The Indigo Spell (24 page)

“Well, then, I guess I’d better get to work.” I glanced back down at the book. “I
haven’t had a chance to look at what she wants me to do. It doesn’t sound like a defensive
book.”

“Maybe you’re graduating from fireballs to lightning bolts,” Adrian suggested. “I
bet it’d be a lot like throwing ninja stars. Except, well, you could incinerate people.”

When I found the page Ms. Terwilliger had marked, I read the title aloud: “Callistana
Summoning.”

“What’s
callistana
mean?” asked Adrian.

I scrutinized the word, making sure I was deciphering the elaborate script correctly.
“I don’t know. It’s kind of like the Greek word for ‘beautiful,’ but not quite. The
spell’s subtitle is ‘For protection and advanced warning.’”

“Maybe it’s some kind of shield, like the one Jackie had,” suggested Adrian. “An easier
one.”

“Maybe,” I agreed. I wouldn’t mind a little bit of invulnerability.

I opened up the bag Ms. Terwilliger had given me. Inside, I found dragon’s blood resin,
a small bottle of gardenia oil, branches of juniper berries, and a glittering smoky
quartz crystal, rutilated with lines of gold. Although she’d provided the ingredients,
the spell’s directions required that I use and measure them in a very specific way,
which made sense. As usual, it was the caster’s work that powered the magic. Adrian
sat up and read over my shoulder.

“It doesn’t really say what happens when you cast it,” he pointed out.

“Yeah . . . I’m not really excited about that part.” Presumably, the caster was supposed
to just know what she was doing. If this was some kind of protective shield, then
maybe the shield would materialize around me, just as it had for Ms. Terwilliger.
“Well, no point in wasting time. We’ll find out soon enough.”

Adrian chuckled as he watched me walk over to a clear piece of land. “Am I the only
one amazed that you now perform magic blindly?”

“No,” I assured him. “You’re not the only one.”

I had to pluck the juniper berries off one by one and make a small ring with them,
saying, “Fire and smoke,” each time I placed one on the ground. When I finished, I
anointed each berry with a drop of the oil and recited, “Breath and life.” Inside
the circle, I lit a small pile of the resin and rested the smoky quartz on top of
it. Then I stepped back and reread the spell, committing the words and gestures to
memory. Once I was satisfied I knew it, I handed it to Adrian and shot him a hopeful
look.

“Wish me luck,” I said.

“You make your own luck,” he replied.

I tried not to roll my eyes and turned toward the circle. I recited the spell’s complex
Greek incantation, pointing in the four cardinal directions as I spoke, per the book’s
instructions. It was startling how quickly the magic welled up within me, filling
me with that blissful power. I spoke the last words, pointing at the juniper circle
as I did. I felt the magic pour from me and into the quartz. Then I waited for something
to happen.

Nothing did.

I looked back at Adrian, hoping he noticed something I hadn’t. He shrugged. “Maybe
you did it wrong.”

“It worked,” I insisted. “I felt the magic.”

“Maybe you just can’t see it. At the expense of getting myself in trouble here, you
should know how amazing you look when you do that stuff. All graceful and—” His eyes
went wide. “Um, Sydney? That rock is smoking.”

I glanced back at the circle. “That’s just the resin that’s—”

I stopped. He was right. Smoke was coming out of the quartz. I watched, fascinated,
and then slowly, the quartz began to melt. Rather than dissipate into a puddle, though,
the liquid began to re-form into a different shape, one that soon hardened into something
new and unexpected: a crystalline dragon.

It was small, able to fit in a palm, and glittered just like the dark brown quartz
had. The dragon looked more like the serpentine kind usually associated with Chinese
culture rather than the winged types of European myth. Every detail was meticulously
carved, from the tendrils of its mane to the scales on its hide. It was stunning.

Also, it was moving.

I screamed and backed up, running into Adrian. He put an arm around me and held me
as protectively as he could, though it was clear he was just as freaked out. The dragon
opened its crystal eyelids and peered at the two of us with tiny golden eyes. It elicited
a small croak and then began walking toward us, its small claws scraping against the
rocks.

“What the hell is that?” Adrian demanded.

“Do you really think I know?”

“You made it! Do something.”

I started to ask what had happened to him looking out for me, but he had a point.
I was the one who’d summoned this thing. No matter where we moved or backed up to,
the dragon continued to follow and make a small, high-pitched screeching noise that
sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I groped for my cell phone and tried to dial Ms.
Terwilliger, but there was no reception out here. Darting over to the blanket, I grabbed
the spell book and then hurried back to Adrian’s side. I flipped to the index, looking
up
callistana
. There I found two entries:
Callistana—Summoning
and
Callistana—Banishing
. You would’ve thought the two would be near each other in the book, but they were
pages apart. I flipped to the latter and found the instructions brief and to the point:
Once your callistana has been fed and rested, you may summon and banish it at will
for a year and a day.
A short incantation followed.

