Chapter 31
Elyse
Elyse sat in the study, a book propped open on the table before her.
The grand room was silent save for the soft flick of a page turning every few moments.
Manny and Sera sat across from her, hunched in their oversized chairs.
The two of them looked so small, like the stack of books surrounding them would swallow them whole at any moment.
Dark circles lined both of their eyes, their lips drooping in matching frowns.
Elyse wondered if she looked as awful as them—or worse.
Killian came bursting through the doors of the study. His eyes were also encircled with a purple hue, but he smiled—or tried to. “We’re researching outside today,” Killian announced as he strode for the table. “The rain cooled everything off, and it’s a beautiful day.”
Elyse stifled the groan rising in her throat.
She didn’t want to be researching at all, let alone be forced to move to a different location.
Yesterday, her anger and pain had fueled her, a sense of vengeance lighting her brain, consuming her with the need to find something that would destroy Lazarus.
Now, she was tired. A numbness had encapsulated her.
It weighed her down, and she had to physically fight to stay upright, to keep from trudging to her bedroom and slamming the door on everyone.
But Killian was only trying to help, and she knew that. He stared at her, his golden eyes studying her, conveying that his demand didn’t have to be a demand. That if she said the word, they would stay inside. Or abandon their research altogether.
“If it’s unbearable, we can come back inside,” she relented as she scooped three books into her arms.
Manny and Sera said nothing; they would do whatever Elyse and Killian needed, no questions asked. They gathered their own materials, and the foursome headed downstairs.
Killian was right; it was a stunning day, full of pale sunshine and mellow breezes. Elyse felt a tiny spark of happiness blooming through her numb state as she followed him into the garden. It diminished quickly, followed by a pang of guilt and a swirl of turmoil.
You are allowed to feel happiness, a tiny voice crooned inside her.
She shoved it away, not yet ready to face the complexity of her emotions.
No one spoke as they read, but it wasn’t the same sort of tense silence that had captivated them the day before.
This was more peaceful, languid even. Somewhere in the garden, a bird chirped ceaselessly.
It was the sort of the thing that would normally annoy Elyse to no end, but she let the sound settle into the background, like a tiny symphony made for them.
Feeling less on edge, she lifted the book off the table and sank deeper into her chair.
After an hour or so, a servant with a wide-brimmed hat came bustling into the gardens.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” he announced with a broad smile. His white teeth were stark against his tanned face. “I’m just going to tend to the flowers.”
As he’d requested, Elyse paid him no mind. She was in a rhythm with her reading, and the snip, snip, snip of the gardener’s shears as he pruned the tall yellow flowers served as a soothing cadence.
Before long, Elyse had skimmed through the entire book. She set it aside and let out a breath. Her eyes ached, both from crying and from staring at the pages for so long. She stood and stretched her legs and arms, reaching high toward the cloudless sky.
Killian glanced at her and offered a kind smile before he returned to his studying. Manny and Sera looked like they would expire from boredom at any minute. The gardener, who had moved on to pulling weeds, continued to work diligently.
Lost in a daze, Elyse watched as he yanked one weed after another from the moist soil.
She watched his gloved hands as they pulled and tossed, pulled and tossed, again and again, moving his way down the line.
Near the edge of the flowerbed, a lone bloom sprang from a crack in the patio.
It was still young, only a bud that hadn’t quite opened yet.
But it was a tenacious little thing that had somehow managed to nestle among the stone and thrive toward the sun.
The gardener’s hands reached for the singular flower, and Elyse snapped from her daze.
“Don’t,” she uttered, so quiet she didn’t think anyone would hear.
The gardener paused and turned toward her.
Elyse felt her cheeks warm. She’d spoken without really planning to, without really understanding why she said it. She cleared her throat. “I like it there,” she said.
The gardener studied the bloom for a moment before offering a smile. “It would be a shame to pluck it after it worked so hard to thrive among the stones, wouldn’t it?”
Elyse attempted a warm smile in response. “What sort of flower is it?” she asked. She’d always been terrible about knowing these things. If it wasn’t useful in a tincture, then it hadn’t been worth memorizing.
“Starflower,” the gardener offered. “Stubborn things—they can survive in all kinds of environments. Makes them easy to grow, but a nightmare to contain.”
“They’re the same flowers my mum has on her porch,” Killian pointed out.
Elyse’s eyes narrowed on the flowerbed, and she realized she had seen them before. Maybe she would ask Mrs. Southwick for some seeds—when all this was over.
“I’ll leave it for you, miss,” the gardener decided. “I don’t think Madam Dah would mind too much,” he added with a wink.
“Thank you,” Elyse answered, unsure why she felt so grateful.
The sound of a door opening caught her attention, and she shifted toward the house.
She expected to see a servant, or even Sera’s parents.
She did not expect Corin and Nina to be crossing the threshold, their swollen eyes taking in the garden.
Both women seemed subdued—likely the lingering effects of a strong sleeping potion.
