Blood Magic

by Jennifer Snyder

  I shifted my focus back to the knife and pressed its tip to the end of my finger. My eyes squeezed shut as I held my breath and pushed the tip of the knife deeper into my skin until I felt a tiny pop. Benji made a noise across from me, and I opened my eyes to make sure he was okay. Instead of finding his gaze glued to the tip of my finger and the drops of crimson blood building there, I noticed his eyes were locked on my face instead.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Me? Yeah, I’m fine. The question is, are you?” he countered.

  I nodded and then wiped the tip of the knife off with one of the sanitizer wipes still in my lap. Next, I ran my wounded fingertip over the scrying crystal, smearing my blood along its surface. A woozy sensation fluttered through my lower belly at the sight. Once I figured there was enough blood staining its surface, I put my finger to my lips and sucked. My mouth filled with the disgusting coppery taste of my blood, but at least it would help dull the aroma of it working its way through the car.

  Without making eye contact with anyone, I grabbed the candle and lit its wick. In my mind, I pulled forth an image of the amulet and focused until it became so clear I could practically reach out and touch it. I opened my eyes and smoothed out the map and then dangled the blood-smeared crystal over its wrinkled surface.

  “With this blood, I ask to find what it is I seek,” I said as the crystal continued to sway as though it moved to a melody only it could hear.

  It danced above the map, traveling over the entire length of Oak Island. The crystal was doing as it should. The problem was: The spell didn’t seem to be. A strong sense of resistance pushed against me. I’d never felt anything like it before when scrying.

  Had I not used enough blood? Was I not saying the words with enough force? Should I focus on the amulet harder?

  What was I supposed to do to make this work?

  The temperature inside my car became too hot as the feeling of everyone’s eyes lingered across my face. I closed my eyes and attempted to focus on finding the amulet again. I pictured its silver chain. The thick silver bands that held the bright turquoise stone inside. Its oval shape. I imagined what it would feel like in the palm of my hand. Its weight and the temperature of the metal.

  Nothing.

  “With this blood, I ask to find what it is I seek,” I repeated.

  Still, nothing. The crystal only continued to dance above the map as though the amulet wasn’t in Oak Island. We knew it was though. Leah had just stolen it. It had to still be here.

  What could I be doing wrong? Adele had said I would need to perform a blood magic locator spell, which was exactly what this was.

  Why wasn’t it working?

  “Relax,” Benji insisted. His tone was low and soothing. “Breathe. Maybe you’re puttin’ too much pressure on yourself.”

  I opened my eyes and stared at him. “I don’t know why this isn’t working. Adele said I needed to use a blood magic locator spell. That’s what I’m doing, but it’s not working.”

  If I couldn’t get this spell to work, how were we going to find that girl and the amulet? It wasn’t like we could walk around town asking if anyone had seen her. She wasn’t missing.

  Benji’s brows pinched together as he chewed along the inside of his cheek. His mind seemed to be going.

  “Adele was cut off though, remember?” he asked. “She was tryin’ to say somethin’ else when Bram broke the windows and she vanished.”

  “You’re right!” I shouted. “What had she been trying to tell me though? I know it was something about blood.”

  “Hazel’s blood,” Benji insisted. “I remember her sayin’ somethin’ about Hazel’s blood.”

  “What about my blood?” Hazel asked.

  “That’s right,” Ivette insisted, ignoring Hazel’s question. “I think she was going to say the blood locator spell would only work through the use of Haze’s blood. It must take the blood of a Dupre witch to find it.”

  “That makes perfect sense.” Warmth radiated throughout my body as a sense of rejuvenation bloomed through me. I adjusted my glasses and shifted to glance in the backseat at Hazel. “The amulet belongs to your family. It was supposed to go to your mom when your grandmother passed. It then it should have passed to you. Since the magic associated with it comes from a Dupre witch, it makes sense that only someone from your bloodline would be able to find it.”