I looked up at Adrian. “It says we have to feed it.”

“Will that make it shut up?” he asked. His arm was around me again.

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Maybe we can outrun it.”

All my instincts about hiding the supernatural world kicked in. “We can’t just leave
it for some hiker to find! We have to get it some food.” Not that I had any clue what
to feed it. Hopefully humans and vampires weren’t on the menu.

A look of determination crossed Adrian’s features. In a great show of bravery, he
lunged for the picnic basket and actually managed to scoop the dragon up in it. He
slammed down the lid, and the mewling faded but didn’t stop.

“Wow,” I said. “Manly and brave.”

Adrian regarded the basket with dismay. “I just hope that thing doesn’t breathe fire.
At least it’s contained. Now what do we do?”

“Now we feed it.” I made a decision. “We take it to Pies and Stuff.”

I didn’t know if dragons ate pie, but that was the closest food source we had. Besides,
I was pretty sure I’d be able to get a cell phone signal there. So, Adrian drove us
back to the little diner while I gingerly held the noisy basket. He went inside, and
I stayed in the car and tried to call Ms. Terwilliger. I was sent to voice mail and
didn’t even bother with formalities. Was she never near her phone anymore?

“Call me now,” I said through gritted teeth. The dragon’s screeching was really starting
to get to me.

Adrian returned in about ten minutes carrying two bags. I stared in amazement as he
got in the car. “Did you buy out the store?”

“I didn’t know what kind it wanted,” he protested. Between the two bags, we had half
a dozen slices of different kinds of pies. Each one’s container was neatly labeled.

“I really don’t know either,” I said.

Adrian sifted through the bags and pulled out a slice of coconut cream. “If I were
a dragon, this is what I’d go for.”

I didn’t argue, mainly because that statement had no logical argument. He took the
lid off the pie and then looked at me expectantly. With a gulp, I opened the basket’s
lid and prayed the dragon wouldn’t climb out and claw my face off. Adrian quickly
set the pie down in the basket. Nervously, we both leaned forward to watch.

At first, the dragon looked as though it really would climb out after us. Then it
noticed the pie. The little crystal creature sniffed at the slice, circled it a few
times, and then began gnawing at the pie in teeny-tiny bites. Best of all, the screeching
stopped. We watched in wonder as the dragon made its way through a third of the coconut
cream pie. Then, without warning, it rolled over onto its back and began to snore.
Adrian and I sat there, frozen, and then finally dared to look at each other.

“I guess you were right about the flavor,” I said.

“Do you think you can banish it now?” he asked. “Is it fed and rested enough?”

I retrieved the spell book to double-check the incantation. “Time to find out.”

I recited the words. Smoke fluttered from the dragon’s body. He began to shimmer,
and within moments, we were looking at an inert piece of smoky quartz. In another
valiant display, Adrian picked it up but held it as far away as possible as he studied
it. The ringing of my phone startled both of us, and he dropped the crystal back into
the basket. I looked at the phone’s screen and saw Ms. Terwilliger’s name.

“You made me summon a dragon!” I exclaimed.

“I most certainly did not,” she responded. “Callistanas are a type of demon.”

I froze. “A demon.”

“Well,” she amended. “A very minor and generally benign kind.” I didn’t reply for
a while. “Sydney? Are you still there?”

“You had me summon a demon,” I replied, voice stiff. “You know how I feel about evil
and the supernatural. You’ve spent all this time trying to convince me that the magic
we do is all for some greater good in the battle against evil, and yet you made me
summon a creature of hell.”

“Creature of hell?” She snorted. “Hardly. You know nothing about demons. I told you
it’s benign, didn’t I? Callistanas can be very useful. They’ll warn you if dark magic
is nearby and will even try to defend you if you’re attacked—not that they can do
much damage.”

I wasn’t buying it. “If they’re so useful, then why don’t you have one?”

“Oh, well, I’m at a level where I can sense dark magic on my own. That, and—if you’ll
forgive my language—callistanas are a real pain in the ass. They make the most irritating
noise when they’re hungry. Cats are more than adequate for my needs.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I kind of noticed the noise part. I fed it some pie and turned it
back into a rock.”

