Ghost in the Spell, page 9
“I still think we should just firebomb the entire area,” Lu said. “That would take care of Daddy-dearest and all his Oompa-Loompas.”
I had questions, and Asher was the only one who could answer them. But was knowing the truth about my origins worth risking my life and the life of the people I loved? “Do you think that blowing them up will negate the spell they made to take Michael?” I shifted my gaze to the barrier bubble, thankful that my son couldn’t hear our conversation. I didn’t want him to know what the archdruid had planned for him or me. “Asher threatened to sacrifice Michael in my place if I didn’t cooperate. If he finds a way to escape, I’m afraid he’ll punish me through my son. If we do this, we have to be sure that Derrick Asher is vaporized off the face of the earth.”
Keir put his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s plan on the go. It’s fifteen after, and we’re going to be cutting it close, even without the fog.”
“I’ll drive my van,” Lu said. “I have too many weapons and ammo to transfer over to your car, but I’ll park at the end of the double A, only a mile away instead of five miles. I can cover that space in a tick, plus it will give us an escape vehicle if we have to un-ass if the situation goes tits up.” She arched a brow at Carver and me. “For the non-tactical folk, that means, in case we have to get the hell out of dodge if the mission goes ten kinds of wrong.”
“I figured,” Carver said.
“I’m good with context clues,” I concurred. “Okay, so Carver and Keir are with me. Zev and Lu take the van. Zev can transport you both to the cabin.”
“I can.” Zev’s gaze narrowed. “But I cannot guarantee Lu’s safety without seeing where we will land.”
“Just stick to the road, fire boy,” Lu ribbed him. “Can’t go wrong with open pavement.”
“Okay. We have a plan.” It felt as if we were breaking a huddle. “Lu and Zev, the coms worked all the way up the mountain. We won’t do anything without checking with you first.”
Lu gave me a tight-lipped smile. “And we won’t do anything without you either, Mom.”
I flipped her off. I waved at my family as we passed through the living room, and I prayed to any goddess listening that I would see them again soon.
All right, I thought. Grave Hall, take two.
CHAPTER 13
I couldn’t shake the incredibly foreboding sense of déjà vu as I sped up the winding road toward Grave Hall. I’d spent the first five minutes of the drive convincing the Quinn siblings to let me go into the cabin first. I believed that more information could be gained by allowing Derrick to take me. They’d finally agreed, but only if Carver could figure out a charm to break their magic buster spell. I’d accepted the terms. It might seem reckless, but I wanted to know what happened to my mother. I believed she was dead and needed to know Asher’s role in her death. Also, he was the only one who might know about Bogmall. According to her, she’d been born before me.
Poor, poor, Iris. Always one step behind me. Just like the day we were born. She’d telepathically told me this while I was submerged in salt water and on the verge of drowning. Stupid cow. Even if we shared the same womb, as far as I was concerned, she could go straight to Hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Blood did not make us kin. The same with Asher. He’d already shown his colors. He had no interest in being a father then or now. All he wanted was my magic. They both wanted it, and I planned to give it to them on full blast.
Keir was in the passenger seat, looking up reference books using Darling U’s online library. We’d lose signal soon, so his thumbs were getting a workout. Carver sat in the backseat, opening and closing little bags, vials, and other sundries from his kit.
I heard a triumphant “yes” from him, and I hoped that meant he’d found a charm to block the blocking spell at the cabin.
“What’s good?” I asked. “Did you find a nullifying spell?”
“No,” he replied. “However, I have hyssop, wormwood, and vetiver, along with clover oil and eye of newt.”
“Ewww. Is that a salamander eye or something equally disgusting?”
“Nope.” Carver chuckled. “It’s something used to make my favorite condiment.”
“It’s mustard seed,” Keir said absently as he scrolled his phone.
“Spoilsport,” Carver told him. “Anyways, I can’t make a blocking spell with these.”
“Then why the excitement?” I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
Carver clucked his tongue. “Because I think I can do you one better. It will require some of your magic to activate, but I believe between the two of us, I can create a mojo bag that will bounce any spell directed at you onto the caster.”
“Seriously?” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “That would be awesome.”
“Are you sure it will work?” Keir asked, suddenly interested.
“We can test it after it’s completed. It shouldn’t take me more than five minutes to bless and assemble the ingredients. Iris will need to bind the ingredients with either earth or water. Both might even be better.”
“Why those two?” I asked. “You’re a water element, so I get that, but why earth as well?”
“Fire and wind are volatile. This spell requires energy that is grounded in the feminine. Earth and water have movement, but they’re slow-moving elements that lend themselves to receiving. We need that calming energy to complete the charm. If we were building a bomb, that would be a whole ‘nother story.”
I was learning a lot about magic from Carver. If I survived this, maybe Michael and I would both start lessons with the eclectic witch.
“Can I get a bomb bag too?”
He laughed, but when I didn’t join in, he asked, “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’d like a ‘break in case of emergency’ ready-to-go weapon. If for some reason the bounce-bag doesn’t work, I’m going to be left without any magic.”