  My stomach bottomed out as I wondered if it also meant the amulet would only work for a Dupre witch.

  Dear God, I hoped not.

  I grabbed a fresh sanitizer wipe and cleaned Benji’s knife again. Then, I did the same with the crystal until every drop of my blood was gone from its surface. When I was finished, I held my hand out to Hazel. She stared at me but didn’t move.

  “Let me have your hand,” I insisted.

  “Nope. Pass over the knife. I’ll do it myself. I’m not about to agree to someone stabbing me.” A teasing grin sprang onto her face, but I could tell she was serious.

  I passed the knife to her and watched as she placed the tip to her index finger, exactly like I had.

  “Hand me the crystal quickly because I’m not doing that again,” Hazel insisted as she passed over Benji’s knife once she’d punctured her skin deep enough to draw blood.

  I exchanged the crystal for the knife with her. While she smeared her blood along its surface, I wiped the knife clean and then passed it back to Benji.

  “Think that’s enough?” Hazel asked, holding the crystal out to me.

  The entire surface was coated in her blood. Somehow, she’d managed to get more on it than I had.

  I swallowed hard as I took it from her, being sure to only touch the chain it dangled from and not the crystal. “It should be.”

  I closed my eyes and focused on the amulet again, picturing it in my mind’s eye. The crystal swayed above the map like it had before while my heart thundered hard and fast inside my chest.

  This had to work. Had to.

  “With this blood, I ask to find what it is I seek.” The words pushed past my lips, sounding more like a prayer or a plea.

  Seconds ticked away. I held my breath, waiting. When the sensation of gray magic uncoiling through my chest and working its way into my bloodstream filled me, I knew something was working. My blood heated, becoming warm as more time ticked away and more magic uncurled inside me.

  Hazel’s blood had been the key.

  The resistance I’d felt pushing against me before dispersed as more gray magic flooded my body. A sensation of bliss followed closely behind it. The crystal fell to the map like deadweight, and I knew Leah had been found.

  “Whew, I was startin’ to worry that might not work,” Benji said.

  He leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at the map and where the crystal had landed. A piece of me didn’t care where it had landed, all I wanted was the heady sense of elation flowing through me to continue. I knew it had to be the lure from the spirits on the other side who had wielded blood magic urging me to stay connected.

  “What’s it pointing to?” Benji asked. His question and tone pulled me from my mind, distancing me from the sensation that had coursed through me seconds ago.

  I was grateful.

  I glanced at the map. When I lifted the crystal, blood smeared the area it had landed.

  “Looks like the corner of Troft Street and East Oak Island Drive,” I said. “No clue what’s there since this map doesn’t list attractions or buildings, but I’m guessing Leah is there whatever it is.”

  Benji closed the book of gray magic and placed it at my feet. He then blew out the candle. “All right. We’d better hurry and get there before she leaves. Find where we are on the map and tell me what my first turn is.”

  I stared at the jumble of lines and street names, struggling to find where we were as fast as I could. When I located the beach we were at I traced a line with my finger to the closest road and then made my way to the location of Leah.

  Ivette leaned forward
from in the backseat. “Do you know how to read a map?” Her tone was soft, almost as though she worried her question would offend me.

  “Yeah,” I said, surprised she’d asked at all. “It’s not hard.”

  “Okay. Everyone has become so reliant on GPS I wasn’t sure,” she said.

  “I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say this, but I always forget how old you are,” Benji said to Ivette. “GPS has always been there. I can’t imagine what it was like to road trip while strugglin’ to read a damn map at the same time. That had to be hell.”

  Ivette made a scoffing noise from the backseat. “One day you will have someone say the same to you,” she muttered.

  Her words gave me pause. It was strange to think about, but she was right. Benji was a vampire too. He was immortal, same as her. Thinking about him not aging while I continued to bothered me more than I cared to admit.

  “Turn right at the stop sign and when you get to the end of the street, take another right,” I said to Benji.

