Reign of Night (Thorne Hill #7) - Emily Goodwin Page 0,58
into accepting some sort of dark marriage proposal, use you as a bargaining chip amongst other demons. Your father was right to tell you to be extra vigilant, Callie. We all are, and the Academy has a promising group of senior students wanting to pursue demonology. Frequent readings checking for changes in any sort of demonic energy would be good practice for them and extra sets of eyes for us.”
“That would give me a little more reassurance.”
“Be careful, but don’t fret. It’s not good for the baby.” Her face relaxes. “How are you feeling?”
“More annoyed than anything, but still a little nervous.”
“I meant physically.”
“Oh, right.” I look down at myself, wondering if my baby-bump projected with me. It did. “I’m still tired all the time, and those baby books that said your energy would return in the second trimester were full of lies.”
She laughs. “I don’t recall getting that energy burst, either.”
Binx meows, and it echoes in my ears. “Binx is calling me,” I tell Tabatha.
“Go,” she urges, and I pull myself back into my body. Blinking, I slowly sit up, careful not to knock into the candles. Lucas is still on the ground next to me, and Julian is standing near my feet.
“Hey,” I say and get up, brushing salt off the palms of my hands. “What’s going on?”
“I have something for you, from your father.”
“Is it another blank piece of paper?” I grumble and wave my hand over the candles, putting out their flames.
“No.” Julian holds out a small vial with pale blue liquid inside. “It’s a potion.”
“I can see that.” I take it from him and hold it up, watching whatever is inside glimmer in the light. I step over the salt and go to Lucas, who takes the potion from me and sniffs it.
“What is it?” he asks Julian. “It has no scent.”
“A potion,” Julian repeats.
“What will it do?” I continue.
“Temporarily bind your powers. All your powers.”
Chapter 16
“Why would I want to do that?” I raise my eyebrows. “That sounds awful.”
“Binding Callie’s powers is the last thing that should be done,” Lucas scoffs, looking at the potion with disgust.
“Yeah, I have to agree there.” I look at Julian, confused. “Why would I do that? I’d be helpless against, well, everything.”
“That’s the point,” Julian goes on. “With your powers bound, the other angels might not be able to detect you are the Nephilim. This is only to be taken if absolutely necessary as a last resort.”
“Fuck,” Lucas grumbles, closing his fingers around the small glass vial. “How long will it last?”
“Sunrise to sunrise.”
“Is it safe to take while pregnant?” I ask, and Lucas turns to me.
“You’re not thinking about taking this, are you?” His blue eyes flash.
“If it came down to taking it or being found, and then killed, by my aunts and uncles, yes.” I look at Julian again. “Is it safe to take while pregnant?”
“Yes, Michael specially said so, knowing you’d ask,” Julian tells me.
Letting out a slow breath, I take the vial back from Lucas. “I’ll add this to my angel-safe.”
“Angel-safe?” Julian questions.
“It’s an enchanted box in my room with Bael’s dagger, the knife Michael gave me, that stupid blank piece of paper, and now this.” I hold up the vial again. “This is going to taste awful, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he tells us. “My powers were bound for half a day. With you being half angel, the potion will last longer.”
“Will I still have my witch-powers?”
“There’s a chance they could be minimal, but this potion is strong. I wouldn’t count on it.”
“How did Michael make this?” I ask. “I didn’t realize he could make potions like this.”
“We’ve been working on it since Varrador came after you but couldn’t get it right. Lucifer provided the final ingredient—”
“So you’ve seen him recently?” I interject.
“No. He knew we were on his trail and left what was needed, and it worked.”
Lucas eyes the vial. “What was the final ingredient?”
“Brimstone.”
I make a face. “So it’s going to taste terrible. Brimstone smells like farts.”
“I’ve never tasted a fart,” Julian says seriously, and I have to stifle a laugh.
“You know, I never have, either.”
“Then how do you know what one tastes like?”
“I can’t explain,” I laugh. “But okay. I have a potion that’ll bind my powers for a full day, but how will I know to take it? If the angels show up, it’s because