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He raises his hands in surrender. “Look, I like Brendan Fraser as much as anyone. But those Magi are just Bedouin caricatures. Real Magi come from Zoroastrianism, guardians of Asha, justice, and order.”

"And you’re… that?" I ask, my face scrunching in skepticism.

"When I'm not teaching." He grins.

“What, is there a whole Magi super squad running around?”

“I mean, cryptids, Magi, monsters, all sorts of other magics. There are a lot of people doing a lot of things usually,” he snickers.

I think back to earlier. “Your uncle—was that him checking on you, seeing if you hunted this Druj?”

It takes him a moment to realize what I am talking about. “No, that’s just my uncle asking how I am doing since the move. Normal uncle stuff.”

I sift through the avalanche of revelations. "So… there’s no curse?"

He goes quiet. "I never said that."

I frown as I look at him for an explanation. "Well? Is there a curse or not?"

"I don't know. Whatever that thing was, it was old. Druj is old like that. I have no problem believing you found it in a tomb."

"And you defeated it?"

He shakes his head. "No, I tried to cleanse it, and obviously it didn't like that. It attacked, but whatever that thing is, it's not typical Druj. At best, I got it to dissipate for a bit, but it will come back. It is as much a manifestation of lies and corruption as it is drawn to them."

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't bring it to fucking New York City!" I huff.

Even as self-loathing gnaws at me, he keeps me close, trying to reassure me. "You couldn’t have known. How many archaeologists dig up a mummy and accidentally find concentrated Druj buried beside it?"

I look to him for the answer, and he frowns when he realizes I didn't understand it was rhetorical. "You're the first… I think."

I finally relent, leaning back into him and tucking my head into the crook of his shoulder. "So what happens if it comes back?"

"Unfortunately, it will come back. And if it's allowed to fester, you'll get famine, plague, corruption of the soul. You know, the classics." I blink, thinking about the odd way people were acting in the park when I was looking for him. Kayvon clocks my look as he leans his head back. "And judging by its size and concentration, I doubt it will take long for it to recover, far sooner than I can get help. Could be as soon as a day."

My stomach sinks as I imagine every horror movie coming true: some idiot unleashing a curse on Halloween and ending the world. It feels so much worse now that it’s real, and that I’m the cause. Still, like when I learned about the funnel earlier, something doesn’t add up.

"But why today? Why Halloween?" Kayvon gets oddly quiet at that, so I turn and ask again. "Kayvon, why did it manifest so sporadically tonight if it's been here the whole time?"

"Well... There could have been many reasons. Druj is an aspect of darkness, and Egypt is further south than New York, so the fact that it was exposed to less sunlight after you broke the seal combined with being in such a dense, emotionally messy city—"

"Kayvon!" I blurt to cut off his rambling once I realize he's trying to avoid saying what he clearly knows is the answer.

“Fine. I may have… pissed it off.”

I think back to earlier. "When you tried to cleanse it?"

"Yeah, there are lots of ways to do it. I mean Druj isn't even the only word for it. That's just the Zoroastrian way, my way." He taps his necklace. "Which happens to include this."

"But this is still sorta my fault."

"Yeah, I imagine that things would have spread sooner or later." I frown at his agreement as he rubs my shoulder. "But if it makes you feel better, now it's our fault."

I lean into him, not sure what to feel anymore, and still find the strength to say, "Somehow it does."

He leans back and knocks his head against the bed frame. "I just wish I knew more about where you found it. If we knew why it was in an Egyptian tomb of all places, I'd know a way to deal with it for good. Or at least know who to ask for help."

I perk up at that. "I think there might be someone who can help. The only problem is convincing him to help. Things have been tense between us since I got back."