Page 21 of Cursed (Witchbane #8)

“Makes sense,” Tony replied. “I’ve been into music since before I could read. And I have some goth friends who weren’t exactly witches but really liked supernatural stuff. I know that some musical instruments are said to have extra vibes for that sort of thing.”

“Oh yeah?” Evan couldn’t help being intrigued.

“You know how in every fantasy book the bard has a lute and ends up playing a role against the big bad? I think my guitar is a close substitute,” Tony said. “It would help a lot if we could get help from folks who can play the ocarina, flute, and drum.”

Evan’s excitement dimmed. “We have to be careful about bringing more people into this for their safety as well as ours.”

“We can do a video session.” Tony’s enthusiasm was infectious. “I’ve got friends in town who would be excited about jamming with us. And if you want to limit the new people, how are you on drums?”

“Passable. I was in a band for a little while back in high school. I can keep a rhythm, but I don’t own a drum anymore.”

“You can bang on a pot. It will work,” Tony assured him. “That’s all we need. I can show you the beat. Then we start playing at the right time and repeat to build up the energy. That should help you feel better and also send extra power to Seth for the fight.”

“It would be better not to tell your friends what we’re really doing if we can avoid it.” Evan met Tony’s eyes. “I don’t want to lie to them, but we don’t want to put them in danger.”

“We’re asking them to play an obscure piece of music at dawn over and over to raise magic. We’ve got to give them a good reason. They know Pax, and they’ll want to help rescue him,” Tony countered.

Evan looked from Tony to Seth. “You’re right. I guess we’re going to have to tell them at least a version of the truth. When should we work the musical spell?”

Seth sat back in his chair, finally pulling his attention away from the grimoire, and drummed his fingers on the table as he thought.

“Vernon is an elemental witch, so he can affect the weather. There’s supposed to be a storm front coming in tomorrow, and that could feed him extra energy.

The music magic could counter that and send us more power. ”

“How would we know when to start and how long to play?” Tony asked.

“I can signal Evan right before we go in,” Seth said. “If you start then and keep playing, maybe we can hijack some of that storm energy, or at least match it.”

“My friends love a good jam session,” Tony assured them. Despite the late hour, he made several quick calls and found his friends still awake.

Tony explained as much as he could and asked them to be ready at sunrise, which was now only a few hours away. To Evan’s surprise, the friends agreed right away, enthusiastic about helping.

Evan yawned and looked at his watch. “We’d better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day.”

Seth packed a duffel bag full of everything he would need for spells and combat, including weapons and the grimoire. Evan followed him around, feeling helpless but resolved not to miss a minute of their time together before the battle.

They helped Tony get settled in the living room and set out a towel for him in the bathroom before getting cleaned up and heading for bed. Seth rolled toward Evan, staring at him in the near-darkness.

“How are you feeling? Did Rowan and Teag really help?”

Evan heard the worry in Seth’s voice and reached out for him, nestling close with his head against Seth’s chest. “Yes, it helped. I can tell that there’s something wrong with me, but it’s better than it was. And I’ll keep pushing through to help as long as I’m able.”

“I’m so sorry that Vernon managed to put the whammy on you.

” Seth’s voice was low and intimate in the darkness.

“He wasn’t trying to make a deal to get us to back off.

This is his bid to save himself and the rest of the witch-disciples by stopping us.

He figured out that forcing our hand was the only way to do that. ”

“Please, come back to me.” Evan leaned in to kiss Seth, putting all his love, worry, and passion into the press of his lips and the touch of his hands. “I need you.”

Seth kissed him, urgent and claiming. “I love you, and I don’t want to live without you. I won’t let him take you away from me,” he promised. “Just hang in there until we stop him. I fail if I don’t save you.”

“I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.” Evan sealed his promise with another kiss, then burrowed against Seth, listening to his heartbeat as they finally fell asleep.

They woke before dawn. Tony had a fresh pot of coffee waiting for them, as well as a plate of no-bake oatmeal cookies. He looked haggard but wore a stubborn expression that dared either Seth or Evan to mention it.

“I wanted to have something ready for breakfast.” Tony shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Seth filled a cup for Evan and then poured one for himself, using the coffee to wash down the cookies. “I wish I could mainline the caffeine.” Seth blinked his eyes, struggling to wake up in spite of having doused his face in cold water.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Evan heard the patter of rain on the RV’s metal roof. “The storm is starting.”

