I raised the baggie of graveyard dirt from my pouch above my head, ready to throw. It would work as a catalyst to bindthe demon under the graveyard. It wasn’t a nice thing to do, but again, desperate times…
Then Ranth appeared.
Shastas. Now I had to protect him too. Darting across the plane, I skirted around the big hulking silver-ness. The Eirkala had filled most of the space, but I lunged through the small window left, my fingernails sinking into Ranth’s rock-hard forearm. Whipping the grave dirt into the filmy dark, I spit the maca out and screamed as we toppled to the parking lot asphalt.
The whispers buzzed in my head like angry bees, and the ground rumbled like a gorilla in a cage as I gasped for breath. Ranth’s arms around me pulsed with transferring energy. I breathed in the essence of him, his strength rippling through my sapped muscles.
Freddie’s car was gone. My phone dinged.All good.Ori, Freddie, and Rose were safe.
I got up, leaning more on Ranth than I wanted to. Fabra paced beside her car, cursing at someone on her phone. “Never mind, they’re back,” Fabra said, stuffing the phone into her pocket. “Good, you’ve got Dead-guy. Come with, and let’s call this done-done.” She gestured at Ranth.
I stepped in front of him. “He’s not going with you. No one is going with you.”
“Really? Have you missed the part about me being the one in control here, chica?” She strutted toward me, her hips jutting in a position of strength. Nothing she did mattered anymore because I had a secret.
“The time has come for you to retire, Ms. Fabra.” I pulled the spell binding linen bundle out of my pocket that I’d wrapped her hair around. Definitely magic I didn’t usually mess with, but to survive, save my friends from this nasty person, and help get Ranth home, I was prepared to make sacrifices.
Rubbing the High-John root, I softly chanted,“Ancestors beneath me protect me in my need. Powers of earth below, bind my spell to that above. Seize whose essence lies within and bind her fast.”I held the ash-coated linen out in front of me.
“Oh look, you got a dolly. How cute. Perfect size to cuddle you when they bury you. You know that binding thing you did at the house won’t work here, right? I checked. But just in case, boy-o can bring it with.” Fabra pulled a long-barreled gun from the back of her pants and aimed it at me while cocking her head at Ranth. “Now, if you take the dolly from Glinda and come with me, I’ll promise not to shoot her full of elephant tranqs. ’K?”
Ranth glanced at me, and I nodded as his fingers trailed over mine to pick up the energy string Fabra couldn’t see, along with the linen bundle. It tied us to the High John wrapped with hair. Ranth held the bundle out as he walked toward Fabra. She swiped out a hand to snatch it, but he held it up above her head.
“Gun first, then the package,” Ranth said, stepping back.
I shoved a chocolate square into my mouth. The energy surged through my wavering muscles.
Fabra smirked. “You aren’t in a position to bargain, sweetie. Drop it.”
I did a mental ten-second count as the linen landed at her feet. She crouched to pick it up, and the strings of energy latched on to her.
“Three, two…”
On “one,” Ranth and I bent our arms, jerking the bundles up into the air. The energy wrapped around Fabra like a spun-sugar cocoon lifting her off her feet.
Chanting, I moved my fingers to my lips. The whispers ripped through me, and my chest tightened like invisible hands squeezed it. The air vibrated around the golden line that tethered us to Fabra, and a rolling nest of words wormedthrough the air, spiraling through the spell bounds. Fabra screamed, glowing with a golden light.
When the glow faded, Fabra sank lower until her limp boots hit the asphalt.
But the whispers didn’t stop. They filled me, choking me. Consuming all thought except for their pleas.Come with us, come with us, be one of us, be one of us.
The same whispers as when the Sisters had taken Mom. Now, they’d come to take me. I wrestled against the voices, but my consciousness was beginning to blur into the chant.
Focusing what sentience I had left, I called again to my ancestors.
“Blessed ancestors come to my aid! Earth, sky, and water, I call on you to give me guidance.”
Let them in.Their answer made no sense.
Were the Sisters tricking me?I could barely think.
“Be true.” Ranth’s voice cut through the whispers.
I had to trust myself. I stopped fighting, and the whispers filled me.“Come with us, be one with us.”The whispers grew louder into full voices. I pushed back hard, visualizing the energy around me as a protective, silver yoga ball. Whispery screams faded beyond the silver bubble.
I collapsed to the ground, sucking in air.
Ranth crouched beside me as the earth rippled underneath us. Fabra was not the only thing I’d bound to this graveyard. My hands shook; earth magic always takes its cut. I knew a couple of things. I’d be coming back here, and I’d have to figure out how to undo these two spells. It was going to take some time. Hopefully, Fabra enjoyed delivery food as much as the contents of my refrigerator. I dragged myself up.
