“I’m going to try scrying for him. Maybe if I’m fast enough, I can get a lock on him before Bursa blocks me. I need something important to him, something he touches or even wears often.” I look to both of them for help. They have been around Remy a lot more than I have over the last several years.
“We’ll find something.” Felix nods.
I leave the kitchen at a near jog, with Nash trailing behind me, and head into Felix’s spell room. “Percy, I need your help,” I announce, knowing he’ll come.
I’m not careful at all as I shove things to the side in a bid to find the right tools. Something crashes to the floor, and I don’t care enough to look at what it was. I find a large wooden bowl. The interior is charred and blackened. I would bet it’s a garbage bowl, something Felix tosses his used matches and burnt offerings into, but it’s created the perfect vessel for a scrying surface.
Paper is easy to find. Felix has scrolls of it everywhere. I scan a large, heavy piece, not caring that I might ruin what’s on it but concerned that it could tamper with my spell. Finding no flaws, I tear off a large piece and set it to the side with the intent to have Felix draw what I need.
“How can I help?” Nash offers. My eyes almost skid past her, but then I see the bag she pulled the crystals from earlier today.
“Do you have any more stones? An obelisk?” I ask hopefully.
“I have a few others.” She hustles over to the larger bag and dumps the contents onto the table. A rough smoky quartz catches my eye. It’s not an obelisk, but it is pointed at one end. I can make it work.
“Can I have this?” I hold it up for her to examine, but I would use it even if she said no.
“Anything you need.” She waves her hands over the remaining crystals.
Felix enters the room. He’s breathing a little hard, and he has an item fisted in his grip. It looks like a piece of clothing.
I extend my hand, waiting for him to pass it over. When the thin material hits my palm, I shake it out to examine it. “This—this can’t be his.” Did I explain what I needed wrong? It’s a shirt, and when I look closer, I realize it’s familiar.
“He keeps it with him, even when he travels,” Felix explains hurriedly. “It’s important to him, he’s had it forever.”
“But it’s mine,” I argue. “I don’t know if this will work, and we need to hurry.”
“I have his toothbrush.” Gray holds up a fancy ass black electric toothbrush.
“Are you kidding me?” I look between the two of them, at a loss.
“I didn’t think the gym equipment would work,” Gray replies.
“I’ll try this.” I shake the shirt clutched in my fingers. “Felix, can you draw the surrounding area in the center of this paper and the alphabet around the perimeter?” I make a circle on the paper. “It needs to fit in here.” I point to the bowl I’ll be using. He nods and picks up the metallic marker I placed with the paper, getting right to work.
I reach behind me and unclasp my necklace, then let one end loose so my charms fall off the chain and land on the table with the remaining stones. Nash reacts, trying to catch them before they hit the floor.
“Gray, I need water. Distilled would be best if we have it.”
“On the shelf, it’s labeled,” Felix tells him without looking up from the paper.
I loop my necklace around the crystal until the stones swing like a pendulum from the chain. Once I know I have it set, I light a candle with a long ceremonial lighter. I know I’m rushing and should slow down, but every moment lost feels like too much.
After giving the candle a few moments to burn, I pinch the flame between my fingers and mutter, “Gather,” then open my hand and direct the flame I stole from the candle into the bowl. “Cleanse.” I don’t have time to be fancy. My words hold enough intent to ignite the entire interior surface for one brief second before the flame dies, doing exactly what I wanted.
I collect the bowl, my newly made scrying chain, and the shirt, then I head over to the circle Felix crafted. Placing my back to the tree, I sit on the cool ground and try to center myself. Percy climbs up to my shoulder, fortifying my strength.
Gray follows us over and extends the jug of water to me, which I pour into the bowl cradled between my butterflied legs.
The water becomes inky black once the bowl is full, reflecting the charred interior and making the perfect black mirror. Now I just need the map from Felix. I turn to see him still hunched over the table. I want to tell him to hurry up, but the way his elbow is moving quickly back and forth tells me he understands the urgency.
When he stands back and examines the paper, I lose my battle not to rush him. “Come on,” I urge.
Felix snatches the paper and brings it over. “I tried to make it detailed enough but still cover as much area as possible,” he says, handing me the heavy sheet. The golden lines are neat and precise. I can point out several landmarks spanning well beyond anything I would have managed to draw myself.
“Thank you, it’s perfect.” I meet his worried gaze with my own. “I’m going to set the circle now. This is a long process,” I warn just so they don’t attempt to interrupt.
“I’ve got you,” Nash promises, meaning she won’t let them try to stop the spell.
