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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

By the time we returned, Sophia’s forehead had been stitched and she was back at her desk. Carson was still sitting beside her, on his laptop, while she was on the desktop. They both jumped up as we entered the office.

“You found her!”

“Yeah, but she’s unconscious.” I pulled out my phone and put in a call to Seton. Luck held and he answered on the first ring. “Seton, can you come over to my office now? We have an emergency.”

“You sound frantic,” he said.

“I need you. Not for me, but something’s happened and…come, please?” I was ready to drop on my knees and beg, if that’s what it took.

“I’ll be there in ten. I’m already on my way out for the day.”

Relieved, I turned to Penn. She was drenched—absolutely soaked, and her breathing seemed labored.

“Get her out of those wet things,” I said. “There’s a robe in the bathroom, near the shower. I’ll get the heating pad.”

When I returned, Sophia and Dante had stripped her and she was wrapped in the robe, on the daybed, beneath a blanket. I plugged in the heating pad and turned it to low, sliding it under the covers next to her.

“Until we have her checked out, I don’t want to put it directly on top of her, but the ambient heat will warm her.” I sat by the daybed, worried out of my mind. “Why is she unconscious? Why isn’t she waking up?”

“I don’t know,” Sophia said. “Would you like me to try to summon—” There was a noise out front. “I’ll be right back,” she said.

When she returned, Seton was with her.

“Seton!” I explained what had happened, and then handed him the pendant. “She was wearing this. I know it’s not something she owned.”

He took the necklace and his eyes widened. “Let me check this out.”

He carried over to a table where we cleaned equipment.

As he brought out a couple of his gadgets—I had no idea what they did—one of them let off a loud beep and a red light on it flashed.

“This is a pendant made to align the wearer’s energy with that of Demonkin.

Wear it too long and you’ll permanently take on a demonic aura, even if you aren’t a demon. ”

“It doesn’t give you demonic powers, does it?” Sophia asked.

Seton shook his head. “No, it doesn’t.”

“When we found her, she was unconscious, near a portal to the UnderRealm. She was on the ground nearby.”

“Was the portal activated?” he asked.

I nodded. “I think so. I could sense it, though Orik couldn’t.”

“Most portals need a trigger to activate them, especially the natural ones.” He paused.

“I think the proximity of the pendant woke it up.” He moved to the chair beside Penn and checked her vitals.

Then, he clasped her head and closed his eyes.

After a moment, he said, “She’s got a curse on her—I’m not sure exactly what kind, or how to break it. ”

“She destroyed almost all of our files,” Carson said, entering the room. “First she went for the files on Brim Fire, then for the rest.”

“She’s a computer whiz?” Seton asked.

I shook my head. “No, she’s not. She’s competent, but she’s not a techie at heart.”

“The viruses that deleted our files were on a jump drive,” Carson said, holding it up. “I checked it out in a virtual OS on my laptop. Whoever wrote this is pretty savvy.”

“Brim Fire is full of intelligent people. I’m not saying wise ,” Carson said. “But smart? Yes.”

“So they used Penn to get to us,” I said. “What would have happened if she had gone through that portal?” I asked.

Seton sighed. “She would have probably been captured and enslaved. Or killed. There’s no good outcome if that had happened.”

“So, do you think the demons are behind this?” I asked.

“No, I think the organization is. I don’t think the demons appreciate Brim Fire as much as Brim Fire thinks they do.” Seton sighed. “The hubris of humanity never fails to astound me.”

“Why hasn’t she woken up?” Dante asked. “She’s been unconscious since we found her.”

“I think…” Seton shook his head. “I think it’s whatever curse she’s under. I’m sensing that her true self has been buried so deep in her psyche that she’s unable to break through whatever force it is that is controlling her.”

“So, they cast a spell or curse on her, that triggered once she got back here. And it took over, sending her into some sort of fugue where she had no control over what she was doing?” Sophia asked.

“I’d say that’s about right,” Seton said.

Sophia cleared her throat. “I can try to summon Hecate again. She’s Penn’s goddess.”

“Go for it,” I said. “We need all the help we can get.”

Dante found Sophia a chair and she sat down, then closed her eyes.

Once again, she slid into trance, diving deep.

I watched, waiting. If Hecate wouldn’t help us, I didn’t know what we were going to do.

