Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Two days later, Asher, Wylder, Sebastian, and I are back at the Bahamian sea cave, ready and determined to get ahead of Tharuzel once and for all. I sent Wylder to Arcana last night to check on Mica, and he said she's close.
I didn't want to point out that she's been saying that all week, but so far, we don't have any weapons in our hands to send demons back to Hell.
Or maybe I'm being too impatient, and I need to put more faith in the process of everything happening as it's meant to.
Khylie meets us outside the entrance to the Bahamian sea cave, standing with two people I don't know. They seem anxious, which is perfectly understandable, and given who I am, I'm not sure if my arrival will make them feel better or worse about coming.
The first is a tall woman in her mid-forties with close-cropped silver-blue hair and dark brown skin, wearing a linen shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. Her name is Amara, and she flew in from Lagos yesterday.
The second is a man of about fifty, slight and quiet, with silver-streaked temples and wire-rimmed glasses. He introduces himself as Dae-Jung, from Seoul, with a handshake that's firm and brief. He doesn't say much after that.
He doesn't need to. There's a weight behind his eyes that tells me he's already read everything Freya sent him and is fully aware of the dire circumstances which brought him here.
Freya is waiting for us further inside the entrance with three more. A young woman named Priya, maybe twenty-three, with silver-blue hair in a braid, and nervous hands she can't quite keep still. She's from Manchester and she keeps glancing at the cave walls like she's cataloging every detail.
Then there's Nolan from New Orleans. He's older, maybe sixty, and broad through the chest. He has a scar along his jaw and the unhurried manner of someone who's already survived things that would stop a lesser person cold.
And lastly, stands a guy who steals my breath.
Henrik.
My mind stumbles over the impossibility of that, but there's no way anyone looking at him could miss his resemblance to Henrik.
My heart thunders in my chest. "How is that possible?"
"Bjorn is his twin brother," Freya whispers quietly to me. "I didn't think he'd come, otherwise, I would have warned you. In the end, he's decided that if his brother died committed to helping us, then he will ensure that Henrik’s last wish is carried out."
I swallow against the lump of emotion in my throat, and blink against the sting behind my eyes. "That's amazing."
"Aye, I thought so too."
After a moment, I realize how lost in thought I've been, and I step forward.
"Welcome, everyone. I am Poppy Hallowind, and this is Sebastian.
I can't thank you enough for coming. With your help, it's my genuine hope that we can reinstate the warding set in place by The Nine, and keep evil at bay.
No matter what the outcome, no matter if you are a Descendant of the Nine or simply empowered with a spirit affinity, I am grateful you each rose to the call. "
"And now that we're all here, let me take you through to our lockstone chamber." Khylie leads us down the narrow steps, through the passage, and into the sea cave proper.
I watch for the moment it hits each of the newcomers: the scale of the carved rune circle on the wall, the sheer, ancient weight of it, the power and intention of what it all means.
Amara breathes out slowly through her nose.
Priya actually takes a step back.
Dae-Jung pushes his glasses up and leans forward.
Nolan just nods, like something has been confirmed.
Bjorn looks conflicted, and I wonder how much of what happened to Henrik was explained to him.
Wylder breaks off from the group and moves toward the rune circle with two of Khylie's family journals tucked under his arm. He sets them open on the altar table and gets straight to work.
There are still so many things to learn about the runes and their meanings. Thankfully, runework is a passion and a talent of his. And hopefully, that will be enough to see us through.
Still…
I approach Henrik's twin brother, my breath growing tight in my chest. "Thank you for being here. I wanted to say… I only knew your brother a very short time, but he impressed the hell out of me. He was intelligent and brave, and losing him is a tragedy I will carry with me forever."
Bjorn meets my gaze, and he has the same vibrant blue eyes as his brother… and, well, all of us. "It's a loss, for sure. He was the one who wanted to change the world. He was fearless and dedicated."
"Well, I admire the fact that you're here picking up the pieces in his name."
He dips his chin but doesn't reply.
"Do you share his passion for runes?"
"Since we were boys. We used to pretend it was a secret language that only we would know."
