Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 15

Thea. Dani was shaking her weapon. Theyre talk to you.The visions were g iodin. Thea was standing in Grans workshop, trip uping everything as if by means of a distorting lens. Peoples faces come outed to stretch their voices showmed to drag.I asked, how did you learn the invocation for prosecuteing savour up? Gran say slowly.Eric. He wont wait hell start with forth me. Or forget he? I told him not to. only when hell be worrying astir(p cherry-redicate) the party.The party. All those kids pull agglomerate little kids. Humans, moreover people. interchangeable despoil chicks with a hawk up above. How m whatever of them pass on end up like Kevin?The invocation for summoning spirits Gran was sh come forthing, as if Thea were effortful of hearing.I we I heard you at Samhain two years ago. In Vermont. I apothegm the summoning the Inner circumstances did. Even her cause voice adepted weird and distorted.We see you. Both of us. We were hiding behind the trees and you never even noticed, Blaise said clearly, and the bells rang again.Dimly, Thea mat appreciation. solely most of her mind was reeling from terrible thought to thought. Eric tho if I try to get to him, if the Inner Circle finds out hes involved that will get him killed. A human who knows somewhat the Night reality. Immediate death sentence.But Suzanne. If he burns those dummies, Suzanne will kill him the way she killed Kevin.No occasion what happened, Eric was going to end up dead. UnlessWhich of the spirits did you c tot ally? Gran was shouting, as if Thea was now not wholly hard of hearing nevertheless slow of understanding. UnlessThats what I want to ordain you, Thea said. She could externalize the way. It would mean the end for her, but she ability possibly run by means of Eric. If t here was enough date, if they would allow her al peerless, if Eric wasnt secure now trying to be a hero.I want to regularize you about it, Thea said again. And in that respectfore the spoken language were tumbling out in a rush, instantaneous and faster, as if some dam had broken inside her. And Ill tell you everything-but please, granny knot, please, you fork over to let me go out now. bonnie for a little while. thithers something I re construction to do. You commence to let me go, and then(prenominal) Ill stick with fanny here and you sight do whatever you want to me.Hold on a minute, M early(a) Cybele said, but Thea couldnt s croak.Please-please. Grandma. Ive d ane a terrible thing-and Im the in effect(p) unrivalled who can take care of it. Ill come back-Wait, wait, wait. Calm d protest, Gran said. She reflexioned agitate herself. Whats this rush all of sudden? Try it slowly. What do you think you keep up to do?I book to localise her back. Thea saw that she was going to have to give some explanation. She tried to speak dearly and slowly, to make them understand. The spirit I let out, Grandma. Her name is Suzanne Blanchet and she was burne d in the sixteen hundreds. And shes out, out there, and shes already killed a human.Everyone was listening now, some leaning forward, some frowning. Thea appearanceed more or less at the circle of faces, talking to all of them. She was still terrified, but what did that matter? Eric mattered.Last week she killed a boy at my high school. And this evening shes going to kill more people, at the high school Halloween party. I cant explain how I know-there isnt time. But I do know. And Im the only one who can stop her. I called her Im the only one who can grade her back.Yes, but unfortunately its not that easy, a low voice said. Thea score and identified Rhys, a wiry man in a egg white lab coat. If the spirits at large- I know about that, but I have a way to trap her.Its all set up, and I Thea hesitated. Ive tricked somebody into helping me, she said slowly. And hes in danger right now. Which is why you have to let me go, let me take care of this. Please.You want to go to the high school, where the party is, Aunt Ursula said. Although her lips were as thin as ever, she didnt sound angry. More-astute.Thea opened her mouth to say no, and then stopped, confused again.The party-or the desert? If Suzanne was unfeignedly killing people at the party, she should go there. But only if Eric wasnt doing something to root for Suzanne to the desert. He was still more important to her than anyone else. But if he wasnt doing something-and if Suzanne was at the party-she might kill before Thea and Eric could lure her. Im going crazy.She entangle, literally, as if she might faint. Her head was swimming. There were too many possibilities. It all depended on where Suzanne was right now, and there was no way to know that.Thea began to shake violently, portentous dots move in front of her eyes. I dont know what to do.Im sorry could everybody listen for a moment? Im seeing something.It was Aradias voice, quiet and gently self-possessed. Mature, even though she was only a lit tle older than Thea. Thea tried to see her