Chapter Twelve

“Do you think staying with him will rid him of me?”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, I dread to think of the day when he gets really angry at you.”

“Shut up.”

“No, maybe I’ll just taint his mind in other ways.”

“Stop!”

“Or maybe I’ll leave him alone and torment you.”

“Stop it! Shut up!”

“Oh, but there’s Morgyn too. Since you’re being so difficult, I could bend him to my will.”

I jumped up and slammed Vlad down on the floor, my hand on his throat. “You leave us all alone, or I will revive you, then kill you with my bare hands!”

“Oh, now here you are, using my tactics. I’m proud.” He shifted into a mist and appeared behind me.

I stood up, stunned. He wasn’t wrong. My head started spinning. I thought of how hurt Caleb was, how disoriented. As I opened my eyes, I realized that Vlad had fully manifested in the room.

“Well, look at you two lovebirds,” he grinned.

“Go away.” I spoke quietly, resting my head on Caleb’s chest. “I’m not giving you what you want.”

“Then I’m not going anywhere.”

“You wouldn’t anyway though, now would you?” I lifted my head and snarled angrily.

“Temper, temper,” he smirked.

Caleb stirred and looked up, seeing Vlad.

“Why can’t you ever just go away?” He roared, jumping up and put of bed.

“Caleb, please,” I reached for him.

“No!” He growled, still staring at Vlad. “You’ve destroyed everything, Vlad! And then you can’t even just leave well enough alone. You need to stand there with that smug look, watching me descend into madness!” He grabbed Vlad’s shoulders. “And for what? I’m already mad enough! Leave us.”

Vlad gave him a cheeky grin. “No, Caleb. You’re not nearly mad enough.”

“You messed with my head! You made me angry at everyone!” He stepped even closer to Vlad. “You made me hurt those I love!”

Vlad nodded. “Yes. I did. And it was delicious to watch.”

Caleb lunged at him, but I froze him with a spell. “You tried to kill me,” he said quietly, glaring at Vlad.

I released him from the spell and he stepped back, controlling himself.

“I would have succeeded if it weren’t for your little bratty sage girlfriend!” Vlad barked back.

I immediately teleported Caleb and I away so he wouldn’t charge after Vlad again.

He growled. “If I knew how to kill a spirit, I would gladly do it.”

I shook my head. “We have to try to stay calm. Fighting him won’t solve anything.” Of course, I said these words as I planned to ask Marco if there was a dark magic spell to kill a spirit. I didn’t want to enable Caleb, but I had no problem doing the deed myself.

As soon as I left the manor later in the day, I stopped at Marco’s apartment before going home.

Stepping off of the elevator, I was apprehensive. I knocked and felt butterflies in my stomach. I was in his territory now. What if he snapped back? What would happen?

He opened the door and those feelings melted away. He looked genuinely happy to see me.

“Jade! I didn’t expect to see you here. What can I do for you?”

I glanced around nervously. “I need to know if there’s a spell for killing a ghost or spirit.”

He also looked around. “Please, come in.”

I nodded and walked inside. I was immediately taken aback by his place. “Wow,” I said, my voice a near whisper.

“Nice, isn’t it?” He asked, startling me. He was very close to me, I felt his breath on my hair as he spoke. He stepped back quickly. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I shook my head, stepping forward. “You didn’t expect me to stop.”

He laughed nervously and walked away, gesturing toward his living room; a small nook behind a half-wall. For the size of the apartment, the living room was actually quite small, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in the view. Just beside the couch there were three tall windows that overlooked the city. I was drawn to them and gazed out as Marco sat down.

“I don’t know if you really want that,” he said quietly. “There’s a spell for it, but there are a whole bunch of warnings about it.”

I turned around to look at him. He was sitting, leaning toward and looking at the floor, contemplative. “What do you mean?”

He looked up at me. “I’ve warned you of the dangers of practicing dark magic. That spell is a particularly dangerous one. Even when done right, it runs the risk of dangerous consequences.” He shook his head. “Especially if you’re trying to use it on someone like Vlad.”

I furrowed my brow. “I’ll try it anyway.”

“No.” He spoke quietly, but sternly. “I won’t teach it to you.”

I glared at him. “What? Why?”

He stood up and faced me. “I can’t run the risk of hurting you.”

“I’m willing to take my chances.”

