Redemption (17 page)

“The spell room?” I ask Asher quietly.

Lunette smiles brightly. “Yes, it’s a room
in my home where I do spells.”

McKenna rolls her eyes. “Original.”

Asher stands and laces our fingers together.
“We’ll be back shortly.”

Keegan leans in, whispering something to
Asher that I can’t make out. He nods and pulls me toward Lunette.
We follow her tiny body into the small kitchen. She opens a door
and nods her head down the set of stairs.

“Your spell room is in your basement?” I
inquire.

“Where else?” Lunette cackles and motions
for us proceed.

Malefica follows behind as we descend into
the darkness.

12
The Scrolls

If it weren’t for the
fact that Asher’s hand is clutching mine in a death grip, I might
run away. The basement of the cottage smells like incense and the
stairs creak as we make our way into the blackness. Within seconds,
Lunette has a lit candle sitting in an old fashion holder. The
sorceress uses the small light to guide us into her spell room.

“I apologize, dears, for the dark dramatics.
I use candle magic when I perform spells, therefore I don’t have
electricity down here,” she explains in a light, airy tone.

I swallow. My life gets weirder and weirder.
Shouldn’t I be picking a major at this point? Not following
sorceresses down to dark basements. I exhale loudly.

Asher tightens his hold on my hand, like
he’s in my head and knows at any minute, I plan to throw my hands
in the air and say this is fucking ridiculous, which for the
record, I’m seriously thinking about doing.

Lunette turns to face us. The single flame
illuminates her face. “Please, have a seat.” She motions to the
floor. I stand, unsure before Asher tugs me down, still grasping my
hand.

Lunette busies herself with lighting several
candles haphazardly placed around an altar.
Fabulous. All she
needs is a sacrificial virgin.
Malefica lies in front of me,
snoring away as if this is an everyday occurrence.

“It’s vervain,” Lunette says, breaking
through my crazy internal rant.

My eyes shift to Asher in question because
I’m pretty sure neither of us said anything.

“I’m sorry?” I ask.

“The incense I use is vervain. It helps give
my spells a little umph. That way, we don’t get lost somewhere, or
stuck with the vampires. Then again…nothing is ever set in stone,”
she says quietly then begins to hoot. “Oh my dear, so sorry, Asher.
I meant no disrespect.”
Wow, maybe she’s been sniffing the
incense a bit too long.

“None taken,” Asher says but his tone is
anything but forgiving and his body is rigid.

“Eve, dear, I use the incense because it
symbolizes air. As the smoke rises, it takes our thoughts with it,
protecting us from darkness. Vervain is also a weakness amongst
vampires.” Lunette smiles at me. “Sorceresses are targets for the
blood suckers because our blood powers them. On occasion, while we
spell, they like to snack.”
Of course they do.

My wide eyes flick to Asher. He just shrugs
and inhales.

“Feel free to relax while I perform the
cleansing and blessing,” Lunette encourages.

I’ll get right on that.

The candlelight has brightened the room now,
allowing me to take in our surroundings. There’s a large table
pressed against the far wall with various candles in different
sizes, shapes and colors, as well as candelabras. Along with more
gemstones and a few vintage books, a large circular throw rug
covers the floor while gigantic pillows adorn it.

Ironically, there’s a brick fireplace that’s
unlit with a black cauldron on top of it, causing me to release a
soft chuckle.

Lunette’s eyes meet mine in whimsy. “That’s
just for show, dear.” She nods to the cauldron. “Other supernatural
beings tend to stereotype. Especially when they are in need of
magic.”

“I see.”

Once Lunette is done with her cleansing, she
takes two candles, one white and one black, and two lighters then
sits on the floor across from Asher and I, placing both candles in
front of us.

“I make them myself.” She motions to the wax
lights. “They’re made from beeswax, which makes them more powerful
because they come from nature.”

I just smile.

“Asher, dear, please put out your hands for
the oils,” she asks and he does. Carefully, Lunette watches as
three drops of oil drip onto Asher’s hands. Then she proceeds to do
the same with me. “I need you both to dress the candles.”

“How do we do that?” Asher asks.

