Chapter 10

H ad we all ridden to the culvert in one vehicle, the quarters would have been close on the backseat. The predictable squabble between my siblings, as to who would be forced to sit next to Harrow, would have broken out in record time. I had enough anxiety about what I was about to do without them adding to it.

They still didn't know Lyle had tipped off the sentinels, so they treated Harrow like he had tested positive for bubonic cooties. But, if they started acting nice to him all of a sudden, he would get suspicious, and then I would have to admit I told them the truth, and then we would end up in our feelings, and then I would really rather not face the fact he left me for different reasons than the ones I was used to blaming.

Ugh.

Then there was the whole Kierce thing. Yeah. I had the absolute worst taste in guys.

As if she could tell I was thinking about him, Badb made a pitiful rasping noise from her seat beside me. I had no doubt her decision to tag along was the only reason Josie let Matty sit up front. Josie wasn't a fan of the crow, which resulted in the crow doing unto Josie as Josie did unto her.

"Are you ready?" Matty patted the vintage bowler's bag in his lap. "This is all you."

"We need to lay this spirit to rest." I pulled into the same parking lot as before, and Carter wasn't too far behind me. "Her soul has earned its peace."

"Does your, uh, client need help?" Josie sat beside Mr. Collins. "I can get his door."

"Tell her thanks." Mr. Collins mimed gripping the handle. "I've got it."

Going through the motions, he pulled the latch then stepped through the metal onto the sidewalk.

"He says thanks," I passed along his words, "but he let himself out."

Us Marys exited the wagon, Badb surging over us, and met with Harrow and Carter.

Together, the seven of us set out for the culvert.

"What do you need from me?" Harrow snagged the spot beside me. "How can I protect you better?"

He would have earned more points for his concern had he not been tracing the arc of Badb's flight as we spoke. His fixation, and the leaf situation, left me twitchy about what came next.

"I brought a rope." I touched my waist. "I'm going to knot it around my torso and let you hold it."

"That's your plan?" Josie abandoned Carter. "That's how fishing works, you know."

"Dangle the bait," Matty agreed, "and wait for a bite on the line."

"Frankie brought more than hope and a rope." Carter punched my upper arm. "You did, right?"

"Thanks, guys, for your votes of overwhelming confidence in me," I muttered. "I'll cherish them always."

Above us, loudly, Badb pitched her lot in with mine.

"Mr. Collins." I laid down the ground rules. "No matter what you hear or see, do not interfere."

A feeble nod was all he gave me, too focused on the water, dread blurring his features.

At the guardrail, I set my first precaution in place. I knotted a rope soaked in rosemary, lavender, and lemon essential oils around my middle then passed the end off to Harrow. A twitch under Matty's eye was all he showed of his guilt and anger. Even though the Suarezes kept his body in shape through their labor at the shop, he wasn't strong enough for this. Harrow, who was built wider and in good health, was the better choice.

I wasn't choosing him over Matty, and my brother knew that, but it hurt him not to make the cut.

Josie looped an arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder, showing her silent support of him.

"Focus on the task," Carter said softly. "Your family is safe, minus a bruised ego."

"You don't understand," I replied, just as softly. "It kills Matty when he can't protect me."

"I understand it will kill you if you can't put him out of your mind."

There was no arguing that logic, so I put her advice to work, blocking out everything but the task ahead.

Shouldering my bag, I kept my supplies close as I set up a wide ring of candles with me in their center. To accommodate Harrow, who was required to join me inside the circle lest the rope disrupt my ward, I put out every single candle. I screwed them widdershins an inch into the muck then created a secondary line of protection with raw chunks of black tourmaline, hematite, obsidian, and shungite.

Satisfied with my precautions, I positioned Harrow behind me, indicating he should pivot in place while I walked clockwise around the circle, murmuring a soft chant, igniting the wicks with a silver lighter.

Magic whooshed from the flames, creating an iridescent bubble above us. I knelt and brought out a gold athame, an abalone shell, and a bundle of white sage harvested from Josie's herb garden. I lit the tip and let the rich smoke unfurl over my head, unspooling in a hazy shroud that obscured everything.

"Here we go," I warned Harrow, my breath stirring faint eddies.

This was a two-part plan. I had to summon the spirit onto dry land, cutting her off from her element and therefore her power, to then banish her. As with any other fishing expedition, to borrow from Josie, I required a tempting lure. For a vengeful spirit, blood was good. Blood from a victim who had escaped? Irresistible.

Using the athame to slice across my palm, I made a fist and squeezed blood into the abalone shell.

Then I trained my gaze on where I knew the water to be and let the scent do its job.

"Frankie."

Angling my head toward Harrow while keeping my eyes forward, I demanded, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He shifted his weight, the rope hitching with his movement. "Frankie?"

"Nothing." I swallowed, convinced my mind was playing tricks on me. "I'm good."

Time passed slowly in our bubble, but as my muscles began protesting, a splash set my heart racing.

"Audrey?" Mr. Collins called out. "Is that you?"

An unholy screech rent the air, and impact knocked me backward into Harrow's legs, bowling him over. I had a split second to process a murky brown figure downing my offering with eager slurps before she flung the shell.

The ward.

She had broken the ward.

How?

Water punched me in the face, shooting up my nose and plunging down my throat. Her magic hooked in my lungs, allowing her to drag me. Thrashing in her slimy grip, I gurgled and choked as Harrow threw his weight into holding on to the rope.

"Frankie."

There it was again.

Oxygen deprivation fizzed like bubbles in my ears, but the voice sounded closer.

With the ward down, the smoke cleared, and I beheld the churning void waiting to devour me. No. Not a void. Through the whirlpool I detected dreary gray light shining at the bottom of the culvert.

A fresh wave of dizziness swept through me as black dots winked like dying stars in my vision.

Within seconds, howling voices flooded my head with their eagerness to consume me.

The world swayed as cold water lapped at my feet and then my ankles, climbing up my body as the asrai dragged me to her lair, determined to finish what she had started, eager to strip the flesh from my bones.

More happened between the damp hitting my thighs and then rising up my chest, but I don't recall specifics. I blinked under the moon and then I was submerged, swirling into the dark heart of the weirdly lit vortex.

The creature sank her claws deeper into my legs, tightening her grip, but I didn't feel a thing.

Probably not a good sign.

Her hunger shifted into bewilderment as a glowing ember lit the darkness. She released one hand, confident I was past struggling, and cradled the teardrop of light, its serrated edges radiant. Delight rendered the lines of her harsh face beautiful.

I was losing time. Losing my mind. Because I swear I saw a figure step from the cold brightness below.

A vein of lightning struck above me, spiderwebbing across the surface, and the water boiled with it.

I didn't feel that either.

Definitely not a good sign.

Then I lay on the concrete bottom of the now bone-dry culvert with a smudge bent over me.

Had my heart not decided this was the ideal time to go for a coffee break, I might have smiled up at him.