“No!” He shouted. He immediately stopped himself. “Sorry. No. I would feel horrible if something I did caused your demise.”

I studied his face. He was looking at me apologetically, but with wide eyes. Genuine concern for my wellbeing.

“You could just revive me.”

He put his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t understand. You’re talking about a spell that would kill a ghost, snuff a spirit. If it backfires, that would happen to you.” He closed his eyes and looked away. “No one could save you. No one could revive you.”

I gritted my teeth, frustrated. “We need to get rid of Vlad somehow.”

“If you want it done so badly, then I will do it for you.”

“What? No!” I shook my head. “You didn’t sign up for this. I won’t let you put your life on the line for it.”

“And I won’t let you put yours on the line either.”

I walked away. “Then what do we do?”

Marco followed me. “There is another spell that’s far less dangerous. It banishes the spirit to it’s urn, like a genie in a lamp. However, it can only be released with Necrocall.”

I turned to face him, waiting for more. “Okay?”

“But I’d still request that you allow me to do it. Just in case.” His brown eyes burned through me, begging me to say yes so no one would get hurt.

I folded my arms in front of me. “Why, if it isn’t dangerous?”

He sighed. “God, you can be difficult sometimes.”

I grinned as I saw a slight smile come across his lips. He wasn’t insulting me, but getting frustrated with my stubbornness.

“Look, I’ll teach you the spell, alright? But I’ll personally cast it on Vlad.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d love to be the one to make that bastard suffer.”

Ah, common ground. I held out my hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

He smiled and took my hand. Instead of shaking it, he kissed it, as if he was trying to be a gentleman.

Or trying to flirt.

I pulled my hand away. “I don’t think you understand the concept of a handshake.”

“I do,” he grinned flirtatiously. “But I couldn’t resist.”

“Don’t push your luck, Mr. Lew.” I turned away from him. “You’re just starting to be in my good graces. Don’t ruin it.”

“A kind gesture like that one ruins it?” He laughed as I walked over to the door leading to the balcony.

I didn’t respond, mesmerized by the view outside the glass. He stayed quiet too, only the sound of his footsteps filling the silence.

“It’s better when you’re outside,” he said quietly. He stepped to my side and opened the door. I followed him outside and gazed out. His building sat mere blocks from the port, and from the balcony, it looked like we were floating above the river. I could see the houses and buildings across it, the spice market and the restaurant Ambrosia took us to.

“Wow.”

Marco smiled happily, closing his eyes and breathing in the warm air. “This right here is the reason I rented this place. I swear, the interior could be trashed and I still would have rented it. Maybe stuck a cot out here. Waterproof TV or something.”

I laughed. “Well, I certainly don’t blame you. The view is breathtaking. I don’t want to leave.”

“You don’t have to.” He said quietly. I looked at him, and he gazed at me, his eyes narrowed, but face serious, waiting for my reaction.

“Marco, please,” I shook my head. “Don’t do this.”

“Right,” he looked back out over the river. “Good graces.”

I sighed. “Let’s go to my place. We have more work to do.”

“We should make a pit stop in the hollow, no?” He grinned.

I also grinned. “Sure. Lead the way.”

We teleported to Forgotten Hollow and walked up to Wolfsbane Manor. Marco stood behind me so Caleb wouldn’t hurt him.

Thankfully, Lilith answered the door. “Oh, hey.” She smiled.

“Hey, is Caleb around? We need to try something.”

Lilith motioned behind the door for Caleb to come. As soon as he saw Marco, he furrowed his brow.

“Why?”

“I think you’re going to like what Marco has planned,” I smiled. “Come outside?”

Caleb and Lilith came out and we all went into the side yard.

“Hey Vlad!” Marco shouted, looking at the sky. “Where are ya, buddy? Just want to have a nice chat!”

Caleb glanced between Marco and I. “Why? What good could possibly come of that?”

“You’ll see,” Marco grinned.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Have I given you a reason not to? At least recently?”

“Fine,” Caleb growled.

“Don’t be shy now!” Marco continued. “Or are you just scared? The coward you are….”

“Stop.” Caleb held up his hand frantically. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Marco grinned menacingly. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Caleb glanced at me. “Jade! You’re just letting this happen?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “Don’t worry.”

Finally, Vlad appeared. “Wow, I’m actually being summoned? You guys are too sweet.”

