But I release them from your claim.”
When I did this with Mr. Peterson, the sigil fought me and I was lanced with pain. This afternoon, I'm ready for the backlash of power and take it in stride.
Goddess Mother, it is my intention to do your good work. Please help me help her.
As I focus on the sigil, the pure strength of the Goddess Mother's intention spreads through my body and gives me comfort.
The scarlet glow of the mark darkens, and my mental jewelry box rattles as Tharuzel's darkness stirs.
Mine,his voice hisses from within the locked box.
"Not today, asshole." I pour more power into the spell, feeling Sebastian match me step for step.
The sigil cracks. Fractures spread across its surface like breaking glass.
Then it shatters.
The backlash hits me like a wave, but Sebastian absorbs half the impact. We both stagger, but I don't get pulled into Tharuzel's consciousness. I don't lose myself in his hatred and hunger.
I just... stand here. Breathing hard. Victorious.
"Holy shit." Asher steadies me as I sway. "Did that actually work?"
Wylder's already moving toward the door of the house. "Asher, grab me some of whatever you baked this morning. We're going to be good neighbors and go check on her."
Asher dashes inside and returns a moment later with a covered dish. "Lemon poppy seed muffins. Perfect for nosy neighbors who've just been demonun-marked."
As they head across the road, Mom wraps her arms around me. "That was as brave as it was reckless."
I lean into her embrace, watching Wylder and Asher jog down the driveway. "Yeah, well, that's pretty much my factory setting these days. Now we need to figure out how to do this on a countywide scale. Sebastian’s spirit magic power boost helped me cast my intention across the road, but it’s not enough to cover all of Emberwood.”
Sebastian stiffens beside me and turns, wide-eyed. “Poppy, that’s it! You’re a genius.”
“I am? Well, yeah, I am, but why are you saying it?”
He grins. “You just figured out how to do the un-marking cleanse en masse.”
I blink. “I did? Well, yay me.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The witching hour, also charmingly called the devil's hour, is between three and four in the morning. It's known to be when supernatural forces—such as witches, demons, and ghosts—are believed to be at their strongest.
The belief might be rooted in folklore, but this period of "dead of night" is considered a time of heightened magical power when the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest.
So, it stands to reason that's when Sebastian and I, the two spirit witches invested in stopping a major demon incursion, would attempt a mass cleansing.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Asher leans close, checking over his shoulder to ensure our conversation is our own.
"It's the best idea we've come up with, and with Izzy’s new spell idea, yeah."
I press a hand against the cool stone surface of one of the Hallowind monolith standing stones. The incredible energy that runs through this place of power is enhanced even more by the ancestry of the Hallowind bloodlines running through my veins.
Using the power of the ley lines running beneath all of Emberwood is just the conduit we need to send our unbinding spell out to free the spirits and then break the hold of Tharuzel’s demon mark.
Or, at least, that’s our intention.
“All right, everyone. Let’s do this.” Sebastian claps his hands, and the members of the Life and Death Brigade end their side conversations and gather.
