“Maybe we could curse them to forget this address,” I say, and then gasp, sitting up. “Ben! What if . . . what if they’ve been cursed all this time? What if they’re not really like that? They’ve just been cursed to want money more than anything else? What if—”
“Reggie,” Ben says calmly, and there’s such sympathy in his eyes. “Reggie, sweetheart, you know that’s not the case.”
This time, the tears fall. “But what if—”
He shakes his head, his expression sad. “Sometimes people just aren’t good people, sweetheart. We can’t make them be better just because we want them to be.”
I press my face to his neck, dripping tears all over his black clothing. I know he’s right. I know he is. Even so . . . “Can we . . .”
“Cast a spell to check? Of course, love. You know I’d do anything for you.”
I hold him tighter, because he really does understand.
And when, hours later, the scrying spells we cast show there’s nothing lingering on my parents, no evil eye, no curse, no affliction other than pure selfishness, I cry all over his shoulder again, and he lets me.
32
BEN
We should have gone straight to Abernathy’s party. Just skip from the meeting with Willem and head right to Abernathy’s door to wait. Coming home was clearly a mistake, because Reggie is miserable. Her parents showing up was the icing on the shit cake she didn’t need, and for the rest of the day, she mopes, her eyes broken inside even though she tries to hide it.
I know how that feels, and I want to give her space as much as I want to carry her up to my room and kiss her until she forgets everything else.
Having Reggie’s parents lurking around is almost as bad as having to be in the house with Aunt Dru sleeping upstairs. It feels odd to not have her walking around, saying inane things and smiling cheerfully for no reason at all. Aunt Dru is a lot like Reggie, I think—as determined as she is cheerful—and not having her warm presence feels like there’s a gaping hole in the house. Lisa is exhausted from watching over Dru, so Reggie and I take over for the night and stay at my aunt’s side. I cast spell after spell, trying to find something to break the curse on her. A spell for waking. A spell for hiccups in the hope of rousing her. A spell to break an existing spell. A spell to obfuscate her location so it could potentially “unhook” an existing curse on her. I try spell reversals. Crystals. Offerings.
Nothing works, and the only thing I succeed in is wearing out Reggie, who bears the brunt of my spellcasting.
“It’s all right,” she tells me, her eyes drooping as she struggles to stay awake. “We have to try everything.” She weaves in her seat, and I move to her side and scoop her up into my arms.
I contemplate setting her down next to Dru again, but what if Dru’s curse somehow latches onto Reggie? She’s been so worried that she’ll be the next to be hit with a curse, and after the day we’ve had, I really just want to hold her close for a while. To my relief, Lisa enters the room, yawning. She wears a big floral zip-up muumuu, stretched tight over her belly, and her hair is pulled up into a messy bun. She gives a tired smile at the sight of us. “She’s worn out?”
“Spellcasting,” I say. “We tried a few things.”
Lisa nods. “Nothing works. My husband, Jim, has been trying a few things, and nada.” She shrugs. “You and Reggie should rest. I can’t sleep anyhow. My back’s killing me.” She rubs her lower back and grimaces. “Can’t wait for this baby to be out.”
“We’ll be down the hall,” I tell her. “Come knock if you need anything. I probably won’t be sleeping much, either.”
She waves us off, and I carry Reggie away. I have a new, grudging respect for Lisa. I’ve never been a huge fan of hers because there’s always been something a little too lackadaisical in her for my tastes, but her loyalty to Aunt Dru is unwavering. I make a mental note to insist that Aunt Dru give her a bonus payment if she wakes up.
When she wakes up, I amend. I’m not going to lose Aunt Dru, too.
With Reggie in my arms, I don’t even stop to consider where to take her. I take her straight to my room, where the bed is large and soft, and settle her in gently. She reaches for me, her eyes closed, and clings to my hand. As if I’d leave her. I kick my shoes off and study her clothes. We both changed out of our mud-crusted clothes earlier, and Reggie’s in a pair of pajama pants and an old, faded T-shirt. She looks comfortable enough fully dressed, and I pull her slippers off, wincing at how worn out they are. We’ll have to have a talk about Reggie’s cheapness when she wakes up.
Some other time, though. I tuck the blankets around her, then crawl into bed next to her. Reggie immediately turns toward me, snuggling up against my chest. “Tired,” she murmurs.
“I know.” I slide my arms around her, holding her close. She’s perfect like this, in my arms, the right height for me to breathe in the scent of her freshly washed hair and tuck her under my chin. It’s only because of Reggie’s steadfast presence that I haven’t lost my shit about Aunt Dru being cursed. If I were going through this alone . . .
I cut the thought off, because I don’t want to entertain it. I’m just glad Reggie’s at my side.
* * *
THE NEXT DAY, we wake up early. While we slept, Lisa and her husband made the final preparations for our flight out to Abernathy’s location. He’s in remote Pennsylvania, the address popping up in Amish country, so it’ll be fastest for us to take a quick plane trip out and then rent a car to drive the rest of the distance. Reggie wears a long coat over her clothes, and Lisa gives her a pair of black strappy heels to put on at the last minute. She’s borrowed something to wear from Lisa, but I don’t get a chance to see it just yet. I’m sure it’s fine. I dress in my favorite designer black suit, the tie chokingly tight around my neck.
Tonight, everyone’s going to see Reggie with me, wearing my cuff and my aunt’s cuff, and they’re going to judge. Rumors will fly, and before the end of the week, everyone with a drop of ambrosia in their blood will think I’ve stolen my aunt’s familiar. It doesn’t matter. If this is what it takes to rescue Aunt Dru, I’ll tarnish my reputation a thousand times over.
I just don’t want Reggie—or Aunt Dru—to suffer.
As if we’re on the same wavelength, Reggie touches the cuff on her wrist—my aunt’s cuff. “Should I take this off?”
I shake my head. “If you do, it can’t ever be put back on again.” I turn her wrist over, showing the symbol etched on the underside. “Because familiars are so important to a witch or a warlock, loyalty is valued above all else. To take off a cuff is stating that you’re done with that person.”
Reggie swallows hard, lifting her other wrist. “Then . . . you and I . . . Your cuff . . .”
It means I can’t take another familiar while Reggie wears it. It means if she takes it off, I can never claim her as my familiar again. “I know,” I say softly, running my thumb over her lower lip. “Worry about it another time.”
“I worry about everything. That’s what I do.” But she smiles up at me. “One problem at a time, right? We rescue Dru, and then we figure out the rest.”
“This might be just the first step,” I warn her. “Abernathy can’t break the spell, but he can tell us who put it on her. We handle it from there.”
Because I’m going to kill whatever bastard cursed an elderly woman. I haven’t mentioned that part to Reggie yet, but it lurks in the back of my mind, deadly. They’re not going to get away with this, whoever it was. I don’t care if I have to go into hiding for the rest of my days; whoever hurt my aunt—my family—is going to pay for it with blood.
33
REGGIE