Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam #2)(37)

We went into an exam room and waited. Bubba blinked, shaking his head, and woozily tried to get to his feet. He was still in cat form.

“Looks like it worked. Bubba won’t be changing back into his human form.”

“Oh, thank gods. Bubba—you’re okay.” I leaned down and kissed his head.

“Murrow?” Bubba hiccupped as he mewed.

“I know you don’t understand exactly what’s going on, but I’ll do my best to explain later.”

Jordan gave him a thorough examination. “Good news. The hex is gone—at least from Bubba. This doesn’t guarantee that you and your house are clear, though. But, on the plus side, the moment the anchor was destroyed, it should have put a stop to anything new coming in. As for everyone who’s been affected? You’ll have to have a professional lift the curse, because it can still work on those who were touched by it.”

“What about me?” I wasn’t entirely clear on how this worked. “Is there a way to tell if I’m still being affected by the hex?”

“Chances are, you are. I can examine you and find out, now that I know what to look for.” He glanced at Sandy’s hand. “How did you get that?”

I answered for her. “Would you mind examining her, too? I’m thinking she ended up with that injury as a result of being near me. She was there the night the heart brooch arrived and I activated it—I assume just by pinning it on.”

Jordan had us line up on the examination table. He checked our vitals, then proceeded to draw a vial of blood from each of us, carefully labeling the glass tubes. As we watched, he dropped three drops of a clear reagent into each vial.

“If it turns bright pink, you’re under the curse. If not, then you’re clear, at least from this hex. I had to go through twenty different tests with Bubba to find out just what kind of magic was affecting him.” Jordan sat down on a stool, spinning to face us. “This will take about twenty minutes, so you might as well get comfortable.”

I put in a call to Aegis, but nobody answered. “He’s probably in the shower.” It occurred to me that we needed some test like this for the Bewitching Bedlam. “Can you use this reagent on a house to figure out if it’s under attack?”

“No, but I can compound a powder. Once you get home, you can set the container in any room, open it, and twenty minutes later, if it’s turned bright pink, you’ll know the whole house needs to be cleansed.” He set to work on that while Sandy and I waited. I scooped Bubba into my arms and he began to purr and knead against my shoulder.

“Will Bubba be in danger again if the house is under a general hex?”

“No. By destroying the anchor for his curse, it will prevent him from being re-infected, so to speak. It’s like…think of it as though he’s been immunized to this particular spell. But, Maddy, once you do have your house cleared, you need to take precautions and beef up your wards every few weeks. You obviously have pissed off somebody. This hex wasn’t a teenage joyride, so to speak. This was serious business. Dirt Magic is dangerous.” He poured a white crystalline powder into a plastic petri dish, then covered it and taped it shut. “Here. When you get home, do as I told you.”

“So things still could happen, then? Just not to Bubba.”

“Right, though nothing that hasn’t already been set into motion. But you know how hexes like this are. Some effects have a long brew time, others are quick. You could wake up covered in spots tomorrow, because the hex is working on you even now.” He glanced at the clock. “Five more minutes.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He was right. Hexes like this one played out long term. Even though we had destroyed the anchor, if something had been triggered but not yet manifested, it would still go through the cycle until the hex was lifted. And it sounded like this was a doozy. If it hadn’t been so strong, I could have used the heart pin to destroy the entire hex, but apparently it was powerful enough that I needed a hex-breaker.

“Okay, we have our results. Maddy—you’re infected.” He held up both vials. They were both bright magenta. “Sandy, you are, too. My guess is that everybody who was present that night, or who came into the house within twenty-four hours, has a good chance of having been slapped with the hex.”

I turned to Sandy. “How has Max been doing?”

She groaned. “He was there, wasn’t he? He’s had one hell of a week. Two big malls where he was going to sell franchises to his clothing store pulled out of their deals. I dread telling him the most likely cause.”

“Nothing seems to be going on with Aegis. I wonder if the hex works on vampires.”

“If Essie cast it, maybe not since she is a vamp.”

I shook my head. “That guarantees nothing. Her loyalty doesn’t extend to anybody she thinks crossed her, and Aegis works with me. All right, we need to find a hex-breaker. I’m hoping that it won’t have infected the actual house. If it’s only us, it will be a lot easier to eradicate.”

“What about Thornton? He was there,” Sandy said. “And Mr. Mosswood and Mrs. Periwinkle?”

I paused. “Crap. I’ll have to call the latter two and see how they’re doing. Thornton’s the one Essie is really pissed at. I wonder if he received anything—” I paused as my phone rang. It was Delia. Holding my breath, I answered. “Hey, what’s up?”