Curse of Night (Thorne Hill 5)

Felix nods and goes right for the book, surprising me a bit by not trying to talk me out of it or reminding me how dangerous this spell is. I take my hand out of Lucas’s, and he sits up, wincing, and his hand going to his stomach.

This spell book is old, and I can feel the enchantments put on it as soon as my fingers grace the leather cover. The book is in good condition, thanks to a stasis spell, preserving the ink and paper. It looks maybe a few years old, but I can feel its true age. This book has been around for centuries.

There are spatters of blood on this page and something thicker—a piece of flesh, perhaps?—that’s dried on the top corner of the page as well.

“I think I have the ingredients for the potion,” I mumble as I read through the list. The spell is incredibly complicated, but the danger is in lifting the curse and transferring it into another living being. “You have to drink the potion,” I tell Lucas, shifting my eyes from the book to his face for half a second. “It’s just a small vial.”

“That’s fine,” Lucas tells me, jaw tensed from pain.

“And I’ll cast a circle,” I go on, moving my finger across the page as I read the messily written incantation. “To keep the curse contained. Less danger to others that way.”

“It will take at least two people,” Felix adds and puts his hand on mine. “I will help you.”

“I don’t want to put you in danger,” I tell him, though I’m not going to talk him out of it. I know I need the help, and I’m desperate to save Lucas.

“This is what I do,” he tells me with a cheeky grin, and Lucas huffs, rolling his eyes in a way that reminds of me of Eliza. Maybe she got it from him after all. “I’ve dedicated my studies—my life—to breaking curses.” The sadness is back in Felix’s eyes for a moment, and he looks away. He’s been in my shoes before, only his loved one didn’t make it.

He couldn’t break the curse in time.

“Thank you.”

“Do you think your High Priestess or Evander would want to join? Evander should be here soon, as I let him know when I arrived.”

“They would,” I tell him. “But I can’t ask them. I’ve put them in enough danger already, and since I married a vampire, they shouldn’t really be associating with me,” I say ruefully.

“It’s a stupid, old-fashioned law,” Felix says, shaking his head. “We’ve come a long way but are still so behind.”

I smile, glad he feels the same way. The last thing I need is his judgment over who I married.

“I’ve made some improvements to that spell over the years.” Felix gets up and pulls more things from his bag. “Like you’ve already suggested, casting a circle is imperative. But I’ve upped it from there.” He opens a notebook, and I look at his messy handwriting scrawled across the page.

“Oh my god, that’s genius,” I say, eyes madly scanning the page.

“What is?” Eliza asks, standing up and peering over my shoulder.

“Changing elements of a Solomon summoning circle to be used as a barrier for transferring curses.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Eliza takes the notebook from Felix and cocks an eyebrow. “It’s chicken scratch.”

“Careful with that.” Felix snatches the notebook back from her. “This is years and years of research.”

“I hope you’ve backed that up somewhere,” Eliza grumbles under her breath.

“Oh, I have. I have copies. But this baby is my original.” Felix runs his hand over the page.

“Will this work?” Eliza demands.

“In theory. Conjuring the spirits is the tricky part.”

She draws her fangs. “That’s the second time you’ve said that. If you’re not sure and anything happens to my maker—”

“Eliza,” Lucas booms. “Enough.”

She turns and stomps her foot hard enough to rattle the entire room, causing a framed photo of Evander and me at Disney World to fall off the wall. I throw out my hand at the last second, telekinetically catching it before it crashes to the ground.

Lucas stands, moving with vampire speed, and comes over to Eliza. He says something to her in French, and she narrows her eyes and shakes her head in response. He points to the stairs, and I don’t need to understand the language to know he basically told her to shut up or go to her room.

Eliza purses her lips and takes a seat on the couch. “This better fucking work,” she huffs in a warning. Scarlet jumps up on the couch next to her, wagging her tail and trying to lick Eliza’s face.

Binx trots into the room and gracefully jumps onto the coffee table. He meows and holds out his paw. My lips part, and I look into his green eyes, nodding.