When she’s clean, I cover her with a cotton blanket and spoon out a generous helping of vinegar and slide it into her mouth.
She swallows and her eyes fly open. “Emma!”
“I know you’re mad that I came back, but please let me explain—”
She clutches my hand. “That’s not important now. I know what we need to break the Beaumont Curse. That’s all that matters.”
Chapter Twenty
Miss Delia pulls me close, her grip surprisingly strong. “The curio Sabina used. It’s strong black magic. The worst I’ve ever known. So powerful. Full of evil.” Turning her head, she coughs. “A Black Cat Bone.”
My mind races, but I don’t have any memory of such a curio. “I never read anything about that in your spell book.” I lift the glass of water to her lips and help her drink.
She swallows. “Because I don’t want anything to do with one. Not in my kitchen, not in my practice. It’s evil through and through.”
“Then how’d you get one to test?”
Her face turns hard. “I once knew someone who had one, along with a whole slew of other bad magic curios. He hotfooted it out of here in a hurry one day and left his supplies behind. They’ve been under lock and key ever since, in case I needed them. You never know when you might need to fight fire with fire.” She sets her teeth as her gaze drifts out the window, into the backyard. She’s slipped into that dark place again.
My heart aches for her. “Who was it?” The words blurt from my mouth before I have a chance to stop them.
Drawing a deep breath, she pats my hand. “A bad man who did bad things and was fixing to do something even worse before I fixed him instead. But that was a long time ago. He’s long gone now.” Her voice fades. It sounds tired. Old.
Her words sink in and weigh heavy on my chest. Though I don’t totally understand what she said, something tells me she’s just confided something very serious. And quite possibly grim. It’s clear she’s finished talking about it and frankly, I’m not sure I want to know more about someone so horrible.
“So the Black Cat Bone. Is it what I think it is? Like, literally a bone from a black cat?”
Yeah, definitely a more uplifting subject than bad guys.
She nods. “Harvested after sacrificing the creature alive in a vat of boiling water. When the water cooks off, it’s the bone sitting on the top of the pile. Only the most wicked, dark-hearted soul would stoop to create one. Whole, that bone can be used for invisibility spells and to bring back a lost lover. But I got to thinking, what if Sabina ground one into a powder? What would all that all concentrated villainy and terror be capable of?”
“Igniting a revenge curse?” I suggest.
“Like a stick of dynamite.”
“So what do we do? How do you combat concentrated villainy and terror?”
“Oldest answer in the book: pure love.”
“Okay, but how?” I think back to how I broke The Creep. “Do I have to cut my palm again? Because that hurt like a mother.”
“Your blood saved your brother Jack because it represented your love for him. This hex is something else entirely. You need to find something that’s specific to Cooper, the curse it represents, and it’s got to hold the power of pure love.”
Uh, sure that shouldn’t be too hard to find.
My brain starts to pound. “What could that be?” I scratch my head.
“Don’t look at me. You’re his girlfriend. Besides, you’ve got the most natural ability I’ve ever seen. I’ve no doubt you’ll find something in that mansion of theirs that’ll work.”
Considering tonight’s colossal mistake with the energy tea, I’m stunned by her assessment. “You really think so?”
She nods. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. Though I confess, it is confounding.” She reaches for another drink of water.
“Why? Because I’m a buckruh comeyah?” I tip the glass to her lips.
Her brow creases as if I’ve just asked the stupidest thing ever. “No, because you don’t come to hoodoo naturally, through your family lineage. It’s not often that someone without magic in their blood can be such a strong conjurer. But sometimes hoodoo picks its practitioners and not the other way around.”
I think back on her demonstration this morning with Taneea. “Do you think I’ll ever learn to do one of those element-control things with my mind?”
Her brow quirks. “What are you talking about?”
“This morning you made the wind blow and thunder boom when you were trying to make a point with Taneea. That was amazing.”
She waves her hand. “It wasn’t anything more than directing my intention and energy. Under all the herbs, roots, and curios, if the power is within you, and you’ve got enough focus and determination, you can make anything happen with your mind. Which is why I’m sure you can figure out what to use to counteract the Black Cat Bone.”
I appreciate her confidence, but since Cooper’s not even returning our texts, it might be more difficult than she imagines. At least I’ve still got a few days to puzzle this out. In the meantime, I’m not leaving her side until I’m sure she’s okay. It’s the least I can do to make things up to her.
“I don’t want to leave you alone tonight.”
“You don’t have to do that.” But judging from the light beaming in her eyes, she doesn’t mind one bit.
“I know. But I want to. Besides, I’m betting Taneea’s not coming home anytime soon and you need help. I’ll call my dad and tell him Jack and I are sleeping over. Of course, he’ll think we’re up at the Big House, but I don’t have to correct him.”
She smiles. “Thank you, Emma. You’re a good girl.”
I can’t help but think of our earlier argument. “Not always.”
“Enough of the time.” Miss Delia’s lids sag.
“I’ll let you sleep.” I pull the sheet up under her chin, turn off the light, and leave her bedroom.
Jack’s in the living room, lounging on the couch, squinting at the grainy television picture. “I know Miss D doesn’t have the money for a flat screen, but this blows.”
“Well, you’d better deal with it. We’re staying here tonight.”
“I get it. She needs us.”
I breathe a sigh of relief that we don’t have to fight about this. “Hey, can you give me your cell? I want to call Dad.”
“Sure.” He fishes in his pocket for his phone, then tosses it to me.
As I’m dialing, Miss Delia shrieks, “Emma! Emma!”
I spin on my heels and race toward her room. Jack’s right behind me.
Crashing in her room, I slam on the light switch and dash to her bedside. “What’s the matter?”
She’s propped up on her elbows, her brown, rheumy eyes filled with panic. “You’ve got to leave. Right away.” Her hand is clutched around the green and white beads of her collier.
“What? Why? You can’t take care of yourself,” I argue.
She shakes her head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. And I won’t be alone for long. You’ve got to go and take my spell book and the ancestors’ mortar and dagger with you. Now. You don’t have a minute to lose.” She’s trembling.
“Uh, okay.” My heart jackhammers as I spin around and bump into Jack on my way out of her room.
“And gather some agrimony, rue, buchu, and anything else you think you might need while you’re at it.” Her voice is strained and brimming with alarm.
Charging to the kitchen, I grab the dagger and toss it into the mortar, which still contains the remnants from our failed Psychic Vision spell. I’ll clean it out later.