“You have a hold on him,” Devon notes. “I get why Theo is concerned. You’re a liability, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Until you came along, Xavier kinda had nothing to lose.”
I look over my shoulder at him and shake my head. “He won’t lose me.”
“You can’t promise that.” Devon’s blue eyes cloud over. “You can’t promise any of us that.”
“You’re right. I can’t. Just because I haven’t been killed by a monster doesn’t mean I’m impervious to it. Hell, I could get in an accident the next time I get behind the wheel.”
Quietly, I close the cabinet door and we go back through the hall we came in to check out the other offices. Like the rest of the building, nothing is out of place. Xavier regroups with us and we walk outside together.
The staff cabins are the first and last in the row, and there are six rather large cabins. Something feels very off as soon as we get into the first one. There are several bunkbeds, all made up with different colored sleeping bags and pillows. Each cabin has one tiny bathroom, and the light has been left on, illuminating this room just enough for me to see around.
“She was aware,” I say, closing my eyes.
“Who was?” Xavier asks.
“Someone in this room.” I tip my head, hearing echoes of voices in my mind. “Female…maybe named Amanda. I’m picking up on a lot of apprehension. Like she knew something was wrong but it didn’t make sense. I think she’s dead.” I open my eyes. “I wouldn’t be getting her memories like that if she wasn’t.”
“Holy shit,” Devon says, holding up a name tag. “Amanda Perkins.” A chill runs through me as I see her smiling face on the lanyard. “Will this work?”
“Definitely.”
“Can we do the spell in here?” he asks, swinging his backpack off one shoulder.
“We can,” I reply and shine the flashlight on a table against a wall.
“Start setting up,” Xavier says. “I’ll check the rest of the cabins.”
“Be careful,” I tell him and he looks at me as if what I said makes no sense. He speeds out of the room and Devon and I start setting up to cast the locator spell. Now that I know I can locate anyone—dead or alive—I’m going to do the same spell I did that took me to my parents’ graves.
Devon clears the table, pushing a paper bag full of groceries onto the floor. Then he spreads a map of the area down and I put a hematite stone on each corner. He sets three lodestones on the map and gets out the herbs. I mix them together, crushing them in the mortar and pestle. I sprinkle it on the map and write Amanda’s name on a bay leaf.
“Here ya go,” Devon tells me, unfolding a piece of paper with the spell. I had changed the original to specifically call someone from my bloodline.
“Thanks,” I say and pick up Amanda’s lanyard, looking at her face. She couldn’t be any older than nineteen and looks so happy in this photo. I’m sorry I couldn’t have saved you, I mentally say to her. I close my eyes, taking the next few moments to ground myself until Xavier comes back.
I hold the bay leaf with Amanda’s name on it in my hand. “Ignis.”
The bay leaf catches on fire and I hold it until most of the leaf is burned. Then I drop it in the stone mortar. I mix the ashes with the herbs, dump it into my hand, and chant. “Ad te clamo. Te ipsum revela. Ostende mihi locum tuum.Ad te clamo. Te ipsum revela. Ostende mihi locum tuum.”I drop the herbs onto the map and they start to vibrate and move. “It’s working,”I say, but my words are drowned out by a harrowing screech that reverberates off every wall of this cabin, shattering the glass in the front windows.
The door flies open and a man with dark eyes and graying skin appears. The rot in his aura is suffocating. He takes a step in, gaze latched on me.
“He doesn’t want me to complete the spell,” I rush out, holding my hands over the map. “Ad te clamo. Te ipsum revela. Ostende mihi locum tuum!”
Xavier runs toward him, hand outstretched, going to punch his fist through his chest so he can rip out the heart. But his hand passes right through.
Oh shit.
We’re not fighting the demon, but an evil spirit who serves him.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
“He’s a ghost,” Devon stammers, putting himself in front of me. “How the fuck do we fight a ghost.”
“My dagger,” I say, not taking my eyes off the map. Heart racing, I try to will the herbs to hurry the fuck up. Amanda’s lanyard is on the table next to the map. Come on…work! Devon picks up my dagger and throws it at the spirit. The blade slices the man in two, and he dissipates into a swirl of gray smoke. The herbs start to move again.
“He was blocking the spell,” I say.