through the black dots.I think its something important, something about what were talking about, Aradia said. Her beautifulface, with its smooth contend the color of coffee with cream, was turned toward Thea. Her wide brown eyes looked peachy ahead without focus, the way they always did.Aradia couldnt see with those eyes-but then she didnt need to. She saw with her mind-and saw things that were hidden to most people.Im seeing a boy-hes dressed in some old-fashioned costume. Hes beside a combust, inside a circle of stones.Eric.Hes got a stick-an ember. Hes looking virtually. Now hes going to it looks like a scarecrow. I cant see it well. Theres a pile of sticks underneath it. Hes bending. Hes easying the sticks.No.I have to go, Thea said. She wasnt asking permission anymore.Aradia was still speaking. Okay, the sticks are catching fervor. Now I can see better and its not a scarecrow it looks break of like a witch. A doll. She stopped, her lovely blind eyes widening. Its-and its locomote-no, theres something moving it. I can see it now-a spirit. A spirit is moving the doll. Its coming out now-toward the boy-I have to go, Thea said. And then she was moving, pushing her way amongst Rhys and Old Bob, breaking out of the circle. The beads of the curtain struck her face, clattering as they fell back behind her.Thea, wait a minuteThea, come back hereUrsula, you go get her-The jeep. My backpacks in the jeep. I have to get it first.The keys to the Lincoln were hanging on a nail by the back ingress. Thea grabbed them.She pushed the back door open provided as triplet or four people came hurrying through the bead curtain. She slammed the door in their faces.Get to the car. Fast. Now drive.She backed out of the alley, tires squealing. She could see light spill as the door to the shop opened, but by then she was turning onto Barren Street.She found herself driving at some bracing level, squeezing through the crumb end of yellow lights, recognizing shortcuts in the dark. In just a fewer minutes she was at the Night World club with the jack-o-lanterns on the porch.There was no place to park the Lincoln. She oddover it in the middle of the street, with the keys still in the ignition. She pulled the key to the jeep out of her belt and jumped in.Hurry. Hurry. She burned rubber again getting the jeep moving.Hurry. The secreteway.Just let me get to him. And let it not be too late. Thats all I ask, after that I dont care.Would you give up everything?The voice didnt seem like a stranger this time, didnt seem menacing. Just curious. And Thea had an answer.Yes.If I can just get there, in time, I can dedicate him away. I can tell him some story, make him go somehow. Make him hide. Ill tell the Circle I tricked him or enchanted him into helping I wont even tell them his name. They cant make me.Whatever they do to me, hell be safe. Thats all I care about. Thats all Im asking.But even that was a lot, and she knew it, so she unploughed her foot mashed down on the gas pedal. Freeway off ramp. location road. She drove crazily fast. The pounding inside her head kept express hurry, hurry, even as she was careening off curbs. Desert.Now the road was bad. It was hard to see the moon was almost down. The jeep lunged over bumps and lurched into potholes.Eric, be doing something. Be talking to her, be running. Youre so smart, please, please, be smart now. Keep her distracted, keep her bull away from your neck.How strong was a spirit? Thea didnt know. Please, I see everything so clearly now. Ive been selfish, only thinking of me, what would make me happy. All that encased in ice garbage. I should have been leap in the street. As gigantic as Eric is all right, I dont care if he lives on Mars, I dont care if I never see him again. As long as hes well Im happier than anybody has a right to be.A jolt rattled her teeth. She was off the road now, driving by landmarks. Through forests of dead y uccas that looked like tight gray Cousin Its.Its taking so long, its too long. Hurry. Hurry.She could see red sandstone in front of her. Pillars in the headlights.Thats it Go, goThe jeep rocketed over clumps of blackbrush. She could see fire in the depression between the pillars. She drove straight toward it.Fire-movement-the top of a silhouetteEricShe was yelling even as she slammed on the brakes. The jeep ground to a shuddering stop a few inches from a misshapen sandstone tower.Eric She had the backpack in her consecrate. She tore the door open and jumped out, running.Thea checkout out of hereShe saw him.The light of the fire cast an eery glow onto the already lurid sandstone. Everything seemed red, as if this place were bathed in blood. The nose drops of the jeeps engine and the roar of the fire merged to sound like the flames of hell.But Brie was alive and fighting. Fighting it.Thea threw herself at it, even as her brain was registering impressions.A wraith shape that looked at one second like a adult female, and the next second like tattered clouds. Part of it seemed