The Rede Breaker

Chapter 32: The Morning After

Archer reluctantly drives me home at about half past 7:00 AM, after being called to the hospital.

I talk him out of switching schedules with another surgeon with the promise I will research more on how to not only get us to Anarch's realm but to defeat him. The moment I enter the house, I know I am on a quickly ticking clock.

My Book of Shadows offers little in the way of giving a clear answer to the posed questions. The book is a compendium of magical creatures, spells, potions, ideology, but it lacks the finer arts of resolving supernatural conflict. It's something I want to rectify soon.

I research many areas to find an in, even returning to the spell that took me to the realm. If I open the spell a bit, substitute a couple of words, I might be able to make it work.

At what cost, though?

The search is marginally successful. I admit I get lost in the lore of how werewolves came to be. The book states that it was purely accidental and I become enthralled in the lore.

Apparently, followers of a deity were bestowed pelts from greater dire wolves as a gift. The book references the pelts as being touched from a primordial source of magic translated into "The Spark" from another dead language.

A father and son came into possession of the pelts and used them to stave off a 'dark threat' spreading through the land. The passage alludes to dark beings who feed off the life force of mortals. It does not explicitly say so, but my money is on vampires, especially when they are called "Cold Ones".

The pelts, infused with the magic of Old Gods, melded with the father and son, creating the first werewolves.

This aligns with the lore behind witchcraft and other magicks. There is a root to all magic that most texts refer to as the Spark. Different beings pull magic from the spark in different ways, though witches, warlocks, wizards, sorcerers, and a few other supernaturals are the only beings who can pull magical energy directly from the Spark.

Most witches are descendants of those who touched the Spark directly, but I know this is not always true. There are some that receive their gifts through demons or by being bestowed their gifts through deities.

I am lost in the book until I hit a dead end in my research. The book has a wealth of knowledge contained in its pages that I have never read anywhere else. The only drawback is that I can only read so much for so long.

There's no definitive way to defeat Anarch.

I eventually find myself in the basement, pulling all the dark arts books I can. I get lost in book after book until the sun breaks through the blinds of the window behind me, casting an odd glow onto the book I am currently reading.

Eric and Sierra appear at the foot of the stairs together. The two enter the living room cautiously, taking in the horrific sight of me surrounded by books filled with dark magic.

"It's not what it looks like."

"It looks like you're already knee-deep in dark magic. Is this about the demon?" Eric asks.

"Yeah. It is."

"Have you slept at all?" Sierra asks.

I close the book I am reading, Karrion's Cross-Reference of the Occult, as I explain to them a brief, abridged rundown of last night.

As I retell the story, I am relieved they are not looking at me with vacant expressions or as if I am telling some outlandish story. It feels nice to have someone to confide in that knows me.

Eric and Sierra are obliviously worried as the story ends. I brace for the backlash.

"So, Tereso has two brothers? One of them is a dark wizard and got himself caught up in demon business. Now he's stuck with the others." Eric says. "And he finagled you into making this brother a priority over the others."

"No! They're all equally important. I'm sorry, did I skip over the part where Laura is actively kidnapping people? I could have sworn I explained that part in excruciating detail."

"Why would Laura want to help a demon? And shouldn't we do something to stop her first?"

Sierra shrugs. "I hate to say it, but Eric is kind of right. I like Archer, but this family reunion is secondary to stopping Laura and defeating the demon."

"I agree. But Archer is laser focused. I have to stop him from--"

"Doing something stupid? I can't help but feel like we've had this conversation before." Eric says.

"Don't! This is nothing like Ambrose."

Eric and Sierra are discomforted. I can't tell if it's by me mentioning Ambrose or the fact that they feel I'm falling back into a trap. They have every right to be concerned, but I can handle this.

"Okay, fine." Eric says. "What can we do?"

"Well, if you can keep Laura busy, that would be helpful."

"How?" He asks.

"Think of something. I need her out of the way. It might help if you could also dig up some dirt on her. I don't know much about her than she fell for the wrong guy. I kind of feel for her."

"For the wicked witch of Prophecy Cove?" Eric asks.

"Yeah. She's not the first person who fell in love with a very toxic guy. She was in love with some jerk who dabbled in dark magic. Now she's dabbling. To be honest, I don't want her to get hurt in this. I want to resolve this with peace and love. I don't want another Ria incident."

"Ria wasn't your fault." Sierra interjects.

"As nice as that is to hear, I don't think it's true. I think about her often, you know. She's somewhere locked inside her own body. Yeah, she tried to curse me, but she was angry and hurt because Ambrose murdered her coven, and the love of her life. I'm going to do everything I can to keep Laura from becoming the next Ria."

"Fine. But at least take a nap. You look like Hell warmed over and there's only so much you can do on no sleep." Eric says. "I'll see what I can dig up on her but get some rest."

I promise and he leaves. Sierra pushes books out of the way with her heels to allow me space to pass her. I stumble up the stairs to my room and find my bed. It only takes me seconds to fall into a deep sleep.

My mistake.