magic keeping this place together.” My murmurings seemed to echo through the space as I lifted a hand to run my fingers along the beams.

“What is this place?” Lunara asked.

I lowered my hand and shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” As my fingers sensed the energy that passed through every inch of the space, I said, “There’s some serious witch magic vibrating in the stones and rafters, as if they’re teeming with life. It’s gotta be really old magic, too.”

“I’m sensing some ancient fae magic as well.” Lunara inched closer, pressing her palm against one of the rune emblazoned stones. “The fae runes are screaming at me to turn away and go no further.” Lunara winced as she took a miniscule step forward, straining against some unseen force. “I can’t do it.”

Attempting to take a step myself, I was met with resistance. “Ouch!”

Lunara growled, her hands balled into fists. “How are we going to find anything if we can’t even move beyond this point?” Her hand slapped the nearest stone. “This is some bullshit.”

I gazed around at the different symbols littering the walls, both fae and witch. What had happened all those years ago that caused the witch and fae to band together to build this place? It didn’t seem right.

Morgana had practically told me I was forbidden from seeing Lunara and that it was dangerous for us to be together, yet here was proof that the two races had worked alongside each other as one at some point.

“I have an idea.” Capturing Lunara’s hand, I gave it a squeeze. “Remember what you did in the library?”

“Um, with my powers helping you find something. Yeah?” Lunara answered skeptically.

“What if we combined our magic, shared it.” Hope welled within my chest. “Maybe it’s what’s needed to break through this barrier.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to do that.” Even as Lunara said it, she moved to stand right in front of me, our noses nearly touching. “I’m forbidden, Elysia.” Her mischievous smile was a temptation that I was feeling less and less able to resist.

Our breaths mingled as I searched her features. “I know I was told I shouldn’t want you, shouldn’t share anything with you. Hell, we shouldn’t even be talking according to Morgana, but what my coven doesn’t know won’t hurt them.” I ran my forefinger down the length of her arm, refusing to step away from her. “They don’t own me.”

“Are you sure?” she whispered. Her lips feathered against mine and I felt her magic pool within her hand. “There’s no going back after this.”

I let my own magic settle in my palm to mingle with hers and pressed my lips more firmly against hers. The space around us lit up like the Fourth of July. Fae and Witch magic alike circled around our bodies, racing in some unknown competition.

Letting my tongue dip into her mouth, I deepened the kiss as her magic soaked into my pores, weaseled its way into my body, and took up residence within my soul. I’d never felt more complete, more whole, in my life.

Lunara released my hand and raised it to sink her fingers into my hair for one last kiss before she pulled away. “That. Was?—”

“Amazing!” A shiver ran down my spine as I ached to kiss her again. “Amazing, phenomenal, and every other adjective in between.”

“How is anything that glorious forbidden?” Lunara ran her fingers through my hair, combing it out, and laying it over my shoulder.

Her actions calmed my frayed nerves and while the grief still ran deep within from the loss of two friends, it no longer felt like it would consume me entirely. “That’s a good question; one I don’t have the answer to, but I know we’re about to uncover the answer to a different one.”

I took a step down the hall, meeting only a small tug of resistance before my ears popped. As I made my way through that mysterious invisible wall, I felt my breaths coming a little easier and continued forward with no problem at all.

Lunara hesitantly followed, stepping forward then immediately cringed. “Ugh, my ears.”

“Same here, but keep going.” Taking several steps across the dirt floor, I turned to face her, and held out my arms wide.

“We did it!” Lunara did a little jump and clapped her hands together. As she turned back to face the invisible wall, she said, “I hope there aren’t more of those walls down here. I’m not sure my ears could stand to go through that repeatedly.”

“Right?” With her attention seemingly stuck on the wall we’d just burst through, I took her hand in mine, drawing her attention to the path that continued beyond the walls of Mystic Brews and Tomes.

“Let’s keep going.” I tugged her hand, guiding our path as we made our way down the corridor. More magical symbols lit up as we passed, this time illuminating in orange and yellows.

