Shotgun Sorceress

Chapter twenty

Magus Shimmer

I slipped easily into my hellement, went to my vanity, and used a pair of cuticle scissors to cut my thumb so I’d have some blood for the mirror magic.

“Are you there?” I called as the mirror cleared, showing the inside of Shimmer’s workshop. “It’s Jessie, are you there?”

“Oh! Hang on a moment, if you please.” I heard him flip-flop across the floor and soon he came into the frame.

He sat down in the wooden chair before his mirror, gazing at me with an intent look of concern. “How are you? Is everything all right?”

“Well … no, not really. We haven’t found my brother yet, but … well, it’s worse than that.” I licked my lips, trying to figure out a quick way of telling him everything that happened. And then did my very best, leaving out the parts where Miko turned me into her sex puppet and I’d been miserably horned up ever since.

“Well, that is quite a press of problems,” he said when I finished.

My father leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully through his beard. “Not being able to exorcise the Goad in you, well, that’s most serious. But it sounds as if you are taking all the proper precautions. The blood disease, it is serious, also, but I believe you can be cured. The sisters of the local convent are quite skilled in healing spells, although of course they believe them to be miracles granted by the saints after prayerful rituals. We humor them. It does not matter where they source their powers as long as they freely share them with our family.”

He gave a shrug and leaned forward. “The soul harvester is a far greater threat than the devil or your disease. You must not lose yourself to her. Remember that above all else, she wants your souls, and she finds them most delicious when they’re given in despair rather than taken by force.”

“What about Cooper?” I asked. And almost said, Do you think Miko’s made him hate me?

Based on what he said to me next, the unspoken question had been clear on my face: “Miko can sense a person’s weaknesses. And your man is weakened by anger. It distracts him, clouds his intellect, makes him forget the people he loves. But he does love you, loves you very much in fact, make no mistake. And he will remember when his mind is clear again. Until then, you must be watchful and patient with him. You’re all in danger, and the baser impulses that Miko inflames make your risks all the greater. So please, try to be careful. Find your brother and do whatever you must to get out of there.”

“I’ll do my best,” I replied.

“I shall do another set of divinations to try to get you some helpful information; it’s difficult to see past the Virtus Regnum’s magical barriers, but I think I can manage something.” He paused. “But promise me you will focus on getting out of there. I know that you have a charitable, good nature and you want to help the surviving townsfolk … but those people are not your blood. Family must always come first. Please do not gamble your or your brother’s safety for the welfare of mundane strangers. Please promise me this.”

He looked so sad and worried I found myself saying, “I promise.”

And then immediately wondered if it had been the right thing to do.