Page 18 of Cursed (Witchbane #8)
Tony looked at the charm with a skeptical expression, then placed the chain around his neck. “Now what?”
“Now Evan and I start calling in the troops and pulling what we need together to go after Pax,” Seth replied. “For the moment, you should rest. I promise we’ll find ways for you to help. But I’m not going to put you in unnecessary danger. Pax would never forgive us if we lost you to get him back.”
Tony looked away and sniffed, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m not hero material, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you bring him home safely. He means everything to me.”
Evan gave him an encouraging smile. “We understand. And we’re going to move heaven and hell to bring him back safely and make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Evan got Tony settled on the couch and brought a stack of bed linens for later. Once Tony was comfortable with more whiskey and a movie on one of the streaming channels, Seth and Evan sat at the table with a fresh pot of coffee.
“How’s your headache?” Seth gave Evan an appraising look.
Evan grimaced. “Still there. It seemed better when we first got back to the RV, but it’s gotten worse. Probably stress.”
Seth gave him a worried once-over, thinking that Evan looked pale, and guessing from the tension around his eyes that the headache hurt more than his partner let on.
“Here.” Seth dug out one of the extra amulets. “Just in case yours got damaged when that jerk pulled it off.” Evan accepted the necklace and slipped it over his head, on top of the original one. By unspoken agreement, they left the magical lock box and the whittled figure in the truck.
“That…helps,” Evan said. Seth’s heart sank, and he saw understanding in Evan’s eyes.
“That carved thing they put in my pocket—it whammied me, didn’t it?” Evan asked with fear in his voice.
“That was no accident. He pulled off your amulet and then slipped you the carving,” Seth growled.
“Do you think Rowan or Kinsley can lift the spell?” Evan asked.
“I’m sure as hell gonna find out.” Seth had silenced his phone and computer to avoid disrupting their heart-to-heart with Tony, but both devices had been reporting new messages almost constantly since he had put out the alarm.
“Rowan and Teag will be here first thing in the morning.” Seth skimmed his notices.
“Kinsley says her coven and her friend the necromancer are in on taking down Vernon, and they’re gathering at her place, setting up the materials they need for when it’s time to move.
” His thumbs flew across the buttons, tapping out a terse summary of the problem and asking for help.
“Nash and Caden had their dinner at Legacy,” Seth reported as they waited to hear back from the two witches.
“They didn’t pick up on anything there that seemed like the anchor, but he’s tapping into the ghosts to see what more we can learn about Vernon’s monster restaurant.
Caden can’t officially do more than report Pax as a missing person, but unofficially he’s bringing some bodyguard-types he trusts for armed backup who won’t freak out over the woo-woo. ”
“And?” Evan’s voice remained steady even though he looked pale and worried.
“We could use a central command center.” Seth weighed his words as he thought through the possibilities.
“Someone who is in communication with everyone that we can reach if anything goes south. Who has backup contacts in case we need to call in the cavalry, meaning the rest of Cassidy’s friends.
Tony could stay here and be safe and still be an enormous help. ”
“I think that sounds?—”
Evan’s eyes fluttered, and the color drained from his face. He grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself and looked like he might pass out.
“Evan? What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” he said thickly. “Whatever I’ve got, it’s worse.”
Seth took Evan’s hand. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
Seth’s phone rang. “Rowan? Thank God. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“Seth, Evan. I’ve got Kinsley with me. Now what’s all this about curses?”
Seth gave the two witches a recap and described the carved totem as clearly as he could after just a brief view.
“Evan actually touched it before we knew what had happened. I didn’t touch the carving, but I did move his jacket with it in the pocket, and that doesn’t seem to have affected me.
It’s in our lockbox in the truck right now. ”
They heard a muffled buzz of voices as the two women conferred. Seth wondered if Rowan had put her hand over the phone for a moment of private discussion.
“Tell us how Evan’s faring,” Kinsley said. “What are the symptoms?”
“I feel like my head is going to explode,” Evan replied. “I think I’m getting a fever. Achy all over. But I felt totally fine before I touched that damn carving.”
“Can you tell us anything more about the carving?” Rowan asked.
“We did our best not to handle it,” Seth replied. “But if you need me to, I can go back out to the truck and use iron tongs to get a better look.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Rowan said quickly. “Just tell us what you remember.”
Seth and Evan chimed in with their impressions from the short glimpse before they slammed the lockbox closed. “It was crudely carved, not as good as what someone who really is good at whittling can do,” Seth said.
“It reminded me of a single figure with a roughed-in face and not very many details,” Evan agreed. “Wooden. There might have been a splash of red or orange on it, but not like someone tried to paint it carefully.”
They heard muffled conversation once more, then Rowan came back on the line. “There’s a long history of using carved figures for hexing and blessing. Giving a blessed figure to someone who was already ill could heal them. Giving a cursed one conveys the curse.”
“What can we do to break it?” Seth looked at Evan and his heart hurt.
“Considering the situation, I’d bet that this was Vernon’s way of throwing down the gauntlet,” Kinsley replied.
“You’ve already done all the normal things to make it better: put it in a lockbox made to contain magical items, taken Evan inside a warded space with salt rings, and used protective charms. That’s slowing down the curse, but it isn’t enough to stop it. ”
“Should I burn the figure?”
“No!” Both Rowan and Kinsley spoke at once. “At least, not until we’re sure.”
“Then what?” Seth asked.
Evan met his gaze. “I think Vernon’s challenged you to a duel to the death. His or mine.”
Seth caught his breath. He’d considered that possibility when Kinsley used the word “gauntlet,” but quickly cast it aside.
“I think Evan’s right,” Rowan replied.
“So do I, unfortunately,” Kinsley concurred. “You haven’t been in town long enough for him to have time to do much unless he was expecting you sooner or later. That’s my bet. You showed up, he recognized you, and already had a plan.”
“What can we do?” Seth felt completely adrift. We shouldn’t have gone to that presentation. Practically served ourselves up on a platter.
Evan gave him a look as if he could guess Seth’s thoughts.
“Stop beating yourself up. If he was expecting us, he would have found a pretext one way or the other. Don’t forget, those two guys came at us around the food trucks, so they already knew about us.
If the attack hadn’t been the seminar, it could have been while we were getting gas or buying dinner. ”
“Evan’s right,” Rowan said. “But just because he got the jump on you doesn’t mean he’s won the game. Work your plan. When you destroy Vernon, it will break the curse, and Evan should be safe.” She paused. “I’ll stop by and see if there’s anything else I can do to at least make him comfortable.”
“Okay.” Seth felt a little breathless and still had a tight grip on Evan’s hand. “Thank you. Is everyone ready for tomorrow?”
“We’ve got a good team and a solid plan,” Rowan told him. “You’ve defeated the rest of the witch-disciples you’ve fought. You can nail this guy too.”
But it’s always been me and Evan working together since that first time.
Evan gave his hand a squeeze. “I’ll still be helping. Just from here instead of there. We can do this. I believe in us.”
“Thanks,” Seth told the witches. “Then we stick to the timeline. See you then.” The call ended, and he took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves.
Sterling Vernon made his move. And I’ve got to respond, or Evan dies.