Page 49 of Viper

“Who?”

He hesitated before blurting out, “Bloody Mary.”

Oh, Lord.Her demon shot him a look of contempt. It urged Ella to leave; felt they had better shit to do and bigger things to deal with. Like tracking their annoying pen pal, or even heading off to see Viper, who she hadn’t heard from since he’d called two days ago.

“You don’t believe me,” the human mumbled, a self-depreciating smile curving his mouth.

“I don’t think you’re lying.” She believedsomethingwas going on. But the real Bloody Mary had merely been a witch who died a long, long time ago. The legend that had built around her wasn’t something to be taken seriously. “All sorts of things happen in this world that we don’t understand,” she added vaguely.

Mollified, he shoved a hand into his hair. “Neve said you can break curses. She said anyone could do it, really, if they had training in herbs and rituals and stuff. I don’t. And I’m going to die unless you help me.”

She tilted her head. “How is it that you came to be cursed?” She almost stumbled over the latter word, quite sure no such issue was at play here.

A flush crept up his neck and face. “It was my own fault. You don’t mess with this kind of stuff, I know that. But I didn’t believe it would really work. I said her name in front of a mirror six times while holding a candle.”

“And she appeared?”

“Not in the mirror right then. She came that night. She comes every night. Each time, she moves thatlittlebit closer.” He swallowed, absently fisting his tee, fear a flickering flame in his gaze. “Soon, she’ll be close enough to touch me. Then it’s game over.”

Her demon gave an exaggerated eyeroll as it let out a sigh weighted with boredom. “When was it that you invoked her?”

“Five days ago. It was a dare. I was at a party, and someone dared me to do it.”

Ella squinted. “This someone. Who was it?”

“Oh, my ex-girlfriend, PJ.” He waved off her interest, as if the mention of his ex didn’t matter. He gave Ella a pleading look. “Can you help me?”

“What time does Mary usually come here?”

“Always midnight.”

Ella planted her lower arms on the surface of the island. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. You’ll pack some things and go to a hotel for the night. I’ll perform a blessing here that will undo the curse.”

Relief crossed his face first, but then his brow wrinkled. “I can’t be here for that?”

Nope, but such a response would make him suspicious, so she replied, “You can if you want. I’m just thinking you might wish to skip having to smell all the herbs and listen to lots of chanting. It’s not a quick or quiet process. The scents can give people headaches, and you’re unlikely to get any sleep.”

An O shaped his mouth. “Well, I’m happy to sleep elsewhere. But … are you sure she won’t come to wherever I am?”

“I’ll have broken the curse before midnight, but I’ll stay here until then. Text me after midnight, let me know if she has come to you. If she has, I’ll drive straight to your hotel.” Ella rattled off her number, which he saved to his cell, and then slipped off her stool. “I’m going to get my ritual bag out of the trunk. You go pack whatever you need for your stay at the hotel.”

Once both held their respective bag, Brock said, “I’ll leave you to it.” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for this. It will definitely work?”

“It will work,” she assured him.

He didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he did appear hopeful. After he’d driven away, Ella tossed what was really just an overnight bag on the sofa. She always kept it in her car, just in case a job required her to stick around awhile. It did contain herbs and stuff, but they were really just for show.

Following the directions he’d earlier given her, she went upstairs to Brock’s bedroom to check it out. It would have been easy enough to identify without his help, what with all thesports posters, the dirty male laundry, and the collage of pictures featuring him and many other people his age.

Ella eyed his closet doors. They were slatted, so she’d be able to spy through them if there was enough space in there. A quick look showed that, yes, she could fit. When the time approached that Mary would show, Ella could hide in there to wait.

She’d just shut the closet doors when her phone beeped. Pulling it out of her pocket, she glanced at the screen. Her pulse leaped. She had a text from Viper.

Ignoring the butterflies fluttering excitedly in her stomach—someone really needed to shoot the little fuckers—she pressed the pad of her thumb on the screen to unlock it and then opened the message.

A redhead walked into my club just now. For a moment, I thought it was you. Almost went over there, thinking you’d finally come to me.

The idea of him approaching another woman shouldn’t have embedded a shard of jealousy in her chest. Frustrated at herself, she typed:Maybe you should still go over there. I’m sure she’d see to your needs.

---