“Why don’t you ask Mace for help?”
An awkward silence followed. “I have no idea where Mason is. To be honest with you, I’ve disagreed with every action he’s taken for several years, but majority rules. My colleagues are ambitious and I’ve been outnumbered every time. Sometimes, democracy just doesn’t work.”
“I don’t want to hear about your disagreements or petty squabbles. It’s got nothing to do with me.”
“I realize that, but I really need to meet with you.”
“No, sorry—”
“You’re the only one who can help dispose of the dangerous energy trapped beneath the Tower,” he interrupted. “I understand your position, but can you at least hear me out?”
“What dangerous energy?” The lump in my throat made my voice sound odd.
“I
really
need to speak to you in person, but won’t be able to venture to your place of business or even your home, it’s too risky. I don’t want anyone to know we’re talking about this.”
“Well I’m not coming to the Council.” The last time I’d been there, Ebony nearly died, and had her life altered forever. As a result of that crazy night, and some magical damage done to the top floor, the Council had been closed and under investigation for months. From what Roe told me—he had connections and was trying to get as many girls away from there as possible—they’d reopened about six weeks ago, and were flying under the radar.
The incident had turned into a PR disaster, and they were still scrabbling to get back on track.
“I’m never going into that building again,” I added for good measure.
“I agree. You mustn’t come anywhere near this place alone,” he whispered. “If you do, you won’t make it out alive this time. But I still need your help with this very serious matter.”
His words made me wonder how desperate he really was. “Okay then, where do you want to meet?”
“Do you know a diner called Monster Coffee Break?”
“Yes.”
“I hear it is neutral territory. Can you be there tomorrow night, at ten?”
“Sorry, I can’t.” Tomorrow happened to be the last Friday of the month, which meant we had a Hunters meeting with Burr Okell five minutes before midnight. I didn’t feel like squeezing in two meetings.
“I really need to speak to you sooner than later.”
“Fine, how about we meet on Saturday night, same time?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Okay.” This man was sounding weirder and weirder.
“I can’t talk any further. The silent charm has almost expired.” He hung up on me.
I placed the phone back into its charging cradle and didn’t move, trying to digest what had just happened. I was going to meet one of the councilors in a public place to discuss something I’d been pondering for a while. The only energy able to threaten that horrid building was spook related.
A shiver raced down my spine as I turned around. I was glad Gareth wasn’t nearby. There was a limit to what I could deal with at one time, although my personal quota was usually ignored.
Stepping into the kitchen, I found Willow was back from downstairs. She was dressed in a pair of baggy sweatpants with a matching jacket, and she was chatting with Gareth. She had a wide, goofy smile plastered on her pretty face. It seemed like my sister really liked the guys in my life and if I didn’t know any better, I’d bet she had a huge crush on both Papan and Gareth.
Ebony sat with them at the table, but she was leaning close to Oren as he muttered near her ear. This roused my curiosity. They seemed to be sharing a lot of private conversations lately, but whenever I asked they pretended there was nothing to it.
As soon as I sat at the kitchen table, Oren asked, “Is everything okay, Sierra?”
Oren McKee was a complicated man—a witch
and
witch hunter—and also happened to be my biological grandfather. He’d had a passionate connection with my grandmother years ago and had found it hard to stay away from her even after she escaped the supernatural life.
Now that I’d found a secret room behind my closet, I couldn’t help but wonder if she really walked away from the spook catching.
“Yeah, fine,” I lied. I wasn’t about to mention the phone conversation, or even Hugo Papan.
Ebony eyed Gareth suspiciously. For some reason, she hadn’t taken to him as well as the rest of us. When I’d asked her why, she shrugged and said she didn’t trust cops, but I knew there was more to it. And after our previous conversation, I couldn’t help feeling a new wave of concern towards her all over again. She clearly wasn’t recovering as well as she made out. Maybe I’d mention it to Roe.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked Gareth.
“Didn’t think I needed a reason to stop by,” he said with a smile.
“I think it’s nice that you come around,” Willow said, beaming. “Do you want to meet my new dog?”
“You have a dog?”
“No, we don’t have a dog until we make sure he doesn’t belong to anyone,” I called as Gareth followed my sister into the backyard and a series of excited barks followed.
I leaned on the table to give Oren an intimidating look. “So, did you stop by to check on me as well? Or did you actually have a reason for coming over?”
“Actually, I do. I have something to give you.”
“Ooh, do you have something to give
me?
” Ebony batted her eyelashes at him.
“Ebony!” I hated when she flirted with him, but she did it often. The worst thing was how Oren responded.
“I’m sure I could find something,” he said, following it up with a wink.
“You two are sick,” I whispered.
Oren reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a square box I was pretty sure I’d seen before.
Ebony’s eyes widened with interest. “Wow, how’d you fit that in there?”
“Oh, my dear, you don’t want to know what else I’m hiding in my jacket…or in my pants,” he said.
I was going to puke, but Ebony giggled like a schoolgirl.
After a few shared chuckles with Ebony, Oren remembered I was still in the room and placed the box in front of me. “This is a gift I think you might be able to put to some good use soon.”
“What is it?” It had to be something magical.
He motioned for me to open it. “Look for yourself.”
I lifted the lid and took a peek. Nestled inside was one of the most gruesome things I’d ever seen. It was the weathered, scaly yellow hand of some type of demon. Black, gnarled claws tipped the three talons. The skin looked waxy, as if it had been treated to appear this way for some specific reason. From beneath the tips of the nails, I could see wicks sticking out. Was this supposed to be a demented candle?
