The Cost of Conjuring: A Bargain Beyond Blood

2. I'll never trust a dwarf again

Nina grins at me like a child, excited to see some magic firsthand. I hope she'll be as happy when the magic has demanded its price. Probably not.

I try to shake the feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong as she leads me further into the shop. I cast one final glance at the green stone.

Whatever happens, it will be worth it.

Nina shows me to what I guess is the only place big enough to draw the spell circle between a shelf with crystal vases and another with coins of every size imaginable stacked in unsteady piles.

She hovers as I pull some white chalk out of my coat and drop to my knees to draw the circle. It's much smaller and less elaborate than the one I painted on the floor at Cera's. For a summoning this simple I can skip all the protective layers and everything concerning connections with other worlds since the axe is conveniently still in this one.

"You sure about this?" I ask, putting the chalk back while dusting my hands on my coat, leaving white smudges. "Once it's done I can't undo it."

"What do you think will happen?" She sounds hesitant for the first time. "I mean, it won't kill anyone? Right? We're not really risking anything like that?"

"No. It won't kill anyone." Or make them disappear. Not for an inanimate object this close. "But it will probably take some things in return." She still looks a bit hesitant so I continue.

"The severity of the backlash depends on the strength of the spell. And the strength of a summoning spell depends on the size of the object being summoned, the distance, and whether it's alive or not. Are you sure about the distance? There's no risk of it being further away?"

She frowns, and even though the circle is calling and pulling on all my senses, I'm glad she's taking this seriously.

"I'm sure. I remember having it there and if someone found it on the way back they would have come here with it, not taken it elsewhere. The only explanation is that I put it down somewhere to puke. I don't really remember how I got home." She smiles like that's something cool to brag about.

I roll my eyes, crack my fingers, and try to shake the nervousness from my limbs.

"Don't cross the circle. For anything. Even if I'm on fire."

"Why would I get closer to you if you're on fire? Why would you be on fire?"

I glare at her before closing my eyes and relaxing my mind. Letting every thought and feeling go. I take a deep breath of stale, metallic air and open up to the magic.

It's hesitant at first. Coiling around my arms and legs. Torso and head. Undecided if it's a good idea to enter a body still so banged up by its last visit. I'm sure it's not. I relax further anyway, making my exhales as long as I can, inviting it, coaxing it inside.

It nudges the crook of my left elbow. When it enters I have to concentrate to not let it show on my face. It feels too good. Even better than usual. Everywhere the magic touches, the pains, aches, and tiredness disappear and are replaced by a cool, shooting rightness. An undeniable conviction I'm in the right place, doing the right thing. That I will succeed with everything I take in stride.

The more magic that enters me, the more I pull on the wispy strands still outside. It swirls around me faster and faster, converging, like I'm one of Alice's black holes and the magic is stray matter unfortunate to cross my path. My feet leave the floor as the magic lifts me and my mind starts to expand.

The magic hits my eyes, and I know they're shining green; Cera told me I look like a cross between a supervillain and Sailor Moon mid-transform.

All traces of tiredness, soreness, and hungoverness are gone. A current passes through me. Activating every dormant nerve ending.