Page 69

The air had grown stifling hot in close quarters with the fire spirit. Simon felt powerful magic swirling around him, calling to his own abilities and drawing the ghosts closer. Donnelly and Gabriella’s voices seemed deafeningly loud, echoing in the hallway.

Simon didn’t know if the creature actually understood language or reacted to tone and context, but it definitely wanted the book. He backed up as close as he dared to the doorway, and the fire spirit swooped at him again, so hot his skin reddened. Simon barely evaded the landvaettir, diving toward the doorway instead of away, and hoped the entity would go past him into the room.

Instead, it pulled him closer, and he struggled, trying to protect the book while avoiding getting burned or being dragged into the cell with the creature.

Donnelly and Gabriella’s voices echoed in the hallway. Simon’s head spun from the heat and the strong magic, but he fought to keep his focus and get away from the entity.

He rolled, managing to put the landvaettir in line with the doorway and angle himself into the corridor. Without a body to kick or fight against, Simon was at a disadvantage against the creature’s power.

“Let go of him!” Vic let loose a powerful blast of foam that struck the entity dead center. Without mass, the stream went right through the creature, dimming it but not pushing it away. “Now!” he shouted to Simon, who was crawling away from the entrance. Vic kept up his barrage while Donnelly and Gabriella reached the most powerful part of the litany. Simon could feel their magic reverberate in the narrow corridor, and sensed the power activate to pull the landvaettir into the containment cell.

The entity threw off sparks and tongues of flame, singeing Gabriella’s hair, raising red spots on Donnelly’s skin, and smoldering on their clothing. None of that distracted the two witches, who kept their attention on the magic.

The creature fought the pull, holding on to Simon so tightly he gasped for breath and struggled to move. Gabriella and Donnelly never changed the pace of their incantation, but Simon felt certain he was fighting for his life against a fire spirit that did not want to be imprisoned.

The skin around his ankle blistered where the entity touched it. Simon kicked and wriggled but couldn’t loosen its hold even as it burned him.

“Not today, fucker!” Vic launched one of the foam grenades at the center of the entity as Simon wrenched from its grip.

The two witches shouted the final words of power, closing the door and sealing the landvaettir inside. Simon lay panting on the floor with Vic standing over him protectively. He still clutched the compendium in his arms.

Donnelly and Gabriella moved close to the door, adding the final wards to seal the room. Once they were done, Simon knew they would supervise bricking over the entrance with special magic-damping materials to help keep the landvaettir trapped indefinitely.

“Are you okay?” Vic slung his weapon over his shoulder and knelt beside Simon.

Now that the adrenaline from the life-or-death fight was fading, Simon’s ankle hurt like hell. “I’ll live. Thanks for saving me. I really thought it would drag me inside.”

“We wouldn’t have allowed that,” Donnelly told him as Gabriella knelt on the opposite side from Vic. “But the foam cannon kept us from needing to divide our efforts. Thank you.”

“Let me see.” Gabriella moved Simon’s leg for a better look, and he stifled a moan. Vic held his hand as Gabriella examined the wound.

“I can fix this.” She let her hand hover above the burn as she murmured words Simon couldn’t catch. He felt the pain stop right away, and a cool wash of power swept over the blistered skin.

When he sat up, only a slight redness remained, and the soreness was gone. “Thank you.”

“Can’t have you getting hurt in the line of duty,” Gabriella joked.

Simon looked around the hallway. “I sensed ghosts and shadows at the beginning. I was afraid they’d gotten away from Alicia, and they’d try to stop us.”

Donnelly shook his head. “They actually wanted rid of the landvaettir as much or more than we did, I suspect. It drained their energy and weakened them. The spirits were here, and they were making sure no one interfered, in case the entity called in reinforcements.” He wiped a hand across his brow. “Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I’ve thanked them and sent them away.”

Vic helped Simon to his feet. Simon tested his wounded ankle, putting weight down gingerly, but it held without hurting.

“Good as new.” Gabriella beamed.

“Is it really over? Will the warding hold?” Simon glanced between the two elder witches.

Donnelly looked toward the door. “I believe so. The wards are strong and should hold even against meddling. Once it’s covered up and a memory spell is added, people will forget it’s even there, and the entity will go back to being just another ghost story. Gabriella and I will stick around to make sure that happens before we head home.”

Simon realized he still had a death grip on the grimoire. “Here.” He held it out to Donnelly. Vic grabbed the magic damping bag and handed it over as well. “Please take this and make it disappear.”

“Gladly.” Donnelly carefully replaced the book in the sack and muttered an additional protective spell.

“Is there anything you need?” Simon knew that the working must have taken a toll on the two elder practitioners.

Gabriella shook her head. “Not just yet. We’ll make sure the room is sealed, drive back, get a good meal, and a good night’s sleep. Sometimes the simplest remedies are best.”

Simon and Vic walked them out. Alicia and Rowan joined them, looking tired but triumphant. “Thank you. For everything,” Simon said as they reached the cars.