“It’s a good idea,” Keir said with the first hint of enthusiasm. I’d give him a break. Since I’d told him about dying the first time I’d faced the archdruid of Green Grove, he’d been struggling to keep his tarry-eyed puca in check.
“Fine,” Carver agreed. “I can make you a magic bomb, but make sure you are clear of the radius when it goes off because it won’t discriminate its targets.”
I gave him a thumbs up over my shoulder. “We’re about ten minutes from Grave Hall, so do it quick.”
“Damn it,” Keir cursed. His nail had grown into a black diamond claw, cutting a jagged scratch across his screen.
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“His eyes flickered between pitch black to their normal white with gray irises. “You already did.”
“And I came back.”
“And you are tempting fate all over again.”
He was upset. Understandable. His feelings were valid. I’d be angry, too, if he kept putting himself in harm’s way. Unfortunately, harm was actively seeking me out. I couldn’t stay home and avoid it. I loved Keir, and I hated that I was putting him through the wringer. He loved me, so I hoped he understood that there wasn’t any other way.
He set his broken phone down and looked at me with his soulful eyes, his soft kissable lips in a grim line. He had the kind of face, handsome without being overly rugged, pretty without being overly feminine. I would never, no matter how long I lived, get tired of looking at his face.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I’m thinking that when this is over, I’d like to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Keir’s brow dipped, and the crease between his eyes deepened. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
My whole body should have been screaming, Danger, Will Robinson! Abort. After all, I had only been divorced for a few months, and my ex-husband was already engaged. People might think I was having a knee-jerk reaction to the news by jumping into a new relationship too quickly. But my love for Keir surpassed any I’d ever felt for Evan, and he loved me better than anyone in the world. As much as he wanted to protect me, he also let me face my own challenges and fight my own battles. And he had my back, even when he was mad at me.
I smiled.
Like now.
On top of all that, the man had a body that I could happily lick up and down on the daily. He was that delicious: tall, slender, narrow hips, tight ass, and thighs that could crack walnuts, though I hadn’t tested the theory. Being a shifter helped him maintain his beautiful physique. But even better than his outer beauty was his inside beauty.
“Would that be something you want?” I asked, finally addressing his question.
His eyes went full puca, and his ears began to elongate. “Let’s talk about it after we kick druid ass.”
“I’ve finished the bounce charm,” Carver interrupted.
I reached over my shoulder, and he put it in my hand. “Mmm,” I said. “Smells spicy.” My stomach rumbled, and I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. “I wish it didn’t smell like food, though.”
Keir dug into a small backpack he’d brought along and pulled out an energy bar. Salted caramel, chocolate, and pecan granola. My favorite. “You really are the best.”
“I know,” he said, and I could tell some of his earlier anger had waned. At least the anger he’d been harboring toward me.
“Don’t open that bar until you complete the charm,” Carver warned. “You don’t want food ingredients changing the spell unpredictably.”
“Got it.” I wedged the bar between my mid-thighs and held the bag up. “Just add water or earth?”
“Yep,” Carver confirmed. “Use Bright magic. Creation will work better to keep the energy balance needed for the spell to work.”
“You used Fade and Bright?” I asked. “I had thought it was particular to tru-craft.”
“Most magic has a light and dark side, or a creation and a destruction path. But you’re right that only tru-craft witches are sparked to one or the other, and in rare instances like yourself, both. Thomas taught me about your magic. It’s not something I can tap into, but I value knowledge almost as much.”
Good old Thomas. Carver’s dad and my favorite snitch. I still liked him, but he wasn’t off the hook for ratting me out to Freya. I held the bag on the steering wheel, so I could keep driving while I activated the mojo. “I’m glad Lu’s in the other vehicle,” I said as I used my thumb to wipe spit from my tongue and swiped it onto the bag. I focused my energy on moving the liquid into the coarsely woven sackcloth and made it disperse inside with all the ingredients.
“Done,” I told him. “How do I know if it works?”
Carver hit me in the back of the head with a coin and shouted, “rosea capillus transformacio!”
“Ouch. What the hell, Carver? Some warning next time.” I glanced in the rearview mirror. His brown hair had turned shocking pink. I blinked and pursed my lips, trying hard not to laugh. “Uhm….”
“It worked,” he acknowledged. Then with a shrug, he added, “I make it work.”
I giggled. “You sure do.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a smile tug at Keir’s lips. “Fun spell,” I told Carver.
“It was the only one in my kit that I didn’t mind getting hit with, and it’s temporary.”
“How long does it last?”
“A few days,” he said. “It’s a party trick.”
I grinned. “Me thinks someone enjoyed The Craft when he was younger.”
“Who didn’t?” Carver countered. “I’ll get to work on the bomb. How much time do we have left?”
Up ahead, I saw the sign for Grave Hall. “We’re almost there, with about two minutes to spare, or I’d slow down. Make it fast.”
“Working on it,” he said. “Goddess, I hope this doesn’t blow your fingers off.”
“I hope it has more power than that,” I said. “I want a bomb, not a firecracker.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Carver said.
