A Witch's Trial (Witch's Path Series: Book 3) (26 page)

The ghoul was up and running at us, minus an arm. I stepped back to give Ty room to work. If Ty could keep it away from me, I might be able to adapt a spell Varro had been teaching me. One of these days I had to put aside some time to practice purifying power and spells.

Ty tossed the ghoul back into the woods, and I started tracing runes in the air with my wand. Haphazardly mixing the elements of two spells wasn't ideal. The shield bubble needed to be purified so the ghoul couldn't get out, and it needed enough power to sustain the spell for a while. This would be a lot of effort for nothing if the ghoul got out in a few hours.

Under my fingers, the wand was warm and buzzing, as if it was generating its own energy to augment mine. I got the power purification runes right, and the rest slid together easily. Ty was getting ready for his next defensive move when the silvery sphere encapsulated the ghoul.

The ghoul had picked up its missing limb when he was in the woods and was using it as a club to beat against the inside of the sphere. Breathing a sigh of relief, I took a moment to look around. Sometime during the scuffle, we'd moved off the road and into Landa's driveway. With a little luck, no one had driven by during the scuffle. The police showing up at the house wouldn't improve anything.
 

I dismissed the wand and patted Ty. "Thank you, buddy, I don't know what I would've done without you. He lowered his head, and I leaned against his cheek. "You are a very good boy. Do you think you can help me get the ghoul back to the lodge?"

Ty nodded.
 

I walked over to the silvery sphere and gave it a push. It rolled across the ground without much effort, sending the ghoul tumbling around. Once I got it going, Ty took over, nosing it around like a dog herding a ball. The ghoul somersaulted and flopped onto the bottom of the ball, clinging to that spot long enough to ride it up before being hurled back to the bottom. Ty ran after the sphere and nosed it again. I really needed to make some dinosaur-sized toys. He loved to play.

The trip home was slower, mostly because we were restricted to my tired shuffle. The two of us rolled the ghoul into the parking lot, and I plopped down on the stairs. I needed a shower. Between rolling through the dirt and grappling with the ghoul, my clothes were bloody and torn, cuts on my hands and knees continued to ooze, and I smelled like rotten corpse.
 

If I'd had any doubts about my parents leaving, this had silenced them. Dad's house might not be safer or under my watchful eye, but Mom would've had a fit if she saw me like this. The ghoul wouldn't have gone over well either. Dad would've been bit more relaxed, but even he was bound to get upset at some point.

The front door opened and Elron's voice drifted out. "We were getting worried. Where have you… Never mind that. Are you all right? What happened?"
 

Elron bounded down the stairs, knelt down, and started patting me for injuries. I can't say the attention helped my bruised body, but the worry was charming.
 

"I'm banged up but fine. Turns out, Varro was right; taking a walk was a bad idea. We were at the end of the driveway when the ghoul jumped me, but I captured it so we can move on to the killing-the-demon part of things. That's good, right?" The moment the words escaped, I wanted to call them back.

Elron's hands shook, but that didn't slow down his inspection of my leg. When he spoke, his voice was steady. "That would be beneficial."

"Ty and your bracelet saved me." His eyes met mine, and I continued. "You were right. I didn't have enough time for a spell, but the staff kept it off me until Ty could help."

"When things settle down, we will be practicing three times a week."

"Three? Is that really necessary?" I groaned, but that could've been from his poking my scraped knee.
 

"It is. When I learned the staff, I had to practice daily. Three times a week is my concession to your busy life and other skills. We can always practice more." He winked.

"Three is good."
 

Elron set down my leg and studied the remains standing in the opalescent sphere. Ty's attention was fixed on the ghoul, which was reattaching its arm.

"What are we going to do with it?" I asked. Sure, the spell was holding, but I wasn't sure how long it would last. That was one of the dangers of cobbling together complex spells on the fly—the parameters could get lost, overextend, or be insufficient.

"That is a question for Varro." Elron touched a finger to the wooden railing and a slight shudder radiated into the building.