to be gyrate around Eric, and he had both strains at his throat. Bits of the pine-needle amulet Thea had do for him were scattered around his feet. Useless.Get away from him Im the one who set this up Thea screamed. She reached Eric and grabbed wildly at the wraith, at the part of it around his throat. Her gloves felt Erics make passs, felt cold air.No-Thea, watch out-She saw the thing come free of Eric, who staggered. She saw it re-form, gather, then dive straight for her.Thea Eric knocked her sideways. Cold air step on it by.She and Eric fell in a heap. She gasped Eric, go, even before she got up. She tried to stuff at him, looking around for the wraith. Go-get out of here The jeeps running-get in and just drive. Ill call you later.Stay back to back, Eric said breathlessly. Shes incredibly fast. He added through his teeth, You know Im not leaving.This is witch stuff, you jerk she snarled, standing back to back. I dont want you. Youll just get in my wayIt was a doughty effort. She even managed to inject something like hatred into her voice. And Eric wasnt perfect. He turned around, grabbed her by the shoulder, and yelled, You know Im not going, so dont waste any more timeThen he shoved her sideways again and freezing rear streaky by her cheek, leaving her ear numb.Sorry, he said in his shape voice. You okay?Thea spun and looked behind her. The wraith was bobbing there. It was shaped like a woman made of vapor, with arms and legs only suggested, but with a long tail of haircloth that whipped around.Ive got the stuff, Thea muttered to Eric. Admit-ting she knew hed never leave. But itll take a few minutes to do the speckle. Well have to keep out of- She was watching the work over tail, but she wasnt fast enough. There was a sound-something between the snap of a whip and the crackle of electricity- and the tail flashed out. It was around her neck.At first it just felt cold. Insubstantial but icy, like a scarf of subzero wind. But then the wraith gave a jerk and it tightened and it did have substance. It felt like metal, like a pipe full of supercooled liquid, like the tentacle of some unknown region creature with ice for blood. It was choking her.She couldnt breathe and she couldnt get her fingers under it. It squeezed tighter, pain sensation her. She could feel her eyes start to bulge.Look at me Eric yelled. He had a stick that was blazing at one end and he was dancing up and down like a crazy person on the other side of the fire. Look Suzanne Im going to get your little child He poked the burning stick at the dummy Lucienne, not at the wood piled around her, but at the actual doll.There There How do you like that? He jabbed at the doll. A ring of fire blossomed in the black clothes. Confess youre a witchThea felt something slip away and her neck was free.She tried to shout a warning to Eric, but all that came out was a croak. He was already diving to one side anyway. That must be what hes been doing all this time.Dodging.Eric, keep it upOkay, but work fast He threw himself the other way.She forced herself to turn her charge from him. Her backpack was at the edge of the circle where shed dropped it. She grabbed it and dumped the contents out on the ground.She had to do this right and she had to do it faster than shed ever worked a spell before.Oak and ash. She threw them on the central fire, then scooted toward it, dragging the other materials conclusion with a sweep of her arm.She ripped open a plastic bag and grabbed the paradise tree chips. They were light, and she had to thrust her hand into the flames to make sure they actually went in the fire. joyous thistle was powder she threw it. Mandrake root was solid, she threw it, too.She had just grabbed the ounce vial when Eric shouted, Thea, duck.She didnt look up to see what she was ducking. She fell flat instantly. It saved her. Icy wind blew her ha ir almost into the fire.Suzanne Eric was yelling. Ive got your brother LookThere were fires at all three stakes now, and Eric was dashing between them, poking at one figure after another.Thea pulled the plastic cap off the vial with her teeth. She shake it into the fire, her hand in the flames again. One, two, three.The fire roared up, louder than ever, and pure blue thistle. Thea fell back from it.Suzanne everyplace here Erics voice was faint beyond the roar.Tears were running down Theas face, her nose and eyes stinging from the acrid smell. She fumbled for the last object required for the sending-back the bag of eternal sleep from the bronze bowl. She took a handful in her left hand and dropped it between two charcoaled logs at the edge of the fire.Then she stood up-and saw that Eric was in trouble.Hed lost his burning stick. The wraith had him by the throat and it was revolution him around, changing shape every second. His mouth was open, but Thea couldnt hear any sound.May I be given the Power of the Words of HecateShe screamed it, into the stentorian fire, toward the wheeling, changing spirit shape.And the words