Rowan examined the pages of the codex for the third time. The words blurred and rambled over the page.  She pushed her hair off her face and wished for a breeze. The fire burned hot enough to make satan uncomfortable but a shiver ran through her, chilling her blood til it felt gelid and swollen in her heart.

“If I don’t do this, Aidan will die.  If I don’t do this right, I will die.” she thought.  Neither choice was acceptable. She had walked all day after visiting the old woman in the cave.  Most of her advice was nothing but headology and that might work on the poor folk in the valley who were ignorant of the true path.  Rowan needed real magic tonight and real magic demanded blood.  She had a catheter ready to insert into her own vein and prayed for the resilience to follow through.  She sighed and read the page one more time.

“Defenestrate?  Why didn’t it just say throw it out the window?” She sighed half from frustration and half from exhaustion.

When she had drained the required amount of blood from her own arm, she applied herbs and a clean cloth to close the wound. She was ready for the incantation.

gizzards and feathers
shall be mixed with the blood
for reincarnation
needs more than mud
twice to the left
thrice to the right
at gibbous moon
in pale dead light

Aidan moaned on the cot and opened his eyes.

“Shazam” He smiled weakly at her.

“Shut up fool”  Rowan’s knees gave out and she sank down beside him.
“You owe me seven chickens!”

creativecopychallenge.com

codex
defenestrate
gizzard
headology
gelid
catheter
reincarnation
shazam
resilience
burn

phew, that was a tough one…