Between the fight and the slow walk home, the sun had drifted closer to the horizon, and the mountains were casting long shadows over the ground. The breeze cut through my sweater, raising goose bumps on my arms. The chill crept under my skin and into my heart. With the captured ghoul, we were ready for the last part of Varro's plan.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I ducked my head so Elron wouldn't see. Varro had drilled the plan into our heads. Once we captured the demon's next attacker, we would use it to draw Gremory to us and kill him. Whether he'd want to start that part of the plan tonight or tomorrow, I couldn't say, but this night could be my last with Elron.

Since finding that diary, I'd felt like there was an invisible timer counting down until things changed again. Between Gremory, Sylvia, Elron, and Varro, there was so much that could happen. Moving forward, every path had some or many undesirable results.
 

A sharp whistle caught my attention. Blinking furiously to clear the moisture out of my eyes, I looked up to see Julius gliding into the parking lot. He landed and examined the ghoul on his way over to us.
 

"It's good to see him captured. I noticed his arrival but lost him in the forest and ended up searching for him in the wrong area. My apologies that I was not nearby to help," Julius said.

"It's fine. Ty and I got him."

Julius looked over his should to see Ty nodding. "I see. Excellent work."

"So it has happened," Varro said from the porch.
 

Elron's hand tightened around mine, and I gave what I hoped was a reassuring squeeze. Varro stepped around us as he came down the stairs to look at my catch. He exchanged a curt nod with Julius and paced around the ghoul several times.
 

With a sigh, he turned back to us. "I had hoped we would have more time, but that won't be the case. There is much to do and little time. Elron, help Michelle get cleaned up. Julius and I shall store the ghoul."

"But what if the spell fails? I made up that spell on the spot; I don't know if it will hold." However, considering the energy it had sucked out of me, it should hold for a while.
 

"Does it feel like it's going to fail?" Varro asked.

"No," I mumbled.
 

He nodded. "Then I think it will be fine, but Julius will help ensure that the ghoul doesn't escape. Go clean up. We can handle this."

"It is the least I can do after losing the ghoul in the first place," Julius said.
 

"Thank you, Julius." I smiled. "Varro, you said we didn't have much time. How much time are we talking about?"

"We should finish the spells and be ready for action by one in the morning." Varro spoke to me but kept his eyes on Elron.
 

I nodded, as did Elron. Turning to Elron, I softly asked, "Could you help me up? I'm afraid I've gotten stiff while sitting here."
 

Elron hoisted me to my feet, and I bit back a groan. What the fall hadn't bruised, the tussle with the ghoul had. As he helped me up the stairs, I called over my shoulder, "Thank you, Ty. You were a good boy. Have fun, but keep watch."
 

Ty snorted loudly and started around the corner of the lodge. Varro and Julius followed him, carefully rolling the ghoul-filled shield. The ghoul had finally gotten the hang of being rolled and was crawling forward with the movement of the sphere.
 

"Do you have any healing charms?" Elron asked.
 

"Yup." I'd made a fresh batch the other day. They were a necessity in my line of work, though until recently they'd been for colleagues and victims. Maybe when the demon was dead I could reduce my injury rate. There was nothing good about being beaten up, no matter how good the cause. Given the option, I'd rather solve problems in a way that didn't involve cuts or bruises. I didn't mind holding the line between criminals and the rest of the population, but being on the bleeding edge of the line wasn't fun.

"You should use one. The salve won't treat all your injuries."

I wanted to argue, inform him that I wasn't injured and didn't need to be healed, but I couldn't. My leg had tightened up enough that it was a struggle to set it on the next step. Elron sighed, lifted me up, and carried me to the top of the stairs.
 

Swallowing what remained of my pride, I spoke softly. "Thank you. I thought I was in better shape than this."

"You always do."
 

"Would you mind getting a charm out of my workroom while I shower? The top right drawer of the old card catalog has the low-powered charms."
 

"Card catalog?" Elron asked as we made it through the front door and started down the hall.
 

It was hard to know what he would and wouldn't recognize. I'd thought the card catalog might be old enough to stir a memory, but I didn't really know when they'd been common.

