“Cinis cinerem. Pulvis sunt pariter!” we chant together and throw the potions. The banshee goes up in flames, burning for just a few seconds before she’s reduced to a pile of ash.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good vanquishing,” Tabatha says with a small smile. “Now, take me to my son.”
We pour into the house, finding Evander lying on the living room couch. Lucas stands above him and wraps me in a hug the moment he sees me.
“It’s a sleeping spell,” I tell Tabatha, looking past Lucas. “Thank you,” I whisper to him.
Tabatha drops to her knees and holds her hands over Evander’s body. “It’s not as powerful as I feared.”
“I think the Ley line allowed it to possess him,” I say, breaking out of Lucas’s embrace. “It told me it was waiting to possess someone I knew so I wouldn’t kill it.” My eyes fill with tears as everything hits me at once. “We can undo this, right?”
“It’s been done before.” Tabatha works hard to keep the emotion out of her voice. “Performed by the Grand Coven.”
“I thought witches couldn’t preform exorcisms,” Kristy says.
“On our own, we can’t. And it’s not something we teach in school due to the extreme danger. But just over the years I’ve been High Priestess, I’ve been aware of six cases of possession that were treated properly.”
“So what do we do?” I wring my hands, feeling like I might throw up as I look at Evander lying on the couch. He’s not my blood, but he’s my brother and I love him.
“Take him back to the Covenstead. The sleeping spell is holding, and I will be able to recast once it wears off. The Grand Coven should arrive by dawn given everything that’s going on. And you, my dear, need to stay here and stay out of this.”
I nod, knowing that I’m already treading on thin ice. “Is there anything I can do? I don’t want to just sit here.”
Lucas’s hand lands on the small of my back. “You just saved the entire town. You’ve done more in one night than most do in their lifetime.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Plus, we have those hunters in the estate to deal with.”
“Hunters?” Tabatha’s eyes widen.
“I’ll handle it,” Lucas offers.
“No murder,” I remind him. “Change their memories and tell the older guy to volunteer for Meals on Wheels or something.”
“And the one that was injured?”
“If she makes it, I’ll deal with it,” I say, glad Lucas is leaving it at that. He knows there’s history between us, but it’s nothing to fret over. I was a teenager when I met Easton. He used me, and while I hated him for a good while, I hold no feeling toward him or any of my other exes anymore.
But vampires are crazy possessive.
“Can you carry him?” Tabatha asks Lucas. “To the door.”
Lucas nods and picks Evander up. I have Binx go ahead, checking for demons as we trek back through the woods.
“You know what I need to invest in?” I ask, looping my arm through Kristy’s. “A four-wheeler. Or a pony. Doing this walk a few times in one night is tiring.”
“Yeah, it would be, especially since you sealed a rift leading to Hell without a spell or anything,” she replies.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I shake my head.
“You’ve tapped into some major mojo.”
My throat thickens and I have to remind myself to take a breath. “I need to talk to you about that. Later, though.”
Kristy nods and rests her head on my shoulder. “Whatever it is, Cal, it’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah.” I force a smile. “It is.”
Chapter 32
Lucas comes into the bedroom and pulls his shirt over his head. After dropping Evander off through the door, Lucas and I went back to the house to release the hunters. They’re on their way to the hospital to check on Melinda.
“How do you know those hunters?” Lucas asks as he undoes the button on his jeans.
“We met like ten years ago. I was home for the summer at my parents’ and was looking to be a little rebellious in a normal way. Easton and his sister were passing through town and invited me to a party. I went, my teenage heart thought he was the cutest boy in the entire world, and we started hanging out.”
“You didn’t know he was a hunter?”
I shake my head and unhook my bra. We’re stripping down to shower. “And he didn’t know I was a witch. The group of hunters they run with were in that part of Chicago looking for a witch to kill. When Easton and Melinda realized it was me, Melinda refused to do it.”
“But the hunter tried?”
“Kind of. I stopped him before he could try.”
“Would he have gone through with it if you hadn’t?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. You know how hunters are. They think all witches are bad. I don’t think either Easton or Melinda had actually met a witch before.”
Lucas is now naked, with blood streaked over his body. I shouldn’t find him even more attractive when he’s covered in mud and blood, but dammit, I do. “He still has feelings for you.”
“Easton?”
“Yes. I can tell by the way he looks at you. Not that I blame him. But you’re mine.”
“Yeah, yeah, stop being so possessive.” I throw my panties at him and march right past into the bathroom. “You’re the only one I want, Lucas King,” I say, looking over my shoulder as I turn the shower on. “I love you.”
He speeds over, drawing his fangs. He picks me up and carries me into the shower. “And I love you now, just as I always will.”
I rest my head on Lucas’s chest. We’re back in my bed after sex in the shower. Lucas drank a decent amount of my blood, and I’m feeling a little weak because of it. He has me wrapped in his arms, gently running his fingers up and down my arm. I’m drifting to sleep but get hit with a flash of the blue-eyed man, which reminds me of everything else I shouldn’t have been able to do.
“Lucas?” I pick my head up.
“What’s wrong, my love?”
“I…I don’t think I’m just a witch. I want to be, but it doesn't feel right.”
He doesn’t disagree, which only reaffirms that I’m onto something. “And I know it sounds crazy, but I think the blue-eyed man is my dad.”
“It does sound crazy, but it also makes sense.”
“I don’t know why.”
“We can talk about it in the morning. You should sleep.”
“You too.” I lay my head back down but know I won’t be able to sleep. Lucas wraps me tighter in his arms, and I start to feel a little better.
“What was that noise?” Lucas asks, carefully moving out from under me.
“What noise?”
“It sounded like paper falling.”
“Damn you and your supersonic ears.” Ruefully, I get out of bed and go downstairs with him, finding a yellow piece of paper in my fireplace.
“I’ve been summoned,” I tell him. “Emergency coven gathering. I hope Evander is okay.”
“You have to go now?”
I nod. “I’ll get dressed.”
“I’m taking you to the door.”
“Don’t come too close. Other witches might be there.”
“And there could be more demons in the woods,” he says.
“I know.” I go back upstairs, throw on black leggings and a wine-colored off-the-shoulder sweater, and grab a new pair of boots that aren’t so muddy. Lucas carries me through the woods again, and I’m too tired to protest and insist I’m capable of walking on my own. Plus, it’s kinda fun moving so fast.
We stop a good ways from the door just to be safe. Lucas kisses me and only agrees to go back to the house after I promise to send Pandora to let him know I’m back before I start through the woods on my own.
I open the door and step inside the Covenstead. The familiar scent of lavender and sage fills my nostrils, giving me a sense of home.
“Callie Martin.” A voice rings out from th
e shadows. My heels click on the cobblestone path as I look around.
Ruth, the witch from the Grand Coven steps forward, followed by the council behind her. How did she get here so fast?