Marco approached him. “I think you know you aren’t being summoned for flattering reasons.”

Vlad narrowed his eyes. “Long time, no see, Marco Lew.”

Marco grinned. “Nice to know I’m memorable.”

“Oh, of course! I really love what you did to torment these termites.” Vlad gestured to all of us.

Marco put his arms around Caleb and I. “Well, see, here’s the issue. Now I’m on their side, and you are the source of everyone’s rage.”

I grinned, amused. Caleb ducked out of Marco’s grasp, but I stayed. I put my arm around Marco’s back, staring at Vlad with the intensity Marco was.

“And you think you’re going to do something about it?” Vlad glared at him.

“I know I am.” Marco stood back and raised his arms. He looked at me, then at Caleb and Lilith. “Stand back.”

We moved away and watched as Marco’s body began to glow red as he focused on strengthening his magic. There was a bright flash, blinding Caleb, Lilith and I. As I regained my sight, I saw Marco, knelt to the ground, holding Vlad up with magic. He was struggling. He didn’t have enough charge for the spell. I was horrified. If he kept at it, he would die of overload again. Without sparing a second thought, I rushed over to him, lowering my shield and putting my hand on his shoulder, channeling my power into him. It drained me immediately, but I stood, dizzy and weak. Marco was able to complete the spell, and Vlad withered away, banished to his urn for eternity.

My vision went blurry, and before I knew it, I was in someone’s arms. Looking up I saw Marco and Caleb at my sides.

“Thanks,” I smiled. I sat up. “Whew! That was fun.”

Marco smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder, giving me back my power. He then stood up and cast a discharge spell, returning his power to normal.

Caleb watched, a mixture of confusion and awe on his face. “Hold on, wait.” He stood up. I followed. He walked over to Marco. He poked Marco’s cheek.

“Welp,” he stood back. “He’s real.”

Marco laughed, crossing his arms in front of him. “Hard to believe I just saved your ass?”

To my surprise, Caleb laughed. “Thank you. He’s dead?”

“No.” Marco shook his head. “Banished to his urn until someone gets him out of there.” He grinned. “Which I doubt will ever happen.”

Caleb laughed again. “You’ve got that right.” He held out his hand. As Marco shook it, Caleb smiled warmly. “Thank you again.”

“My pleasure.” Marco smiled. “Feeling better?”

“No,” Caleb admitted. “But I’m learning to curb it a bit.”

Marco looked at him apologetically. “We are working as fast as we can to help you.”

“I know.” Caleb nodded. “I think I can be a bit more patient without the asshole in the way.” He gestured toward the house. “Why don’t you come in?”

Marco was taken aback. “Oh! Uh, thanks.”

They started to head to the house with Lilith, but I took Marco’s hand. As he turned toward me, I hugged him tightly.

“Thank you.”

“Oh!” He exclaimed, surprised. I felt his arms around me shortly after. “It’s nothing. And thank you. Without your power, I wouldn’t have been able to complete that spell.”

I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder as we continued to hug. “I’m used to being the extra battery pack for large spells.”

He laughed quietly, his breath blowing a strand of my hair into my face. As we separated, he brushed it away. He gazed at me, keeping his fingertips on my cheek.

I cleared my throat. “Let’s get inside.”

He nodded in agreement. “Yeah…”

We went in and, to my surprise, Caleb was incredibly friendly with Marco, but still very distrusting. I watched them interact carefully. Marco seemed a little shy, quiet. I didn’t blame him. After everything that happened in the past, coupled with Caleb’s hostility, who knew what would happen.

“Caleb,” Marco said quietly, standing up. “I want to say something I should have said a long time ago.”

Caleb also stood up, furrowing his brow. “What is it?”

Marco held out his hand and looked into Caleb’s eyes as he spoke. “I’m sorry. Truly. There are no excuses for my previous behavior, and I won’t try to justify it. Just know that I feel ashamed and horrible for all of it.”

Caleb smiled warmly and shook his hand. “Well, I can’t forgive and forget, but I will say I accept your apology. And, well, I see you’re making a change.”

My eyes brightened. That went well, didn’t it?

Marco smiled genuinely. “Thank you.” He glanced between all of us in the room. “I won’t let any of 6ou down. And that’s a promise. If I do, Jade has full permission to kill me.” He looked at me with a smirk.

