Tempting the Light: Legends and Myths Police Squad (L.A.M.P.S. Book 1) (23 page)

Chapter 34

Abby paced around the kitchen waiting for River. Where could he be? And why wouldn’t Pepper let her out of her sight? It was as if River warned Pepper to keep watch over her. If she couldn’t get away, then that foiled all her plans of performing the spell alone.

“I’ve changed my mind. I think the waterfall would be a better place for the spell,” she said to Pepper.

“Why?”

“I just have a feeling.” She rubbed her stomach. That little voice of intuition and dread poked its pointed stick inside her belly.

“Fine. This is your rodeo, Abs. I’ll call River and let him know.” Pepper pulled out her phone before she could refuse.

Pepper filled him in on the new location and pressed the screen to hang up on her phone. “Done. He’ll be here soon.”

Abby released the bound breath filling her chest. She went through her checklist one more time to make sure everything was in her bag.

“You know, you don’t have to come.” Abby hoped Pepper would change her mind. “As a matter of fact, I wish you wouldn’t. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“And miss the big event?”

“There’s no naked dancing in this spell.”

“Too bad. That was the best part of the last one.”

She didn’t want Pepper dancing naked with River. He probably wouldn’t do it anyways but she couldn’t be sure. Pepper was quite the persuader.

River pulled up to Pepper’s house in his new squad car. He pressed on the horn to alert the women he arrived. A real gentleman would knock on the door, but he wanted to get moving.

Abby came out the back door carrying a bag full of supplies while Pepper followed holding a large mirror. They both wore black shirts and dark pants, and they’d pulled their hair back in ponytails.

He jumped out of the car and helped them load their gear in the trunk. Pepper slid into the back, and Abby sat in the front passenger seat.

“Ready?” he asked Abby with an encouraging smile.

She gave a half-nod, but her fidgeting and repeated lip balm swiping said something different.

He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together.”

“Like the three musketeers,” Pepper called out from the back seat.

A small laugh escaped his lips. “That’s one way to look at it.” He put the car in drive and they headed toward the ATV parked at the station.

The silence in the squad car made the five-minute drive feel more like an hour. River assumed the women were quiet because of nerves. He wouldn’t be much help there. His nerves were pulled so tight he imagined he could strum out the Battle Hymn Republic on them—which made it extremely hard to hold his confident look.

Before long, they were in front of the waterfall. According to his watch they had a half-hour before the ritual could take place. He handed Abby her grandmother’s journal. “You know you are the only one allowed in the circle.”

“I do.” Her haunted tone was like a punch to his heart. He wished he could perform the spell for her.

He touched a strand of brown hair hanging in front of her eye and tucked it gently behind her ear. “You have to be strong. The genie will try to scare or trick you before you bind him.”

“I know.” She kept her answers short but the determination on her lips and the intensity in her eyes said all he needed to hear.

“I’m going to scout the perimeter to make sure nothing is lurking in the shadows.” He didn’t think anything suspicious lay in wait, but he needed to walk off some of his trepidation.

River strode into the woods and looked around for anything that could cause an interruption. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the heat sensitive equipment to check the area for any heat signatures. A few small orange blips registered on the screen, most likely squirrels, skunks, or raccoons, but nothing to worry about.

Relieved that the Gnome was in custody, and Abby wasn’t going to turn tonight, the forest and people in the town were Cryptid-free at the moment. He tried to relax. When they summoned the genie, who knew what that bastard could bring with him. Abby’s spell would be opening a door to another realm, and she’d have absolutely no control over whatever came through the passage.

He made his way back to the waterfall. The girls had all the ingredients for the spell spread out on the banks of the shore. The swishing sound of the waterfall added suspense to the moment.

He checked his watch. “We have fifteen minutes.”

Abby looked up from all her ingredients. “Okay. We’re almost ready. I don’t want to make the salt circle until we’re about to start.”

“Good idea. From what I read that’s the most important thing to have intact.”

The rectangular mirror lay on the ground face up, a black dry-erase marker set on top. The candles formed a perfect triangle around the mirror. Her knife and spring water sat to the side next to the round red Tupperware container. He brought his duct tape, plastic bags, and box for the genie to be shipped to headquarters, per his superior’s instructions. Not having control over the contained genie bothered him. What if someone let it out once he released it to L.A.M.P.S.? Abby would be cursed again. He reconsidered sending it to them.

River checked his watch again. “Three minutes to twelve. Almost time.”

Abby paced back and forth around the site. “What if I screw this up?” She looked up at him, her eyes pleading for his help.

“You are going to do this. You are going to free yourself from this curse. Stop worrying.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her soft lips. His pulse raced like a raging Skunk ape. The last thing he needed was something to go wrong tonight.

Abby had never been more nervous than she was right now.

Not only did her future depend on this spell, but River’s and Pepper’s lives depended on its success, too. She stared at them with gloomy hovering in her vision, and realized just how much she loved them both. One slip up from bad-luck-Abby and everything could go to shit, really fast.

She pulled out her salt, opened the box, and walked around in a circle leaving an unbroken white line behind her. Just to be sure, she walked around twice, reinforcing the circle. The salt barrier measured just over two inches thick. She trembled as she double-checked to make sure there were no breaks.

“You guys ready? My watch says midnight.” She looked at River and Pepper. They both nodded at her to proceed. “Here it goes.”

Next, she lit the candles in the correct order. First white, then red, and finally the black one. The flames flickered in the cool, light breeze.

