Page 38 of Cursed
Evan’s excitement dimmed. “We have to be careful about bringing more people into this for their safety as well as ours.”
“We can do a video session.” Tony’s enthusiasm was infectious. “I’ve got friends in town who would be excited about jamming with us. And if you want to limit the new people, how are you on drums?”
“Passable. I was in a band for a little while back in high school. I can keep a rhythm, but I don’t own a drum anymore.”
“You can bang on a pot. It will work,” Tony assured him. “That’s all we need. I can show you the beat. Then we start playing at the right time and repeat to build up the energy. That should help you feel better and also send extra power to Seth for the fight.”
“It would be better not to tell your friends what we’re really doing if we can avoid it.” Evan met Tony’s eyes. “I don’t want to lie to them, but we don’t want to put them in danger.”
“We’re asking them to play an obscure piece of music at dawn over and over to raise magic. We’ve got to give them a good reason. They know Pax, and they’ll want to help rescue him,” Tony countered.
Evan looked from Tony to Seth. “You’re right. I guess we’re going to have to tell them at least a version of the truth. When should we work the musical spell?”
Seth sat back in his chair, finally pulling his attention away from the grimoire, and drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. “Vernon is an elemental witch, so he can affect the weather. There’s supposed to be a storm front coming in tomorrow, and that could feed him extra energy. The music magic could counter that and send us more power.”
“How would we know when to start and how long to play?” Tony asked.
“I can signal Evan right before we go in,” Seth said. “If you start then and keep playing, maybe we can hijack some of that storm energy, or at least match it.”
“My friends love a good jam session,” Tony assured them. Despite the late hour, he made several quick calls and found his friends still awake.
Tony explained as much as he could and asked them to be ready at sunrise, which was now only a few hours away. To Evan’s surprise, the friends agreed right away, enthusiastic about helping.
Evan yawned and looked at his watch. “We’d better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day.”
Seth packed a duffel bag full of everything he would need for spells and combat, including weapons and the grimoire. Evan followed him around, feeling helpless but resolved not to miss a minute of their time together before the battle.
They helped Tony get settled in the living room and set out a towel for him in the bathroom before getting cleaned up and heading for bed. Seth rolled toward Evan, staring at him in the near-darkness.
“How are you feeling? Did Rowan and Teag really help?”
Evan heard the worry in Seth’s voice and reached out for him, nestling close with his head against Seth’s chest. “Yes, it helped. I can tell that there’s something wrong with me, but it’s better than it was. And I’ll keep pushing through to help as long as I’m able.”
“I’m so sorry that Vernon managed to put the whammy on you.” Seth’s voice was low and intimate in the darkness. “He wasn’t trying to make a deal to get us to back off. This is his bid to save himself and the rest of the witch-disciples by stopping us. He figured out that forcing our hand was the only way to do that.”
“Please, come back to me.” Evan leaned in to kiss Seth, putting all his love, worry, and passion into the press of his lips and the touch of his hands. “I need you.”
Seth kissed him, urgent and claiming. “I love you, and I don’t want to live without you. I won’t let him take you away from me,” he promised. “Just hang in there until we stop him. I fail if I don’t save you.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.” Evan sealed his promise with another kiss, then burrowed against Seth, listening to his heartbeat as they finally fell asleep.
They woke before dawn.Tony had a fresh pot of coffee waiting for them, as well as a plate of no-bake oatmeal cookies. He looked haggard but wore a stubborn expression that dared either Seth or Evan to mention it.
“I wanted to have something ready for breakfast.” Tony shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Seth filled a cup for Evan and then poured one for himself, using the coffee to wash down the cookies. “I wish I could mainline the caffeine.” Seth blinked his eyes, struggling to wake up in spite of having doused his face in cold water.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Evan heard the patter of rain on the RV’s metal roof. “The storm is starting.”
Seth took Evan’s hand. “Storm energy is neutral—it’s not rooting for us or Vernon. He’s probably planning to co-opt it, but if you and Tony can make the music magic work, that could make a big difference. It could help us get an edge.”
He and Evan had slept fitfully, even though they were always touching in some way throughout the night.
Seth’s phone pinged, and he glanced down. “Everyone’s ready. I’m meeting up with Rowan and Teag. Kinsley’s coven will meet us at the site. We’re supposed to swing by to convoy with Caden and their bodyguard folks. Nash has the ghosts lined up,and he’s heading for the monster restaurant as soon as the sun is up. I doubt we’ll surprise Vernon, but he’s going to get hit from all sides. And if he intended to do the ritual tonight, we might get a jump on him, for once.”
Seth drained his cup and set it aside. “Time to go.”
Evan caught him by the shoulders and kissed him hard, trying to put all his love and hope into the connection. “I love you. Come home safe, and bring Pax with you.”
