“So you put me in prison without my knowing.” Arden glanced at Ariana. “I’m sorry I tried to kill you.”
“We understand what the Fraternitatem did to you. It wasn’t your choice. But you have a choice now. The Fraternitatem killed Wolfgange Rathbone in prison because we were going to talk to him. They will kill you if you choose to return home,” Cham said, nearly begging. “We can keep you safe, but we need info on them. They’re about to control a new black market and they’re after Annie. We can’t have either of those things happening.”
Arden took a seat beside Ariana on the sofa. “My memories are still fuzzy,” Arden said.
“We’ll give you some time. We just don’t have much of it left.”
Food was brought in by two of the many elves that worked in the prison, Bitherby and Willie. Ariana’s eyes widened with surprise. If Arden was also surprised, she didn’t let it show.
“Hi, Bitherby,” Cham said.
“Where’s Miss Annie?” the elf asked, confused.
“She’s recuperating from an injury. I’ll tell her you asked about her,” Cham said.
Bitherby glanced at their guests, who looked at him. He returned his gaze to Cham before he and Willie bowed slightly and left.
“How long do we have to stay here?’ Ariana asked as she picked up the first sandwich.
“Not long. We need to place protection around your home. If it’s okay with you, we’d like to go through your apartment search for any listening devices or magic that shouldn’t be there,” Cham said.
“When the memories become clear, I’ll tell you what you want but the what I know is outdated; I haven’t been to the Cave of Ages in years,” Arden finally said. “I’m not sure if any of the information is still available. Someone cleared out the apartment.” She glanced at Ariana.
“I have the information. I thought it might be needed in future. I’ll tell you where it is,” Ariana said.
“Thanks. I promise you’re safe and you’ll get out of here soon.” But Cham was really trying to convince himself and it didn’t ease the churning in his stomach.
*
Samantha paced the large living room at Cham and John’s parent’s house. Marina, Don and John sat patiently as Samantha processed what Annie said. “You’re nuts. You can’t go to her! She’s here to kill you.”
Annie leaned against the wall, her arms crossed against her chest. “So you want me to wait for her to nab me?”
Marina muttered to herself.
“No, I want you to run away until the Wizard Guard has enough evidence to bring her in.”
Annie flicked her wrist, moved her hand around, and let the magic billow from her palm. To amuse herself, she directed the golden mist toward Samantha and wrapped it around her legs and up her torso.
“What are you doing?” Samantha shouted as she swatted the magic away.
Annie dropped her hold on the magic. It dissipated into the air. She walked to her sister and placed her arms around her. “I have the power of astral projection. I went to Mom. She felt me,” Annie said.
“You can’t go,” Samantha said.
Annie walked away and stared out the sliding glass door. Cham landed in the back yard and walked up to her.
“Hey.” He kissed her quickly and entered the house.
“Arden’s settled?” Annie asked. She continued to glance out the window into the large yard, past the wood pile. She followed the fence that weaved in and out of the trees.
“I went to the mansion to see Eddy and Isaak. Emily hasn’t been there. The next team will keep watch.”
“You’re supposed to be resting,” Samantha said.
“I’m supposed to, I’m supposed to nothing,” Annie groused. She crossed the room and sat on the far end of the couch away from everyone else. She looked at Samantha. “We have a grandmother, two cousins named Abigail and Melissa, and an uncle named Brandon if you care.”
Samantha clenched her fists. John held her arm. “I want to come with you when you meet her,” Samantha said.
“I’ll remember that,” Annie said.
“Are you still going to talk to Emily?”
Annie looked at Cham. He nodded. “We have a plan,” Annie said. “I’d rather put her off of her game than let her control the situation. In the end, we can modify her memories and let her live with Shiloh in peace.”
“That’s mighty nice of you after what she did to us!” Samantha snapped. John moved in and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t care why she left. All I care about is the fact she’s living in your neighborhood and has eyes on you. I don’t want her using you to get to me. You stay up here and keep safe,” Annie said.
“I’d still want to see her,” Samantha admitted.
Annie turned. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’re emotionally invested in a way I’m not.”
“She’s my mom. I want to know why she left.”
“No! Not if they’re bringing in the people who are going after you and Annie,” John said.
“When we’re done, I promise, you can see her, before we send her away,” Annie said. “In the meantime, John’s right. You stay away.” She leaned against the sofa and closed her eyes. The itching reached her head, her neck, her ears. She scratched at her neck, leaving behind red marks.
“Is this going to work?” Samantha scooted to Annie and removed her hand from her neck.
“I hope it does.” Annie took a deep breath.
Cham’s mom Marina had never liked his career choice and had been very vocal about when he first became a wizard guard. The enormity of this case left her pale and scared. “I hate what this job has made you do in the last year,” she said to Annie. “But what I do know is, you can’t run from this. Annie, I worry about you and Bobby all the time. But I also know you’re very good at what you do. I agree. You need to strike them first.”
They all turned toward her, surprised by her pronouncement. Marina walked to Annie. “It was a great gift to receive you as a daughter. I want you to end this the way you know how. No holds barred. Kill her if you have to. You are the best thing that ever happened to my son and I want to see you get married.” Marina, at four foot eleven, was shorter than Annie by three inches yet was still mighty and a bit scary at times. She hugged Annie tightly. “I love you.”
