Page 30 of Saint, Sorrow, Sinner
“Bishop extracted stolen magic from inside a possessed corpse. That’s a lot different than extracting dead magic from a living person,” Colin said.
“Yes, but the transference wouldn’t happen on this plane,” Juniper said. She sipped her tea.
The oven beeped. Sophia slid on a mitt and retrieved the sticky turnovers.
“You want to kill her,” Lincoln deadpanned.
Juniper nodded. “Momentarily.”
“June,” Colin warned, cinching his brow. “That’sextremelydangerous.”
“Sophia has a foothold,” Juniper said, and gestured to Tehlor. “Like I said, every corpse she’s directly or indirectly possessed is a way station. If Sophia can tap into Tehlor during the ritual, she’ll have a living tether to this plane.” She arched a thick, perfectly sculpted brow. “If you’re strong enough to keep her steady, witch.”
Tehlor’s mouth tightened. “Careful, palm reader.”
“She’s strong enough,” Lincoln said.
“How is Tehlor a living tether?” Bishop asked, bewildered.
Sophia sighed through her nose. “Because she almost died,” she said, rolling the rest around in her mouth before shaping each word. “And I kept her here.”
Bishop shot Tehlor a wild-eyed look. They pressed their lips together and exhaled sharply through their nose. Misfired worry shot through them like an arrow, and Sophia watched Bishop right themself against it. Strange, how they tempered concern to comfort their pride. She transferred the turnovers to a clean plate and took one for herself.
Colin hummed. “No wonder you developed a banshee’s scream. Sounds like you’ve been dabbling in dead calling for a while now.”
Sophia shrugged. She remembered Lincoln’s bloody maw. How he snapped his teeth.I’ve seen what you can do—bring her back!“I didn’t have a choice.”
“Okay, so, Sophia uses Tehlor as a tether in the afterlife, somehow, then Juniper extracts the Breath of Judas and puts it where, exactly?” Bishop asked.
Juniper snorted. She slid her gaze to Colin. “You haven’t used that box my brother gave you yet, have you?”
The exorcist quirked his head. Something fiery and bold sparked behind his eyes. “It just so happens, I haven’t.”
Chaptereight
Botánica la Luz livedona forgotten corner two blocks down from Venice Beach. Juniper parked in a crowded lot behind the building, lowering her kickstand while Sophia toed at the cement.
Sophia peeled off her helmet and turned toward the ocean, inhaling brine and salt. Soreness bloomed in her thighs, unused to gripping the small seat on Juniper’s Triumph, but everything else, everywhereelse felt electric. After breakfast, Tehlor and Lincoln volunteered to ready the Belle House for the extraction ritual and Bishop and Colin gathered Holy Water from the Los Angeles Cathedral. Juniper needed supplies, so Sophia accompanied her to the botánica. Hand-painted flowers brightened the white paint, curling over old brick, reaching toward the roof. Juniper shrugged off her jacket and draped it over her arm. Sophia did the same.
“Not as pretty as it is famous,” Juniper said, gazing at the distant sea.
Sophia shook her head. “Plenty pretty for me.”
“C’mon.” She nudged Sophia with her elbow. “You ever been to a botánica before?”
“I’ve seen ’em.They’re all over Austin.”
Juniper held the canary-yellow door and waved Sophia inside.
Muchwas her initial thought.Grandcame next. Thenboldandcrowdedandtimely.
Sturdy shelves filled with altar figurines, novena candles, and fragrant oil spanned each wall, surrounded by waist-high tables stocked with pamphlets, paperbacks, and salt satchels. Incense and shampoo, body lotion and room sprays. The botánica was a market steeped in magic yet rooted in familiar iconography. Sophia plucked a candle shaped like the Virgin Mary from a shelf and ran her thumb along Holy Mother’s face. Someone at the counter spoke fast-lipped Spanish, asking question after question until they were satisfied. When they left, Sophia noticed a dark splotch soaking through the bottom of their paper bag.
The clerk wiped the counter with a rag. She greeted her and Juniper, offering a polite “Bienvenidos.”
Juniper nodded. “Buenas tardes.”
“What do you need?” Sophia asked.
