Page 42 of Cursed
“I will. Go rest,” Tony told them. “And light a candle, or however you send good vibes. We need all the luck we can get.”
His friends closed their video windows, and Tony shut down his laptop. He looked at Evan with concern.
“I take it the tech didn’t work?”
Evan shook his head. “Vernon spotted the drone and shut it down. Seth turned off the audio feed since I didn’t have intel for them, and without the video feed, it would just be noise. But I hate not knowing.”
“I have to believe that they’ll win.” Tony looked as scared as Evan felt. “I refuse to think anything else until we know for certain.”
“I’ve always been with Seth during the fight—even the first time, when I was the sacrifice,” Evan replied. “While I might have been in mortal danger, at least I knew what was going on.”
He sighed. “They haven’t beaten Vernon yet. I’d feel it.”
“Give them time,” Tony urged.
Tony put his guitar to one side and moved their laptops. “Why don’t you lie down? I’ll sit in the chair, and that way we’ll be on hand when they get back.”
“But you’re sleeping here,” Evan protested. Tony had stripped the pull-out bed and refolded it into a couch before they started to play.
Tony gave him a look. “There’s no way I’m going to get back to sleep after all that, and you probably don’t want to be back in the bedroom until they come home.” He frowned. “We both should eat something. The spell took a lot of energy from both of us, and you were already dealing with the curse. Sit tight, and I’ll rustle up some food.”
“Thank you.” Evan accepted that Tony was right, both about resting and eating, although he didn’t want to do either. But fidgeting or pacing wouldn’t change anything, and he didn’t want to drain himself even more in case killing Vernon didn’t end the curse.
Evan didn’t lie down, but he got comfortable propped up on pillows. To his surprise, he drifted off into a fitful sleep. His mind conjured images from what little the drone had shown him, envisioning how the fight might have gone. In some versions, Seth and his allies won, rescuing Pax. In others, Vernon prevailed.
Evan woke with a start from one of the darker scenarios to find Tony sitting on the edge of the couch, gently shaking his shoulder.
“Sorry to wake you, but it didn’t seem like you were having a good time,” Tony said with a lightheartedness that didn’t reach his eyes.
“I made more coffee, and I figure you can’t go wrong with toast and jam.” He indicated a cup and plate on the end table. “Go ahead and eat. I don’t want to explain to Seth that I let you pass out.”
Evan sat up and stirred extra sugar into his coffee and drank it like an elixir, letting it warm him from the inside and drive away the chill that came with the aftermath of magic. He didn’t realize how much the spell had taken out of him and wondered to what degree the curse made it worse.
“How do you feel?” he asked Tony before he nibbled at the toast. “You should eat too.”
“I already ate,” Tony replied. “You were out cold. I feel tired, like I did a hard workout, but also jittery, like I had too many energy drinks. It’s an odd combination, but I’m guessing it’s from what it took to work the magic.”
Evan nodded. “Magic concentrates and redirects energy, but it doesn’t create it out of nothing. That’s part of the danger for the witch. Without enough preparation or if they don’t pay close attention, they can drain themselves to death. It’s why destroying his anchor and amulet is so important.”
Tony smiled. “I know the circumstances are awful, but I’m still blown away by having actually worked a spell. I thought that was just in books.”
Evan took a few more bites and gulped some coffee before he replied. “That’s how I felt when I first got involved with Seth. Now, we have so many friends who do all kinds of supernatural things that I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Should we have heard from them by now?” Tony asked.
Evan could see the fear in Tony’s eyes for Pax and knew the musician was unnerved by all the unfamiliar things that were going on around him. He appreciated Tony’s kindness in looking out for him despite his own apprehension.
“We’ll hear when we hear,” Evan replied. Despite his comforting words and positive attitude toward Tony, Evan worried about the same things.
“There’s no telling what could be happening around them that might not even involve Vernon, like dodging the police. We have to hang tight.” Evan hoped with everything in him that their friends would win the battle.
5
SETH
Seth hatedwalking away from Evan and leaving him behind, although he knew that Evan wasn’t up to joining the fight this time. If Evan went with them to confront Vernon and the curse took its toll, it could be a fatal distraction for them all.
His dream the night before about Jesse made the guilt over not being able to save him stung fresh and sharp. That just made Seth even more determined not to fail Evan.
