Chapter 33
We’ve recruited twenty members of our coven for the attack. Half will go with Gramps and half with me. Lizzie and her parents will be with Gramps, while Malik will fight at my side. My brother will be far away from the action, much to his dismay.
“You know I can do more good with you,” he whines. “I’m going to miss everything!”
I pat his shoulder. “You’re the person I trust the most, Ri. I need you to do this for me.”
And by this, I mean keeping an eye on Joelle for the night.
The full moon will rise, and my vision will come to pass, unless Orion can thwart Joelle’s plans.
I’m still not sure where she stands in all this, especially after Gran’s cryptic speech. And after seeing Mike Dupree’s lapel pin, I can’t ignore the possibility that the Hightowers have spun a web that’s ensnared mortals in their mess.
Once the demon is banished, I can unravel everything, but I can’t rest until that happens. No one else will die on my watch; I’ll make sure of it.
Orion’s phone beeps once I text him Joelle’s address.
“You’d better get going,” I say, stabbing a finger in his direction. “Do not let her out of your sight.”
He looks like he wants to make a snarky remark but then thinks better of it. Instead, he crushes me to his chest and squeezes me tight. “Be careful, sis. I want to see you at the end of the night. Alive.”
“I’ll be okay.”
We both know that my words are nothing more than meaningless platitudes. I can’t assure him of anything. This whole night is a wild card.
He daps Malik on his way out, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head and disappearing through the front door. I peek through the curtain to watch as his taillights disappear down the street.
The horizon is tinged pink as the sun disappears from view. A lump forms in my throat as I come to the realization that this could be the last sunset of my life. I commit it to memory, closing my eyes as the chatter of the room washes over me.
Ancestors, be with me.
Gramps claps his hand onto my shoulder, breaking the spell I was under. “Is your brother gone?”
“Yeah,” I say. “He left a few minutes ago.”
“Good.” Gramps studies me with a furrowed brow. “Baby girl, there’s so much I have left to say to you.”
“Don’t,” I say. “We’re going to do the impossible.”
“What’s that?”
I force a smile. “We’re going to change my destiny.”
A corner of his mouth twitches, but he doesn’t smile. “I sure hope so,” he says.
We both turn to face the room, letting our hope hang in the air between us. I refuse to say goodbye to him.
Crescent Moon Books is still visible to us, but this time, the Hightowers have placed a different sort of ward.
The hum of electricity lifts the hairs on my arms as we approach down the sidewalk.
I smack straight into an invisible brick wall as heat burns my exposed skin.
Malik yanks me backward as I let out a shrill yelp at the pain.
“The ward is stronger this time,” I murmur.
“That’s okay, cuz; we prepared for this.” He nods to two witches, Lila and Venetia, waiting down the street. They peel away from the light pole they were leaning against and set canvas tote bags down on the pavement.
Around us, the street is alive with the sounds of music as a parade makes its way along the road. I’m not sure what everyone’s celebrating, but the distraction serves its purpose. So far, my invisibility glamour still holds.
The witches, Miss Connie’s oldest granddaughters, work in tandem to open a massive glass jar of viscous green liquid. They both pause to slip on thick leather gloves. Then they dip wide-bristled brushes into the potion and smear it over the invisible wall.
The liquid pops and sizzles as it burns through the ward. Bit by bit, the heat of the invisible barrier lessens until it disappears completely.
The girls approach the store, and with a single stroke of the brush, the doorknob melts away and the door swings open.
“What the hell did your grandma put in that potion?” Malik asks, wide-eyed with fear.
Venetia screws the cap back on the jar and stuffs it into the tote bag. “She said she would kill us if we told.”
“We’re sworn to secrecy,” Lila agrees.
Malik opens his mouth to speak but pauses when I touch his arm. “Let Miss Connie keep her secret recipe. The most important thing is that it worked.”
The rest of our team emerges from their hiding spots as I wave everyone in. An alarm blares behind the counter, but Malik grabs a step stool and smashes it.
“Everyone, hide,” I say. “They’ll send someone soon. Y’all know what to do.”
Power surges through my fingertips as I release my hold on everyone else’s invisibility. Only I remain unseen. I sit down on the bottom step and wait for the Hightowers to rush in.
It doesn’t take long for the black SUV to come screeching to a halt outside the store. Four burly dark-haired men rush inside, taking off to check all the nooks and crannies for intruders. I send up a silent prayer that everyone is sufficiently hidden from view.