I giggled. This lighthearted side of him was like a breath of fresh air. While I could definitely do without the flirting, Marco was genuinely fun to be around. He still had a bit of a temper, but he didn’t direct it at others. He walked away. I generally followed him to calm him down. Just like I did with Caleb.

After awhile, Marco and I left to head back to my place and keep practicing spells. We would be alone until the evening, as Jewel was out with friends and Morgyn was busy in the realm. Due to the work Marco and I were conducting, I had someone take over my sage duties until I could return. Morgyn was able to juggle both, and so he did.

Marco and I got right to work, trying our hand at different spell combinations to find something that could work.

“So,” Marco said, standing with his hands in front of him, as if he was going to push something. His hands began to glow red. “Hypothetically, if I’m going to cast black magic, I would need to focus all of my energy from my core.” He looked at me. “Stand in front of me?”

I nodded and did as I asked. He kept his arms stretched and rested them on my shoulders, but facing me, like he was going to shove me. He closed his eyes. “Because of what is going on with Caleb, I would channel my energy to his core. That’s not easy to do.” He opened his eyes and lowered his arms. “Do you remember our duels?”

I nodded. “I do.”

He stood back and held out his hands again. “When dueling, we cast spells and create attacks that will harm our opponent on the surface.” He put one hand up. “Ready?”

I nodded.

He summoned a small attack, which I blocked.

“See?” He gestured toward me. “Had that hit you, it may have stung a bit, maybe pushed you, but it wouldn’t have done any internal damage. The spell Caleb is under comes from within.” He put his hands down again and stepped closer to me. “You try it. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I held my hands up, pressing them against his chest, but stopped as they started to shake. I shook my head. “I don’t want to hurt you either.”

“I mean this in the best way possible, but I don’t think you will.” He gave a cheeky smile.

“Saying I’m weak?” I laughed.

He laughed with me. “When it comes to black magic, yes. Just use me as your test dummy.” He stood back and took my hands, placing them on his chest again. “Now. Focus on the core.”

I closed my eyes and focused on the spell. There was nothing. I furrowed my brow and concentrated harder. Finally, I felt something. A small burst of magic.

“Yes,” he whispered. “You’re getting it.”

I held my focus. Little by little I felt myself harnessing his power with mine, reaching his core.

“Good,” he encouraged, his voice shaky. “Now if we can…manage to create a spell that would-ah…pull the black magic out of him like this, then we’ve…got it.”

I opened my eyes to see his narrowing, as if he was tired. I started to ease up.

“No,” he stopped me. “This will make…you stronger.”

I felt my power weakening with each word he struggled to get out. He was in pain, but trying to hide it. He squinted his eyes, wincing slightly.

“Y-you’ve got this,” he said between winces.

And I lost it. My power completely faded, releasing him. He stumbled forward and gripped the wall. He had a much larger frame than mine, but I attempted to help by gripping onto him.

He laughed softly, pulling me into a hug. “You’re doing great. Don’t w-worry about me. I’m proud of you.”

I rested my head on his chest. His heart was racing. “Come on,” I whispered. “Come sit down.”

I led him over to the couch, helping to hold him steady. As he sat, he started to regain his strength.

“Thanks,” he smiled.

I lowered my shield and took his hand, channeling some of my power to him.

“You don’t need to do that,” he laughed softly. “Sitting fixed it. I was just temporarily weakened.” He leaned toward me, gazing at me in awe. “Even when I held your power, I never realized just how strong you were.”

I grinned. “I mean, I did kick your ass while you had my power.”

He laughed again and brushed a strand of my hair away from my face. “Yeah, you did.”

I gazed at him. I had had my fair share of these awkward moments with Caleb and Morgyn. I knew what would happen if I didn’t stop this.

Right now.

I looked away and stood up. “Okay! So what’s next?”

Marco followed. “Now that we have an idea of the base spell, I think we need to focus on combinations that will ultimately give us what we need.”

I nodded. “I um…I have no idea how to do that.” I laughed.

“Neither do I.” He was laughing with me. “But I imagine it wouldn’t be too hard. It’s really just creating a new spell with a few smaller ones.”

“And you, Morgyn and I are all sages, so we have the most power.” I trailed off, deep in thought.

He nodded. “Yes.”