When I glanced down, I found my skin aglow with bluish-green iridescent sparkles. I yanked up the sleeve of my jacket. “Oh my gods!”

“It’s our magic settling.” Lunara ran a finger over my forearm, mesmerized when the little sparkles swirled in her wake, then held up her own arm to show me the same thing was happening on her skin. “How beautiful.”

My stomach dipped and my steps faltered. “How am I supposed to hide this from Morgana? She’s going to notice all this magic on my skin!”

Lunara smiled sweetly. “It’ll fade soon. It’s only temporary until our magic finishes integrating. At least that’s how it works when other fae share magic.” She held up her hand, palm down, to show me the orangish glow of her own skin, then linked her fingers through mine. “No one needs to know except us.”

“Is this—is this permanent?” I asked. Not that I was worried. I totally wasn’t worried, but there were still so many what-if’s floating around in my head.

She nodded. “So long as you’ll have me. I’ve heard of fae breaking the bond, but it’s painful and risky.”

“Oh.” The euphoria of our shared magic was still riding high in my system. Would I have any regrets later? I hoped not. So long as Morgana—or anyone else in the coven—didn’t find out, I would be good.

She ferried me down the hall, taking the lead as we walked in companionable silence; only the echo of our shoes scuffing against the ground filled the silence as the runes and sigils guided our way.

I squinted into the distance. “What is that?”

At the end of the hall stood a stone arch structure covered in moss and ivy. Little pink blooms adorned the vines here and there. A soft, green ethereal glow emanated from each stone, but I could clearly see through it to the wall beyond where the tunnel came to an end.

Lunara approached and laid a hand on the side, closing her eyes. Her silvery hair reflected the green hue emanating from the stones, giving her an unearthly appearance.

“Do you feel anything?” I held my breath as she concentrated.

“The ley lines seem off. It’s like they’ve shifted since this archway was erected.” She opened her eyes and searched the area. “That must mean that the fae portal was moved somewhere else.” With her hand moving from stone to stone, she closed her eyes once again. “It’s as if the fae magic was stripped away in order to allow the witch magic to take over.” Her eyes flew open, wide as saucers. “I can feel remnants of the fae magic, like this place was once sacred, but somewhere along the way, what once belonged to my people was stolen and all that remains is the witch magic that now runs through this place.”

“You think witches are behind this?” I grew a bit defiant, feeling as though Lunara was casting judgment on my sisters.

“I don’t know.” She peeled her hand from the wall and turned to face me. “All I can say is that, based on the proximity of the ley lines and the fact that the sacred fae magic has almost completely been removed, someone must be responsible for relocating the portal.”

“But why would anyone want to move a portal? It seemed safe enough down here, hidden behind that invisible barrier.”

She shrugged, her head lowering slightly. “All I know is that ley lines need fae magic in order to work properly.”

“Do you think the Starfire Orb could have been here and they moved the portal and the orb at the same time?” I asked.

Lunara began lightly running her hand over the stone walls. “Probably not. They wouldn’t want two magical items too close together.” Her index finger paused, hovering over one rune in particular. “I’ve never seen this one before.” She leaned closer, studying the intricate lines and curves. “It looks like a combination of time and power if I’m reading it correctly.”

“What did you say the runes on the trap door said?” I wandered over and took a good look at the symbol she was pointing to.

She lowered her hand and looked away in thought. “ Key to the forgotten gate and Bound by blood, found by kin . But none of it makes any sense. With it being mixed with witchcraft runes, is it talking about fae kin or witch kin?”

“Maybe the gate is the portal,” I suggested. “And with it having both sets of symbols, maybe it’s blood from both?”

“But I don’t know what to do with that information even if it’s correct. With the fae magic gone, I just feel stuck.” Lunara sagged against the wall and lowered her head. “Like we’re at a dead end. Literally.”

Suddenly, the wall gave way and Lunara fell through it with a scream as dust and debris clouded between us, cutting everything off from view.

“ Lunara! ”