"Well, I know Wylder would welcome any insight you might have. He and Henrik shared a passion for the runes and were quite excited about working together to unravel the intention of the ritual. Let me introduce you."
I guide him over to the altar stone. After I've introduced them, and Wylder has had a moment to get over the shock of meeting Henrik's twin and expressing his condolences, he moves directly into a discussion of the runes.
"It's complicated," he says, "but I think I've got most of it mapped. I'll walk you through what I believe we're working with."
The others drift closer as Wylder takes Bjorn through the symbology of the rune circle, section by section.
He's methodical about it: the binding sequence in the upper arc, the anchoring symbols at the base that tie the warding to the physical stone, the nine individual marks spaced evenly around the circle where each spirit witch is meant to focus.
"According to Khylie's family journals, these marks aren't just position markers.
Each one corresponds to a specific intention within the ritual.
Purpose. Sacrifice. Endurance. Memory. The witches of The Nine weren't performing an incantation so much as they were lending the stone their will.
But once the rune circle is powered, it draws from the ley lines to ensure the spell continues on. "
Nolan exhales through his teeth. "How much energy does it draw to power it?"
"That we don't know." Wylder glances at me, then meets Nolan's gaze. "We know several of them died over the course of the original thirteen lockstones. We're hoping the cause of that was worked out, corrected, and that the ritual steps that have been left for all of you is the solution."
"We're hoping that too," Khylie says.
Amara studies the circle. "But there's no way to know."
"Unfortunately, no."
"And what about those of us who aren't descendants?" Dae Jung asks.
I field that one. "I honestly don't think that will impact the spell. After all, The Nine weren't 'The Nine' while they were working all this out. They were simply a group of dedicated spirit witches committed to stopping a horror from taking hold in our world."
I think about the vision I had of the faces of those who came before: the terror in their expressions, the exhaustion, the complete absence of heroism. They were simply desperate witches doing something impossible because there was no one else left to do it.
And that's where we are now.
"All right, let's do a walk-through. No magic, no contact with the rune circle.
Just positions and reciting the incantation so we get a sense of the ritual.
I'll set you into your positions based on the vision I received of the original ritual.
If any of you have visions or knowledge you want to share, feel free to speak up at any time.
We all have connections, and in no way do I consider myself unique. "
I take a few minutes to relay what I saw in my vision and move everyone into what I believe are their marks.
"This is how it looked." I step into my position and view the arrangement. "Each of them seemed to connect through their affinity simultaneously."
Wylder looks us over and nods. "And from what I'm reading, you don't push your intention into the rune circle—you offer it. The circle does the drawing, and the ley line energy boosts and balances it."
Freya straightens. "Now, let's run through the incantation."
Asher hurries to hand out the words of the ritual to everyone in the circle. We printed them out last night, and Lily glued them onto a piece of stiff card stock so everyone could hold them with one hand.
Priya looks her copy over and frowns. "Are we all casting this at once, or do we have parts?"
"All at once for the whole incantation," I answer. "Or, at least, that's what I saw in the vision."
I give everyone a chance to read through the ritual, and then we begin our rehearsal.
We're almost halfway through when a flare of turquoise light sparks from the base of the runes.
It flows outward, through the carved crevices, filling the runes like glowing water filling the paths of a maze… then dies out.
Everyone goes still.
"Was that us?" Priya asks.
Bjorn crouches to examine the spot where the light appeared. "Maybe. The intention of the ritual has flowed through these runes for centuries. It's possible the stone recognized our words and the intention behind them, and simply filled in the rest."
“Spell muscle memory?” Amara asks.
“That’s one way to describe it.”
I look at the place where the turquoise light had come from, then back at the group.
"Oh, and please, nobody touch the carved surface.
I'm pretty sure Tharuzel rigged the circle in Ireland to detonate a trap.
I touched it and nothing happened, but Henrik touched it, and that's how we lost him.
Since we don't know for sure what happened, it's better just not to touch. "
"Xavier and I touch it all the time, so I don't think it's dangerous," Khylie says, "but Poppy's right. Since we don't know, it's likely best to be cautious."
The silence that follows has a different quality to it than the one before. Everyone nods.