Page 40 of Cursed
“We’re here for you,” Josh added. “Let’s play.”
Tony grinned. “You guys are the best. Thank you.”
Evan put one of Seth’s shirts on his lap beneath the drum to direct the spell’s energy to the right recipient. The source also mentioned cleansing, and Evan hoped that the magic might ease the curse since he was part of the casting.
“We need to pace ourselves,” Tony told them. “We want to play for at least an hour—as long as we possibly can. Start easy and feel the music. If we go faster later on, that’s okay. We just have to keep it up.”
“On three,” Tim said, and they readied their instruments. “One. Two. Three.”
The simple melody took on richer notes as all the instruments joined in. Tony had coached Evan on the rhythm he thought would work best, and Evan poured his will and concentration into maintaining the beat and adding to the harmony.
The first several repetitions didn’t feel like anything special. Evan began to worry that they had gotten it all wrong. But on the twelfth cycle, Evan felt energy begin to rise.
“Do you feel that?” Tony asked. “Keep going, it’s starting to build.”
Outside, the rain had picked up, adding a droning undertone to the song.
“We’re playing,” Evan said quietly to Seth, not sure how much Seth could hear of the music. “Sending the music magic your way. Hope it helps.”
“Keep it up,” Seth murmured into the link. “The power is building.”
Evan kept up the beat as muscle memory kicked in, helping him stay with the others. On the screen, he saw figures he guessed to be Seth, Rowan, Teag, and Caden walk into view. Kinsley’s coven would remain outside, while Caden’s friends locked down the area. If all went well, Nash and the ghosts would join them after they destroyed the anchor.
Seth and the others stayed in the shadows near the door, awaiting Vernon’s entrance. So far, the two guards inside the warded area hadn’t seemed to notice that Seth’s team had entered. That made Evan guess Seth’s people had used borrowed magic to cloak their approach.
“He’s coming,” Evan murmured when he spotted Vernon and his coven enter from the far side of the opening.
Vernon and the others didn’t bother with robes and hoods, dressed instead in black shirts and pants; each of them wearing identical large amulets. Evan couldn’t make out the shape of the necklaces, but he guessed them to be wrought of silver and bone.
“We welcome our honored guest,” Vernon said as he stepped into the warded circle and approached where Pax hung, motionless.
“I know you’re awake. Pretend all you like; you’ll give us what we came for before we’re through.”
Vernon paused, then he raised his face and slowly turned in place until he locked his gaze on the drone.
“Is that you, Evan Malone? There’s not much time left for you. Goodbye.”
With that, the drone’s camera flared white and then went dark.
“Drone’s down,” Evan said. “Audio from your team only.”
“Just play the music. We’ll handle the rest.” Seth’s mic clicked off.
Evan felt a moment of panic before realizing that hearing the battle without any reference to what was happening would be torturous. Still, he hated not knowing what was going on or that Seth was still alive.
Tony met his gaze. “Put everything you’ve got into the song. That’s how we can save them.”
Evan had kept up the beat despite everything, and now he closed his eyes and focused on the drumming, breathing deeply to still his thoughts.
Nothing matters except the song. The beat. Keep playing. Send the energy. Save them.
The song cycled again and again, and Evan felt the magic rise and build. He suspected it would feel even stronger if all the musicians were together in the same place, and hoped that doing it this way would be enough.
Outside, the wind howled, and rain lashed the RV, loud on the aluminum walls. Evan wondered if he was imagining that the storm and the song seemed to build at the same time.
He lost track of time, swept up in the beat, the song, and the rain. The forecast had called for showers but not a torrential downpour, nor had it mentioned the lightning that flared in the sky or the thunder that shook the RV.
Evan kept an image of Seth and Pax in his mind as he drummed, doing his best to will the rising magic toward them.
