Page 28 of Cursed (Witchbane #8)
SETH
“Evan! Tony! Are you okay?” Seth and Pax tumbled out of the truck and ran toward the RV. Seth’s heart pounded in his chest. Despite the ache of his injuries from the fight, nothing mattered now except making sure that the two men were safe.
Given Pax’s injuries and the toll the magical battle had taken on Seth, Caden drove them home in Seth’s truck while Nash followed in another vehicle to take Caden back home.
The door to the RV flung open. Evan and Tony spilled out, running for their partners, with a single-minded focus on the need for proof of life.
Evan threw his arms around Seth and buried his face in his neck. “Are you okay? Is Pax? Is Vernon dead?”
Just a few feet away, Pax and Tony’s reunion went from a desperate embrace to a passionate kiss.
Seth kissed Evan first before answering his question and held him tight. “Yes to everything, although Pax and I might be a little worse for the wear. Let’s go inside, and we’ll tell you all about it.”
He thanked Caden and Nash and waved goodbye as they headed back to help with the cleanup.
Seth held Evan’s hand tightly as they followed Pax and Tony into the RV.
“We have food,” Evan told him. “There wasn’t much we could do once the drone and audio feed went down, so we cooked. Except I told Tony I couldn’t eat until I knew you were safe. So now I’m starving.”
Seth stopped in the kitchen and took Evan by the shoulders, peering at him intently. “Are you really okay? Is Vernon’s spell gone?”
Evan nodded. “Yeah. I felt it break and knew it was done. It was like feeling a curtain lift. Whatever you did, thank you.”
Tony and Pax were talking in low tones as Tony checked his partner for injuries.
Seth’s stomach rumbled, and he realized that after cheating death all afternoon, he was actually hungry.
“What about Tristan and Kinsley? And Teag and Rowan? Is everyone safe?” Evan asked, and Seth realized how hard it must have been for Evan to wait for a report when he was used to being in the thick of the action.
“Everyone on our side is okay except for some minor injuries,” Seth reported.
“Rowan and Teag checked us over before they let us come home. Nash took care of the anchor and the monster meat restaurant, and that helped to turn the fight for us. Tristan sicced the ghosts on the bad guys. Vernon and a bunch of his coven are dead. The others are being taken by the Alliance to be dealt with.”
“It figures that I was knocked out for most of it, so while I’m glad I wasn’t utterly terrified, I don’t have a great story to tell,” Pax said.
Tony slipped an arm around his shoulders. “You came back alive. That’s the only story I need to hear.”
“You both look pretty banged up,” Evan said. “Which do you want first—food or first aid?”
“We should probably get fixed up first,” Seth replied. “Although I’m suddenly starving, and Pax hasn’t eaten for a while, either.”
“We’ll get you taken care of,” Tony assured. “I took a First Aid class in school.”
“I took one because it was helpful to know as a bartender.” Evan reached for the RV’s kit, which had been supplemented for more serious and supernatural injuries. “You’re in good hands.”
Evan and Tony cleaned their wounds and applied antibiotic cream and a special mixture that negated residual magic. Evan’s hands shook, telling Seth just how much his partner had been worried.
“There. All better,” Tony said with a strained smile as he placed a kiss on Pax’s bandaged wrists. “Now let’s get you both fed.”
Evan and Tony laid out a spread of cookies, snacks, sandwiches, and sodas on the kitchen table, urging Pax and Seth to sit on the couch and then taking seats in the other chairs.
“Tell us everything,” Evan urged.
Seth detailed how Kinsley’s witches and helpers held off outside interference, along with Caden’s ex-military friends.
He told them as much as he knew about the role Nash and the ghosts had played in destroying the anchor, and how Tristan was essential at the turpentine plant for the fight with Vernon.
Seth downplayed the narrow escapes he had inside the plant.
Evan gave him a look that suggested he suspected as much.
Instead, he focused on Teag and Rowan’s help and gave an abbreviated and somewhat tamer version of the battle.
It’s over and we’re safe. What might have happened doesn’t matter.
“Vernon’s really dead?” Pax asked as if he doubted the witch-disciple could die.
“Very, very dead,” Seth confirmed. “Got pulled through a rift. Rowan, Teag, and Kinsley said they would see to magically decontaminating the area. Teag had connections to a cleanup team who could get rid of the evidence and deal with Vernon’s helpers who survived.
Kinsley is also making sure the wounded get treated.
