Page 57 of House of Malice
25
October 3, 1950
“So, do we need the full moon for it or not?” Reverie asked, arching an eyebrow. “If the traditional spell requires a full moon to perform, and we do it on a waning moon, they’ll know immediately that it’s not a Fanhy coven witch.”
“Yeah, but we’re not Fanhy coven…” Rufus frowned. “Do we want people to think thatactualFanhy witches are doing this?”
They all looked at each other. Rufus was an excellent student, one of the most prominent minds of their generation. Yet sometimes he lacked even the most basic common sense.
Octavia rolled her eyes with a sigh, “Yes, we do want that, sweetheart. Otherwise, they’ll be looking too closely at Venefica.”
“They’ll be looking at Venefica either way,” Demitria pointed out, and they all focused their attention from the Book that lay open in the middle of the pool table to her. “It’s a place full of powerful witches, after all.”
“Yeah, but the police know we’re all rich, privileged brats who have no business committing ritual murders,” Reverie said.
“Little do they know, that’s all we do here at Venefica,” Alatar murmured in a singsong voice, and Galliermo chuckled.
“Let’s focus, guys,” Octavia said, pointing a finger at the Book. “The ritual needs a full moon. So we have a week and a half until we’re able to do this. Before then, we have to have all the ingredients we need and be fully ready.”
They all nodded.
“Galliermo, I’ll need you to go visit Gill. They like you the most out of our bunch,” Octavia said. “And don’t take Alatar. These ingredients are rare, and we need Gill to be in a good mood for this to work.”
Alatar crossed his arms. “Are you saying Gill doesn’t like me?”
Octavia blinked at him. “You really need to ask that after the last time?”
Galliermo barked a laugh, and Alatar waved a hand, dismissing the conversation. He didn’t like to be reminded of it.
Last time Alatar had been the one to go pick up stuff from Gill, they’d cursed the whole Inner Circle with firepox. Demitria was the only one unaffected, because she was a mortal and it was a witches’ disease, and if it weren’t for her caring for them all, they might not have gotten well as quickly as they had.
Firepox was a nasty sickness. One that could drive a witch mad, if it went long enough untreated.
“I’ll go,” Galliermo said to Octavia. “What is it that I need?”
“Siren’s ash and a tear from a half witch child,” Octavia said and Galliermo winced. “Yes, that is going to be expensive and difficult to get. That is why I need you to be on your best behavior.”
Galliermo nodded. He took Demitria’s hand into his and kissed the back of it. When they had a child, sometime in the future, it would be a half witch child, whose tears would be valuable and rare and whose life would be much harder than it ought to be.
“Now, Alatar, Rufus, and I will visit the Black Market to get the rest of the ingredients,” Octavia said. She looked at Reverie and Lyra. “I’ll need you to go consult with Oma Anika on how to store magic inside a crystal.”
“Why our grandma?” Lyra asked, frowning. “I’m sure we can find the answer in a textbook.”
“We could,” Octavia said, “but that is outside our abilities with magic currently. And if we want this to work, we have to do it right. Oma Anika is the only one I trust.”
“We’ll go see her,” Reverie said, looking as bored as ever. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
26
“There’s a dress code?” Alecto asked, making a face.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Jolene said. “It has to be a suit or a dress, and no casual shoes. Or boots, for that matter.”
Alecto sighed, putting her combat boots back in place. She looked at her wardrobe, unsure which one of her naked dresses would be appropriate for this event.
A white lace dress at the very back of her closet caught her eye. It had a tight bodice and a flowy skirt that ended just above her knees. It might be the only appropriate dress in her wardrobe. And it so happened to be her mother’s dress.
Without thinking too much about it, Alecto pulled out the dress and showed it to Jolene, who sat on her bed. The moment Jolene saw the dress, she nodded enthusiastically.