She used the black marker to scrawl
Aperite portas, qui maledixit mihi domun ad genie,
which said open the portal to the genie who cursed my family.

“I call the Green Jinn of Arabia. I summon you regardless of your will.” She bent and picked up the knife and held it tight with white knuckled shaking hands.

The flames grew taller and flared followed by the green swirl of smoke.

The huge green genie popped out of the mirror and scowled before her. He seemed bigger and a heck of a lot madder than when she met him in the rest room.

“You dare to summon me?” The green genie’s uni-brow formed a perfect V on his wrinkled forehead.

Her legs and knees shook. She locked them so she wouldn’t fall. Digging deep inside she found enough courage to continue. With the knife, she sliced across her palm and let a few drops of blood drip into the red plastic container.

“With my blood I bind you.”

“You can do
no such thing
.” His anger resonated through his words, and his face twisted and changed into the mime, but his green bulky body stayed the same.

“You’re the mime?”

“Yes. A clever disguise, no?” The genie’s booming voice rushed out of the mime’s mouth, complete with the painted heart. “Tormenting you has fulfilled my purpose. You should have seen the look on your face when you walked in on me and your boyfriend.”

“I can’t believe you made Burt fall in love with you just to torture me.” For some odd reason the urge to feel sorry for Burt actually occurred.

“Oh, believe me, wooing him was easy. I probably did you a favor.”

She furrowed her brows. Maybe not sorry for Burt after all.

“You are my slave now, and I command you to remove the curse on me, and my future family.” She added the last part with hope that he could do such a thing.

His lip curved upward into a snarl. “Silly girl. I cannot remove the curse the old gypsy placed on your kin. I can however remove your curse. So be it.” He waved his hand in front of him in a jerking motion. “Now let me go.”

“I command you to remain dormant in this container until I let you free.” She pointed to the Tupperware container and continued on. Abby hid her disappointment that her grandchildren would have to face this fate.

“No,” he replied, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yes, I command you.” Why wasn’t this working? She had followed the directions perfectly. “In the Tupperware. Now.” She pointed at the container with her knife.

“Know this child. You will be sorry when you let me out.” His body turned into a pillar of smoke, and twisted like a tornado down into the bowl.

She tossed in a tampon and snapped the lid closed. Then duct taped around the top of the container several times.

“Abby. Look out. Something else is coming through that portal.” River’s voice snapped her to attention. Abby leaped up. The mirror’s glass bulged upward with silver liquid pushing out.

She rubbed furiously on the mirror with the paper towels but before she could finish an enormous green scaly snout with large sharp teeth poked out.

Dragon.

Startled, she fell back on her rear and turned her head to check the salt line. She missed breaking the barrier by a fraction of an inch. She crawled to the mirror with the paper towel in her hand. Abby looked over at River and Pepper. They jumped and shouted at her but she couldn’t hear anything they were saying.

Her mouth went dry.

Run! What she wanted to do—was run. Run away as far and as fast as her legs could move. But if she bolted, she’d lose River and Pepper to the snarling jaws of the dragon. As long as she stayed in the circle they were safe.

Steam and smoke blew out of the beast’s huge nostrils. Only its head had pushed up through the mirror doorway. If this leviathan escaped through the portal it would be her fault.

On instinct, she uncapped the spring water jug and emptied it onto the mirror. “
Claude ostia prohibere dracones
.” The Latin words for “I close the portal. Stop the dragon,” fired out of her mouth. The beast howled, pulled back, and disappeared. The spell written on the mirror, dissolved.

Abby sat back on the ground and stared at the Tupperware container. The tension in her neck released and she let out a long breath.

“Oh. My. God. That was freaking awesome.” Pepper ran over but stopped short before entering the circle.

“I’m so proud of you, Abby.” River strode next to Pepper. “Now let us in there.”

“I think you can cross. I closed the portal and the genie is sealed up.” She scratched the back of her head. How the heck did she know the water would work?

River bent to pick up the Tupperware containers. He put the smaller one inside the larger one and duct taped it again. Then he pulled out several plastic bags and wrapped them around the Tupperware, pulled out a cloth bag, and lastly pulled out a titanium safe and locked the bowl inside.

“I’m not taking any chances. I’m going to bury this where no one will find it.”

“You’re going up against your bosses for me? I thought you had to turn it over to your agency.”

He shook his head. “No. This is too important. I can’t trust them to resist the temptation to open the container and let the genie out.”

Abby agreed with River. She ran to him, and placed her arms around his neck. “I’m so happy right now. For the first time in years I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me.” No more turning into a monster. She’d finally found a way to end her streak of bad luck.

“So you think it worked?” River fought his grin.

“I know it worked.” She laughed and let loose a smile that would put a toothpaste model to shame. The joy in her voice was something he had never heard from her before, making her even more beautiful. Abby was the one for him.

He pulled her over to him and kissed her upper lip, then her lower one. After kissing both her lips, her cheeks, and her forehead, he decided never to let her go. To protect her from any other curses, he would convince her to marry him.

“Hey, guys, can we go now?” Pepper tapped him on his shoulder.

He waved her off without pulling away from Abby. “Yeah, yeah.” He didn’t want this moment to end.

River sat at his desk in the police station and battled over the phone with Ottar about the genie held hostage.

“Okay. I get your point.” Ottar finally gave up. “If the tables were turned, I wouldn’t hand over the container. Those scientist lab geeks and their twisted curiosity will have that container opened within minutes.”

“Thanks. Oh . . . You still need to repair Pepper’s dinosaur,” he reminded him.