Page 89 of Wicked Thirst
“Here you go.” Adrienne passed the book over to Zinnia. “Just follow it perfectly.”
“Perfect, right, got it.” She took the book. “No big deal.”
Moira placed her hand on my shoulder as she passed me on her way out. “Good luck.”
When the door to the dungeon swung shut with a deafening thud, I was alone with Zinnia, Astrid, Ophelia, Tabi, and Serrina. My stomach twisted into knots and nervous energy shot through my body. I knew it wasn’t a cure to the curse, but this was one step closer. If we captured Gray, they might be able to figure out what was wrong with him, and that meant I was one step closer to getting him back. I might end up killing him for not telling me any of this, but I had to save him . . . before I killed him.
“What now?”
Zinnia stepped into the cell, and we all followed her in. “Now they lock us in.”
Tuck reached for the door to the cell and slammed it shut. “Love the idea of locking my soulmate in with a crazy bloodthirsty vampire.”
“Hey, I’ve got it under control now,” I teased, trying to break the tension of the moment.
Zinnia reached through the bars and cupped his cheek. “Now weld it shut. Once he’s in, I don’t want him to get out.”
Tuck looked at the bars and hesitated. “Then how will you get out?”
“I think that’s why I’m here.” Beckett moved in closer to him and met Zinnia’s eye. “I'll make sure you get out.”
Astrid blew him a kiss. “I know you will.”
“Enough with the PDA. Ew.” Ophelia gave a visible shudder. “Are we here to summon a killing machine or what?”
Zinnia chuckled and shook her head as she stepped back from the bars. Tuck placed his hands on the seam between the bar and the door. Fire and sparks shot from between the two as the metal melted together into one solid block. He ran his hands over it like a sculptor molding clay. It looked molten and dripping, but as he moved his hands up and down, it smoothed over, quickly turning into a thick bar. When he stepped back, he crooked his finger at me.
“Give it a kick.”
I moved toward the door, planted one foot, and kicked out with the other. The room rocked and dust fell to the ground, but the bars didn’t budge. “Well done.”
“Yeah, welding seems to be a new talent.” He stepped back and crossed his arms. “Now for the hard part.”
Zinnia waved me closer. “Join us, Piper.”
The others all stood in a circle. Zinnia placed the book on the ground and pointed toward it. “O, can you draw the symbol on the ground? Do you have the stuff we need?”
“Don’t ask silly questions, sis. Do I have what we need? Duhhh.” Ophelia reached into her potion pouch on her hip and pulled out a vial of white powder. She shook it up and let the dust fall into her palm. She closed her eyes and cupped her hands together, holding it close to her mouth. Grey smoke swirled around her hands, and when she held her palm up, the white powder glowed. She held it up to her lips and blew on it. The powder soared up into the air and mixed with her grey smoke. It spun around in a whirling circle and started to drift toward the floor in slow motion. The tiny particles landed in a perfect circle. She waved her hand and more lines ran through the middle of it.
I tilted my head to the side. “Is that a triquetra?”
“It’s the symbol that’ll let us tap into the powers of the Witches that came before us and those who will come after us. It represents the stages we go through: the maiden, the mother, and the crone.”Zinnia waved toward the three points in the circle.
Ophelia dusted her hands off. “Piece of cake. You’re up, vamp.”
“Blood of the vampire.” Zinnia read part of the spell. “You’re his progeny so your blood will work.”
I raised my wrist to my lips and gave my skin a little nip. Blood trickled from my arm and I held it over the symbol on the floor. The second my blood hit the mark it quaked beneath our feet. My eyes widened and I held my arms out to keep my balance until it ended. “Is that right? Did I do it right?”
Zinnia licked her lips. “Everyone has to let their power flow all around us, even you, Piper, you have to let your blood magic go for this to work.”
“What do I do with it?” I was so new to all of this that I wasn’t even sure what to do.
“Don’t you worry. Just open it up to me, and I can do the rest.” Zinnia let her silvery magic flow from her hands. It wound around her body in dazzling circles and struck the center of the symbol. The others followed suit. Streams of yellow ribbons came from Tabi. They bounced over the ground until they too struck the center of the symbol. Serrina was next, and her red sparks flew across the room and landed next to Tabi’s. Astrid’s golden, glittering power looked more like Zinnia’s, except it was more direct as it arched over the others like a rainbow and landed in the middle. Ophelia opened her hands, and her grey smoke crept over the ground like fog in a graveyard. It rolled and slithered toward the symbol.
When they all looked toward me, I swallowed down my doubts and let my power flow from my body. I reached down deep into the well of my stomach and pulled at it, letting it go little by little. Red mist seeped from my body and moved toward the symbol. It wasn't as controlled as the others, it was more like a swarm of bees moving through the room. When it hit the symbol, the circle glowed even brighter.
“Good, Piper, now don’t pull back, ”Zinnia warned, “no matter what happens.”