I closed my eyes, building my charge to further break the uncomfortable moment. I figured if I was going to try to make a spell sandwich, being charged would help. Maybe. But it certainly helped as a distraction.

“Going to kick my ass again?” He joked.

I grinned. “Should I?”

He stepped in front of me. “We should do more core practice.”

I glared at him. “I don’t want to hurt you. I know I was causing pain.”

He shrugged. “We’ll call them growing pains.”

I laughed. “Why do you want me to do this?”

“Because when it comes down to it, you’ll be the one casting the spell. I’m sure Caleb doesn’t want me all up in his business like that, and Morgyn hasn’t learned any type of dark magic.” He took my hands. “You have.” He placed them on his chest. I felt his heart speed up again and I gazed at him.

I shook my head. “You’re nervous.”

“Of course I am,” he laughed. “It hurts like hell. But it’s necessary.”

“Is there another way?”

“No.”

“I hate dark magic.”

He laughed again. “Just focus.”

I nodded and followed his instructions. I closed my eyes and focused my attention. It didn’t take as long this time, and the spell was much stronger. He gripped my wrists, putting his head down. I tried not to focus on the fact that I was hurting him. I focused on gaining his power.

“You know, I don’t recall this hurting when you did it to me…” I continued to focus as I voiced my observation.

“I went easy on you.” Marco winced again.

I stopped completely. “What?”

He shook his head. “Not now. Just focus.”

“You went easy on me?” I crossed my arms. “Marco, you wanted to kill me. Why did you ‘go easy’ on me when you took my power?”

“I mean, are you saying you’d prefer the alternative?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I want to know why there were so many mixed signals back then.” I glared at him. “You hated me, but you appointed me as queen. You wanted me dead, but took my power without hurting me. You-“

“Jade,” he looked at me with pleading eyes. “Please stop. I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Marco, I want answers!” I even surprised myself with my raised voice. I felt tears in my eyes. “I want to know why. I want to know your thought process. I want to know why me? Your issue was with Morgyn, but at the end of it, your target was me.”

To my surprise, he had tears in his eyes too. “I don’t have answers for you.” His voice came out as a whisper. “I don’t know why I did the things I did other than hurt and anger and just…” He hung his head. “Hatred for anyone better than me. I’m so sorry.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry too. For bringing all of this up after you’ve apologized.”

“I put you through hell,” he said.

“Yes you did.” I stepped closer. “But you’re making a change.”

He shook his head, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. “That doesn’t change what I did.”

I hugged him. “I don’t think you ever hated me.”

“I didn’t. I admired you. But I hated your status. I was jealous. Vengeful.”

“Admired?”

He nodded. “Your strength.”

“And now look,” I smiled slightly. “I’m weak. You’re the strong one.”

“You’re getting stronger.”

I pulled away and looked at him. He gave me a slight grin. “So, let’s continue?”

I nodded. “Mhm.” I focused again, stepping closer. I didn’t put my hands on his chest. Instead, I focused all of my energy on pulling magic out from a slightly longer distance. It didn’t take long for me to take hold of his power. I closed my palm as if I was actually holding it in my hand. Now, to pull it out. I focused, trying my hardest to ignore the pain Marco was in. But it was hard. That was because of me. My hand shook.

“No,” he winced. “Keep going.”

I closed my eyes and focused again, pulling my hand upwards. I saw a red glow form on his chest, illuminating our faces. I was close. I had almost taken his power.

“Do you actually want me to take your power, or am I done?” I held my hand steady, waiting for his reply.

“Take it. It’s practice-” he winced again. “I just hope you’ll give it back to me.” He chuckled softly, but it didn’t seem genuine because of the pain he was in.

I watched him, concerned. “Could this….kill someone?”

“N-no,” he stuttered.

I wanted to believe him, but the pain he was in said otherwise. I sighed and continued. I knew he wouldn’t let it rest until I achieved the goal. Lifting my hand and harnessing his power, I felt my hand shake again as it became more and more difficult to lift his power out of his core.

“You made this look so easy,” I growled, focusing harder. Finally, in a quick motion, I lifted my hand higher and his power was released. He fell on the floor in front of me, writhing and wincing.

I got down next to him and pulled his head onto my lap. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled up at me. “You d-did well. I’m proud of you.”

I smiled and placed my hand on his chest, returning his power. “I think you need some rest.”

