We are with you,they say.We are always with you, blood of our blood of our blood…
When Monopoly Guy reaches into the space and pulls out the mysterious object hidden inside—a thick, leather-bound tome with a silver medallion on the cover—it’s only Merrick’s grip on my shoulder, his firm and steady presence at my back, that keeps me rooted in place. Keeps me from smashing through the door and claiming what’s mine.
The Bonnivarde Grimoire. Dropped unceremoniously on the desk.
Whitey fans the ancient yellowed pages, making my skin crawl, as if his thumb is scraping against my flesh instead of the book. The whispers intensify.
Blood of our blood of our blood…
“Still blank,” Whitey says. “Still useless. This whole thing is fucking wild goose chase.”
Blank? But… Where are the spells?
Monopoly Guy knocks the dude’s hand away, and the book falls shut once more, silencing the whispers. “Either way, Killroy swears the little cunts are useless without it.”
Man Bun snickers. “I could think of a few uses for them.”
Behind me, Merrick shifts into his demon form.
“Don’t let Killroy hear that. He’ll come up with some bullshit about tainting the magic.” Whitey laughs, but it quickly turns bitter. Tapping the silver medallion, he says, “Right from the start, it was all about that spell. It wasalwaysabout that spell. Evelyn’s crowning fucking achievement, and it’s not even in here.”
I stiffen at the mention of my mother’s name. The scent of rosemary fills the air, pale blue flowers dancing at the corners of my vision. Forget-me-nots, just like I saw in my first vision of her in the basement. She was working on a spell—the herbs and flowers, the slice of a knife, her blood… an alabaster hand, reaching up from the abyss. Is that what they’re looking for?
“We needed her alive,” Whitey says.
“Wasn’t our call to make.” Monopoly Guy snatches up the book, and I jolt. My body is trembling, energy coiling inside me, waiting to spring.
Merrick draws me closer, murmuring in my ear. “Not yet. Be still.”
“I’ll say it, then,” Whitey says. “Since no one else is man enough. Hayes called it wrong. And now we’re all paying the price.”
Hayes?
Are they saying Brendan murdered my mother?
I search my memories, trying to put together the timeline. Helena said my mother was already dead ten days by the time we got here, so working backward from there…
Oh, God.Brendan was out of town, supposedly in New York City for a corporate event.
Nausea rolls through me. Merrick’s hand is on my shoulder again. Black as night, claws like knives. Shadows wrap around me like a shield.
“Watch your tone,” says Monopoly Guy. “You’re skirting a little close to disloyalty.”
“Nah, I’m with Gorman on this one,” Man Bun says. “Everyone knows Hayes isn’t fit to lead. No one has the fucking balls to stand up to Matthias, and?—”
“Enough!” Monopoly Guy shoves a meaty finger in Man Bun’s face. “You swore an oath. I suggest you remember that before your treachery lands us on the wrong side of this fucking war.”
Man Bun raises his hands in apparent surrender, but his shoulders are tight, his jaw locked.
Whitey looks like he just smelled a shit sandwich, but he nods anyway. “Fuck it. We need to get back. It’s starting soon. Hayes will be wanting his book.”
Blood of our blood of our blood…
The men march out with the grimoire, slamming the door behind them.
Merrick’s shadows recede, but he’s still in demon form.
I burst out of the closet, sucking in air. “We need to follow them.”
