Page 29 of Magic in the Music (Magic and Mysteries #4)

“What happened, Samantha?” her mother asked when she returned with Petra and practically every witch residing at Nightshade Manor.

Cassian explained what she had told him.

“Do not touch that piano again,” Petra cried as she pushed her way through to stand beside Cassian and Lady Saye.

“Is it safe for anyone else to go in?” Eugenia asked.

“I can come and go and so can Petra, but Samantha is forced to remain.”

Eugenia turned to the others. “Only one of us at a time. We cannot risk all of us being in there before the spell is broken.”

“I will go to my daughter,” Lady Saye insisted.

“She is trapped in music,” Ajax announced as he arrived at the door, breathing heavily as if he had run all the way from the Romani camp. “Iza said that all she could see was Samantha surrounded by music, but not where, just that it trapped her.”

“We found her,” Eugenia answered.

Ajax looked into the room and frowned.

“Nobody can see her, except for Cassian,” Eugenia quickly explained. “But if it truly is the music, then I need to find the card of warning since it was playing the piano that caused her to fade. Or maybe a journal.”

“Such as those in the magical vault,” Samantha’s mother said when she realized what Eugenia meant. “Which explains the dangers of an item.”

“I will go in first, and alone. I still fear someone else may be accidentally stuck in the room and be unable to leave,” Eugenia insisted before she crossed the threshold.

“Oh, Samantha, I am so sorry this happened to you.” Her worried glance was cast around the room, searching.

“I am going near the piano now to search for a warning and do not want to step on you or run into you…”

“I am never going near that piano again,” Samantha said.

Cassian repeated her words.

“Yes, well, I cannot blame you.”

Cassian joined Eugenia near the piano and searched for a card or journal. He knew what to look for because he had seen them in the magical vault.

There, on the floor, by the leg of the piano, was a card. “Is this what you need?”

He picked it up and handed it to Eugenia.

“What?” Everyone asked at the same time.

“It is the Klavier der Seelen .”

“What is that?” Lady Saye asked.

“I have no idea,” Eugenia answered. “Help me find the journal, Cassian,” Eugenia instructed.

Eugenia searched tables and drawers while Cassian looked through nearly every book on the shelves.

“This!” Samantha cried and pulled a leather-bound book from beneath the decorated tree. “It is similar to the ones in the vault and nothing is written on it.”

Cassian took it from Samantha and handed it to Eugenia. When she opened it, a scrap of paper fell out, which she picked up. “It is the Piano of Souls. Apparently, when played, the piano will claim the person, slowly. With each note a piece is drawn into the piano until nothing remains.”

Cassian looked back at Samantha who had grown even paler and sank onto the settee.

“How do we fix it?” he demanded.

Euginia flipped through the pages of the book and frowned. “I do not know.”

“What do you mean?” He marched forward and took it from her. “What language is this?”

“It appears to be German, I believe.” Eugenia looked toward the door. “Does anyone read German, or a similar language?”

There was silence from the witches waiting in the hall.

“Samantha, I promise that we will find someone who can translate this so we can free you,” Eugenia insisted. “Someone in Bocka Morrow, or near, must speak the language.”

“Why can we not use a reveal spell so that we can read the words?” asked Selene Norcott, the youngest of the Drakos witches at ten and nine.

“It is always dangerous to use magic to find the answer to magic. We do not know if the journal is enchanted and if it is, something worse might happen to Samantha.”

“How can it have fully pulled anyone in?” Maia asked. “Did the person not notice they were disappearing before it was too late?”

Samantha placed a hand against her chest. “I was lost in my music. My eyes were closed. It surrounded me and I had never felt it so strongly before. I thought it was simply because I let my emotions free because I thought it was safe to do so.”

Cassian told them what she had said then explained that if it had not been for a missed note and looking down that… “That is why Iza saw Samantha trapped in music. The piano takes and pulls, embraces and surrounds.”

Samantha glanced back at the piano. “I wonder how many have been claimed and if they can be freed?”

He did not want to think about that. Maybe it was something that could be solved later, but right now, all he cared about was freeing Samantha and having her whole again.

“How could none of us have known about this room?” Lady Chandos murmured near the door. “I spent years here as a child with Eugenia, and studying in the vault, but we never knew about this room.”

“I did,” Petra said. “So did Maia, but the door was always locked.”

“Come along,” Lady Chandos ordered. “While my sister finds someone who can translate, we need to search the magical vault for any reference to the piano.” She frowned. “Do any of you recall reading about it when you were searching for the other spell last month?”

“I honestly cannot recall,” Maia answered. “We read so much and only worried about what we needed.”

“Then I am even happier that Gretchen and Larisa have decided to provide an index of everything we have, which we will all work on while we are searching for information on the piano.”

Their voices faded as they retreated to the vault.

“You do not have to stay with me,” Samantha said quietly.

Did she really think he would leave her? He was the only one who could see or hear her. And, even if that wasn’t the case, Cassian would sooner die than leave her alone.

“I am not going anywhere, Samantha. I promise.”

* * *

He was kind, and likely the reason she had fallen in love with him.

Tears welled again, but Samantha swiped them away.

She would not think about what would never be but be comforted that he was here now and that she was not alone.

“Everyone knows what they must do,” Lady St. Alban announced as she returned, Samantha’s mother following.

“Samantha, is there anything you need?”

