Curses & Blood

by Kim Richardson

  I jumped out of my seat, grabbed my grandfather’s face and kissed his forehead. “Thanks, Grandpa. I owe you one.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s what they all say.” He beamed and took another gulp of his drink.

  I smiled at the prospect of seeing my aunt again. My grin widened as I ran down the hallway in search of my boots and jacket. It looked like I was finally going to catch a break.

  Chew on that, Raynor.

  CHAPTER 14

  “Aunt Evanora?” I called as I pushed open the door of her shop and walked in. A flutter of excitement soared through me as I shut the door. My aunt’s shop was a witch’s dream, and it was always such a thrill coming here.

  A sudden, cold prickling of dark magic energy rippled over my skin, telling me she was here.

  It was only about half past three in the afternoon, but inside the shop felt like it was eleven at night. Heavy, black drapes hung over the two front windows, and the only source of light came from the six candles splayed above a counter on the far right. Their flames wavered when I closed the door behind me, creating long shadows about the room.

  The tiny store was packed with shelves and racks, crammed with unidentifiable objects floating in jars, every color candle, animal bones, human teeth (don’t ask), crystal balls, pendants and pendulums, boxes of chalk, wands, and hundreds of books of spells and Dark magic. I spotted a new large green tome. I had to catch up on my reading.

  The shop had everything a witch could possibly desire or need. If you were a witch in need, you came to my aunt’s shop. It was an unspoken rule.

  I breathed in the scent of musty old rugs and smiled. “God, I love this place.”

  Faris walked up to the closest shelf. His face was pinched in a sour expression as he took in the state of my aunt’s store. He dragged a finger along a shelf and rubbed the dust between his fingers. “This is how a gifted Dark witch keeps her shop of witchcraft?” He jerked his hand away, trying to rid it from a string of cobwebs. Big baby.

  “Great, isn’t it?” I said, taking it all in at once and wishing someday I could have a place like this. I could make a decent living and never have to worry about getting work from the Dark Witch Court. I’d never have to endure their scowls and open displeasure. But we don’t always get what we want.

  “That’s not the word I’d use,” answered the mid-demon. “It reeks of cheap potpourri, incense, and shoddy magic tricks.”

  “Aren’t we a little snobbish. So, it’s a little dusty. So what? Dust never killed anyone.”

  His eyebrows went up. “I’m a demon, not a troll. I happen to care about my hygiene.”

  “I’ve noticed.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, I would kill for a place like this. The dust, the spiders, the potpourri, everything. I think it’s perfect just the way it is.” My gaze found a large banner stretched across the upper wall, which proclaimed: FRESH OFF THE CAULDRON!

  I ached to rush over to the shelf and see what magical goodies had been delivered this week, but I didn’t have time to look around. I had a job to do.

  Faris made a disgusted sound in his throat. “If you do acquire a shop like this in the future, don’t expect me to clean it. It would take years to get all the grime out of this place. I don’t do cleaning.”

  I glared at the demon, though I couldn’t stay angry at him. I could see his true discomfort as he picked his way carefully so he wouldn’t rub up against anything, as though he’d be subject to a magical virus. I nearly started to laugh. “My aunt doesn’t know you’re my new familiar. Try not to piss her off. Okay? We need her to tell us about the book.”

  Faris gave me a forced smile. “I won’t. The faster we can get out of this place, the happier I will be.”

  A soft beep came from his pants pocket. Looking mildly surprised, Faris reached in and pulled out a cell phone.

  Knowing better than to ask where he’d gotten the phone, I instead asked, “Everything okay?” I wondered who was texting him now. If he was trading human souls again, I was going to toss him into my aunt’s boiling cauldron. I didn’t care he was my familiar. There were limits to what I’d accept, and trading human souls was well past them.

  A strange expression came over the demon. “It’s Cassandra. She’s… asking how I am.” With blurred fingers, Faris typed his answer back like he’d been texting since the ripe age of two. Then he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

  I watched him for a moment. “So, I take it things are going well?”

