Amrita tapped her fingers thoughtfully on her desk. “Actually, there is someone who might give us more insight into the stone’s disappearance. Your great-aunt Minodaura, Zani.”
Zani stiffened. “My great-aunt? What would she even know about this?”
“Minodaura has furnished the wards and protection spells for the arcane archives for the last hundred years,” Amrita said. “I don’t think I have to tell you that when it comes to warding, you couldn’t find a more skilled witch on this side of the Atlantic.” She pondered for a moment. “And perhaps the other side, too. But more importantly, let’s just say she has her own... history with the bloodstone.”
“What kind of history?” Will stopped in his tracks.
“It’s not my place to share the full story,” Amrita said, her gaze shifting to Zani. “But what I can tell you is that the bloodstone has connections to your family that you’re unaware of, Zani. I was truly hoping that coming back to the States might have also given you the opportunity to work with your aunt again, and possibly reconcile.”
“Reconcile?” Zani scoffed. “My aunt wanted to keep me locked up in her lighthouse forever. She barely was willing to let me attend college at a magical school, let alone approve of me attending a Ordinary university like you did. We’ve hardly spoken to each other since I left home. Minodaura doesn’t approve of me.”
Zani’s voice hiccuped as she said her great-aunt’s name, and despite his confused feelings, Will felt the urge to put a protective arm around her. Instead, he shoved his fisted hands into his pocket and paced over to the window. The placid palm trees swaying in the breeze outside appeared so out of place to him at the moment, when his heart was being battered by gale force emotions.
“There’s more to your aunt’s story than you know,” Amrita said gently. “And I believe you should try speaking with her again. Specifically, you should ask her about the bloodstone.”
Will turned to watch Zani process this information, her expression a mixture of surprise and reluctance.
“Larkspur is the one who stole it from the archives, wasn’t she?” Zani asked, confirming their suspicions since Will saw her wearing the amulet back in Baltimore. “As a Lathrop, she would have been excluded from the wards.”
“Larkspur was never one to stand on ceremony when she wanted something. Even when the potential for damage was high. She wanted what she wanted, and what she wanted that week was the perfect accessory for her Halloween costume.” Amrita turned to look out the window, her lips pressed together tightly. “It wasn’t enough that she’d stolen Buffalo from me. We had words before the lecture. I threatened to turn her in for pilfering from the archives. She just laughed and reminded me that she was a Lathrop, and it was unlikely she’d get in trouble for anything she did.” Amrita shuddered, no doubt feeling the footsteps of ghosts across graves. She looked sad now. “How wrong she was.”
Across from her, Zani sat silently with her hands folded, reflecting.
“What happened to the amulet after that?” Will asked after a moment or two. “How did it get to Romania?”
“Ah!” Amrita pursed her lips and shook her head. “I believe Larkspur traded it at a party that night. For a pack of clove cigarettes, if you can believe it. She handed it off to a group of actual vampires who were mingling with the students at the Club Charles. I’m still amazed that everyone got home safe from that party.”
“That explains how it got to Romania.” Zani sighed. “Cosimo did mention that he’d spent several decades tracking down the whereabouts of the amulet. I suppose, given what we know now, it wasn’t an accident that he chose to share that information with me. He was planning to use me to bring it to Catalina all along.”
“That reminds me … regarding Catalina Island.” Amrita slid open her desk drawer and withdrew an envelope. “Since you’ll need to be there for the eclipse anyway—whether to confront Cosimo or simply to investigate—you might appreciate these.”
She set the envelope on the desk and slid out a glossy program booklet. “Can you believe the island is hosting a film festival that same weekend as the eclipse? It’s usually centered on a single artist or director. This year they’re screening a retrospective of an actress from the 1920s. Have you heard of Ondalune? She was quite the mystery, actually. Disappeared not long after making her last film. Nobody knows what happened to her.” Amrita flipped through the brochure absentmindedly till she got to two certificates printed on the cardstock in the middle. “Here it is!” She held the certificates up. “Buffalo’s company always sponsors the event. He sent me some tickets, but I can’t attend that weekend, and it turns out, neither can he. I think they were probably destined for you two.” Amrita set the tickets and the booklet back down and slid them across the desk to Will.
He stepped closer and eyed the stack warily. “You want us to attend a film festival? In the middle of all this?”
“Sometimes, Will, the universe presents us with exactly what we need at exactly the moment we need it.” Amrita sighed, leaning back in her seat.
Will wasn’t sure he felt like going anywhere with Zani at the moment, but he picked up the program, if only to be polite. As he flipped through it, a particular photo caught his eye—a striking actress he presumed was Ondalune, with Burnside Porter on one arm and, unmistakably, Cosimo on the other. He sucked in a deep breath and slapped the booklet on the desk. Then he leaned forward, pressing hard on the crease so the booklet stayed open.
“Take a look at this,” he said, showing Zani and Amrita. “Why is Burnside in this photo with that actress and Cosimo?” He couldn’t keep his nostrils from flaring and twitching when he said the vampire’s name.
“Fascinating,” Amrita murmured, shaking her head dreamily. “It seems there are more connections here than even I realized. All the more reason you must attend!”
“I don’t understand!” Will swept the brochure away, stuffing it back into the envelope with the tickets. “How can you be socalmabout all this? The ley lines could collapse. The whole magical world could fall into chaos!” He gesticulated wildly with his hands, then slapped the envelope back down on the desk.
“Because I deal with sixteen global magical crises before breakfast most days, Will.” Amrita sighed and opened her drawer, searching for something. When she found it, she pulled out a tin. “Mint? I’m afraid I’m fresh out of my usual vice. Last Word Lozenges, have you ever heard of them?”
She winked at Zani and offered the tin labeled Brevity Mints to both of them. They both declined.
“I have learned that some things are simply meant to be, Will,” Amrita said. That you’re both here now, and that we’re all having this conversation, is evidence that the structure of abundance is still holding up just fine. And I have faith it will continue to. I believe in magic’s abundance, and I believe in the two of you.” She popped a mint, snapped the tin shut again and placed it back in her drawer.
“But what about Cosimo? The ritual?” Will pressed on.
“I do not know. You’ll face those challenges when the time comes,” Amrita said. “For now, I suggest you take some time to process what we’ve discussed. And perhaps,” she added with a meaningful glance between Will and Zani, “to talk through some things through.”
And just like that, with Amrita’s glance at her watch, followed by a meaningful look at the door, Will and Zani understood that their meeting was over. As Amrita walked them back to the mirror, they made promises to stay in touch as the eclipse approached, and she assured them she would try to make herself available as needed.
“But I think the two of you and the universe have got this. My part here is done.” Amrita smiled. “Please send my love to Maida and Arthur. Buffalo and I plan to visit just as soon as I can take a little time off.”
