Chapter 31
“Hello, Gran,” I said, staring at the plaque on the wall hiding her body which lay at rest. Her soul would be in the Eternal
Lands, with most of her magic, but the bones would always hold echoes of her affinity. My affinity. “I know it’s been a long time, and I have a lot to tell you.”
Even though we were in a freezing underground tomb with at least three of my ancestors’ bodies, a warm breeze washed around
us.
“That’s a new touch of magic,” Logan said, sounding unsurprised. He stood close but was careful that we didn’t touch. Gran
was my ancestor, and I had to be the one to take from her. “Her presence is strong.”
It was strong. More than I’d ever felt before in this crypt, and I wondered if it was to do with my magical bloom. “I need
your help, Gran.” I reached out to press my hand against the stone hiding her from view. There were no words written on it,
but there was an image of a scythe. I’d never understood why until now. We were reapers.
Able to move souls between the realms.
“I need your magic, Gran,” I continued. More of that heated air swirled against me, sending my magic into a frenzy.
“I’ve been cursed, and it’s going to destroy our entire family line.
And my mate. I would never ask unless it was life and death, but would you share your magic with a finger bone?
” The air turned downright sweltering, and with it, I felt a single sliver of icy reaper energy.
The stone sealing her tomb popped open, and I barely managed to stifle my gasp as Gran’s body came into view. She’d been perfectly
preserved with magic, and if it wasn’t for the waxy gray skin, she might look like she was sleeping.
“Hi, Gran.” My voice swelled with reverence. Exhaustion was my constant companion these days, but with Gran’s magic washing
over me, I felt rejuvenated. “I’m sorry that we have to ask this of you, but thank you for your gift. We miss you.”
I might never have met her, but in my essence, I mourned her loss. A witch who should have been here to nurture our magic.
There was enough space in her tomb for me to lean forward and grasp one of her hands which were rested against her chest.
The heated air eased until it was a mere trickle against my cheek, and I closed my eyes at the loving sensation.
It told me that Gran knew me, even if I didn’t know her. She’d been watching over me from the Eternal Lands, and it broke
my heart that it was the one plane off-limits to me. I’d have loved to truly feel her soul, or even talk to her, if for only
a few minutes.
“I love you,” I whispered, trembling as I wrapped my hand around her right pointer finger, my magic swirling inside me. “How
do I sever it cleanly?” I asked Logan, who remained close to my back.
“Use fire,” he said quickly. “If you burn hot enough and keep it closely contained, it can act as a laser, severing the bone
cleanly.”
I wasn’t sure if my control was good enough, but we were running out of time.
“Or you can just snap her bone,” Logan added.
My head was shaking before I even considered it. Gran deserved better than that. She deserved me to control my elemental magic
and respect her gift.
“Can you call a flame without assistance?” Logan asked, moving close enough that our magic mingled happily.
“Yes, but only recently.” As in the last few elemental classes recently.
Heat built in my center as I tapped into my connection with fire. A flame popped into my hands, and I fought to keep it low
and controlled. My newly freed magic felt natural, reminding me that I’d been living with half of myself locked down for most
of my bloomed life.
“Send that fire internally, until your finger is filled with heat.” Logan was still my most frustrating and successful professor.
“That’s how you’ll contain the flame.”
This took effort and concentration, but Logan didn’t pressure me. He was all reassurances and advice until I achieved my goal.
I touched Gran’s hand, pressing the burning tip of my finger to her index finger, and in less than a second, I’d completed
my task.
With a lump in my throat, I cradled the finger in my hands. “Thank you,” I whispered, stepping back from the crypt as I doused
the fire inside me.
Logan didn’t touch it, but he did weave air magic around the length and levitate it from my grasp. “When we leave the graveyard,
I’ll be able to send it back to your house.”
“Thank you,” I repeated for him this time, my voice rough with overwhelming emotions. It had been another long day, and I
was ready to crawl back into bed.
Logan swept us through the graveyard this time, his winds gentle as they cradled me and deposited us by the car.
With another flash of his impressive energy, Gran’s finger bone was safely on its way to the house.
To be deposited behind the wards of my home, safe and sound.
Logan grasped my hands, a cool wash of water erupting from his palm to cleanse them.
He’d sensed through the bond that I was feeling a little ick at handling Gran’s dead body.
“Thank you,” I repeated around a yawn. “You take such good care of me.”
“I will always take care of you, Precious,” he said, lifting me into his arms.
I’d have normally protested, but today I let him deposit me gently in the seat and click my seat belt into place. His magic
cushioned my head as the door gently closed, and I slumped against it. My eyes were closed by the time he got in the driver’s
side.
