Page 30 of Mending Mayhem
“Worse. He’s eternally putting on plays for the denizens of the Underworld.”
“Focus, Ember,” Ash called from outside the door.
“Okay.” Easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one about to commit a magical felony.
I shook out my hands and recited the incantation for real. “Oil of garlic, eye of newt, hyssop flower, wolfsbane root. Like the phoenix, ashes rise. Come back to life before my eyes.”
Heat built in the core of my being, mixing and churning with the nausea already permeating my innards. I picked up the dagger and pressed the tip of the blade to my finger. Three drops of blood trickled into the bowl, and the mixture sizzled, turning into a blackened goop before popping and going up in smoke.
“Oh crap.” I fanned the fumes into the box of ashes. “I guess this isn’t one you can premix and carry with you.”
“Everything okay?” Ash asked from the hallway.
“We’re good.” The smoke sank onto Mayhem’s cremated remains, clinging to them like an early morning fog on the dew. The heat in my belly intensified, spreading through my body like a surge of lava from an erupting volcano, and I pushed the magic outward, focusing on the skull.
“Whoa.” A rush of adrenaline set my nerves ablaze, and every hair on my body stood on end. My breath came out in a huff before I raked in another one, the sensation of dark, primal power raising goosebumps on my flesh.
The energy kept building and building, and it was all I could do not to shout, “More power. Absolute power!” like Jafar when he’s turning into a genie in Aladdin.
Holy Hecate.
“Mmm… It feels good, doesn’t it?”
So. Effing. Good.
With a final push, I released the magic from my being, allowing every bit of it to encompass Mayhem’s remains. The smoke thickened and swirled, and green fire erupted in the box, burning through the cardboard as if it were kindling.
Sparks flashed. Flames crackled. Bone reassembled.
A bang that nearly burst my eardrums rattled the windows. Searing white light blinded me. My head smacked the floor.
“Ember!” Ash raced into the room and cradled me in her lap. “Are you okay?”
I blinked, my vision returning, and I swallowed the thickness from my throat. “I’m peachy,” I rasped. “Did it work?”
“Indeed.” Chaos lifted Mayhem’s skull. “It is whole once again.”
“I knew you could do it. You are a goddess.”
“Do the exorcism,” I strained to speak.
“First, we need to cleanse you of the darkness. Come on.” Ash helped me to my feet and guided me to the kitchen. I stumbled, my knees…hell, my everything…weak from the power of the spell.
“Rub this on your hands.” She passed me a canister of powdered charcoal, and I did as she instructed. “With the energy of a cleansing rain, darkness fades and light remains.”
I wiped two charcoal-coated fingers across both my cheeks and inhaled deeply as the icky, sticky dark magic sensation dissipated from my system, taking most of my vim with it. Pressing a hand to my chest, I heaved three more breaths. “That was intense.”
“You were phenomenal. With practice, you could?—”
“I’m going to stop you right there. There will be no practice of the dark arts in this coven. I hope to never cast that spell again.” I chugged the glass of water Ash offered.
“Wash your hands. You’re getting charcoal everywhere.” She wiped the empty glass with a paper towel before carrying a grimoire to the living room. Chaos set the skull on the coffee table, and I dried my hands before sinking into my favorite chair.
“I’m assuming we don’t need a containment circle, right?” She opened the book and flipped to the right page. “If you think we do, we’ll need to go to my studio for the supplies.”
“We’re good.” I rolled the stiffness from my neck.
“How do you know I won’t kill you all the moment I reform?”