Cassian looked at her. His silver eyes were intent and focused, searching hers for truth, or maybe distress.

“I am rather hungry,” she admitted, surprised that she could be given the state of her emotions. “And thirsty. I am very thirsty.”

Cassian relayed the message to Lady St. Alban and she promised to return soon with sustenance.

“Oh, Samantha, I wish my magic was enough to free you of this.” Her mother’s hands were clutched, one finger picking at the nail on the other hand, revealing the depth of her concern.

She hated to see her mother in this state especially when she was normally the most composed woman she had ever known.

“Tell her that she does not need to remain, especially since we cannot talk to one another,” Samantha said to Cassian.

“She is a powerful witch and they will need her magic.” It would also give her mother something more productive to do than stand around and fidget because she believed that she should remain by her daughter’s side.

This was a magical curse, not like when she had been a child, running a fever, and when her mother refused to leave her side.

Cassian relayed the message.

“Yes, I suppose I need to go help. Fretting never solved any difficulty.” Her smile was thin and uncertain. “I will return later, Samantha.”

Samantha wanted to assure her mother that all would be well, except she feared that this may be her permanent state, and she couldn’t tell her directly anyway.

“I wish there was more that I could do,” Cassian offered as he sat beside her.

“Your being here and being able to hear and see me is more than enough.”

“It is odd that I am the only one though,” he voiced something that she had also wondered about but since they did not know anything about the piano or if she could be separated from it, it was impossible to know why it was Cassian.

It could be as simple as he was the first to find her and if it had been Petra who first walked into the room it would have been her.

“When magic is involved…” She blew out a heavy sigh without finishing the statement. Cassian knew as well as Samantha that magic could be unpredictable, especially when they knew so little about the artifact.

The silence stretched between them.

Before she had gone to his cottage and asked for a kiss, Samantha rarely had to struggle for a topic of conversation and neither did Cassian.

Now…they were not even comfortable with the other.

What good did it do to have him here if they weren’t going to talk, other than he could speak for her?

“I came to see if there is anything I can do,” Cordelia announced as she entered the room. Cordelia was married to Damon Norcott, Viscount Bentford, who was the son of the Marchioness of Chandos. From what Samantha understood, Cordelia was not magical.

“Eugenia has gone to retrieve food and drink for Samantha,” Cassian answered. “Why are you not searching with the others?”

“The magical vault is crowded with witches and I was too afraid of accidentally touching the wrong thing and cause another difficulty to be solved.” She shrugged.

“You could do me a favor?” Cassian asked.

“You do not need to remain here if there is something you need to do,” Samantha insisted.

He reached over and the warmth of his hand closed around hers.

Samantha let out a breath. It was wonderful to be touched. She feared that it would never happen again.

“I already said that I am not leaving you. I promise.”

“What would you like me to do?” Cordelia asked.

“I need for you to tell your brother that I will not be able to attend this evening,” Cassian said quietly. “Could you go to him and explain?”

“I am certain that a note to Lynwood will suffice,” Ares said as he entered the room and looked around. “Is Samantha really in here?”

“Yes!” Cassian ground out and she sensed that he did not want people to keep visiting as if she were no more than a curiosity in a menagerie.

“You spend a lot of time over at Hollybrook Park,” Ares observed. “When did you and Lynwood become so close?”

It was then that Samantha remembered that Cordelia’s brother was Viscount Lynwood, who owned the neighboring estate, where Cordelia had once lived. That is until she met Viscount Bentford, whose mother is a Drakos.

Cordelia stared into Cassian’s eyes for the briefest moment, as if she were afraid to reveal a secret. “I will tell my brother, Cassian.” She quickly left.

Samantha had the strangest sensation that the two were discussing more than a simple visit, but it was none of her concern.

“Hopefully I will be free soon and you will not be forced to miss your appointment.”

“It is not important.”

“Ares, you need to go help the others,” Lord St. Alban ordered as he came into the room carrying a tray with a teapot, cups and a plate of food.

Then St. Alban turned to face Cassian. “My wife sent me here so that she could get to work on breaking the spell.” He smiled. “Here you go Samantha.” He set the tray on the table. “Cassian, a word out in the corridor.”

“If this is about Samantha’s predicament, she has a right to know.”

“Unfortunately, no answer has been discovered. There is another matter I want to discuss.”

Cassian offered a reassuring smile and squeezed Samantha’s hand. “I will be right outside. I will go no further. If you need anything, call out.”

When he stepped from her sight, there was a moment of panic, a fear that he couldn’t come back or that when he did, he would not be able to see or talk to her.

But, as there was nothing she could do until he returned, she reached for the teapot to pour a cup of tea, but she was unable to grasp the handle because her hand went right through it.

This was odd. She was able to pick up other things, such as the journal that had been under the tree.

She noted the figurine on the table and reached for it, her fingers going around the delicate porcelain and lifted it before setting it back down. She then attempted to pour tea again but could not grasp the handle.

Could she only touch things that were original to the room? If that were the case, how was she going to eat or drink?

With a sigh, she leaned back against the settee only to realize that Cassian and St. Alban had not moved so far away that she could not hear them.

It wasn’t right to eavesdrop, even if she was curious, so she walked to the door and called out to Cassian.

She could not see them, but they still were not so far away.

“Cassian!” she practically yelled.

When there was no answer, her panic returned because he promised that if she called out, he would come to her. Yet, he hadn’t. Could she not be heard outside of this room?