  The open smile on the mid-demon’s face made my heart ache. “They are. I thought I might go see her next weekend.”

  A smile stretched my face. “I think she would really like that,” I answered, remembering the hug she’d given him on the very first day they’d met.

  Faris beamed, a sudden moisture in his eyes as he turned away from me.

  I was happy for him. My heart went out to him. He’d lost a wife but gained a great-great-granddaughter. Yes, he was a pain in my ass, but it was all worth it to see that kind of smile on the mid-demon’s face. Truly worth it.

  Steeling myself, I crossed the room and made for the back of the shop where I’d suspected my aunt was. Behind the curtain door was where she performed most of her spells. Her magic lab. A thick smell of wood burning came from behind the curtain. My aunt was definitely working something, cooking something perhaps. What are you up to, Aunty?

  I pushed aside the curtain door, waited for Faris to walk through, and stepped into a small room, maybe half the size of her shop. The floor was wooden, though the boards looked weathered and dry. Shelves stood against the far wall, clustered with all manner of books, jars, and dried herbs and plants.

  An iron cauldron, the size of a soaker tub and filled with steaming mud, rested in the middle of the room. A figure sat in the cauldron. Wisps of white hair fell loosely around her face. Thin shoulders and arms hung weakly next to her. Her small eyes were lost in the heavy wrinkles and the scowl on her face. A single, milky-white eye rolled around in its socket until it focused on me.

  My aunt Evanora.

  Holy.

  Hell.

  “Skinny dipping in a cauldron. Now this was unexpected,” expressed Faris as he moved past me and made his way forward with a dubious smile on his face. He inspected the cauldron and the witch inside it like she was some display at the latest witch convention.

  The old witch frowned at him, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening, and her lips moved in what I could only imagine was a Dark hex.

  Crap.

  “Uh—Aunt Evanora,” I said as I took a careful step closer, hoping to stop her from hexing Faris. “What are you doing?” The mud came up past her breasts, thank the Goddess. I didn’t want to have to see that. I’d seen enough old naked bodies to last a lifetime. I caught sight of a small wooden step ladder next to the cauldron. I’d heard of magical baths and cleansings, though I’d always imagined they were done in a bathtub.

  The witch lifted her gaze to me. “Evanora is taking a mud bath. Why have you come to disturb Evanora? Why are you here, Samantha?” She turned her head around and glowered at Faris, who had dipped his finger in the mud.

  “Interesting consistency,” he said as he rubbed his fingers together. “Have you ever tried this with another witch? There’s room enough for three with still plenty of room to move around, if you know what I mean?”

  Cauldron help me.

  The muscles along her jaw clenched, and her expression promised murder. She had a powerful quality to her. If you thought she was frail and weak, you’d be sorry.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Aunt,” I said. I glared in Faris’s direction as he rested his elbows on the edge of the cauldron, smiling down at my aunt. “I came to ask you something. It’s important.”

  Aunt Evanora pulled her eyes from me and inspected Faris. “Why did you bring a mid-demon to Evanora’s place of business?”

  Here we go. “Um. You see…”

  Faris stuck out his hand. “Farissael at your service.�
�

  Evanora stared at the demon’s hand like it was the essence of all plagues. “Evanora does not need anyone’s service. Especially not a mid-demon’s.”

  Faris pulled his hand back but never stopped smiling. “Have you ever considered renting your cauldron? I have three witches in mind I think would love,” he raised his eyebrows suggestively, “a dip in your cauldron. I can pay up to a hundred dollars an hour.”

  “Faris,” I warned. “Enough.” I moved over, grabbed his elbow and pulled him away from the cauldron. “One more peep out of you, and I’m sending you back home. Got it?”

  The mid-demon gave a huff. “You need to loosen up a little, Sammy darling. Even your aunt takes the time to relax. Perhaps you should try it sometime. It’s not good for your blood pressure.”