“Ah, thanks. What the hell is this thing?” I suddenly remembered where I’d seen it before. Oren had purchased this from Lavie the day Sally predicted my death in some tea leaves. I also knew Lavie had gone out of her way to procure several of these hands because she’d told me all about it.
“It’s a demonic Hand of Glory,” Oren answered with a smile.
“Oh, goodie, I’ve always wanted one of those.”
I have no idea what this thing is.
“What’s in there?” Ebony slid the box closer and peeked inside before pushing it away. “Ew, that’s nasty. What is it?”
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
“Like I said, it’s a Hand of Glory. It has many practical uses, but the one that will help you is its ability to open any demonically-protected doors. A demonic
Hand
will get you in just about anywhere because it can unlock any door to any place.”
“That’s great. Maybe Maya should’ve used it instead of me.” The Lamia had hoped to give a demonic entity called Legion a one-way ticket into this patch. She’d tried using me as a pathway. It hadn’t worked. Not how she’d wanted it to.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Whatever. I don’t understand why I need this thing,” I said.
“You’ll need it when you cross over into the shadow patch.”
“This’ll get me in there?”
“Not exactly,” Oren looked away. “But I believe it’ll help while you’re inside.”
I snorted. “That’s not very helpful, since I still don’t know how to get in there.”
He looked at me. “I’ve done some research and if you speak to the Tailor tomorrow, he should be able to help. I’m sure he won’t refuse you.”
“How can you be so sure he’ll help?” I’d been planning to ask Burr, a Tailor from the Patch Watchdog, myself. But doubts plagued me because my grandparents had been missing for so long.
He shrugged. “He’ll help. No one wants the
Obscurus
to get their hands on your power.”
“After all this time, you still think they’re after her?” Ebony suddenly looked worried as she nibbled on her bottom lip.
Oren nodded and flicked a meaningful gaze my way. “Those bastards won’t give up, which is why I think you need to be more careful when you answer your front door.”
“But there haven’t been any attacks for ages!” Ebony protested.
“That’s just a tactic, a way to ensure Sierra gets comfortable in false safety. Think about it—they’ve failed so many times they know we’re expecting them. There’s no way they are going to risk another half-hearted attempt. The next time they strike, it will be with deathly precision. And if what Professor Spooker told you is correct, then we need to make sure Pepita finally moves on so you can inherit the power that’s rightfully yours.” Whenever he mentioned my grandmother, a twinkle appeared in his eyes.
Ebony sighed. “Our lives sometimes sound like really bad scripts from a failed TV show.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. A show could be cancelled and the actors would have a chance to move on and steer their careers in a different direction. Me, I had no choice but to accept all of this madness and learn how to deal with it. “Are you sure this monstrosity will help?”
Since Maya Anwar—a vampiric creature called a Lamia—attempted to use me and Willow as a gateway and key, none of the other Legion-obsessed freaks had made an appearance. Oren was right: the
Obscurus
wouldn’t give up until they got the demonic entity into this patch, and to do that they needed me.
Oren nodded. “We’ll be in North Serene Hills tomorrow—”
“That’s not as easy as it sounds,” I cut him off. “Eb just told me there’s a development sign over there. Soon, we won’t be able to have our monthly meeting with Burr on Wallace Street.”
“The timing couldn’t have been worse,” he whispered, rubbing his white goatee.
I heard Willow and Gareth approaching the back door, so I grabbed the box and shoved it under the sink. I didn’t want either of them to see the
Hand
. Just as I closed the cabinet, they wandered back inside, talking loudly and laughing.
“That’s quite the clever dog,” Gareth commented. “It’s almost like he understands exactly what you’re saying.”
“I can’t believe he bit you, though.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“I can’t wait for Freddy to sleep in my room.” Willow was falling in love with this animal a bit too quickly. I was still a little freaked about a black dog following her home.
“Where did this dog come from?” Oren asked.
“It followed Willow home,” I answered.
“Curious,” was all he said, but the look in his eyes made me wonder what notion was stirring inside his head. His suspicion did nothing to calm my anxiety.
I was about to open my mouth to ask more when Ebony pushed the chair back and stood.
“Come on, Will, let’s go take him to the vet,” she said.
“Really?”
She yawned. “Yeah, better now than later. I want to squeeze in a nap before taking the girls out tonight.”
“That’s tonight?” I’d agreed to go along.
Ebony nodded. “You’re still coming, right?”
“Yeah.” I’d totally forgotten because I was looking forward to spending the night with Papan, not in a stuffy warehouse hunting spooks.
“Good.” Ebony headed for the backyard. “We’ll take the side gate so the doggy doesn’t have to come back inside. Sierra doesn’t seem to be as taken by him as you.”
“Just a sec,” Willow said before racing downstairs to her bedroom and returning with her wallet in hand.
“You don’t have to pay for it,” I said.
“Yeah, I do. I want Freddy to be my responsibility. After Stitches died, I promised myself I’d adopt another dog one day, and take proper care of him.” Willow leaned over to give me a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks Sierra. I know you’re not entirely comfortable with this but you won’t have to do anything where Freddy’s concerned. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Don’t get too attached yet. You have to wait and see what the vet says.”
“Where are you guys taking him?” Gareth asked.
“Don’t know yet,” Willow said.
“I’ve got a mate who’s a vet. If you gals want to follow, I’ll take you to him.”
“Really, you’d do that?” Willow’s eyes were huge.
Ebony sighed. “Let’s just get this done before I change my mind.”
“I can take Willow if you want,” Gareth said.