Page 36 of Witch Unbound
I cried out as heat bloomed between my thighs and shockwaves rippled across my lower belly and pelvis.
Ida stepped away, licking her lips, her eyes dark and bright as she looked into mine. “Good. That was…good.”
I looked away, needing a moment and probably some fresh panties too. “Are we done now?” I sounded breathless, probably because my heart was pounding like I’d run a sexathon.
“Yes.” Ida smiled tightly. “We’re done.”
I stood and shoved the stool back under the counter while she stuck a stopper in another vial, this one containing red mist. “Now it’s your turn. Get me into the abyss.”
She placed the vials in a cabinet across the room. “Are you sure you want to do this?” She turned to face me. “I’ve only ever done this spell once, and the person who went through didn’t make it back.”
Ice trickled through my veins. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Youdohave a choice, Cora. You chose to come here, after all. Look, I don’t care either way. I got what I wanted, but you’re a friend of Lauris, and you happen to be this anchor thing. Not sure of the deets, but I know you’re vital to the survival of humanity, so…I’ll ask again. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Fuck. I’d taken a risk by going after Jasper in Alaska and the Sons of Adam had drained me. I’d been lucky that Loke had given me a second chance at life, but here I was again, about to take another risk.
Could I justify this? What if I couldn’t make it back? What then?
“What about an anchor for her?” Lauris said from the stairway.
Ida looked across at him, unsurprised to see him there. “I guess we could do that.”
Seriously? “If that was an option, why didn’t you mention it?”
She smirked. “I wanted to see how determined you were. Level of determination can make a huge difference to possibility of success, or so I’ve heard.”
Bramble appeared behind Lauris, her wide eyes on me. “You okay?”
I nodded.
Ida rolled up her sleeves. “So, who’ll be Cora’s anchor?”
“I will,” Bramble and Lauris said at the same time.
“Fuck it, you both can,” Ida said. “Less chance of one of you getting yanked in after her.”
Wait. “That’s a possibility?”
“Honey, when it comes to the abyss, anything is possible.” She strode across the room to a door I hadn’t noticed and shoved it open. “We’ll do the spell in here, to prevent you from bringing anything undesirable back with you.”
It hit me how dangerous what we were about to do was, but it didn’t deter me. Jasper was in danger, and I was going after him regardless.
I just hoped I hadn’t left it too late.
Chapter Ten
The room was a pitch-black hole. Ida muttered something, and silver light that emanated from a multitude of painted symbols filled the small, windowless space.
“Protection runes,” Ida explained. “Keeps this space safe for the more dangerous spells.”
I stepped inside the circle painted on the ground. “I assume I need to stand here.”
“You assume correctly,” Ida said. “Bramble, Lauris, you two will stand outside the circle.” She pulled a switchblade from her pocket. “One second.” She left and returned with a small granite bowl. “I need blood from all three of you.”
We allowed her to slice and squeeze our palms so that our blood mingled in the bowl. She muttered more words that I didn’t quite catch, and the blood made a fizzing sound.
“You guys will be Cora’s plan B if things get hairy.” She looked to me. “This circle will be your safe zone. Once I shift you into the abyss and you leave the circle, you’re on your own. You’ll have to make your own way back to it to return here. However, if for some reason you can’t…” She took a green gem from her pocket and dipped it in the bloody bowl before holding it up. The blood clinging to the stone seeped into it. “If you can’t make it back to the circle, then you need to break this.” She handed me the gemstone. “It’ll activate the anchoring and yank you out. Do you understand?”