“There, you see?” She sounded happier than I’d heard her in days. “Look at the progress
you’ve made already. No matter what comes of this mess we’ve found ourselves in, I’m
more convinced than ever that I made the right choice in guiding you on the magical
path.”

I had too much going on to really appreciate the compliment. “So what do I do now?”

“It’ll disappear on its own after a year and a day. Until then, you can call it when
you need it. You can try to train it. And of course, you’ll have to feed it. Whatever
you choose to do, it will be loyal to you. It bonds with the first person it sees
and will need to spend time with you . . . Sydney? Are you there?”

I’d gone silent again. “The first person it sees?” I finally managed to ask. “Not
the caster?”

“Well, usually they’re one and the same.”

I glanced over at Adrian, who was eating a piece of blackberry pie while listening
avidly to my side of the conversation. “What happens if there were two people there
when it opened its eyes? Adrian was with me when I summoned it.”

Now she paused. “Oh? Hmm, well, I probably should’ve said something before you cast
the spell.”

That had to be the understatement of the century. “You should’ve told me a lot of
things before I cast it! What does it mean that the dragon—demon, whatever— saw both
of us? Did it bond with both of us?”

“Look at it this way,” Ms. Terwilliger said, after several moments of thought. “The
callistana thinks of you two as its parents.”

I CERTAINLY HADN’T EXPECTED
to walk away from today’s trip with joint custody of a miniature dragon. (I refused
to call it a demon). And, as it turned out, Adrian was already proving not to be the
most dedicated of “fathers.”

“You can take him for now,” he told me when we got back to Amberwood. “I’ll handle
weekend visitations.”

“You don’t have anything going on. Besides, we’re only a few days from the weekend,”
I protested. “And you don’t know that it’s a ‘he.’”

“Well, I don’t think he’ll mind, and besides, I’m not going to investigate to find
out the truth.” Adrian put the quartz in the basket and closed the lid before handing
it over to me. “You don’t have to summon him back, you know.”

I took the basket and opened the car door. “I know. But I feel kind of bad leaving
him as a rock.” Ms. Terwilliger had told me it’d be healthier for him if I let him
out once in a while.

“See? Motherly instinct already. You’re a natural, Sage.” Adrian grinned and handed
me a bag of pie slices. He’d kept some for himself. “Look at you. You don’t even need
to break the tattoo. You think you would’ve been mothering a baby dragon a month ago?”

“I don’t know.” But he had a point. It seemed likely I would’ve run screaming from
it back in the desert. Or maybe tried to exorcise it. “I’ll take him for now, but
you’ve got to pull your weight at some point. Ms. Terwilliger says the callistana
needs to spend time with both of us. Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?”

I shook my head. “Just getting ahead of myself. Wondering what I’d do with him if
I did go to Mexico.”

Adrian gave me a puzzled look. “What about Mexico?”

It had never come up, I realized. All Adrian had known about was Marcus’s mission
and the initial tattoo breaking, not the sealing. I hadn’t been keeping the rest a
secret, but suddenly, I felt uncomfortable telling Adrian about it.

“Oh. Well, Marcus says that after I perform this rebellious act, we can break the
elements and free me from the tattoo’s control. But to truly bind the spell and make
sure the tattoo is never repaired, I need to tattoo over it—like he did. He calls
it sealing. But it takes some special compound that’s hard to find. He got his done
in Mexico and is going to take some of his Merry Men there so they can do it.”

“I see.” Adrian’s smile had vanished. “So. Are you joining them?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Marcus wants me to.”

“I’m sure he does.”

I ignored the tone. “I’ve thought about it . . . but it’s a big step. Not just for
the tattoo, either. If I did that, there’d be no going back. I’d be turning my back
on the Alchemists.”

“And us,” he said. “Unless you really are only helping Jill because of your orders.”

“You know it’s not about that anymore.” Again, I didn’t like his tone. “You know I
care about her and . . . and the rest of you.”

His face was hard. “And yet you’d run off with some guy you just met.”

“It’s not like that! We wouldn’t be ‘running off’ together. I’d be coming back! And
we’d be going for a specific reason.”

“Beaches and margaritas?”

I was speechless for a few moments. It was so close to what Marcus had joked about.
Was that all anyone associated with Mexico?

“I see how it is,” I snapped. “You were all in favor of me breaking the tattoo and
thinking on my own—but that’s only okay if it’s convenient for you, huh? Just like
your ‘loving from afar’ only works if you don’t have an opportunity to get your hands
all over me. And your lips. And . . . stuff.”

