INVISIBLE PRISON (INVISIBLE RECRUITS) by Mary Buckham Read Free Book Online

magic, I left myself wide open to physical attack.
    “Got salt?” I croaked. Problem with a hex spell, especially a black magic one, was that the three easiest ways to neutralize it didn’t work without a lot of set-up and ingredients. Some spells needed the leaves of ash trees, others a mixture of dragon blood and blessed oils. Uncrossing spells assumed no wicked intention was meant by the original spell caster, and given the knots tightening in my stomach, I didn’t believe that for a second.
    “Salt?” Monroe glanced at Stone as if she’d never heard of the item.
    “Out the door, second door on the left. Upper cupboard,” Stone replied, and bless her heart, Monroe beat feet.
    “What’re you going to do with the salt?” Stone asked, as he leaned me against the nearest wall. All I wanted to do was slide to the floor and moan, but that meant some SOB black magic witch would win.
    “Protection spell,” I murmured.
    “White or black?” he asked, surprising me.
    I shot him a quick glance that had him shrugging. It was a damned astute question, especially for a human.
    “Black to black,” I bit out between clenched teeth. Unfortunately it was too hard to counter a lot of black or dark magic with the more benign white magic. Think of going up against a tank with a garland of flowers and sparkle dust. Sometimes it could work, but today wasn’t the time. Someone was doing their damnedest to hurt me and I didn’t have a lot of options to fight back. But I’d hold off using the blackest, or blood magic, if at all possible.
    Without the right ingredients to truly fight black magic I’d take what I could and see if it helped ease the hex.
    I closed my eyes, fighting nausea swimming through me, when I felt something squeezed into my hand. I looked up to see Monroe bending over me, curling my fingers around a saltshaker.
    Worked for me.
    “Thanks,” I whispered, bracing my legs to stand. I needed a small circle of space around me. I stepped forward to put a hand’s length between the wall and myself, and between where Monroe and Stone hovered near me.
    I didn’t like using my magic in public, didn’t like using it at all, but if I didn’t counter the hex, I might not walk out of here. With hope the other recruits would just think I was crazy acting, tossing around some salt while I mumbled.
    I poured about a teaspoon of ordinary table salt in my right palm and closed it. This time when I shut my eyes it was to visualize a circle of bright light twining around me. It took a little focus, but the image came. Murmuring low I started the chant.
     
    “Light come forth. Clear the darkness. Guide and protect. Light to dark.”
     
    I turned counter clockwise, repeating,
     
    “Clear and guide. Light to dark. Protect.”
     
    By the time I had turned half circle the pressure in my chest began to ease.
    I kept going, releasing a little of the salt in the four directions as I turned.
     
    "East to the morning light. North to the warrior spirits. West to the waning light. South to the heat. Beat back the darkness. Scatter and protect .”
     
    By the time I reached a full circle I could breathe, and think. Snapping my eyes open I followed the protection spell with a guiding one. A cast of the remaining salt in my hand toward the gym spread before me was the first step.
     
    “Dark to dark, seek thy home.”
     
    It wasn’t the strongest spell, and unlike what I’d told Stone it wasn’t true black magic. For that you needed evil intention and human blood.
    I sensed whoever tried to hurt me meant harm more than true evil. Like unto like. No way could I bring a semi-automatic assault rifle to a squirt gun fight and using true black magic was very potent and could be very deadly. But I still wanted to see who had cast the harming hex.
    But the salt, or I, wasn’t strong enough. Instead of a trail of light leading from me, the recipient of the hex, back to the caster, all that happened was a small flurry of salt