Page 86 of The Curse of Redwood

He glanced over at me. “Yes. It blesses the elements and gives them more power.” He then poured the contents of the bowl into a goblet and approached me. “Drink this.”

I squinted at the dark green liquid goo. “Um. Do I have to?”

Callum sighed. “Do you want to subdue the spirit?”

“Yes.”

“Then drink.”

I grabbed the goblet and sniffed it. “Man, that smells nasty.” Before he could argue, I tipped the cup back and downed the contents. It was even worse than I had expected. The clumpy texture grossed me out more than anything. Repulsed, I shuddered and handed the goblet back to him. “My life just flashed before my eyes, and I saw my eternal damnation. I was forced to sit in a chair and drink that goo for forever.”

“Stop being so melodramatic,” Callum said, walking back over to the altar.

“So, was that it? I can go now?”

“We’re only just getting started,” he answered, flipping through the large book. “I gave you an elixir to help prepare you for what’s to come.”

“And what’s to come?” I asked, as my head rolled to the side. I straightened it again and took a deep breath. Whatever he’d given me had relaxed my muscles so much I could barely hold my head up.

If he was a serial killer, it would be the perfect trick to make me powerless to fight him off.

“The ritual.” Callum turned around, holding a dagger in one hand and a bowl in the other. Yeah, it wasn’t helping my serial killer theory any. “Put your eyes back in your skull, Carter. The dagger is for me, not you.”

“For you? Why?”

“You’ll see.”

“That’s not vague at all.”

“Are you always a smartass?” he asked, as he walked back over to me.

“Only on days ending iny.”

“I’m questioning why I’m even helping you.” He placed the dagger and bowl on the table beside me. “You’re a nuisance.”

“You sound like Zeke. He always calls me a pest.”

“Then I suppose you’re gifted at annoying not only ghosts, but humans as well.”

“Are you?” I asked, studying his perfectly smooth skin and elegant features. “Human, I mean.”

“Of course I am.” He glared at me before moving his gaze to the objects on the table. He grabbed a vial of something red and sprinkled some into the bowl before doing the same with a vial of black and another that looked like it held salt.

“Whyareyou doing this?” I asked, watching him ground the contents together.

Callum stopped a moment, but he kept his eyes on the bowl. “No one should feel like a prisoner in their own body.” He started grinding the powder again. “Besides, the spirit needs to be put to rest. I’m doing this for them more than you. No offense.”

“None taken. What’s that for?” I motioned to the bowl.

“I should’ve brought a muzzle. You ask too many questions.”

I laughed, remembering Zeke saying something similar. As a thought struck me, my laugh died away. “Do you think the curse can be broken?”

“Yes. But don’t ask me how,” he said, and I snapped my mouth shut. “To break the curse, you must first know why it came into being.”

“And to find that out?”

“Ask your ghost lover,” Callum answered. “However, you should know that if you break the curse, it will set the spirits free. You’ll lose him.”