The moment Callum and I teleported back into the house, I knew something was wrong. The vines on the walls were shriveling and gray; the air was so cold I could see my own breath.
Callum growled, baring his teeth. “Something is in the house.”
“We need to find my grandmother,” I said. “Now!”
When I teleported again, he followed me. In the kitchen, I found the old radio sitting on the table and hurriedly turned up the dial. “Grams! Grandma, are you there?”
Static. Nothing but static.
“Winona!” Callum’s voice shook the walls, and another wave of static poured from the radio.
Faintly, within the buzzing, I could hear a faint voice. “…infestation! Got in….night, It…Darragh can’t hold It…”
“There’s too much interference,” I said. Rapidly turning the dial, I tried to find a station that had a clearer signal, but they all carried the same static. Except one.
The radio suddenly fell deathly silent. There was a faint sound, so soft I had to turn the volume all the way up and lean my head close to the speakers.
Drip. Drip, drip.
Chills went over my arms, and I looked up at Callum in alarm, but he was staring at the radio.
“Turn it off,” he said softly.
Then, from the speaker, came a voice. It was ragged with pain, sharp with hysteria as it spoke in a grating whisper, “Everlyyyy…I miss you, sister…”
My stomach lurched. “Victoria?”
“It’s so cold here…” She singsonged, breathy and shuddering. “Won’t you come…down…down…down…into the dark?”
Callum lunged forward, turning the radio off. I sat there stunned, staring, stomach churning.
Finally, I managed to choke out, “We need to speak to Darragh.”
As I carried the radio with me, Callum flew ahead of me through the house toward the conservatory, reaching the Woodsprie before I did. When I heard his shout, I sprinted. My footsteps squelched the wet grass as I burst through the doors to the outside, crushing mushrooms underfoot. But when I reached the tree guarding the greenhouse, I stopped abruptly and gasped.
The bark had turned gray, the leaves brown and shriveling. The highest limbs still appeared healthy, their coloration normal, their leaves thick and green. Darragh was leaning his head back in the apex of the spread limbs, his honey-colored eyes dull and half-lidded.
“My lady,” he said softly as I approached. I cradled his limp head and it lolled against me. His wood felt rough and dry; the bark flaking away.
“Oh no, no, Darragh!” I tried to hold his head up. He couldn’t even keep his own eyes open. “What can I do? What do you need? Callum! What can I do?”
But the demon shook his head. “I don’t know. We need to find a way to keep him alive. His roots protect this house. Without him, we’ll be far too vulnerable.”
In desperation, I seized the radio again and cranked the volume up, whispering, “Please, please, please…”
To my relief, my grandmother’s voice came faintly through. “…needs nectar…go to my cabinets near…potting tables…large mason jars…green wax seals.”
Callum vanished into the greenhouse. I could still feel Grams’ presence close by. Focusing my magic toward her, I attempted to bolster her strength so she could speak to us more clearly.
“What happened, Darragh?” I said. There was a distinct outline of his legs within the trunk now, as if his very being was being pushed out of the tree he occupied.
“Infection,” he said. “Parasitic…fungus…it reached my roots.”
Callum returned, carrying a glass jar of pale gold, syrupy liquid. He held it to Darragh’s mouth, who for once didn’t have a smartass remark to give. He drank deeply, desperately, the nectar running down his chin as he gulped.
It brought a little of the light back into his eyes.
“It came up from below,” he said. “The mycelium. There’s rot spread out all beneath the house. I can endure it…for now. But if it kills the other trees, I can’t protect the house.”
“It’s the God,” Callum said, and Darragh nodded.
“It carries the stench of ocean water,” he said roughly. “So much salt. The soil is poisoned.” He shivered, shaking loose a cascade of brown leaves.
“Ocean water…” I said. “But how? How could It have gotten in? Past all the trees…”
“From below,” Darragh repeated. He bared all his thorny teeth in pain. “It got in…from below…”
He sunk back into the tree, soon vanishing entirely. When I laid my hand against the wood, it was freezing cold.
“It’s killing him,” Callum said.
“You need to move quickly,” said Grams. Although static still distorted her voice, her words were stronger now. “The God’s rot must have a source of power close by, a vessel to carry some of Its essence. It couldn’t have overwhelmed Darragh so quickly otherwise.”
“A vessel?” I gasped. “Jeremiah. It must be. The council said It infected him. But how could he have found us?”
“It may not be him,” Callum said grimly. “The God would only be able to contain a small fragment of Its essence in a human like him. His body will deteriorate quickly. But if the God has split Its essence between multiple vessels…”
He didn’t need to finish his statement. Dread settled over me as I sensed a familiar prickling on the back of my skull. The sensation of being watched.
“It must be in the tunnels,” I said. “In the vault.” Getting to my feet, I handed the radio to Callum. “Meet me in the kitchen. I need supplies.”
Teleporting first to my bedroom, I hurriedly opened the chest at the foot of my bed. I kept my most important positions in there: the grimoires I’d found within the library and around the house, including Sybil’s, as well as the enchanted blade. I put the grimoire within a small pouch on my belt, and secured the blade at my left hip in its sheath, before teleporting down to the kitchen.
Callum was already waiting for me there. I collected herbs, powdered fluorite, shards of quartz, and twigs of black laurel from the various jars upon the shelves.
My grandmother spoke again, sounding weary, “Be careful, Everly. There’s no telling what’s waiting for you down there. Even with Callum at your side.”
“It doesn’t matter what’s down there,” I said. “This is my house, and I will defend it. Nothing is allowed to enter here without my permission.” I glanced over at Callum, my chest swelling when I saw the pride in his eyes as he looked at me. “Whatever is down there will be dealt with. This ends tonight.”
