Cursed (The Spellbound Series, #2)

8 | Once Upon a Midnight Bloody

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Chapter 8 – Once Upon a Midnight Bloody

The snow fell heavily over Edgewood, covering the roads and the sidewalks in a thick, white coat. Landon had thought that the forest would fare better because of the considerable canopy the evergreen trees formed, but the snow seemed to have found its way through regardless.

Landon and Sam trudged through the woods, Landon lifting his feet while he walked as his sneakers kept getting trapped in the snow. It was worst at the areas where the trees were bare, and the snow was the thickest. But Sam seemed to have no problem, kicking effortlessly through the stuff with his large, black boots.

"I did say you should take a pair as well," Sam chided as he watched Landon's weird leg lifts. "But no, you couldn't let go of the shoes."

"Tonight is probably the biggest moment of my life," he huffed. "Of course I'm gonna wear my favorite shoes. We're gonna look back on this moment years from now, and you're gonna be the sour one because, unlike you, I'll be able to tell our kids I wore my favorite shoes."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Our kids? Well, isn't that gonna be an interesting conversation. And for the record, these are my favorite shoes. With buckles."

Landon rolled his eyes, but an uncontrollable grin spread across his face. This really was the biggest moment of his life. He was finally happy with who he was, and he had something that some people would never know – someone connected to him in ways that transcended all logic. Someone to share the rest of his life with. Someone to call his.

"Alright, I think this is a good spot," he declared as they slogged into a little clearing, and stopped in his tracks. He looked down around their feet, the compact snow reflecting the dull moonlight, and nodded slowly. "Just need to clear all of this away."

Landon begrudgingly removed his gloves and, using the Velcro straps, attached them to the hem of his sweater. He dropped into a squatting position, and held his hands out with his palms facing downward about a foot off the ground. "Ignis sine flamma."

He kept his hands steady with his fingers splayed out, and the air around them warmed quickly, the snow beginning to melt. The heat increased rapidly after a few seconds, the snow melting away quicker, and the dark, red soil underneath became visible. Landon began to move around, waving his hands about the ground, clearing a large, almost circular area.

Satisfied, he stood up and held out his arms, and the wind that murmured around them became a howl of intent. Leaves, twigs and vines gathered from all around them, circling them for a few moments before collecting at their feet. As they all fell into place, they formed two pentagrams with their apexes connected.

"Alright, I think we're all set," Landon said, rubbing his hands together as he admired what he considered to be a masterpiece. He stepped into one of the pentagrams and looked up at Sam, who had a deep frown. Landon tilted his head slightly. "What is it?"

Sam bit his lip as he ambled into the center of the other pentagram, seeming to look past Landon. "I just thought I saw..." He shook his head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."

He was nervous. Landon could feel it. Maybe he'd been a little overzealous about this; he had just been excited. "I don't want to force you into it, Samuel. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Samuel? Are you serious?" He chuckled as he reached through the neck of his coat, and pulled out his pendant. "Don't worry, these are good nerves. Like, 'Oh God, it feels like I'm going to die but it's so exhilarating' kind of nerves. Like what I imagine a rollercoaster would feel like."