  “You’re the one who’s spiking my blood pressure.” I looked at my aunt, took a breath and said, “He’s my new familiar. It’s a long story. And I’ll tell it to you over tea sometime, but I’m really here—”

  “What happened to your raven?” asked my aunt. “Did he leave you?”

  No. Yes. “He’s out. I’m not sure where he is.” My chest clenched at her words. In a way, Poe had left me. He seemed happier doing whatever it was he was doing instead of being with me and being my familiar.

  My aunt wrinkled her face as she studied the mid-demon. “The raven was a poor choice as a familiar.”

  “I know.” You’ve told me many, many times.

  “And this one is no better.”

  Great.

  Faris lost his smile. “Now, you listen here, you old—”

  “Faris,” I growled. “You’re already on thin ice. Zip it.”

  The mid-demon pressed his lips in a tight line but kept his mouth shut.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the recent killing of the Gray Council member Sarek. The faerie.”

  “Evanora has. Yes,” answered my aunt.

  “And just last night, Lars was gutted and strung up by his bedroom ceiling.” I watched my aunt’s eyes narrow. “I believe, and so does the Gray Council, that both murders are connected. The killers belong to a group called the Extreme Anti-magic Movement. They’re an extremist hate group made up of humans who despise magic. It gets complicated. This same group performed a ritual and then called up the demon Naberius. I still haven’t figured out what the connection is, but it smells bad.”

  My aunt gave me a hard stare. “And why do you seek Evanora’s help?”

  “This group of psychos stole a book from one of the Gray Council vaults. The one where Sarek was found dead. I know they took a book—a book the Gray Council wishes to keep hidden. They don’t want me to know.” I moved closer to the cauldron. “This book is the key to figure out what the hell these bastards want.” I took a breath and stared at my aunt in the face. “Grandpa thought you might know this book.”

  My aunt was silent for a long moment with her one good eye distant. She clamped her hands around the edges of the cauldron, her fingers crooked and dripping with mud. “Samantha. Come help Evanora out of this cauldron and give Evanora her robe.”

  My pulse leaped at the emotion in her voice. I didn’t like that. But it also told me she knew about the book.

  I helped my aunt out of her cauldron and down the three steps. Next, I wrapped her thin frame with her shapeless, green robe as a puddle of mud formed at her feet. Her skin, well, she smelled like mud with a hint of manure. What the hell was in there?

  Her movements were slow, and her body was bent with age and arthritis. Her knees popped and cracked as she shuffled her way to a small worktable, leaving muddy footprints on the wood floor. She had been as tall as me once upon a time, but now she was barely five foot two.

  My aunt poured herself a cup of tea from an electrical kettle and fell into a chair.

  I moved next to her. “What is it? Tell me. I know you know something. I can tell.”

  With gnarled fingers, my aunt lifted her cup and took a sip of her tea. Her face was tight as she said, “The book is called Magicae Lucis or Dawn of Magic.”

  “Dawn of Magic?” I looked at Faris and the demon gave me a shrug. I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ve never heard of it. Doesn’t sound so terrifying to me. You’re sure this is the right book?” Perhaps my aunt was wrong. Dawn of Magic sounded like something I’d like to read to further my knowledge in all things magical.

  My aunt rested her cup on her thigh. Her face was solemn and pale. “Evanora is certain.”

  “Okay. What’s so special about this book? Why is the Gray Council keeping it secret?”

  “The Magicae Lucis is the most powerful magical book in the world,” said my aunt, making Faris whistle. “And the most feared.”

  Dread tightened my stomach. “Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

  My aunt shook her head. “It should have been destroyed long ago. Evanora begged the Gray Council to burn the book. But they would not listen to Evanora.” The wrinkles in her face deepened as she tightened the grip on her cup, her knuckles turning white. “Fools. Look what they have done. They have damned us all.”

