Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

“He couldn’t see me,” I tell Ethan, as Hunter puts the thought into my mind. “But then whatever was holding me let go and it was like I disappeared.”

“This thing can hide you from your familiar.” Ethan puts the phone down.

“And make me look like the neighborhood freak. Donna must think I’m totally certifiable now. Who goes for an early morning run barefoot—in PJs—when it’s not even twenty degrees outside?”

“It doesn’t fucking matter what she thinks.”

“I know,” I sigh and rest my head against his shoulder. Ethan cradles me against his warm body. “I’m tired.”

“Almost freezing to death—again—takes a lot out of you.”

Hunter joins us on the couch, weaseling his way onto my lap. I tuck my cold feet underneath him and resituate against Ethan. I watch the fire crackle for several minutes and then can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

The next time I wake up, the sun is brightly shining, and Hunter is stretched out on the couch next to me. I sit up, feeling slightly disoriented. The smell of coffee fills the air, and the fire is almost out. I can hear the TV playing softly in the living room. Ethan is on the couch, bent over the coffee table, flipping through books.

He jumps to his feet, probably thinking I’m going to get up and wander away to the middle of nowhere—again.

“I already fed the horses and donkeys,” he tells me, knowing that’s the first thing I’ll ask. “They’re out in the pasture with fresh hay.”

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” I stretch my arms in front of me, shaking my head. “I don’t feel like I’m being watched anymore, and I really hope I didn’t jinx it by saying that out loud.”

Ethan’s brow furrows as he thinks. “Things have gone back to normal after something like this happens, haven’t they?”

“Yeah, they do.” Our eyes meet. “Almost as if whoever is doing this needs to recharge.”

“That gives us more to go on.” He motions to my Book of Shadows on the living room coffee table. “I flagged a few other spells you could try—just in case it is a curse.”

“Flagged?” My brows go up. “You didn’t bend the pages, did you?”

“I don’t have a death wish.”

I roll my eyes and go into the living room. “I already cast this one,” I tell him, pointing to the first spell. Sinking down onto the couch, I flip to the next bookmarked spell. “But not this one.”

It’s a basic spell to repel negativity, but the incantation has been smeared. It’s the reason I flipped past it the first time. I run my fingers over the page and suddenly remember casting this spell with Aunt Estelle.

We’re standing in the library, with a large fire roaring before us. The shelves are filled with leather-bound books that I just know are spell books. Harrison is in the living room, laughing at whatever cartoon we’re watching. Aunt Estelle already cast a silence spell on the room, keeping Harrison from hearing whatever we’re saying.

“I remember this one,” I tell Ethan and close my eyes, seeing Aunt Estelle’s face before me. Her voice rings in my head, and I repeat what she’s saying. “Elementa terrenis prodeunt et mala trahunt ad tenebras orta.” I move to the floor, planting one hand on the floorboards beneath me, remembering something else Aunt Estelle told me.

“You have to be grounded. Let the earth be your anchor.”

“But I’m inside.”

“The earth is still beneath you, my child.”

Splaying my fingers and pressing down against the floor, I can feel the earth beneath me, just like how Aunt Estelle said. It’s old and powerful, full of energy waiting to be tapped into. It travels like rivers, streaming all throughout the earth’s surface, hidden just below the soil.

“Elementa terrenis prodeunt et mala trahunt ad tenebras orta.”

The bulb in the lamp on the end table glows brighter and brighter and a feeling of peace washes over the room.

“Whoa.” Ethan holds up a hand. “I felt that.”

I get to my feet, smiling. “That wasn’t the first time I’ve done that spell, and the whole night came rushing back to me. This time, it wasn’t just glimpses. It was like my actual memories came back. Well, some of them. But I know you shouldn’t mix lavender with sandalwood, or you can accidentally summon something.”

A rush goes through me and it’s like I got a part of myself back—a part I didn’t know was missing since I couldn’t freaking remember it. I flip through more of the book, hoping to have even more come back. I don’t get another flash, but more is coming back.

On the full moon, put your crystals in a bowl of salt and leave them outside to bathe in the moonlight to cleanse and recharge them.

When familiars shift into their true form, it’s called shadowing.

A jar full of rose thorns can protect you from hexes.