Page 19 of A Study of Blood and Ichor

“Am I…supposed to feel something?”

Ava paused.

“Keep going,” the High Witch said from behind her.

So, she did, only with the same results.

I wasn’t sure whether the witches were expecting me to writhe on the ground, scream at them in tongues, or puke up blood. But not a single muscle in my body did so much as twitch.

“Lena, it’s not working.”

The High Witch pushed Ava aside and lifted her hands toward the wards. Her magic sent me straight to the ground, the manacles around my ankles tightening as she drew on the chains and forced me to the floor until my head cracked against the stone.

Ava flinched but watched silently as the High Witch started to chant the incantations again. And again.

Still nothing.

There was no stopping the fit of laughter rising in my chest. I let it ripple out of me, uncontrollable and infectious enough that even Vain chuckled darkly alongside me through our bond. Relief flooded through me. I laughed so hard that I barely noticed when the restraints went slack, and when I glanced up, both witches’ expressions had paled. They looked like they’d just seen a ghost.

Or a true monster.

“Ava,” the High Witch murmured, her attention fixed on me with nothing less than vicious contempt. “Wait for me in my study.”

Ava’s eyes darted between us. “What do you—”

“Now!”

Ava flinched. “Yes, Lena,” she muttered hurriedly, and then scurried away. She gave me one last worried glance before she let the doors ease shut behind her, leaving Vain and I to face the wrath of her High Witch alone.

SEVEN

Ava

My feet bounced in an erratic rhythm that matched my heart rate. I waited for what felt like an hour before I forced myself to stand and pace the room instead.

Why was she taking so long? Why hadn’t the exorcism worked?

My thoughts spiraled, jumping from one question to another, juggling theories and probabilities. The exorcism shouldn’t have failed. In fact, any exorcism where the demon was failed to be removed was entirely unprecedented. It didn’t make sense.

The door to the study creaked open and my unease only heightened at the sight of Lena as she entered. She shut the door behind her, visibly shaken with a haunted glaze cast over her eyes and harsh worry lines creased between her brows. Saying nothing, she sank into the chair behind her desk and raked her shaking fingers through her disheveled crown of blonde hair. Lena waved an absent hand, and I felt her magic rush toward the edges of the room with the same deafening spell she’d used earlier.

That’s when I caught the stain spotting the ivory of her robe. Crimson. Flecks of it, as well as thin red lines slashed across the fabric. I fought the urge to scream.

“I attempted the exorcism five more times.” The tremble in her voice was unmistakable. “All different methods. Some of them…unsavory.” Her lips went near-white as she drew them tight. “The demon will not come out.”

“How?” I breathed. “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know. I’ve tried everything. Absolutely everything. Nothing worked.” Lena shook her head slightly, incredulous. “I-I’ve never seen anything like it before.” She paused and took a long breath. “In all of your meetings with Vain, was there anything you gathered—any information that we may have overlooked that could suggest why this is happening?”

“No, nothing,” I said. “I’ve given you every detail I’ve had from all my sessions.” Everything except for the parts where I’d made Vain beg…and liked it. I also didn’t dare mention the deal the demon had offered me earlier today, or how a small, irrational part of me had hesitated to wonder what would happen if I were to accept.

“I need you to think, Ava.” Lena’s tone was sharp as ever.

I took a deep breath and reanalyzed every session in my memory—all the notes I had taken, all the hours I had pored over the conundrum that was Rory, and the headache that was Vain. In the end, I came up with nothing.

No answers. Only more questions.

“Vain did mention that the exorcism wouldn’t work. I don’t know how it knew. I thought the demon was bluffing. But…it was right.”

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