Chapter 24
Grayson
Grayson’s ears popped, but he didn’t dare look away from where he was working on Cole. Portal. Partially deaf from the resulting tinnitus, he tried not to panic that Cass might have chased Dana through it.
“Cass? Are you still here?”
Her muffled “I’m here” sent relief sweeping through him.
“I need a protection spell.” His Mystic-based magic found Cole’s Elemental power and forged a connection, giving him an anchor for his counterspell. “Can you cast one?”
“Yeah,” she said, sounding edgy.
In Grayson’s mind’s eye, Cole’s magical fabric rippled under the invading web of the poison-based hex.
It didn’t take long for Grayson to recognize that Dana’s hex was also Elemental in nature, meaning she had a natural bent with pathogens.
Even worse, his chances of stopping it were slim to none.
A Key’s best chance at halting such a hex lay in the precious moments before the magical virus naturalized and went active.
As he watched the hex work, his gut clenched.
Tiny cuts spiraled out from the center of Cole’s body, leaving a tattered trail, which continued to unravel but at an incrementally slower pace.
Pulses of sickly green heralded another tear.
Then it flitted, like an ember, to another spot, where it pulsed, and another cut appeared.
Nearby, other flickers followed the same pattern.
He was too late. Dana’s spell was very fucking active. Even worse, it had one goal—to kill Cole.
“She’s a damn Venenarius.”
He heard a drawer slam closed, then Cass said, “What?”
Grayson realized his ears had stopped ringing. He raised his voice. “Dana. She’s a Venenarius.”
“Great, so we’re dealing with a bougie Poison Ivy.”
A powerful one, based on how fast the spell was moving. It was making its way through Cole’s abdomen, and sickly green tendrils were inching down his hips. Even more concerning were the ones creeping toward his chest.
There was no way to neutralize the threat. Instead, Grayson would have to buy Cole time, and for that, he needed a way to slow the hex’s progress. There were a few options that might work.
“If you find a moldavite crystal, bring it,” he said.
“Moldavite?” Her voice was closer.
He sent his magic through Cole until it surrounded the invading spell. “Looks like green glass.” If he was lucky, Cole would have it around somewhere. “Amethyst or quartz will work too.”
“Got it.”
Leaving her to it, he held his magic just outside of where the hex was wreaking havoc.
Then he sought the spell’s initial entry point.
Since Dana hadn’t had time to be clever, he found it fairly quickly.
The seeds had been in Cole’s drink and were now rooted in his stomach, spreading like demented kudzu.
With the target acquired, Grayson’s magic surged forward, the red-gold power colliding with the venomous green in a fury of magic, the resulting impact tearing at Grayson’s mind.
He endured the barrage of acidic bites, driving it to the edge of his awareness, as he reinforced his counterspell.
The reddish-gold magic continued to press mercilessly forward, forcing the poisoned magic to retreat.
It was a slow, hard slog, but he gained a little bit of ground.
Suddenly, another power joined the battle, adding its weight to Grayson’s fight.
Cass had completed the protection spell.
Using the reinforcing energy, he quickly wove the protective layer into his counterspell, tightening the cage around the main pool of poison.
Once certain it would hold, he went after the insidious flickers that had escaped his initial roundup.
With lethal focus, he hunted and snuffed out each loose ember until what remained of the hex writhed in the burning confines of his counterspell.
He opened his eyes to find Cass crouched on Cole’s other side. “Did you stop it?”
“It’s contained for now.” He started to shift but stopped when he saw the salt line and series of interlocked chalked runes that encircled him and Cole. There was athame at Cole’s feet, a flickering candle to Grayson’s left, and a wooden bowl with burning herbs at Cole’s head.
But it was the softly glowing palm-sized green crystal resting on Cole’s chest that eased some of Grayson’s worry. “You found one.”
“And an amethyst.” Cass motioned to the chunky purple crystal near her. “Is he going to be okay?”
“If we can get him to a healer.”
“You can’t reverse it?”
He shook his head.
“I called Zane and filled him in,” Cass said. “He’s about fifteen minutes out.”
“Good.”
She looked at Cole. “Once Zane is here, you can get Cole help.”
A hot edge of alarm rushed through him. “You’re not going after Dana on your own.”
She shot him a look and, with studied patience, said, “No, that’s why I called Zane.”
He started to argue, but Cole let out a groan as his lashes lifted. It took a second for awareness to replace the haze, but he reached out and covered Grayson’s hand on his chest.
“What the hell happened?” His voice was rough.
Grayson didn’t sugarcoat it. “Dana poisoned you.”
Shock slackened Cole’s face, but the furious edge of betrayal wasn’t far behind. There were a million questions in his eyes, but he didn’t ask any of them. He let Grayson go and tried to sit up.
Grayson stopped him. “No, lie still. I’ve got a counterspell in place, but it’s barely keeping this shit in check.”
Cole resettled, his jaw clenched as a grim darkness hardened his face. “Where is she?”
“Gone,” Cass said. “There was a Slider. He took her through a portal.”
Cole looked between Cass and Grayson. His reaction wasn’t long in coming. He grabbed Grayson’s hand. “I need you two to go after her,” he said coldly. “I want to know—” He started again. “Her engagement ring. So long as she’s wearing it, she can be tracked. She doesn’t know it’s spelled.”
