“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Cordelia looked directly at Fiona with a firm expression.
“The Supreme has a responsibility to protect the Coven.
Charlie and Madison were cursed because they became involved with the supernatural world surrounding this academy.
With your power, dealing with whoever created the Golden Arm should be simple.”
Fiona remained silent for several moments.
Her face revealed nothing, but Charlie understood that she was weighing the request against her own priorities.
The Supreme had returned to New Orleans because her body was aging and her power was beginning to weaken.
Death terrified her, and the discovery of Delphine LaLaurie had given her a living example of true immortality.
Fiona wanted time to question Delphine and uncover the secret behind Marie Laveau’s curse.
She had no intention of abandoning that opportunity to protect a young witch and a servant who had recklessly carried a cursed object into the academy.
“I have more important matters requiring my attention,” Fiona finally said.
“I cannot waste several days traveling across the country to clean up a problem they created themselves.”
Cordelia’s expression hardened, but Fiona raised one hand before her daughter could argue.
“That does not mean I intend to let them die.”
She glanced toward the Golden Arm resting on the table.
“I’ll use divination to locate the person responsible for the curse.
I will also teach Madison a spell capable of exorcising the spirit at its source.”
Fiona’s gaze settled on the young actress.
“If you follow my instructions and work with Charlie instead of showing off, the two of you should be able to handle it.
Consider this another practical lesson.”
Before Charlie or Madison could respond, Cordelia stepped forward.
“I’ll go with them.”
Fiona released a quiet laugh.
“You?”
Her eyes moved over Cordelia with open disbelief.
“What are you planning to do when the spirit attacks?
Throw herbal remedies at it?”
Cordelia had spent most of her life beneath the shadow of an extraordinarily powerful mother.
Fiona’s constant criticism had damaged her confidence and prevented many of her natural gifts from developing properly.
At present, Cordelia’s greatest strengths were herbalism, potion-making, and her extensive knowledge of witchcraft.
She was a skilled teacher and leader, but she possessed less direct combat experience than Madison.
Fiona cared for her daughter in her own selfish and deeply flawed way.
She was not willing to let Cordelia walk into a confrontation with an unknown spirit.
“I’m going,” Zoe said.
She held Charlie’s arm and met Fiona’s gaze.
“Charlie is my boyfriend.
I’m not letting him leave alone.”
Fiona rolled her eyes.
“You arrived here two days ago.
What exactly will you contribute besides screaming when something tries to kill him?”
Zoe’s face reddened.
Nan had also been preparing to volunteer, but Fiona’s response made her close her mouth.
Her telepathy might locate hidden enemies, though it offered little defense against a violent supernatural attack.
Queenie hesitated.
She disliked Madison and had no desire to spend several days traveling with her.
Still, Queenie was not cruel enough to ignore someone facing a deadly curse, and her living voodoo-doll ability could be useful in a fight.
She slowly raised her hand.
Fiona interrupted before she could speak.
“No.”
The Supreme looked around the room with growing impatience.
“This has already been decided.
Sending more inexperienced girls will create additional victims rather than improve their chances.”
Her gaze moved across Zoe, Queenie, and Nan.
“If you truly want to help, learn how to control your own abilities instead of performing some meaningless display of sisterhood.”
No one challenged her again.
Fiona picked up the Golden Arm without the slightest concern that the curse might attach itself to her.
She placed both hands around the metal limb, closed her eyes, and allowed the room to fall silent.
To an ordinary person, the ritual might have looked theatrical.
The witches watched with complete attention.
Charlie’s Spirituality had risen to 0.2, which allowed him to sense something hidden beneath the surface.
An invisible current spread from Fiona’s body and wrapped itself around the Golden Arm.
The sensation reminded Charlie of stories about genuine psychics and mediums.
Most people who claimed to see spirits were frauds, but the existence of witches proved that a rare few might possess real supernatural sensitivity.
The power around Fiona strengthened.
Her consciousness appeared to travel along an unseen connection attached to the Golden Arm.
She followed the curse backward through distance, memory, and intent while searching for the person who had created it.
Several minutes passed before she opened her eyes.
“Alpena County, Michigan.”
Charlie and Madison exchanged a serious look.
The source of the curse was nearly a thousand miles from New Orleans.
Whoever had created the Golden Arm had either brought it south or arranged for someone else to transport it.
Fiona placed the object back on the table.
“That is where you’ll find the person maintaining the curse.”
Her attention shifted toward Madison.
“Every generation produces a Supreme.
The position belongs to the witch who proves herself stronger than every rival and demonstrates mastery over the Seven Wonders.”
Madison sat straighter.
Fiona knew that the young actress already dreamed of becoming the next Supreme.
She deliberately used that ambition to turn Madison’s fear into determination.
“I’ll be interested to see how you perform without someone standing beside you to solve every problem.”
The worry on Madison’s face disappeared.
Her pride immediately transformed the dangerous journey into an opportunity to prove herself.
“I won’t disappoint you.”
Fiona then looked toward Charlie.
“Every man who has served this house has been expected to remain loyal to the Coven.
Remember why Myrtle allowed you to live here.”
Charlie lowered his head with an appropriately solemn expression.
