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The air was circling her hips now, like a belt. She watched a thread escape, latching onto her windowsill. A moment later, it began tugging.
“Hades,” she swore under her breath.
Mustering some slack from her tether, Thessa managed to reach for her satchel, looping it across her chest.
At the windowsill, she cursed up at the Shadow Moon before ducking out. Thessa descended the wooden trellis of the townhouse, freeing her cloak from catching vines along the way.
On land, the black air churned, encouraging her onward.
Thessa put on her hood and moved. “A Night Summoning?” she mumbled to herself.
Witches were called upon by the goddess during the day, so this had to be some full moon nonsense.
On the Shadow Moon youwill know.
What sheknewwas Summonings shouldn’t happen at night, and there’d never been any mention of this color.
Thessa was led beyond the residential area and into the heart of town. Most taverns in Mabelton remained open until the sun returned, which seemed to bother her guide. As the noise set in and the streets came alive, it was as if her ink ran dry; the black sheen disappeared.
She let out a breath, relieved a bit, though glad it was still pulling her along.
Approaching a strip of shops and taverns, Thessa kept her head down and hood covering her features. Other than warmth in the winter, privacy was the one thing she liked about her cloak. She ignored the late-night festivities and pressed on.
It wasn’t much longer until the smell of ash struck her. She wished to turn back, but the thrumming in her veins intensified, as if to say,you’re almost there.
A few steps later, it stopped her. She looked up to see the Mabelton Library, seated among a sea of soot. Nothing remained of the library greens, but char.
Her escorting wind swirled away from her, and toward the entry. It may be translucent now, but it left a flurry of ash in its wake. When the doors to the library groaned open, Thessa grinned.
Grimacing,she struck her flint once, twice, three times …
Forget it, too complicated.
Shoving the tinderbox back in her satchel, she squinted for a better view. Moonlight streamed into the library, casting eerie shadows through the stained-glass windows. Thanks tothe tin roof, the interior had been unscathed by flames, saving loads of books. There were about a dozen shelves, a long desk spanning the back wall, and several round tables set in the middle of the space.
Thessa breathed in the stale, musty air and pivoted left, strolling down the first aisle. She thought about Leora’s gift, glowing for her. Thessa hadn’t been so lucky. She paced up one dark aisle of books and down another.
It wasn’t until she reached the final shelf that the thrumming in her veins reignited.She swept her fingertips along the roughened spines, desperate for a clue. Every touch felt like she was getting closer. Then, like the force of a lodestone, her fingers halted.
Thessa pulled the black, leather-bound tome free, coughing as dust bloomed around her. It wasveryold. She swiped some grime away, observing what she could. There was a golden triple moon inked on the cover, surrounded by intricately carved borders.
As the buzzing in her veins reached a crescendo, her magic burst to life.
“No, no, no.”
Her fingertips didn’t shift into Celestial white, Botanical green, or Elemental blue. They were pitch black.
Thessa wasn’t a witch at all; she was a demon.
13
LECTURE NOTES FROM REALM RULES & METHODOLOGY:
Hexes and curses are strictly forbidden in Andera. The mortals burned our kind on stakes for such reckless acts of magic.
Thessa watched the sunrise from the ledge overlooking the bay. Once the birds sang their morning tune, she dragged her feet back to the townhouse.
She pushed through the entryway doors, strode across the checkered tile, up the winding staircase, and into her shared bedroom.