I could look for someone who could break curses, but we weren’t even sure that was what had happened.

I didn’t know if Penn was possessed, cursed, or had somehow—inexplicably—been cajoled into joining our enemies.

We waited as Sophia lowered her head, and I could feel her out on the astral, searching. She was a long ways away from her body at this point.

I glanced at Dante, who gave me a nervous shrug. I didn’t want to say anything to interrupt her trance work, but I was also nervous for Sophia. Granted, she knew what she was doing far better than I knew what she was doing, but I didn’t want her to get caught out on the astral.

Another moment, and Sophia raised her head, opening her eyes. “She’s coming,” she said.

Before we could say a word, a form shimmered into the room, once again darkly brilliant and difficult to look at.

Hecate stood there, this time dressed in a black leather pantsuit, her hair pulled up into an intricate chignon.

I was startled to see her dressed like that, but then again, I supposed that always dressing in ornate gowns would get tiring.

I rose and took a step forward. “Thank you. We need your help. Penn needs your help,” I said. “We think they put a curse on her before we rescued her.”

Hecate turned toward Penn, gazing down at her. “Bring me a chair,” she said.

Orik scrambled to bring Hecate a seat. “Here you go, milady,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, then paused, looking him over. “Give Odin my regards, if you would. It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to him.”

I blinked. “You know Odin?”

“Of course. We don’t just keep to our own kin,” she said, taking the seat. As she leaned over Penn, brushing her hand across Penn’s forehead, she let out a long breath. “She’s been cursed, all right. Brim Fire?” She glanced up at us.

I nodded. “We believe so. She was wearing this. Seton? Show her.”

Seton, who had said little until then, cleared his throat. “Honored to meet you,” he said.

Hecate caught his gaze and her lips turned up a hint at the edges. “And I’m honored to meet you, as well, Old One.” She took the pendant.

Old One? I turned to Seton, but he motioned for me to keep silent. But in my head, I was running over what Hecate meant by that. Just how old was he? And what was he?

Hecate held the pendant up. “A geas-charm. This forced her to do the will of the creator.”

“Which was to sabotage our computer files,” I said.

“And then…it would have sent her into the arms of Demonkin, out of this world forever.” Now, Hecate looked angry. “She still carries the seed of this curse. I’ll have to exorcise her.”

I caught my breath. “Exorcise her? Will she be okay?”

“After I’m done, she will. But I need a receptacle to catch the curse-imp when I expel it from her soul.”

I frowned. I’d never heard of a curse-imp and had no idea what it was. Before I could ask, Orik spoke up.

“A curse-imp? Would a crystal work for the anchor? I have a large smoky quartz I’m willing to donate to the cause,” he said.

“That will work. Run and fetch it, please,” Hecate said.

“What’s a curse-imp?” I asked.

“I was about to ask the same thing,” Dante said.

“A curse-imp is a toad-like creature from the astral plane. When attached to a person’s psyche, it feeds them whatever curse a witch or magician places on it.

The curse-imp absorbs the magic and is used as a conduit to control the receiver.

That way, it’s nearly impossible to trace the curse back to any one particular person,” Hecate said.

“Holy fuck,” I said. “That sounds nasty.”

“They are, and they drain energy, as well. Unless removed, it could eventually weaken her so much that she could fall ill and die. Think of it like a tick, and the curse as Lyme disease,” Orik said, returning just in time to hear the conversation.

He held up a smoky quartz the size of a small cucumber. “Will this work?”

Hecate took the crystal and held it for a moment, then nodded. “It will work. It’s strong enough.” She motioned for us to move back. “Don’t interfere, whatever you do,” she said. “It may look like I’m hurting her, but removing a curse-imp isn’t easy, even for the gods.”

We backed away.

“Do you need anything else?” I asked.

She turned to me. “You’re her best friend?”

I nodded.

“Then you will hold the crystal for me. It will be uncomfortable, so much so that you might feel like tossing it away, but you must keep hold of it. Can you do this?”

“I can, and I will. Where should I stand?” I walked over to her.

Hecate motioned for me to sit on the edge of the bed, near Penn’s feet. “Hold tight to the crystal and do not let go until I tell you to give it to me.”

Taking a deep breath, I settled down beside Penn’s legs and accepted the crystal. It felt cool in my hands, but I tightened my grasp on it and crossed my legs, so I couldn’t jump if something startled me.

