Prohibited Magic is the third book in the Grimoire Society of Dark Acts series. Episode 22 is up on my Patreon—it’s pay-what-you-like—and it’ll go up later on Kindle Vella.
Episode 22: Morton experiments on Patrick with edible magic, and Sean experiences magical healing.
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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 22: Eating magic
MORTON
Before Morton had left the Guild of Grace, the man with the badly wounded wrist who’d tried to save Grace had woken up. His name was Louis, and he’d described the injury as “agony like the fires of hell.” Morton could see why—it wasn’t just that the billhook had sliced a third of the way into his bone, which would have been bad enough, but the bone also looked misaligned now. Morton had assured Louis he’d get a healer immediately while Patrick and Sean remained with him.
Upon returning with Julian, a healer from a few doors down, Morton was half horrified and half impressed to find that Patrick and Sean had set Louis’s wrist and wrapped it with a handkerchief. He was unconscious again though, and pale.
Julian used the opportunity to unwrap the bloodied handkerchief and examine their work. “Where did you learn to do this so well? It’s aligned exactly right.”
“Yeh gotta know it when—” Patrick started, but Sean gave him a sharp look and a partial shake of the head.
“Don’t always have the money for a doctor,” Sean said instead. “Hafta learn things like that.”
Julian didn’t ask questions. He focused on carefully inspecting Louis’s wrist, taking advantage of his lack of consciousness and using the bloodied handkerchief to probe the injury.
He looked up at Morton. “Your friends have done the hard part. I can start healing it from here, but I’ll need a second healer to apply enough magic to repair the bone most of the way through. Between the two of us, we should be able to fix it to the point of a fracture.”
“That’s excellent news,” Morton said, and he smiled at Patrick and Sean before returning his gaze to Julian. “We can fetch the healer for you. Where can we find him?”
“Her,” Julian corrected as he pulled a long leather-cord necklace from beneath his shirt. As he raised the leather over his head, Morton spotted the clear crystal pendant that probably acted as the healer’s magic conductor. “When you leave here, go left down the street, then turn right down the second alley and take the stairs to the top shop. Don’t dally—nightfall is coming, and the tattooist is down that alley. You’ll want to watch yourselves.”
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© Christie Stratos 2023