“I don’t know, but I think we’re finally getting somewhere.”
“Getting somewhere?” Uncontrolled laughter burst from him. “Have you lost your mind? I was about ready for her freaking jaw to unhinge and gobble you right up.”
“At least then we’d know what we’re dealing with.”
“I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say that. Great, and she just leaves. Where are you going?”
“To look up the passage that she kept repeating. It’s got to mean something. Maybe she was giving us a clue. Telling us where to look.”
“Or she was just enjoying scaring the piss out of us. Cella, wait.”
We reached the library doors, and I pushed them open, Max still on my heels. “Cella, I know you want to help Dani and all, but …” He shook his head. “You were right. We shouldn’t have gone in there because whatever that … thing is, is not Dani. It’s the remnants of the curse or hex or whatever was done to her. And let’s not forget—she already, you know,murdered someone.”
I nodded, roaming the aisles. I knew what I was looking for, but where would it be?
“I think we should forget it,” Max babbled, “abandon this whole thing, get her sent to an asylum where she is locked up twenty-four seven and can’t hurt anyone else. Just cut our losses now. Look, I’m the last person to admit defeat, but we should be reasonable here. The person that Dani was died when she killed Maya. There is nothing human left in her.”
He stood, panting in front of me, waiting for my answer. But I was barely listening. Because I’d found what I was looking for and was already flipping through the delicate, yellowing pages.
“Are you even listening to me?” he asked, running his hands down his face.
“I’m not abandoning her, Max. Not when we’ve finally got a lead as to what’s causing this.”
“I’m not saying you should abandon her; I’m saying we should … rethink the whole ‘saving her’ bit.”
“Besides,” I said, beaming, “I’ve found the passage she was referencing.”
For perhaps the entire time I’d known him, Max’s mouth fell open, and no words came out.
I pointed to the page in front of me. “It’s a Bible passage. I knew it sounded familiar, and with the mention of demons …* but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it before. Then I remembered something from my old Ancient Magic and Christianity class with Dr. Perez. He was always picking out different passages for us to read and study the context. The full verse was in the context of foretelling the fall of Babylon, ‘the daughter of Chaldeans.’ It’s something of a rebuke, deriding the wicked city and all those who practice Magic within its walls. Like if you’re so powerful, see if you can prevent it.”
Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!
Let your astrologers come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save you from what is coming upon you.
Surely they are like stubble;
the fire will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame.
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