Adrian rarely got mad, and I wouldn’t quite say he was now. But he was definitely
exasperated. “Are you seriously in this much self-denial, Sydney? Like do you actually
believe yourself when you say you don’t feel anything? Especially after what’s been
happening between us?”

“Nothing’s happening between us,” I said automatically. “Physical attraction isn’t
the same as love. You of all people should know that.”

“Ouch,” he said. His expression hadn’t changed, but I saw hurt in his eyes. I’d wounded
him. “Is that what bothers you? My past? That maybe I’m an expert in an area you aren’t?”

“One I’m sure you’d just love to educate me in. One more girl to add to your list
of conquests.”

He was speechless for a few moments and then held up one finger. “First, I don’t have
a list.” Another finger. “Second, if I did have a list, I could find someone a hell
of lot less frustrating to add to it.” For the third finger, he leaned toward me.
“And finally, I know that you know you’re no conquest, so don’t act like you seriously
think that. You and I have been through too much together. We’re too close, too connected.
I wasn’t that crazy on spirit when I said you’re my flame in the dark. We chase away
the shadows around each other. Our backgrounds don’t matter. What we have is bigger
than that. I love you, and beneath all that logic, calculation, and superstition,
I know you love me too. Running away to Mexico and fleeing all your problems isn’t
going to change that. You’re just going to end up scared and confused.”

“I already feel that way,” I said quietly.

Adrian moved back and leaned into his seat, looking tired. “Well, that’s the most
accurate thing you’ve said so far.”

I grabbed the basket and jerked open the car door. Without another word, I stormed
off toward the dorm, refusing to look back in case he saw the tears that had inexplicably
appeared in my eyes. Only, I wasn’t sure exactly which part of our conversation I
was most upset about.

The tears seemed like they were going to stay put by the time I reached my room, but
I still had to calm down. Even once my emotions were settled, it was hard to shake
his words.
You’re my flame in the dark. We chase away the shadows around each other.
What did that even mean?

At least smuggling a dragon into my room provided a pretty good distraction. I brought
the basket inside, hoping demonic dragons weren’t contraband. No one stopped me when
I went upstairs, and I was left wondering how I was going to confine him if I did
summon him back. The basket didn’t seem all that secure, and I certainly wasn’t going
to let him run loose in my dorm room. When I reached my door, I found Jill standing
outside, her pale green eyes wide with excitement.

“I want to see him,” she said. The bond was strongest in moments of high emotion,
and judging from Adrian’s face when the dragon had been chasing us, his emotions had
been running pretty strong. I wondered if she’d witnessed our argument too or if that
hadn’t come through the bond. Maybe the tension between him and me was second nature
to her now.

“I can’t let him out yet,” I said, letting her into my room. “I need something to
keep him in. Like a birdcage. Maybe I can get one tomorrow.”

Jill frowned in thought, then brightened. “I have an idea.” She glanced at my alarm
clock. “I hope it’s not too late.”

And without further explanation, she took off, promising to be back soon. I was still
a little shaky from today’s magic but hadn’t had time to rectify the situation after
all the other excitement. So, I sat at my desk with a spell book and ate the rest
of the now-soft coconut cream pie, careful to first cut off the part where the dragon
had eaten. I didn’t know if callistanas had communicable germs, but I wasn’t taking
any chances.

Jill returned an hour later, bearing a rectangular glass aquarium, like the kind you’d
keep fish or gerbils in.

“Where’d you get that?” I asked, moving a lamp off my desk.

“My biology teacher. Our guinea pig died a couple weeks ago, and she’s been too sad
to replace him.”

“Didn’t she ask what you needed it for?” I examined the tank and found it spotless,
so someone had apparently cleaned it after the guinea pig’s unfortunate passing. “We
can’t have pets.”

“I told her I was building a diorama. She didn’t question it.” Jill eagerly brought
the aquarium over to the desk. “We can give it back when you get your own.”

I set the quartz crystal inside and slammed on the tank’s lid, making sure it was
securely attached. After more entreating from Jill, I spoke the summoning words. A
bit of smoke appeared, and the quartz transformed back into the dragon. Mercifully,
he didn’t make any more of that screeching, so I guessed he was still full. Instead,
he scampered around the tank, examining his new home. At one point, he tried to climb
the side, but his tiny claws couldn’t get traction on the glass.

“Well, that’s a relief,” I said.

Jill’s face was filled with wonder. “I think he’ll be bored in there. You should get
him some toys.”

“Toys for a demon? Isn’t it enough that I give him pie?”

“He wants
you
,” she insisted.

Sure enough, I glanced back at the tank and found the callistana regarding me adoringly.
He was even wagging his tail.

