The Death Curse

Chapter 23: Silas Thorn

Rhys silently drove Julia, Dom, Natalie, and me through the industrial part of the city the following morning. Vivian said that she would track me to the meeting instead of riding fused with one of us in the full car.

Everyone was on edge. I hadn't even been able to muster a joke about Rhys's terrible yellow ex-taxi that he was back to driving. The air was too tense with all our worries about meeting the most powerful witch in the area.

What if Silas doesn't agree to remove the curse? And worse, what if he gets mad that we even asked?

I turned to Rhys to voice my concerns but he was already pulling the car to a stop in front of a nondescript concrete building.

After he put the car in park, Rhys exited without a word. We all followed suit.

"Well, it certainly looks like a shady evil lair," Julia commented as she eyed the building.

"Let's hope not evil," I muttered.

Rhys placed a hand reassuringly on my shoulder and gave me a small smile before he strode to the metal door and gave it three hard bangs.

A long minute passed before the door creaked open, revealing a young man with a beaming grin on his face. He wore business casual clothes and his blond hair was gelled back in a style that looked too dated for his boyish features. He probably was just out of his teenage years.

The boy's green eyes were alight as they swept our group before settling on Rhys. "You must be Emrys Fahy. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He stuck out his hand.

"And you are... Nial Shorts?" Rhys said as he shook the boy's hand, sounding slightly confused.

"Yes!" Nial's head bobbed excitedly. "I'm Master Thorn's apprentice. He told me to greet you and your friends. Please follow me." He headed back into the building, a bounce in his step.

"He's an eager beaver."

"Gah! Vivian do you have to always scare me like that?!" I turned to glare at her.

She shrugged. "Sorry, I figured one of these times your ghost senses would start tingling. Maybe you need more training."

I rolled my eyes and followed the others into the building.

Nial led us to a room that was furnished with a coffee table and a few couches that were much more comfortable and fancy than I would have expected considering the outside of the building. The room didn't have windows but it was well lit by floor lamps and landscape paintings adorned the walls to make up for the lack of a view.

Nial and the waiting room were the exact opposite of what I had pictured in my mind. My imagination had dreamed up stone-faced middle-aged men in dark clothing, maybe even cloaks, and gothic decor. I was pleasantly surprised. I felt a bit of my fears ease.

"Master Thorn should be here any minute. In the meantime, can I get you any refreshments?" Nial asked.

We mostly were a chorus of "No, thank yous" besides Dom's solo order of a coke.

Nial skipped off with a cheery, "Right away, Sir."

"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Julia said, voicing my opinion as she sat down on one of the couches.

"I wouldn't let your guard down just yet," Natalie said as she slowly walked around the room inspecting every object.

I sunk into the couch cushion next to Dom who already had his feet propped up on the coffee table. "You think they are trying to lull us into a false sense of security?"