“Sleep, baby,” he murmured, and I felt a featherlight touch against my cheek. “I’ll keep the monsters away.”
I could handle my own monsters these days, but it was nice to know that I didn’t always have to. “I’ll protect you too,” I
mumbled, almost gone.
I was asleep before I heard his reply, and didn’t wake until we pulled into the driveway of my parents’ house. Logan’s face
was calm when he opened my door, but there was a darkness simmering in the depths of those green eyes. His energy felt tumultuous
through our bond, and I got the impression he’d spent the drive worrying. I wanted to alleviate those concerns, but I couldn’t.
The curse is progressing. I felt it in my essence as it ate away at both my magic and my lifeforce.
“A few of the others are inside,” he told me, his voice deeper than usual. “Let’s go and see what they’ve managed to procure
from the list.”
He held out a hand for me to take, and as I stumbled, he hoisted me into his arms, pulling me gently against his chest. With a wave of his hand, he closed the car door and then strode into the house, carrying me all the way.
We entered via the front door to find Mom and Dad, Trevor and Jensen inside.
“Paisley . . .” Mom sounded panicked, and she rushed toward me before we were through the entry.
“I’m okay,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt. “I’m just drained, but we got Gran’s finger bone. How did it go with all
your items?”
Mom fussed about me for a second, before she settled down and pulled out her list. “Okay, we got the grains of paradise, frankincense,
black pepper, and the purification herbal mix. Trevor got the lava, and Jensen found the urchin venom. Your sisters dropped
off the snake venom and they’re heading to the coven to see if we can borrow one of their spellcasting rooms. We don’t have
the facilities here to create an anti-curse this strong.”
“There’s no need for that,” Logan reminded them as he settled on the couch with me on his lap. “Rafael cast the curse, and
he has to be the one to lift it.”
Mom nodded. “Right. Right. I’ll let the girls know.” She grabbed her phone to message the twins, and I pulled the list of
ingredients from my pocket and crossed out what had been found.
Grains of paradise from West Africa
Silphium grown in the Lombardy region of Italy
Belladonna berries from Asia
Frankincense
Deep-sea urchin venom
Mandrake root
Black pepper standard
Amanita nouhrae mushroom from Chile
Two everlasting candles
Lava from an active volcano
The essence of the dead
A finger bone of a reaper witch
Blood of a spellcaster
Venom of a western taipan from Australia
A purification herbal mix
“We’re getting close,” I told Logan, holding the paper out to him.
He didn’t even look at the list, his dark gaze locked on my face. I had no idea what I looked like, but his expression told
me it wasn’t good. Thankfully, he was distracted when the rest of our friends returned, and between Noah, Tobias, Sara, and
Haley, they’d managed to gather up every other item on the list, except the essence of the dead.
Pulling myself off Logan’s lap, I stood and glanced around the group. “I’ve never covered this in class. Does anyone know
how I gather the essence of the dead? I can feel the planes now, and I know I need to call it from the dead zone, where the
souls haven’t been judged or moved on to Hel or the Eternal Lands yet, but how do I contain it?”
“You need a magical seal,” Dad told me. “It has to be formed of your energy, and it’ll hold the essence—or energy, really—of
the dead you’ll call.”
“You’ll be able to find that soul again,” Logan added. “You can call on their essence whenever you need.”
I jerked at the abhorrent thought. “There are necros who continually drain a soul’s essence? Surely if you keep calling for
their essence, you’ll eventually destroy their energy completely.”
“No, it doesn’t work like that,” Logan told me. “You’re essentially draining their magic, and like ours, it will regenerate. Magic is eternal and spans the planes, so you’re free to have what is the equivalent of a soul familiar.”
A dead familiar. Amazing.
“I think I’ll stick with my plans to get a cat,” I said, shaking my head as my stomach flipped. “No other familiar required.”
Logan smiled for the first time since I’d woken in the car. “Misti will be pleased to hear that.” His smile faded quickly.
“Are you sure you have the strength for this final item? I can find another necro.”
“It should be tied to me,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m the initiation of the curse, which will make the counter-curse
more effective if I call the energy.”
“Maybe we should wait until the morning?” Mom said, wringing her hands as she watched me. Fuck, I must look terrible, since
they all wore expressions like I had one foot in the grave.
“Great idea,” Logan said, on his feet in a single leap. “We can wait until tomorrow.” He hoisted me into his arms before I
could protest, heading for the stairs to a chorus of “bye” and “see you in the morning.” This was a case of choosing your
battles, and I decided that sleep before calling the dead couldn’t be a bad idea.
Tomorrow it would all be over, one way or another.