Page 20 of Cursed (Witchbane #8)
Evan went to the window to get a look at their visitors. Tony grabbed a large kitchen knife. Seth reached for the gun in the desk drawer as his phone rang, and he answered it. He put the gun back in the drawer and motioned for Tony to put down the knife.
“It’s Teag and Rowan,” Seth said. He and Evan went to the door to greet their guests.
“Thanks for making a house call,” Seth said, although the humor didn’t meet his eyes. “And by the way, that’s Tony. He’s hiding with us for the duration.”
Tony waved and went back to cleaning up the kitchen.
“Evan, how do you feel?” Rowan’s gaze swept over Evan, making him feel like she could see down to his bones. Teag also studied him with clinical intensity, and Evan wondered how the curse appeared to their magic-enhanced senses.
“All over awful, and like someone pulled my plug,” Evan replied. Seth took a step closer, protective as always.
“That fits,” Teag said. “I can sense the spell, and it’s a nasty piece of work. Dark stuff—worked by someone who has power and knows what he’s doing.”
“But not invincible.” A slight smile touched Rowan’s lips. “There are always cracks where the magic isn’t quite perfect. I can’t break it, but I think I can slow it down and make you more comfortable and functional.”
“What do I need to do?” Evan asked.
Rowan smiled reassuringly. “Just stand there and open your mind and soul to my words.”
Evan nodded, suddenly feeling out of his depth. “Okay. Ready when you are.”
Rowan took a few deep breaths and her expression grew placid. She began to chant in a language Evan didn’t recognize, but he could feel the power in her words even if he didn’t know their meaning.
He closed his eyes, doing his best to eliminate all resistance and let her magic flow into and through him. At first, it felt like a chill beneath his skin, then heat, and finally a tingle as if he had touched a live wire before the sensation abruptly stopped.
Evan looked at Rowan. “Is that it?”
Seth stood beside him, intrigued and concerned.
She nodded. “Yes. How do you feel?”
Evan searched for words to describe the impact of the spell. “Braced, like I’m not cured, but there’s something helping to support me. And the discomfort is less, although I know the problem is still there. Like when you take aspirin, and the headache isn’t gone, but it’s better.”
“Good. That’s how it should be. I’m sorry I can’t do more.” Rowan patted him on the arm like a concerned older sister.
Teag pulled a linen scarf from his pocket, and Evan remembered that Teag’s magic could weave spells into cloth. “There are protections against evil and harm worked into the warp and woof,” he told Evan as he handed it over. “It should also lessen the effects and buy you time.”
Evan wrapped the scarf around his neck and felt his shoulders and back relax, and the tension in his neck eased. A sense of well-being suffused through him, lifting his spirits and driving back the sludgy feeling from dark magic.
“I can feel your magic.” Evan turned to Teag, who watched him expectantly. “It’s like being wrapped in white light.”
“Together, my magic and Rowan’s should make the next hours bearable,” Teag said. “And when the curse breaks, you’ll know right away because all the bad stuff will suddenly stop affecting you. You might be more tired than usual, but you won’t feel sick or weakened.”
“Thank you so much,” Evan said, and Seth echoed his words. “I really appreciate it.”
“Any time.” Rowan turned to Seth.
“I also brought a spelled knife,” Teag added. “It’s one we had at Trifles and Folly. Cassidy thought it might help.” He handed it to Seth. “You might need this.”
“Thank you—for everything,” Seth said.
“We’re going to go finish up preparations, and we’ll see you at dawn,” Rowan told them.
Once they drove away, Evan and Seth went back to making calls. After a while, Evan looked up.
“Kinsley’s coven is good to go, and so is Tristan the necromancer. They’re planning to stay outside the actual site so they can also watch in case Vernon has backup. She promised they’ve got magic planned that will affect both inside and outside of the building.”
“Tristan intends to rally the ghosts. There are a lot of spirits who would love to have a chance to avenge themselves against Vernon. Having Nash and his team—living and ghostly—destroying Vernon’s anchor and his monster meat restaurant will make a big difference.
Caden has more information about the turpentine factory interior where the ritual is likely to be held,” Evan reported.
“And he’s got some old Army buddies who are willing to provide muscle outside.
Said they didn’t turn a hair when he asked for their help, despite the early time. ”
The willingness of their friends to come together despite the danger warmed Evan, although he still felt chagrined at being sidelined. Seth seemed to guess his mood.