Seth took Evan’s hand. “Storm energy is neutral—it’s not rooting for us or Vernon. He’s probably planning to co-opt it, but if you and Tony can make the music magic work, that could make a big difference. It could help us get an edge.”

He and Evan had slept fitfully, even though they were always touching in some way throughout the night.

Seth’s phone pinged, and he glanced down.

“Everyone’s ready. I’m meeting up with Rowan and Teag.

Kinsley’s coven will meet us at the site.

We’re supposed to swing by to convoy with Caden and their bodyguard folks.

Nash has the ghosts lined up, and he’s heading for the monster restaurant as soon as the sun is up.

I doubt we’ll surprise Vernon, but he’s going to get hit from all sides.

And if he intended to do the ritual tonight, we might get a jump on him, for once. ”

Seth drained his cup and set it aside. “Time to go.”

Evan caught him by the shoulders and kissed him hard, trying to put all his love and hope into the connection. “I love you. Come home safe, and bring Pax with you.”

Seth added another peck on the lips. “I have every intention of doing that. Love you too. Watch out for each other. I’ll see you when it’s over.”

With that, Seth picked up the duffel and headed out the door without looking back.

“Get ready,” Tony told Evan. “Dawn is in twenty minutes, and the musicians are waiting for a link for the video conference.”

Evan made a quick pass through the bathroom to wash his face with cold water and get dressed. As the sun rose, Evan’s phone pinged with a call from Seth. He put in an earbud and checked his signal strength.

“We’re in position,” Seth told him. “You should be able to pick up on the drone feed in a couple of minutes.”

“The musicians are ready to play the spell,” Evan told him. “Let me connect to the drone, and I can tell you what I see.”

Evan pulled up the drone’s video feed. He guessed that Seth had flown it in through a hole in the building’s ceiling because he could see rafters where it had perched. That meant Vernon’s people might not notice the robot, but it had as good a view of the battle zone as possible.

As Evan adjusted the angle of the camera, he saw an empty industrial space that looked like it once held vats and piping. A ritual area had been set up with sigils painted on the floor and pillar candles set at intervals around the workspace.

Pax hung suspended by chains, dangling in the middle of the large warded circle. He wasn’t moving, but the lack of blood assured Evan that the ritual hadn’t begun yet.

“Pax, oh my God,” Tony gasped.

“I’ve got a visual.” Evan filled Seth in on what he saw.

“Someone had to light the candles, so I’m guessing at least a few of Vernon’s coven members are present but out of sight.

I can’t tell if Pax is breathing, but he’s not bleeding heavily.

” He paused. “There’s something inside the warding, along with two guards—large men—be careful.

Whatever the other thing is, it doesn’t look human.

More of a dark shape, but it moves wrong to be a person. ”

“Noted. Thanks. And remember, they need Pax alive for the ritual,” Seth’s voice sounded soft and staticky through the earpiece. “We’re not too late.”

“We should have the music spell going in about five minutes,” Evan said.

“We’ll be on the move by then. Keep the chatter on this line minimal, but if you see something, let me know. You’ve got the bird’s eye view.”

“Good luck.” Evan instilled the two words with everything he felt. I love you. I need you. Please be safe.

“You, too.” Seth’s tone told Evan everything he needed to know.

Evan glanced at Tony, who looked pale and shaken. “Are you okay?”

“Hell, no. Pax…” He swallowed hard. “I want to kill those motherfuckers and make sure Pax comes home safely.”

Tony pulled up his laptop and opened the video conference program, sending the link to Evan and the others. Evan had already tried it to make sure he could keep the drone feed separate from the group program. He would be able to monitor the scene, but the others would not share his screen.

“Here.” Tony handed Evan the empty spaghetti pot from under the stove. “You’re officially our drummer.”

One by one, Tony’s friends popped up on the screen. “Ava, Josh, Tim, this is Evan. Evan, meet the gang.” Everyone smiled and waved, exchanging greetings.

Despite the early hour, everyone looked remarkably awake, or maybe they hadn’t yet been to bed. Ava had dark eyes and brown hair in a ponytail. Evan guessed she was the flute player. Josh pushed a comb into his bushy black hair and gave them a broad grin as he held up his ocarina.

“Ready when you are, boss,” Josh said.