I called down the back hallway to her. “We’re in the kitchen.”
She smiled at all of us as she entered, all sunshine and ferocity. Briony grinned at her. The teenage girl could see all of Av’s spirits as well as any medium could, and she especially liked Stanley, who was playing the part of a giant alley cat today, a black tom with a notch carved out of his right ear and a missing left eye. He rubbed against the girl’s ankle as he raced past Av, purring loudly.
Briony reached down to pet the Poltergeist, and I nearly warned her that he was about to do something disgusting, butthe spirit cat simply accepted ear scritches. My brow furrowed as I watched the two of them together.
Av slapped my arm. “I told you Stanley was a good boy.”
My fear that the Poltergeist would do something horrendous wasn’t going to die down so easily. The thing had been with us for years and it never failed to do something awful eventually, though I’d seen it use its cat form most frequently when alone with Av. Perhaps Stanley was only cute with people he liked.
At least I knew where I stood.
CHAPTER 22
EMBER
Though I sensed the Poltergeist,I could not see it clearly. But I heard its purrs, and Briony smiled as she pet the spirit. The confrontation with the Necrolines had been tense. I was glad Avaline was back. Her personality was a delightful mix of cheer and lethal acuity, and it tempered the brothers somewhat. I liked the way she smoothed things over.
Eryx got up, leaving his seat for Avaline. “I have to get to the gym today, or our people will suspect something’s up.”
“Can I come?” Lara asked.
Eryx shrugged. “Sure. Ready in five?”
They left the kitchen. Ares settled back into his seat and Rhiannon left to pick up the pastries. We were left with Briony and Avaline, who stared longingly at Eryx’s empty latte mug. I smiled at the girl. Avaline was only forty, barely out of her teenage years by immortal standards.
Avaline watched for a moment as I made it clear I was going to make her a latte of her own, then launched into what she’d learned over her past few days of surveillance. “The spirits told me something odd about the guardians in the traps…” she began, her delicate brow wrinkling as she looked at Briony.
I turned from measuring out beans to look over my shoulder. “They say they are Maere who didn’t ascend.”
Briony’s jaw tightened, but she did not flinch. The girl was stronger than I thought. Ares had argued against telling her the truth of things, but the three of us had vehemently disagreed. To be one of us and not break meant developing a very thick skin early on.
The way Rhi, Lara, and I saw it, the girl had a head start on things. She had years to understand the way things would be when she ascended—and she had us. She wasn’t alone with the heightened senses and lightning fast healing, the dreams of the island, the strange occurrences that grew increasingly difficult to explain.
Briony would know who she was, and why those things happened to her. And she would be freer for it. Those dead girls hadn’t had the same luck, and very likely, that’s what got them killed.
Avaline breathed a sigh of relief. “So you know then.”
I nodded. “Yes. I am sorry we didn’t tell you.”
Avaline grinned. “Actually, I’m glad you didn’t. If I’d known, I would have gone in differently, and I think I may have learned more this way.”
She waited while I finished making her drink. Rhiannon returned from Delicia’s with pastries, and Ares made a pot of tea. When we were settled once more, and Briony munched happily on a croissant nearly the size of her head, Avaline continued.
“So, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the guardians are not helping willingly. If we can disable the spirit traps, we’ll be able to take the swords without a problem. In fact, I think they’ll help us.”
Rhiannon nodded. “Were you able to speak with them?”
Avaline shook her head. “No, the traps don’t allow for that, but the other spirits can hear their thoughts, and enough of them told me similar things that I believe this to be true.”
Ares glanced at me. “Spirits have a difficult time lying to Avaline. Most of the time, they simply don’t want to. They like her. But the ones who don’t… they still struggle to manage it.”
The young medium nodded. “That’s true. It’s becauseIcan trap them.”
“What?” I breathed.
Ares’ mouth quirked up at the corner as Avaline answered. “Oh, I am a living spirit trap. That’s why they’re so attracted to me. Why they do what I say. It’s not just my sparkling personality.”
“That’s incredible,” Rhi said, her eyes shining with admiration.