Lunette moves the white candle to him. “Take
the lotus oil and run it on the candle in a downward motion. The
direction is important. To bring something to you, like the
scrolls, you must start at the top and move downward to the middle.
Then from the bottom to the middle,” she instructs and Asher
complies.

Moving the black candle to me, the sorceress
instructs me in the same manner. Once both candles have been
dressed, Lunette dabs a portion of the lotus oil onto her third eye
and breastbone. Asher and I copy the motions with what’s remaining
of the liquid on our hands.

“Repeat after me, please,” she asks. “I
cleanse and consecrate these candles in the name of the Sorceresses
of the Black Circle. May they burn with strength in the service of
the light. Sorceresses of the Black Circle, we ask you to guide the
daughter of Heaven, the prince of the gargoyles, and the guardian
of the scrolls to the black circle unharmed then return us, when
ready, with ease and safe passage to the magic dimension.”

Lunette pulls a black handled dagger from
her metal belt. “It’s an Athame, dear,” she answers my questioning
expression. “I must inscribe each candle with a travel symbol so
that when I do the spell, it will take us directly to the intended
destination.”

On each candle, she draws symbols I don’t
recognize in the same pattern we used to dress them. Top to middle
and then bottom to middle. Once satisfied, she places the candles
in front of us and hands both Asher and I a lighter.

“Eve, dear, please light the white candle in
front of Asher. Then Asher will light the black candle in front of
you.”

Once we do, Lunette takes our unlaced hands
in hers, forming a circle around the two lit candles. She closes
her eyes and begins to chant quietly in Latin.

Everything goes black and quiet. I’m no
longer able to feel Lunette or Asher’s hands.

“Asher?” I call into the darkness.

“Lunette?”

Silence.

The only sound is my breathing, which is
coming out in short, frightened gasps. I start moving around,
placing my hands out in front of me since I can’t see anything, and
that’s when I trip.

“Shit,” I curse as my hands and knees hit
the hard ground.

I feel around the floor to see what I
tripped over and that’s when I feel the wax.
Crap. Lunette and
Asher must have traveled and left me in the basement.
Keeping
one hand on the candle, I feel around the dark for the lighter,
figuring I dropped it when the room was engulfed in black. After
several attempts, my hand lands on it.

I flick the top open so the flame appears
then light the candle. The small flame does nothing to illuminate
the room.

I move the candle around, but I see nothing
that resembles the spell room we were just in.
Awesome. The
crazy witch sent me somewhere else.
This is just one big
dungeon of dark.

“Asher?” I call out louder into the
darkness.

This time, I hear a light pounding, like
banging on plexiglass. I move the candle around to see where the
sound is coming from but see nothing. Sighing, I lower the candle
back to the ground to sit, only to see another flame swaying in
front of me at eye level. I crawl toward the second flame but smash
into something hard before I reach it.

My eyes water as my nose begins to
sting.

“Ouch. Fuck. Shit!” I scream out, grabbing
my now bleeding appendage.

“Siren?” Asher’s muffled voice barely makes
it through the wall.

“Asher?” I call out with no answer, so I try
again more forcefully.

“Siren! For fuck’s sake…are you with
Lunette?” I think that’s what he said. It’s hard to hear.

“No. Aren’t you?” I scream at the top of my
lungs.

“No. Why are you shouting?” he
questions.

I exhale and drop my forehead to the wall
while continuing to wipe away the blood trickling out of my bruised
nose. “I can barely hear you. Where are you?”

He’s quiet for a moment. “I’m not sure. I’m
in an all white room. The light in here is so fucking bright that I
have to keep my eyes shut.”

“Why do you have the candle lit?” I ask,
closing my eyes, trying to push the pain away.

“It’s always been lit. Where the fuck are
you?” I hear him begin to bang on wall panels.

“I don’t know. I’m in a dark room. There’s
no light. I had to crawl around to find the candle and lighter.
More importantly, where the hell is Lunette?” I sniff in the
blood.

“Are you crying? Don’t panic, siren. I’m
going to get you out of there,” he assures.

“I’m not crying. I bumped into the wall and
I think I broke my nose,” I yell.

There’s silence before I hear a muffled
version of Asher’s laugh.
What the fuck?

