Why would she enact such a restrictive law as the Edict and bind all the Others to it? And even more puzzling, why would she outlaw her own kind of magic—Blood magic?
I didn’t know but I was determined to find out—right after I had a much-needed nap. (In which I knew I would dream of Griffin.)
62
“Okay, nobody’s coming—the coast is clear,” Emma hissed, putting her head around the curving side of the South Tower and beckoning to us with one hand.
“Take it easy, Jane Bond,” Avery said dryly. “I think you’re getting a little too deep into all this spy stuff. Just act natural and if anyone asks, I’ll say I’m picking up a book I loaned to one of the Sisters in the dorm.”
“Emma and I will be right out here,” Kaitlyn whispered. She seemed more nervous than Emma, who was clearly thoroughly enjoying the “spy stuff” we were all engaged in.
I had argued that only Avery and I should go, since we were technically the only witches in our little coven. But Emma and Kaitlyn had gone mulish and declared that we were sticking together.
“Coven-mates don’t abandon each other!” Emma said, frowning when I had proposed she and Kaitlyn stay behind in the Norm Dorm. “Kaitlyn and I can at least be look-outs.”
So the plan was for the two of them to hang around the South Tower, trying to look casual, as though they were just strolling around the castle grounds. If anyone went into the tower, Emma was going to open a spelled scroll and read a certain magic word which Avery had written for her. The moment she said it, he would hear it in his right ear and know that someone was coming. This, in theory, ought to give us plenty of time to hide.
Personally, I thought we would probably be able to hear it if anyone opened the heavy wooden door with its thick brass knob, but the magical scroll and word added a nice touch to our little “covert operation.”
“All right, here goes nothing,” Avery remarked. Putting his hand on the shiny brass knob, he turned and pushed at the door at the same time.
Nothing happened.
“Hmm…” He frowned and tried again. “What in the name of the Goddess?” he murmured.
“What is it? What’s going on?” Kaitlyn whispered nervously. She was probably enjoying our little spy mission the least, but she had refused to be left behind, repeating Emma’s assertion that coven-mates stuck together.
“I think someone’s put a spell on it,” Avery said, frowning. “They locked it magically so nobody could get in while they were gone.”
I tried the knob myself. It would only twist a fraction of an inch before it stopped and the door didn’t even rattle when I pushed against it.
“They locked it all right,” I said grimly. “But I don’t think they did it magically. This feels like a real, solid lock and this is a heavy door.” I shook my head. “I don’t think we’re getting in.”
“Oh, yes we are. We’ll never get a better chance to look at Corinne Latimer’s grimoire than this weekend,” Avery said grimly. “Stand back, girls—I’m going to try something.”
“Something” turned out to be an opening charm which didn’t work. Nor did the unlocking spell he used next or the reversal incantation which should have made the lock reverse its function and open the door instead of holding it closed.
At last Avery stood back panting and I saw droplets of sweat beading in his blond hairline.
“Whatever it is—it’s strong,” he said, glaring at the lock as though it had offended him personally. “And if it’s not magic, it’s at least magic-resistant.”
“Is that it, then?” Emma sounded disappointed that our little caper was over almost before it had started. “We’re not getting in?”
Avery shrugged, looking defeated.
“I hate to give up but I just don’t know what else to try.”
I felt a surge of disappointment. I didn’t know why, exactly, but I had a very strong feeling that I needed to see my ancestor’s grimoire. Not just to see if there was some obscure prophecy I was supposed to fulfill but because more and more, I wanted to know who Corinne Latimer was—or who she had been, I guess. After all, in a round-about way, she was part of me. The search for her felt a little like the search for myself—the magical part of myself, anyway—that I was still struggling to unlock.
Speaking of unlocking, was there anything we could do to get this door open? I wondered if I should try Blood magic, but somehow it just didn’t feel right. It was too overt—too obvious. And yet—
Just then I felt a tugging around my neck. Looking down, I saw something twitching under the cotton fabric of the Henley I was wearing. Though I was only supposed to have uniforms on when I was on campus, I hadn’t bothered to change.