"The books," he murmurs, brow knitting as he nods, remembering the brief but telling thing Roman had said before he'd driven them out of the garage. "He said that there was no other way to do what he wanted, that 'the books were very clear' about that. You're right, it is about magic, it has to be." He feels a wave of nausea turn his stomach because if that is the case, which Spencer is sure of now, then it's his own fault. He'd told Joel to place the order for the books Roman had requested, even though his husband had questioned why anyone but an actual witch would even know such texts existed, but Spencer had given Roman the benefit of the doubt. After all, he himself is human and interested in witchcraft behind what the books they sell to wide-eyed, lore-loving tourists; but whether Roman is a witch or not, whatever he's planning on using those books to do certainly doesn't speak of something as mild as a healing potion or even a love spell.
The wards are obviously sophisticated, enough to be confident that nobody will find them with a loctaror spell Roman must have known Joel would attempt, and even more so to steal Davin's powers from him like this. But wards, Spencer knows, don't require the actual gift of magic; rather, it requires the ability to say words correctly and pour just the right amount of ingredients into a bowl.
"Power," he murmurs, looking down at the cardigan in his hands and bringing it closer to his chest. It smells like Joel, of books and maybe the slightest hint of whiskey, and it's not as good as having his husband here with him but it's something. It's a reminder that he can't give up, as if he needs one at all, and he has to swallow the ecxceptionally large lump in his throat at the sight of his bare ring finger before he refocuses his mind n the situation at hand.
"Power," he says again, "Roman is all about power. He knows you're a witch, that's why he knocked you out first. He knew I'd do whatever he said if he used you as leverage, and he hit me because I didn't stop talking when he told me to stop. All of it is about power, it makes him nervous not to have it or to think that someone might be trying to take it from him. I think that's the key, those books..." He trails off, frowning as he thinks back to what he'd seen when flipping through the pages of one of the books in the shop before handing them right over, and then his eyes widen as he turns his head to look at Davin. "Power transferrence. It was something I saw in one of the texts he bought that day you came to Crossroads, that has to be it. "
He can't quite be proud about figuring it out, not when it doesn't help them very much to know that a crazed man who wants to steal powers still has them locked up in two inches of whatever in some warehouse that Spencer is sure is out of the way from the main part of town. They may not even be directly in the lines of Siren Cove itself, for all he kows, but he supposes having an idea of the motive if better than knowing nothing at all. The only problem is that between the two fo them, Spencer suspects that Davin won't be as willing to along with whatever Roman wants them to do while they're under his watchful eye, not because Spencer thinks him too young or too foolish but because of how desperate he is without his magic right now.
Desperation can be a dangerous thing. Mark Fuller had taught him that.
"Davin," he says carefully, not wanting to sound like he's lecturing because that's not what this i about. They're both scared, both wanting to be where they're supposed to be with the men in their lives, and Spencer can't imagine what James must be going through--on his birthday, no less--but he knows exactly what Joel is feeling. They don't have that same kind of psychic bond that Joel has with Charlotte, but that column of energy that connects them is always there, even if it's being blocked by these wards right now. Besides that, Spencer knows what Joel must be thinking because if there positions were reversed, he'd be thinking the exact same thing himself.
He's terrified of what it wil do to him, his mind, to be separated from his husband like this when they haven't spent more than one night apart in nearly a year. To some, it might sound co-dependent, but for Spencer knows better than that. He and Joel, they're meant to be together, they have been from the start, and that is why it hurts so much to be away from him.
"We have to play this right," he says, and he's hardly an expert on how to fool an aggressor but what he says is the truth, he knows that much. "We have to go through the motions with him, otherwise he's going to hurt us. He has a gun, and he already knows you won't risk using your powers in case it causes something to happen to me. So we just have to listen to him, let him talk himself to the point of exhauston if that's what he wants, and if Joel and James don't get here by the time he's ready to do what he wants to do, we'll just have to take the risk and make a move."
It's not much of a plan--in fact, Spencer is essentially suggesting they just let this ride until Roman returns, which isn't a plan at all--but it's all they have right now.
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The wards are obviously sophisticated, enough to be confident that nobody will find them with a loctaror spell Roman must have known Joel would attempt, and even more so to steal Davin's powers from him like this. But wards, Spencer knows, don't require the actual gift of magic; rather, it requires the ability to say words correctly and pour just the right amount of ingredients into a bowl.
"Power," he murmurs, looking down at the cardigan in his hands and bringing it closer to his chest. It smells like Joel, of books and maybe the slightest hint of whiskey, and it's not as good as having his husband here with him but it's something. It's a reminder that he can't give up, as if he needs one at all, and he has to swallow the ecxceptionally large lump in his throat at the sight of his bare ring finger before he refocuses his mind n the situation at hand.
"Power," he says again, "Roman is all about power. He knows you're a witch, that's why he knocked you out first. He knew I'd do whatever he said if he used you as leverage, and he hit me because I didn't stop talking when he told me to stop. All of it is about power, it makes him nervous not to have it or to think that someone might be trying to take it from him. I think that's the key, those books..." He trails off, frowning as he thinks back to what he'd seen when flipping through the pages of one of the books in the shop before handing them right over, and then his eyes widen as he turns his head to look at Davin. "Power transferrence. It was something I saw in one of the texts he bought that day you came to Crossroads, that has to be it. "
He can't quite be proud about figuring it out, not when it doesn't help them very much to know that a crazed man who wants to steal powers still has them locked up in two inches of whatever in some warehouse that Spencer is sure is out of the way from the main part of town. They may not even be directly in the lines of Siren Cove itself, for all he kows, but he supposes having an idea of the motive if better than knowing nothing at all. The only problem is that between the two fo them, Spencer suspects that Davin won't be as willing to along with whatever Roman wants them to do while they're under his watchful eye, not because Spencer thinks him too young or too foolish but because of how desperate he is without his magic right now.
Desperation can be a dangerous thing. Mark Fuller had taught him that.
"Davin," he says carefully, not wanting to sound like he's lecturing because that's not what this i about. They're both scared, both wanting to be where they're supposed to be with the men in their lives, and Spencer can't imagine what James must be going through--on his birthday, no less--but he knows exactly what Joel is feeling. They don't have that same kind of psychic bond that Joel has with Charlotte, but that column of energy that connects them is always there, even if it's being blocked by these wards right now. Besides that, Spencer knows what Joel must be thinking because if there positions were reversed, he'd be thinking the exact same thing himself.
He's terrified of what it wil do to him, his mind, to be separated from his husband like this when they haven't spent more than one night apart in nearly a year. To some, it might sound co-dependent, but for Spencer knows better than that. He and Joel, they're meant to be together, they have been from the start, and that is why it hurts so much to be away from him.
"We have to play this right," he says, and he's hardly an expert on how to fool an aggressor but what he says is the truth, he knows that much. "We have to go through the motions with him, otherwise he's going to hurt us. He has a gun, and he already knows you won't risk using your powers in case it causes something to happen to me. So we just have to listen to him, let him talk himself to the point of exhauston if that's what he wants, and if Joel and James don't get here by the time he's ready to do what he wants to do, we'll just have to take the risk and make a move."
It's not much of a plan--in fact, Spencer is essentially suggesting they just let this ride until Roman returns, which isn't a plan at all--but it's all they have right now.