AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But Julian was already pulling a small paper packet from his back pocket. Tearing it open, he pressed a square of gauze to the wound. "Hold pressure," he said.
"No Spider-Man bandage?" I said wanly as he moved away, taking the bloodstained wood with him.
He chuckled mirthlessly. "Maybe next time."
I looked down. There were splashes of blood in the dirt at my feet, and the gauze was woefully inadequate for mopping up my fingers and nail beds. "Now what?"
Julian set the wood down beside the fire and retrieved two of the shopping bags from the camping store, both misshapen and clearly overloaded. He placed them beside the wood and dipped his hand into one. When he pulled it out again, his broad fingers were curled around a black fistful of soil. Raising his arm, he let the soil fall in clumps into the flame. His voice was almost too quiet to hear: "De profano terra ad spiritum sanctum."
I expected the fire to sizzle and dwindle where the dirt fell, but instead, it roared to life as he spoke, sparks flying around him. Theo tensed beside me, his hand on my knee tightening.
"What the fuck," he mumbled. "Maybe it's got magnesium in it or something."
I tore my gaze away from the flames long enough to give him a deprecating look. "Do not science this exorcism," I said under my breath.
Theo made a face, but didn't remark further.
I glanced over at Luca. He had risen to his knees and was watching Julian as though in thrall, leaning forward slightly, his hands braced on his thighs. Though the shadows flickered and darted over his face in constant movement, I could almost swear I saw—was that red in his eyes?
"Luca," I whispered, as Julian reached into the second bag.
He didn't react, just kept staring at Julian.
"Luca," I repeated, louder this time. I reached over and touched his arm, letting the blood-soaked gauze fall to the ground.
"River!" Julian's voice thundered and I jumped, recoiling from Luca and swinging my gaze guiltily back to the fire.
He was glowering, poised over the flames, his hands full of wood ear mushrooms.
"Sorry," I squeaked.
He shook his head and turned his attention back to the flames. "De sacro terrae damnato spiritu," he intoned, opening his hands and letting the mushrooms fall.
The fire was now so large that it seemed to engulf Julian entirely as he moved this way and that before it, mumbling under his breath. At its heart, strange colors began to swirl: purple and scarlet and a sickly, acid green. Julian's voice seemed louder, though he was further away now, dropping what looked like handfuls of moss into the flames.
No—it wasn't louder. I glanced to my left. Beside me, Luca had gotten to his feet, and he was moving, too, mirroring Julian's actions, echoing his words in almost the same breath.
Julian noticed at the same moment I did. He stopped mid-stride, gazing at Luca with an expression caught between horror and dismay.
"Luca," I whispered, glancing nervously at Julian as I said it, but Julian seemed not to hear me. He stepped toward Luca, letting the last clump of moss fall from his hands.
"Old friend," he said, his voice low, his arms outstretched.
Standing before him, Luca, too, reached out.
Julian's hands closed around Luca's upper arms; Luca, likewise, clasped Julian's. "Abigor," Julian said.
"Abigor." Luca's voice was distorted, hollow, making my stomach twist with nausea.
But Julian wasn't fighting, wasn't pleading, wasn't threatening. His voice was quiet, almost gentle. "Oportet esse fortis," he said, holding Luca's gaze. "Oportet abscondere."
I realized I was clasping Theo's hand, my fingers curled around his so tightly I could feel every small bone in his hand. "What the fuck is going on?" I said out of the corner of my mouth.
“He told him to be strong,” Theo whispered.
That wasn’t good.
Luca's hands dropped from Julian's arms, and he swayed slightly, shaking his head hard. He stepped back, looking with confusion first at Julian, then at Theo and me.
