“I’m not scared,” she said.
Juni took the cup and stared into the swirling silvery depths.It almost looked like a spiraling galaxy.Then she drank it down.It tasted awful and her nose wrinkled.Almost immediately, her body shook.Each second that passed, the shaking grew worse.The cup clattered to the ground and Asher wrapped his arms around her.The warmth of his body helped.All of a sudden, she had a violent need to vomit, but when she opened her mouth, the only thing that came out was a heavy, dark mist.It spewed forth and little sparks ignited through the cloud.It went on and on, then suddenly, it was gone and she collapsed against Asher.Sweat dotted her upper lip, and she barely clung to consciousness.
“Is she cured?”Asher asked.
“Yes,” the ghost replied, sounding relieved.“My spell worked.”
He kissed Juni’s head.It was hard to keep her eyes open, and in the next instant everything went dark.
****
“It’s a success,” Savannahtold Jericho.The news made him, and the other three, sigh in relief.“And the best news is that I can perform this ritual now without Niall and Elspeth.”
“So, no more red death?”Miles asked to clarify.
“Correct,” Niall replied.“Hopefully, this was contained and we won’t see any other cases in any other packs.”
“If you do, call us,” Ledger told them.
The witch’s ghost appeared, hovering around them.Niall turned to face her.
“Elspeth, I met a necromancer named Mathias, who might be able to get your spirit in a body, if you wish to resume life.Or I can help you cross over.”
“My body is already gone, but I don’t want to cross over, either.”
“Well, we’ll see if he has come up with a solution for you.”
“That would be...”She trailed off, and then whipped around to stare down the street.“Something is off.”
Niall turned as well, cocking his head.Savannah took a few steps forward, twirling her fingers in the air.
“What is it?”Jericho demanded.
“Witches,” Niall growled.
“My coven,” Elspeth added.“They must have felt their magic break.”
“What do they want?”Ledger asked.
“They want to know what happened to their plan,” Miles answered.
“They’ll want the unicorn,” Elspeth said.
“They’re the ones who started this, right?”Jericho demanded.It wasn’t a question that needed answering.“They’re the reason why members of my pack are dead.”
“Yes.”Elspeth bowed her head.“I’m sorry, Alpha.I didn’t think they could track me.”
He looked at Niall.“How do we stop them?”
“We need to break their combined powers,” he said.“Suppress their magic with wards and break their bonds.Without magic, they’re just like you and me.”
“With Brinnah’s help I can brew some potions—”
“None of that will work,” Elspeth said.They all turned toward her.“They’re powerful.Perhaps one of most powerful covens on the planet, and I used to be one of them.Wards and potions ...none of it will be strong enough.”
“Then what do we do?”
Elspeth looked at Niall.“We need to drain their magic.Once we do that, they can be destroyed.”
