Phantom of the Library - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,39

said. “What else do they need to do? What do I need to do without Helena? I work on my magic, tend the garden, go fishing, fly around a bit and sleep.” I shrugged. “I don’t think our lives are supposed to be complicated. This isn’t the Fixed Plane where everyone has to make a living.” The Fixed Plane was an exhausting place. Helena seemed to enjoy it, but she was always worried about money and where she should live and how to get from place to place. Such was the trouble of a fixed realm. You always had to bother with doing certain things, at certain times.

I yawned, just considering it all.

“What is your name again?” I asked.

“Chester.”

“Chester. All right. Well, it sounds like you are going to report back to Piers, and I assume Piers is going to attack my witch, so you and I have some trouble.” I laced my fingers, attempting a binding spell.

Chester didn’t even fight me. He was just this cute, sad little fur ball. My spell whipped magical twine around him, holding his limbs against his body.

“You keep giving me that face,” I said. “I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“Piers hates me,” Chester said. “He’s always hated me. And I’ve ruined his entire life. I’m the whole reason he’s turned into such a terrible person. I’ve shamed him…failed him…” He started to cry.

“How could you fail him, Chester? Do you ever refuse his call?”

“Of course not! But look at me. Piers is one of the strongest, fiercest warlock warriors on the council.”

“Piers?” I snorted. “A warlock warrior? No, go on, go on,” I continued as Chester’s fur perked up with defense.

“But I’ve always embarrassed him, ever since he was a little boy. He never called me to help him if other people were around. And when I had to appear to save him from harm, he would get so angry at me! It’s one thing if I had been a cute girl familiar, but can you imagine how much it humiliates a man like Piers to have to rely on me? Look at me…”

“Familiars are born to suit their warlock,” I said. “You know this. You couldn’t help any of it. It seems to me that the test of Piers’ strength is that he isn’t humiliated by something so petty.”

“I tried to tell him that when he was little. But he would have none of it. Maybe he’s right after all. I’d be better off dead.”

“Maybe you have failed him,” I said. “To think such a thing as that. He is not better off with you dead. Our job as a familiar is to help our witch or warlock become better and stronger. Support them no matter what. If we’ve done our jobs, eventually they won’t need us much anymore. I’ve seen enough of your warlock to think, he is not much of a warrior at all. He’s a bully, which means his self-confidence is shot.”

“Piers could kill your Helena! Easily!” Chester said.

“Maybe. Is that worth bragging about? Are you proud of it?”

“No,” Chester said miserably. “It’s all true. Everything you say is true. I tried to help him and I failed, and he’s so cruel that I don’t want to go back home and tell him anything.”

“Then don’t,” I said. “As you can see right here, these familiars were all able to get away from their wizards. But you’ll have to go into one of the other realms, I believe. You can’t stay in Etherium or the tie between you can’t be broken.”

“It’s no use,” Chester said. “Piers and the council are already working furiously to hold these bonds in a different way.”

“What do you mean?”

“They think there is old magic in the council archival library that will seal the bonds across worlds so that they can’t use this loophole to escape anymore. Of course, they really want to break up the worlds again, but now they’re afraid all the familiars will be lost for good if they break up the worlds while their familiars are separated from them.”

“Old magic? What old magic?”

“Something about covenants. I don’t know.”

“Chester,” I said. “You’re on my side now, and you’re going to help me, aren’t you?”

“Who said that!?” Chester twisted in his bonds, panicking.

“You just told me the whole plan. And you know that’s why you’re really here.”

As we spoke, I started feeling Helena’s panic reaching out to me in little tendrils. She wasn’t calling me yet—and knowing her, she never would. But something was