Free Flint Lock (Witches of Karma #10) by Elizabeth A. Reeves

and I was hoping that meant that it would also be able to help contain a demon.
    I was putting a lot of stock into hope at this moment.
    As if those precautions weren’t enough, I’d pulled out the old Book of Shadows from the room in the barn attic. With that as my guide, I’d surrounded the inside and the outside of the stall with two large circles, containing basil, cedar, hyssop, cinnamon and other protective herbs mixed with salt. On top of that, I had added some amethysts, quartz, and obsidian that I had seen in one of the trunks in the workroom. If they didn’t actually work, protectively, they still looked pretty. Finishing up the protective circles were white candles, placed carefully at each of the six true points and seated carefully in small silver bowls—also from the attic—containing water. The bowls were set in small hillsides of even more salt.
    Better overkill than be killed. I lifted up the book and started to chant:
     
    “With Earth’s power, I protect thee
    With the Sea’s tears, I surround thee
    With the Heart’s flame, I guide thee
    With my Breath, I stand by thee
    Guarded from ill or harm or geas
    As I will, so mote it be.”
     
    So, it didn’t exactly rhyme, but I thought it should do the trick.
    I turned ninety degrees and waved a bundle of smoking white sage around me. The smoke made my eyes sting. I fought the urge to cough. I’d always hated the smell of burning sage, but it was supposed to help banish evil, so I was willing to deal with it.
     
    From the North I call the Dragon
    From the South I call the Gryphon
    From the East I call the Raven
    From the West I call the Eldest One
    Protect this place, and those within it
    And if it fail, scour it and burn it
    May a hundred years pass
    Without life within it
    Contain the circle
    Contain the demon
    Come to my call
     
    I grabbed the silver athame from where I’d set it on the floor, and sprinkled my blood in all four directions, promising myself as sacrifice, should I fail.
    I didn’t love the idea of my farm being scoured from the earth without life for a hundred years, but if it would help me banish a demon, it was a risk I had to take.
    I wasn’t planning on failing.
    Even so, I had sent Jinx off with Ms. Abel, who believed that I was going out of town for a funeral.
    “Hopefully not ours,” I murmured under my breath.
    My hand stung, where I had cut it. I glanced down, wondering if I might have been a little too enthusiastic about that part of the ritual.
    Now it was time for the part I had been dreading. I drew in a deep breath, trying to settle the nerves that twisted my guts until I understood how a horse with colic must feel.
    “Are you ready?” I asked, looking at Flint. He’d stood patiently through all my preparations without an expression beyond slight curiosity on his face. His expression didn’t look worried, but I could feel the turmoil under the calm surface.
    Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. His arms were tight with tension. He looked me in the eyes and nodded sharply.
    There were no more reasons to procrastinate, and a hundred reasons why I should act as quickly as I could.
    Still, I hesitated.
    It had been so long since I had truly used my magick. Sure, I had used it to help me heal, but that didn’t require for me to really tap into my powers. It was more like skating over the ice, instead of plunging into the turbulent depths.
    I was scared.
    I looked at Flint, hoping that he couldn’t see the panic in my eyes.
    But, obviously he could. His lips curled ruefully as his eyes met mine. His life was in my hands, and he knew it.
    He trusted me to get this right.
    I closed my eyes and fell into oblivion.
     
    Something wasn’t right. Normally, I could just close my eyes, align myself with the other person, and ‘listen’ to what their soul might tell me. I had counted on that being the case this time. The plan was to find the demon, and use everything at my disposal to drive it out of