Ashes (Dark in You 3)

“According to Mia,” began Levi, “this kind of fever is a sign that a body is fighting a hex. She’s sweating it out. Mia said she may have cramps or vomit. We need to cool her down and keep her hydrated, and she needs sleep.”

“Sleep?” Keenan echoed, incredulous. “How the hell is she supposed to sleep through that?”

Levi thrust a hand into his hair. “I’ve no idea. I’m just telling you what Mia told me.”

“What hex exactly is this supposed to be?” demanded Knox.

Levi shrugged. “All I know is that the worse it hurts for Harper to fight it, the worse the hex was meant to be.”

Knox watched her shaking, sobbing, and clutching her stomach while Meg whispered reassurances. “Could it have been a death hex?”

“Possibly.” Levi shrugged again. “There’s just no way of knowing unless she fails to fight it off.”

“She won’t fail,” Knox clipped.

Tanner’s jaw hardened. “No, she won’t.”

“Mia is sure that she’s been hexed?” Keenan asked. “Absolutely sure? Because from what I understand, cursing someone isn’t whatsoever easy and it can’t be done by just anyone.”

“You’re right,” Levi confirmed. “It’s not a petty case of burning someone’s photo with a black candle and whispering some bitchy chant. Only incantors and practitioners can cast hexes. To successfully hex someone, they need to do four things: one, go without food and water for three days. Two, feed a few drops of their blood to their victim. Three, take something that belongs to their victim and burn it into ashes. And four, sprinkle those ashes around their altar before performing the hex, which can take hours and very easily rebound back on the incantor or practitioner. That’s why demons rarely take the risk of trying to perform one.”

Tanner rubbed his nape. “I can’t imagine Harper drinking someone’s blood.”

“It could have been put in her drink at work,” said Levi.

Keenan clicked his fingers. “One of Harper’s jackets went missing from the studio last week. She thought Khloë had taken it. Maybe an incantor or practitioner got their hands on it, or maybe someone nabbed it for them.”

Which would mean the motherfucker or one of their minions might have been in her studio. Knox ground his teeth at the thought, and his demon let out another roar. “Could a hex harm the baby too?”

“I asked Mia that,” said Levi. “She said no. The hex is directed at Harper – it will only harm her. But, obviously, if it is a death hex and it manages to kill her, the baby won’t survive.”

Knox looked at Rodgers, who was pale and looked completely out of his element. “She’s in pain and has a fever. Will that harm the baby?”

Rodgers hesitated to answer. “It’s more serious in human pregnancies. If you keep Harper hydrated and get her fever down soon, the baby should be fine.” He didn’t say there were no guarantees, but Knox could hear it in his voice. And it spooked the shit out of him.

“She’ll be okay, Knox,” said Keenan. “She’s a fighter.”

Harper again tried to get out of the bath. “Let me the fuck out! It’s too hot!”

Again, Knox held her down. He hated to force her to stay there, hated the accusatory glitter in her eyes. “I’m sorry, baby.” His head whipped around to look at Levi. “How long do we have to keep her in cool water?”

“Mia didn’t say. I’ll ask.” Digging his cell out of his pocket, Levi left the room to make the call.

Harper grabbed Knox’s arm. “Something’s happening to the baby, isn’t it?” Her shoulders shook, eyes tearing. “I’m losing it, aren’t I?”

“No, no, no,” Knox quickly assured her. “Someone tried to hurt you with magick. Your system is fighting it. That’s a good thing.”

She grimaced. “It doesn’t feel like a good thing.” She sucked in a breath and then hunched over again.

Knox rubbed her nape. “If I could do something, if I could help, I would.” But despite how powerful he was, he couldn’t do a damn thing to take away her pain. He was built to destroy, not to heal. And for once in its very long existence, his demon regretted that.

Levi re-entered the bathroom. “Once her skin cools, you can take her out of the bath, but you need to keep her covered with a towel or blanket. Basically, we just have to wait it out.”

It took half an hour for her fever to break so that they could take her out of the water, but the cramps lasted for over an hour. It was a further forty-five fucking minutes before her blood no longer felt hot. Then, wrapped in her snug terry robe and huddled under the bed coverlet, she finally fell asleep.

Stood over the bed, Knox scrubbed a hand down his face. His jaw ached from how hard he’d clenched it as he’d fought to keep his demon from rising. The entity was a little calmer now that she no longer suffered, but it demanded vengeance.

“Thatcher,” Knox spat. “It fucking has to have been him.”

“Maybe, but we can’t just go to his house and grab him, Knox,” said Levi. “He’s a powerful Prime. His lair is almost as large as ours.”

“I don’t fucking care. Look at her, Levi. He’s an incantor; she was hexed. Are you not seeing the correlation here?”

“I’m seeing it. But I’m also seeing the consequences of you killing him without proof. You remember what happened to the last demon when he killed another Prime without evidence of wrongdoing, don’t you?”

Yes. Most of the other Primes had united against the demon and killed him. “You don’t think it’s Thatcher,” Knox sensed.

Levi sighed. “You said yourself that he’s too smart to do anything that would cast suspicion on himself. Think past your anger, Knox. I know it’s fucking hard, but try. For Harper.”

Knox inhaled deeply, rolling back his shoulders. Before Harper, he’d never let emotions get in the way of his decisions – mostly because he hadn’t felt many. He called on that practical side of himself as he paced, thinking it through. “The person who sent the emails was very careful to conceal their identity. Hexing her would not be a careful move for Thatcher; it would be damn stupid. He’s not a stupid person. And, yes, it would be odd for someone who’s been so cautious to then repeatedly act in ways that led back to them – I know all this. But what do you want me to do? Sit back and wait for whoever it is to make another move? If it is Thatcher, he’s notorious for being like a dog with a bone. When he has an issue with someone, he doesn’t let it go. He won’t just stop.”

Larkin, who’d arrived half an hour earlier, raised her index finger. “Um… about people with issues.”

Knox turned to her. “Did you find a direct link between Thatcher and Harper?”

“Not one, so I checked to see if he’d had any problems with Jolene. I wondered if maybe he had beef with her and he was using Harper and Heidi to hurt her or something like that. Thatcher’s never had any major issues with Jolene, from what I can tell. But Jonas has.”

Keenan’s brows snapped together. “Jonas?”

Larkin nodded. “And it was very recent. It’s not clear what happened. Just that he wanted something from Jolene and she refused him, so he threatened to make her pay for it – something along those lines. I’m not saying this is related to everything that’s gone on lately, but I thought it was worth mentioning.”

Tanner’s eyes narrowed. “Jonas may have planned to hurt Jolene by taking Heidi and by hiring hunters to steal Harper’s wings.”

Larkin shrugged. “Possibly.”

“Fuck.” Knox pulled out his phone, dialed Jolene’s number, and stalked out of the room. He was in the hallway when she answered. He got straight to the point. “Why didn’t you tell me you had problems with Jonas?”

There was a silence of sheer surprise. “Why would I? That’s my business, not yours.”

“It is my business if he has something to do with your granddaughters being targeted, since one of them is my mate.”