Page 97 of Witches of Dubious Origin
“Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.” Mamie glowered. As if the storm outside was responding to the rager happening inside the barn, the wind picked up, the rain pelted through thecracks in the dried old boards overhead, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled.
“You can’t beat me,” Ariana said. “Not anymore. And now that I have the book and your lovely granddaughter, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Isn’t there?” Mamie asked.
“No, there isn’t. I’ve waited a long time to be free,” Ariana said. Her fingers clenched tighter around my throat and I started to panic, bucking against her hold, desperate to get some oxygen.
“Stop it!”
“Let her go!”
“Darkwood!”
“Enough!”
The last voice was Olive’s and it left a chill in the air. “If you want freedom, we’ll be happy to assist you onward in your journey.”
Everything went gray, and I started to see spots when I was hit from the side by a truck—okay, it was Jasper—knocking me out of her hold and tucking me into his arms as we rolled across the barn floor, not stopping until we slammed into a half-rotten stable.
“All right, love?” he asked.
I spat a bit of moldy hay out of my mouth and sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Jasper rose to stand, pulling me up with him. I glanced up to see Ariana and Mamie squaring off. I wondered if this was going to be some magical duel where they each hit each other with spells until one of them won. It was not.
“Hold her,” Mamie ordered.
As one, Jasper, Miles, Olive, and Tariq raised their hands, and colors, like the ones I’d seen in the pool that night with Jasper, shot out of their palms—black for Jasper, blue for Olive, silver for Tariq, and white for Miles. The streams of color twined around Ariana. She raised her arms to ward them off, but there were too many of them.
With her arms trapped at her sides, she hissed at Mamie. “Just like last time, it took the power of the alliance to hold me.”
“Yes, but unlike last time, you’re not getting exiled, you’re being sent back beyond the veil.”
I watched as Mamie placed her hand on Ariana’s forehead and said, “Redire ad mortem.”
I didn’t need a translator to know it was a command to return to death. We collectively held our breath, waiting to see Ariana disappear beyond the veil, except she didn’t. She broke through their hold, shoved Mamie’s hand away, and said, “I told you, you can’t control me anymore.”
Ariana pulledEl Corazónout of her pocket. Her smirk was pure evil when she said, “You really shouldn’t have given Eloise full access to the BODO. I wonder what else, she—oops, I mean I—swiped from your collection. And I would have taken so much more had I not had to give up my host.”
“That’s it!” Olive started to glow. A bright blue light covered her entire body and glowing blue embers shone in her eyes.
“Try me, Fae witch,” Ariana snapped.
Olive launched herself at Ariana, and there was an explosion of sparks and flames as Miles, Mamie, Jasper, and Tariq joined the fray. I didn’t have that sort of power—not yet—but I desperately wanted to help.
Heat seared my hands and I yelped. The grimoire wasglowing bright red. My color! I held it on my open hands, blinked a few tears onto the lock, and said, “Show me.”
The book popped open and the pages fluttered. It didn’t go all the way to the end but rather stopped in the first section. I looked at the symbols and sighed. It was as incomprehensible…I closed my eyes. I heard Mamie’s voice when I was a little girl.Believe, mon chaton.And Jasper’s voice.Belief is the fuel required for magic to exist.
I opened my eyes. I glanced at the ancient page in front of me. The symbols that had been impossible to decipher just hours before started to rewrite themselves on the page in words I could actually read. They were Latin-based, but that was okay. I could work with that.
A yell sounded and I glanced up to see Tariq sail across the barn and crash against a far wall while Miles went down in a poof of white smoke. It was not going well for my team.
I glanced down at the book and scanned the page. According to the grimoire, there was only one way to rid ourselves of the revenant of a dark witch who was bound by vengeance. Following the instructions, I placed my hand palm up on the open page and concentrated on the words I’d read.Mihi pugionem mortis trade.
When I felt the weight of cool metal, I opened my eyes to find a lethal-looking dagger resting on my hand. The Dagger of Death had been delivered per my request. I felt its weight in my soul. I scanned the page one more time, ignoring the shouts as my grandmother and friends fought for their lives.
I closed the grimoire and its lock snapped shut. “Trust me,” I said as I clutched it close. I held the dagger at my back, then rushed forward just as Ariana dropped Olive to herknees and looked to be about to finish her off with a magical strike.
