Page 74 of Malice

“Do you think Vivian knows only your blood can let this demon out?”

“That I’m not sure of,” I tell her and sit back down at the table next to her, staring blankly across the room as I think it through. It makes sense and is the first solid lead we’ve had this whole time.

“Do you know where Vivian is?” Mabel asks me.

“No, and when I talked to Leo last night, he didn’t seem like he knew either. But all I need is something of Vivian’s and I can track her. I can get her exact location, but if she’s far away, she can move. She could be long gone by the time we get there.”

“It’s definitely worth a try, though, right?”

“Oh, of course.” I absentmindedly twirl my hair around my finger. Finding Vivian is going to be the easy part. Getting the key from her will be the challenge. “I need to let everyone else know.”

“I’ll get Zeke and Devon,” Mabel says. “I think your brother is playing video games with them again.” She smiles. “They all get along really well.”

“Yeah, they do. It’s nice… but odd, isn’t it?”

Mabel says something else, but I sit there stunned for a moment before getting up to go find Xavier. He and Theo are back in the office on another call, and I can hear them still talking to someone as I draw near. I recognize the voice on the other end of the conference call as Governor Richards, telling Xavier that he will endorse him for mayor since it’s mutually beneficial for both of them.

I could knock. Or even stand outside the door and barely whisper what I’ve just discovered. Xavier would be able to hear me without interrupting his meeting.

But I don’t.

I just stand there in stunned silence, almost afraid to let myself believe that we know the location of the key. My heart rate must increase enough to be noticeable because Xavier opens the door silently, motioning for me to come inside.

“Are you all right?” he asks.

I shake my head, then nod, then do a very poor job trying to mime a key to him. He just gives me a look, letting me know he has no idea what the hell I’m trying to say. Theo turns around, glaring at me. Xavier tells him to finish the call and that something urgent just came up. We step out of the room, and he closes the door behind him.

“Vivian has the key,” I rush out. “She’s had it this whole time. We just didn’t see her take it—well, we saw her take it, we just didn’t put two and two together.” I go on, my brain working faster than my mouth can keep up.

“What makes you think she has the key?” Xavier asks, somehow able to keep his calm and composed demeanor. But he can’t fool me. I see the hope gleaming behind his sky-blue eyes.

“I was just recounting everything that happened with Mabel,” I begin. “Before Marco and Vivian left, she went to Marcus Henry’s body and took something. She seemed quite happy about it, too.”

Xavier pauses as he thinks back. “It was a locket or some sort of necklace,” he says. “Could that be the key?”

“Yes. From what I was able to gather when talking to Marie, the key could really be anything. It’s more symbolic than anything else, and a small gold locket sealed with Blackwood blood would be the perfect, unsuspecting key. Anyone could wear it without raising an alarm. It would be a good way to keep it close to your chest—literally.”

“Then let’s find Vivian. Now.”

“I don’t know where she is, and I need Leo to bring me something of hers so I can cast the locator spell.”

“Fuck that,” Xavier says, taking my hand. “I will put out a fucking APB on her, offer a reward, pay off someone in Homeland Security to run facial recognition across the whole damn country.”

“She might not even be in the country,” I say, hating that I’m the reasonable one for a change. “If she believes this demon can undo⁠—”

“Undo?” Xavier interrupts.

Before I have a chance to explain, Mabel and the guys come up from the basement.

“Is it true?” Antonio asks, coming right over to me. He takes my hand in his and looks into my eyes. “You found the key? Vivian has it?”

“I think so,” I tell him, and look around the room. Theo has even joined us, and everyone is looking at me. I don’t want to disappoint them, and I don’t want to let myself down—because I really don’t want to die.

“After it was clear that you were dead,” I start, looking at Antonio, “Vivian didn’t seem too torn up. Which maybe is because she thinks if she gets the sigil and can let this demon out, he can bring you back.” My brows go up, feeling like I just offered a sliver of hope to Antonio. He does matter to his parents. They didn’t leave him for dead.

“The demon can bring people back,” Mabel notes.

“Back into their bodies,” Theo says flatly, giving Antonio a sympathetic look. “They left you for dead and left your body to burn. Sorry, mate.”