Page 35 of Mayhem and Ember

Ash opened another drawer and gestured to the four bundles inside. “Of course we reuse them, but we’re asking a goddess for help. She gets a new one. We’ll use it to cleanse our space and make it ready for us to receive her guidance, and then we’ll leave it as an offering.”

He leaned a hip against the counter and crossed his arms. “You’re not worried about forcing your demons out of the house?”

“Sage alone cannot physically repel us,” Chaos said.

“But the odor is pungent enough to make us voluntarily leave.” Mayhem wrinkled his nose and rose to his feet.

“Sit down. You’re not going anywhere.” I dropped crushed mugwort, a dash of wormwood, and some yarrow and mandrake into a copper bowl. “You two are as much a part of the family curse as we are. Hecate needs to see us working together.”

I took the bowl to the living room and set it on the coffee table. Ash put black candles on either side, and I added two dog figurines to the altar.

“How can we help?” Miles asked.

“Oh, shit.” Shade stared at his phone. “Boston Live released a story about a serial killer who has disemboweled his third victim in the city. Three there. Three here. That makes six total. It can’t be the same fae we killed this morning.”

“Livers removed?” I dragged the table away from the sofa so we could sit on the floor around it.

“It doesn’t say.” Miles gazed at Shade’s phone over his shoulder. “Should we tell them what’s going on?”

“No.” I rubbed my forehead to chase away the headache threatening to form. “We got lucky when the Boston Magic Society blamed Chrys for the library incident. The less contact we have with them, the better.”

Miles flashed an incredulous look. “But people are dying. If they knew about the fae, they could help.”

Ash laughed dryly. “I doubt a bunch of dark witches will care about humans getting murdered. Let Boston deal with Boston.”

“But they will care about a fae invasion and the potential collapse of the veil if it happens.” Shade returned his phone to his pocket.

I tapped my finger against my lips as an idea formed in my mind. “Miles, do you still have the number of the woman you seduced? What was her name?”

He cringed. “Wendy. But I didn’t seduce her.”

“You just led her on and promised her a dinner date if she let you into the BMS library.” I arranged the pillows on the couch, making our space more inviting for the goddess. “Totally not seductive. Do you have her number?”

His shoulders inched toward his ears. “Yeah…”

“Call her. Make good on your promise and arrange a dinner date. You’ll find out what Boston knows and gently feed her information that she can report back.”

“How diabolical.” Mayhem grinned. “I like it.”

Miles sighed. “I’ll text her after the ritual.”

I shook my head. “Do it now, and then you and Shade go patrol. The curse is a family affair. I don’t want anyone else’s energy clouding our intent.”

Shade’s brow slammed down. “It’s our intent too. We all want to end this.”

“Your Priestess is right,” Mayhem said. “Hecate can be tricky. Her mystery eludes comprehension, but she is more likely to respond if the request comes only from those directly involved.”

Shade let out a dry laugh. “You speak like you’ve actually met her.”

Mayhem shrugged. “I have.”

“As have I,” Chaos added.

“Hmpf.” Shade jerked his head toward the door. “C’mon, Miles. Let’s go kick some fae ass without them.”

Miles followed him downstairs, and I gathered fire in my fingertip to light the sage.

Ash opened the window, and I smudged the room, fanning extra smoke into the four corners. “Negativity be gone. Only love and light may remain.”

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