Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (31 page)

Ariahna handed it back to him cautiously. Simply
watching Rome loosen the cord around the journal was filling her with dread.
The pages were so ancient that when he peeled open the cover several of them
stuck together.

“
9
^th
of
December, 1627
,” he read. “
My precious Grove lies in white. First frost
has fallen over the land, carrying with it the dreaded dead of winter.
”

“Rome, I’m not sure we
should be reading this,” she said.
“Something
that old—it could be dangerous.”

“It’s not like it’s in Latin. What if this is the
Artisan’s?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said softly.

He shrugged off her warning.

“
Magic lights my fires
and warms my hearth, but m’lady has yet to share my bed. I prithee she meet me
at daybreak, where I gladly would profess my love. For beneath the Yew, we stay
safe from the darkness of this land.
”

Aria took the journal from his hands, flipping it
carefully closed.
“Rome, we know whose this
is. I don’t think we should continue reading
until
we know more about who this man was and what he
did in his life. There could be magic in these very pages for all we know. What
if
we trigger something?”

“And what if by reading it we find a way to end
what he started?”

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t, I’m just saying I
want to proceed with caution. I think we should do some research first. What do
we really know about the Artisan? What does anyone know about him? We don’t
even know his real name. He could have been anyone. He could still have descendants
carrying out his wishes and maintaining these curses.”

“…Okay, I’ll follow your lead,” he said. “I trust
you.”

She hugged the book tightly to her chest. She
wished that she could say the same. The truth was that right now, she was
having a hard time knowing who she could really trust. She had trusted
Christian.

“I want you to know that I care for you,” Aria
said. “But I haven’t been making the best choices lately. I’m not saying I
never want to be with you, but right now, if it’s okay, I just want to remain
friends. I just need time.”

Rome was silent for a moment, trying not to take
her words personally. He understood where she was coming from, but that didn’t
mean it didn’t hurt. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be here when you’re
ready. And in the meantime, I’m here for you, however you need me. From one
friend to another though,” he said, “there’s this party tonight. It could be
good for us to get out and have some fun.”

“I don’t know. That’s not really my scene.
Besides, I wasn’t invited. Everybody hates a crasher.”

“I was invited, so you can be my plus one,” he
joked. “And it’s not really my scene, either. But maybe that’s a good thing. I
was recently informed that it’s healthy to try new things and get out of your
element every once in a while. Plus, if we’re really having a bad time, we can
always leave.”

Aria didn’t know how to argue her way out of this
one.

“Okay,” she said. “But only because you asked.”

“Speaking of… can I ask you a favor?” he said
excitedly.

She seemed both apprehensive and amused.

“I was hoping you could teach me a little magic.”

“Really?” she said. “I remember not too long ago
you didn’t want anything to do with magic. You didn’t even think you were a
witch.”

“Well,” he argued, “a lot’s happened since then.
Okay,
not really. But
I blew up a clock, and that stuff I did with your
hair last night was pretty cool.”

“What do you want to learn? Spoken spells are
sometimes easier for beginners. Or I could teach you to conjure something
small, if you think you’re up to it? It requires more concentration, though.”

“I think I’d feel kind of silly waving my hands
in the air and shouting Abracadabra,” he laughed. “Could you teach me to summon
a sword or something?”

“Um, why don’t we stay away from sharp objects
for now?”

“Yeah, alright. That might be a good idea.”

“You should try something simple, like… a coin,
or a feather.”

“What about a flower?” he suggested.

“A flower would work too.”

“So how do I do this?”

Aria stopped to think for a moment about the
process of conjuring something. It was so second nature to her by now, she had
to really break it down and examine what she did.

“I think it will be easiest if I show you while I
explain,” she decided. She held her palm out in the air as she spoke, making
him touch the ball of energy floating just above her hand so he’d know how it
felt. “What you want to do is tap into your magic. This is something you need
to learn to perform any spell. You need to know where it is, what it feels
like, and how to bring it to the surface at a moment’s notice. I think you’ve
been reading about this a little in class by now, am I right?”

“Yeah,” Rome groaned. “All we’ve been doing is
reading.”

“Okay,” Aria said with a smile. “Then the basic
concept isn’t lost on you. Hold out your hand, and try to mimic the strength of
energy flowing out of my palm. Take a deep breath, find your center, and slowly
let it leach out.”

Rome exhaled nervously, holding out his hand and
trying to push out some kind of imaginary power. A small spark startled him and
he closed his hand into a fist, looking at her uncertainly.

“Yours didn’t do that,” he said.

“It’s okay, it’s just because you’re anxious. Try
again. Don’t think about trying to get it right – don’t think about the magic.
Distract yourself. Think of something happy, something that makes you relaxed.”

Rome slowly uncurled his fingers and closed his
eyes. He was searching for a memory, a moment, something happy and light. It
felt like it took ages to find something, and he was starting to worry Ariahna
was going to get impatient with him, but he finally settled on one from his
childhood.

It was a day in late summer. He was maybe only
seven at the time. His mother had taken him to the park outside of town. She
always drove him to this park, even though it was smaller than the one near
their home. Even though it was a good forty minutes away. It was their secret
place. Not even Henry knew about it. She was pushing him on the swings as the
world soared by around him, and he kept screaming,
Higher! Higher!
He
could still remember the rush of wind blowing past him. He was swinging so high
it felt like he was flying. At that moment, it felt like the whole world was
waiting for him. All he had to do was spread his arms and the wind would take
him
wherever he wanted to go. When Rome
opened his eyes there was a small ball
of visible energy swirling around
on his skin. It was crystal blue and purer than anything he’d ever felt. It filled
him with a sense of joy.

