Ubhan.
The sorcerer on the Council.
The knowledge hit me like a ton of stone, so hard that pain flashed through my mind, and blackness took me.
14
The Devil
Carrow went limp, and her knees buckled. I swept her into my arms before she could fall, my heart thundering. She hung limply, unconscious.
“What’s wrong with her?” Panic sounded in Eve’s voice.
“I don’t know.” I cradled her against me as I awkwardly reached around to feel for her pulse, fear chilling me. I found the steady beat thudding beneath her skin. “She’s alive, thank fates.”
“We’re closest to the Haunted Hound,” Quinn said. “Let’s go there. I have something that could help revive her.”
I nodded, turning to hurry toward the gate that would lead to the pub. Quinn and Eve helped Mac and Seraphia, and we reached the gate a few minutes later. I strode through first, determined to get Carrow to safety. She felt so fragile in my arms that it made worry twist my insides.
The ether depositing us in the darkened hallway of the Haunted Hound. I marched into the main part of the pub, noticing the half-dozen patrons lingering over their pints. I glared at them. “Leave.”
Every single one of them leapt to their feet and rushed out into the night. The bartender—a woman I didn’t recognize—glared at me.
Quinn stepped up beside me. “Now, was that necessary?”
“I don’t know, but it felt good.” I carried Carrow toward the large armchairs by the roaring fire and set her down in one of them.
The ghostly hound lying in front of the flames lifted his head to blink sleepily at us. I ignored the beast. Kneeling at Carrow’s side, I gently patted her pale cheek. “Carrow, wake up.”
Eve, Mac, and Seraphia joined us, the two cursed women taking other chairs. Cordelia appeared a moment later, sitting on the floor at the base of Carrow’s chair. Concern gleamed in her dark eyes. I felt it happen. Is she all right?
“I don’t know.”
Cordelia twisted her little paws and climbed up next to Carrow on the chair. Squeezing her fluffy bulk onto the seat, she stared up at her.
Quinn appeared a moment later, a small vial in his hands. He uncorked it and handed it to me. “Smelling salts.”
The fumes were enough to make my eyes water, and I gently wafted it under Carrow's nose as Cordelia cringed away.
Carrow gasped and sat upright, smacking the salts away from her face. She looked around, her expression confused and eyes frantic. “What happened?”
“You passed out at the tower,” I said.
Everyone hovered around, staring at her in concern.
She blinked, her expression calming a bit. “I remember. I remember.” She rubbed her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “Just let me think.”
The bartender came up with a tray of beers and set them on the small table by one of the chairs. “You look like you could use these.”
“Thanks, Kate,” Quinn said. “Do we have any sandwiches left from earlier?”
She nodded. “I’ll bring them out.”
Carrow’s eyes flickered open. “It’s the sorcerers.”
“The sorcerers?” I frowned. “Just like Madame Duvoir said.”
“Exactly.” Carrow nodded. “She said that the curse could only be placed by a sorcerer, and I saw Ubhan’s office in Black Church when I asked what had cursed the building.”