Page 30 of Vow Of A Fox

I guess that’s what happens when you burn the fresh stuff.

She picked up the feather plucked from Xander’s raven and waved it through the thick smoke. Her words came at a faster speed, but I still couldn’t make them out. I watched as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes, continuing to waft the smoke with the feather. It curled around her in intricate swirls while she circled the cage. Next, she placed the sage in a metal bowl and reached for the salt. She sprinkled it around the table, the cage, and around herself, forming multiple circles.

One circle of protection must not be enough when dealing with a spirit as strong as Lucius’s.

It was a sobering thought that had a chill creeping up my spine.

Next, she poured the creek water into a small, weathered wooden bowl and mixed it with the soil from Lucius’s grave, making a dark paste.

My fox paced nervously, sensitive to the magic building in the air.

Maribel was strong.

As she laid the feather over the bowl with the thick paste of soil and water combined, Maribel chanted and I noticed Xander’s raven stir.

Ben squeezed my hand. I knew it was because he’d noticed the raven awakening as well. Maribel smeared the paste onto thefeather while her lips continued to move with words I couldn’t hear. Xander’s raven—or possibly Lucius’s spirit—became fully alert in the next few seconds. His head twitched as a dark mist rose around his body coming from thin air. I watched it, mesmerized by its violent thrashing.

Was that Lucus’s spirit being pulled from Xander’s raven?

The mist continued to swirl with a growing intensity, building at the edges of the salt circle Maribel had drawn around the cage.

It wanted out.

When Maribel stepped out of her circle of salt, I noticed Rachel stiffen. Everyone’s eyes locked on the cage as it rattled atop the table, the dark mist inside thrashing against an invisible barrier. Maribel tossed the feather coated in paste into the fire. The flames roared to life, releasing a plume of inky black smoke that twisted into the night sky before shifting into a radiant, electric blue, illuminating the backyard in an otherworldly glow. It was gone half a heartbeat later, and so was the dark mist rattling the cage. Xander’s raven let out a piercing cry as his wings flapped weakly. The sound cut straight through me, and my fox and I knew right then that something was different about him.

Something was off.

“Lucius’s spirit is gone,” Maribel said, her expression unreadable. “But the cost of the ritual wasn’t small.”

I exchanged a glance with Ben, unease stirring in my chest.

“What was the cost?” Astrid asked, her voice filled with panic.

“Xander is no longer among us as a shifter. What remains is only his raven,” Maribel said.

Astrid blinked, her face paling. “So, my brother,” Astrid said, her voice shaky. “He’s gone?”

Maribel met her stare, her eyes soft. “You lost your brother long ago, and tonight, all that was done was set him free.”

While we all knew there was a chance Xander might not survive the ritual because Lucius’s spirit was so dark and deeply rooted in him, none of us had anticipated this outcome.

Astrid’s lips pressed together as tears slipped down her cheeks. Dean wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and placed a kiss to the crown of her head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay. She’s right. I lost Xander a long time ago,” Astrid said softly, her voice breaking while she wiped her tears. “I just—I hoped the cost wouldn’t be so steep.”

The sight of them holding one another so tenderly tugged at something in my chest. I nestled into Ben’s side, once again grateful he was here. Despite the sadness in Astrid’s eyes, she looked lighter. Almost as though a part of the burden she’d carried for so long in regard to her brother and the life he’d lived had finally been lifted.

In a sense, she too was now free.

“Thank you,” Dean said, his voice rough but sincere as he nodded to Maribel.

He wasn’t one for many words, but the gratitude in his tone spoke volumes. We all echoed his words, thanking Maribel for her help, too.

“You each fought hard for this peace, make it worth the fight,” the old woman said, a gentleness entering her stare. “The wind speaks of new beginnings and the fresh start you’ve all been craving.”

Her words struck a chord in me. A fresh start. It was what I’d been desperate for, especially after my first run in with Lucius.

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