4 Tiddly Jinx Page 20

  She began flipping through the spells, reading the titles to herself. “How about a power transfer?”

  I wished I could look at the spell. “Judging by the name I think it would transfer someone else’s magic to you, but without something of the target’s, I think you would run the risk of hitting the wrong person.”

  “The Forbidden Spell?”

  “I don’t know what that is. Move on.”

  “There’s nothing,” she said, making it to the end of the book.

  I closed my eyes, trying to think of anything that would help. “Binding. Is there a binding spell?”

  She nodded and flipped back to it. She carefully read each word, committing it to memory. Her head popped up. “It calls for a sacrifice,” she said.

  She looked up too soon to have finished. “Make sure you finish reading the spell before the text disappears.”

  She looked back at the book and studied it until she closed it. “The writing was still there. Maybe you have to say the spell out loud for it to disappear.”

  I shrugged. It didn’t really matter. “What sort of sacrifice?”

  “Human.”

  We stared at each other. How far were we willing to go for this?

  “What’s going on?” Cheney asked.

  “We need a sacrifice,” I said.

  “It can’t be too hard to find an animal,” he said.

  Frost shook her head. “A human sacrifice.”

  “I can get a person,” Corbin offered.

  I walked away from them. I wanted to scream. I tried so hard to do things that were good and right, but at every turn something else was standing in my way. How could we kill some innocent person just to cast a spell that may or may not work?

  “I’ll do it.”

  I slowly turned around and stared at my grandmother. I shook my head but she kept talking.

  “I’m an old woman, Selene. I’ve lived a long life and I have seen you grow into a beautiful, strong woman. I could not be more proud of you. My life is already coming to an end, and we both know that the more powerful the life that is taken, the stronger the spell will be. The Pole being here is partly my fault. Had I not cursed you, you wouldn’t have gone to the hoodoo priestess. Let an old woman make amends.”

  “No one is being sacrificed,” Cheney said.

  “Then we’re not casting a spell,” Frost said.

  An argument broke out, with Corbin, Frost, Lily, Sebastian, and Sy championing the side for doing whatever was necessary while Cheney, Devin, Katrina, and Leslie argued the opposition. I had a feeling if my family were not involved, Cheney would have been more open to the idea himself. Grandma and I stood amongst the chaos, looking at one another but not saying a word. She had made her case and it was up to me to decide. The fate of many for the sacrifice of one life.

  “Okay,” I said.

  All arguments ceased and stunned silence spread over the cemetery. “Okay,” I said again, trying to convince myself this was the right decision though numbness threatened to overwhelm my heart.

  Grandma smiled a little and put her arms around me, squeezing me tight. “I am so proud of you, my girl. I will watch down from the Heavens and smile at the woman and queen you will become.”

  I hugged her as I choked back a sob, knowing firsthand what was to come. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered into her shoulder.

  “There is nothing to be sorry for.” She kissed my temple and went to Frost. “There is nothing for you to feel guilty about, either. This is my choice. Just help my granddaughter and you will be just fine.”

  Frost nodded.

  “Great, that’s settled. Now what?” Corbin said, pragmatic as ever.

  “Now we wait,” I said, going to Cheney and taking his hand. The coven went back to the circle, triple-checking their work. Grandma went with Frost to check hers and Corbin gave me a smug smile, no doubt to remind me that I wasn’t all that different from him no matter how much I tried.

  Cheney squeezed my hand slightly then let go. “I’m going to walk the perimeter again.”

  Corbin came to stand by me as Cheney walked away.

  I WALKED THROUGH THE empty cemetery. Monuments and crypts filled the area in rows like neighborhoods. Some areas were richer than others, but ultimately they were all in the same place. A place Selene’s grandmother would be very soon. How could she willingly sacrifice her family—her blood?

