Page 11 of Enspelled

“Nothing is going on between them,” I say, my voice firm when I’m anything but.

Why did Briar get in the way of the spell? He kidnapped her, and he’s a wolf. Surely she’d want him dead—or at the very least crispy around the edges.

“And if there is, it’s Stockholm syndrome.”

Bodie raises his eyebrow, but I know he’s not buying it. “Hmm.”

“We don’t have time to call around magic shops asking about white asphodel,” I say, returning the conversation to what’s important.

“Why not?”

“Because of what’s been happening.”

Bodie gazes blankly back at me.

I sigh. “Someone blew up an elemental magic shop yesterday, while the three daughters of the elemental coven leader were inside.”

Understanding flares to life. “And I’m guessing that the coven leader believes your friend was responsible.”

I nod. “Briar has a power almost like an elemental.”

He cocks his head. “How can you be sure she didn’t do it?”

I don’t even have to think about it. “Briar is the sweetest person in town. Those elementals in the shop tormented her constantly. If she’d wanted them dead, she’d have done it years ago. No, this is something else.”

Although I brace myself for him to tell me I’m wrong, Bodie surprises me by merely nodding. “I’m guessing the coven leader thinks she’s responsible as well?”

I nod. “Yes, so we have to clear her name fast and get rid of the souls.”

“So we need two spells, then?”

A frown creases my brow. “Two spells?”

“One to clear your friend’s name and the other to get rid of the souls?”

“No, a spell won’t clear Briar’s name. Only figuring out who’s responsible for the explosions will do that. But there might be a spell to remove the souls.”

Propped against the headboard, he crosses his arms, looking as if he’s settling in for the foreseeable future—a deeply concerning prospect. “What’s the urgency with the souls? If the priority is clearing Briar’s name, the focus should be on that, and the souls later.”

What to tell this wolf that won’t give up any of our secrets?

“What do you know about souls?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “They fog up windows and move stuff around in the night.”

Despite the fact he’s a wolf, I swallow my need to smile. “Those are ghosts. Ghosts are harmless because they’ve lost their purpose, so they wander around aimlessly.Soulsare dangerous.”

“How?”

“They’ve lost their bodies, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want anything.”

“So it’s them wanting things that makes them dangerous?”

I shift my focus away from the wolf to the window. “Without their human needs—you know, eat, sleep, those necessities—all they focus on is the thing they want. I don’t know what these souls want, or even how a wolf pack can enter a person like they have with Briar. But if one soul wanting something is dangerous, I have no idea what an entire pack’s wants are going to do to Briar’s state of mind. She might find herself wanting those same things. In time, theywillchange her. And if we don’t get them out, and soon, she might not even remember who she was before they entered her.”

Now I turn back to Bodie to find him studying me. He looks relaxed, stretched out as he is, but his blue eyes are sober. He’s listening hard.

“Witches don’t mess around with souls for a reason, and losing your mind is just one of the things that can happen to you,” I say.

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