Glancing at the chrono on the control panel, she fumbled for her handheld and placed the call to Cheline.
“Sweetheart, where in the seven hells are you?”her aunt demanded to know before Amellia could say anything.“I sense you’re close but there is no time left.We have a ritual to get through so hurry it up.”
“We’re hovering at about ten thousand feet above the shop right now,” she said once she could get a word in edgewise.“Tell us what to do to get through the fog safely.”
“Damn.I warded the shop so it can’t affect us here,” Cheline said.“But I forgot you had to get through the gauntlet.Land as close to the door as you can but don’t get out of the car until you see me open it.I’ll cast a temporary spell to shield you as you run inside but be careful because the damn alien magic is angry and determined.”
“We got?—”
“Tell me later,” Cheline said, cutting Amellia off abruptly.“Land the damn groundcar.”
“Coming in now,” Hagan said, taking the vehicle in a deep dive.
Amellia clung to her seat and the safety restraints as the groundcar screamed through the sky.At some point Hagan had wrapped his tail around her waist as an additional precaution to hold her in her seat.As they got closer to the surface, the fog began reaching up for them like a living thing, tentacles of wispy, writhing gray-and-yellow rising into the night sky.She closed her eyes, not sure if she was more afraid of crashing the groundcar or the sinister fog.
The vehicle landed with a jarring thump, so unlike all the other smooth landings Hagan had made and the safety harness retracted.She opened her eyes to see they were literally at the door of the shop, off the pavement.There was about ten feet of open space to cover and the mist swirled in lazy eddies as if waiting.
“Slide over to my side,” Hagan said, using his tail to grab the container with the eggs and the pearl from the backseat.“Once she opens the door, we’re on the move.Are you ready?”
Swallowing hard, Amellia nodded, unsure she could speak.
He reached out with one hand to caress her cheek and leaned to give her a kiss on the lips.“We’ll be all right,” he said in a soft voice.“I give you my word.”
Amellia leaned into him briefly, soaking up his warmth and the reassurance he was broadcasting.She heard a bell ringing sonorous slow tones and straightened to see her aunt in the now open doorway, a bell raised high in one hand and her staff clutched in the other.Each time the bell sounded the fog retreated, as if the sound repulsed it.
Hand on the door release, Hagan gave her a stern look.“On my count of three.”
“I’m good.”She got a firm grip on the root knot as he counted.
The door slid open and Amellia gasped as she was hit with a blast of cold air which stank of rotten vegetation and putrid meat and other, worse odors.A thin tentacle of the fog wormed its way into the groundcar and she ducked under it as she exited.Hagan had an unbreakable grip on her hand, pulling her with him toward the door.Cheline was chanting but Amellia felt dizzy and faint as the noxious air hit her lungs.Her knees buckled and she lost consciousness.
When she awoke, she was lying on the couch in Cheline’s conference room, with her aunt and Hagan hovering anxiously over her.“The eggs!Tell me I didn’t drop the eggs.”
Patting her shoulder, Cheline said, “The eggs are fine and so are the other two ingredients.You and Hagan did a good job.If you can stand, we need to go into the garden and perform the suppression and banishment ritual—there isn’t much time.”
Amellia reached for Hagan, who took her hand and eased her to her feet, bracing her as she wavered.“Outside?Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
The garden is covered by my protection spell,” her aunt said.Handing her a silver goblet brimming with a steaming pink liquid, she added, “Drink this, all of it, to replenish your strength.”
As Amellia sniffed the drink suspiciously, Hagan laughed.“You missed me making faces as I downed mine.It tastes all right, sort of vaguely like berries.Hold your breath.”
She made a face at him.“Thanks for the advice.”She did as he suggested, however, and sucked in a deep breath to hold while she chugged the elixir.Warmth spread through her body and she did indeed feel a resurgence of energy.“I probably don’t want to know what was in the cup,” she said as she allowed Hagan to lead her outside in Cheline’s wake.
She’d been in the tiny garden before, but tonight the place seemed different, unearthly, with the bordering trees whispering in the breeze and the fountain babbling secrets as its waters ran through the flower beds.There was a birdbath in the exact center although as she drew closer, she realized the object was actually a carved altar with a huge silver bowl set on top.Small branches were laid underneath the bowl as if ready for a campfire and Amellia remembered Cheline had said she would add the element of fire to the spellcasting.The sky directly overhead was clear of the frightening mist and the stars twinkled high above, indifferent to the life and death struggle going on here.Far off to the east there was a lightening of the sky as dawn approached.Icy fear prickled along Amellia‘s nerve endings—they were cutting this close indeed.
Cheline took her place on the other side of the small alter.“Hold hands, don’t speak unless I request you to do so and pray this works.”
Silently Amellia reached for Hagan’s hand and the instant their fingers entwined, she felt the bracelet on her wrist tingling, although it was merely woven fiber with no embedded tech.She reached with her free hand to massage the area a little, although the sensation wasn’t unpleasant, merely unexpected.Questions for Cheline crowded her mind but she remained silent.Emotions she wished she’d expressed to Hagan brought tears to her eyes but again she held her tongue.He gave her a hug, maintaining their physical bond and coiled his tail around her leg for extra contact.
“We implore the spirits of this world to repel and defeat the curse sent here from another planet, intended to harm your daughter Amellia and her friend Hagan,” Cheline said, raising her wand and gazing into the heavens.“The couple has gathered gifts to invoke the elements and power the curse breaking tonight.”She broke into song, in one of the old languages of Beneficio, which Amellia didn’t know well.She caught a word here and there but not enough to know what her aunt was communicating.Shivers ran through her entire body and Hagan pulled her closer in response.His warmth was a comfort.
Cheline handed her the staff, which was surprisingly heavy and unwieldy and Amellia wondered how her aged aunt could manage it.The dark stone at the top flared with purple light as their hands met during the transfer and remained aglow as Amellia took sole possession.Item by item Cheline deposited the mawkhen egg, the satin sea clam pearl and the root knot in the silver bowl and then poured a thick oily substance over it, from a small flask she withdrew from the voluminous folds of her cloak.The stuff remined Amellia of honey and she caught a whiff of an exotic floral scent.
Tracing a symbol in the air, which sparked and glowed, Cheline dropped into Basic.“The woman who requested this evil spell has no right, no claim on which to base her demands.”She pointed at Hagan.“Speak more of this.”
He stood tall and proud.“I terminated our egg match in accordance with the laws and tenets of my people because I’d met the woman who is my fated mate, who I treasure beyond all others and with whom I hope to spend my life.She stands beside me now, united with me in this quest.And if it be the will of those who decide that I must perish regardless, strike me down but leave Amellia untouched.She’s totally innocent in this matter.”
Cheline stared at Amellia.“What do you wish to tell the spirits considering your case?”
