The Curse of Redwood (Ivy Grove #2) - Jaclyn Osborn Page 0,81

often leave us blind.”

I faced Callum. He wasn’t looking at me in a condescending way. He looked… kind. I hadn’t told him about Zeke, but I didn’t doubt his gifts anymore.

“Yeah,” I finally answered. “But I didn’t know I loved him at the time. He was mysterious and charming, and I was caught under his spell.” My eyes stung with fresh tears as I imagined Zeke’s face. Was he staring out the window of the mansion right now, waiting for me to return? I could almost see it too, the sadness in his eyes as he stared at the long driveway, my car nowhere in sight. “I think I fell in love the first time I saw him.”

“Is he a spirit?” Callum asked, pulling me from my head.

A tear slipped from my eye as I nodded.

“And Philip was his lover?”

Again, I nodded and wiped away another tear. I cleared my throat. “Do you think my feelings for Zeke is what triggered the possession?”

“That appears to be the case, yes. Now that I know your affiliation with Redwood, I’m even more convinced of this entity’s power. We haven’t a moment to waste. Follow me.” Callum opened the door closest to him and went into a dimly lit room.

I passed through the doorway and blinked in surprise. Shelves lined one wall, filled with old books, and there was a table that held candles and jars of different colored powders. More plants hung in the room, and the smell of incense was strong.

“Do you know about the curse at Redwood?” I asked, standing in place. I didn’t want to accidentally knock something over.

“I know of it, though the cause is still a mystery.” Callum stood by an altar and lit two candles. A large, leather-bound book sat between them. “I have been to the mansion only once. It was enough to keep me from going back.”

“What happened?”

“I felt the suffering.” A shadow passed over his face. “The negative energy was too much for me to handle. I collapsed outside the gate and clutched my head as I heard the voices screaming to be set free. Any witch who walks onto the property can feel the darkness.”

“Wait. You’re a witch?”

Callum softly smiled. “We’re not here to talk about me. Please sit in that chair.” He nodded to one of them as he grabbed a wooden bowl off the table.

I sat down and watched as he crushed leaves and seeds into the bowl before adding fine powder and water. As he added each ingredient, he quietly spoke. The words were foreign to me, but they flowed from him like a musical chant.

“Is that a spell?” I asked.

He glanced over at me. “Yes. It blesses the elements and gives them more power.” He then poured the contents of the bowl into a goblet and approached me. “Drink this.”

I squinted at the dark green liquid goo. “Um. Do I have to?”

Callum sighed. “Do you want to subdue the spirit?”

“Yes.”

“Then drink.”

I grabbed the goblet and sniffed it. “Man, that smells nasty.” Before he could argue, I tipped the cup back and downed the contents. It was even worse than I had expected. The clumpy texture grossed me out more than anything. Repulsed, I shuddered and handed the goblet back to him. “My life just flashed before my eyes, and I saw my eternal damnation. I was forced to sit in a chair and drink that goo for forever.”

“Stop being so melodramatic,” Callum said, walking back over to the altar.

“So, was that it? I can go now?”

“We’re only just getting started,” he answered, flipping through the large book. “I gave you an elixir to help prepare you for what’s to come.”

“And what’s to come?” I asked, as my head rolled to the side. I straightened it again and took a deep breath. Whatever he’d given me had relaxed my muscles so much I could barely hold my head up.

If he was a serial killer, it would be the perfect trick to make me powerless to fight him off.

“The ritual.” Callum turned around, holding a dagger in one hand and a bowl in the other. Yeah, it wasn’t helping my serial killer theory any. “Put your eyes back in your skull, Carter. The dagger is for me, not you.”

“For you? Why?”

“You’ll see.”

“That’s not vague at all.”

“Are you always a smartass?” he asked, as he walked back over to me.

“Only on days ending in y.”

“I’m questioning why I’m even helping you.” He placed the dagger and bowl on the table beside