“I’ll remember.”
Inside, he understood the warning clearly.
Fiona did not trust him, and her assistance did not mean she would tolerate actions that endangered the young witches.
After the meeting, Fiona taught Madison a formal exorcism spell designed to sever a hostile spirit’s connection to the living world.
The incantation required concentration, magical energy, and direct contact with an object tied to the curse.
Madison copied every word onto a sheet of paper.
She claimed that memorizing the spell would be easy, though Charlie noticed that she spent more time admiring her handwriting than practicing the pronunciation.
Time was limited.
Charlie packed the Glock, six magazines, the crucifix, the Bible, holy water, several changes of clothes, and the Golden Arm.
Cordelia added medicinal supplies and protective herbs despite Fiona’s insistence that her assistance was unnecessary.
Zoe remained close while he prepared to leave.
“You have to come back.”
Charlie took her hands.
“I will.”
“Don’t do anything reckless.”
“I’ll have Madison with me.”
Zoe looked toward the actress and appeared even less reassured.
Madison adjusted her sunglasses.
“He’ll be fine.
I already saved him once.”
Charlie decided not to remind her that Fiona had rescued both of them during the second attack.
They said goodbye to Cordelia, Zoe, Nan, and Queenie before leaving the academy.
Spalding watched from the entrance without showing any concern over whether his new assistant returned.
Fiona had arranged a chartered business jet to take them north.
Commercial travel to Alpena would require inconvenient connections and could delay them long enough for the curse to attack again after dark.
As the Supreme, Fiona had access to considerable wealth.
Generations of accumulated Coven resources, successful investments, and her own abilities allowed her to live in luxury while funding private research into youth and immortality.
Chartering a small aircraft was a minor expense.
Charlie and Madison boarded the jet at a private terminal outside New Orleans.
The aircraft would fly directly to Alpena County Regional Airport near the western shore of Lake Huron. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Alpena County lay in the northeastern section of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Reaching it meant traveling from the humid Gulf Coast to a far colder region hundreds of miles to the north.
Once the jet reached cruising altitude, a flight attendant offered them drinks.
Charlie accepted a soda and thanked her before settling into the leather seat beside Madison.
She had already opened a fashion magazine.
Charlie lowered his voice.
“Did you memorize Fiona’s spell?”
“Relax.”
Madison turned another page without looking at him.
“Compared to learning a movie script, that incantation is nothing.”
Charlie began to feel relieved.
Madison then tapped her purse.
“If I forget a line, I’ll read it from the paper.”
His relief vanished.
“You plan to stop in the middle of an exorcism and check your notes?”
“It’s called being prepared.”
“It’s called giving the spirit enough time to tear your head off.”
Madison finally lowered the magazine and looked at him.
“You worry too much.”
Charlie remembered every horror movie in which someone forgot the vital words at the worst possible moment.
Madison’s carelessness was exactly the kind of behavior that usually resulted in a violent death before the final act.
“Practice it again.”
“I already know it.”
“Then repeating it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Madison stared at him with growing irritation.
Anyone else who nagged her this much would have been dismissed, insulted, or thrown across the cabin with telekinesis.
Charlie had saved her from the fraternity members and protected her from provoking Fiona.
More importantly, Madison still found him attractive enough to tolerate behavior she would never accept from another man.
She released an exaggerated sigh, folded the magazine, and removed the sheet from her purse.
“Fine.”
Madison began reviewing the exorcism spell while Charlie listened carefully to each line.
She complained throughout the process, but her pronunciation steadily improved.
Satisfied that she was taking the danger seriously, Charlie turned his attention inward and summoned the Book of Containment.
When Fiona destroyed the female corpse at the academy, Charlie had received another ten Containment Points.
He had not delivered the final blow, which proved that he could still earn rewards while working with stronger allies.
The discovery made the Book far more useful.
Charlie did not need to defeat every supernatural entity alone as long as he participated in resolving the incident.
His personal page now displayed the updated attributes.
[Physical Body: 1.1]
[Spirituality: 0.2]
[Containment Points: 10]
A dangerous confrontation waited for them in Michigan.
The previous increase to Spirituality had produced no change he could clearly feel, while his weak body had nearly failed during the second attack.
Charlie selected Physical Body and invested all ten points.
[Physical Body: 1.1 → 1.2]
A warm current immediately spread through him.
The sensation began in his chest before flowing through his shoulders, arms, waist, and legs.
His muscles tightened while the soreness remaining from the corpse’s attack gradually faded.
Charlie flexed one arm beneath his sleeve.
The change was small, but the muscle felt firmer and more responsive than before.
Unlike the increase to Spirituality, this improvement was obvious.
If he earned enough Containment Points, his strength, speed, and endurance could eventually surpass ordinary human limits.
Perhaps one day he would be capable of pinning a corpse to the ground without relying entirely on Madison’s telekinesis.
For now, a 0.1 increase was only a beginning.
Charlie dismissed the Book and looked through the window at the white clouds surrounding the jet.
Somewhere ahead waited the creator of the Golden Arm, the source of their curse, and possibly his first true containment.
He hoped the journey to Michigan would mark the beginning of his rise rather than the end of his second life.
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