I was currently sitting on the roof of Griffin Enterprises, freezing my ass off and preparing for the peace inducement spell.
It was difficult to do, and truly I should have more energy wielders with me to make it work, but I was as strong as five of my coven, so I was giving it a shot anyway.
After the Salem witch trials, my people found a way to bring calmness into people’s lives. It wouldn’t last long, just a day or two. But it was enough for people to have time to think things through without the emotions of fear, anger, and sadness driving them.
I hoped it was enough to give us a chance at saving the city.
My moon crystals hadn’t seen the light of a moon in months, and I felt bad, knowing I should have taken better care of my magic supplies just in case I needed them. But the moon was full tonight, so it should charge them up with energy in no time.
I looked over my spray paint drawing of the pentagram on the roof, to make sure everything was touching: earth, fire, water, spirit, and air.
“Let’s get some magic on.” I lifted my hands and the candles at each point lit. It took some extra energy of mine to keep them lit up here in the blasphemous cold and wind. The higher up I was, the worse it got.
I sat in the middle of the star, my hands touching the two small mounds of dirt from the forest of Salem itself, and began the chant.
“I call upon earth, grounder of the body.
“I call upon fire, spirit of the soul.
“I call upon air, the lightness of our hearts.
“I call upon water, the life inside our blood.
“I call upon spirit, which binds us to our brothers and our sisters of this world.
“The balance of five is key, so mote it be.”
And repeated the last sentence over and over, feeling the flames of the white candles burn hotter and the wind that was blowing hard whip around my star in a circle.
Sweat beaded on my forehead, dripping onto the roof beneath me. I ground my teeth as I felt my power, combined with the elements, spread out like a fog over the island of Seahill, settling into the air to reach everyone in the vicinity.
I felt every inhale of my power as it spread in the lungs of mankind.
My chest started to ache, and my head began to throb. This spell was taking a lot more out of me than I thought it would. Guess that’s why it called for more wielders.
Once the spell was running through everyone’s veins, it was complete.
My body fell back to the concrete as soon as it finished. I was spent and might have to call Leon to carry me to my apartment, but I’d bought the city another twenty-four to forty-eight hours of peace. After that, we’d have to come up with another plan.
“Good job, magic boy. Everyone is leaving the streets and going back to their casa.” Mina’s voice floated through the communicator they’d given me tonight before we split off. I’d set it by my wallet and keys outside the star, since everything inside had to be one hundred percent natural.
“I vote for a name change. Like wizard or something cool,” I groaned, my energy depleted.
“And send Leon to come get me when he’s done. I don’t think I can walk,” I said, hoping she heard me. I was man enough to admit when I needed help, and I think Draco carrying me would put us in too weird of a territory. Leon was strong and fast, so I preferred him.
I lay there, staring up at the stars, thinking about Echo. Did she save Rose yet? What would she do with Nathan once she finally had him in her grasp?
She was a woman who believed in the law. Would she take the law into her own hands, or would she bring him in for charges like she was supposed to? I wouldn’t judge her, either way. In nature it was normal for animals to kill another who posed a threat to their family. She took it upon herself to protect Seahill, with her life if needed.
The answers to my questions would come soon enough. She’d be back with Rose, and I’d be there to comfort her, no matter what.
I heard the door to the roof open, and I knew Mina had heard me.
“You know she’s probably going to mess with you about this, right?” Leon went about putting my supplies and personal items into the bag I’d carried them up in, then reached down and picked me up like I was nothing.
“Better this than become an ice sculpture on top of Phillip’s building. Albeit it would be the nicest work of art on this building,” I joked and felt my body almost dangle, having no strength left to even hold on to him right now.
“You gonna be okay?” he asked, with concern etched on his face.
“Yep. Some sleep, and sunshine in the morning, and I’ll be back to bartending by night.”
He laughed, and I smiled as he carried me down to my car and drove me to headquarters to wait for Echo and Rose to come home.
Chapter Forty
Echo
Three words.
What. The. Fuck.
They’d made chicken and rice for everyone that unsurprisingly still sat on my and Rose’s plate, completely untouched. A weird, super late-night dinner had happened, and that wasn’t even the strangest part.
Robert had been a patient of Nathan’s before he met Sarah and became pastor of the church, having been inspired by Nathan’s past and how he overcame his shadows.
And when I say shadows, I meant a black abyss that consumed every ounce of his sanity.
Nathan was raised in a heavily religious home. His mother used to bloodlet him every night to free him from sin. Then to make matters worse, when he turned sixteen, his powers came into fruition. Yeah. Nathan was a freak like the ones he despised so much. But he didn’t embrace it, and in return, it turned on him, the powers of divination so intense they bordered on madness. His mother ended up dying, and I knew deep down she was the reason he stuck to killing women. The men just happened to be there when he went after their wives. He believed the voices in his head were whispers from God, telling him to do his bidding and set the gifted free. He worked with what he knew, the bloodletting.
In the hospital, he met many of his patients who thought they were going crazy and then hunted them down through his religious aspects.
The church daycare Beth brought her kids to, and the others, were all connected too. He’d been there, talking to these women and become trustworthy. It was the link I knew had been there but hadn’t been disclosed in any of the old case work.
Robert looked at him like a brother, with adoration in his eyes.
Sarah, at least, had the decency to look sick beyond belief while Nathan told his story.
Rose wasn’t much better. As a psychology major, I could tell she was reading into his story as much as I was. Mine was strictly from a criminal background, hers was academic. My eyes met with hers, and I willed her to see that I would handle everything. Crazy people or not, they were no match for me.
“You’re the boy that told my parents about me.” I’d guessed it when he talked about his family traveling around to spread the truth about Christianity.
“Sometimes the whispers are more like shouting. I can’t keep them in, and your mother was the most beautiful angel I’d ever seen. I was disappointed to learn about your future gifts and that she had some, as well. I see so much of her in you.”
The way he said that made my stomach churn.
“I need to finish what I started that night, Echo; the voices have been relentless ever since—a never-ending need to use the tarot cards to channel my divination to see you. I promise that Rose will not die tonight, if you let me set you free, free to fly with your mother and fight on heaven’s side in the eternal war.” Nathan stood and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Let her go first,” I told him with complete confidence.
He shook his head in refusal, and Robert chuckled.
“We let her go, you’ll turn into some beast and slaughter us all. You first, then I swear she will be free. My pet Rosalie will escort her back to Seahill. She can find her way after that.”
Rosalie?
The poor girl from the hospital stepped into the room from around the corner. What the hell was she doing here?