But I am curious. “Why five items to bring him back human but only four to bring him back?”
The Bloodletter narrows her eyes on me, clearly not enjoying being questioned.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” I tack on nervously.
Which must do the trick, because she answers. “To strip a paranormal of their powers requires the magical consent of all five ruling factions, by covenant. But simply bringing him back as a vampire, since he’s already crossed into the mortal coil again, requires only power. Enormous power. And that power can be found in magical objects.”
Jaxon nods. “Every faction has magical objects that hold the most power, so we’ll need at least four from the different factions to have enough power.” But then his eyebrows shoot up, and he pivots to the Bloodletter. “Wait. How can we have an item from all five factions if Grace is the only gargoyle in existence?”
As though she’d been expecting this question, she continues. “The four items needed to bring him back are the eyetooth of an alpha werewolf. The moonstone from a powerful warlock. The bloodstone from a born vampire. And the full bone of a dragon. Which combined should have enough power.” The Bloodletter’s eyes take on that eerie electric-green glow as she mentions the last item we need. “But you’ll need the heartstone a mythical Unkillable Beast protects to have enough power to break the covenant and strip Hudson of his powers.”
Jaxon doesn’t seem to notice the change in his mentor. “We can get some of the items at school,” he insists. “A couple of the other ones we’ll have to travel to find, though.”
“And I can ensure the bloodstone comes to you,” the Bloodletter promises.
“How are you going to do that?” Jaxon turns to her and asks. “Bloodstones are incredibly rare.”
The Bloodletter shrugs. “People owe me favors.”
“That’s not an answer,” Jaxon insists. Her only response is an attempt to stare him down, holding his gaze with the green ice of hers. Somehow, Jaxon doesn’t flinch under her glacial stare.
“Looks like they’re going to be at that for a while,” Hudson says with an exaggerated eye roll. “I say we make a break for it.”
“Yes, because the only thing worse than having you trapped in my head is having you trapped in my head while I wander the Alaskan wilderness, freezing and alone.” The thanks but no thanks is implied.
“No pain, no gain.” He chuckles.
“Easy for you to say when you’ll be getting all the gain and none of the pain.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” There’s an inflection in his voice that has me wondering what’s up. But when I glance back at him, his face is as blank as the snow Jaxon and I traversed to get here.
Still, Hudson has a point about what looks to be turning into the world’s longest staring contest between the world’s two most stubborn people. If I don’t break it up soon, I’m pretty sure we’ll be here all night.
“So this wall thing I need to build,” I say into the tense silence that blankets the cavern. “How exactly do I do that? Because I am more than ready to take a break from Hudson Vega.”
36
DIY Exorcism
“You already started,” the Bloodletter tells me, “before I put you to sleep. You started laying the groundwork instinctively.”
“But how did I do that? How do I build this mythical, mystical wall? And what makes you think I’ve already started?” I ask, more confused than ever.
“I knew you’d started the minute you began hearing Hudson’s voice. Because he didn’t talk to you when he was free to take control of you. It’s only after you started to impede that freedom that he had something to say.”
“That’s not true!” Hudson throws his hands up. “I’ve been trying to get your attention all along. You just couldn’t listen until Yoda here taught you how to make an illusion real.”
“Wait a minute.” I turn to the Bloodletter in horror. “You mean I’ll still be able to hear him, even after I wall him up?” Just the idea turns my stomach. “I thought the whole point was to get rid of him.”
“The whole point is to make sure he can’t take you over anymore. The wall will prevent that, at least for a while. But now that he’s figured out how to get your attention…” She shakes her head. “I don’t think we’ll be able to do anything about that.”