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He watched me for a long moment. “That’s it?”
My eyebrow shot up. “That’s notenough?”
He snorted. “Well, it’s vague as shit.”
“Thank you.” I thrust my hands out from my side. “That’s whatIsaid.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I thought it meant I’d become Okeus’s boo. What else would I think?”
He crossed his arms and stared out into the sound. “Remind me of what the ghost of your Aunt Betty said.”
“Aunt Bitty. And she said that I need the ring, but not in the way I think.”
“Okay.” He put his hands on his hips. “How do you think you’re supposed to use it?”
“There are letters in the library at UNC at Chapel Hill, and one of them is an eyewitness account of the blessing of the spear and the ring.”
“You’re kidding?”
I shook my head. “Of course I’m not.” I told him about Okeus and Ahone. “So Ahone told my ancestor that ashein his line would need the ring and it would save her life. And that if she were to stand next to the tree with the ring that sings and read the inscription, she could permanently seal the gate to hell.”
“Is that what you intended to do with it?” Collin asked.
“No,” I said in frustration. “I think it’s a terrible idea. Ahone’s been planning this for centuries, and we both know he’s just about as trustworthy as Okeus.”
“Your ghost aunt said you need the ring, but not in the way you think. Without her influence, how would you use it?”
“I don’t know,” I groaned. “I probably wouldn’t use it at all.”
“Maybe that’s the answer. Maybe youaresupposed to use it.”
“Should I really put that much faith in a ghost that’s giving me instructions through Claire?”
Collin’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe Tsagasi knows something.”
“I haven’t seen him since Sunday, and I’m scared to call him. What if it counts toward the seven times he and his friends agreed to protect me? I don’t want to waste the blood oath.”
“You just want to ask him a question, so I think you’re in the clear. Besides, I think this is important enough to warrant calling him.” He paused. “But if you want, I’ll try to summon him instead.”
“Wait!” My stomach cramped from my nerves. “Let’s talk a bit more about this shindig tonight. Maybe it’ll help us figure out what to ask Tsagasi.”
He nodded. “That’s a good idea. And let’s figure out where we want the fake gate to be.” He stopped next to a tree about twenty feet from the shore. “There’s a neighborhood to the north. I’m worried we’re too close to people.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe we should do this on the dock.”
“But what if they expect a tree?” I said. “David tricked them with the aquarium, but what if they know that part? We’ll have to find one that’s close to the water and hope Big Nasty will help.”
“You want a plan, here’s one: We lead the Guardians here, we start the words of protection and create a vortex. They won’t know it’s not the gate. We’ll get David and the sword and the spear and then get the hell out of here.”
“That’s still a sucky plan, Collin.”
“And it’s the only one we’ve got.”
Chapter25
We walked out onto the dock and came up with more details. We’d stand at the back of the dock while Collin used his guile to convince them to show us any warded weapons they had. The threat to my safety would hopefully draw the attention of Big Nasty, and the confusion of a giant snake showing up would help Collin free David and steal the weapons while I added to the chaos. Not to mention I had my own supernatural bodyguard detail at my disposal. And if Big Nasty didn’t show, we’d create the vortex and tell them it was the opening to hell.
There was no way it was going to work, but I couldn’t come up with anything else better and neither could Collin.