“You smacked into the wall?” he muses.

“It’s pitch black in here! You know what,
you suck, gargoyle,” I retort.

“All right, let me think,” he says through
the barrier.

I turn and push my back to the wall, because
my face hurts and I know we’ll be in here for a bit. After a long
stretch of silence, and tons of over thinking, I need a
diversion.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,” he answers distracted.

“How does Lunette know about your
piercing?”

Silence.

“Asher?”

“She was the one who pierced me,” he answers
dryly.

“What?”

“I lost a bet with Callan. If I lost, I was
to get the piercing. Lunette is into Kama Sutra and she is the one
who I trusted to do it.” His tone is lined with aggravation.

“Well, that’s…just…odd.” I sigh and let my
head fall back onto the wall.

“Is there anything else in your room,
siren?”

“Ash, it’s pitch black. I can’t even see my
hand.”

It goes quiet again, although I can hear
Asher moving around in the connected space.

“What was the bet?” I ask.

“Huh?”

“The bet?” I raise my voice louder.

“Is that something you really want to know,
siren?”

“I asked, didn’t I?”

It sounds like he released a heavy moan but
it’s hard to tell. “A few years ago, I was seeing a celestial nymph
named Hesperia.”
Oh God, do I really want to know?
“Anyway,
being a human, you’re probably not familiar with nymphs but they
tend to be quite…beautiful, free and sexually precocious.”

“I see.” I groan inside.

“They’re also a bit selfish. You know, the
attention seeker type,” he adds.

“Sounds like your ‘type’,” I say quietly,
thinking about Morgana, the beautiful dark-haired gargoyle from the
Manhattan clan that threw herself at Asher in an attempt to
rekindle his affections.

“Hesperia was free spirited. She usually
walked around naked and danced in the middle of forests and stuff.
I liked that she was…animated.” His voice is wistful.

“I’m sure you did.” I roll my eyes.

He chuckles. “Nymphs are not known to
exhibit a lot of self-control. They have a strong desire to engage
in sexual behavior. Callan was tired of Hesperia walking around
naked all the time whenever she’d visit with me.”

“I’m sure he was,” I mumble.

“Anyway, he bet me that I couldn’t go a
month without jumping her. Since I’m not one to back down from a
challenge, I agreed. In turn, I bet Callan that if I could, he
wasn’t allowed to bake another cookie, ever again. If I lost, he
wanted me to study Kama Sutra with Lunette to learn how to,
um…control myself.”

“I don’t get it. How did the piercing come
into play?”

“As we made the bet, Hesperia walked by us.
Naked. At the site, Callan upped the ante. If I were to lose the
bet within an hour of making it, I had to get the apadravya
piercing.”

I scrunched my face in disgust. “Why that
piercing?”

“In the history of Kama Sutra, it’s the most
painful piercing someone can get. That said, it’s also the most
pleasurable for women. So even though I lost, siren, I still won.”
His voice is cocky and smooth.

“That’s the dumbest story I have ever
heard,” I reply while blushing. “Wait, you have the piercing. Are
you saying you couldn’t even go an HOUR?” I exclaim in
disbelief.

“Siren, she was a naked nymph,” he says
slowly as if I should understand.

“Oh my God, you’re so gross,” I huff.

“Say whatever you want, siren. I know you
like the silver balls,” he mocks.

Still blushing, I stand. “You know what, I’m
sorry I asked. Let’s just get out of here, find Lunette and maybe
kill her.”

“Deal.”

My eyes scan the blackness before landing on
a small shadow that my body is casting from the lit candle. “Ash, I
have an idea. Maybe I can pull the dark energy and teleport into
the room you’re in.”

“Are there shadows in the room?” he asks
with caution.

“I can make some,” I offer. “With the flame
from the candle.”

“Siren, I’ll manipulate the dark energy.
There are no shadows in this room for you to move into because it’s
too bright,” he orders.

“Okay. I place the candle on the ground and
stand in front of it, creating an outline of my silhouette on the
wall. I close my eyes, hoping this works.

After a few moments, I feel warm palms on my
cheeks and Asher’s thumb moving over my bottom lip.