"It's a wooden cabinet with small drawers, each slightly larger than your palm. There are four drawers across and six down. Each one has a handle and a small label." That should be enough information. It was the only thing in my office with that many drawers.
 

"I shall find the charm." He frowned as his pace slowed. "How did the ghoul attack you?"

That was a question I hadn't wanted to answer. He wouldn't like the explanation, and I didn't need a scolding. I fixed my eyes on a painting at the end of the hall. "Well, I was riding Ty when it tackled me. It must've climbed up a tree or something. Anyway, it knocked me off Ty, but I used a spell to soften my landing."

"Ty is thirteen feet tall." Elron's words were clipped and his voice tight.

"Yes, he is. I need to get a helmet." The words slipped out before I could think better of them.
 

"A helmet?"

"A harness or saddle would be good too. There isn't much to hold on to up there." I was already in trouble; a bit more honesty wouldn't make it any worse.

He took a few deep breaths, and after a long exhale said, "Are you planning on riding Ty in the future?"

"Yup. Kids with big pet dogs ride them. People have been riding donkeys, horses, and mules for thousands of years. If they'd had pet dinosaurs, they would've ridden them too. It is perfectly safe to ride Ty. He's smart, understands what I say, and isn't prone to spooking." All very logical, but I was betting my parents wouldn't buy that argument, which was why I didn't plan on mentioning it until after Gremory was dead. Compared to fighting a demon, riding a T-Rex was nothing.
 

"This is why you are an only child," Elron muttered as we walked into my apartment. "Will you be able to bathe yourself?"

"Absolutely. I'll be back in a few minutes." When I limped into my room, Elron was shaking his head and rubbing his temples, but I thought I saw a hint of a smile.
 

Uncomfortable showers were becoming a trend, and this was no exception. It did relax the angry muscles and clean the cuts. As careful as I was, putting on clothes managed to aggravate every one of my injuries. My hands were too cut up to make braiding my hair comfortable, so I brushed it and left it hanging, which left damp spots on my shirt.

I sat on my bed and called Wells. He should be a part of the night's activities.

"Oaks, what do you need?"

"We're going to kill the demon in the morning, early morning. I thought you'd want to be here." My voice was soft and heavy. The waiting and worrying was about to come to an end.

"What time?"

"Be here at midnight."

"Midnight tonight?" Wells asked.

"Yes, just over eight hours from now at Landa's Lodge."

"I'll be there." He hung up before I could reply. I couldn't blame him; it hadn't really been a social call.
 

I tried not to look worried when I left my room. Elron had his own concerns and didn't need any of mine. As soon as I waked out of the bedroom, Elron handed me the charm. I rubbed it against a cut that was still oozing to activate it, then tucked it in my pocket. "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure. Would you like something to eat? I took the liberty of fetching dinner." Elron motioned to the table.
 

"Thank you. Food would be good." I followed him to the table where Varro and Julius where fixing plates.

We ate in silence. It wasn't intentional; there was simply nothing we could discuss without ruining the meal. Varro was deteriorating before our eyes. He had transitioned from wiry strength to a frail old man. I could see worry and fatigue around his mouth and eyes. Julius was more difficult to read because I hadn't studied gargoyle faces, but there was something in the way he moved. There was fear, but he was mostly determined. Elron was lost in thought, his hand robotically moving food from the plate to his mouth. I didn't have to read his face to know what was going through his mind. There was Sylvia, Gremory, Varro, myself, and concern that he wouldn't be able to cope with the outcome.
 

I was glad I couldn't see my face. The feelings inside were more than enough to keep me occupied. There was fear, determination, and a healthy dose of avoidance. The best thing I could do for my peace of mind was to ignore the potentially deadly events looming on the horizon. When the time came, I would do my job to the very best of my ability, and that was the most anyone could ask of me.
 

We finished eating and cleared the table before returning to our seats. When this was finished, I might need to paint the table and change the art, give this area a new look so it didn't remind me of the unhappiness.