Spells A Bayou Magic Novel - Kristen Proby Page 0,44

potion in her,” Brielle says and then swallows hard.

“Oh my goddess,” is all Daphne can say.

“Focus,” Lucien directs, his voice calm but firm. “Let’s begin the spell. Follow Millie and me. When we’re finished, I’ll get the potion in her mouth.”

We gather around the bed. Lucien opens the window at his back, and with our hands clasped and a quick circle cast, we begin the chant.

This only angers the beast more. It shrieks and jerks, almost violently enough to break the chains.

The wind swirls around us as we finish the spell, and Lucien takes the potion from his pocket and holds Mama’s mouth open as he pours the liquid inside.

The shrieking stops for just a split second, and then roars to life once more, as if the entity is in pain. Mama’s back arches off the bed, and a gray shadow pours from her open mouth. It flies through the room and then leaves out the open window.

Lucien slams the window shut, and the room settles. Mama’s lying still on the bed now, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.

“Mama?” Brielle says, brushing the sweaty hair off our mother’s face. “Mama, are you there?”

“So sorry,” Mama whispers weakly. “Shouldn’t listen.”

“Who shouldn’t you listen to, Mama?” Daphne asks.

“Shouldn’t trust.”

“Mama, it’s okay now. It’s gone. And we cast one hell of a strong protection spell. You’re going to be so much better now. So much safer.”

“Not safe anywhere,” she murmurs and then falls to sleep.

“I’m going to get a nurse,” Brielle says and hurries out of the room. When she returns, she has two nurses in tow.

“She was possessed,” I inform them. “You don’t have to believe me.”

“Oh, honey, I believe you,” the older of the two insists. “When you’ve seen the things we have in this place, you know that literally anything is possible.”

“Thank you. We’ve cast out the spirit and put a protection spell around her. She should be able to recover now.”

“Can she have her furniture back?” Daphne asks.

“Of course. We’ll return everything as soon as she wakes up and we see that she’s back to herself.”

The younger of the nurses hasn’t said a word. Her fingers shake as she takes Mama’s temperature.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

“I’m new,” she replies. “Just out of school. Never seen anything like this before. Or most of the things around here.”

“She’s green,” the other nurse says. “It gets worse. And sometimes, it’s much better. Now, don’t you worry, we’re gonna take real good care of your mama. She’s in good hands.”

When we’re on our way out, Brielle stops in the middle of the hallway. She’s staring straight ahead, and her face goes white.

“What do you see?” Lucien asks her.

“There are always a lot of shadows here,” she whispers. “But this one is…different.”

“How?” I ask.

“I see him,” Daphne says, her hand on the wall.

I take Lucien’s hand and lower my shields. Standing there, at the end of the hallway, is our father.

“Damn it.”

Chapter Fifteen

Lucien

“Why is he fucking with us again?” Millie asks as she paces around the parking lot. “We got rid of him years ago.”

“Who?” Brielle asks, looking completely confused. “It wasn’t a him at the end of the hallway.”

The sisters stare at each other.

“I saw a him,” Daphne says, “but I have a feeling it’s not the same him entity Millie saw.”

They’re outstanding to watch when the three of them are together. They have no idea how powerful they are when united, and yet the vast differences in their gifts, and even in the way they look, is startling. From Millie’s fair curls to Daphne’s fire-red hair and Brielle’s dark waves, they couldn’t be more different.

But they’re linked in every way that matters.

“Dad was there,” Millie says.

“I didn’t see that.” Daphne shakes her head.

“Me either,” Brielle adds. “I saw a dead woman, covered in blood and trying to speak to me. Exactly the way they did before.”

“What did you see?” I ask Daphne.

She swallows hard. “Jackson’s father.”

“Oh, honey.” Millie wraps her arm around Daphne’s shoulders. I don’t know the whole story of what happened between Daphne and Jackson, but it must have had something to do with his dad if Horace used him to fuck with Daphne.

“He’s doing this on purpose,” I say, getting their attention. “Horace is trying to scare you, distract you. He’s taunting you.”

“Distract us,” Millie murmurs. “From what he’s doing? That doesn’t make sense. The sick asshole has been proud of what he’s doing.”

“No,” Cash says, speaking up for the first time. “He’s distracting you from