“This is how she did the conduit spell,” I say. “She could still have some sort of grip on them now, too. The chances of her showing up are probably slim, but I need to get to Evander as soon as we get home.”
Lucas takes his eyes off the road to look at me for a second. “You’re going to astral project?”
“Yes. If I wait until the morning and something happens to those girls…” I shake my head. “We don’t have time.” I put the jar back next to the other one and rest my hand on Lucas’s thigh. I let out a sigh and lean back, eyes falling shut.
My mind is racing, but my body is begging to go to sleep. Soon enough, I’ll crawl under my heated blanket next to my vampire. Soon.
We’re not too far from Thorne Hill, and Lucas and I talk about the house, purposely distracting ourselves from what’s going on. I greet my familiars, use the bathroom, and get a drink of water before going into the living room.
Lucas has already moved the furniture and poured a circle of salt on the floor. Binx sits on my chest as soon as I lie down, protecting my empty body from spirits.
“Oh, hang on a second.” I hold out my hand. “Can you draw that symbol on my palm? I need to show it to Evander.”
Lucas speeds away and returns with a Sharpie. He looks at the photo on his phone and quickly draws it on my skin. Careful not to smudge the ink before it dries, I bring my hand to my side, close my eyes, and whisper the incantation. I feel myself slipping out of my body as the world spins around me. When everything stops spinning, I’m standing in Evander’s room.
It’s dark in here, with the only light coming from the moonlight shining through the window. The buildings inside the Covenstead are over a century old, and while they’ve been updated for modern convenience, they still look—for the most part—as they did when they were first built. Back in the 1960s, someone thought it would be a good idea to redecorate, and half the coven was in an uproar over it.
Everything went back to its gothic roots after that.
“Evander,” I whisper. “Evander, wake up.”
Evander opens his eyes, only to roll over.
“Evander,” I say a little louder. “Get up.”
He jerks up, blinking in the dark. “Seven devils, Callie!” He looks at the door, which is still closed and locked, and realizes I’m astral projecting. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m in no immediate danger,” I rush out. “But I had a breakthrough with the whole Ruth thing, and I need your help.”
Evander flicks on the light, and I peer into his bed. “Darn. I was hoping to see Kristy in there with you.”
Evander gives me a look and sits, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. “She warned me about your shipping, sister.”
“A girl can dream.” I shrug and take a few steps to the side and sit on the edge of Evander’s bed. It takes great concentration to actually sit on anything in astral form since I’m not really here. I can just go through everything.
“What did you find out about Ruth?”
“Betty called me,” I start and then catch Evander up to speed. “We left everything as-is at the cabin but took the jars of blood. I’ll pour them down the drain later.”
Evander nods. “Good thinking. I’ll alert the council and will send notice to the Grand Coven.”
I let out a breath of relief. “What about the girls?”
“I’ll have them watched over right away. If Ruth sets foot in the hospital, we have enough to take her in and question her.”
“And if you do catch her…”
“I’ll let you know.”
“She needs to be stopped,” I say.
Evander meets my eyes. “She will be.”
“Oh, and this,” I say, holding up my hand. “It was carved above the door in the shed.”
Evander narrows his eyes and picks his phone up off the nightstand. He takes a photo. “It’s voodoo and is familiar. I think…I think it’s a warding sigil. I’ll look into it and will let you know what it means.” He looks at the clock. “Have you been up all night?”
“Yes,” I say with a sigh. “It’s been a long fucking night.”
“I can imagine. Go back to your body and get some sleep, sister. You need it.”
“I know,” I agree, feeling the lull of sleep nag at me. “The sooner this ends, the better, though. Then I can actually move on, go to Disney World, and die happy.”
“Poor choice of words.” Evander purses his lips.
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m starting to wonder.” He puts his phone down. “Now go, Callie, before I banish you.”
“You’re such a buzzkill. Fine. I’m going. Love you, Evander.”
“Love you, too, sister.”
I close my eyes and go back into my body, eyes opening and body jolting. Lucas is kneeling on the floor, right where he was when I left my body.