“I’ll b-be fine,” he winced again.

“I don’t want to do that again,” I said. “No more practice.”

Marco closed his eyes. “But you need to know what you’re doing.” His voice sounded weaker.

“No, no, no, Marco, open your eyes,” I panicked.

He opened them slightly.

“You said this wouldn’t kill anyone.”

He didn’t say anything. His eyes looked away from me. “I won’t die. I feel my strength coming back.” He grinned a little. “And maybe I’m just milking this a bit to keep my head on you.”

I glared at him. “I want to slap you, I swear.”

He laughed. “But you won’t.” He reached up and touched my cheek. “You’re a softy.”

I moved my head quickly and bit his fingertip. “Don’t tempt me.”

He laughed again, trying to wiggle his finger out of the grasp of my teeth. “Okay, okay.”

I let his finger go and he sat up, turning toward me. His expression turned serious. “Feel free to slap me anyhow. That spell can kill. I lied so you wouldn’t stop. I knew you could, and would revive me if that happened.”

I gazed at him. I didn’t know what to say. I mean, I couldn’t be mad, but I wanted to be. But this was Marco, sacrificing himself for the benefit of someone he tried to kill.

“Are you alright?” He asked, gazing back at me. “Are you plotting all of the ways you’re going to kill me?”

I laughed. “No.” My voice was soft, reassuring. “Let’s continue.”

He gazed at me for a moment, curious if I was going to continue, but I didn’t. We got back to work, trying to find combinations that could work for the spell. After a little while, he started to get discouraged again. I took his hand and led him outside onto the terrace.

“Marco, we will find what we need,” I reassured him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t look at me, but gazed out over the city, blanketed by a dark blue sky and bright stars. “I’m not even doing this for recognition anymore. I’m not doing it to prove anything. I’m doing it because I want you to be happy.” He sighed and closed his eyes, tilting his head down. “You can’t be happy with him in this state.”

“We’ll find a way.” My voice shook as I spoke and he turned to face me. He pulled me into a hug.

“I won’t leave it alone until we do,” he said quietly. He took my hand as we pulled away. “Come here.”

We walked over to a patch of artificial grass and he sat down. I sat beside him.

“Look up,” he instructed, a slight smile on his face. I looked up, gazing at the stars. He continued, “every night, I go home and try to think of more possibilities. I practice light and dark magic. I write things down. Hell, I even bang my head on the wall!”

I laughed softly and looked at him again.

He smiled, his eyes brightening. “But I come outside on my balcony, look over the city and watch the stars. It calms me. Keeps me grounded.”

I gazed at him, taking in everything he was saying.

“I feel different,” he said. “The person who tormented you months ago is a man I don’t recognize.” He stopped and closed his eyes. “No. He wasn’t a man. He was a child in a man’s body, desperately clutching at straws to make everyone miserable. Making them pay for his mistakes. He was a fool.” He opened his eyes again and gazed into mine with a pleading expression again. “I regret everything I did.”

“You are different, Marco.” I smiled reassuringly. “I see it. I feel it. And honestly, if you even needed redeeming, you succeeded. You’ve become one of my best friends.”

Once again, he closed his eyes. “Really? That…that really means a lot, Jade. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” I gazed at him. “Just keep being you.”

He gazed at me and moved closer. I froze in place, realizing that he wasn’t moving toward me due to intrigue. I could avoid this before, but now it was like I was paralyzed. He brought his hand up to my cheek and kissed me. A small shock went through my body. Even with our shields up, there was still that shock? Strange.

I pulled away quickly and looked at him. “Uhm…”

“Sorry.” He facepalmed.

“I saw that coming. Even earlier.” I looked away. “But you know that’s not how things are between us.”

“Yes, I know.”

We were silent for awhile. Morgyn and Jewel came out.

“Oh hey, you two!” Morgyn smiled. “Sorry I was late getting home. Jewel and I took a walk through the art gallery on the other side of town.”

I stood up. “No problem. We’re just taking a break. Marco has been teaching me core spells.”

Morgyn glanced between Marco and I. “Oh. Those are the most powerful.”

“She’s pulling them off nicely,” Marco beamed.

I glared at him for a moment. “Yeah. You could say that.”

Morgyn furrowed his brow. “How will that help us with Caleb?”

