Chapter 26

26

I really, really hoped this spell would hold out long enough to make it up the stairs unnoticed. If I spent one more night in close proximity to Jack, I was liable to attack him. The man had no right sleeping shirtless when he looked that good. At least with my invisibility spell in place, I wasn’t tempted to stare. Tempted to stop walking so that he bumped into me and I could subtly rub my backside against his groin, sure, but staring was safely off the table.

An urge that quickly took a backseat as we crept into the foyer, and I peered over the railing at the giant monster huddled in the center of the room. It was sitting for once, putting its slumped shoulders level with our faces, and I could make out jagged spikes of bone jutting through its inky black skin that matched the ones rimming its forehead like a crown. Its overlong arms were wrapped around its knees, and I could swear I heard it whimper while it rocked back and forth.

I leaned closer, pulling the others along with me, but froze when one of them sneezed. The giant jerked its head up and swiveled its face our way, eyes glowing bright green inside their recessed sockets.

Shit.

Squeezing Jack’s hand, I placed the toe of my boot on the first step while the giant stared straight through us, a look of confusion twisting its features into something almost childlike. But then its eyes narrowed into angry slits, and my heart kicked into overdrive as it slowly rose to its feet.

Time to move. Keeping my footsteps light, I tugged Jack and the others along behind me as I padded up the first flight of stairs, clearing the space just in time to miss being swept into the monster’s clawed hand when it swiped at the air in front of the door. It let out an annoyed huff that blew wind up the back of my cloak and had me itching to move faster.

A little more speed should be okay. Tenebris can keep up better than he lets on.

I picked up the pace, jogging up the next few steps.

A boot squeaked on the floor.

The monster swung.

Marble crunched beneath its meaty fist, smashing the banister and landing so close I had to swallow a scream. It wasn’t until Jack’s hand squeezed mine that I was able to move again, knowing the others hadn’t been hit. One step, two steps. I counted the stairs while I held myself in check, only moving as fast as our little chain could handle. When the monster made a strange noise, I ignored it.

The sound grew louder.

We kept on pushing. Three flights up, then four and five. It wasn’t until we were halfway there that I realized what it was I was hearing in the background: the giant creature was crying . I gawked at the hulking form as it hunched over, tears pouring down its horrific face while it pressed its fist to its mouth. Like a child with a boo boo.

What the fuck?

Jack nudged my back, the gentle touch reminding me of our precarious position and spurring me onward. Seventeen doors, eighteen doors.

A flicker of red caught the corner of my eye—the spell slipping free of my cloak. A glance over my shoulder, and my gaze met Jack’s, his pale green eyes only just visible in the light streaming down from above.

We were officially out of time.

Dropping each others’ hands, the four of us tore up the last two flights of stairs as fast as our feet could take us. I yanked open the twentieth door just when the monster let out a deafening roar, and waved the others through while I held it. Jack’s hand wrapped around my waist as he passed, pulling me into the room a moment before the monster’s claws struck the closing door.

I leaned into him, letting his strong arms hold me up while I caught my breath—until I realized what I was doing and stepped away with a shaky laugh. “That was close.”

“Too close,” Calum agreed, and I looked over to find him supporting Tenebris, who was about two shades of green away from barfing. Calum rubbed his back while holding him steadily upright. “And was it just me, or was that giant monster out there… crying?”

“That’s what I thought too,” Jack said.

I nodded. “I think it hurt its hand when it took out that chunk of the stairs.”

“Poor baby,” Tenebris muttered sarcastically, a sheen of sweat glistening on his angular face. “If only it’d hit something softer, like us.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “Gods, I miss being able to teleport. It was such a handy skill to have when brutish beasts started taking swings at me. Although right now, I’d settle for seeing this curse contained and us heading off into the sunset.”

“Wouldn’t we all,” I murmured as I finally took note of our new surroundings. “Holy…” My breath caught, and I gazed about in awe. “They sure don’t do things by halves in this place, do they?”

Where I’d been expecting a pristine hall with an elaborate altar, there were huge, thick trees full of twinkling lights and a wide path cutting through them. It led over a stone bridge dotted with glowing lanterns, a serene little stream winding its way beneath and disappearing into the woods. Farther down, I made out a clearing, the edges of which were lined with tall, columned arches draped with ivy and lush purple lilacs. Carved wooden pews filled the spaces on either side of the path with a moss-covered altar waiting at the end, raised atop a dais of similar stone and embedded with faintly-colored crystals.

