Page 18 of Cursed
“Let’s not stick around to explain to the cops.” Seth unlocked the truck and pulled away before the squad car arrived.
Evan didn’t realize he was holding his breath until they were back in the flow of traffic. His shoulder ached, but he knew it could have been much worse. “Did they hurt you?” he asked.
Seth’s grim expression and locked jaw let him know how angry he was. “I might have a bruise on my jaw tomorrow,” Seth replied, and Evan could see where a red spot was starting to bloom. “I missed the worst of the punch, but he definitely intended to put me on the ground. How about you?”
“Got hit in the shoulder, but it could have been worse. Probably have a mark.”
“Did they say anything to you?” Seth asked. “Because he told me to leave and stay out of stuff that wasn’t our business.”
“That’s what the guy said to me too,” Evan replied. “What game is Vernon playing? He could have used magic to ambush us, or the toughs could have shot us. I’m glad that didn’t happen, but I don’t understand.”
“Jumping us is easy to pass off as an attempted robbery,” Seth said. “Murders in broad daylight get more attention. Even if Vernon has the police in his pocket, that kind of thing is hard to cover up, and it wouldn’t play well in a tourist town.”
“Do you think he knows we’re the ones who killed the other witch-disciples? He seems to see us as an annoyance instead of a threat,” Evan mused.
“I’m fine with being underestimated.” Seth glanced over to Evan. “Can you grab my phone and pull up the first text message? I sent myself Pax and Tony’s address. Then put it in the GPS.”
Evan’s hands shook in the aftermath of the fight as he took Seth’s phone. Seth seemed calm, but Evan knew that battle training and military experience helped Seth deal. That wouldn’t stop him from seething inside at the attack.
“On the downside, if he sent goons after us, it means he knows who we are and figured out it’s related to the ritual.” Evancalled up the directions and put the phone in its holder on the dashboard. “And we’ve made contact with Tony and Pax. Now all we have to do is get them to believe us.”
3
SETH
“We’ve figuredsomething out to make it work every time so far,” Seth said. “I honestly think Tony might not be a hard sell, considering how suspicious he was about that creepy guy. I wonder if he has some degree of psychic sensitivity, even if it’s latent.”
“I hope so. It would be a big help to have him on our side to win over Pax,” Evan replied.
As they drove, Seth kept an eye out for the man from the food lot or their attackers, but they seemed to have vanished. “If Vernon has his goon keeping an eye on Pax, then he means to make his move soon,” Seth said. “He’s not going to have someone stand there every day for a year.”
“Yeah, I thought of that,” Evan replied. “Either we got here just in time, or Vernon heard we were coming and moved up his timetable, making it our fault Pax is in danger early.”
“That actually works in our favor. We’re forcing Vernon’s hand, and hurried magic tends to be poorly done,” Seth responded.
They made sure to drive past the food lot again. A different musician played oldies on stage, but Seth caught a glimpse of Tony hanging out around the tables near Pax’s truck.
“While we know where they both are, I thought we could get a look at their house,” Seth said. They followed the GPS and found a tidy bungalow on a quiet side street that looked well-tended, and he pulled over with the pretext of studying directions so they could get a better look.
“They’re renting, so that limits some of the magical protections,” Evan mused. Seth knew that locations that were public—as in, not owned by the person who was the spell’s target—were more difficult to ward because the linkage wasn’t as strong.
“Not to mention that we can’t just hop the fence and start chalking strange sigils everywhere. I’m betting Tony has already made friends with the whole block. Someone would notice.”
They pulled away before their pause drew attention and turned down a side street to get a look at the rear of the house.
“If anybody comes in from the back, he’ll have to go through someone else’s yard to get to Pax and Tony’s,” Evan pointed out as they drove away. “Which requires more magic to avoid notice, and the neighbors’ dogs barking. I also spotted a couple of security cameras.”
“Okay, so Pax is reasonably safe for now,” Seth agreed. “But it will be a lot easier if we can convince both of them to go to a safe house in Charleston and sit out the big fight than trying to lock down a suburban neighborhood.”
“Agreed, but that’s probably going to be a tough sell. There’s no telling whether Pax has someone to cover for him if he can’t cook for a few days. Shutting down the truck means their income takes a hit, and that goes double if Tony isn’t playing,” Evan pointed out.
“Yeah, but we gotta give it a shot.” Seth took a route that drove past Legacy, Vernon’s legitimate restaurant. “Looks like Vernon is doing all right for himself.”
The location looked as upscale as the reviews and menu prices suggested.
“The local foodie blogs gush over how Vernon helps fledgling restaurateurs get their projects off the ground and participates in all kinds of fundraisers and food service education scholarship programs.” Evan looked up from his phone. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already reached out to Pax in some legit way to establish a connection and win his trust.”
Seth wrinkled his nose like he smelled something bad. “That’s just…sick. Like playing with your food.”
