Page 25 of Captivating Magic

“We aren’t going straight back,” he said as an idea occurred to him. “We’re going to pay a Goddess a visit.”

“I don’t understand,”Ebba said for what seemed like the hundredth time after they arrived in the clearing by Thorne Manor.

“You will in due time, Sweet. Can you cut me a break here? My head feels like it’s about to explode.” The tension was killing him, and Lo didn’t want her to catch on to how worried he was about her future or lack thereof. Although he’d never met Death in person, he knew she didn’t play when it came to mortal souls. His only hope was Isis. Which was why he was waiting on sacred ground after texting Alastair to meet him here.

He glanced at his watch.

What the hell was taking him so long? His cousin was prompter than prompt. Al’s motto was along the lines of “Arrive early. If you’re on time, you’re late.”

“Why do you keep looking at your watch, Lo? I’m sure your hot cousin will be here any minute. We didn’t give him much by way of notice, you know.”

He stopped pacing to glare at her, seated on the altar and swinging her shapely, petite legs. “What the hell is with your infatuation with all the men you meet today?”

“I was seeing if you were paying attention.”

Her grin disarmed him, and Lo was enchanted by her arresting face. That damned smile was beginning to do strange things to his insides. It was more than his desire to spend endless steamy nights together. It had become a physical need to see her face light up when she looked at him.

He scowled harder when she sighed and launched herself off her stone perch. As she sauntered to him, she trailed her gaze over his visage, pausing on his lips before meeting his eyes.

“You have to face facts, Lo. I have.” Her mouth twisted into a sad half smile. “You might be unable to save me, and that’s okay.”

“No! I?—”

Pressing her finger to his lips, she shook her head. Her touch was more a slight vibration than physical restraint, but it was enough to quiet him.

“Just promise me you’ll get Spencer out of my body and send that fucker to hell, where he belongs.”

His eyes burned, and he had to blink to clear his vision. The gathering moisture on his lashes created a kaleidoscope of greenery. He wanted to tell her he would save her, promise her a long life, but the rules were different for her kind, and Castor had fucked them by binding her to this plane. She’d be lucky ifthe Powers That Be allowed her to reincarnate on the next go-around.

As if Ebba read his mind, she cocked her head and asked, “What did Death mean when she called Spencer and me ‘runaway souls,’ Lo?”

“They’re spirits who avoid moving on to the afterlife. They become outlaws of a sort.”

Her troubled expression conveyed what he was feeling.

“I’m going to do my best to help you, Ebba. Believe it.”

“But if you can’t, I need you to be at peace with it.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” he replied through a tight throat. His voice was gravelly, as if he’d repeatedly downed flaming Blue Blazer cocktails and burned the lining of his esophagus.

The urge to hold her overcame him. The frustration attached to that inability was making his skin feel too tight and driving him mad. Oddly, he suspected he needed the comfort more than her. Acceptance came freely to those closer to true death. Not the living.

“I’m not prepared to lose you just yet, Ebba James,” he said hoarsely.

Her smile was luminescent, and her soul glowed with her pleasure. The tug of her inner beauty was strong, as was his desire to bask in her warmth.

“You’re not losing anyone, son.”

He spun to acknowledge his solemn-faced cousin’s comment. “Death came for her, Al. I don’t know what to do.” Lifting his hands, he showed the page, the globe, and the voodoo doll. “Clutch only had these to offer, but I thought if we could call Isis and explain what Castor did…” The desperation in Laszlo’s voice was cringeworthy.

“She’s family to you and Liz, and that makes her an honorary Thorne. We’ll do what we can,” Alastair promised.

10

If she lived to be a hundred, Ebba would never forget the following ceremony and the resulting appearance of the Goddess Isis in the clearing.

Castor arrived not long after Alastair, and Ebba was left to assume he’d called his friend prior to showing up. After Castor and Laszlo shared a look of mutual dislike, the three men set about “casting” a circle.

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