Captivating Magic (The Thorne Witches #14)

Chapter 21

21

T he sensation of something rooting around in Ebba’s brain was disconcerting. She didn’t want to liken the process to worms crawling through underground passages, but she had no other fitting comparison. When he’d retrieved what he was after, Damian sat back and looked at Wilder.

“It’s not purgatory,” he said before adding, “We’ll find Abigail.”

He didn’t wait for Wilder’s grateful nod before turning back to Ebba. “Ready?”

“I don’t think so,” she croaked.

“What do you need?”

“To say goodbye to Laszlo. Just a few minutes.”

“Of course.” He rose and gestured to the others to give Lo and her privacy.

“Lo, if I don’t make it?—”

“Ebba, stop. You will.”

“But if I don’t, I want you to know I was never mad at you for choosing Charlotte. Disappointed, yes, because I wanted you to pick me, but I wasn’t angry at you for it.”

“I know, Sweet.” He wove his fingers into her curls and tipped her head back. “But I love you in a way I could never love her, and I can’t imagine a world without you in it. Having said that, you need to do whatever it takes to survive.”

Their metaphysical bond had fused completely, revealing the truth of his words. Those strands were a starburst of happy colors with gray threads of sadness woven in. Still, she wanted him to be okay.

The smile she sent him was wry. “Don’t be overly dramatic, babe. Six months ago, you didn’t know I was alive.”

“Shut it, woman! You know I did. I was at peace believing you were living a good life without me to muck it up.”

“I’d have given anything for you to have done that.” She grinned when he leaned in to kiss her. “This love we have, I’m taking it with me. When I finally meet Death again, I’m going to throw myself on the altar of her mercy and beg for leniency.” When he would’ve protested, she covered his mouth. “I won’t let you blow me off so easily in the next life, Laszlo Thorne. If she allows me to return, I’m going to be that burr in your shoe.”

His eyes gleamed with love and intent. “You’ll be my burr in this one. Count on it.”

“If stubbornness can make it happen, you’ll do it.”

“Damn straight.”

Flinging her arms around him, she buried her face against his neck. “I love you so damned much.”

“Don’t give up, Ebba. Whatever you do, you hold on, okay?”

She nodded, and her nose brushed the strong column of his neck. Although she breathed deeply, hoping to memorize his delectable scent, she understood it would be forever lost the instant Damian plucked it from her brain. Still, she savored the smell of crisp, clean linen and the peppermint from the candies he consumed at an alarming rate.

“Do witches get cavities?” she asked against his throat.

Laughter rumbled inside his chest, causing friction with hers. “That’s random.”

She drew back and grinned. “I was thinking about all the candy you eat. Not only would I be twice my size, I’d need every tooth in my head filled.”

“You’re going to despise the fact we don’t age, gain weight, or get cavities, aren’t you?”

“I fucking knew it!”

He laughed. “Goddess, I love you.”

“Thank you.”

Taken aback, he asked, “Why?”

“It’s the one thing that makes my life complete.”

“Stop sounding like you’re transitioning, Ebba James. I swear by all that’s holy; I’ll hunt you down and bring you back.”

His determined look cemented his promise.

“I believe you would, Lo,” she murmured against his lips before deepening the kiss. When she drew away, she caressed his stubbled jaw. “I’ll see you on the other side of this.”

“That’s my girl.”

He cradled her face, staring into her eyes. What he saw, he didn’t say, but his love seared itself on her soul. She might not remember their time together, but she’d feel it somewhere deep inside whenever she saw him again.

“It’s getting late,” Damian said from behind him.

“Yeah,” Lo said roughly. Still, he made no move to release her, and Ebba grabbed his wrists.

“You have to let me go,” she said softly.

“It’s like asking me to cut out my heart,” he replied, equally as soft.

But he released her and rose, leaving room for Damian to do his job.

The memory removal wasn’t necessarily painful, but it was damned uncomfortable. Five minutes into the process, he sighed. “Ebba, you must stop fighting this, or it won’t work.”

