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“The owner is very old, very eccentric,” Xiomara went on. “She used to hold this ball annually, but now throws it only on the years she actually remembers.”
The Head of Order paused to shift her weight around in the wooden chair. The result was apparently unsatisfying. She still looked uncomfortable.
“Your goal will be very specific. Here’s the part where I need you to pay close attention.”
Melody could only imagine what she was being sent to investigate. In her short time at the Hallowed Order, she’d been witness to incredible things. As an acolyte, she’d already seen evidence of paranormal activity most people only dreamed could be real. And her ‘gift’… Xiomara had been instrumental in showing her how to use that as well. To cultivate its power. To wield it skillfully rather than fear it, even when—
“Am I boring you, Ms. Larson?”
She gulped hard and shook her head. “Um, no. No, of course not!”
“Good,” said Xiomara. She eyed her shrewdly. “Because the window of opportunity here is a small one. Small and narrow and rapidly closing. This is perhaps the
only chance we’ll ever have.”
“The only chance at what?” Melody couldn’t help but ask.
“At acquiring the egg.”
She blinked. This time she didn’t even try to hide her confusion. “Egg?”
“Yes,” Xiomara replied. “A carved ivory egg, to be exact. The surface is chased with gold and precious metals. Inlaid with jewels. Eight inches tall, and—”
“A jeweled egg…” Melody searched her memory. “You mean like a Faberge egg?”
“Very much so,” Xiomara replied. She looked almost pleased at the reference. “Only much older. Much more valuable.”
“An egg.” The word sounded flat. Unromantic.
“A very important artifact,” Xiomara corrected her. “But yes. An egg.”
“And where do I find this… egg?”
“That we don’t fully know,” said Xiomara. “But it’ll be somewhere on the plantation. Either hidden within the Manor itself or possibly on its grounds.”
“Hidden?”
“We’re not sure,” the Head of Order admitted. “It may be hidden. It could also be in plain goddamn sight. Wherever you find it, you’re to take possession of it immediately.”
Melody’s brows knit together, forming a crease between her eyes. “So I’m stealing it?”
Xiomara’s mouth went tight. Her eyes fixated on Melody’s, darkening just a tiny bit.
“You’re not stealing it,” she said evenly. “Let’s just say you’re… recovering it.”
For a moment Melody was tempted to read her. To use her powers, even a little bit. Maybe she could lower Xiomara’s guard, get into her mind. Unmask whatever secrets she kept there…
“Ms. Larson,” spat Xiomara. Her tone was foreboding. Deadly serious.
“Y—Yes?”
“You’re not considering what I think you might be considering,” Xiomara seethed. “Are you?”
“No,” she answered quickly. “Never.”
“Let’s fucking hope not.”
The woman stared at her just a second longer than was comfortable before finally continuing. Lifting her arm, Xiomara held up a breathtaking jeweled pendant on a woven gold chain — the object she’d taken earlier from the strange closet. Melody had already forgotten all about it.