The rows of headstones ramped up my anxiety. It meant we were close. I’d done it before, but it had been terrifying. I pressed a finger against my chest where Redbeard had set the hot coal.
“We could go with plan B and blow them to shit,” Keir said, sounding more and more like his sister. “Lu has a rocket launcher. We could even do it at a safe distance.”
As tempting as it sounded, I declined. “I have to know about my mother and my sister.”
“Asher might not know anything.”
“Then you can come in, diamond nails a snapping, and cut him to ribbons.”
Keir smirked. “I’m on board with that plan.”
“I thought you would.” I gestured to the backseat as I came up on double A. “Time for you to crawl in the back and hide with Carver. I softened my voice and was only half teasing when I said, “And be nice.” He’d had a bug up his butt about Carver since the man had shown up with the message about me not going by myself. You’d think he’d be more grateful. If it hadn’t been for Carver, I would’ve gone alone, and no one would’ve ever known what had happened to me.
“I’m nice.” His expression was bland. He kissed my cheek and said, “Be careful.”
“I will,” I promised.
Carver tapped my shoulder and handed me a smaller bag. “If you must use it, throw it while running in the opposite direction. It’s stable until you say the trigger phrase.”
“Got it.” I tucked it into my jeans pocket, remembering how they’d cut my jacket off. “What’s the phrase?”
He said it very slowly, taking a breath between each word. “Ignis. In. Foraminis.”
“Huh,” Keir said as he settled down in the back. “Fire in the hole.”
“Seriously?” I shook my head. “I’ll try and remember.”
“If you can’t remember,” Carver said. “Don’t try to use it. The wrong trigger phrase might activate the ingredients in…uhm, unexpected ways.”
“Like what?” The cabin was just up ahead. “Never mind,” I told him. “Get down.”
I tucked the bounce-bag inside my bra, at the bottom near my underwire. They hadn’t frisked me last time, so I hoped nothing had changed this time around. I tapped my mic. “You ready?” I asked.
“Parking the van,” Lu said. “Be there in two shakes of a djinn.”
“See you on the other side.”
“Roger that. Don’t do anything I would do,” she added.
It was her way of telling me to stay safe. “Love you, too, Lu.”
I reached my hand to the back and felt Keir take it. He laced his fingers in mine. “Trust that I’ll be there.”
“I do,” I told him. “I love you.”
“I love you more,” he replied, letting go of my hand. “Go get ‘em.”
I remembered the energy bar last second and grabbed it as I exited the car. I ripped it open and gobbled it down fast, not even caring that I was still licking chocolate and caramel off my fingers as I made my way to the rickety-ass steps.
Note to self: avoid the second step.
Then I knocked at the cabin door.
CHAPTER 14
The same short man answered the door. He had a long beard resembling a bib over his gray cloak. His cowl was in the exact same position, off his head, and on his shoulders. I noted the Wheel of Taranis on his forehead. Lu called them cannibals, and I had the sudden urge to yell, “You’re eating people! Soylent green is people!”
I managed to resist, but just. The last time I’d taken a step back once, I’d realized they were witch-sacrificing druid assholes, but this time, I pushed the little guy aside and walked right in.
It was fun watching the bluster leave Derrick Asher’s expression. “Iris,” he said, adjusting his stance. “I bet you’re surprised to see me.”
“Not really,” I said, feigning boredom. “What was my mother’s name?” I asked. If I only got one question, that was the one I wanted him to answer the most.
Again, he looked like I’d popped his swagger balloon. There was nothing quite so festive as a deflated ego. “What makes you think—”
“I know you’re the sperm donor, jackhole. Just tell me my mother’s name.” Thankfully, I could still feel my magic flowing in my veins. The mojo bag was holding. “If you do, I’ll give you what you want.”
“And what do you think I want?” he asked.
“My magic, of course. It’s what every megalomaniac wants.”
He arched a brow. “And you’ll give it willingly if I answer your question.”
“Well, actually, there are a few questions that I want answered.”
“If this were a modern cop show, I’d think you were wearing a wire.” He laughed at his jibe. The joke was on him; I was wearing a wire. Sort of. My radio was on, and my backup could hear everything being said. Derrick rolled his hand at me in a grand gesture. “Fine. Ask your questions.”
Five or six druids had gathered behind me, most of their faces covered with hoods. I saw a Redbeard’s long straggly facial hair sticking out. I didn’t have to see his face to know it was him. After watching him kill that poor woman, I hoped he died slowly and horribly.
“Who is my mother?”
“Her name was Heather Goodall.”
Was? I guess that confirmed my suspicion. My birth mother was dead. “Did you sacrifice her?”
He raised a brow. “She was mine to do with as I wished,” was his reply. I took that as a yes.
“Did she know of your plans for me?”
“Oh, how she ran when she discovered the truth. As badly as she wanted you, I should’ve known she’d hidden you away. She possessed spirit magic and could see how special you were from the moment you were conceived.” He savored the words. “Her power was magnificent, but I know it’s a mere dip in your well.”
I shuddered at his lively retelling. “And Bogmall?” I asked. “Do you know about her?”
