“Or the smell,” Rin said with a sour face.

“That’s because he is decaying and destroying his form,” I said. “He’s probably starving and is weakened. I will probably need another ritual to undo everything completely. A sort of unbinding spell that needs to happen.”

“How do you suppose we do that?” Rin asked. “Besides, do you really think another ritual is necessary? Especially after what happened with your ex?”

I nodded. “We are much, much closer to defeating him now that I know exactly what he is. And with the help of my coven and Savannah, I might be able to figure solve this out on my own.”

“Not a chance,” Ezra said. “We’re going to help you get through this. From middle to the end since we couldn’t be there for you since the beginning.”

I smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Get ahold of her and find out what she can do on her end,” Luke said standing up. “I’ll go for a run around the perimeter.”

I nodded. “Be safe.”

He left and I picked up the phone, sending a text to Savannah.

“Send me all the information you can find on breaking a curse like this,” I sent her.

“Will do. Talk soon,” she texted back.

“Good luck,” I added and placed my phone back into my bag.

Now all I had to do was wait for the information. From there, I could comb through everything she sent me and make sure I can be rid of Jared for and for all.

24

RIN

The second Ezra mentioned Toni’s phone having service, my ears were piqued. I had spent most of the morning cleaning up fish bits and catching up on the rest of my chores. But once Toni started talking, my attention was mostly spent on what she was saying.

Somehow, her phone suddenly had service. It must have been a magic thing, because that was the only explanation for it.

All this time, I had suspected there was more to her story. I never once considered she didn’t remember because of a wonky ritual. And I only believed that a little. Amnesia because of a spell that had gone wrong… That sounded way too made up for my tastes.

Still, I was interested in hearing more of what she had to say. Then a strange chill filled the room, almost reminding me of a crisp spring breeze when the windows were left open, and Ezra couldn’t get her to respond. Whatever was going on, I had forgotten about my chores and went to find out for myself.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I stepped toward the couch.

Ezra shook his head as he stared at Toni. “I don’t have a clue. She started staring at her phone and now she seems like she’s in some sort of trance.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?” I asked. “How to we snap her out of it?”

I walked around the couch and then bent over in front of her. I snapped my fingers in front of her face. She didn’t even blink.

Ezra pulled on my arm, drawing my attention to him.

“We don’t. We wait until she’s done,” Ezra said. “We don’t know what the consequences are if she were to come out of it in the middle.”

“So, we watch her doing whatever she’s doing?” I asked. “How do we know she’s really talking to her coven?”

“Why would she lie about that?” Ezra asked, leveling his gaze on me.

I shook my head. “Not her. Them.”

Ezra shrugged and shook his head once. “We trust her.”

Just about as quickly as she had fallen under her trance, she came out. And it was like a light turned on under her skin. She was brighter, warmer. Whatever happened, I loved the way it made her glow.