Page 74 of Dawn Unearthed

We gathered the herbs, mixed them in the cauldron in the middle of the store as the men watched. I knew Ash wanted to say something, I saw his mouth open to speak every once in a while, but he held back as if he knew it wasn’t his place. Wasn’t his time.

Rome, Jaxton, and Trace stood there as protectors. And I was glad. I wasn’t sure I could do this without Rome here.

Tears freely fell down Rowen’s cheeks now. “Repeat after me.” She took a breath.

“Beloved spirit, sister ours, your time has come to grace the stars. Go with light to live again, for we all know this is not the end. Your time here is ended, but not your memory. Merry part and blessed be.”

I looked at my aunt. She smiled, and then she was gone. Tears slid down my cheeks again, and I let out a choked sob. Magic washed through me, and I looked over to see Laurel bent over at the waist, pushing everybody away.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she bit out.

“Damn it, you shouldn’t be in pain,” Rowen said, her hands shaking. “I’m so sorry. That shouldn’t have hurt you, not with the intention and the protections I put in place.”

“It’s the curse. It doesn’t care what you think or what protections you use. It grows stronger,” Ash whispered, and Rowen froze.

“Let me help.” Jaxton moved forward.

Laurel pushed him away. “I said, I’m fine. Now help me get this bitch. Because Faith deserves to die for what she did.”

Laurel stood, wiped the blood from her nose, and I leaned into Rome, the tension in his chest stiff yet comforting.

“Laurel…” I whispered.

“It’s none of your concern. I did it for Penelope.”

Rowen had her chin up, but I saw the pain there. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Laurel, hadn’t wanted to cause any pain but she knew what must be done. I wished I knew what I was supposed to do or how I could help. I had the power within me. I knew that much. Hopefully, I would be able to use it against Faith.

“So, we are the seven,” Rowen began.

“The seven who are doing work together to take down Faith. Because she’s going to hurt this town, and I don’t want anyone else to die like my aunt did,” I added.

Rowen nodded. “Exactly.”

“What do we know?” Rome asked, his voice a growl behind me.

“We know she’s a necromancer. And we know she must be close,” Ash said. “We also know she’s working with someone named Oriel.”

“Do we know anything about him?” Rowen asked.

“No,” Ash said. “At least, not yet. I’ll find out more.”

“How? Rowen asked.

“I have my ways,” Ash insisted.

I stepped between them, delaying the inevitable fight. “You’ll both figure it out. Right now, it’s Faith. She’s the enemy we know. She’s the one we can try to beat before all is lost. We have to find her.” I had to believe we would, or I didn’t have much hope for anything else.

“We will. We’re going to scry for her. But the potion I was thinking about using takes until the full moon. It will take time,” Rowen said.

“You can’t just use the regular scrying method?” Jaxton asked, frowning.

Rowen shook her head. “I tried, but Faith is too strong. Whatever dark magic they’re using is blocking me.”

I frowned. “You did that on your own? Are you searching for her without us? What if it hurts you?” I asked.

Laurel scowled. “You don’t do any magic on your own that has to do with that woman, got it?”

“I am a coven of one and have been for a long time. You can’t use magic without it killing you. Sage doesn’t know enough to help yet. I’ve always done things on my own.”

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