Page 52 of Raising Hell

“No,focus!I’ve figured it out!”

It hits me then. “Oh, you’ve had a strokeofgenius.”

“That’s what I said,” he snaps, annoyed, and Amon chuckles again. “Now listen, because this is important.”

Forcing myself to give him my attention, I sit up straight. “Alright, tell me.”

The paper in his hand rattles as he shakes it even harder, preventing me from reading what’s written. “I’ve found a spell! One that will allow us to stay!”

Silence fills the room as I stare at him. He shifts uncomfortably as he backs up a step, but I grab his wrist that holds the paper. “You knew.”

“Wha—”

I launch myself off the couch, fury burning in my veins as I slam my palms against his chest. “Youknewsomething was wrong, and you kept the truth from me.”

Agony ripples in his eyes as he shakes his head. “Rory…”

I whirl to Amon, whose stony face is unreadable. “Did you know, too? Were you also hiding things from me?”

His throat bobs in a swallow as he takes a step forward. Until this very moment, I’ve never seen Amon nervous, and it stifles some of my anger. “Rory, please understand…”

“You were.” The words barely make a sound as tears spring to my eyes. “You lied to me.”

I try to push past him, to get away while I process, but powerful hands grab me and force me to spin into a heavy embrace. “I’m sorry,” Amon whispers, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head. “Neither of us wanted to keep it from you, but the only thing it would’ve accomplished is worrying you.”

“Please believe us,” Cas begs, joining the hug as they trap me between them. “We never want to hurt you, Rory.”

“How long have you known something was wrong?”

“A couple of weeks,” Amon admits, and another spear of pain stings my heart. “We’ve been working day and night to fix it.”

“And we have,” Cas adds, pulling back and giving me more freedom to move. “We’ve figured it out.”

For a second, time stands still, and I suck in a breath that I hold in my lungs. I push it out, not daring to be optimistic. “Don’t get my hopes up, Cas.”

He shakes his head, placing his hands on my arms and holding me in front of him. “This is real. I found it a few days ago and I’ve spent every free moment researching. It’s legit, Rory. It will work… it has to.” There’s so much desperation in those last few words that it pinches my heart.

“What if it doesn’t?” I ask gently, but Amon calms me with a touch.

“He’s right, Rory. The research we’ve done shows this spell will override your original spellwork, binding the three of us. It requires the consent of all parties involved—it cannot be forced, which makes it some of the most powerful magic that exists.” He pulls his lip between his teeth thoughtfully as he guides us both to the couch. “It also—”

“No!” Cas yells, slapping his hand over Amon’s mouth while Amon shoots him a murderous glare. Amon stands and tosses Cas over his shoulder like he weighs nothing, chucking him outside the door and locking it. Immediately, he bursts right back through. “I’ve got magic, you ancient asshole! You can’t lock me out.”

Amon scowls as Cas stomps over to us. “We discussed this, and he will not go into this spell without knowing everything.”

“Amon, please,” Cas whines, and the devastation on his face gives me pause.

“What don’t I know about it?” I ask, turning to Amon, who is clearly the more reliable source of information.

“Please?” Cas whispers, begging, but Amon shakes his head and turns his attention to me.

“It’s a binding enchantment, which means it takes a piece of all the souls involved and merges them as one.”

“I’ll lose my soul?” I interrupt, eyes wide.

“No, no, nothing like that. Only a small piece, enough to allow the magic to work. But you need to understand, Rory, that this is more significant than a summoning spell. It’s far more serious.”

“Serious how?”

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