Holy magic is untraceable,another large spider hisses in reminder before crawling up and over Crypt’s chest before skittering away. The incubus doesn’t notice it.
Calling blood magic to my fingertips, I try to interact with the indomitable spell around us. My magic reverberates back immediately, sending me stumbling. I try again. And again. Each time, my counter-spells skip off the malediction as we’re kept locked within these horrid recollections.
My death magic is equally useless.
Godsdamn it.
Syntyche truly did weave this labyrinth specifically to torment Crypt. I'm not surprised that he managed to incur the wrath of the gods like this.
You’ll die in here!the demons occupying my headspace cheer.This is it.
Some begin clapping and singing excitedly while I swat at another nonexistent imp.
“Curse it all. Wearetrapped,” I grit, tugging my hands through my hair when the ringing in my ears intensifies.
“If only someone warned you. Oh, wait,” he deadpans without any apparent concern.
“What the hell did you do to earn a punishment like this?” I demand, correcting one or two words that come out garbled.
“Just a small bit of harmless vandalism.”
The scene changes again, and we’re again in one of Crypt’s childhood memories. I watch as he wanders through what must be Limbo as a teenager, cutting through glowing white creatures I’ve read about—wisps.
The wisps converge on him quickly like luminescent piranhas, tearing into his skin at an alarming rate until he’s crying out in pain as he fights through the dream world he’s beholden to.
The ringing in my ears magnifies as I take a deep breath. “You should have told me.”
“About?”
“Everything.”
Crypt looks at me with no expression as his past self starts to scream in earnest.
“Whatever you’ve seen in my head, Crane, ignore it. I’d tell you to forget it, but neither of us has that luxury here.”
19
MAVEN
Sendingone insane match to rescue my other insane match wasn’t my best idea.
“Another hour, gone,” Douglas announces from his spot guarding the temple’s closed and magically sealed double doors. “That makes two.”
“Congratulations on your new ability to count,” Everett snarks. “Next, learn how to read a room and shut your mouth.”
He's standing with his arms wrapped around me as we watch Silas stuck in a dark trance where he sits beside Crypt’s spellbound body. Baelfire is hunched over on a nearby pew, gnashing his teeth at everything and snarling like a feral animal. The fact that I haven’t seen even a hint of the real Baelfire yet sets my teeth on edge.
It’s getting harder to believe my charming, smiley mate is anywhere in there.
Meanwhile, every moment that passes while waiting for Silas is another moment I decide I can't wait.
I needed a caster to get Crypt out, but my options were so fucking limited. My brilliant blood fae is powerful, but his curseis eating his mind right now. That’s probably why he’s struggling with this malediction.
Asher Douglas might possess holy magic, but he's not nearly as strong a caster as Silas—not to mention if this spell is what I suspect it is, there's no way in hell I'm letting him near Crypt's vulnerable subconscious. He was set on killing my incubus six months ago. Even if he's earned Everett's trust, I'm not overlooking that anytime soon.
As far as other casters who can step up, that only leaves me. The bitch who has no idea how to use her magic anymore.
Still, I have to try. And to try, I need to fuel my abilities in the only way I’ve learned how.
