Page 116 of Lunar Diamonds
This spell would allow us to see hidden magical activity for the next five hours.
The bubbling liquid turned a vibrant scarlet, six tendrils curling upward like a group of worms. They wriggled impatiently, waiting for the clap.
“Anti-cloak!” Isaac cried, prompting our synchronized clap.
The blue energy hit the worms, stirring them to leap at each of us.
A slippery warmth hit me between the eyes. A sheen of red passed over my vision as the liquid in the cauldron stopped bubbling with a whistle.
“Is it done?” I asked.
“Let’s check,” Aaron answered.
We hurried to a room in the east wing of the mansion on the third floor. It was an office area, filled with books and home to a huge computer with four large monitors.
I’d never seen so much paperwork in my life.
The balcony offered a decent view of the beach. Aaron opened the doors, the angry wind howling into the office, throwing papers everywhere. The drapes thrashed in a frenetic dance, a box of paperclips toppling off the desk.
“Oh, shite!” he yelled, leaning on the balustrade.
There were people gathered on the beach, close to the spill of rocks cutting the shore in half under the cliffs. Witches gathered around a fire, their hands in the air, surrounded by a series of spikes in the sand.
People hung from those spikes, resembling a crucifixion.
My heart leaped into my throat. “What the hell?” I squeaked out.
“We have to help them,” Isaac said, going for the door.
“It might be another trap, sir,” Alice warned.
“Or a blood ritual, by the looks of it,” Aaron said.
“I don’t care. I’m not sitting on my fucking hands anymore.” My brother stormed off.
Crap. “Isaac!”
I ran after him with Drake on my heels. We took the backstairs down to the beachside exit—a heavily fortified and secret route inside the house accessible from each floor.
The exit opened onto a set of sea stairs descending through the cliffs, ending at the sand at the bottom.
Isaac moved faster than me, clearing two steps on the sea stairs at a time. I held onto the railing for dear life, trying to keep up with him.
No matter how hard my heart pounded in my ears, he was right. We couldn’t stand back anymore and let things happen.
I dashed onto the sand, Aurora strength running hot, the hum of the moon boosting my courage.
Drake flanked me as I picked up speed, crossing the uneven ground easier than I expected.
I soon caught up with Isaac.
The closer we got to the fire, the worse things got.
People were strung up on wooden spikes, their feet tied and nailed into the wood. Their arms were fixed behind their backs, their top halves exposed to the elements. A red circle was drawn on their skin, a K in the middle—the symbol of House Kingwood.
They were all unconscious.
“Fuck me,” Isaac said.