“No,” I said sternly. “This isn’t a Disney movie where I have an adorable sidekick.
You aren’t coming out.”

I cut off a piece of blueberry pie and put it in the tank in case he wanted a midnight
snack. No way would I risk a late-night wakeup call. After a moment’s thought, I added
a stress ball and a scarf.

“There,” I told Jill. “Food, a toy, and a bed. Happy?”

The callistana apparently was. He batted the ball around a few times and then curled
up on the nest I’d made with the scarf. He looked more or less content, aside from
the fact that he kept watching me.

“Aww,” she said. “Look how sweet he is. What are you going to name him?”

Like I needed something else to worry about. “His ‘father’ can name him. I’m already
on the hook for the Mustang.”

After a bit more swooning, Jill finally retired for the night. I made my own preparations
for bed, always keeping one eye on the dragon. He did nothing threatening, however,
and I even managed to fall asleep, though my sleep was restless. I kept imagining
he’d find a way out and come get into bed with me. And of course, I had my usual fears
about Veronica coming after me.

I did hit one stretch of sound sleep, during which Adrian pulled me into a spirit
dream. After our earlier fight, I honestly hadn’t expected to see him tonight, a thought
that had saddened me. The reception hall materialized around us, but the image wavered
and kept fading in and out.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” I told him.

No wedding clothes tonight. He wore what he’d had on earlier, jeans and the AYE shirt,
though both looked a bit more wrinkled. He was dressed as he was in reality, I realized.

“You think I’d abandon you to Veronica?”

“No,” I admitted. “What’s wrong with the room?”

He looked a little embarrassed. “My control’s not all it could be tonight.”

I didn’t understand . . . at first. “You’re drunk.”

“I’ve been drinking,” he corrected, leaning against one of the tables. “If I was drunk,
I wouldn’t be here at all. And really, this is pretty good for four White Russians.”

“White what?” I almost sat down but was afraid the chair might dematerialize beneath
me.

“It’s a drink,” he said. “You’d think I wouldn’t be into something named that—you
know, considering my own personal experience with Russians. But they’re surprisingly
delicious. The drinks, not real Russians. They’ve got Kahlua. It might be the drink
you’ve been waiting your whole life for.”

“Kahlua does
not
taste like coffee,” I said. “So don’t start with that.” I was insanely curious to
know why he’d been drinking. Sometimes he did it to numb spirit, but he seemed to
still want to access that magic tonight. And of course, half the time, he didn’t even
need a reason to drink. Deep inside me, I wondered if our fight had driven him to
it. I didn’t know whether to feel guilty or annoyed.

“I also had to come tonight to apologize,” he said. He sat down, apparently not having
the same fears about chairs.

For one inexplicably terrifying moment, I thought he was going to take back the part
about me being his flame in the dark. Instead, he told me, “If you need to go to Mexico
to finish this process off, then I understand. I was wrong to criticize you for it
or even imply that I had some kind of say in it. One of the greatest things about
you is that in the end, you always make smart decisions. Can’t always say the same
for myself. Whatever you need to do, I’ll support you.”

Those annoying tears almost returned, and I blinked them back. “Thank you. That means
a lot . . . and to tell you the truth, right now, I still don’t know what I’m going
to do. I know Marcus is worried about me eventually getting in trouble and being under
their control. Then again, staying part of the Alchemists seems like it’d give me
more power, and besides . . . I don’t want to leave you. Er, you guys.”

He smiled, and it lit up his whole face.
Like a flame in the dark.
“Well, ‘we’ are certainly happy to hear that. Oh, and I’m also happy to watch our
darling little love child dragon while you’re in St. Louis.”

I grinned back. “As a rock or in his real form?”

“Haven’t decided yet. How’s he doing right now?”

“He’s locked in an aquarium. I’m guessing I’d wake up if he got into bed with me,
so he must still be asleep.” I hoped.

“Well, I’m sure getting into bed with you would be—” Adrian held back whatever comment
he’d been about to utter. He instead gestured to the table, and a Monopoly board appeared.
“Shall we play?”

I walked over and peered at the board. It apparently was also suffering from his drinking,
seeing as half the streets were blank. The ones that were there had names like “Castile
Causeway” and “Jailbait Avenue.” “The board’s a little incomplete,” I said diplomatically.

Adrian didn’t seem concerned. “Well, then, I guess that improves your odds.”

I couldn’t resist that and took a gamble on sitting in one of the chairs. I smiled
at him and then began counting money, happy that all was (relatively) right in the
world with us again.