When they separated, Annie touched Marina’s shoulder and stood beside Samantha. “We’re taking them out before they get me. I promise I’ll keep you posted.” She gave Samantha a hug. Cham held her tightly as he teleported her home.
Chapter 18
Cham didn’t subscribe to coincidence and believed that people, places, and things didn’t just happen. Usually someone was controlling the situation. He did believe, however, in his gut and honoring that feeling that something was up. He stood in the conference room doorway and stared into the floor that housed the Wizard Guard department. It was his to lead, an honor he didn’t take lightly, and he was grateful the Wizard Council trusted him so early in his career.
The feeling in his gut was strong, and though the guards in the Hall worked diligently on their caseloads, he knew.
Someone here is working for them.
He sighed as he closed and locked the conference room door. He pushed aside his guilt about no longer being transparent—Annie’s safety was the upmost importance. At least that’s what he told himself before taking a seat at the table.
He fiddled with his fingers as he glanced at the faces of the guards he chose to trust. “I just wanted to give some updates,” he began. “Make sure we all know what’s going on. First, I was able to bring Dr. Arden Blakely and her partner Ariana to Tartarus Prison. They’re safe and Dr. Blakely is willing to assist.” His hand rested on the file with several lists. Some included names of people who once worked for the Wizard Hall lab when Annie’s mom was brought in after her death; others listed names of those working in the Wizard Guard now, their original background checks reprinted and re-verified. It pained him to thi
nk that they might have missed something, that there might be a mole in the department.
He clenched his fists. “We managed to get to Dr. Blakely before the Fraternitatem. They know we have one of their own and expect they’ll be changing their tactics. Having said that, we think it’s time to bring in Annie’s mom and half-brother.” He nodded to Brite and Shiff, who still led the surveillance on them.
“Shiloh King-Solomon leaves for summer school at 7:30 a.m. every day. About fifteen minutes later, Emily leaves and walks to this building here.” Brite pointed to the map. “The building is owned by a company called Antique Symposium.”
Annie held her breath as she turned the map toward her. She touched the street, reviewed the buildings, and noted a narrow alley between Antique Symposium and the building beside it. “This is promising,” she said. “I think Dad and I can hide here. We’ll nab her and teleport her to the safe house in Evanston before she gets in to work.” The safe house had been a dilapidated house where Annie had found a regenerating demon clawing at the wall, searching for an ancient talisman hidden between the studs. It had been owned by Gila Donaldson, a descendant of the original coven, and used in a plot to send Annie to the past. When Annie returned, there had been several heated discussions amongst the Donaldson family and the Wizard Guard, before the Guard finally purchased the house from her. With much magical help, the house had been rehabilitated into a safe house.
Reluctantly, Cham nodded in agreement. “Is the place warded? As soon as Emily fails to show for work or whatever it is she does there, they’ll know we have her. I’m guessing the Fraternitatem tracks her and the boy. I don’t want them to find the safe house.”
“It’s cloaked with multiple spells and we have magical wards around the property. I can go back and increase the magic,” Spencer said.
Cham nodded.
“We’ll text Annie when Emily leaves the house,” Brite said.
“And when does Shiloh leave school?” Annie asked.
“He’s done at eleven thirty. It takes him about fifteen minutes to get back home from the middle school. As you’ve already said, when Emily doesn’t show, they’ll know something’s up. I suggest we intercept him at the school,” Shiff said.
“Unless I call her in sick,” Annie suggested.
Cham hesitated as he thought of the risk. “Do we have a phone number for Antique Symposium? How likely do you think they’ll believe you’re her?” He sighed. “No. I don’t want the Fraternitatem to guess it’s you.” He leaned on the table and placed his face in his hands as he thought through the plan. “Okay. This is where timing is going to be a problem. Let’s assume they’ll know immediately something is up when she doesn’t come to work. I worry we’ll have an issue at the school. We’re talking children.”
“He’s taking math with Mr. Prince, in classroom 513. We can send a freeze spell as the last bell rings and nab him inside, then send a second team around eleven to look for suspicious lingering by the Fraternitatem,” Brite said.
“Lial and I will go,” Milo said quickly.
“Fine,” Cham was curt as he studied the map. “Do not share this meeting with anyone else. I expect if we do, the Fraternitatem will find out before we can intercept Emily and Shiloh.”
Cham stared at his guards assembled and assessed their reaction to his proclamation.
“This is the second hint at a mole. Care to share?” Shiff asked.
“No.” Cham grabbed the folder of names and placed it on his lap. “Once we get a hold of Emily and Shiloh, we expect there might be an issue with Annie’s grandmother. That leaves you, Eddy and Isaak, to be very careful. We’re still concerned Emily might return for the money,” Cham said.
“We’re on it,” both men said in unison.
“Well, then, I think we have our assignments.”
*
Annie curled in the club chair of her den and picked up where she had left off on Rathbone’s copy of Dante’s Inferno. He most definitely wanted her to know something, and yet he had hidden his markings carefully. She stared at her notes.
