Page 134 of The Glittering Edge

He nods at Corey. “You first.”

Corey holds up his token. It’s the pill bottle, half full of grave dirt that he got from the local cemetery where several Barrions—including his mom—are buried. He begins to speak:

“Forty-six years the bonds have festered.

A hungry curse, a bloody warpath.

This grave dirt is their home

and will be home to many more.

Now we sever the ties and start again.

Let the future be unknown.”

He opens the bottle, shaking the grave dirt onto the ground in front of his feet. The wind immediately picks up, rustling the dirt, andAlonso feels a tug in his core. He flinches, and as his eyes lose focus, he sees a current running from Corey to himself. It’s barely visible, but it’s there. It’s Corey’s energy. The same energy you’ll find across the Veil. This is what gives witches their power.

Alonso’s magic thrums in his veins with a sudden intensity. The power of it travels from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

Corey nods at Penny, his eyes already tired. She holds up the lock of her mother’s hair and says:

“After forty-six years of still water

my mother is in the curse’s ties.

Open the Veil, open her eyes,

show us the curse’s tangled web.

Give us the power to pull it apart

and change the world we know.”

Penny drops the hair into the lake—and the water rushes away from it, revealing Penny’s calves and feet. Then the water flows back all at once, almost knocking her over.

And it happens again—Penny clutches her stomach, and the current appears between her and Alonso.

This time, Alonso’s magic doesn’t merely thrum. It fills him, making him too big for his skin. He wants to howl into the sky. Then he sees Penny’s face. She’s gasping for air, her knees buckling.

He’s hurting her.

Alonso steps toward her. Already he’s holding out a hand, pushing the energy back in her direction—but Penny stops him.

“Keep going,” she says.

Alonso screws his eyes shut. When he opens them, he doesn’t let himself look at Penny. Instead, he sets the jar at his feet to represent air, and he strikes a match. The wind is strong, but it doesn’t touch the flame, which burns steadily, barely flickering. He holds up his own token: an old ring with a sapphire set between two diamonds. He found it in the pile of his grandfather’s old stuff shoved into a closet onthe second floor of the house. It was still in its original box, unworn and only a little dull with dust.

Alonso knew right away that it was meant for Ellie Barrion.

“Forty-six years since rancor turned to murder.

We De Lucas now cut off the oxygen, the death, destruction, and terror.

This fated promise no longer holds true.

We imbue this agreement with the wills of the families De Luca and Barrion,

united in power.”

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