Marco also stood up. “The black magic is in Caleb’s core. She’s going to have to pull it out of him. The base spell for that is what I’ve been teaching her.” He explained, “now we really just need to create a working combination.”

“Great work.” Morgyn smiled. “You’re doing well.”

Marco and I looked at each other with a smile.

We got chatting about just random things when Jewel finally widened her eyes.

“I can’t believe we only have a week until our trip with Ambrosia!” She smiled.

Morgyn wanted to look happy, but I could see he was scared. “Right. The trip.”

Jewel seemed to pick up Morgyn’s reservations. “It’ll be fun, Dad!”

Morgyn smiled and hugged her. “I know.” He looked at Marco and I and nodded to Jewel. “Hey, I need to talk to them, but I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Jewel nodded and went inside. Morgyn turned to Marco. “We are taking a family trip in a week.” He looked at the ground. “I don’t know what we’ll do if we don’t have the spell by then. This whole thing was for Ambrosia, Jewel, Caleb, everyone. If Caleb doesn’t go, then what’s the point?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marco look down at the ground and put his hands behind his back. He was uncomfortable. “I can go and let you two talk.”

I nodded to him. “I’ll see you to-“

“No,” Morgyn interrupted me. “Marco. Stay.”

Marco glanced up at him. “Oh, uh…alright.”

“I think maybe you should come with us.”

Marco stepped back. “W-what?”

I echoed his sentiment. “I really don’t know how well that would go.” I felt my heart start to race. A vacation. With Marco. After that kiss? With my two lovers? When we all hated him up until very recently? I wrung my hands together.

“We would be able to work on that spell in our spare time.” Morgyn folded his hands in front of him.

“No,” Marco shook his head. “That’s not a vacation.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Morgyn said.

I sighed and walked away, gazing up at the sky. Maybe it would be so bad. Could be a bonding experience? But how would Caleb react? They seemed to be getting along now, but getting along and vacationing together were very different. And Ambrosia and Jewel didn’t even know him. Ambrosia was planning this whole thing and it was Jewel’s birthday. I hung my head, holding it in my hands, my hair flowing over them as I gripped my scalp tightly. I was still trying to process what happened between Marco and I. Would I tell Caleb and Morgyn? ‘Hey, so I know y’all are getting along now, but he kissed me, and now he’s joining us on vacation.’ Really? Talk about tense.

I walked back over to them. Morgyn put his arm around me.

“You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I can talk to Ambrosia about this. I’m sure she won’t mind. We have to let Caleb know too.”

Morgyn also nodded. “Why don’t you call them both here?”

“Now?” I asked, surprised.

“The sooner, the better.”

Marco stepped back. “Should I be worried?”

Morgyn shook his head. “No. I’ll protect you if either of them get angry, but I don’t really think they will.”

“Who is Ambrosia?” Marco asked, confused.

“My daugh- well, actually, it’s complicated.” I stopped. “She is the daughter of Caleb and his fiance who was killed about one-hundred years ago.” I cleared my throat. “But, um, I am the reincarnation of his fiance, Ruby, and so Ambrosia sees me as her mother.”

Marco raised an eyebrow, but smiled. “That’s oddly interesting.”

I grinned and playfully shoved his shoulder. “Oddly. You ass.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay, yes, it’s interesting.”

Morgyn grinned, watching this playful exchange. “I’m glad to see you two getting along so well.”

I cleared my throat. “Right, yeah. I’ll go make that call.” I hurried inside. I sat on the couch and put my head in my hands again. I pulled my phone out and made the calls.

Caleb wasn’t pleased to have the extra company, but understood. Ambrosia was thrilled. She knew about what happened with Marco, but her personality never allowed her to believe anyone could be that evil. Only meeting Marco now would prove to her that he wasn’t as evil as he seemed to be before.

Maybe he wasn’t. I smiled when that thought came to mind. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad. And someone like Marco needed a vacation and needed to be with people. He had been isolated. He didn’t have to be anymore. I sighed and stood up, heading back outside. I was greeted by laughter from Morgyn and Marco. Clearly they were getting along really well too. Good.

I explained the phone calls to them, we made plans and talked for a little longer and parted ways. Morgyn and I went to bed after spending some time with Jewel. We still had a lot of work ahead of us. I was so ready to tackle this. 

Chapter Thirteen (click here)