Prohibited Magic is the third book in the Grimoire Society of Dark Acts series. Episode 7 is up on my Patreon—it’s pay-what-you-like—and it’ll go up later on Kindle Vella.
Episode 7: Morton and Sean take apart Grimoire Assassins’s hexed room, and Morton is shocked at what they discover.
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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 7: A New Direction
MORTON
Drew Morton left a bickering O’Sullivan and Luther alone in the sitting room with Patrick, who was busy picking up and looking at every last item and ornament in the room, no doubt to determine its value and whether he might take it…or come back for it another time.
There wasn’t one person Morton liked in that room.
He passed his twin hook swords, carefully propped up against the hallway wall, and peeked into the parlor room to see Anne lying on the chaise lounge with a wet cloth on her head, her eyes closed and her face flushed. An armchair had been dragged over to the head of the chaise, and Knox sat in it with his head leaned back and a little to the side, sleeping by her as if guarding her.
Nigel and Finnegan were in a quiet deep discussion across the room. Nigel! Morton ventured inside, approaching them as quietly as he could.
“Nigel, you’ve been healed,” Morton said softly, awe in his voice. He glanced at Anne. “But what happened to Miss Albers?”
Nigel quickly explained that Carmichael had gone off with the Ruin Rats in hopes of infiltrating them, and so Anne had paid the price instead, and this was part of it.
“Mr. Bollington has gone to get something to help her fever,” he finished.
Anne seemed like a strong lady, based on the short amount of time Morton had spent with her. He hated to see her suffering this way.
“We were just discussing what Knox told us he discovered about corrupted magic when he first spoke to Phineas Fenn,” Finnegan said. “Have you ever heard the term parasitic magic?”
“I haven’t,” Morton responded, immediately disliking the term.
“It’s what we’ve been referring to as corrupted magic.”
“I prefer corrupted because that’s what it is,” Nigel interjected, disgust clear in his tone.
Finnegan nodded in agreement and continued. “As it turns out, the Ruin Rats can draw magic straight from Grimoires they steal. It might be because of the cipher Carmichael said was written in Grimoire Assassins’s book—that might not just be to lock it from others’ use. Knox also said that it seems like the Ruin Rats must stay within a certain distance of the Grimoire in order to use its magic, but they don’t have to physically hold it. It seems impossible, but Knox saw it for himself.”
Morton had never seen someone use magic without holding some sort of artifact as a conductor. There always had to be a conductor.
Nigel looked at Finnegan. “I presume a man like Fenn won’t take very long to figure out a way to extend his range with the magic books and artifacts he’s collecting, and it’s most likely safe to say he’ll try to find a way to make parasitic magic more powerful than genuine magic.”
He was right. They had limited time. But one question bothered Morton about this long-range magic concept. “How do you think the black slime continued to work once Fenn was out of the house and the Grimoire he was using was gone too?”
“I assumed a potion or spell of some kind,” Nigel said.
“Luther doesn’t have magic like that as far as I know. He would’ve used it around us before if that was the case,” Finnegan said.
“Then don’t you think something in this house is keeping the black substance going?” Morton’s eyes flicked up to the ceiling. The hexed room—perhaps that has something to do with it.
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© Christie Stratos 2023