Scarred

Chapter 69

Eva's POV
Four years later
An agreement, a deal. After moving back in with Maven, James and Cas due to my parents getting a house that's uncomfortably close to the now empty shell of the palace, it became even more evident just how much Cas and I rely on each other. So we made a deal. A year apart. Excluding birthdays and other celebrations, we attempt to live our lives completely separate from each other. Starting on the day after Cas' nineteenth birthday and ending the day of his twentieth birthday, it's been the perfect opportunity to make something big for his birthday. And by big, I mean big.

A spell, in fact.

"Dammit, it's still not good enough," I grunt, examining the projection of my soul in front of me. This doesn't make sense. I've been doing it the same way as with everyone else and it worked just fine. Why isn't this working?! And worst of all, after breaking my right hand the other day, it makes it difficult to take notes and cast the spell at the same time.
"You okay Eva?" Maven pokes his head into my room, and I walk over to him, using the spell to project his soul in front of us. Somehow, it's clearly visible, like it's a solid object in front of me, yet when I do it to my own soul, it's transparent and fuzzy with some strange shape around it that I can't quite figure out.
"It doesn't make sense, I used the same method and everything," I murmur, returning to my notes.

Maybe it's because of my blood. No, that wouldn't make sense, I tested it with Lucky to make sure that wouldn't change anything and it was fine. I even tested it with Cassie and there were no differences there either.

"Still working on that spell of yours? You need to give yourself a break Eva, you look exhausted," he sighs.
"I'm fine, I got a couple hours sleep last night. I just don't have long until we're meeting up again, I wanna get this perfected for Cas' birthday but I'm clearly doing something wrong." I flick through my notes as I search my mind for a possible explanation.

"Maybe it's because it's your own soul you're trying to project. Here, let me see the spell," I hand him my notes and after a couple tries, my soul appears clearly in front of me, just like how it does with everyone else. And yet that shape is still unclear. Maybe I'm just imagining it. "Think about it, no one but you can see their own soul, and the magic probably uses that logic too. You might be able to fix that problem for you eventually, but... you could get Cas to use the spell on you without telling him what it is. Then you still have that element of surprise. But here's a question for you, why exactly are you doing this?"

Sighing, I take my notebook from his hand and hold it to my chest. As I open it, I glance at the first page, one written a bit over a year ago now. One from a version of me who was never expecting this to work out.

"On the day Cas and I went to Surrek with the intention of finding mum, both of us were incredibly excited. At one point, I told him his soul seemed to be jumping around. And he told me "I wish I could see souls too, I want to see your soul jumping and dancing around with joy." My goal is to make that possible. I want to somehow make a spell so anyone can see another's soul," I read to Maven. "Not only is this for Cas, but for mum and Flynn and Hunter and James and Sammy and all the other Impures who just want to see the souls of those they care about. The real issues are: will it work, how will I do it, and how long will it take? I don't know the answer to any of these, but I'm determined to make this work."

"It's an admirable goal, I must admit," he grins. "One that I also would've thought was impossible, but I guess you proved me wrong there. Making your own spell, it sounds crazy."
"Crazy, but not impossible. Wait a sec, how do I know it will work if Cas tries to do it? I haven't had an Impure test it out before," I pout. "I guess I'll have to find out... James!"

I race downstairs, Maven trailing after me, and rush into the kitchen where I find James pouring himself a glass of wine.
"Is there something you need from me Eva?" He smirks as I quickly grab the bottle and take a sip.
"Mhmm, can you test this spell out for me? You have to use it on someone, so... test it on Maven," I explain. "I need to know if this works, cause if it doesn't, I'll be cramming in as much research as possible into the next few nights."