They hadn’t come out of their room at all the day before, not that anyone really expected them to. If they still didn’t come out today, though, Elyse had planned to make sure they were at least eating. She was glad to see them up and about, exploring the house.
“What are you doing?” Corin asked, her voice soft and hoarse from disuse.
Manny, Sera, and Killian raised their heads toward the door, surprise on each of their faces. No one spoke for a moment, as if afraid of spooking the women, of speaking too loudly or moving too quickly.
It was Killian who said, “We’re looking for ways to incapacitate Lazarus.”
Corin took a step into the garden, as if drawn to the cause, pulled by an invisible thread spun from Killian’s words. Her delicate fingers remained entwined with Nina’s, who followed her tentatively.
“I want to help,” Corin said. Her voice was quiet but her face was set in determination. She moved to the table and peered down at the scattered books.
“Me, too,” Nina offered.
No one argued. Elyse considered telling them they didn’t have to help, that they could stay in bed as long as they liked and no one would think less of them. But, they were adults. They knew the extent of their own grief better than anyone else, and they could make their own choices.
“What have you got so far?” Nina asked as she settled into one of the chairs. Her eyes eagerly scanned the books.
“We don’t have shit,” Elyse sighed.
“We know how to kill Lazarus,” Manny chimed in. “We have the Blade of Hanael, which is capable of killing demons.”
“Well, that’s something,” Corin .
“It is, but…” Killian began gingerly. He lifted his face toward Corin. “Lazarus is very powerful. As it stands, we won’t even be able to get near him to use the Blade before he obliterates us,” he explained.
“Which is why we need to find a way to incapacitate him,” Elyse continued. “Some way to trap him, or weaken his powers, or both.”
Corin bit her lip, and Elyse’s attention snapped to her. “What is it?”
Corin’s eyes seemed brighter as she looked up, or maybe that was merely the sunlight reflecting in them. Though the tiny smile curling one side of her mouth was unmistakable. “I think I know a way,” she said.
Elyse gaped at her. They’d scoured dozens of books to no avail, and yet here was Corin, her confidence growing on her freckled face, ready to give them an answer.
“Well, go on then,” Manny urged her.
“Privya and I visited a patient a while back,” Corin explained.
“They were possessed by a demon, and they’d been hurting others.
We were summoned to help heal the injured, and to assist with an exorcism.
” Her voice began to speed up as excitement flushed her cheeks.
“A priest performed the actual exorcism, but we were on standby. You see, the problem was that when the demon felt threatened, it would flee the person’s body and enter someone else’s. So the priest set a trap.”
She began pacing the patio. Her rapid footsteps thumped in time with Elyse’s racing heart. Everyone at the table leaned forward, eager for more.
“We used salt—regular salt, like you’d use in cooking—and we poured it around the patient.
Then, the priest said a few words, a spell or something, and it made a sort of cage for the demon.
It couldn’t leave the salt barrier, so everyone else was protected.
The priest said it weakened the demon’s possession, too. ”
Elyse felt someone’s gaze on her. She twisted her head to find Killian watching her. “You think that would work?” he asked her with an arched brow.
Elyse blew out a breath as she pondered it. She glanced back at Corin, whose eyes were glued to her with hopeful enthusiasm. “It could,” she ceded. “I don’t think we can exorcize Lazarus, as it’s more complex than a possession. But the trap might work.”
Nina beamed at Corin, pride sharp in her eyes.
“How will we know?” Manny pressed. “We need to have more than just a hunch before we face Lazarus.”
He was right. It was a brilliant discovery, but it left too much to chance for Elyse to feel confident, and she wanted to know she had Lazarus by the scarlet balls before she let any civilians into that arena.
As she chewed on the inside of her cheek, a nauseating thought crept into her mind. It was simultaneously prolific and horrifying.
“Test it on me,” she uttered. “If my powers are demonic, then the spell should work on me.” She forced herself to look Corin in the eyes, and to ignore the subtle shock she saw there. “Do you remember who the priest was? Could you find him?”
“Of course.” The answer came out breathy, like Corin was both eager to help, but hesitant for Elyse.
“It might not work,” Manny advocated. “You don’t know that Lazarus is your father.”
“We’ll be no worse off than we are now if it fails,” Killian posited.
It was Sera’s wide eyes that caught Elyse’s attention next. “Are you sure?” she asked. Not judging or questioning, but offering Elyse a chance to say no. A reminder that Elyse didn’t always have to be the one to sacrifice, to put everyone else’s needs before her own.
But how could she say no when so many others, Privya included, had already paid in her stead?
And beyond that, a part of her was aching to know about the source of her powers.
Most of her life, she’d suppressed any curiosity regarding Lazarus and her parentage.
Ever since confessing to her friends, though, that dull wondering had turned into an ever-present nagging.
Perhaps it was time to find out the truth, or at least try.
Elyse looked around the table. Everyone’s expression was the same: curious, hopeful, encouraging. Understanding. Accepting. Elyse gave Sera a smile that she hoped conveyed her gratitude and said, “I’m sure.”