The End of Magic (The Witches of Echo Park #3)(65)

Evan knew from experience how strong Niamh was, but his coven mate had been dealt a serious blow. The loss of her twin, Laragh, had changed her irrevocably. He knew she was putting on a brave face, but he trusted that she would say something if she didn't think she could handle it. He wished they didn't have to go back to the place where he'd been mortally wounded and Niamh had watched The Flood burn Yesinia and Honey to death. But there was nothing for it-they couldn't leave Dev's little girls to fend for themselves in an alternate universe.

"Let's do it, then," Lyse said, and nodded to let them know they should clasp hands. Everyone-except Daniela, who stood in the middle of the circle-did as she asked.

Evan found himself holding Lyse's right hand and Arrabelle's left hand. With a sigh, Lyse closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Then she murmured: "Red Chapel."

As Lyse uttered those two small words, Evan felt his body begin to thrum with energy. He looked over at Arrabelle, whose eyes were wide as saucers, and he knew she was feeling the exact same thing.

"You're glowing," Arrabelle whispered, her eyes flicking to Evan's left hand. He followed her gaze and was surprised to discover that where his fingers entwined with Lyse's, they were glowing neon blue. 

"Yours, too," he said, indicating that Arrabelle should look at her own hand.

"Wow," she said, and grinned.

They both watched as the light snaked down the line of witches, turning everyone's hands blue.

"It's working," Dev said, her face full of wonder. "Even though there are so many of us."

"Quiet," Lyse murmured, her attention fixed on some internal point. "Red Chapel, Niamh. Only there. Only now."

Evan was confused by this last statement. Only now? What did that mean? But he didn't have time to ponder the thought further because the blue orb grew out of their interconnected hands, slowly enveloping the six of them inside its magic.

"Do you feel anything, Daniela?" Arrabelle asked.

"Oh, hell, yeah," Daniela said, in awe of what was happening around her. "I'm going with you guys, no problem."

"Red Chapel," Lyse cried. "Take us to the Red Chapel!"

There was a loud screech and then the hospital bed flew up into the air, slamming against the ceiling. Dev screamed as the bed bounced off the acoustic tile and hit the side of the orb. Luckily, the orb was impenetrable and the bed did nothing to damage the swirling blue magic.

"Red Chapel!" Lyse screamed. "Red Chapel!"

There was another screech, as more furniture in the room began to take off, lifting into the air and eddying around them like the orb was the eye of a hurricane.

"Stand down, witch!" a loud voice called from the doorway.

Evan turned his head to see who was using this aggressive command. A tall, masculine woman with short, curly blond hair stood in the doorway, the sneer on her face pulling her bland features into a hideous gargoyle-like grimace. She was holding up her arms, the sleeves of her boxy khaki pantsuit pulled back to reveal raw, red, misshapen wrists. The stink of camphor bit into Evan's nostrils and he wanted to drop Arrabelle's hand so he could pinch his nose closed against the smell.

There was something wrong about the woman-something seriously deranged-and he wasn't thinking this just because she'd commanded all the furniture in the room to attack them.

"Stand down, witch, before I end you!" the woman shrieked, her gray eyes wide enough that you could see the rounded whites of her eyeballs.

"The Red Chapel . . . the Red Chapel . . ." Lyse continued to chant, her voice getting louder in pitch as the ECG monitor, a heavy beige behemoth, rose in the air and pitched itself at them. A crackle of electricity shot through the sphere as it connected with the monitor.

The orb began to pulse with more energy-too much energy-because the ECG monitor was still plugged into the wall. The surge of electricity was short-circuiting Lyse's magic. The woman in the doorway began to smile as she realized what was happening, and her hands began to move with the frenzy of a conductor guiding an orchestra through Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King.

"She's going to break the circle!" Dev shouted. "Lyse, do something!"

Lyse nodded, still chanting. Evan didn't know what Dev thought Lyse was going to do other than what she was doing now. The woman in the doorway was doing something to stop them from leaving, using her powers to block their way-but maybe if all of them threw their energy behind Lyse, it would be enough to break free of the other woman's magical hold.