My knees were wobbling, and an odd feeling was sifting through me, almost a ringing in my ears or soul. Slowly I searched my theoretical self, surprised when I could feel the curse Trent had put on me. It hadn’t been with me very long, and the alien, greasy feel of the elven aftertaste made it easy to sense, like a faint ache. Even odder was that the curse seemed as if it lay in my chi like shavings of iron, all of them aligning themselves to orient on Ku’Sox, like a flower to the sun. It had been created for him, like the focus had been created for the Weres. It wanted to go back to him.

Damn, I might be able to do this.

My shoulders stiffened, and I scrambled to remember the words Trent had used to tap into the communal collective and set the curse. One phrase to transfer it, one to sever the bond and prevent it from coming back. Something about deserving punishment?

Newt was watching me as Ku’Sox grandstanded, gesturing as he maligned my mother, my father, and Al all in the same breath. I gathered the curse together in my chi—every last bit—and held it in my fist, the pressure of it aching and throbbing like I was holding an exploded bomb.

Si peccabas, poenam meres. That was the invocation phrase. I knew it. I could do this!

“That is not a demon!” Ku’Sox shouted as if in finale, spinning in a flamboyant circle, making his purple robe furl. “And it should be destroyed!”

“Prove it!” I shouted, lunging. The curse glowed like black fire in my hand, and I jumped at him, right across the table.

Newt grabbed the plate of cheese and yanked it to safety. Al’s wineglass wasn’t so lucky, and the wine spilled like blood over the rough wood. The candle flared, and I hit the hanging lamp, sending flaming oil splattering on the watching demons. A cry of alarm went up and the sound of sliding benches and the sudden pulls on ley lines spun through me like threads of glass.

Ku’Sox’s eyes widened, and then I had him, my hand around his throat as we crashed to the floor.

Si peccabas, poenam meres! I thought desperately, seeing my freedom in Ku’Sox’s shocked expression.

Elation filled me as I felt the painful sensation of pinpricks in reverse as the curse left me. It was working, and I writhed as the curse soaked into Ku’Sox while he screamed.

“Get her off!” Ku’Sox shouted, and someone grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me away. “Get her off me!”

“No!” I howled. I wasn’t done yet. I hadn’t fixed it into him! Facilis descensus Tartaros! I thought frantically, and my eyes widened as I felt the curse stretch between us like a rubber band. But with a snap that made Newt jump, it pulled from Ku’Sox, even as it had wanted to stay, cleaving to me instead. I’d done something wrong. It hadn’t worked!