Page 40 of Assisting the Alpha
My panic over him being attacked again has clearly addled my brain.
I stop in my tracks and catch Ayo before he can collide with me. “We should be doing that.”
Ayo blinks up at me. “A seeking spell?”
“Precisely.” He seems to go completely still, which is unusual for him. “What, not possible?”
He exhales noisily and seems to stare right through me. “Whenever I’ve seen a seeking spell performed, it required DNA, a spell circle with a bunch of runes, and three mages working together. It’s a huge drain on the mages, which is why it’s not the first thing they do.”
I wait and let him work through this. It’s clear Ayo’s magical training is woefully lacking, perhaps because the only people in his coven who did magic in the same manner were his parents.
“I have the power required. That’s not an issue,” he says thoughtfully.
“Even after the attack and our training session?”
He waves me off. “Don’t worry about it.”
That’s not as reassuring as he probably intends it to be. Magical burnout isn’t pretty, and he’s done a lot today. Still, I have to trust him to know his own limits.
It does make me question the stupidity of the coven, or perhaps just Nyoka, for not making use of Ayo’s talents, though. Who the hell uses a sorcerer as an admin?
I scent Ayo’s neck, unable to help myself. “You can channel any spell, so do we just need the DNA? I can have Skye fly to the McEwans’ house if you call them and warn them.”
“I don’t know the spell. Or the sorcerer’s equivalent, anyway.” Ayo’s head shoots up and his scent fills with hope. “But if anyone did, it will have been my mum. She had a knack for finding lost things.”
“How…?”
“Her grimoire. It’s at your flat.”
We turn and rush back the way we came.
Chapter Eleven
AYO
I flip frantically through the pages in Mum’s grimoire. The number of times Mum found my lost teddy bear in random places in the manor gives me hope that there’s something in here we can use. Of course, that might have just been a mum thing, but with any luck she had magical help.
I wish I’d spent more time reading this over the last ten years. At first it was too painful, and I was too young. Then Qadir caught me reading it one day when I was twelve. I was about to attempt one of the spells, one designed to turn my tutor into a squirrel for an hour or two because the woman was driving me batshit crazy, and Qadir caught me just in time.
He had a long talk with me about mastering the basics before tackling the more complicated stuff. Witches and mages have no choice but to learn that way, he explained, but sorcerers can get themselves into trouble because our full power comes in really young.
I gave in grudgingly. I put Mum’s grimoire away that day and didn’t take it out again for years. I never really felt like I mastered my magic well enough to deserve to try her spells.
Now that Irving’s life could be hanging in the balance? Yeah, no question. I’ll do anything I can to find him.
A few minutes later I jump up from Ethan’s bed, grimoire in hand. “Got it!”
Ethan stops his pacing and reads over my shoulder. “No DNA needed?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I can get straight to work.”
I don’t need runes or a spell circle, either. And seeing Mum’s handwriting? Along with her notes in the margins? It’s like a warm hug from her when I need it most.
I read it twice just to be sure, then sit cross-legged in the middle of Ethan’s bed and close my eyes. Ethan stays quiet, a steady, reassuring presence next to me.
I picture Irving in my mind. Brown hair, full beard, kind brown eyes. I picture his favourite shirt and broad shoulders. Then I picture the earth as if I’m looking at it on a map or an atlas. I push my magic into the map image, keeping Irving at the front of my mind.
My mental map flickers, then disappears. My moonstone pulses weakly—a warning I’m too low on magic for this particular spell. Shit. I’d hoped I had enough left. I’m definitely not running on empty, but this is one hell of a spell.
