Snowflakes drifted all around them like someone had shaken up a snowglobe as Gwyneira led Emrys to the front entrance. Although faint, she caught a whiff of sulfur and something that resembled burnt blackberry pie.  She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed claw marks etched into her doorframe.  Before Emrys could even utter a word, Gwyneira pulled her out her wand and waved it over the markings.

The wood pulsed with an otherworldly silvery glow, until a small plume of black goo bled from the claw marks and dripped onto the concrete below.  It smelled rancid, like someone dumped out a spoiled milkshake mixed with burnt flesh.  Emrys had already reeled back, asking her what in the hells was going on, as she cast a quick hex to clog their nostrils.  That smell would only worsen overnight.  

“Gwyneira, what is that?” Emrys hissed.

It did not take long for the bat cops keeping watch on her firm to come flying over, both clever enough to hex their own noses for their sanity.  The smell made her sick enough, so she could only imagine how unpleasant it had to be for their kind.

“Blightbreath curse.” Gwyneira shook her head.  “I’ve not seen a spell this noxious in years.  It’s very complicated to cast, especially one that actually poses harm and doesn’t just make a place stink. Had we entered, the door would have locked us inside and suffocated us with that foul stench.” She shivered to imagine such.  “It could only contaminate the inside if I open the door, as the wards are protecting it.”

“Someone wanted to render you both unconscious.” One of the bat cops crouched down to inspect the bleeding goop puddles, professionally poking at it with a gloved finger.  “It smells awful out here, but you released the toxins by activating it when it shouldn’t have.”

“Well, yes.  I had no intention of suffocating myself or my Em-” She coughed to clear her throat.  “My client.” 

“Right.” The vampire cop drew the word out, and his bushy brows furrowed. 

“Does this mean we’re stuck out here tonight?” Emrys asked, his frown deepening.  “Should I go book us a room at the motel?”

 

“No, because Nightshade’s in my room.  I had to leave her here while we spoke with the victim.  Ghosts and familiars do not get along well.” Gwyneira massaged her temples, but it helped none with the headache forming.  She suspected that nasty spell was causing it. 

Even after she dispelled its potent effects, the foul goo dripping from her door likely gave off a weakened version of the original curse.  Even with her nose hexed and unable to smell a thing.  While the bat cops continued casting useless spells to get rid of the goo, which would only fade once the tainted magic all seeped from the mechanism, Gwyneria stepped away.  

Icy raked down her spine as she shivered from the wintry air that stung her reddened cheeks.  Her eyes watered from the bitter chill, and she blinked fiercely while pacing in a futile attempt to keep herself warmed.  Nightshade would be perfectly content in her hidden bedroom.  Gwyneira wasn’t worried about getting inside her firm either, as she had a hidden door around back that only revealed itself to her magic.

Yet she needed a moment.  She had to get away from the foul cursed magic clinging to her door like a nasty barnacle, away from the bat cops who knew next to nothing about what kind of curse that truly was.  It wouldn’t harm them.  Not after she released the worst of its potent magic.  But the chilling thought still remained, someone had left that there to kill them. Or, at the very least, kill her.

“Gwyneira.” A gentle hand rested on her shoulder, and when she turned to face Emrys, those rich, vibrant vermillion eyes pierced through her heart.  “Fangs. Come here, you’re trembling.” His hand dropped to her waist, pulling her to him so he could use the other to trace a gentle finger against her cheek. It took a moment for her to realize he was wiping away the tears that had fallen, courtesy of the wind stinging her eyes.

“I’m fine.” The way her teeth chattered did not make her words sound very convincing, but she was too cold to care. And too scared to care. However, she would not admit that.  She was taught to stay strong before vampires, and even if they wished to help her, she would not let her guard falter. “Just a little cold, that’s all.”

“Then we should go somewhere so you can warm up.” Emrys fingers lingered on her cheek, enough to feel a tiny spark of warming magic tinge her skin.  

“There’s a secret door I can open for us around back,” Gwyneira admitted, casting an uneasy glance toward the bat cops who’d given up on spells to get rid of the remnants of cursed magic.  “I just didn’t want to leave them alone out here. They’re not familiar with that kind of magic, and it’s painfully obvious.”

“They’re grown bats,” Emrys scoffed.  “Ones with badges from the Supernatural Courts. They can take care of themselves. I’m worried about you.  That cursed magic didn’t affect you any, did it? Be honest with me, please.”

“A bit,” Gwyneira murmured.  “Nothing to make me ill or anything.  It’s to be expected from potent, wicked magic like that. The spellcaster’s intent was probably to kill us. It would have knocked us out for a good long while. Enough to steal our hearts and flee before anyone noticed.”

“Do you think that’s how they killed Iron Fang?” Emrys asked softly.

“It’s very possible.” Gwyneira nodded, and the warmth from Emrys’ fire magic slowly made her stop shivering.  “Seeing how sophisticated that curse was on my door, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were smart enough to cast a magic purifying spell. That would erase any trace of the curse used. It wouldn’t linger as long as this one either because it would have worked as the caster intended.”

“I see.  Would I remember it if I walked into a curse like that?” Emrys asked.  “Or would it erase my memories the moment it knocked me out?”

“Depends on how the spell was cast,” Gwyneira replied.  

“So, it’s possible someone used that curse on me before? Possibly with Iron Fang too?” 

“It’s possible.  Had I known, I would have let them do a toxicology screening to see if the magic still lingered in your body.  By now, all traces of it would be gone.” Gwyneira frowned.  “Crystal balls, that would have helped you so much if that’s what happened.”

“You’ll figure something else out, I’m sure of it.” Emrys gave her a reassuring smile.  “I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be indoors where it’s warm.  My fire magic can’t furnish you all night long, unfortunately.”

Gwyneira walked over to assure the bat cops that she had a way inside without using the infected entrance, and that they needn’t worry. Just to keep guard. She cast a warded hex around the entrance so nobody innocent stepped in the foul goop that clung to the concrete ground, hoping it would dissolve by the time the sun went down. 

Black magic always left its mark, even in something as innocent as a door.  Gwyneira would need to redo her ward markers after such potent magic violated her firm.  Perhaps she’d even hang up a few protective talismans before bed too. She couldn’t be too safe or too paranoid right now.  

Someone was out to get her, and she was determined to find out just who it was.   For their sake, she hoped her brother-in-law and the detectives found them first.