Page 45 of Love Summoned

Kleo nods then leads us to her office. “If you need anything, just shout.”

She closes the door, leaving the two of us alone in the small, tidy room filled with the same earthy scent from before. Sera takes a seat on a small couch opposite the desk.

Taking a seat beside her, I read the title handwritten on the first page. “Legends and Relics of the Demon Realm? This was the book she was after? The one they inherited from a witch?”

Sera crosses her feet underneath her as she settles back into the couch. “When a witch defeats a demon, we record it in a book with the spell, potion, whatever manner we used to vanquish them, so that any future witches that come across the same demon or a similar one know how to fight back.”

“Like a glorified kill book?” I snicker.

“Like How to Save a Life 101.” She smiles as she counters back.

That’s the difference between us and them. We attack to hurt, they do it to save. They’d probably leave us alone if we kept to ourselves.

“So how does this work? You touch the book and see the hunter’s next moves or something?”

“I don’t have a lot of luck with summoning visions.” Sera chews her lip as she runs her hands over the cover. “As an empath, I feel people’s emotions. When someone is scared and in need of help, my powers receive that message, so when the visions get blocked, it’s frustrating. I don’t want to miss the signs.”

“Do you need me to do anything?”

“Just be quiet.” She smirks before leaning over and placing a quick kiss on my lips. “If this works, don’t be startled if I look really still. Sometimes I shake or breathe heavily, but it usually only lasts thirty seconds or so.”

I nod and watch her get to work. She closes her eyes and sits up tall as her chest rises with a deep breath then she touches a hand to the first page. Letting the air out, she turns the page, then repeats the process. Breathe in, hand on the page, breathe out, turn the page.

After a few minutes, she groans, dropping her head back against the couch. “Nothing’s happening.”

“Is this what she was looking for?” I ask, pointing to the page open on Sera’s lap with a drawing of a ring.

“No.” Sera shakes her head, flipping through the pages. “She was looking for this.”

My heart stops when Sera holds up a page with a dagger. I reach out, accepting the book from her. The air feels thick as I swallow it, as if it’s trapped in my throat. I know this dagger; it's Catori’s. “Why does she want this?”

“Well, that’s what we’re trying to figure out, silly.” Sera laughs, taking the book back from me and settling on my lap instead.

She leans into me as she studies the page. “We think there’s a demon trying to break a curse that keeps him in Hell so he can cross to the human realm again. Only a direct descendant of the witch who created it can release the bind. To our knowledge, that bloodline no longer exists, which is why we want to know why the hunter wanted the dagger.”

She has been seeing Catori, but she doesn’t seem to be the key. The relief is fleeting.

“Doesn’t exist?” I ask. Our whole mission here has been to find the witch who can undo the curse. Chimere saw the witch responsible. This doesn’t make sense.

“She died with only one living relative, but we haven’t been able to find his name.” I run my hand over Sera’s wrist in comfort, not sure if it’s for me or her. “We think—”

Sera slumps against my chest, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. “Sera?”

Her face is calm as her chest steadily rises and falls.

Is she having a vision?

My thumb rubs over the back of her hand where she still clutches the book. I count to thirty. That’s how long she said it can last. I won’t panic unless it’s longer than that.

My leg bounces as I count. One. Two. Three.

Sera’s body continues to lie heavy against mine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

My other arm wraps around her waist, careful not to disturb her, but needing her contact all the same.

Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.

Nothing.