“Not always. Didn’t I tell you not everything on the internet is true?”
“Why would people lie?”
I stifle a laugh. “Honestly, I don’t know. I think a lot of it is opinions. Dinner smells good. Thanks, guys.” I sit at the table and pull the sage sticks out of my purse.
“How was work?” Thomas asks.
“Pretty good today, actually. Well, considering what I work with. I found a connection between my victims,” I say, and tell them everything I just told the captain.
Covering the pot of rice on the stove, Jacques turns to me, muscular arms folded over his chest. “When I was new to the Templars, we were once ordered to burn a church and put the blame on a village of Pagans.”
“Why?” I try to meet his eye, but he stares at the window behind me.
“To make the surrounding villages turn against them.”
Thomas shuffles his feet, moving closer to me. He already wondered if Jacques could have actually killed Braeya. A divide between them is the last thing we need.
“Did you do it?” he asks.
“No.” Jacques turns back, pretending to check on the food.
“Why not?” I ask carefully.
“A storm blew in. We’d been in a drought for weeks. There were no clouds to be seen, and right before we were going to set off, it poured.” Though his back is to me, I can see the tension in his shoulders. Letting out a breath, he turns around and looks right into my eyes. “It was the first time I questioned the mission. It was as if God himself sent the rain to save innocent lives.”
“I had no idea,” Thomas says quietly. “Was this before Gil and I were there?”
A small smile comes to Jac’s face. “No. It was after. Though I’m fairly certain you two were in that very town.”
Thomas snorts a laugh. “But not at the church.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head, remembering Thomas and Gilbert saying they frequented brothels back in their day. Times have certainly changed.
“So, the curse,” I start, opening one of the plastic bags with a sage stick inside. “Should I try the same thing tonight? Maybe I’ll see more.”
“Are you up for it?” Jacques asks. “It took a lot out of you.”
“Yeah. I skipped working out this morning, so I’m good.”
“Okay.” Jacques turns back to the rice. He has a few suggestions on how to make magic easier on me, and explains how witches are able to pull energy from sources. Instead of doing that, I’m pulling from myself. I need to tap into energy around me instead of wearing myself out. We talk about it throughout dinner, and after watching the rest ofStar Wars: Episode IVwith Hasan and Gil, I take a shower and change into leggings and a tank top, knowing I’ll most likely crash right after doing magic.
“You didn’t kill me last night,” Thomas says with a smirk. “Want to try again?”
“Sure, but I can’t make any promises.” I look up from the circle of salt I’m pouring on the living room floor again, though this time, it’s much bigger.
Hasan and Gilbert hang out in the back of the room, silently watching, and Jacques stays nearby on the couch, just in case I pass out and almost fall into an open flame again or something. The audience doesn’t make me nervous this time around, though, because I know something will happen, even if it’s not what we’re hoping for.
Once Thomas and I are sitting in the circle, I light the smudge stick and carefully wave it around both of us. Instead of jumping right in like I did last time, I follow Jacques’s instructions on how to ground, using crystals to pull in energy from the elements air and earth.
Holding an amethyst in one hand, I hold my other up in front of me and look at my fingertips.
“Ignis,” I whisper, and feel heat rush through my hand. “Ignis.” I close my eyes and imagine the flames around my hand.Ignis. Ignis. “Ignis.”
This time, it works, and a small flame erupts from each of my fingers. I squeeze the stone tight in my opposite hand and bring the other down into a bowl of herbs Jacques mixed up for me. With a sizzle, they ignite, and a billow of smoke wafts up around me. A strange feeling comes over me, almost like I just chugged a coffee and the caffeine is hitting me all at once.
“Ready?” I ask Thomas, closing my fist to put out the flames. I set the amethyst in the bowl of herbs, and go about the spell, trying to dispel the negative energy around Thomas.
Nothing seems to happen, and I grit my teeth in frustration. “Dammit.” I look to Jacques. “It’s not working.”
