Page 15 of Disabling Relics for Dummies
“Are you sure this isn’t going to hurt you?” I asked.
Weneededto get into that box. The Cult of the Aether Sisters absolutely couldn’t be allowed back on the mortal coil, but I wasn’t going to risk either twin to do it.
“Are you sure this is wise?” I asked.
The green haired creature just smirked at me. I was almost one hundred percent certain he was a familiar, which was just fascinating. They were way too close to be anything else, and their relationship was more than a little taboo. I loved it.
“Watch and learn.”
The twins each cut their palms with an ornate athame. Then, they joined hands and squeezed their bloody fists over the lock. The more blood that hit the lock, the more it started smoking until there was a pop and the lock swung open.
“Ha!” I yelled, shrieking in glee.
How amazing was this woman? Anything could have been in this box. Both twins offered to be here after hours when all the museum staff had gone home to open this lock. They were either utterly insane or completely confident in their abilities to handle whatever was inside.
“Wonder twin magic can fight anything,” Ravyn said, holding up her fist.
Ripley bumped it and grinned.
“What’s inside the damned thing?”
I snatched the box off the table. Ravyn was already bleeding. If something in this box were going to fight back, it would fight me, not her. I ripped the top off and peered inside.
“It’s a book?” I said, pulling it out.
Ravyn peered over my shoulder. Holy shit, she smelled amazing.
“That’s not just any book. That’s the Cult of the Aether Sister’s grimoire,” she said. “I know they aren’treallywitches, but they do a lot of things like us.”
“Do you know how many bad people are going to want to get their hands on that?” Killian said.
Ravyn tossed her hair over her shoulder.
“People have tried to break into this museum before since they have built it. No one has ever left with anything. Give me that. I need to put it somewhere it can’t be damaged to scan the contents. We can start translating it once we have digital copies that are safe to touch. You seem oddly fluent in Old Norse. Can you help with that? Killian and I can translate, but not nearly as fast as you seem to be able to,” Ravyn said.
I could do that, but did I want to? Old Norse was as easy for me as breathing. Sometimes, my thoughts were in that language. Whatever spells the cult wrote down in this grimoire didn’t need to get out in the world.
Then again, Ineededthat puzzle box opened because I knew what was inside. Ravyn was brilliant, and I was sure Killian was too. I knew neither of them would have any problem translating the grimoire.
The puzzle box needed to be openedbeforethe eclipse, but we couldn’t play our hand just yet. I needed to translate their filthy spells to figure out how to fight them.
“If someone is going to be scanning this, make sure it’s someone you trust. I can translate with no problem. I’m sure you can vouch for every single one of your employees, but I’m telling all of you we need to keep this a secret from Valentine. He lost the trust of his crew on this dig when he kept sneaking off to clearly haunted ruins alone after being told not to, then not wanting to do the rites. I’ve tried to get him to open up about what he was doing there, but it makes him very crabby pants.”
“Oh, good. He’s not just a cheater. He’s shady too,” Ripley growled.
“If Key did the rites, it would have killed any spirit that attached itself to him,” Killian said.
“The cult wasn’t always dangerous,” I said. “They were isolated and kept to themselves for a little while. There were markers in their yard for cult members who died and were buried out there. Plenty of souls were trapped in those ruins because they weren’t given the rites, but some of them moved on to the Aether and have possibly been reborn. They wouldn’t remember their past, but I think they are vital to the cult’s prophecy about returning. I have questions about why the spirits only chatted with Valentine instead of attacking him.”
“Maybe you should have led with that instead of acting like you got rid of him because everyone here hates him,” Ravyn said.
She looked like I hurt her feeling, and I never wanted to do that. I could tell she was a brilliant witch, and I never wanted her to look at me the way she looked at him. I craved chaos, but I was still a man of honor.
“Ididget rid of him because he upset you. Seriously, I can’t stand Valentine, but I’ve been attached to him at the hip, trying to figure out why those ghosts didn’t attack him when they did to everyone who went by those ruins. They still had more to say because the spirits didn’t want to go quietly when his crew threatened to walk if he didn’t allow me to do the rites.
“I don’t particularly have any desire to babysit a horny wolf who constantly gets into bar fights, but weneedto find out what the cult wanted with him. Of course, here at the museum, there are fewer distractions for him and gives me more of an opportunity to wear him down, but I see what his presence is doing to you and Killian.”
Ravyn gave me this soft smile that melted my heart a little. It was an insignificant gesture, and I did it to be kind, but it seemed to mean a lot to her. I saw her twin sister pinch her where she thought I couldn’t see. Ravyn and Killian were clearly together, but Ripley wanted me to join them? How curious. And not totally unwanted.