“Caden’s buddies have plausible deniability since they didn’t see any of the coven members get killed,” Seth continued, “but they have a story explaining why they showed up at the old plant and disrupted a drug deal gone wrong. Caden used a ‘disposable’ gun and was going to make sure none of the spent shells were left.”
“It’s over?” Pax sounded hesitant and hopeful. Tony squeezed his hand.
“For Savannah. There are still four more of Gremory’s original witch-disciples in various cities, but that’s a fight for another day,” Seth replied.
He didn’t mention the question he and Evan debated about whether Gremory could siphon power from the disciples he pulled through the rift, and if that might pose a problem in the future. Seth decided he could only handle one potentially world-ending crisis at a time.
Now that the adrenaline had faded, Seth felt every bruise and pulled muscle from the fight, as well as the aftermath of working the spell and channeling that power. Food and coffee helped, but he knew that he would need to crash before too long.
“Thank you,” Pax said again, and Tony echoed his words. “I’d have been a goner without you and everyone you brought to the party. I can’t believe that you two go looking for those disciples. Once in a lifetime is more than enough for me.”
Evan snuggled closer to Seth, and Seth felt a pang of familiar pain. “I promised my little brother,” Seth said. “And I mean to make good on that promise.”
When everyone had eaten their fill, Seth offered to take Pax and Tony back to their house. “You’re safe now. Go pick up where you left off, without looking over your shoulder.”
Evan insisted on splitting up the leftovers and packed up their share as Tony gathered his things. They all got in the truck, with Evan by Seth in the front while Pax and Tony snuggled in the back seat.
When they reached the house, Tony spoke up. “Once you take a bit to recover, call us. You haven’t had a chance to see the good side of Savannah, and if you can spare a few days before your next adventure, we can play tour guide or at least give you a list of the places not to miss.”
Evan promised they would and waved goodbye, waiting to make sure they got inside safely. “Whew,” Evan said, “I’m glad that’s over. I’m all for taking a break before the next death-defying rescue operation.”
Seth chuckled tiredly. “That sounds like a great idea. I wonder how long it will take the remaining disciples to find out what happened and if it will make any difference.”
Evan sighed. “Vernon had the cursed carving ready, so he expected us. That’s new. Although they all seem to think they’re immune. And while I’d love it if they just gave up and went away, stopping the ritual means their immortality expires. They’re not likely to have a change of heart.”
“Let’s leave that for another day. One catastrophe at a time, please,” Seth replied.
Much as Seth wanted to rest, he knew there were loose ends to tie up. He called Teag, who also put Rowan on speakerphone. “Did the cleanup and handoff go okay?” Seth asked.
“Kinsley’s people swept Vernon’s main restaurant and house for magical items. They gave them to me, and I’ll take them to Sorren’s people back in Charleston, along with the wooden carving that whammied you,” Teag said.
The Alliance and the Briggs Society take care of dangerous magical items that can’t be destroyed.
Teag and Cassidy had worked with them many times over the years.
“Caden and his people made sure they didn’t leave anything behind,” Teag continued. “Nash’s ghosts kept watch.”
“We de-magicked the factory, so it’s just a rusting old plant tainted with toxic waste now,” Rowan added with a note of distaste.
“Caden says that the police are taking a closer look at Vernon’s shipping business. He suspects there will be plenty of illegal stuff to shut it down under normal standards, but he knows how to contact the Alliance folks if magical items show up,” Teag said.
“How are they going to explain monster meat to civvies?” Evan asked.
“Protected species,” Rowan replied with a hint of humor.
“Poaching. Illegal harvesting and transport. Unlicensed hunting. There are a slew of normal laws that apply whether it’s yak meat or werewolf.
All that matters is that the shipments stop and the equipment is impounded so no one else can pick up where Vernon left off. ”
“Will you head back to Charleston tomorrow?” Evan asked, sorry to see their friends leave.
“Might take a day to catch our breath,” Teag said. “Nash invited everyone to a celebration at Mystic tomorrow night, just for our gang. Saving people doesn’t usually come with a party, so we’re planning to go.”
“Count us in,” Seth said after Evan gave the nod. “I should be awake again by then.”
“Don’t cut corners on replenishing,” Rowan warned. “Especially since you worked some spells that were a stretch.”
Seth winced at being called on using the gray magic, and Evan’s eyes narrowed. “Trust me, I’ll make it a priority,” Seth promised. “I feel like I did a triathlon.”