Page 113 of When Bones Whisper
“It will not help her escape,” Nathaniel stated.
“Portals go both ways,” Alexander pointed out. “If Katherine can find a spell to temporarily open it, as a portal to allow the demon through, then Charlotte can escape and come back to her body.
Katherine shook her head. “It’s not just her in there. It’s a prison for a reason. There are demons in here and if they get ou—”
“I don’t care,” Nathaniel stated harshly. “Unleash Hell on Earth if you must. Just do what you must. What do you need?”
“The name of the demon,” Katherine stated.
It’s Delanie! Delanie Lysanmore.
Charlotte yelled the name repeatedly in her mind, but it didn’t reach them. Only Duke watched her, his tail flicking as she tried to get the name across to them.
“I’ll also need candles, the Lysanmore grimoires from Sallow Manor, restraints infused with rosemary, and most importantly,” Katherine said, her voice lowering to a whisper, “You’re going to have to get that demon up into the attic and tie her up.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Over the years, Charlotte persevered through the pain, her body screaming as she pushed on despite the searing agony in her joints and the overwhelming fatigue. No matter how awful it became, that unyielding tenacity helped her as she anchored herself in front of the mirror, holding fast against the desperate entities preparing to escape.
She wouldn’t relent and spread her arms over the inside of the glass, so she could come out first, if it worked, but they still didn’t know her true name, nor was Charlotte sure how they were going to get her into the attic.
Candles flickered in silence as Katherine prepared for the ritual on the other side. It was her fault that she died. She couldhave confided in them, so they’d hide her brother, or have him escape, but she poisoned her and handed her over to the Avery witches.
She didn’t trust her for a moment, but she trusted Nathaniel, and he believed Katherine wouldn’t fail. Not with her brother’s life on the line.
Alexander climbed inside, with Duke in tow, holding the grimoires he’d retrieved from Sallow Manor.
“Thank you,” she whispered, barely looking at him as she kneeled to sift through them.
“You broke my heart, you know that,” Alexander said, now they were alone, or he thought they were.
“It wasn’t you I betrayed,” she said simply. “I was protecting my brother.”
“You could have come to me. We have been friends for a long time, but you trusted Gertrude Avery over us, the same woman whose family killed yours.”
“I didn’t enjoy it,” she snapped, quickly reining in her tone. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Alexander, truly. As for Nathaniel and Charlotte, I could not care less.”
“She’s a good person,” he stated, sitting on a large, wooden chest next to an old cot and rocking horse, both covered in a layer of dust.
Her nostrils flared, mouth pulling into a grimace. “So I keep being told. Where is Nathaniel? That demon is going to flee the moment she figures out what is happening. He is fortunate she was sleeping when he came up here, but that won’t last, and he can’t restrain her alone.”
“Zachariah and Irene are in the foyer. I believe they’ve already confronted her. They’re almost here. I can hear them.” Alexander pointed at the opening as footsteps pounded from the corridor below, pleading erupting in Charlotte’s voice.
“What are you doing? Nathaniel! It’s me. It’s Charlotte.”
Charlotte’s stomach dropped from inside the mirror as she listened intently, her uncle's soul slowly oppressing her from the side, but she did not budge, even though her energy was quickly waning.
The floorboards groaned under Nathaniel’s weight as he appeared first, his fingers gripping the thrashing arms of the demon, pulling her up until Charlotte could see Zachariah and Irene, both of them holding one of her ankles each.
“Alexander!” Nathaniel barked and he raced to help them, forcing her down onto the ground. “Tie her legs to that ceiling joist.”
Alexander grabbed the ropes Katherine had infused with rosemary and magic, not that it would hold her for long, but with the strength of the four vampires, the demon wasn’t going anywhere.
“Don’t hurt Charlotte’s body,” Nathaniel ordered as they tied her up, keeping their hands on her.
“What are you doing?” the demon pleaded in Charlotte’s soft voice, the tone cracking halfway through.
Zachariah grimaced. “Are you certain it is not her?”
