Page 66 of Death Card

Orion and I exchange a glance. He reaches into my head.

“Do you think Joelle could be—”

“No,” I snap.“She wouldn’t.”Joelle wants power too, but I doubtshe’d stoop that low to get it. She’s a different threat, a purely mortal one.

Sabine returns to the stove. Steam hisses as she removes something from the pot. When she turns, Orion and I both jump at the sight of the razor-sharp blade in her hand. The air shimmers as Orion goes to bind Sabine’s wrists.

“Relax,” she says, a hint of a laugh present in her voice. “I’m not the one trying to kill you. This is for you to take with you.”

Orion drops his hands reluctantly, and we both step closer to study the weapon. The dagger has a red glass hilt with gold metal embroidered along the edges. The blade itself is simple, short, and sharp. Sabine touches the pad of her finger to the tip, and blood wells up immediately. She sticks her finger in her mouth to suck the blood away.

“I’ve enchanted this dagger specially for you.” She slides a sheath over the blade and hands it to me. When I grip the handle, it’s heavier than I expected it to be. “If the demon has possessed someone, you’ll have to kill them. Sometimes demons are able to jump into another person’s body in their desperation to avoid being sent back to the demonic plane. The enchantment on this blade will prevent that from happening.”

“And there’s no way around having to kill the person?” Orion asks. “I’m not sure I want that blood on my hands.”

Sabine’s mouth is drawn in a straight line. “They’ve made their decision. That person will have to live and die by it. Summoning isn’t a task you undertake lightly.” She holds my gaze, reaching out to grip my chin. “Keep that blade on you at all times and be prepared to use it.”

I’ve never killed someone. I imagined if I ever had to, I’d usemagic to do it. But using a dagger like this, stabbing it into someone’s body, is something I never anticipated having to do. And I can’t shake the feeling that this dagger is meant for a more insidious purpose. I wasn’t able to see many details of the dagger from my vision, but the blade matches the shape.

“I don’t—I can’t take this.” I hold it back out toward her, but she shakes her head.

“It’s yours now, honey. Whether you like it or not, you’ve got to see this through.”

30

As we prepareto return to Gator Pride, Andrew attempts to ask Orion about our meeting with Sabine, but Orion steers the conversation to more mundane topics, like that of their relationship. I dig out a pair of earbuds from my bag and quickly tune out Orion as he asks Andrew whether he’s seeing other people. I know he’s only distracting Andrew, but I don’t even want to pretend like I’m listening.

Instead, I think about the dagger stuffed in my bag. Could I kill Aria or Gloria or some other member of their coven? I’ve been terrified of facing my own grisly death on the sharp end of a blade, but now it seems I’ll have to inflict that same pain on someone else.

Violence begets more violence. Death’s taste for blood is insatiable; it will always require more souls to feed its bottomless appetite.

After returning to the car, my brother and I speed back to New Orleans. I tell Orion to drop me off at Gramps’s volunteer event.

“You’re really going to tell him that we went to see Sabine?” Orion asks incredulously. “He’s going to kill us.”

“Maybe.” I unzip my bag and take out the dagger. The hilt issolid and heavy in my hand. When I remove the sheath, the blade glints in the light, wickedly sharp. “But I’m sure he’ll be interested to know that we have a way to stop the Hightowers now.”

“So, we’re really going to war, then?”

“It might be the only way.” I think about Aria. She tried to kill me at the party, but that could’ve been at the urging of her grandmother. I may still be able to reason with her one last time. Unless she was the one behind the wheel of the red sedan. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but they struck first.”

Orion shakes his head. “God, I need to get stoned one more time.”

“We’re not going to wartonight.” I roll my eyes. “I’m sure Gramps will want to put together a game plan first.”

Orion parks in front of the food bank and releases a deep sigh. We stare at each other for a long moment, two siblings on the precipice of being ripped apart forever. Without warning, I reach across the center console to pull him into a hug. He stiffens at first, before giving in and wrapping his arms around me in return. Neither of us speaks; the hug says everything.

He peels away from the curb as soon as I shut the car door behind me. I don’t know whether he’s off to party and drink. It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m done casting judgment on my brother. He’s gotta do whatever he has to in order to get through this.

Inside, there’s a large space filled with bustling volunteers filling care packages with food and personal-hygiene supplies. There are so many people walking around wearing the organization’s orange shirt that it’s hard to find Gramps in the crowd.I wander aimlessly, scanning the room. I’m so preoccupied that I don’t even notice Mike Dupree striding toward me.

“Miss Broussard.”

His deep baritone voice fills me with disgust. Instead of wearing a volunteer shirt like everyone else, he’s dressed in a three-piece navy-blue suit with a massive Rolex on his wrist and shiny patent-leather shoes that probably cost a fortune. His overt display of wealth is sickening at an event where everyone is meant to be giving back to the community.

If there’s anything I take from Mr.Dupree’s attitude, it’s that he’s only interested in enriching himself.

“Mr.Dupree,” I say through gritted teeth. “Nice to see you.” The lie sends a wave of nausea rolling over me.