She handed me a lighter, then held up her sword with her left hand, surprising me with her strength. With her right hand, she reached for me and we clasped fingers. I could feel the power flowing through her, a stream of electricity that kept giving me little sparks. And then I felt something deeper, something below it. There it was—the blood connection. I could feel her blood and my own responded. She really was my grandmother.
She jerked her head toward the Hand of Glory and I held up the lighter. She nodded.
I leaned down, flicking the lighter, and then I began to light each finger, watching as the ivory-colored tallow caught flame. The hand began to burn, and the fingers slowly bent toward the door, giving me the creeps.
Rowan raised the sword to the ceiling and in a loud voice, shattering the spell Ari and Teran were weaving, she began to chant:
Shadows of the dark abyss,
Withdraw now your icy kiss,
Chaos flowing, now be still,
Vortex spinning, hear my will.
Portals open now close your door,
Recall your creatures to your shores.
Seal the door, forever sleep,
Nevermore may you creep.
As she pointed her sword toward the room there was a loud wail, and all of the shardlike butterflies dove for us, but stopped as they fractured like mirrors, shattering into a thousand pieces of black ice as they dissolved and were swept away by an etheric wind. The Hand of Glory blazed, the fingers now moving on their own.
Rowan moved forward, still holding my hand, as we entered the secret room.
Everything was whirling and it felt like we had just entered the center of a tornado. The black shardlike bugs swirled around us, shimmering even in their death, and a black hole was plastered against one of the walls, the center the darkest void I had ever seen. It beckoned, and I wanted to let go of Rowan’s hand and run toward it, but I knew better.
At that moment, a figure emerged from the center of the hole, trying to pull itself out of the vortex. It was a shadow man, and this one was incredibly powerful, but the magic spun by the Hand of Glory was keeping it back.
Rowan turned her head to me. “Grab hold of my shoulders and pour all of your energy into me.”
I didn’t question, just did as she instructed. I held tight to her shoulders, focusing all my strength and magic into her. I could feel Rowan drawing on me, merging my power with her own as she held out the sword toward the vortex and began chanting.
Back to the void from where you came,
Back to the abyss, thou who hast no name,
Back to the center, back to the core,
Back through this unholy door.
Back to the primal pool,
This, I now command you.
Seal the door, seal the gate,
Seal the portal, seal your fate!
Even as she spoke, the creature trying to emerge was sucked back in, and another shadow man came shrieking past us through the basement. He slammed through the portal, and then, with one last sucking gulp, the vortex closed and the room cleared. The light brightened, and Rowan and I collapsed on the ground.
“It’s over,” Rowan said. “We closed the portal.”
At that moment, the flames on the Hand of Glory extinguished themselves, and we were left alone in the restaurant. With every fiber of my being, I could feel that for the first time since the first murder–suicide had happened, the building was really, truly empty.
Chapter Twenty
After that, we gathered up the lodestones, which were full of spirits, and Rowan said she would take them home and free them to the Veil.
“It’s not what I usually do, but I know how. I think in time that you, January, will be able to take care of freeing them into the afterlife. Till now, they’ve been trapped in the spirit realm, which is attached to our world. They need to pass through the Veil.” Rowan uncharacteristically wrapped her arm around my waist and gave me a short squeeze. “You did well.”
I suddenly felt shy, as though I had been on trial or had been taking a test.
You probably were, Esmara whispered. Rowan is not an easy taskmistress. You have your work cut out for you, learning from her, but it’s something you need to do.
I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to hear that, but I left it alone for the moment.
Ari and Teran both looked as tired as I felt, but I also felt wired in an exhausted sort of way. “Anybody want to find a diner?”
“No,” Rowan said. “It’s too slick out. I’ll drop you three off at January’s house and then I need to take these traps home.”
“Killjoy,” I said, laughing.
“Better than killing you in a car wreck. Quit pouting.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said, snickering.
Rowan let us out and then took off for her house with all of the traps after reassuring us that she’d be fine.
“She’s not the one we should worry about,” Teran said. “The ghosts are the ones who should worry. Rowan’s probably the most powerful witch I’ve met.”
“And she’s my grandma,” I said, musing as I watched her car vanish down the street. “You guys want to come in?”
Ari did, but Teran was tired and wanted to go home. We hugged her good-bye and then entered the house. Louise was looking better—she was sitting on the sofa, watching TV. She yawned when she saw us and looked up expectantly.
“Your restaurant should be clear of ghosts now,” I said. “Rowan thinks we got them all, and that portal in the basement is shut. You should be able to open the Spit & Whistle Pub again without a problem.” I sat beside her and gave her a hug.
“Oh, thank you! I’ll write Conjure Ink a check tomorrow morning. Oh, Killian asked me to tell you that he had to go out on an emergency call and that he’ll just go straight home afterward. He’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I said, nodding. “For now, go back to bed and rest.”
Rameer, who had been sitting with her, volunteered to keep watch in the hall next to her room, just in case. He watched her head up the stairs—very slowly, but she was making it on her own—and afterward, when she was no longer in sight, he turned to me. “I like Louise. She’s a truly good-hearted person.”
“She is,” I said. I waited until he vanished up the stairs before turning to Ari. “I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep.”
“Me either.”
We raided the kitchen, making sandwiches, and I poured us both tall glasses of milk. As we curled up on the sofa and stared at one another, I realized that the last thing I wanted to talk about was the evening.
“So…I’ll call the Aseer tomorrow and schedule a test. I’d like to know what my strong points are. Then, I guess I’ll go buy a new car.” I took a bite of my turkey and provolone on sourdough. “What about you?”
“I have appointments all day long.” She paused, then said, “I really enjoyed tonight, as scary as it was. I think I’m going to like our business.”
Ari and I were starting up a side business called The Magic Web, and we would do all the things that were too small for Conjure Ink, including card readings.
“I suppose we should start advertising?” Ari said. “I assume we don’t want a retail storefront, given we both have day jobs?”