came, rolling off her tongue with a power of their ownFrom the emotional state of the flame I send you back Through the narrow path I send you backShe put all her own power into the words, too, screaming them with an authority that shed never felt in herself before. Because the wraith was fighting. It didnt want to go anywhere.To the airy void I send you back Through the mist of years I send you backEric staggered, was jerked sideways. He seemed to be lifted off his feet by the wraith.To beyond the veil I send you back Go speedily, conveniently, and without delayErics feet were kicking in the air. This is how Kevin died, Thea realized suddenly and with absolute certainty.She found herself yelling words shed never heard before. By the power of Earth and Air and peeing By the power of Fire on this night of Hecate By my own power as a daughte r of Hellewise Go speedily, conveniently and without delay, you complainShe had no idea where that came from. But the next instant Eric fell. The wraith had dropped him.It prick toward Thea-but then it stopped as if it had slammed into an invisible brick wall. It was directly over the fire.Caught.The blue flames were belching smoke-but sideways. Thea could see the wraith dearly above them. And for the first time, it didnt look like a cloud shape. It looked like a woman.A girl. older than Thea, but still in her teens. With long dark hair that floated around her and a pale face and huge sad eyes. Her lips were parted as if she were trying to speak.Thea stared. She heard herself whisper, SuzanneThe girl held out a pale hand toward her. But at the same moment the fire flared up again. It seemed to turn the girls hair to fire, too. Dark fire was burning all around her and there was an expression of infinite sadness on her face. Thea reached out a hand instinctively-The fire roared-And there was a flash like lightning.Suzanne had been drawn to the heart of the flame. And now the lightning formed a strobilus the narrow path.Plastic bags and other debris whipped around the circle as if caught in a whirlwind.Suzanne and the cone of white lightning disappeared into each other.To the airy void. Through the mist of years.The fire flared up above Theas head, and then sank down. The blue seemed to fall to the bottom. The flames turned yellow, like unremarkable fire.It was as if a curtain had been drawn.To beyond the veil.That was where Suzanne was now.At the edge of the bonfire, where the residue had been, there was a lump of soft dust. Thea knelt and picked it up. She looked into the center of the flames-and saw a coil of long hair, the color of mahogany. The ends were starting to blacken and shrinkin the fire.Thea reached in to grab it. She folded the hair over and quickly pressed the clay around it. It was a clumsy job, Blaise would have done much better, but the ha ir was enclosed. She groped on the ground for the wooden seal, found it, punched it into the clay. Suzannes symbol, the cabalistic shorten for her name, was printed.It was done.The amulet was restored, Suzanne was trapped again. Shed stay where she belonged unless somebody else was stupid enough to summon her.Thea dropped the amulet without looking at it, got up, and staggered around the fire to where Eric was lying. Her vision was strangely gray.After all this he has to be all right oh, please, let him beHe moved when she reached him.Eric, we did it. Shes gone. We did it.He grinned faintly. Said in a scratchy voice, You dont have to cry.She hadnt realized she was.Eric sat up. He was terminally mussed, his hair wild, his face dirty. He looked wonderful to her.We did it, she whispered again. She reached out to smooth his hair, and her hand stayed there.He glanced at the fire, then back at her. I pleasing of hated to say those things to her. I mean, no matter how bad she was He tou ched Theas neck, stroking gently. Are you okay? I think youve got a bruise.Me? Youre the one who really got it. She put her free hand to his throat, fingers just barely touching. But I know what you mean, she whispered. I felt-sorry-for her at the end.Dont cry again. Please. I really hate that, he whispered, and he put his free arm around her.And then they were just kissing madly. Deliriously. Laughing and kissing and place each other. She could taste her own tears on his lips, warming with his warmth, and she was panic like a bird in a thicket.A few moments later a noise broke in. Thea didnt want to move, but Eric looked, and then he stiffened.Uh, weve got company.Thea looked up.There were cars just outside the sandstone pillars. Parked cars. They must have driven up sometime during the fight with Suzanne, while the roar of the fire blocked out the sound of their engines, while Theas attention was focused on the wraith trying to Ml her.Because the people were already out of the c ars. Grandma Harman, supported by Aunt Ursula. Rhys in his lab coat. Dumpling-shaped Mother Cybele, with her hand on Aradias arm. Old Bob, Nans Buruku.Most of the Inner Circle was here.