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“It’s the same thing,” Arthur said, reaching into his pocket, “that this here rock is made of.” He produced a moon-shaped stone the size of his palm. The stone Arthur had been studying at Witchlight for Roark.
“You finished our Rock Hunt?” Darien joked. He stepped closer, eyeing the luminescent teal lines cutting through the rock. He took it from him and turned it over.
There was teal only on one side. And everywhere the adamant touched, Darien’s skin tingled as if he’d been stung by a bunch of bees, even through the thick glove of the bodysuit.
“How do we shut the Veil?” Darien asked. “Did the scroll say?”
“Not in a language easy to understand,” Arthur said.
“Of course not.”
“My translations are correct, but they are a touch convoluted, and my understanding of them is weak, I must admit. But it speaks of that stone.” Arthur nodded in its direction. “Erasmus Sophronia named it Moonstone.”
Dom gave a husky laugh. “Not very creative.”
“And,” Arthur continued, “it has a counterpart called Sunstone. If my translations are correct, you will need the Sunstone to seal the Veil.”
The hope in Darien’s chest deflated. “Where do we find that?”
“That, I’m afraid I don’t know. But it was Roark who gave me that stone.” Now that they knew the stone was connected to Erasmus and the spirit realm, Roark’s request for Arthur to do research on the stone made much more sense than it had that day Darien had visited Arthur in Witchlight. “If I were you,” Arthur said, “I would speak to him.”
“Easier said than done,” Lace grumbled.
“I bet Dallas can help,” Darien said. Her parents might be hard on her, but Taega had pulled through when they’d needed her last time. Maybe she would do it again. “I’ll give Max a call and see if he can speak with her.” He studied the Moonstone again, holding it up under the bright light of the chandelier.
That was when it hit: his recognition.
He’d felt this stinging feeling before.
“That day in Witchlight,” he began, speaking to Arthur. “I only saw one side of the stone.” He held it up so the side with the teal webbing faced Art. “I’ve seen this before. There was a piece of this same material that looked like a blade in the Crossroads out in Whitebridge.”
Ivy cut in. “You said you used it to kill that demon.”
“Ivyana,” Darien said, snapping his fingers. “You’re a goddamn genius.” He pocketed the stone and walked over to the glass table. He found his keys among the coins and tossed them to Arthur, who caught them with a grunt of surprise. “I need you to go to Whitebridge. Find the blade under the Fig. You should have no problem getting in without the Soul-eater there.” He gestured to Lace. “Take Lacey with you.”
The blonde slid yet another gun into her weapons belt. “Then what?” she asked.
“I need Arthur to turn that blade into smaller weapons.” If anyone could do such a thing this quickly, it was Arthur. “Usable daggers—whatever you can give us, I will take. If the creatures coming out of Spirit Terra are anything like the one at the carnival, we’re going to need an easier way to kill them.” With Gaven’s supply of ammunition containing aura magic destroyed, that black adamant might be the only chance they had against the demons. He jerked his chin at Arthur, who was looking at Darien’s car keys as if they might bite him. “Drive it like you stole it.”
Arthur gave him a look of horror. “No, Lacey will drive it like she stole it. I’m not getting behind that wheel.” He walked over to Lacey and handed her the keys.
The two of them left the house, closing the door behind them, Darien’s car engine snarling to life a minute later.
Darien turned the face of his watch until he heard it click. He lifted his wrist to his mouth. “Loren?”
A minute passed before she answered. “I’m here.”
“Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said. “I’m getting ready for bed.”
“Be safe, okay?”
“No, you be safe,” she argued. Darien smiled. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Rookie.” He clicked it off and returned to getting his weapons together.
He was nearly finished when a folded up sheet of paper on the glass table caught his eye. It was wedged under the wooden bowl, only a corner of it showing.