Hecate asked Dante and Orik to leave the room, leaving Sophia and me with her. She asked Sophia to dim the lights, and then approached Penn. She placed one of her alabaster hands onto Penn’s forehead, and the other over Penn’s heart.

A faint drumming began to echo through the room, growing in pace and power as we waited. Hecate rolled her head back and let out a long growl.

“I begin,” she whispered.

As I held onto the smoky quartz, Hecate began to sway to the drums, all the while her hands on Penn’s forehead and heart. As the beat grew, a low, sonorous hum began to reverberate through the air, ricocheting off the walls, like someone strumming a low bass note that bounced from side to side.

The steady hum became a circle, spinning around us.

It sped up as it echoed through the room, sounding like a violin, ancient and keening, setting the world afire.

I began to catch images of bonfires in the night, lighting the sky ablaze as they burned from hilltop to meadow.

The wind picked up, rushing through the room, fueling the frenzy of the wailing fiddle.

The drums continued, echoing until their staccato beats began to whisper—chants in some ancient language.

The spirits were speaking, the spirits of the past, the spirits of the fire.

Hecate raised her hands over Penn and began pulling waves of energy off her, like clearing layers of fog away. The mist began to boil, rising to the ceiling like steam. Hecate let out a long call, her voice forming sounds that weren’t words but still held meaning.

I felt that if I listened long enough, I’d know what she was saying.

In response, the drums heightened their pace again, and the violin answered, sparks flying from its song.

Just before it felt like the magic was going to explode, the violin gave way to a slow cello, one note that wove through the air like a snake, creeping through the treetops, and the drums fell in time, a slow rhythm to match.

One…one two three…one…one two three…One…one two three…One…one two three…

I found myself swaying in time to the beat, following the slow steady march of sound as it lumbered through the forest. And then, I was standing beside Hecate in a clearing under the night sky, and Penn was there, floating on her back in mid-air over a fire.

Hecate turned to me. “Get ready.”

She rose through the air to stretch out over Penn, then placed her palms on Penn’s chest. Still the mesmerizing music played on, and I began to see something emerging from Penn’s chest. It was toad-like, a dirty brown creature with olive warts, and glowing eyes.

It struggled as Hecate coaxed it out of Penn’s chest. Hecate motioned to me and I held up the crystal.

The toad began to spin, faster and faster, still struggling to get away. The crystal was summoning it. I could feel the traction as the smoky quartz fought for control.

The toad twisted, fighting with every ounce of its power. The crystal wavered in my hand and I tightened my grip, not about to let go. It felt like some massive force was trying to drag it out of my hands, but I had promised Hecate I’d hold fast, and hold fast, I intended to.

The fight ramped up and a dark figure appeared.

I knew that figure had set the curse-imp on Penn.

He was trying to drag the crystal out of my hand so Hecate couldn’t send the curse-imp into the vessel.

Penn thrashed in the air, and I could see her life force wavering.

If we didn’t win, her life would be forfeit.

“No!” I braced myself, feeling the roar of wind around me. And then, something inside clicked, and I caught sight of a tiny glimmer. The heart of the storm. I reached out, focusing on that bright, glimmering core. If the storm broke, it would sever the spell.

I walked toward the heart of the storm and the dark figure stepped back—not much but enough to tell me he was afraid of me.

I continued, grasping the crystal in my left hand as I held out my right.

I was facing the center of the storm now, and I took a deep breath and plunged my hand into the brilliant light that controlled the vortex.

The moment my fingers made contact, I found the spark that had birthed the storm of magic, and I focused, calling on lightning to disrupt and shatter it.

I forced all my will forward and a blistering bolt of light shot forth from my fingers, striking the core.

The dark figure shrieked, staggering back.

That moment, the curse-imp let go of Penn and shot forth, slamming into the crystal so hard that it almost knocked me over.

The storm exploded, the energy rebounding back on my silent opponent.

Hecate scooped up both Penn and me as the blast rippled around us, sending us head over heels out of the forest.

The next moment, I opened my eyes. I was on the floor, still clutching the crystal, and Hecate was holding Penn’s hands as her eyes fluttered.

Sophia rushed over to help me to my feet and I silently handed Hecate the crystal.

She took it, just as silent, and we stood there for a moment as I tried to pin together the pieces of what had happened.