Callie - An Enchantress Novel - Book 1

Chapter 30

Heavy, dark clouds obscured the sun in the eastern sky by the time Callie looked up from her notes. Almost eight A4 pages of symbols sat on her lap when her mind wandered to the demon himself. I really should ask him what he remembers of the witch and the spell she cast to banish him.

She called him. "Lucien, Master of the seventh Underworld..." she started, but before she got any further, she stood before him in his bedchamber.

He was sound asleep in the middle of the huge bed, spread out like a starfish. No sound of his breathing or twitch of an eyelid the entire time she observed. After about 10 minutes, she got bored and poked him on the arm. He didn't move. She poked him harder and still nothing. Again, she tried tapping his face lightly with the flat of her hand. When he still didn't move she put her head to his chest to listen for a heartbeat.

He wrapped his arms around her suddenly, holding her captive against his side. Callie squealed and snorted as a fit of giggles took her.

"Mmm." He sighed in contentment. "To be woken by the sound of your joyous laughter is a pleasure I would partake in every day, if you would but have me."

Slapping his arm playfully, she pointed to the ceiling. "Behave I get enough of that up there."

He scowled. "Who do you waken with your laughter in the Upperworld?"

"No one." She laughed. "But this afternoon three shifters were arguing over who was going to sit next to me at the diner table. Poor Sidney was standing a little too close and ended up covered from head to toe in her supper. You should have seen her, blood was running down her face and dripping off the end of her nose."

"And where was your so-called soul-mate while these three beasts fought for your attentions."

"They weren't fighting, just shoving a bit. Sam's confined to bed until he heals."

"Heals from?" he asked when she didn't elaborate.

She sighed. "Apparently my blood is poisonous to vampires, and when he drank from me it almost killed him." She revealed, waiting for him to respond. He didn't. "Okay, the reason I'm here is... I need to know what you remember about the spell the witch cast to banish you here."

"I wasn't present when she cast it. The last thing I remember from my mortal life was travelling to Olympus to ask Herophile's father for permission to wed her. We had been involved for a couple of summers and I had asked him before to allow us to marry but he refused. We thought if she were with child he would acquiesce, so when she told me the happy news we'd been hoping for, I set off to see him. The ship I travelled on was caught in a freak storm and crushed against the rocks. Everyone on board was tossed into the raging sea and I awoke here in the lower levels of the underworld." He paused, taking a deep breath in preparation for the next part of his tale. "Phroshene was the master here at the time and claims to have been visited by Poseidon. He told him that I had been banished from the Upperworld and his daughter had been punished through the death of our unborn child for daring to defy him." He croaked out the last sentence, his grief still evident in voice even after so long.

"You must have loved her a great deal," she whispered, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently.

"I would have willingly given my life for her," he sighed. "You remind me of her you know, and not just in appearance. She was just as fearless in the face of adversity, both loving and forgiving. Although, she was perhaps a little naïve in her judgement as she always took people at face value. Now, tell me what you've learned from this book you spoke of." He finished with a change of subject.

She smiled and flicked her hair away from her face so she could see him better. "It's full of symbols, some of which I've been able to find meanings for. I'm afraid there are so many left to work out that it's going to take a while."

"Show them to me, it may be the old language or a form of it. Perhaps I can be of some help after all."

"They're back at the house. You'll have to send me back so I can get them." She stood and waited for him to dispatch her.

"Callie, dear, you are a witch of great power. Simply call for them." At her shrug he advised, "Think of the symbols and the book they dwell in and then see it in your hand."

With her eyes closed, she saw the crisp, white sheets of lined paper she'd left sitting on the arm of the chair her body still occupied back at the house. She then pictured them resting in her hand. Feeling the slight weight and the cool brush of the paper in her palm, she opened her eyes, astonished to find it actually there.

"Yes!" She pumped her fist in triumph and handed it to him. "These are the pages with the symbols I don't know."

"Hmmm...this one is lavender," he said pointing to the first mark on the page, "this one honey...This one is very similar to the symbol for air...water..." He flicked the pages over reciting each that he knew. "This one means child. Are you writing these down?"

"Sorry." She called for the biro pen and handed it to him. He looked at it as he took it from her. Twisting it this way and that, he rolled it between his fingers. "It's a biro...a pen. To write with," she explained, pulling the lid off to expose the roller ball.

He frowned and held his hand out as if waiting for something else. "The ink well?" he asked at her questioning look and imitated dipping the pen.

"The ink is stored in it." She pulled the pen apart to show him the blue tube of ink. "Just write with it the way you normally would. You don't need to dip it."

Moving the reassembled pen slowly across the page, he stared in astonishment. Touching the ink and gasping when he found it dry. Callie laughed when he reached forward to dip the pen in an imaginary pot before returning to the page to continue writing his elegant script.

"Why don't I leave you to get on with it?" she suggested, waiting for him to dismiss her. "Lucien you can send me back now."

"You don't need me to send you. See your body and will your consciousness to return to it." He glanced up when he finished the word he was writing to smile warmly. "Good morning. Go get some sleep, you look worn out."

Closing her eyes, she did as he instructed and imagined the feel of her body and willed herself to wake. When she opened her eyes again, she was curled in the armchair by the table lamp in the library. She glanced out the window as she stood to stretch the stiffness from her muscles, and caught sight of something she never imagined ever seeing in her life. A wolf, bear, puma, and a lion playing tag on the tree-lined lawn of the large gentleman's residence.

Her phone beeped with a text message. Hey Sis got msg glad u ok no sgnl here headin 2 ricks now luv u tlk soon xx

Knowing Adie probably wouldn't get her reply any time soon, she replied with a simple, Luv u 2 miss u more xx

She continued to watch the four beasts run riot around the lawn. Laughing at how they would alternately take the legs from beneath one another and then jump back out of claws reach. The sky began to darken further and she could feel the chill of rain approaching just as the heavens lit up. Thunder rumbled several seconds later. Trees around the garden began to sway in the increasing wind, their branches bending and springing with each gust. A big storm was coming fast. The four outside turned to face the road moments before Callie saw the glint of lighting reflected on the gleaming surface of the approaching car.

Callie! She heard Sidney anxious call in her mind. When they get here, say and do nothing unless I approve it. Nothing at all, you understand? All our lives depend on it!

q6&?#