Hecate's Spell (Monsters and Gargoyles #7) - Lacey Carter Andersen Page 0,26

deserves to be here.

“Ceuthonymus.” The word comes out no louder than a whisper.

There are few things I fear anymore, but Ceuthonymus is among those things. It was said that he enjoyed melting the flesh from living beings. That he was the source of fire injuries and painful burns. He was known as something akin to a serial killer when he was allowed to walk free. In his wake, whole villages screamed and died slow and painful deaths.

“It is I,” he tells me, steam rolling from his lips. “And I have the ability to see into one's heart.”

I use the wall to rise to my feet and my knees shake. “We are done speaking.”

I’m heading as far and as fast from him as I can when his voice stops me. “I can help you get free.”

I freeze. It’s a trick. It has to be a trick.

“If you know the stories of me, gargoyle, then you know my word means everything. If you wish, if you free me, I will cause such chaos, such destruction, that you and your lover may escape. I promise you this. Neither you, nor her, will be harmed, and I promise that I will provide the necessary distraction.”

I’m breathing hard. “You’re evil and dangerous. If I release you, they might not be able to imprison you again.”

He smiles and more smoke drifts from his lips. “Perhaps. But you must admit, you’ve failed to escape time and time again. If you unlock my cage, I will wait for your signal to escape, and you and your lover will be free. Can you honestly say it wouldn’t be worth any price to save her?”

If I release this evil on the world, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. But...more than I would regret watching my love die and my child be taken by a monster?

Slowly, I turn back around. “Let’s talk.”

11

Hecate

I finally manage to stop the sobs that wrack my body. Angrily, I punch the bed. This is all my hormones' fault. I’m not a crier, but suddenly I’m overwhelmed. Andros’s hope that his brother was going to rescue us was all he had left besides me, and now that hope has been crushed by my spell. So now, he’s lost his hope and his brother all in one moment.

I pray this isn’t the thing to finally break him.

But also, an illogical part of my brain is angry that we tried to contact Orion instead of my daughter. Speaking to her, knowing that she is alright, it would have soothed my soul in a way I can’t even imagine. Instead, by contacting Orion, we’d both lost something powerful.

Yet, I’d agreed to it because I wasn’t sure we’d be able to talk to my daughter. One of the reasons Hades hadn’t been able to find her all these years is because I’d put a spell on her to keep her hidden. A spell I’m not even sure I can get through. So, I’d let Andros contact Orion, and we’d let this chance slip through our fingers by one wrong decision.

Picking up my pillow, I wipe my tears away.

“Hecate.”

I jump and turn toward the bars of my cage. Andros is there, and there’s something wild in his eyes. “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” I laugh. If it was that easy to leave, we’d have been gone a long time ago.

He unlocks my cage and comes in. His arms wrap around me, holding me tightly. When he draws back, it’s like the mirror he’s used to deflect his suffering for all these years has fallen away, and he looks at me with all the love in his heart.

“When we get out of here, I’m going to marry you, and we’re going to have a happy family.”

I smile at him, shaking my head. He’s crazy, but I say, “That sounds perfect.”

He springs back from me, and the grin that fills his face makes him seem years younger. “Get dressed. Fast. I have a plan.”

A plan? “Are you serious?”

He nods. “Hurry up.”

Then he leaves, closing the door behind him, but not locking it.

I don’t know if I believe him, but I go and get the only piece of clothing I have that isn’t a gown to sleep in. It’s the blue dress with the dipping neckline that Hades’s women had put onto me. I pull it on quickly, then the stockings, then the comfy boots. In the bottom of the chest is a cloak I’ve used on my walks. I pull it onto