The last class of the day was sheer torture, but I managed to sneak in an hour nap during dinnertime, before Eva collected me to banish the evil ghost.
We met Amethyst in the woods behind the academy. She’d chosen the spot to avoid tripping any of the new wards inside the school. It had the added advantage of being out of sight of all the towers, and far from the King’s Castle.
Secrecy was of the utmost importance, and not just from other witches. We couldn’t be sure that Ishtar didn’t have other ghosts working for her in the academy. Until Ronald verified that information, a task he’d already begun, keeping quiet would keep Amethyst safe.
A late fall chill had settled permanently over Maine, and I wrapped my large scarf around myself as I surveyed the area. We were in a small clearing, barely large enough to fit the circle of salt Amethyst had drawn on the ground. A silver bowl sat lonely in the center, and at what I assumed were each of the four cardinal points, a single crystal rested between three burning candles. The gems were all different colors. I had a hunch that we might have covered why in Divination and Tarot, but I couldn’t recall the reason for such stones. It didn’t matter anyway. Amethyst knew what she was doing, and except for the part Eva and I would play in calling and banishing the ghost, the spirit talker was running the show.
“Where do you want us?” I asked, not trying to waste time when it was freezing out. “And what should we be doing?”
Amethyst pointed to two opposing spots on the circle, and instructed Eva and me to each stand at one. She then pulled two small daggers out of a bag and handed a hilt to each of us.
“What are these for?” Eva asked, her voice squeaky.
“Since you two are not practiced at calling specters, but have a bond with this ghost, you will need to spill a little blood to get him to come. Just make a small cut on your finger and drip it on the crystal in front of you.”
I gulped. This reminded me of the blood-covered runes that had brought the demons over in Oregon. Across from me, Eva’s face was tight. I would bet all the breath in my lungs that she was thinking the same thing. Neither of us had a chance to talk about our anxiety before Alex and Hunter appeared through the trees. As I knew he would when we’d requested his help, Alex had brought a bag chock-full of emergency healing supplies.
“Perfect timing,” Amethyst said and ushered the guys into the circle. “Donotmove an inch from this spot. Got it?”
They nodded, and Amethyst went about finishing her preparations.
Alex gestured to the knife in my hand. “What’s that for?”
“Blood sacrifice. I have to put a little on the crystal.” I pointed to the stone at my feet.
“Greaaaat. That isn’t reminiscent of anything creepy at all.” Hunter echoed my previous concerns.
Amethyst shot him a strange look, but no one expounded, and she continued working.
I watched her, feeling bad that she only had half the information. Amethyst knew that I was demon-touched. And since I felt like her possession was my fault, I’d even revealed that being demon-touched meant I could sense demons. She’d learned about Eva’s mark after Ronald blabbed that Eva was connected to the ghost. Amethyst was more informed than most other students at Spellcasters, but that didn’t mean I’d told her everything—like about Portland.
A few minutes later, she finished preparing the circle and took up the lead position in the middle.
“Here’s how this will go. Odette and Eva must be the ones to actually call and banish the ghost. Since none of you are specter-sensitive, I’ll set the energies for the circle and invoke the incantation too. That way, the magic can pass the veil. Once it’s on the other side, your blood will do most of the work. So place a drop on the crystal and speak the incantation ‘crucilarva’. The lure of a blood sacrifice in combination with the spell will bring him here.”
She turned to Alex and Hunter. “The second the ghost is in this circle—he’ll come for the blood—you two throw up a shield and trap him. That’s all I want you doing.Noheroics. If you involve yourself in any other way, you’re risking us all, and I won’t have you in my circle. Got it?”
“Got it,” Hunter nodded once.
Alex took a second longer, but at my nod, he sighed. “I understand.”
“And the banishing incantation?” Eva asked.
“I’m getting there,” Amethyst assured her. “Once we trap the ghost, he’ll bepissed. He’ll probably start trying to break out of the shield, which ghosts can do, although it takes some time. Most importantly, he willnotwant to drink the blood you offered anymore. He’ll see it as deceit.” Amethyst cast a wary glance at me. “But he must ingest the essence of hismasterin order for us to banish him.”
My eyebrows knitted together. Why did she look so worried? “Yeah, and I thought Ronald said that was all we needed?”
Amethyst bit her bottom lip so hard that it turned white. “That’s true. Your blood is connected to Ishtar and what we need. In fact, it’s the most important aspect of this circle.”
She bent down to pick up the bowl in the center of the circle and brought it to me.
“What Ronald didn’t mention is that the lure for him to drink must beirresistible. Cut deep and fill this as much as you can. The more blood there is in one spot, the less he’ll be able to resist. Once he drinks it, and he’ll probably need to drink a lot, you can speak the banishment incantation ‘protero’.”
A strangled sound came from Alex. Clearly when he asked if he should bring healing supplies, Amethyst had not told him that I’d be giving so much blood. But it didn’t matter. What was required, was required, so I held up a hand, stopping his protest.
“How will I know when he’s had enough to drink?”
“I’ll let you know the second I think he’s had enough,” Amethyst assured me.
