Page 58 of Too Hexed to Handle

‘She’s been alone since she was a child?’ I say. ‘That’s awful.’

‘Mm.’ He doesn’t seem to agree with me, like any sympathy he must have once felt for her has been buried beneath her recent actions. ‘We understood each other, at first. Both outcasts from society. But one night we were arguing over – hexes, I don’t remember what, it was so trivial. The next thing I knew, her hands were on my neck. I didn’t realise what she’d done until she pulled away, frantic. Said my anger smelled too good. Told me she was sorry.’ His face is hard. ‘I broke it off at once.’

I shudder. It’s everything I feared would happen with Michael. Aside from hexing him myself, it’s everything that has happened with Astin. ‘You learned she was a Souleater and tried to abandon her.’

He flexes his glove. ‘You can hardly blame me.’

The worst part is, I don’t. I’ve always known someone like me is unlovable, no matter how much I pretend otherwise. And last night only proved that. ‘What happened afterwards? Why are you still talking to her, if you plan to kill her?’

‘Well, I had hoped to keep the killing part secret, if you recall.’ He rolls his eyes. There’s silence for a moment, as though he’s contemplating how much he’s willing to tell me. Eventually, he says, ‘After she attacked me, I called her a monster, and she decided to show me how monstrous she could be. She went on the rampage in Shiverholde a few weeks later – revenge for her parents’ deaths at last – and gained a tremendous amount of magic. She threatened me into staying with her, and I’ve been trapped ever since. Pretending we have a chance, so she won’t send a wraith after me.’

‘That was two years ago,’ I whisper. ‘You’ve been trapped for two years.’

His lips twitch, although I don’t understand what’s funny. Maybe it’s another way we’re alike – he’s also learned a smile is an excellent coping mechanism. Softly, he says, ‘Now, perhaps, you see why she has to die. The one benefit to being in Eira’s family home though, was the access it gave me to records of their kind. When Clarabelle ordered any documents relating to Souleaters destroyed, it seems as though the Souleaters did everything they could to preserve as much as possible, Eira’s ancestors included. She comes from a long line of Souleaters, and they were remarkably prolific about recording their secrets.’

Eira’s family has something in common with mine. Howard loved his diaries too.

Damian continues. ‘There was a lot to go through, but I gradually pieced together the potion’s location, and how to access it. Eira once found me poring over the papers. I had to work hard to convince her it was mere curiosity and nothing more.’

‘But she still warded the potion against you.’

He frowns. ‘What?’

‘The day we met, you told me it was warded against you. That’s why you need us to –’

‘Right, yes. Yes, the wards were her failsafe, in case I was lying. She never dreamed I’d get help. And I never dreamed one of the people I asked for help would ruin everything.’ He eyes me. ‘Now she knows my plan, she’ll be on high alert for anyone seeking items touched by Ozias.’

‘So I’ll need to finish the quest before she finds me,’ I say quickly. I can’t let this be for nothing. I tug the first item from my pocket and Damian’s whole expression changes, like marble cracking, as a wholly genuine smile splits his face. ‘I have one of the items, at least. If I can find another . . . were there no other clues in the journals you found?’

He’s not listening, his focus fixed on the vial.

‘Do you know what it does?’ I ask.

‘It could be a number of things.’ The vial reflects in his eyes as he takes it from me and holds it up to the light, warming the cool blue tones of his irises with golden streaks. ‘Souleaters used to live in tentative harmony with humans, but then the attacks started, and people began being hexed in the night. The wardens, led by Clarabelle, demanded something be done, but the king was a vocal Souleater supporter. In return for that support, Ozias provided all sorts to keep the king in power. Money. Healing potions. Calming balms, to keep people content. To stop them rising against him. But the wardens were growing in power, spreading hatred faster than the king could quell it. After Ozias’s death, they soon toppled the monarchy, ushering in a new age.’

Damian hands the vial back to me. Calming balms, to keep people content. Given the way its smell made me feel last night, I’d bet anything that’s what this potion does.

‘But how did Ozias make something so . . . good?’ I ask.

Damian shrugs. ‘What does it matter? Right now, you need to focus on finding a second item.’ He drums his fingers on the table. ‘Alongside the journals, Eira’s ancestors also collected a number of relics from that time. There’s a locket that Ozias gifted to Clarabelle, but –’

‘Can you get it for me?’

He shakes his head. ‘It’s locked inside a cabinet. The key is long lost, and my brief attempts at breaking in were unsuccessful. It didn’t seem worth raising Eira’s suspicions by asking for her assistance when I thought there’d be time to seek out the items elsewhere, but now . . .’

‘Now we can’t wait. Do you think it’s protected by another enchantment?’ I wish I knew how I’d unlocked the statue. Although . . . I press a hand to where I know the line of magic sits on my stomach. Maybe I wouldn’t need luck this time. As much as I hate to do it, maybe using the power I have left would be enough to get the cabinet open. ‘Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’ll try. I’ll find a way. I’m good with locks.’

Damian looks doubtful, but refrains from saying that nothing about me remotely suggests accomplished thief. ‘All right. First, let me find Eira and do some damage control. I’ll convince her I have no intention of using the cure on her and then keep her distracted while you search. Wait until dark, and I’ll suggest taking her to the festival as a treat. She won’t be able to resist. But if I somehow fail, and she returns to the house while you’re there . . . Well. Let’s just hope she doesn’t.’

‘Let me guess. If I get caught, she’ll kill me?’

His gaze locks with mine. ‘Oh, she’d do much worse than that.’

19

Damian’s only other words of wisdom are that I’ll find the cabinet at the back of Eira’s library, and that under no circumstances should I enter the basement.

The warning’s not necessary. I don’t want to enter the building, let alone some grimy basement.