“Why can’t you always see it like this?”

“Magic?” she asked quietly.
“Not many spells require you to
summon and maintain a steady stream of energy.
It usually dissipates before it can be seen as it’s used instantaneously.”

“Can it be used as a weapon?
I mean, without saying any kind of spell?”

“Not… exactly,” she said. “Without a purpose to
fulfill, without intent, magic is just neutral energy. If you hit someone with
it, it would probably just absorb into their body. It could shock them, possibly
knock them off their feet; or it might invigorate them. There’s really no
telling what unfocused energy will do. It’s a little chaotic and
unpredictable.”

“Okay, what do I do next?” he asked. “Because
this is getting kind of hard to control and I’m a little afraid it’s going to
blow up in my face.”

“Alright, this is where that concentration I
mentioned comes in. You need to imagine exactly what it is you want to conjure.
Every detail you can recall is important: size, shape, color, texture, and so
forth. What kind of flower are you trying to conjure?” she asked.

Rome smiled at her shyly. “What’s your favorite
flower?”

Aria faltered, nearly losing her focus.

“Um, daffodils,” she murmured.

“Those are… yellow, right?”

“Maybe you should try something you’re a little
more familiar with.”

Rome was determined to conjure a daffodil though,
and she wasn’t going to dissuade him. He closed his eyes again, trying to
summon the idea of a daffodil in his head. It was kind of a blurry, abstract,
yellow looking thing with really long petals. A soft rippling sensation above
his skin startled him, and then there was a sharp jolt like something ripping
through the air. What was sitting in his palm was not a daffodil, but it was
yellow, and long.

Ariahna giggled before quickly covering her
mouth.

“Is that a petal?” he asked. “Is that a daffodil
petal?”

He wasn’t sure. Rome had never seen a daffodil.

“Yes,” Aria lied. “That’s a daffodil petal.”

“You’re lying,” he said in a high pitched voice.
“I can tell you’re lying. What is it? Was I even close?”

“I think it’s a sunflower petal,” she smiled.

“Oh. Well, um, here. For you,” he laughed,
handing her the piece of flower. “I’m going to work on that and get back to
you.”

“Don’t get discouraged, okay?
I think you could have really done it, if
you had stuck to something you recognized.” She
didn’t want to call him stubborn any more than she wanted to admit she thought
it was cute.

Aria let her magic absorb back into her body.

“Oh, come on! I thought you were going to show
me?”

“Do you still want me to?”

“I know you’re better at it than I am. I’m not
ashamed of that.”

“Well you have a healthy attitude, at least,” she
said. Ariahna lifted her hand again and conjured the flower so quickly Rome
looked a little stunned. “This is a daffodil,” she said, holding it out to him.

He took it from her by the
stem, admiring its shape, which resembled
a six sided star with an elegant center. It was
unique and beautiful. Kind of like her, he thought.

“So, why daffodils?” Rome asked. “Don’t most
girls like roses?”

Ariahna laughed sheepishly. “They remind me of my
mother.”

“Is that where you got your stunning red hair
from?”

“Yes,” she said, tucking a few strands shyly
behind her ear.

“Can I tell you a secret?” he
whispered. “I love the way you tuck
your hair behind your ear. You do it when you’re
nervous sometimes.”

“How do you know I’m nervous?” she said, smiling
at her shoes.

“Beyond the fact that you’re blushing? I can feel
it. Can’t you?”

Her forehead creased with a frown. “We should get
back.”

Rome reached out and gently took her hand. “Yeah,
okay.”

Aria tucked the old journal under her arm as they
ducked underneath the large gnarled branches and continued back along the path
the way they’d come. They were silent for a few minutes before Rome’s inquisitive
mind kicked into overdrive.

“So could I like, conjure anything? Anything I
can think of, I mean?”

Aria shook her head. “Yes,
and no. You can conjure almost
anything, as long as it physically exists here
in this world. We can’t just create things out of thin air. For instance, that
daffodil I just conjured. It had to come from somewhere. Maybe a field, or
flower shop, or a vase in someone’s home.”

“That’s probably how things always mysteriously
go missing in my house,” Rome mumbled, thinking aloud. “Is that technically
stealing?” he wondered. “Are witches the reason all those socks go missing?”

Ariahna chuckled, shaking her head no. She didn’t
think so, anyways. “I highly doubt there’s a witch somewhere conjuring random
socks. Then again, stranger things have happened, I suppose.”

“So, what’s your favorite color?” he asked,
twirling the flower between his fingers. Ariahna was smiling at him playfully.

“What do you think my favorite color is?”

Rome hummed. The first color that popped into his
head was pink, but for some reason he thought it was something less common. “Turquoise?”

“No, but nice choice. It’s unconventional. I like
it.”

“Pink?” he shrugged.

Ariahna shook her head no.

“It’s right under your nose,” she hinted.

Rome glanced at the flower
in his hand, thinking she had to mean
that.
But was
it green, like the color of her eyes, or yellow like the eyes of her wolf?

“Yellow,” he decided. “Yellow’s your favorite
color.”

She smirked at him. “It is,” she said.

“So what do you think mine is?”

Ariahna stared at him thoughtfully.