  My mind struggled against the decision. On one hand I knew that this was probably the best decision. Edith had volunteered. She was willing and nearing death every day. If Corbin compelled someone to take her place it would be a bigger travesty. But she was family, and that was the leap I couldn’t quite make. I had lost all of my blood family except Lily. For as evil as my father could be and for all the terrible things he had done, I would have never taken his life. He was my blood.

  I shook off the thought and kept walking. The energy in the air shifted and began to build. My feet paused and I closed my eyes. It was starting. I transported back to the group. Everyone was in position: Frost, Edith, and Jessica were facing east, the coven was facing north, Selene and Corbin were facing south, and Sebastian, Lily, and Sy were facing west. I joined Selene and Corbin. An unnatural silence filled the air, blocking out the sound of the cars and the street outside the cemetery walls. The longer we waited with nothing happening the more I doubted Selene’s judgment. The cemetery was large, and the hole could be opened anywhere.

  A flicker of light as small as a candle sprung up inside the crypt in front of us. The stone cracked and crumbled around the light, which grew until it exploded from every crack and seam. Then it all disappeared.

  “Now!” Selene shouted, and the women all began chanting and the chain on the crypt door rattled as something inside pushed against it.

  A blink of an eye later the chain had vanished and the door was being pushed open wide. The milky-eyed priestess stepped forward with what I guessed was the Pole of Charon in her hand. She slammed the end of it into the earth then raised it overhead, holding it with both hands and chanting.

  We all waited for Selene’s signal, but she said nothing. Her eyes darted around, and Sebastian threw a dagger at the priestess, but it fell to the ground several feet away from her, the spell uninterrupted. Selene was more focused now on what Frost was doing. She and Jessica were chanting their spell and Edith stood in the center, arms out as light poured from her into the circle, mixing with the darkness, making it billow and grow.

  “What do you want us to do?” I shouted just as all the tombs around us cracked and the door caved in and the ground began to move and upturn beneath our feet. Bodies started to rise up from all around us.

  “It’s not working,” she said. “They’re not strong enough. They need me!” Selene vanished and popped up next to Frost, joining in on the spell.

  “Lily!” I called out. “It’s time. Selene needs some luck.”

  She nodded and transported to her, thrusting her hand against Selene’s shoulder before the circle spit her back out and into a tombstone. Lily didn’t get up. The circle Selene joined thundered with the added strength and darkness shot into the sky as her grandmother crumbled to the ground. Corpses crawled, stumbled, and dragged themselves from the broken crypts as hands shot out of the earth, clawing at the ground as they pulled themselves out. Lightning flashed around the priestess, but no more crypts opened.

  The first undead creature got to me and I easily avoided its swings, but it was mostly bone with only chunks of rotten flesh dripping from it. I kicked the creature in the chest, knocking it back and using my sword to sever the head from the body, but even then the creature continued to move. As I came back up, three more were on me. Sebastian and Sy were in similar situations. The witches were safe for the time being in their circle, but they were surrounded.

  “Go for their heads,” Corbin said. “It may not kill them, but it slows them down. We’ll head for the priestess.”

  We worked together, leaving a trail of un
dead bodies flopping on the ground behind us, and Sy and Sebastian did the same. We reached the priestess at the same time, but none of us could cross whatever barrier was protecting her.

  I shot a look over at Selene, but she was still focused on the spell. There was nothing we could do. We were at a stalemate.

  The priestess stopped chanting when she realized no more bodies were being added to her army. She tossed the Pole to her feet. “You are strong, little witch,” she yelled. “Perhaps we should have taken you along with the Pole. But we both know I don’t need it to take care of your friends.”

  She raised her arms to the sky and the air stirred. Unseen entities filled it, swishing by in one direction then the next and making the air around us roar. A scream came from a distance. We were in trouble.

  “Banshee,” Sebastian yelled. “Where’s Selene?”

  I nodded toward her and he took off, clearing a path.

  “Don’t let her leave,” I told Corbin and Sy, then followed Sebastian. It didn’t take long to dispatch the creatures surrounding Selene’s circle. Her hair swirled around her as her arms stretched toward the sky.

