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I turned to the others. “I want you all to know that whatever happens with the Consortium, happens. I’m not going to let our panic create a tangle of lies. There are a few things I’d rather not tell them, but I’m done with lying.”
“I think you’re making the right choice.” Luna gave me a sheepish smile. “They have so many ways to pick up on liars…”
Kaylin flashed her a quiet look, then shrugged. “As you will. But I still think we could pull it off.” Another sly grin, but I knew he was teasing.
“Truth is our best approach. Hopefully, we won’t look like total idiots.” I was regretting ever following Kaylin’s advice, but it had seemed the best way to hide the fact that Heather had been kidnapped. And at the time we didn’t dare tell them about Myst—we weren’t clear on who we could trust with the knowledge. Now that we knew we couldn’t deal with the Mistress of Mayhem by ourselves, we might as well admit it.
Kaylin finished spreading out the herbs and began sorting them into piles. Luna joined him.
“We need more supplies.” He held up a bag of dried leaves, squinting at it. “Is this mugwort or vervain?”
“Vervain, I think.” Luna joined him at the table, helping to separate the herbs.
“Thanks, Luna. You know, I think that tomorrow, we should sneak out of town, over to Monroe, and see what we can find. We’ll have to take my car. Your GTO is too recognizable, Cicely. I don’t want to be run off the road.”
“You don’t believe the Shadow Hunters would try that, do you? They don’t work with technology. I doubt if they can even get into a car, let alone drive one.” I picked up a couple of the bags containing woven garlic charms. “Maybe I should wear a strand of this while I sleep to keep Lannan out of my bed.”
“Not such a good idea.” Lannan interrupted, entering the room again.
I whirled around, blushing. I’d been joking, at least partially, but Lannan might not see it that way.
But he simply shook his head, and added, “While the Shadow Hunters may not try to run you off the road, Geoffrey might. If he even suspects you’re going to the Consortium for help, chances are he’ll try to stop you. He wants this war all to himself.”
“I had him pegged all wrong, didn’t I?” I’d thought Geoffrey the most reasonable of the vampires. But that theory had been shot to hell.
“What about me? Do you think you pegged me wrong?” Lannan cocked his head, flirting.
I glanced over at Grieve. “No, I think I’ve got your number down pat. Here, have a necklace.” I tossed the garlic charm his way but Kaylin caught it midair and pocketed it.
“What was that?” Lannan stepped forward.
“Nothing, just a stupid impulse,” Kaylin said. “Ignore her. She’s tired.”
“I see.” Lannan continued to stare at me.
I decided that retreat was my best ally. “I’m going to sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning. Grieve, join me, my love?” I’d been an idiot. Sassing Lannan was one thing. If he was in a good mood, he’d overlook it. But actively throwing a garlic charm at him? Stupid beyond the max. I could only chalk it up to exhaustion. I turned to Grieve. “Come with me?”
But he glanced at my father, who shook his head no, and reluctantly, Grieve leaned over to kiss me. “Not this evening. I suggest you and the other girls retire to your bedroom. We spruced it up today so it’s a little more comfortable. You’ll be safe there. Chatter and I will watch over you during the night.”
I wanted to protest that we didn’t need watching over, but that was stupid. We needed all the help we could get. We were all strong, but none of us was invincible, and even with Ulean at my side, I was as vulnerable as Myst’s next victim. Perhaps even more so.
I yawned, stretching as I avoided looking at Lannan. “Yeah, we’ll sleep. We need to rest. My body is weary and my mind—wearier.” I motioned to Luna, Peyton, and Rhiannon. “Come on, girls. Let’s get some downtime.”
“Here, take these.” Chatter handed us cherry-stone warmers—cherry stones my aunt had sewn into bags that were heated in either a microwave or—in this case—in the range oven. We’d tuck them under the covers near our feet and they’d keep us toasty into the cold, chill night.
“Thank you. What about the space heaters?”>Peyton dropped to the seat beside me. She let out a huff, then said, “Rex is coming. I finally got hold of him. At least he’s still alive.”
Rex was her long-lost father who had shown up on her doorstep a few days back, after abandoning her mother and her when she was a little girl. Peyton hadn’t been home to meet him. Making a deal with the vampires, Anadey had sold me out in an attempt to prevent the meeting from ever taking place, but her betrayal was in vain. Rex was still alive, and now Anadey was an outcast to us. Peyton had taken it hard, but she was soldiering on.
“You made certain to warn him to make sure he’s not followed, right?” The last thing we needed was for the vampires or the Shadow Hunters to track us down by following him.
“He’s not stupid.” Peyton gave me a sharp look, then grimaced. “I’m sorry. Yeah, we talked about it. He’s being careful. He’ll be here tomorrow morning. This is the first time I’ll have seen my father in…over twenty years.” She looked like she was going to cry but then grabbed the dishes from the table, carrying them off to the utility sink in order to wash them.
“There’s another thing we need to discuss before we track down the heartstone. We did a hasty ritual to band the Moon Spinners together, but if we’re going to ask for help from the Consortium, we’ll have to do things by the book. They don’t cotton to people trying to buck the trends.”
Rhiannon tapped her fingers on the table. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I frowned. “I don’t think so.”
