I woke up from my too-short nap feeling slightly anxious, and my stomach still feels tight after climbing the couple flights of stairs last night. After we get rid of this fucker, I need to start yoga or something. I can’t stand being this uncomfortable.
I look over at the clock, and it’s barely ten a.m. I should still be sleeping, but I’m already dressed and ready to search the area Gregory pinpointed.
Knowing he might have been this close for all this time pisses me off. His running off to Savannah made sense to me. I’m sure he knows if we get a hold of him, he won’t stand a chance, so why stay so near? There has to be something we’re missing. Or he’s no longer by the school, but that’s too depressing to even think about.
“What will those do, and how do we get them to work?” I motion to the little trinkets Gunnar has.
He pinches one between his fingers, moving it left and right to catch the light. “They are designed to trap the witch much in the same way he was able to trap Aeson. Only he doesn’t need to step on these for them to activate.” He tosses the little thing in the air and snatches it back into his fist. “We do, however, need to get close enough to him for them to actually be effective. If we can put it on him in some way, that would be the best, but if we get that close, we might as well just let Death do his thing.”
“What about that? Can you just end him if you see him or something?” I turn my attention to Grim.
“I would need to touch him, and since we know he has the ability to bind our powers, I’m not sure if I should.”
“So that leaves me.” I shrug, totally okay with ripping the guy’s soul from his body. I don’t need to touch him, hell, I don’t even need to get that close to do it.
“It’s not going to be that easy,” Calix warns. “I’m sure this guy will have the place warded, maybe even have wards that could stop you from feeding off of him. If he’s smart enough to figure out how to syphon Charmed magic without the backlash, I’m sure he’s got some shit up his sleeve we won’t see coming.”
I rub my tummy again when the baby gives me a few well-placed jabs.I know, I’m tired too, baby girl.A heavy feeling settles low in my stomach, almost like a cramp. Great, now is not the time for a poop break. I glare over at Gunnar. No one takes more joy from the fact that I have to shit now because I eat more than he does. Somehow, I feel like he fucking jinxed me when he suggested I needed to shit out the souls I was hoarding when we were back in Savannah. Talk about taking something for granted. If I never poop again after this baby is born, I will be a happy bitch.
He looks around when I scowl at him, wondering what he did. Thankfully, the feeling passes within a minute or so.
“You’re saying if we can get that on him, we can hold him in place and just kill him the old-fashioned way?” I question.
“Yup,” Gunnar snarls. “I can’t fucking wait.”
“How do we get him to stay put long enough to make that happen? If he has the place warded, I’m sure he’ll know when we breach them.”
“It would be easier if I could travel, but we’re going to have to rely on Death for that.” Gunnar grumbles, his lips set in a hard line.
“We need you to figure out where the wards are so we don’t tip him off that we’re there. Then tall and creepy blinks in, getting close enough to plant that” —he points at Gunnar, meaning the amulet he’s now holding— “and trap him so he can’t escape while we break the wards he has in place, and then we cut the fucker’s head off.” Calix makes it sound so simple.
“Wouldn’t Grim just be able to blink in and cut his head off all at once? Why will we need to break the wards?”
“We have to assume he has the place set up like the house he trapped Aeson in.” Gunnar crosses his arms.
“So, if Grim goes in, he’ll be in a trap too?” I’m definitely not liking this.
“Maybe not,” Grim offers, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.
“What if we can’t get through the wards?”
“The Savannah witch told me how to break a ward, and he gave me this.” Grim holds up a thin piece of white chalk, the kind teachers used to use to write on a blackboard.
“A stick of chalk?” I can’t hide the disbelief in my voice.
Gunnar walks over and inspects the stick in Grim’s hand. “It’s not just regular chalk, witches make it with spelled materials,” he informs me, then adds, “That should work.” I note the appreciation in his tone as he nods at Grim. “Wards are complex, but the foundation is simple. One line out of place, or in this case a broken circle, and we can disrupt the magic.”
“Why the hell didn’t we just break the circle Aeson was trapped in then?” I throw my hands in the air, wondering why my bestie had to die and be brought back if it’s really that simple.
“First, the Brownie was already trapped. We’re going to break the circles before they’re activated. Second, we didn’t have the tools.” Gunnar points to the chalk Grim is still holding. “Lastly, you were in the house alone, and we didn’t know what else was waiting for you. Sometimes brute force is the way to go.”
“Whatever, as long as it ends with him dead, that’s all that matters to me.” I’m fully willing to admit they understand way more about the supernatural world than I do.
“That is the plan,” Gunnar mutters.
“What’s the plan?” Calix asks.
“Killing Antonio,” I reply, and look him over. He’s fresh from the shower and looking oh so yummy. A smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. He knows exactly what I’m thinking, not that I was trying to hide it.
