“Do you know how to help me, or am I just wasting my time?” Since Octavia was dead set on leaving, I only had two options:
Let her and fight as hard as I could to keep her safe on the demon’s home turf.
Or force her to stay using any and every means and destroy the small bridge of trust we’d cultivated.
I had to let her go. Walk straight into the unknown. Because if our trust was gone, then I had a minusculechance of helping her through the separation from this demon.
“I can call someone else,” I threatened. My someone else was one of my sisters. Downgrades, all of them, in a time like this. But at least they’d try to have answers. And feel some sort of empathy for the situation.
“I know a warding recipe.” Paper rustled on his end, a frantic flipping of pages. “It’s old and possibly weak, but it might buy you time.”
“How much time?”
“I don’t know. Back when I learned it, the thing shielded me for about a month.”
“Why wouldn’t it still hold for that long?”
“Demons grow in power like humanity does. They pass on knowledge to one another on how to evade wards and resist exorcisms.”
“Of course they do.” I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. “How long does it take to put it together?”
“If you have access to a graveyard, an hour. Maybe two,” Daylan said. “Rae, I can’t promise it’ll completely keep the demon out even if it works. But it will limit its power. It wouldn’t be able to access the means of physical touch for long.”
“That’ll have to do.”
As Daylan texted over the recipe, Octavia walked to her truck with her bag in hand. Nico was right on her trail.
“Got it?” Daylan asked once he pressed send.
My phone buzzed with confirmation. I frowned at the screen. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I scoffed. “Let’s hope the rest of it is this easy.”
“I’d hate to jinx us, but?—”
“Then don’t.” I hung up and went to Octavia before shecould climb into the truck. I rested a hand on the door handle before she could grab it.
“Unless you plan on taking me back inside, kicking and screaming”—she glared at my fingers—“I suggest you get out of my way.”
“Please, just give me two hours.” I held my phone up. “I have something that’ll ward you against the demon while you’re at home.”
“You do?” Octavia and Nico asked at the same time.
“Since when?” Nico frowned and accepted my phone when I offered it to him for a look.
“Since Daylan got enough fire under his ass and looked in his archives.”
Octavia shook her head, a frown in place as she tried to keep up. “I thought you said wards would take days to make.”
“We’ve only known how to make personal ones until now. Those are the strongest, most reliable kind,” I said. “This one’s made to place around your entire house. Once it’s set, the demon won’t be able to do more than blow a candle out or make a mirror fog…hopefully.”
She scoffed. “Hopefully?”
“It’s better than nothing,” I reminded her. “Octavia, please.”
She took a deep breath and a few seconds longer to consider. “Fine. Two hours and then, I’m gone.”
