Similar to the others, the one thing this nail had going for it was it was attached to a lower piece of loose wood. A few solid kicks, three curse words, and a hell of a lot of grunts later and the board and nail fell free.
Breathing heavily, I picked up the board, turning it this way and that. The nail was sticking out just enough. “That’ll do,” I murmured while heading back to Deni and Lydia.
“What are you planning?” Lydia asked as she eyed the board. “I don’t think we can use that to break through the bars on the windows.”
“I’m not using it for the bars.” I stared down at Deni before crouching before him. I hoped removing Deni’s shackles bought me enough trust to test my theory. “I’d like to try something, but it’s going to entail this sharp nail near your neck and some of my blood.”
Deni’s eyes widened, and he licked his dry, cracked lips. “You think…?”
“I’m not sure. All I know is that magic doesn’t seem to think much of human inadequacy. Magic wielders also don’t seem to figure humans into the equation when they’re crafting their spells.”
“W-what do you have in mind?” Deni’s eyes were fixed on the rusty nail.
“I’m going to try and scratch the hell out of those sigils carved into that metal collar of yours, and then I’m going to rub my blood in them.” My plan sounded even more gruesome when spoken out loud. “I’ve done something similar before, but I’ll admit I doubt it’s exactly the same. Regardless, it’s all we’ve got.”
Deni’s lips pursed before he tilted his head to the side. “Do it.”
I didn’t waste any more time. “Here we go.” Careful as I could, I brought the board up to Deni’s neck. The bulk made the angle awkward, but I managed. The sound of the nail grating across metal hurt my ears, and given Lydia’s cringe, I doubted I was alone. “Am I hurting you?”
“It’s not comfortable, but don’t stop.”
That was good enough for me. I kept scratching, moving from one sigil to the other. I had no idea if all of them needed to be disrupted or just a few. I also had no idea if this would even work at all. Regardless, I quickly made my way around, marking each and every one. So far, to no obvious advantage.
“Does anything feel different?” Lydia asked.
Deni’s eyes flashed her way and his lips pulled down. “I don’t think so.”
Lydia looked as crestfallen as Deni sounded.
“We’re not done yet.” After scratching through the last sigil, I tilted the board and nail. “Lydia, if we make it out of this, remind me to get a tetanus booster.” Without overthinking it, I dragged the nail over my finger. “Fuck, that stings.” I’d had a lot worse pain in my life. This was akin to a nasty papercut.
“Sorry if I get my blood on you,” I apologized before smearing my finger over the first sigil. My heart sank when nothing happened. Regardless, we didn’t have a lot of other options and considering my finger was still bleeding, I kept going.
One, two, three sigils down and a whole hell of a lot of nothing. I was on the fifth one when the collar vibrated. I pulled my finger back and stared. “Deni?”
“Keep going.” There was a hint of hope in his voice.
I started on the sixth sigil. The quivering increased, and tiny fissure lines formed within the metal. I’d barely touched the seventh when the metal shattered, falling to pieces at our knees.
Deni’s head tilted back, his brown eyes wide and arms thrown akimbo. The air filled with a deep blue mist. It swirled and danced around Deni, concentrating around his heart. That swirling mist sank into Deni’s chest. It was as if his body couldn’t absorb it fast enough.
I pumped my fist in the air, high-fiving Boone’s momma in one amazingly surreal moment.
“You did it! Franklin, that was—” Lydia’s words cut off as the house shook. A long, low howl erupted all around us, filling up the space and pounding through my head. Lydia and I slapped our hands over our ears. Shadows rushed in from all sides, swarming us and heading for Deni first.
Deni’s crazed grin laughed in the face of the looming threat. Between one blink and the next, Deni was gone.
And then the shadows came for us.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Erasmus
Lapping waves met my ears as I stepped out of Phlox and Leon’s rental car. Leon insisted on driving it, saying he’d purchased the insurance policy and would rather risk this vehicle than mine. I hadn’t really cared and couldn’t find it in me to argue. I had argued with Pops when he said he wanted to come with us. We’d kept his presence a secret so far and didn’t want to out him yet. Not that any of us knew if having Pops close by would change the outcome tonight. Once Pops left the safety of my warded home, Tenzen would be able to find him if he looked hard enough. We were banking on him being too focused on me to look further.
Aurelia couldn’t track Momma or Franklin, and she was shit with directions. We’d decided she’d tag along with Pops. Gaia help us. I only hoped Pops would keep his mouth shut and would arrive in one piece. Peaches had basically removed Aurelia’s already limited reigns. He’d wished her to use her own judgment. I prayed that judgment didn’t tell her to eliminate Pops.