  Fear slid through me at my aunt’s fear I saw move over her face and creep into the stiffness of her posture. My aunt was the most badass witch I knew. Nothing scared her. Nothing. Not even a horde of Greater demons. She was powerful. Wickedly smart. And now she looked scared to death.

  What the hell was she talking about?

  I swallowed hard. “Why is this book the most feared?” I asked after a moment, my voice high with tension.

  My aunt’s face was ashen. “The book is many things. Mostly, it contains the history of all things magic. The book communicates the most important and basic aspects of magic. It speaks of primitive spells and rituals… of how living things, witches and half-breeds are interconnected to magic.” She clamped her jaw and hesitated, struggling with something she was about to reveal.

  I felt my shoulders tense up a little. “What? What is it?”

  My aunt frowned. “The book… the book gives instructions on how to destroy magic. To remove magic from the world. Forever.”

  Silence lay heavily in the room. “That’s impossible,” I said, though my voice didn’t sound very convincing. “Nothing can remove all magic from the world. Magic is part of this world. It has been since the beginning. It would be like removing the air.”

  “It can be done.”

  Faris’s entire posture stiffened. “Why have I never heard of this book? If this Magicae Lucis does as you say, the demon community would have been all over it. Powerful magical books are a hot commodity in the Netherworld—more than even souls, if you have the right book.”

  My aunt’s jaw clenched as she struggled to keep her fear and despair from showing, but I could see it. “The book was created by a coven of the first Dark witches. Long ago. And kept secret. The demons were never to know about the book or what it could do. The witches’ magic was stronger then. Their blood magic was superior… not diluted with the blood of humans like the witches of today.”

  Panic rose in me. The EAM group had gotten their hands on a book that could remove all magic from the world. How they knew about the book was a mystery. They hated us. Hated magic. And now they wanted to remove magic from the world for good. And from my aunt’s rising tension and fear, she believed it was doable. That had my tension spike.

  It made sense why Irva didn’t want me to know about the book. How could they have kept something so dangerous in a vault all these years? Foolish indeed.

  “What about demonic magic?” I asked, thinking of Faris. Worst case scenario, if my magic disappeared, I could rely on Faris and other demons. I could use their magic through me in case I needed it.

  “The book speaks of the magic of this world,” answered my aunt, her one good eye steady. “Not the Netherworld. Demonic magic will not be affected.”

  Faris let out a low whistle. “Why am I not reassured?”

  “This book,” I said, my adrenaline
rising. “You’d have to understand magic to work it. Right? And it would be complex. Very complex… like hardcore Dark magic.”

  “Yes,” answered my aunt.

  “So, these humans have some basic knowledge of magic. They must, to know what they’re doing. Otherwise it wouldn’t work.”

  My aunt nodded. “It appears so. A witch must have confidence and fluency with the language of the Dark Arts to fully utilize the magic.”

  “Or someone is teaching them,” said Faris and my blood went cold.

  He was right. The EAM crew didn’t believe in magic. So, the question was, who was teaching them?

  I looked intently at my aunt. “Are you familiar with the spell that would remove all magic from the world?” Even saying it sounded ridiculous. But if anyone knew it, she would.

  My aunt shook her head. I’d never seen her look so defeated. I hated it.

  “Can you tell me anything about the spell?” I tried again. “Anything at all? Could the sacrifice of Lars be part of the spell?” The more I knew about this book and the spell in question, the closer I would be to finding the EAM group and putting a stop to this madness.

  “Evanora has never read the book,” she said, her face taking on a dark cast. “But Evanora knows the spell requires the breaking of three magical seals. The blood of a powerful witch could be part of this spell. Could be the first seal.”

  The memory of the powerful wave of energy that had lifted me and Faris off of our feet in the park made my heart race. They’d broken the first seal.

  “Complex spells need time to prepare because they are bigger magical works that raise a lot of energy,” said my aunt, her fingers moving around her cup. “These spells are complex… the highest level of magic. They must be performed one day apart. Once all the seals are broken, the spell will be complete.”