September 1
Day portal was closed
Located northern Chicago
Demons????
She scanned the pages of his book. Every time she found a letter Rathbone had circled or marked in any way, she marked it down in her notes. First, she found “September 1.” After thirty minutes and ten additional pages she now had two more letters: SN.
While Annie’s brain went to one location in particular, she refused to give in to her assumptions and glanced out the window overlooking her back yard. As in recent weeks, her eyes trailed off toward the trees and stared inside at the full, green foliage. What was once a happy place where she spent most of her summer vacation exploring now left her feeling cold. On several occasions, her eyes tricked her; she thought she saw movement in the branches.
She marked her spot in the book and stared back into the trees, blinking several times.
It’s just dark.
But the sun shone between the houses, and this time, she thought she saw a twinkle against the tree.
“Whatcha doing?” Cham asked. He tossed his folder on the ottoman and stared into the backyard. “You think they’re out there?”
“I thought I saw movement. Now I think I saw something shiny.”
“Well, good news at least. Bucky has the list from Perkins. He’s searching the names against known criminals. Hopefully, we’ll find out who was here when your mom died.” Cham picked up her notes. “September 1?”
Annie pointed to the book. “Rathbone left me that. I think he’s trying to tell me something.” She returned her gaze to the trees. “There’s something out there.” She opened the sliding door and stepped on the deck.
The light had lowered as evening fell and dark shadows were growing across her yard.
Cham summoned a flashlight. “Come on. Let’s see what they’ve been up to.”
Annie walked closely and held his hand as they stepped into the trees. He scanned the branches and trunk, looked carefully at the bark and leaves, and turned his attention to the ground. Just inside the tree line, fresh footsteps littered the mud. Annie kicked at the base of a tree, moving away the foliage. She knelt down and dug away in the dirt.
“Find something?”
Annie unearthed a crystal and continued to dig until she loosened it. She cleaned it off and stared inside. “I saw something shiny a little higher up.” She waved her palm across the rock. As if she held a video camera, scenes appeared above the crystal. “What the hell?”
Cham watched Annie’s look of horror and turned to the early scene from her life as it played out before her. A three-year-old Annie ran across the backyard with Samantha following and Emily and Jason looking on. The scene changed, showing Annie in the back yard swinging on the swing set with Janie beside her.
“No,” Annie murmured. She waved her palm across the rock again and more flashes of her life appeared before her. She and Jason, Annie and her mother, her fourth birthday party—Emily had been dead for six months at that point. Annie felt violated as she watched her life play out before her eyes.
“We knew they were watching you, but this is invasive and beyond what I expected,” Cham said. He scanned the trees again and caught a flicker of light just above him. He raised his palm and summoned a crystal that had been embedded in bark where the branch sprouted from the trunk. The tree had grown around the rock, so he added more magic until it hovered above his palm. He waved his hand across the smooth stone and watched as more of Annie’s life whirled in front of him. “This is the night I told you I loved you.” He showed her the magical recording as it hovered above the rock.
“I can’t—” Annie lost her hold on the rock. It slipped into the foliage as she ran across the alley, through her yard, and into her house. Once it was a safe haven, a respite from her work and now…
Cham grabbed the crystals and ran after. Annie struggled to breathe as she realized the enormity of
what the Fraternitatem had done. He wrapped his arms around her and she squeaked softly until the tears fell uncontrollably.
Jason appeared, his expression grim as he watched his daughter.
“We know how they’ve been watching her.” Cham handed him the crystals.
Jason watched. His expression never changed as he flicked his wrist, rewatching each moment of Annie’s timeline, of his own past, as though it were a train wreck he couldn’t look away from. “How many are out there?” he finally asked.
“We found two.” Cham typed on his cell phone. “I just texted Graham. He’ll come and find the rest. I’ve asked him to destroy them all.”
“I don’t know what to say to you, Annie. Somehow, I screwed up. I should have seen this. When I found out about the prophecy, I should have done more to figure it out.”
Annie wiped her eyes. “Sturtagaard did this. The coven did this.” She grabbed the crystals from her father and placed it on her counter. She summoned a hammer and bashed the crystal several times; pieces flew across the kitchen and left a crack against the counter.
“Feel better?” Jason asked.
“A little,” Annie said as she turned toward the window. She saw Graham and his small team already searching for the story of her life.
*
“I’m sorry,” Jason said. Several hours had passed since Graham and his team called off the search for the evening. They’d return in the morning and continue searching for additional crystals. Annie left Cham lying in bed where neither of them could sleep, and decided to return to Rathbone’s book. At two in the morning she found herself up to four letters, SNAK, leaving her with a bad feeling in her gut.
She glanced at her father. “It’s not your fault. This is squarely on Sturtagaard. He gave me up.” Annie returned to the book and found the letter “e.” She grimaced.
“What did you find?” Jason sat beside her and looked at her notes as she added the next letter. “Snake? Does he mean the Snake Head Letters?”
Annie shrugged. “That’s where my brain went, though I’m not ready to assume anything.” She sighed and placed her work to the side. “It’s not your fault.”
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