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“No, my crowbarwon’t open it, butthiswill.” He punched in a code and then tugged on the door.
I gasped when it opened. “How do you know the code?”
“I watched them with binoculars, remember? It wasn’t hard to figure it out. I planned to check it out later anyway.”
I started to walk past him, the tip of the sword pointed toward the floor, but he grabbed my arm and held me still. “Slow down. I know you want to find him, but we need to sneak in before we start eviscerating people,” he whispered sarcastically. “Let me go first.”
I almost pointed out that breaking the glass door and my attack on David’s car had ruined any chance at stealth, but instead I nodded. And I had no problem letting Collin take the lead. There was no denying he had more experience with break-ins than I did, even though I seemed to be racking up a fair amount of experience the more time I spent with him.
He stuck his head through the opening and peered around the corner before slipping through the door and motioning me to follow. We entered a dim six-foot-long hallway with stark white walls and a single flickering fluorescent overhead. At the end of the hall was another door with a keypad.
Collin lifted his hand to punch the buttons but stopped and turned at the waist to stare into my eyes. His irritation softened. “Ellie, I know you’re upset, but don’t do anything stupid with that sword when we get in here.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see what we find.” I hadn’t grabbed it with the intention of protecting myself from human attackers. Even though it was daylight, I wanted to be equipped to defend myself against supernatural foes. But if David was inside and using the sword would help me save him, I wouldn’t hesitate, not even if the threat came from a human. Still, I hoped I wouldn’t need it.
Scowling, Collin entered the same code he’d used before, which—to my surprise—worked. He slowly opened the door and scanned the room before motioning to me. We stood in a large space that reminded me of some type of distribution center. Two rows of empty stainless-steel tables that resembled the ones in the kitchen of the New Moon filled the space. Collin tossed the crowbar onto one of the tables with a loud clang, then walked down one of the rows and spun around in a circle. “They’re gone.”
“No shit.” Anger surged through my body again, burning away the tears that stung behind my eyes. My grip on the sword tightened. “How did this happen?” My accusation was clear.
His mouth dropped open. “How didwhathappen?”
“How did they manage to take him away without us even noticing? We were both watching the building!” I shouted.
Collin walked over to me and snatched the sword out of my hand before I could stop him. He dropped it on a nearby table and then grabbed my shoulders, his face firm. “I know you’re upset right now, and if it makes you feel better to blame me for this along with everything else, go right ahead. But I need you to focus and tell me what that woman said to you.”
I took several deep breaths.
His face softened. “If you want me to help you find David, you have to give me whatever information you have.”
I hated to admit it, but he was right. Now was not the time to be petty. “Her name is Miriam Peabody. I’m sure she’s the woman Allison met. She confirmed they’ve been collecting weapons. She said there’s a war brewing and they’ve been preparing for centuries. According to her, it’s important to not only be prepared but to pick the right side.”
He frowned. “What’s the right side?”
I gave him an ugly smirk. “The side that benefits them. Whatever the fuck side that is.”
Collin placed the heel of his hand against his temple, looking bewildered.
I nodded. “I ran in front of her limo and pretended I’d been attacked so she’d let me in the back. She did, but she knew who I was from the start. She called me by my full name—Elinor Dare Lancaster—and told me she had been about to start looking for me.”
His face tensed as his gaze jerked to my face. “Why?”
“She said I’m a key player in the outcome of the war. She also knows about you and the fact that you’ve been protecting me. She called you by name.”
“They’ve been watching us?”
I didn’t answer his question. I didn’t know how. “They took David.” My voice broke and I stiffened my shoulders. “She offered me a trade.”
He lowered his hand. “What does she want?”
“She took the ring, and she wants me to show her the gate to hell.”
“She wantswhat?” His eyes widened and he took a step back. “Why?And how does she even know about Popogusso?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. But she wants both of us to show it to her and prove it’s real. She seemed confused when I mentioned the curse.”
He rested his butt against a table, looking like he’d been blindsided. “The only people who know anything about the curse on my side are my grandmother and my brother. And Iknowthey didn’t tell anyone.”
“The only people who know about it on my side are Claire and Drew, and they would never tell…and I told Tom last night,” I added as an afterthought.