Aria is the last to enter. She pauses in the doorway, stormy blue eyes sweeping across the space. Her hair is pinned up in a messy bun on top of her head, and her face is free of any makeup. We caught her off guard.
Perfect. That’s when people make the most mistakes.
As soon as she’s close enough to the staircase to reach out and touch, I grab her. My arm is around her neck in the span of a breath. The tip of Sabine’s blade is pointed straight toward her heart.
“At least let me see my attacker,” she growls. “Or are you that much of a coward?”
I force air through my nostrils and will the spell to fade. Color flows back into my skin in bits and pieces.
“It’s over, Aria.”
“Mikaela?” Her voice is tinged with confusion. “What are you—”
“Your family has gone way too far,” I snarl. “It’s time for you to face the consequences of your actions.”
Her accomplices choose that moment to barge in. “Hey! Let her go!” They charge toward me and all hell breaks loose.
My coven attacks, throwing a magical grenade that lands at their feet. As it explodes, a cloud of purple mist envelops them, stealing the air from their lungs. They reach for their throats as someone casts a binding spell.
I drag Aria away from the chaos before the vapors can reach us. She fights against me until I bring the blade closer to the exposed skin of her throat. “Don’t make me do something I’ll regret,” I warn.
She goes limp as I drag her into the same employee lounge where Orion and I confronted her the first time. I push her to the floor and mutter, “Restraint.” Neon-orange tendrils of light appear around her wrists, binding them together.
“A little taste of your own medicine,” I retort, thinking of how she tied Orion up the same way.
Aria scowls. “Get on with it. What do you want from me?”
“I want you to summon the demon.”
She does a double take. “How many times do I have to tell you that we’re not the ones terrorizing your family?” she scoffs. “I’ve never even summoned before.”
I hold up a finger and poke my head out to check on everyone else. Malik’s standing outside the door. He gives me a thumbs-up and hands me a small box of supplies. I drop them at Aria’s feet and watch as she peeks inside.
A muscle clenches in her jaw. “You came prepared,” she deadpans.
“Look, let’s just do this.” I snap my fingers, and her bindings disappear. “You’re outnumbered, so don’t even think about running. Now, how much salt do you need?”
Aria snatches the large tin of iodine salt from the box and begins pouring it in a perfect circle. She glances up at the dagger dangling from my hand. “I hope you brought a couple of these. The border needs to be thick to properly contain the demon.”
As she pours the salt, and I light candles of protection, I ask, “I thought you said you’d never done this before?”
She shrugs. “My grandmother believes knowledge is the key to safety.”
“I thought that was power.”
Aria rolls her eyes. “You can have all the power in the world, but if you don’t know what to do with it, the power will eat you alive.
” She finishes off the second container of salt and glances over.
“I know what you think of us, but we’re people just like you.
We’re all trying to survive in a world that was built for mortals. ”
I’d never stoop so low to sacrifice animals, or people, no matter how afraid I was.
“And you think killing innocent creatures will keep you safe?”
“Grandmother thinks so.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I follow her lead. You would do the same for your grandparents.”
It’s as much of an admission of guilt as I’m going to get.
Once Aria is satisfied with the circle, we stand back and each hold a candle. The dagger is safely sheathed in my pocket, but I watch Aria closely, preparing myself to use it on her if she makes a wrong move.
“What do we do now?” I ask.
“Do you know the demon’s name?”
“I do.” And so do you.
“Then call upon it,” she says. “Something from the demon’s possession would also work, but names have power. It’ll come when you call.”
My entire plan could all come crashing down in an instant if she’s lying to me.
I should’ve dragged Sabine back to the city with me.
What if I call on Gazannol and it isn’t contained by the ring of salt?
Then I won’t have to worry about Joelle killing me tonight because Gazannol will do the job itself.
The faces of my family flash before my eyes. Orion. Gramps. Aunt Roberta. If this all goes wrong, I hope they won’t blame themselves. Most of all, I hope they’ll find the strength to keep going. The last thing I want is for my death to break them.
“Well?” Aria snaps her fingers. “Any day now.”
“Fine, fine.” I hold my free palm out before me and focus every ounce of energy on the summoning circle. “Gazannol.” All sound ceases as time slows. “I call on you. Come to me.”