Prohibited Magic is the third book in the Grimoire Society of Dark Acts series. Episode 21 is up on my Patreon—it’s pay-what-you-like—and it’ll go up later on Kindle Vella.
Episode 21: Knox speaks to his dead brother, Chester, in the Vale of Galdur and finds out he has a major choice to make.
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What Prohibited Magic is about:
With Grimoire Society of Dark Acts’s magic book and crystal ball in the hands of the parasitic Ruin Rats, Carmichael’s decision to take the Book of Blessings and infiltrate the magical gang has left Dark Acts magically crippled. Gertrude is trapped in Grimoire Assassins’s magical realm; only the never-before-seen Grimoire of Blood can save her. Dark Acts and its allies split up to stop the worsening imbalance in the Magic Societal Universe, an unprecedented state with unfathomable consequences.
Episode 21: Chester
KNOX
Knox opened his eyes from the most restful sleep he could ever remember having. Part of it was the healing prayers he’d said with Nigel, the other was the thick bed of moss with a blanket of densely packed white fuzzy-leaved lamb’s ears the Vale of Galdur had used to create a sleeping spot on the ground for him.
He wished he could stay there and forget everything Dark Acts needed to do to straighten out the Magic Societal Universe. Just sleep here and never move again.
At the same time, now that he was refreshed, he felt ready to take on the Ruin Rats, avenge Babble, and set the magical world on the right path again.
“Yer not just avengin’ one person,” Chester’s voice said.
Knox looked to the right, toward his brother’s short gravestone, having slept across his grave. Chester sat there, somewhat transparent and completely blue, with his legs folded in front of him like he’d always sat when he was alive. He’d preferred to sit on the floor over a chair, like he’d never totally let go of living on the streets and sitting in alleys for extended periods of time.
“You’ll be avengin’ me too, when ya win. Avengin’ me ’cause it’ll mean ya got more peace in yerself.” Chester always did have unerring confidence in Knox, no matter what. When Chester shook his head, the mess of curly brown hair, much like Knox’s, bounced with life. Life Chester didn’t have. “No doubts allowed, r’member? Ya gotta have no doubts in yerself. Promise me.”
Knox chuckled quietly, still lying on the soft bed of moss, although the lamb’s ears were slowly pulling away, back into the ground. “Yer always makin’ me promise things. I can’t always keep ’em. Makes me feel worse.”
“Just…promise me yer gonna believe you can do everything ya need to.” He paused, his eyes boring into Knox’s. They’d been brown when he was alive; now they were the same blue as the rest of his body. “He’s right, ya know. That Nigel fella. He knows what he’s talkin’ about.”
“Ya would’ve hated him if you were still alive,” Knox said.
Chester waved his hand dismissively. “That was a long time ago. I didn’t know much then. Ya know I’m right…that he’s right. C’mon, admit it.”
A small smile graced Knox’s face. Chester would forever sound younger than the age he’d died. He’d been in his twenties, but he’d never acted all the way grown up. Knox had been the serious one, perhaps because he’d had to take care of them both when they’d been dumped on the streets by their parents. He was older by two years, and when he was only eight with a brother of six, those two years made all the difference.
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© Christie Stratos 2023