  “What’s happening?” she yelled. “Have you gotten the Pole?”

  “No. We can’t get to the priestess,” I shouted back. “She is calling a banshee.”

  She started to lower her arms and the column of darkness above her wavered. Her hands shot immediately back up. “I can’t leave. Get the coven.”

  We started toward the coven, clearing the remaining undead as we went. I quickly explained to them what was happening. They looked at one another and nodded in unspoken agreement. They stepped from the protective circle and gasped as their hands shot to their ears. “What is it?” Devin asked, ducking left then right as something swished passed her.

  “I don’t know.” We headed back to the priestess as fast as we could.

  “No!” The panic in Selene’s voice ripped through me.

  I left the girls with Sebastian and transported to her. Frost was on her knees and blood gushed from her nose, but her arms stayed stretched toward the sky. Selene was also struggling to keep her hands up as if they were being crushed by the weight of it.

  “Jessica. Left,” she managed to say. “Has. The. Book.”

  I glanced around and caught a glimpse of her heading toward the priestess. I transported to her and pressed my sword against her neck.

  “Drop the book.”

  “Get out of my way.”

  “Jessica, put the book down.” She tried to move, but I kept the sword on her. “Don’t make me do this.”

  “They can’t break her circle, but I can. It’s the only way you will get the Pole back.”

  I made my decision in a split second, letting her through as I fell in step with her. “The book could turn you.”

  Her jaw jutted out. “Would you rather they all die? Because that’s what’s going to happen.”

  When we joined the others, she dropped to her knees and opened the book and flipped through the pages until she saw what she wanted. “I need a bone,” she said.

  Corbin turned to the body behind him and tore off an arm then tossed it to her. She laid it in front of her and kept reading, mouthing the words to herself. She rattled off other ingredients she needed and we got them for her as swiftly as we could. The column of dark above where Selene was standing dissipated. I transported to them. Selene was lying unmoving on the ground with Frost and her grandmother, and Lily was still a few feet away. I ran to Selene and took her pulse. She was alive.

  “Selene. Selene. Wake up. It’s not over.”

  She peeled back one eye. “Did you get the book?”

  “Jessica is using it to break the force field.”

  “No,” she said, pushing herself off the ground. “She’ll turn.”

  I took her arm, helping her up though she leaned on me heavily. “If she doesn’t do it, we’ll lose the Pole.”

  By the time we got back, Jessica was already casting the spell. The force field around the priestess shimmered and cracked until it burst in a shower of sparks. The coven went to Jessica and Corbin darted in, scooping up the Pole and narrowly dodging the blind priestess’ hand. Selene took a deep breath and straightened. In a matter of moments color returned to her face and an internal blaze lit her eyes. Her hand shot out, fingers curled in, and the priestess lifted from the ground, clawing at her throat. Selene took several steps toward her.

  “Draw me a holding circle,” she said calmly.

  Katrina broke away from Jessica and drew a circle on the ground in front of Selene. Sy and Sebastian flanked Corbin, not letting him leave with the Pole.

  When the circle was done Selene waved Katrina away and began chanting a spell that sounded vaguely familiar. A tendril of smoke rose in the center of the circle and turned to a flame, then from it stepped Charon.

  “Do you have what I asked for, witch?” his voice thundered.

  “I offer you the Pole and the priestess who stole it,” Selene said.

  Corbin stepped forward, holding the Pole out in both hands. Charon looked at it and then at Corbin. When satisfied, he turned toward the priestess, who was still struggling for breath. “I accept your gifts,” he said.

  Three snarling black dogs the size of a small horse appeared. Two of them jumped on the priestess, and Selene let her fall to the ground. The beasts pulled her apart, her screams echoing through the cemetery. The third dog went to Corbin. Selene nodded to him and he placed the Pole on the ground. The dog took it in its teeth, and in a flash of light, all of them vanished with the body of the priestess.

