Shadow Rites

“Evan?” Molly said running over. “What—” She saw what Big Evan was holding. Molly raised doubled fists into air. Hit blood-magic iron and it fell from Evan’s hands. She pushed Evan away. Wrapped sheet around him.

Evan touched blood-magic iron, Beast thought.

He’s spelled, Jane thought. Not good. Big Evan dropped to ground and head bounced on grass. Molly shouted for Eli. Jane and Beast trotted close and sniffed iron thing. They’re shaped like ovals—carved like scarabs, like the center gem of the brooches.

Destroy iron things and spell will stop? Beast thought.

They are focal icons—things that carry witch power—that can be used to harness energy and power for spells, Jane thought, trying to make sense of it all. Iron is abnormal for a spell-power focal item, but . . . I don’t know. Something’s hinky here. These have been used in ways similar to a permanent witch circle. Jane looked up and down street.

Beast thought, Sun is rising. Want cow meat.

In a minute. Jane watched Molly, Bruiser, and Eli roll Evan onto large board and drag Evan across street to house. The focal items are set to magnetic north and east of north, with the house at south, the front door in a perfect ninety-degree triangle. The mathematics are excellent. Yeah. We need to tell Eli to try and burn them. Destroying them was a good idea.

Beast is good hunter.

Yes, you are. Jane pushed Beast to feet and trotted to house. Now let’s see how good you are at writing.

Beast cannot write.

Wrong-o, Jane thought. Jane led us to Alex. He was sitting at kitchen table, eyes closed. We stared at young human male. He looked bad. Like sick prey, ready to die. Took Alex hand in teeth, gently, like Beast carried kits, and pulled toward living room.

“Whaddaya want?” he asked, trying to pull hand free. Tightened teeth. Alex yelled, “Ow! Stop that!”

“Do what Jane wants,” Eli grunted as he and Molly pulled Evan through open front door on wood. Bruiser pushed from other side.

Bruiser is strong. Good mate for Jane.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever.

“What?” Alex stood, smelling angry and afraid, but let Beast pull him to desk in living room. Pushed Alex to chair. He sat and Beast butted Alex with head, stood up on back paws. Licked Alex’s head.

“Gross. Okay. I’m awake. What do you want?”

Stayed on back paws and hind legs. Put front paws on table-desk. Scratched gently at keyboard. Alex frowned, using big brother’s frown. Jane tapped keyboard with claws again.

Alex’s eyes went wide and heart thumped into fast speed. “You want the system on so you can type something?”

Jane dropped head and raised it. Alex pulled keyboard out and system came on. Jane thought, We did this once before, at Leo’s house, before it burned to the ground. Jane pushed Beast away from alpha. Extruded claws. Touched key with claw. Another key. Another.

Alex shouted, “Eli! Jane’s typing!”

Not Jane. Beast. But Alex did not hear.

Eli read over Beast shoulder, “Burn focals with fire. Torch.” Eli bent close to Beast face, met Beast eyes, but not in challenge. “Burn the metal things with a torch? Welder’s torch?”

Beast dropped head in human nod. Jane typed. “Hot.”

“Will that stop the spell on Evan?”

Molly said, “That’s genius. Yes. It should stop it. You have a welder’s torch?”

“Acetylene. Best I can do on short notice.” Eli patted Beast shoulder and said, “Steak on your plate. If this works, I’ll take you hunting.”

Want to hunt cow in Edmund car. But Eli did not hear. Padded to kitchen, place where Beast ate cow meat. Steak was hot and stringy on outside and cold inside. But cow meat was good. Ate all of steak and licked plate clean. Satisfied, Beast trotted out broken door and into yard. Jumped into Edmund car. Car chairs were made of cow skin. Would hunt for more cow with Edmund and Eli, but would eat cow skin, not make chairs.

Turned around one time. Lay down. Closed eyes. Dreamed of hunting in car, chasing cows, many, many cows.

* * *

Beast woke up when bad burning smell stung nose. Stretched in cow chairs and slowly padded from cow-hunting car. Day was cool, good day to lie on rocks in sun. Padded around Eli to Jane’s rocks in back of house and climbed to top. Jane and Beast watched Eli with fire, burning iron. Eli in strange hat.

“It isn’t going to be hot enough,” Molly said.

“You want hotter temperatures, we need a two-tank system, oxygen/acetylene,” Eli said. “Ambient air is less than twenty-one percent oxygen. Pure O² burns hotter.”

“You trying to tell an air witch about burning things?” Evan grunted, a low growl in his voice. He was sitting in a chair, dressed in human clothes. He smelled like iron and salt and sickness. Was spelled, but he could talk and move. His face was red and his body smelled of frustration, like big-cat hunting with no prey in territory. “No one knows burning things like an air witch.”

Jane laughed inside. Beast did not understand why Jane laughed, but she sat back and let Beast stay alpha.

“No,” Eli said. “I’m suggesting we get a different system or take the iron focals to a welder or to a structural steel fabricator.” Eli pulled his hat off his head, took his cell from his pocket, and punched fingers across surface like Beast sliding paws across ice, with fish swimming beneath. “Thanks to the port, there’s more than half a dozen iron fabricators in New Orleans, most within an hour’s drive.”