Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“I don’t know.” I start pacing.
“They were left at the warehouse, and we went back for them hours later. Vivian could’ve assumed Marco grabbed the bag. Or maybe she thought it got lost in everything that happened.”
“Just be careful,” Marie says. “If they need Claire’s blood for a locator spell, Vivian may come looking for it.”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit,” Antonio mutters. Then, apparently determined to tempt fate, he adds, “I hate to say it, but I don’t know how this day could possibly get any worse.”
I shoot him a look. “Seriously?” Unlike Mabel, he knows better than to jinx us.
“Well,” Marie says with a nervous laugh, “let me be the one to make it worse.” I stop pacing. “I found out what happened between your families.”
My stomach drops. “What?”
“The reason the Blackwoods and Bellamys had a falling-out.”
I suck in a breath. “What happened?”
“It seems they disagreed over how the prisons should be sealed.” Marie pauses. “You already know the Blackwoods use blood magic. Their prisons were designed so only someone from the bloodline that created them could open or close the door.”
“Right.”
“The Bellamys thought that wasn’t secure enough.”
I slowly sit back down.
“What did they do instead?”
“To open a Bellamy prison,” Marie says, “you need more than Bellamy blood.”
The room goes completely silent.
“You need to sacrifice a life.”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“Is Claire even enough to open the gate?” Devon asks. I shoot him a look. He winces.
“That’s a fair question,” Marie says. “And honestly, I don’t know.”
“Vaelric is definitely going to try,” I say. “What’s one murdered human to him if it doesn’t work?”
My heart speeds up again, and for a second I seriously consider texting Delphi and asking her to write me a prescription for Klonopin. Or Xanax. Probably both.
“We need to find her.”
“I really don’t think you should cast a locator spell,” Marie says. “I hate to say something seems too easy and therefore it probably is, but this feels like one of those situations.”
“I agree with her,” Antonio says. Then his expression changes. “And now I’m wondering if that notebook was left there on purpose for you to find, Wren.” I stare at him. “Think about it,” he continues. “It was almost too perfect.”
“Was it? Vivian is crafty. But I don’t know if she’s crafty enough to assume I would be crafty enough to piece all of this together.”
“I think you’re crafty,” Mabel says encouragingly. “And a good singer.”
“Thank you.”
“They had vials of Claire’s blood,” Leo says, thinking aloud. “At that point, didn’t they already know they needed fresh blood?”
“Maybe they collected it before they realized it needed to come directly from the source,” I suggest. Then I shake my head. “Either way, even if this is some kind of setup, I’m going to find her. She deserves to know the truth about where she came from.” My stomach twists. “And she’s going to fucking die if Vaelric gets to her first.”
“Vaelric is a powerful demon,” Marie says carefully. “But I still don’t know enough about him. I don’t know exactly how his powers work, how dependent he is on a conduit, or whether freeing the Crone is easier for him than finding someone new who can wield his necromancy.” She takes a breath.
“So be careful. I know you would willingly walk into a trap for this girl, but think twice before you do. I have a feeling the rest of your family agrees with me.”
“We definitely do,” Leo says.
“And let’s not forget we’re hunters. We can try to find her the old-fashioned way first.”
“Vivian is also a hunter,” Antonio points out. “If Vaelric is inside her now and has access to everything she knows, then he has the Order’s resources at his fingertips too.” He makes a face. “And not many people even know she’s possessed.”
“Oh, shit.” I hadn’t thought of that. Vivian could walk into Order headquarters tomorrow and be treated with exactly the same respect she would’ve received a year ago.
“I’m going to call the group home and see what information I can get,” Antonio says, getting to his feet. He looks at Leo. “I want you to call the local police department. Use Ryder’s FBI contact if you need to, assuming it hasn’t already been flagged or marked invalid by the Order. See what you can get on Claire.” He shakes his head. “She’s a seventeen-year-old runaway about to age out of the system. It would be easy for her to slip through the cracks.”
“Accidentally or intentionally,” Leo adds. He looks genuinely sympathetic. And he’s right. Girls like Claire don’t always get much attention. She’s almost an adult. Once she turns eighteen, if she’s still technically considered a runaway, I’m not even sure how much anyone will care.
“If there’s anything to find, we’ll find it,” Antonio assures me. “In today’s digital age, it’s not that easy to disappear. Especially if she’s trying to get somewhere specific.”