  It took a moment for any of us to move, as if we were unwilling to accept something else wasn’t about to happen. Selene turned back to me, collapsing to her knees. “We did it,” she said, a smile taking over her face.

  I dropped to my knees next to her and kissed her. “You did it.”

  Sy’s laughter carried through the night. “I can’t believe any of that worked! You, cousin, are the luckiest person I have ever met.”

  Soon everyone was smiling. Katrina hugged Sebastian who hugged her back before he broke free. Devin and Leslie bent down to hug Selene and me, relief spreading like waves through our small group.

  “It’s over. It’s really over,” Devin said, straightening back up, eyes shining with happy tears.

  “Not quite,” Jessica said behind her.

  Devin jerked, her mouth forming into an O shape before crumbling to the floor. Jessica stood behind her with a bloody knife in one hand and the book in the other. Her body swayed slightly as if she was having trouble staying on her feet, but she raised her now black eyes to us. Selene flicked her wrist, knocking the dagger from Jessica’s hand. I was on my feet heading toward her, but her jaw set and nodded in our direction, a wall of energy slammed into me, taking my breath and pushing me back a few steps and not receding. She had us trapped. Selene gritted her teeth and rose to her feet with both hands held out in front of her. Her face twisted as she moved forward shattering the wall Jessica created, but her arms sagged and she struggled to catch her breath. Jessica didn’t look much better off than her.

  Jessica stepped back the book clutched in her hand. She tilted her head to both sides an instant before a man and a half-man/half-animal appeared on either side of her. Slowly her hair lengthened and her jeans and sweatshirt morphed into a long white dress. When she spoke, it wasn’t her voice that came out.

  “Surprise, I’m your leak. You will forgive my friend, he likes to talk.” She motioned to the man on her left. “Hope we didn’t cause too much trouble.”

  I stepped to Selene’s right and Corbin flanked her left side. Sebastian, Sy, Katrina, and Leslie grouped behind us as we faced off against our friend.

  Her finger twitched as she accessed our strengths and weaknesses which she knew better than any enemy we ever fought before. Her eyes settled back on Selene and she winked. “We’ll finish this another day, changeling. You have my word. Thanks for the book.”


  She held out her free hand and the dagger reappeared in it. Wiping the blade of the knife on her dress over her stomach in an “S” shape, she said, “See you soon.”

  She mumbled strange words I didn’t recognize and all three of them disappeared.

  KATRINA AND LESLIE SCREAMED. I was the first to make it to Devin, who had a trickle of blood sliding down the corner of her mouth, but she was still alive. My hands sought the wound on her back, trying to heal her, but I was too weak. I had used too much magic tonight and I was weak.

  “Just hang on, Dev. We’ll fix this.”

  Her mouth moved silently and her eyes stared blankly. Leslie and Katrina dropped down beside her and I looked to Cheney, who had already moved next to me.

  He laid a hand on her and pushed healing energy into her, eyebrows drawn close together with concentration and effort. Finally he pulled back and shook his head. “I’m sorry. She’s too badly injured. I can’t save her.”

  Leslie collapsed in tears over Devin’s stomach. Katrina took one of her hands and I brushed the hair from her face, almost blinded by the tears pouring from my eyes. Devin’s lips moved again, only this time sound came out. “Save her,” she said. “Promise you’ll save her.”

  “I will. I’ll bring her back,” I said, my voice breaking. “I promise.”

  Devin closed her eyes and released her last breath.

  No one moved or spoke. We had won the battle tonight, but the war was just starting, and already the losses were more than we could have ever realized. Cheney went to check on Lily and came back with her and Frost.

  “What’s going on?” Frost’s voice broke the silence.

  She stood next to Corbin, leaning on him for support. He looked at her, shocked, then back at me with accusatory eyes that I ignored. There would be no more killing tonight.

  “Did you get the Pole? What happened to the priestess? Do you need me to close the tear here?”

  “Shit,” I said under my breath. I had forgotten about the tear. “Do you have enough strength?”