Page 39 of Adepts and Alchemists

“Glad you like it. I stole it from Crescent Circle when I slept with your mom.”

The juvenile insult had the desired effect. His mouth curled up into a grim little smile. At least we were in familiar, antagonistic territory.

“You are so weird,” Finn said, shaking his head.

“I’ve been called way worse,” I responded.

“You’ll be back to being Mother’s side chick soon enough, Indigo,” Maverick said, cracking his knuckles firmly before stepping into the midst of Poppy’s preparation.

She melted out of his way, taking up a position near the edge of the patio. Finn took the corner opposite her, while Wanda and GG found their places on the remaining corners. It felt vaguely claustrophobic being surrounded on all sides, but I couldn’t bitch about it too much. They’d act as anchors, keeping the magic inside the structure instead of boiling over like a pot leftuntended. Every scrap of energy would feed back into the spell, which was exactly whatshouldhappen.

Maverick extended a hand in our direction, muttering softly to himself in a language I didn’t know. It sounded vaguely serpentine and raised every hair on my neck. The sibilant whispers rang through the night, louder with every heartbeat, but still utterly incomprehensible, no matter how hard I focused. I felt them inside my head, rather than registering their meaning. I simplyknewwhat came next.

Angelo reached for me an instant before I could wrap a hand around his neck. His fingers found the hair at the nape of my neck and tugged, holding me fast even as his mouth found mine. No,Lydia’s.With Angelo’s hands on me, I could feel where she ended and I began. Angelo had a claim on this body, on her soul, that didn’t extend to me. As uncomfortable as making out with an incubus in front of a sixteen-year-old made me, it was what it was.

“RJ, you want to take Finn for a walk?” Poppy asked, and I was glad she was removing them both from the situation because Goddess knew it was uncomfortable enough as it was.

I noticed only briefly that neither RJ nor Finn made any motion to argue, and the two of them disappeared back into GG’s house. Then my attention was back on Angelo and his nimble fingers, which plucked me away from my body, holding me at arm’s length. It put enough space inside to allow Lydia room.

I rose up on my knees, sticky arms winding around his neck. It wasn’t just the desire humming through me that made my heart race. It was the utter clarity with which I could see the magic they were weaving around us. I knew that it could... nowouldwork.If Lydia was freed from her prison before dawn, it would draw her here. It would pull her into our embrace once more. She couldn’t escape her mate. Nor could she escape me. Iwas a part of her. Bound at the soul, twins of sorts. The intimacy had been unwelcome for a while. Now I couldn’t imagine going on without her. She had to live. I’dmakeher live.

I was grateful when Angelo drove me into the muck, obscuring the result of his touch from onlookers. The scream of pleasure he drove from me was lost in his mouth. He kept me firmly pinned, so the shifting of my hips was invisible to anyone but him. Maverick would feel the magical moment of release only indirectly, feeding the simulated intimacy by proxy into the spell.

Though I experienced the sensation, it wasn’t meant for me. Lydia was so clear, so present in Angelo’s thoughts, I could practically feel her. I moaned quietly when he ground his hips into mine ever so slightly and bent to snarl into my ear.

“Lydia, I know you’re out there. Come back to me now, or so help me... I will track you down and paddle you into infinity.”

I felt her. Just a flicker, there and gone, but definitely present. A crack in the bottle. I could touch her. If I could just...

Angelo dug his teeth into my throat, bowing my back out of the kiddie pool. This time I did scream. Blood welled in the cuts, trickling into the pudding gel I was thrashing in. The effect was almost instantaneous. For a second that felt longer, we were all present. Me. Her. Him. All of us were suspended in the muck.

And then the pain began.

Chapter Nineteen

Anthony

I made it to the precinct before the curse could hone in on me, but it was a near thing.

We’d barely stumbled past the double doors before Murrain’s power found its mark, slamming against the warded exterior of the police station like a bazooka blast.

“What the fuck was that?” Officer Kelley asked, staring wide-eyed at the door.

It obligingly shook in its frame, as if to underscore just how fucked the situation was. It was a heavy steel door, discreetly warded by a coven of witches while the entire department was out to lunch on Taliyah’s dime. Taliyah had tried to pay Maverick and the rest of the coven for the work later, only to have her husband stubbornly refuse to cash the check. He had the right idea about Hollows. We stuck together, whether it was a rampaging Wendigo coming for our asses or something altogether more concerning. Murrain’s curse packed enough punch to make me think fondly of my days training under Mother. At least then the black magic had been launched by someone who hadn’tactuallywanted me dead.

Officer Roland was the taller of the two, and a little older than Kelley. He shot Taliyah a questioning look over one shoulder. He looked visibly shaken, but he was at least reacting better than his fellow police officer.

“Something from your end of the block, Chief?” he asked in a would-be calm voice. The effect was somewhat ruined by the quiver that ran through his hands as he undid the strap on his holster. I could have told him not to bother. Whatever was coming through that door was going to be beyond bullets.

“Probably,” Taliyah said, mirroring his posture. She had a hand on the grip of her service pistol. It wouldn’t actually do herany good in this case, but old habits were difficult to break. For a mundane, guns were about the greatest equalizer out there. She’d spent fifty years of her life believing she was exactly that. Human. But I didn’t need Taliyah Morgan in this instant. I needed Princess Olwen.

“Winter,” I urged. “We need Winter in here right the hell now.”

She flicked a wary glance sideways, sizing me up. Her gaze dipped to the glass vial I still clutched in one hand before flickering to land on each of my companions. Darla looked shell-shocked. Marty was bent over the cut in his side. It had been a glancing blow, but even that could be distracting if you weren’t used to being hurt. He might have the training, but he didn’t have the amount of real-world experience I did. He hadn’t taken beatings over and over until they became part of the routine.

“What the hell did you three do?”

I raised the vial for inspection. Lydia’s soul pressed like opaque vapor against the glass. If I broke it, Lydia would be able to stretch into her full incorporeal form. She’d be a ghost, thus the need for a mouthpiece. Darla wasn’t who I’d have chosen to drag into battle beside me, but at least it would be a place for Lydia to reside until we figured out a better plan.