  I buckled my seat belt and leaned back as Benji followed my directions. My mind abandoned thoughts of him never aging and grabbed hold of how desperately we needed Leah to stay where she was. We needed that amulet.

  Without it, we were all toast.

  Chapter 11

  A bookstore stood at the corner of Troft Street and East Oak Island Drive. It was a cute shop. One with big windows that showcased beautiful vintage leather-bound books and also ones written by local authors.

  “Who’s goin’ inside to look for her?” Benji asked as he pulled into a parking space near the entrance and let the engine idle.

  “I will,” Hazel offered. “I’ll tell her it was my grandmother’s and was never supposed to be donated. Maybe she’ll give it to me out of the kindness of her heart.”

  “She stole it,” I said. “I don’t think she has much kindness in her heart.”

  “True. Well, I could always offer to pay for it,” Hazel suggested.

  “I’ll go inside with you,” Ivette said. “I can use my gift on her so we can get the amulet without issue or having to pay her anything.”

  “Benji and I will sit here and wait.” I took a sip from the water Hazel had handed me earlier. “If she comes out before you two find her, we can stall her until Ivette can compel her.”

  Hazel popped the back door open and slipped out. “Sounds like a plan.”

  The two of them climbed out of my car and I watched as they walked inside the bookstore.

  “How’s your finger?” Benji asked once they were out of sight.

  I touched the delicate skin of my fingertip. A scab of dried blood had formed, sealing the wound shut. “Fine.”

  “Good. I hated seein’ you in pain. Even though it was somethin’ small and self-inflicted, it still sucked.”

  “Well, I’m not a fan of being in pain so I don’t think it’s something you’ll have to see again anytime soon.” Not if I could help it at least.

  “It was crazy how the spell only worked with Hazel’s blood,” he said.

  I opened my mouth to say something in response, but the door to the bookstore swung open and Leah stormed out.

  “There she is!” I shouted, pointing to her as she bolted from the shop down the sidewalk.

  “Look what’s hangin’ from her neck,” Benji said. “Doesn’t look like she was willin’ to give it up.”

  I popped my door open and hurried toward her. Hazel and Ivette exited the bookstore at nearly the same time, and we all followed Leah together.

  “Hey! I’m talking to you. Wait!” Hazel shouted after her.

  The girl glanced over her shoulder, flipped Hazel off, and continued speed walking down the sidewalk.

  “I’m guessin’ Ivette wasn’t fast enough in dishin’ out her power of compulsion.” Benji chuckled.

  “I didn’t get the chance,” Ivette insisted. “Hazel found her first.”

  “What did you say to her?” I asked Hazel.

  Rain splattered against my face, it beaded across my glasses making it hard for me to see, but thankfully it seemed to be finally letting up.

  “I told her the necklace had belonged to my grandmother and that I knew she’d taken it from Treasure Chest Thrift Store. She looked at me like I was a freak and took off,” Hazel spat.

  “Stop following me! Jesus, lady, what the hell is your problem? I’m calling the cops!” Leah shouted. She reached in her coat pocket and pulled out her cell, flashing it to us as though it should instill fear.

  “Yeah, you do that,” I shouted after her. “That way we can tell them you stole the necklace from Fran’s place.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” Ivette said before she blurred from beside Hazel to standing in front of Leah using her vampire speed. Leah’s feet faltered, but she didn’t have time to shout or react because Ivette placed her hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes, releasing her gift on her. “You’re going to put your cell phone away. Next, you will become calm and relaxed,” Ivette insisted in that soft, hypnotic voice I’d heard her use before.

  “So, this how she uses her gift?” Hazel asked. “Oh, look! She put her cell in her back pocket.”

  I laughed at the sound of awe in her voice. What Ivette could do was amazing. And useful. Definitely useful.

  “Now you will hand me the necklace,” Ivette continued.

  Leah slipped the necklace off and handed it to her without hesitation.

