The Mortal Heart

Marian pushed with two hands on a heavy stone door, murmuring a few words of Latin that Lila Jane couldn’t make out. The rock disappeared beneath her touch. “What just—?”

“Save that thought, Janie,” Marian said, taking her friend by both shoulders. “Because things are about to get even crazier.” She pushed Lila Jane through the door. The moment Lila Jane stepped into the room, she knew Marian was right. They entered what appeared to be the central hub of the space, a large vaulted chamber that seemed utterly without end. Lila Jane stopped, stunned. “It’s incredible.” She reached out and touched the closest row of books, but Marian grabbed her arm.

“And powerful. Only a Caster can touch these books.”

“A what?” Lila Jane stared at her friend. “As in—”

“As in spell caster,” Marian said slowly.

Lila Jane stared wide-eyed at the surrounding stacks, speechless.

Marian tried again. “As in a race of gifted Supernaturals who can and always have been able to bend Mortal existence to their will—in different ways, depending on their different powers.”

Lila Jane put her hand down on the counter behind her for support—but accidentally touched the edge of a stray piece of parchment, sending sparks flying. “Ouch.”

“Careful—” Marian grabbed her friend by the arm.

“Macon’s spell book,” Lila Jane finally said. “It really is a spell book.” She shook her burning fingers. “I didn’t believe it.”

“A book of Casts? Possibly. Yes.” Marian hesitated. “I know there’s a lot to explain, so just trust me on this. If you touch anything in this library, you’ll burn your hands off.”

“Mare. You forget who you’re talking to.” Lila Jane pulled her beloved white archival gloves from her bag and waved them at her friend. “Not a problem.”

Marian smiled. “Of course.”

Lila Jane pulled out the nearest book, holding it carefully in her gloved fingers. “Castere Compoundes of Alchemies Elementaus? Is this for real?”

“It depends,” Marian said, looking over Lila’s shoulder.

“On what?”

“On whether or not you really want to know the answer to that question.” Marian looked at Lila Jane. “Or the answer to exactly what sort of Supernatural your beloved Macon Ravenwood is.”

“So there are different sorts, now?” Lila Jane looked overwhelmed.

Marian kept going. “Or the answer to where I go when I’m not at home at night.”

Lila Jane nodded, keeping her expression remarkably composed. “What if I do?”

Marian looked at her. “Are you sure? Because there’s no going back.”

Lila Jane nodded, moving down the aisle. The stacks appeared to spread in radial spokes, branching through the massive underground cavern in every possible direction. “It seems to me we came to the no-going-back place the moment you made the stone door abracadabra away.” She pulled out a thick parchment scroll, examining it every bit as thoroughly as if she were in the rare books reading room.

Marian shook her head. “These aren’t small decisions, Janie. These are the moments that shape a life, even a destiny. The first time I saw this place, I couldn’t eat for a week. Everything I’d ever understood about the world was fundamentally and forever changed.”

Lila Jane replaced the scroll and looked up at her friend. “But that’s the thing you don’t understand, Mare. My world already changed. It changed the day I met Macon Ravenwood. And if this is a part of his world, then last Sunday it became a part of mine.”

Marian pulled her friend into a fierce hug.

Lila Jane stared at the world beyond Marian’s pale cashmere shoulder, considering the words she’d just spoken.

They seemed real, but it was hard to tell what was real anymore. Especially now, when her entire world had just turned upside down.

“I think I’m going to love him, Mare.” The words sounded odd as they echoed through the vast cavern, as if they surprised even her.

“Then we should talk.” Macon stepped out of the shadows and held out his hand.

Slowly, Lila Jane let go of her friend and took it. He pulled her hand to his lips, tenderly kissing her white-gloved fingers with a smile. As he did, the look in his eyes said more than he could otherwise ever possibly hope to express.

Lila Jane understood it all.

I’ve broken him, she thought. I’ve never seen him look happier and sadder, all at the same time.

“What’s this? A kiss on the hand? Surely you can do better than that, my dear Macon Ravenwood,” Lila Jane said, smiling back at him.

“Come here, Jane.”

Marian disappeared before the gloves even came off.





By the time Lila Jane crept back home, it was the middle of the night, though every light in the apartment was on.

Marian sat up on her futon. “Do you have any idea what time it is? I was worried sick about you.” Her futon was full of books, and Lila Jane flopped on top of them.

“You’re the one who left me in the Caster Library,” she said.

“Would you have preferred I stay?” Marian raised an eyebrow.