Page 45 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
“On the outside, the symbols would eventually wear away from the elements,” Rhys said. “Also, the spell requires their blood, and if it rained before we could activate it, we might fail at containing them at all.”
“Blood?” Pierre raised an eyebrow.
Circe and Rhys exchanged looks, and then Circe started speaking like he was a small child. “In order to make a spell to hold an entity with unknown powers, you must fuel the containment spell with their powers. Delphine’s demon magic obliterated our wards, so we know our power alone won’t be enough to contain them. But if we leverage the power in their blood, we can use it as a catalyst for a new spell that turns their own demon magic against them.”
He looked between them. “But you’re confident that if given the right conditions, the three of you can do the spell?”
“In theory,” Rhys said. “But there are a lot of variables.”
Pierre heaved a sigh. Isis was more coherent now, and he urged her to drink more. “I know a place with a room large enough to contain them. A room surrounded by sacred ground.”
Rhys poured some tea and brought it to Circe, then prepared his own cup. “Somewhere other than the cemetery?”
“The Ursuline convent. Specifically, the new building in progress, which yours truly is currently overseeing.” He pressed a hand into his chest.
Rhys leaned forward in his chair. “It’s on hallowed ground?”
He nodded. “The sisters had it blessed before my predecessor broke ground. But I’m the architect on the project now. If you contain them, I can build the rest of the convent around them.”
Pushing herself up beside him, Isis came more fully into the moment. “This is exactly the break we needed. If we can lure them to the convent, we can contain them.”
“Can you take us there to make preparations?” Rhys asked.
“I’ll take you today.” Pierre poured himself a cup of tea and took a fortifying sip.
Silence spread across the room. Pierre wondered if they were also thinking about what would be left of Tanglewood Plantation. He didn’t bring it up, though. It was too sad, and the last thing they needed at the moment was to wallow in more grief. He simply said in his most cheerful tone, “Until this situation is sorted, you’ll all stay here, with me.”
They each muttered their thanks.
Circe raised her cup, her expression turning stormy. “Now, we just have to find a way to lure the Devereaux sisters into our trap, all while enduring our beloved sister burning at the stake.”
ChapterTwenty-Two
Isis had to conserve her strength. What they hoped to accomplish today would take a staggering amount of magical reserves, and they’d be doing it without their sister Medea’s help. The part that didn’t sit right with her was Medea’s choice to go through with the execution. They had a plan, but it was a tightrope she was walking. Isis could not resurrect her sister again if things went wrong. But Medea insisted it was the only way to appease the mob. As far as Orleans Parish was concerned, Circe would burn at the stake today, while her twin and her sister watched.
Bile rose in Isis’s throat, and she pulled the brim of her bonnet down lower against the sun as she waited near the front of the crowd beside Circe. Near the crowd, but not in it. The other observers were giving them plenty of room.
Rhys and Pierre were together, preparing for phase two of their plan. They’d left Endora with Allyette, a risk they had no choice but to take. It was a hot, muggy day, and the crowds lining both sides of the street only served to further stagnate the thick air. Sweat soaked through the scarf around Isis’s neck, but she dared not use magic to cool herself. Not here. Not now. Not when she would need every bit of it for what they had planned.
“The fish has taken the bait,” Circe whispered, her eyes darting toward her shoulder under the brim of her bonnet.
Furtively, Isis glanced behind her, barely moving her head. Delphine was there. She sensed the woman at her back like a wolf stalking its prey.
“I warned you, Isis,” Delphine said under her breath. “I told you this town was ours. I gave you a chance to leave. Now, you’ll watch your sister die.”
“Asmodeus will tire of you,” Isis said in just as quiet a voice. The humans around them were deep in their own conversations, but she made sure her voice could only be heard by supernatural ears. She stared straight ahead as she spoke, a whiff of sulfur telling her Lucienne and Antoinette had arrived. “He is the demon of lust. He never bothers with one woman for long.”
“He’s never bothered with you at all.” Delphine scoffed.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Ask him. For years, he pursued me. I know him well, his dreams, his desires. Even demons have dreams. And I promise you, I am featured in his.” She instructed the shadows to twist and tangle around the women and knew precisely when they noticed because Delphine hissed like a snake backed into a corner.
“Keep your magic to yourself, witch,” Delphine said, loud enough that a few heads turned.
Isis called the shadows back to herself. “You must see how similar my magic is to his. We were once as thick as thieves.”
“Once. Not now.”
“True. But I know him, and I have something I know he wants, something he’s searched a thousand years for.” Now Isis turned to meet Delphine’s gaze. “If you agree to leave us alone and allow us to live our lives here, Pierre too, I’ll give it to you.”