  “Make sure you mention she shouldn’t steal things,” Hazel shouted to Ivette. “Both my grandma and my mom would’ve whacked me upside the head if I stole a single thing from anywhere.”

  “You will go wherever you intended to after visiting this bookstore and completely forget ever having seen the necklace. You will forget having encountered my friends and me. This moment will be stripped from your mind forever,” Ivette insisted. “When I snap my fingers, everything I have said will take effect.”

  She released Leah and snapped her fingers. Leah jolted as though she hadn’t seen Ivette standing in front of her before and then sidestepped her.

  “Jesus,” Leah snapped. “Watch out, lady.”

  Ivette didn’t say a word, she only smiled.

  “Creeper.” Leah continued walking and Ivette headed toward us, amulet in hand.

  “You didn’t say anythin’ about her sticky fingers,” Benji said. “I figured you would.”

  Ivette shrugged. “She will learn that lesson on her own one day. It’s part of the path she’s on. I don’t like to steer people off the path they’ve created for themselves unless I have to.”

  I liked that. We were all on our own path in life. Paths we had created for ourselves. It wasn’t anyone else’s responsibility to steer us except our own.

  Ivette passed the amulet to Hazel. The instant she touched it, her face grew slack.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “There’s a vibration coming off it.” Her eyes lifted to lock with mine. “It’s almost as though it’s calling to me, like we have a connection already.”

  “You do,” I reminded her. “It’s tied to your family’s bloodline. To the blood of the Dupre witches.”

  “I’m not a Dupre witch. My magic was bound, remember?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Dupre magic is still in your veins,” I insisted.

  Even if it was bound, it was still there.

  “Maybe so, but I’m not a real witch. I don’t have magic I can tap into you like you,” Hazel insisted. She held the amulet out. “You should hold on to this. You’re the one who will use it. Not me.”

  I reluctantly took it from her as we made our way back to my car.

  “What now?” Benji asked after he opened the driver side door and leaned against the top of my car.

  I gripped the amulet tightly in my palm, glad it was finally in our possession. “Head back to Mirror Lake. We got what we came for.”

  Benji nodded and then slipped behind the steering wheel. I climbed in the passenger seat, thinking our
next step was to figure out how to use the amulet. After I buckled my seat belt, I held the amulet up, soaking in its gothic beauty. No wonder Leah had stolen it. It was beautiful.

  Light glinted off the silver bands securing the stone in place, and I noticed words had been etched into the metal.

  “Hear these words that I say, in this stone so shall you stay,” I said in a hushed whisper as I read them. “Bound by blood of a Dupre, forever trapped so mote it be.”

  “What did you say?” Benji asked.

  “I think it’s the spell Adele used to trap Bram inside the amulet. The words are written on the outside of it. Engraved into the metal,” I said.

  I’d have to summon Adele again to find out for sure if that was what they were.

  Hazel leaned forward from in the backseat. “Can I see?”

  I passed the amulet to her and watched as she read the words.

  The sound of someone’s cell chiming with a new text filtered through the car. Ivette reached for her phone, and I saw something shift across her face I didn’t think she wanted me to see—worry. It pinched the area between her brows.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked her.

  Her eyes snapped to mine, and in the span of a heartbeat, I watched her expression morph into something neutral. “Yes. Everything is fine.”

  For being as old as she was, she sure was shitty at lying. Something was wrong. I could sense it. Was it Julian? Someone else? Had Bram made a move?

  I watched as her thumbs flew across the screen of her cell while she tapped out a reply to whoever had sent her the message. Her cell chimed again with a new text, and her teeth sank into her bottom lip.

  “You sure?” Benji asked. It was clear he could sense her unease as well.

  “Let’s focus on getting home,” she insisted, her gaze locking with Benji’s in the rearview mirror. “Fast.”

  Hazel handed me the amulet, and I put the necklace on as I shifted around in my seat so I was staring out the windshield. My mind filled with every worst-case scenario I could think of as Benji sped up.

  Something had happened, and I knew it had everything to do with Bram.