“Yes. The mother of all things.”
“The creator. We call her, him…them, I guess…the creator. You know for sure that the water flows from the creator, then?”
“No.” I laugh, shaking my head. “I’ll have to study it to know for sure. But if there were an office pool, that’s the square I’d put my money on.”
He snorts a laugh. “An office pool. I think I could arrange that. It might lighten the mood.”
“We are going to need some mood lightening. The aura of this ring is dreadful.”
“Truth. So, can you do your witchy thing? Take it apart and see how it works.”
I exhale hard. “Yes.”
“Excellent.”
“But I’m not powerful enough to do it on my own. I’ll have to use gold dust.” I dig into my bag for the small urn I brought from my apartment.
“What exactly is gold dust?” He eyes the urn with curiosity. “The only time I’ve heard that term used is in relation to drugs.”
I lift my chin. “That’s right. It’s a combination of salvia, mandrake, honey, and peyote.”
His eyebrows shoot toward the ceiling. “Peyote? Are you telling me there’s peyote in that mix? This isn’t like a drug. It’s an actual drug.”
“I told you that the tool I’d have to use came with a price and could be addictive.” I can feel my blood turn hot in my veins. I’m the one risking my health to help him. “You knew this before you brought me here. Why are we rehashing it?”
He takes a deep breath. “I thought it was addictive magic, not actual drugs.”
I laugh until I snort. “Oh, I get it. You think that a witch’s magic is all eye of newt and toe of frog? Wave a wand and presto?”
He frowns. “Yeah, I guess.”
“It’s not. It’s grounded in science. Science and something more. Like you are something more.”
“Oh.”
I clear my throat. “Look, witches are born with the ability to access magic, but when we are children, it usually happens by accident. Most of the time, our first experience with it is right before we fall asleep. We enter a trancelike state where we can commune with the golden goddess in order to wield our magic. In our teens, we train to do this on purpose. We learn meditation techniques. We practice wielding the elements. By twenty-five, most of us can perform simple magic on demand. But complex spells and enchantments require decades of practice.
“What you’re asking me to do—to view the magic that created this ring as if I’m X-raying its bones, then unlock this curse’s secrets at a detailed enough level to know how you can neutralize it somehow—only one of our elders could do that without assistance. But the elders would never help you with this. Even if you could figure out who they are, the coven has sworn to stay out of this war between you and the Order.
“All of that to say, gold dust is a young witch’s edge in an emergency. This combination forces us into a strong altered state. These plants have a different effect on us than other humans. It vastly improves our abilities.”
“But then you crash.”
“Yes. I’m not sure how hard. You might have to do CPR. Do you know CPR?”
He nods slowly, his face paling. “And then you want more.”
“Often. And you’ll have to give me more. There is no way I’ll get everything I need my first time ascending. This is too big of a job. Our goal will be to space the sessions so that we get what we need before my body gives out or I lose my mind.”
He scowls but says nothing more.
I pull a mirror from my bag and open the urn to dump a small pile of gold dust onto it. It’s a tiny amount compared to what I used to do, but for this first time, I just want to dip my toe back into this magic. I don’t know what I’m dealing with when it comes to this ring. It’s best I’m not under for too long. I rummage through my bag again and find my ceremonial dagger—we call it an athame—and use the edge of the blade to make lines in the dust.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for this. The truth is, I’ve wanted to do gold dust again ever since I went cold turkey. But I’m also dreading it. Wherever this job takes me, it will be a long road back to normalcy again. And I’m putting my future in the hands of this dragon I barely know. But oh goddess, I can’t wait to do it one more time.
I lean over the mirror.
“Wait.” Seb raises a hand. He has a strange look on his face as if he’s…concerned for me. But why would he be any more concerned now than before? Everything that is happening tonight, he asked for. Hell, he paid for. “Give me permission to enter your mind if something goes wrong.”