She blinked back tears. “Can you put me to sleep or something? I can’t look at him and not resist.”

“I can, if you’re all right with it.”

“Yes.”

“Close your eyes.”

Within seconds, she’d drifted off.

“It’s done.” The Aether sounded weary or perhaps a little sad.

Pulse pounding, Laszlo took his spot next to Ebba’s comatose spirit and smoothed the hair from her forehead. He wasn’t certain what he’d expected to see, maybe a lobotomy scar, but it wasn’t the smooth, untouched skin beneath his fingers. “Is she okay?”

“Yes. But it’s time for the next step. I’ll stand guard in place of McClutchin, with Alastair. I’ll create a spell for us to see any spirits as they enter the room.”

“I don’t know how I’ll repay you for this, but if you ever need me, I’m there,” Lo promised.

“No need. I wasn’t lying when I said I was a sucker for love, Laszlo.”

Damian directed him to lie next to Ebba’s physical self on the bed. “I’m going to move her body over, but don’t touch her if you can help it.”

“What about Spencer’s soul?”

“I’ll extract it at the same time I cast the spell to separate yours.” Leaning in, Damian touched Lo’s temple.

The zing felt like the minor shock one got from static electricity, and with it came the Aether’s thoughts.

“This is the only way I can convey what my daughter said without the Fates learning of it, so pay attention,” he said through their telepathic connection. “You cannot prevent the accident from happening, but it’s imperative you’re there to meet Death and Isis. Plead your case, and it won’t fall on deaf ears. Nod if you understand.”

Lo nodded.

“Find your familiar. The key lies with the wolf.”

“I don’t have a familiar. I don’t know where to begin looking,” Lo told him.

“You will.”

Damian severed their link and gave him a meaningful stare.

How the hell was he supposed to find a familiar while in his bodiless state? Laszlo was so caught up in his tumultuous thoughts he barely registered the removal of Spencer or the separation of his soul from his body.

One minute, the Aether was standing at the foot of the bed, and the next, he held a voodoo doll in hand with Laszlo staring at his and Ebba’s sleeping bodies.

“Can you see me?” he asked them.

“They can’t. I can.” Damian handed the doll off to Alastair, who handed it to Castor. “Tell Alex not to play with it. It’s not a bloody toy.”

“Telling him anything is a wasted effort, but I’ll watch to make sure he doesn’t set our friend loose.”

“That’s all I can ask.” Turning back to Laszlo, Damian beckoned him closer until they were touching. “Fac nobis visibiles.”

Make visible to us.

Simple. Effective.

Oh, to have his abilities!

“To have my abilities, you’d have to do the terrible things others won’t,” the Aether said somberly.

“‘With great power comes great responsibility,’” Castor mocked.

“You ready, wiseass?” Laszlo asked him. “We’ve got a girl to save.”

“Ready, hero.”

Alastair’s brows shot up, and he shook his head. “Is it smart to send these two without a referee, Dethridge? I doubt they can stop arguing long enough to accomplish anything.”

“We’re the best of buds.” Castor flung an arm around Laszlo’s shoulders. “Aren’t we?”

“Sure. When this is over, we’ll sit around a campfire, drinking Pbrs and singing Kumbaya.”

Castor snorted. “You had to take it a step too far, didn’t ya?”

Lo walked to the sofa.

Ebba was eerily still in her coma-like state, yet the glow of her aura was brighter than it had been whenever Lo had observed her while inside his body. He’d never seen anyone’s as brilliant and pure as hers.

“What about Ebba? Will you find a way to restore her soul while we’re gone?” he asked Damian.

“Of course. Consider it done.”

His next question was harder to voice. “When we go back, and if we fail, will she cease to exist in this timeline?”

“I don’t know, but it seems likely,” Damian replied.

Leaning down, Lo brushed a kiss on her mouth. “I love you, Ebba James. I’ll be back soon.”

With one last lingering glance, he turned on his heel and stalked to Castor.

“Let’s go.”