Unveiled: The Cursed Trilogy, Book Three Betty Legend (best short novels txt) 📖

Dr. Sato motions to the door. “Phoenix is waiting for all of you in my office.”

When we enter the office, Phoenix rises from a chair, his expression sour and deep in thought. This is hitting him harder than he wants to admit. I’ll need to talk with him privately as soon as I have a chance.

“Let’s go home. I’m worried about Emeric and Killian.”

Taking Phoenix’s hand, I keep him close as we enter the portal Cyrus creates.

After searching upstairs, panic sets in.

“Where are they?”

Griffin pulls me into a hug as tears fill my eyes. “We’ll find them.”

Cyrus enters the kitchen, where Griffin and I are standing.

“I’m going to do a location spell.”

“We’ll join you,” I tell him, leaving Griffin’s embrace.

Phoenix shakes his head as he steps out of the door to his apartment. “They’re not in the house.”

“Owe!” My knees buckle as pain, sharp and searing, moves up my arm and part of my back where the branded wings are. “It’s Emeric!”

Griffin lifts me off the floor, carrying me to the nearest bathroom. As our bonded magic burns and glows on my arm, Cyrus casts into the mirror.

My mouth falls open as an image appears—somewhere dark, the only light from flames surrounding the area reveals Emeric and Killian. On his knees, Emeric’s wings are bound behind him, chains holding him in place. Each one extends from his bleeding neck, wrists, and ankles. Killian is chained the same way while in wolf form, blood seeping from where the chains contain him. With a collar around his neck, two chains extend from it, keeping him from biting his captors.

Bile rises to my throat. “Where are they?”

Phoenix leans in, studying the image in the mirror, but he shakes his head. “I can’t tell.”

“Who has them?”

A figure emerges in the mirror, his back toward us. I immediately recognize the bald head, the danger in his every step, and the malevolence emanating from his fake human form. As if he senses us, the devil turns his head and stares right at us and laughs, his cruel mouth twisted in triumph.

“If you ever want to see them again, you’ll come to me, Selene.”

Cyrus quickly mutters under his breath, and the image fades away.

“Why did you do that? I needed more information!”

“I’m sorry.” Cyrus’s eyes plead for me to understand. “It was too dangerous for him to have access to you, to this place. We’ll do a different location spell using a map. It’ll show us where they are.”

Following Cyrus into the magic room, Griffin, Phoenix, and I remove items off the counter as he lays out a world map, then hands me a blade.

“This needs blood magic to work. Cut your hand, then repeat after me.”

The blood drips from my hand as I repeat the spell. The blood bubbles before moving across the map to the United States.

“Good,” Cyrus says aloud as he pushes the map off the counter, then lays down a United States map. “Do the same spell again.”

With the last of my words, the blood bubbles before moving to New York.

Shock stuns me. “He has them in New York! Could any of you tell where they were in the mirror?”

Cyrus rubs his hand over the back of his neck. “It looked like it was underground.”

“It did,” Phoenix agrees. “Like a cave or a secret underground hideout.”

Griffin takes my hand as tears form. Hugging me to his chest, he cups a hand around my head and kisses it. “We’ll find them.”

“We will,” Cyrus assures me, his hand caressing my back. “We’ll go to your apartment, then do the spell again with a New York map.”

“We should go prepared,” Phoenix insists. “We can’t rush into this. That’s what the devil wants.”

Anger surges and my magic responds, multi-colored essence bursting from my body.

“I’m ready, and our magic is all we need.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

SELENE

Pacing my apartment, I wait for Cyrus and Griffin to return with a New York map. When they come through the door, I breathe with relief. Cyrus wastes no time spreading the map out on my small kitchen table. With the knife in hand, I cut my palm, then squeeze, and as the blood drips, I cast the spell. The bubbles of blood move north of New York City, then stop.

“The Catskill Mountains,” Cyrus points. “That’s where he has them.”

“We’re probably entering a cave and a secret hideout,” Phoenix warns. “We need to be prepared to fight demons to get to them.”

My jaw tightens. “I’m ready.”

“We can portal to the Shandaken Inn,” Cyrus tells us. “I’ve been there for a work retreat.”

“Good, let’s go.”

Moments later, we step out of a portal in the woods adjacent to the Inn. Leaving the cover of the trees, we enter the Inn. Cyrus finds a shelf on the wall with brochures. Gathering a map of the mountainous area, we follow him outside to a nearby picnic table. As Cyrus lays out the map, I cut my hand and hold it above the map as I cast the location spell. The bubbles of blood move across the map, narrowing in on their location.

“There.” Cyrus points to an area void of trails or any landmarks. “We’ll have to walk from here.” He studies the map. “It’s about a five-mile walk.”

“That’s fine. I can handle that.”

“There was a store inside by the check-in,” Griffin tells us. “I’ll get water and anything else we might need.”

A short time later, Griffin returns with a backpack thrown over his shoulder.

“Ready?” he asks me.

“Yes.”

Phoenix takes the lead with his ability to easily see in the dark. Every so often, he and Cyrus shine a phone light on the map to make sure we’re cutting through the trees in the right direction. I’m thankful I’m wearing stretchy leggings and tennis shoes. This climb would be hell otherwise. As time passes and our hike becomes more strenuous, my nerves tighten in my gut. Sensing it, Griffin takes my hand and releases his magic, the tingling comfort of his touch soothing. I wipe at