Sylvia looked at me sharply. And then her eyes cut to Jennifer, still holding the alchemy book.
“I hear from Margaret Twigg that you were successful in lifting the spell from that book.” She didn’t end that statement with a lilt, but the question was implied.
There was no point in lying to her. “We did,” I said.
She nodded. “And I can tell from the suppressed excitement you two are trying so hopelessly to hide that you’ve discovered where she keeps her elixir of life.”
Jennifer looked at me, but I wasn’t going to lie. First of all, Sylvia didn’t need it, and second, she’d paid a fortune for me to have that stuff.
I said, “Yes.”
She smiled her wintry smile. “Excellent. When shall we go and retrieve it?”
“We’re going to go late tonight. But—”
“Don’t waste your time on buts, young lady. I paid a lot of money for that elixir. I want to make sure you get it.”
And so, once again, I found myself traveling the road to Wallingford late at night in the company of my best friend and a much smaller selection of vampires. Theodore was driving, and Sylvia and my grandmother sat in the back with us.
Once more, we walked down the driveway in the dead of night. There were signs of recent police activity, and as we grew closer to the mausoleum, I saw police do-not-cross tape. I could feel that the body of Tilda was gone. It was a relief not to feel that heaviness in the pit of the earth beneath us. The two swans seemed almost to be gliding, weightless in the night. We paused in front. The vampires stayed back so as not to interfere with our magic.
Jennifer and I moved closer, and she said, “Will you do the honors?”
She passed me the book and, holding it close to the stone swan on the right of the mausoleum, I read the Latin phrase out loud, as best I could. Then I said, “As above, so below.” I was pretty sure I could have said “Open sesame” and it would have worked. The book was the key.
At least I hoped so.
“Come on, Karmen,” I said softly. “You know we’ll keep your secrets safe.”
There was the sound of stone grinding on stone, and the swan’s wings seemed to open in front of my eyes. I got out my phone and put that flashlight app on again and played it over the stone swan, and sure enough, there was a cleverly hidden alcove beneath its wing.
Tucked inside was a box exactly like the one I had received as a wedding gift. Just a plain wooden box with runes on the outside. I reached in and picked it up, and then the swan’s wing folded in again.
Jennifer said, “Tilda was so close. She had the right idea but not the exact location.”
“Also, not the magic, the book or the right intent,” I reminded her.
We retraced our steps, and once we were in the Bentley, Sylvia insisted I open the box and make sure that this was the genuine article that she’d paid for this time.
I opened the box and gasped. This wasn’t like the other box at all. It was lined in gold.
Sylvia nodded. “Very proper. In alchemy, of course, gold is the purest element.”
And there nestling in the gold was another lump of what looked like petrified camel dung. I would get Rafe to test it, of course, but every instinct in my witch’s body said that this was the real McCoy. In my hands, I held the secret to eternal youth.
Even if it was the genuine article, would I take it?
I didn’t know. And that was okay. I didn’t have to decide right away.
When we returned to Oxford, I didn’t even take the book up to my flat. I headed to Crosyer Manor. Once there, I bound the book one more time with my own spell, and to be extra safe, I also bound the runic box, and then Rafe put them in the most secure and secret of the several safes he kept in Crosyer Manor.
Once it was fully locked away, he turned to me. “I don’t mind, you know,” he said, as though answering the question that clamored in my mind. “Whatever you decide.”
And that was one of the many reasons why I loved him. I didn’t have to explain my hesitation over taking the elixir of life, and he was willing to take me for a mortal term of life if that was my choice. If I decided to remain forever young, that was up to me. All in all, that made him a pretty good groom.
“I will love you forever,” I said.
“And I, you.” And he kissed me.
As the day of my wedding grew closer, I had fewer and fewer things to worry about. Violet seemed to change her attitude and started taking more responsibility in the shop. Maybe not having me to lean on was bringing out the best in her. I hoped so. She’d told me that she’d take over the staffing, which she’d have to do anyway for the two weeks I was away. And very generously she said if I needed a longer honeymoon, that would be okay. She’d managed the shop when I’d been in New Zealand, after all, and done a fine job. I suspected that going forward, I’d spend less time here, especially if we were franchising so Gran could have a shop of her own in Cornwall.
We picked up the bridesmaid dresses, and the final fitting had me getting misty-eyed again. These three beautiful women that I adored looked stunning in their dresses. We all went out for lunch after the fitting, and I gave them their bracelets.
Naturally, I had imbued each one with a little special magic.
I liked to think that Alice would be wearing a special protection amulet for her and her baby without even knowing it. And when the