And there, nestled between two golden chalices the size of wine bottles, was a decanter.

My heart tripped into overtime.

The artifact.

Wordlessly, I felt myself moving down the path as if led by an invisible hand. The others fell into step behind me, silent for once while the beauty and natural reverence of the room sunk in. My gaze remained fixed on the decanter as I stepped onto the dais. I stretched my hand out, tentatively stroking the smooth glass. Light emanated from its surface wherever my finger touched, leaving a brief, glowing trail in its wake.

“This is it,” I whispered.

“It’s beautiful.” Jack’s voice rumbled behind my ear, and I shifted to the side while he stepped onto the dais beside me.

Soft purple light surrounded us, and I gasped to see the muted crystals beneath our feet had started glowing. “How’d you do that?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jack replied, looking around in confusion. “I’m just standing here.” He stepped off the dais, and the light from the crystals dimmed. “Whoa.”

“Ooh, let me try.” Tenebris brushed past him to hop up onto the dais beside me. Nothing happened. He shrugged. “Maybe it just likes Jack.” He shuffled off, and Jack stepped back on. The crystals burst to life.

“Huh. They really do seem to like you,” I murmured, eyeing the glowing stones curiously. “I wonder…” I stepped off the dais, and the crystals immediately lost their light. “Weird. It’s almost as if…”

Jack’s hand reached out to wrap around mine, and he pulled me onto the dais beside him. Soft lavender light filled the space around us. “It likes us together,” he finished, his voice husky.

I swallowed, my body swaying closer to his. “How strange.”

His eyes hooded, his free hand settling at my waist as his head lowered in my direction. “Not so strange.”

My heart pounded frantically, slamming against my ribcage as if it, too, wished to be closer to the man standing before me, and my lips parted in anticipation. The tiniest of lifts up onto my toes and our mouths would line up…

“The artifact,” I blurted.

Jack blinked.

I reached for the crystal decanter, fingers wrapping around its narrow neck and drawing it in front of my chest like a shield. “We should see if it works for the, um, for the spell. Get this curse contained so we can go home.”

Jack took a step back. “Right.” He cleared his throat. “We should do that.”

“This is better than the soap operas they have in the outside world,” Tenebris whispered, and I looked over to find him and Calum sharing a pouch of sunflower seeds as they watched us. I narrowed my eyes, and Calum at least had the decency to look contrite. Tenebris merely grinned and tossed another seed into his mouth.

To think I actually used to sleep with that monkey.

Dark times, indeed.

“If you’re all quite done being idiots”—I gave Tenebris a pointed look—“we’ll begin.” I stepped off the dais and settled cross-legged on the grass, placing the decanter in front of me. “Now, obviously, this would work better if I had something from the original curse. A remnant from whatever was used to cast it.”

“Obviously,” Calum muttered facetiously, and I bit back a sigh.

Eh tu, Calum? I shouldn’t have left him alone with Ten-Ten so much. His personality was apparently contagious.

“And just to be clear, you have no idea how this all started?” I asked, glancing briefly in Jack’s direction without actually making eye contact. My body was still humming from our almost-kiss, and the last thing I needed was to get all flustered before attempting the spell.

“All I know is that it was like this when Noah and I got here,” Jack replied. “And from what Harp’s told me, it was cast about fifty years before that.”

“The same time the barrier settled over Mondue, cutting off access to the castle.” All of which we knew already. I took out my spell brush and tapped it against my thigh while I stared at the crystal decanter. If only I had something to place inside it, something to help draw the curse in. “If wishes were fishes,” I murmured, shaking my head as I reached for the potion pot.

I’d just have to nail the wording and hope for the best.

Closing my eyes, I pictured the monstrous creature in the foyer and the feral bats that beat against the shelter at night and envisioned them melting into shadows that flowed inside the decanter. With a slow, steadying breath, I dipped my brush into the potion and began to write over the diamond-cut crystal: maledictum, qui hoc castrum ligat, dimitte tene et intra .

Curse that binds this castle, release your hold and enter.

I scooped a pinch of spell sealant and blew. Please work.

No one spoke a word while we waited, tense-lipped and hyper-alert, for something to happen. Seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness, and we exchanged nervous looks, none of us knowing what to expect as the silence drew on.

But then the decanter started to rattle…

… and the ground began to shake.