Hecate's Spell (Monsters and Gargoyles #7) - Lacey Carter Andersen Page 0,25

her words. “If my brother can get us free, you can talk to her every day.”

“And if he can’t and I waste my one chance to talk to her?” Hecate asks, her expression unreadable.

I reach out and take her free hand, then squeeze. “You know I would never make you do anything I didn’t absolutely have to, but I need you to trust me on this.”

She blinks away tears, and I feel like an asshole. “Okay.”

Going to the fire, she takes a deep breath. “The last time I was pregnant, most of my powers still worked, but they were less reliable, so we’ll have to cross our fingers.”

“Fingers crossed,” I say with a smile, then cross my fingers.

She takes another deep breath, then begins to murmur softly. At first, I have no idea if she’s really saying words or just mumbling, but her volume increases, and I feel a powerful spell brewing in the room. She tosses the twig in and a cloud of white smoke drifts up from the fire, but it stays in the air, not moving or dissipating. She keeps speaking, then throws the leaves in and green rises to blend with the white. At last, she tosses the berry in and the cloud changes to red.

Then she lowers her arms. “Call for him.”

I stand and move closer to the fire. “Orion, gargoyle brother of mine, speak.” My gaze moves to her, and she gives a nod. “Orion, I’m here,” I say.

“Orion, brother of Andros, answer our call,” Hecate cries, her volume growing.

But nothing happens.

“Is it...the pregnancy? The spell?” I ask in confusion.

She shakes her head, tears in her eyes. “It worked. If you can’t speak to him, then your brother is no longer among the living.”

My stomach drops. “I’m sorry...I’m sorry I wasted your only call.”

She bows her head and tears splatter the floor. “I’m sorry about your brother.”

I want to hold her. I want to bring her comfort, but something inside of me is screaming to get out, and I don’t think I can contain it much longer.

My feet are numb as I move to her door, leave, and lock it behind me. The sound of her weeping follows me as I race down the hall, in the opposite direction from the entrance. I never go this way, but I do now, because I need a moment to myself. The tunnels to the cells break off at random, and I choose one direction after another until I reach a dead end. Then, and only then, I explode. A scream tears from my lips and I pound the stone over and over again, my human-like flesh tearing and bleeding. The stone makes my entire hand vibrate, but I don’t care, I just keep punching and punching until I collapse against the stone.

Orion...he is dead. I had been here, promising my love that he was coming for us, and all along he was dead. My brother, the man who was my best friend, and the closest person to me outside of Hecate, is dead.

And I hadn’t even known.

I’m breathing hard as I slide down the wall. Beneath me, blood splatters from my hands onto the stone. I feel so lost, so hopeless.

“What troubles you, gargoyle?”

Every muscle in my body stiffens, and I turn slowly around. Still on the ground, I stare at the two cells in this branch of the prison. But I see no one.

“You long for something. Something I wonder if I could give you.”

Suddenly, a face appears on the other side of the bars, and my stomach twists. I recognize the creature. His skin is like tar, pocked and oozing with an oily substance that rolls down his bumpy, cratered skin. His eyes are two burning pools of lava, and smoke rises from his lips.

I also realize that I’m not in a normal part of the prisons. These cells are made with black stone woven with orange veins. Only the most dangerous criminals are kept in this place, bespelled against all escape. Literally, the only way for any of these prisoners to escape is to be let out with a key.

This is the last place I should’ve let myself melt down.

And then I look back at the prisoner who had spoken to me, and I instantly knew who it is. Hades keeps many innocent people in this dark place. Many people he keeps as tools, not because they are dangerous, but because he wants to use them. Like my Hecate. But this creature? He