Cass’s eyebrows rose. Grayson couldn’t miss the flare of excitement in her eyes.
“The council’s consideration was enough to put a target on me and anyone close to me,” Cole continued.
Emotional pain burned through the icy fury in his eyes.
“I wanted to keep her safe—wanted to know, no matter what, I had a way to get to her.” He squeezed Grayson’s hand then let go to fumble at his watch, whose wide face was inset with four stones.
“This is keyed to her ring.” He removed it and handed it to Grayson. “You know how to use it?”
“A tracking spell? Sure.” Grayson took the watch. The metal links were still warm from Cole’s wrist. “We’ll need a paper map.”
“In my office.”
On the outside of the circle, Cass got to her feet and made her way to Grayson, careful not to smudge any of the lines.
Cole continued with his directions. “Down the hall, take the elevator to the second floor, third door on the left. It’s in—” A harsh cough interrupted him.
Grayson handed Cole’s watch to Cass then helped the man roll to his side as he continued to cough.
Cole curled over, his legs drawing up, his arms clutching his stomach.
Grayson shifted his attention back to the magic, checking his counterspell.
The poisoned hex had redoubled its efforts and was chipping away at the barrier.
He reinforced his counterspell and seared through another onslaught of twisted vines.
They retreated, protecting their roots. He didn’t dare push forward, afraid that if he did so, he’d leave an opening for the hex to slip through.
For the moment, the temporary fix would have to do.
He came back to the sound of Cole’s harsh breathing and had a moment to be grateful the older man wasn’t coughing. “We need to get you to a healer.”
Cole’s face was pale and sweaty. “This Zane person—you trust him?”
“He’s a Hunter,” Grayson said. “So yes.”
“I’ll have him take me to someone I trust.” Cole slowly uncurled, his attention going to Cass. “The map, it’s in my desk, left bottom drawer.”
She clutched the watch to her chest, her voice soft with gratitude. “Thank you.”
Cole’s smile was more of a grimace. “Go find her, and find Rhea.”
By the time Zane arrived, Cole was nearly gray with exhaustion and his coughing fits were coming faster and harder with each wave.
Grayson had managed to battle back another surge and was worried the next time he wouldn’t be so lucky.
Cass returned with a paper map of Vegas and Cole’s phone.
Grayson got the name of a healer from Cole and had Cass use Cole’s phone to call him.
Once the healer had been brought up-to-date, he agreed that time was of the essence and suggested meeting at a private clinic nearby, as it would be the fastest option.
Cass was disconnecting the call when Zane rushed into the house. The next few minutes swept by in controlled chaos as Zane and Grayson got the barely conscious Cole upright and then, as each took a side, got him moving. As they carefully navigated the stone entry steps, Grayson filled Zane in.
Zane connected a few more dots. “Found out that Russ and Dana were both employed by the same company over in Europe at the same time. Not sure, but I’m thinking that’s when the two met.
And according to Candace, once you scrape away the initial layer, that Tetra account has Dana’s prints all over it. ”
“If Russ was working with Dana, why would they take and kill him?” Cass asked from where she followed behind them.
“I’ll be sure to ask when we pin that bitch down,” Zane said.
“Not you,” Grayson said. “You’re getting Cole to a healer. Cass and I are going after Dana.” When Zane looked as if he wanted to argue, Grayson explained, “Cole’s got a tracking spell on Dana.”
“Fine,” Zane shot back as they got Cole to Zane’s car, where Grayson buckled him into the passenger seat.
Cass handed Cole’s phone to Zane, who was settling in behind the wheel. “I pulled the clinic address up. The healer should be right behind you.”
He took the phone and shot Grayson a look. “Send me your coordinates.”
“Will do.” Grayson snapped the seat belt in place and moved back to close the door.
“Gray,” Zane said, stopping him.
He met the Hunter’s gaze.
“Be careful.”
“Always.” Grayson closed the door and stepped back as Zane put the car in reverse. He and Cass watched Zane do a three-point turn and race down the drive.
“What are his chances?” she asked softly as she leaned into him.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her in close. “He’s tough, and if that healer is as good as Cole thinks, there’s a chance.” Or at least, he hoped so. “Come on—let’s check the map. See what we’re dealing with.”
She nodded, and they went back inside. They skirted the remnants of the circle and went to the coffee table, where she had spread out the map. She handed him Cole’s watch. “Here.”
Holding the watch face down over the map, Grayson let his magic unfurl.
The tracking spell was straightforward, expertly crafted by Cole, who happened to be an Air mage.
Grayson murmured, “Anulum sequere,” and a glowing blue dot appeared on the map.
It glided along Clark County Road 215, heading north at a steady pace.
Cass frowned down at the moving marker. “Where are they going?”
“I don’t know, but they’re about twenty minutes ahead of us.”
“Will the map stay active, or do we have to keep the watch and the map paired?”
“Let’s find out.” He pulled the watch away. The light faded. “Dammit. They have to stay paired.”
“Fine.” She folded the map over and under, keeping the portion where the light moved face up. When it was manageable, she handed it to him. “You take this, and I’ll drive.”