Watching him, it felt like a dozen cracks had run through my heart. In fighting the demon, Finn was losing control of the wolf. We needed to restrain him until I knew how to get that parasite out.
“Handcuffs,” I blurted. “Finn owns a pair of handcuffs. They’re made of iron and regularly soaked in holy water. He said every werewolf has them, just in case.”
“Just in case what?” Lyari snapped. Spittle flew from Finn’s mouth.
“I don’t know, maybe in case one of them gets possessed by a demon or something!” I snarled.
Collith sifted halfway through my sentence. Seeing its chance, a surge of strength came over the demon. Bellowing, it wrenched free of Lyari’s hold. I threw all of my weight down on Finn’s body, shouting over my shoulder, “Laurie? A little help?”
Laurie strode forward. In a fluid, blurred movement, he swung his leg up and kicked Finn squarely in the head with the heel of his shoe. I stared, open-mouthed, as the werewolf dropped to the floor in an undignified heap. “What the hell was that?” I managed.
He straightened his sweater. “You asked for my help. I helped.”
“I swear to God, I’m going to murder you when all this is over,” I muttered, bending to check Finn’s head. What if the demon had affected his ability to heal?
Laurie opened his mouth, then seemed to reconsider whatever he’d been about to say. Collith rematerialized a moment later, chains clinking in his hands. Iron cuffs dangled at the ends, and something inside me recoiled at the thought of putting them on Finn—he still bore scars from the chains he’d been forced to wear at the Unseelie Court.
Without a word, Lyari took them from Collith and did it herself. Her expression was impossible to read, but I knew she’d made the decision so I wouldn’t have to. Gratitude pricked my heart like the smallest of needles. When Lyari was done, and Finn’s spine was bowed from the loops around his wrists and ankles, she secured them into place with the open padlock that had been dangling from one of the links.
Seeing him like that was almost my undoing. Okay, I thought, clinging to purpose like I always did. It was time to make a plan. Making a plan would keep the terror at bay. I cleared my throat and said, “Laurie, you mentioned that we’d need a witch to perform an exorcism. What about Betty? You called her your favorite.”
He was suddenly absorbed in the length of his sleeve. “Betty may not be speaking to me right now.”
Any other day, I would’ve been curious. Today, all that mattered was finding a witch. Darting another glance toward Finn, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.
“I can try contacting Mercy again, but she’s ignored all my texts and calls since I got back from the Seelie Court,” I said flatly. I unlocked the screen and it brightened. My eyes went to the bars in the corner. “I don’t have a signal down here. I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t look at any of them as I turned and headed for the stairs. Lyari said something behind me, her voice too low to make out. Collith replied, equally quiet. I was too worried about Finn to be curious.
Back on the main floor, I found Mercy’s name in my contact list and pressed CALL. This time, it only rang once before the witch’s voice filled my ear. “Savannah will help you,” she said by way of greeting.
My eyebrows shot up. “What? No offense, but I think I must’ve misheard you. You want me to ask an unstable necromancer for help?”
“That unstable necromancer is one of the most powerful witches alive, and for whatever reason, she is eager to prove herself to you and that spineless brother of yours. She also happens to be a few miles away, while I myself am in Sweden, nowhere near a Door. Until next time, Queen Fortuna.”
Her tone made it clear the conversation was over. I said goodbye through my teeth, fighting the urge to fling my phone at the wall. Once we’d hung up, I texted Damon, Emma, and Cyrus to update them on what was happening. I didn’t want anyone to come back while there was a demon in the basement.
I’d just turned to go back down when someone knocked on the front door. I paused, torn between ignoring it and caution. What if the visitor was an agent of Belanor, or the Rat King, or one of the many other people I had mocked and defied? Swearing under my breath, I pulled the knife out of my pocket and hurried through the living room. I shifted my body out of sight before reaching for the knob—another habit I’d developed since my return.
Once again, I opened a door to find Savannah Simonson on the other side.
I lowered the knife and swallowed another curse. She must’ve seen the instant denial in my eyes, because the necromancer didn’t give me a chance to speak.
“My aunt got a message to me last night,” Savannah said quickly. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes and the black cloak she wore. “Mercy had a dream, and she said you would need me. I left Court as soon as the sun rose. Whatever is happening, I can help. The Tongue has been teaching me how to control my power. I can touch my magic again, without raising anything.”
Hearing this, I hesitated. If what she said was true, Savannah really could perform an exorcism on Finn. The fact she’d left the Unseelie Court also bore some significance. I don’t go to the surface, she told me once. I’d tasted her dread that night. Savannah had faced one of her greatest fears to come in our hour of need.
If it weren’t for her, Fred would still be alive. But now she could be the reason that Finn survived.
A battle waged within me. I wished I could leave the decision to Damon. If I did this—if I trusted Savannah and let her help us—it would be like opening a door. Just a crack, maybe, but that would be enough for her. What if she took Matthew? What if she lost control of her magic and endangered our family?
This is Finn, I thought again. My decision had been made the second I opened this door and saw it was Savannah standing there.
“Your aunt is kind of infuriating,” I said at last, sounding as defeated as I felt.
Savannah nodded sympathetically, her auburn hair glinting in the sunlight that reached over the treetops. “Mercy has that effect on people,” she told me. “She’s flaky, too. When I was growing up, I was a little obsessed with her. I thought she was so independent and mysterious.”
Both of us fell silent, and the air swelled with uncertainty. Though I’d all but accepted Savannah’s offer, I hadn’t moved from the doorway. Her eyes lowered to note the pocketknife in my hand. Might as well get this over with, I thought, putting the knife back in my pocket. I’d have to let her in eventually.
Ignoring how my instincts shrieked, everything in me still resistant to the idea of trusting Savannah again, I opened the door wider and stood aside in a wordless invitation. “Can you really help him?”
“I can try. Is there a basement in this house?”
She stepped over the threshold, and I closed the door behind her. “Yes, that’s where we’re keeping Finn. The demon, I mean. Why?”
The necromancer gestured that I should lead the way, displaying an assertiveness I hadn’t seen in a long time. I obeyed without hesitation, afraid that if I made one of my usual snarky comments, that lovely flame inside her would snuff out. I strode to the door that led downstairs, and Savannah’s voice floated over my shoulder. “Magic is stronger the closer we are to natural elements. Dirt, trees, that sort of thing.”