“Hey, don’t sulk,” Seth said as Tony placed plates piled high with cheesy nachos on the table.
“I’m not sulking.” Evan realized that he sounded petulant. “I just don’t like not being able to have your back.”
“I can rig earbuds that give you a live feed, and you can relay information,” Seth offered. “And I’ll put a drone with a camera in position so you’ve got a bird’s eye view. That gives you intel we won’t have on the ground, and it could be important.”
“Okay,” Evan agreed grudgingly. “I’ll do anything I can to help.” He took a bite of one of the nachos and moaned, enjoying the taste. “Wow, that’s good. Definitely hits the spot.”
“Glad to lend a hand.” Tony beamed at the compliment.
By unspoken agreement, they worked into the evening, digging into lore that might provide an edge in the coming battle.
Evan knew that they should sleep before the fight, but he and Seth both felt the need to search for more to help them tip the balance.
For now, he was hanging on, although he still felt unwell.
If he couldn’t be present at the battle, he resolved not to sleep through the preparations.
He and Seth were surrounded by stacks of old books. Tony sat on the couch, resolutely refusing to rest while they were still up working. He kept them supplied with coffee and made a batch of cookies out of odds and ends from the pantry.
“Here’s something,” Evan said after a few hours. “This might be helpful. It’s a protection spell, but I think it’s musical. Hey, Tony, come have a look.”
Tony joined them at the table, and Evan passed the book to him. He looked a little confused at first, but then he began to nod.
“I don’t know anything about magic, but the melody reminds me of the sort of songs used in rituals and worship. People who believe in that kind of thing say it collects and sends energy.” Tony stared at the book with wonder. “I didn’t think that was real.”
“Very real,” Evan assured him. “Can you figure out what the notes are?”
Tony reached for a piece of paper and a pencil from the pile on the table and focused on the yellowed pages of the book. His brows furrowed in concentration, and the tip of his tongue peeked from between his lips.
Evan needed to stretch, so he got up and walked around to see what Seth was working on.
“That’s a grimoire,” Evan said quietly when he caught sight of the book cover Seth had been studying for the last while.
“Yeah. One of the set we got out of that second-hand shop to pass on to Cassidy,” Seth replied. Trifles and Folly made sure problematic tomes didn’t land in the wrong hands.
“I thought we agreed it was dark stuff,” Evan said, uncomfortable with resorting to questionable magic.
Seth shrugged. “Desperate times, desperate measures. I didn’t want to rule out a resource just because some of the contents were iffy. You used the Dark Web to find out more about Vernon’s secret restaurant.”
“That’s not the same as finding spells there.
Please don’t let the curse and your nightmare push you into using gray magic.
That sort of thing always comes around to bite us on the ass.
” Evan knew how laser-focused Seth could be in a dire situation, and with Evan’s life on the line, he feared Seth’s concentration might veer into obsession and a willingness to risk too much.
“I’m not going to let you die,” Seth replied without looking up. “Or Pax. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop this son of a bitch.”
“We’ve never needed to go that far before.” Evan pressed a kiss to Seth’s temple. “Promise me that you’ll discuss anything you find with Milo or Rowan.”
“Of course.”
It didn’t occur to Evan until later that Seth’s response wasn’t exactly a promise.
Evan went back to skimming another book from his stack, but he kept checking on Tony and Seth since his own search wasn’t proving fruitful.
“I think I’ve got an idea how this works,” Tony said after a couple of hours. “It’s a bit of a musical riddle, which I guess meant it was coded so it wouldn’t be easy for someone without some training to read. But I’m pretty sure I’ve figured it out.”
Evan came to sit next to him on the couch. Seth had taken a break earlier to set up what Evan would need to be in touch during the battle, as well as the camera drone, but otherwise he remained absorbed in his book.
“The old-fashioned wording threw me at first, but I looked up what I needed on my phone.” Tony sounded excited about his discovery.
“I’ll save you the tedious geeky stuff. According to what I could make out, it’s a twelve-note sequence and the more you play it with the right instruments, the more power the text says it raises. ”
Evan nodded. “That makes sense. Three is a powerful number in magic, and so are multiples of three. Twelve is a number for balance and completion—months, signs of the Zodiac, etc.”
Tony looked at him. “How do you know this stuff?”
Evan shrugged. “It became my life after Seth saved me and we went on the road. When your survival depends on what you know, you get good at learning new things.”