‘Do we have everything we need?’ I asked, glancing around Ben’s kitchen. The prospect of casting a life-changing spell made me nervous, but it was something I really wanted to do for all the reasons I’d already explained. I just wanted to make sure we got it right, especially when Mum didn’t remember the spell she’d used in the first place.
‘Yes,’ said Ben. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’
He’d asked me repeatedly as we’d eaten dinner and planned everything we needed. I appreciated how considerate he was, but it was getting on my nerves. I just wanted it over with already.
I nodded. ‘This isn’t just about me. It’s about Mum and Fadil.’
Ben walked up to me and smiled. ‘You’re a very empathetic young woman, you know that?’
I glared at him. ‘Don’t be condescending.’
He lowered his smile. ‘I’m not! It’s a rare trait in someone your age.’
‘Yes. Well.’ I tugged at the edge of my black T-shirt. Compliments were alien to me. So I just nodded, then grabbed the scrap of paper we’d written the spell on and went into Ben’s living room, where Mum and Fadil were sitting on the sofa.
‘Are you really sure it doesn’t matter what the exact words of the spell I used were?’ said Mum, looking up at Ben as he walked back in.
‘It’s the intention of the spell that really matters. Having Edie and me here will help, as that will give your reversal spell enough power to work,’ said Ben. He addressed Fadil: ‘You obviously know you won’t be able to communicate with us for a few moments. I’m not sure if there will be any physical side effects this time, but I wouldn’t have thought so. Do you have any questions before we start?’
Fadil swallowed. He wiped his palms on his acid-wash jeans. ‘No.’
Even though he was four millennia old, in that moment, he looked like a nervous child. I knew he was doing this for Mum and me, because we’d done so much for him already. I bent down and hugged him, hoping that it offered him some reassurance that it would all turn out fine. Not that we knew that, but I was determined to remain optimistic.
We had no idea what would happen next, only that we were about to do something big.
Mum and Fadil got off the sofa and sat on the floor. Ben and I joined them, creating a triangle with Fadil in the centre. I was really glad Tilly was at home, watching TV, because she definitely would’ve wanted to interfere and flop over in the centre for belly rubs.
Ben laid out the paper we’d written the first spell on so that the three of us could all see it. We didn’t need any fancy equipment or anything; it was all about our words and our intentions. Or so he said, and he was the most experienced spellcaster.
‘Release my powers from this leech, full control of my powers I seek,’ chanted Mum.
I hated Fadil being called a leech, but it was the technical term for what he was doing.
Mum gasped, jerking backwards. Fadil went wide-eyed, as if everything in the room was totally new to him.
‘Mum, are you all right?’
Ben and I hovered over her. She looked awake, but disorientated.
‘I feel…different,’ she said.
‘Different how?’ said Ben.
‘Stronger. More powerful. More…like myself. And maybe a little sore. Does that make sense?’
‘I guess,’ said Ben, helping her sit upright again. ‘I mean, you technically are more powerful now.’
She nodded, then looked to me. ‘Are you sure you want to do this? I can keep going if you’d prefer.’
I swear I saw a glimmer in her eye, as if she was hoping I’d say no because she was enjoying being more powerful again. Even though more powerful for her technically just meant more reliable.
‘Stop asking me! Let’s just do this,’ I said.
While I appreciated her concern, it was getting irritating being asked every five minutes if it was really what I wanted to do. Of course it scared me, but the damage my powers could do to people scared me more. I’d seen Mum use her powers to help Fadil for weeks and had little negative side effects. If she didn’t suffer that much, I doubted I would, since I had more power to give away than her.
I put my hand on Fadil’s leg. He smiled, nodding at me. He was clearly anxious and didn’t like feeling left out of the conversation. I had no doubt he was intelligent enough to learn English on his own if we gave him the time, but with everything else that was happening around us, we couldn’t afford to spend the time helping him learn. If there was a magical solution that helped him as much as me, I wanted to use it.
The next step was on me, since I was the one whose powers Fadil would be using. Mum’s grip tightened on my hand. I yanked it free in case the spell channelled her powers accidentally. Then, I recited the scrawled spell from the scrap of paper: ‘Take some of my powers, my bandwidth, so that Fadil can speak our language.’
It felt like something was being pulled from me and flowing into Fadil. It was weird. Almost like the opposite of when I absorbed someone’s life essence, but not as strong. Kind of like my breath was taken out of me by a desktop vacuum cleaner.
Mum went to reach out to me, but Ben stopped her. She knew that it would take her magic, too, if she intervened, didn’t she?
The sensation slowed. I leaned on my hands, taking a few deep breaths. ‘Did it work?’
‘It worked,’ said Fadil, smiling. ‘Thank you.’
‘How do you feel?’ Mum asked me.
I stood up and looked around the room. ‘It’s weird, but I feel…lighter, somehow. Less tense and anxious. There feels like there’s less darkness floating around me. I’m not even speaking sense, am I?’
Mum looked to Ben. It wasn’t like either of them had a reference for this kind of thing.
‘I suppose,’ said Ben. ‘Necromancy can be dark and draining. And you used it quite substantially in a short period of time. That’s bound to have an effect.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ I said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. ‘That explains a lot.’
‘Like what?’ said Mum.
‘Like when Dominic had me using my powers more, I felt…jittery. More scatterbrained. And I kept thinking things that didn’t feel like what I’d normally feel.’
Mum put her hand on my knee. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
I shrugged, looking away from her. ‘I didn’t want to worry you. You’ve got enough going on already.’
‘You don’t need to keep this stuff from me. I’m here for you.’
I put my hand on top of hers. ‘I know. It was just…it’s hard to talk about.’
‘It might be that the two are linked in ways we hadn’t considered,’ said Ben.
‘What do you mean?’
Ben pushed his glasses up his nose. ‘Well, the necromancy itself may not have been affecting your mood, but because you were worried about the consequences of your powers, and what Dominic made you do, that might’ve been affecting you. If you don’t have the power to do those things…’
‘That makes sense,’ I said. ‘And who knows? Maybe now I won’t be able to see Tessa anymore.’
I could hope.