2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo (17 page)

“Not inside the castle. It’s warded against that.”

“No, it isn’t. I learned to transport in the castle.”

Cheney gave me an impatient look. “The barriers were removed while you were training and put back up afterward. Haven’t you noticed everyone goes outside to leave, including you?”

I frowned. He was right. I did it without thinking about it. I arrived outside the castle and left the same way. “Fine, whatever. Where are my friends?”

An emotion I couldn’t quite place rippled over his face. “I sent them to their rooms with a guard. They’re not to leave their chambers without a guard present for the rest of their stay.”

Everything in me went still. Something was wrong. I stared at him, too afraid to ask what happened. Was someone caught snooping?

“Devin was taken,” he said softly.

“Taken where?” I whispered, still not comprehending.

Cheney produced a letter that looked too familiar. My heart beat like it would explode. I leaned away from the slip of paper as he offered it to me. “No, no, no…” My hands formed helpless fists. The room began to shake.

Cheney knelt in front of me, taking my face gently between his hands. “Destroying the castle won’t bring her back, and it will hurt your other friends. You need to calm down so we can find her. There’s still time. Listen to my voice and breathe.” He continued talking until my fists loosened and my heart slowed. I didn’t want them involved in this.” I closed my eyes and my voice was barely a whisper in my aching throat.

Cheney leaned his forehead against mine and ran his hand down my hair. “I know.” He took a deep breath. “We’ll get her back. I promise.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I told you. I will never let anyone or anything hurt you—”

I kissed him softly, appreciating his calmness and self-assurance. His words resonated with me and I knew they were true. Cheney would help me fix this, all of this. He stroked the back of my neck and broke the kiss, but he didn’t move away. “Selene—” he rasped before kissing me once more and moving back to his seat. “You should read the note.” His eyes didn’t quite meet mine.

The supple paper trembled in my hand. I blinked away tears and struggled to focus on the scrawling writing. All it said was, “Perhaps this one will mean more than the last.”

Guilt and regret pierced me. Michael had died, and now Devin—
Devin
!—was in danger. All because I didn’t follow the finger. I didn’t play the sick game. Whoever was behind this was right, though. Nothing would stop me from following the clues this time. Immediately. Traps be damned. I wouldn’t fail again.

I kept the letter clutched in my fingers and stood up. “Do you need this for anything?”

He leaned back, rubbing his chin. “You can read it?”

“Of course.” I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

“It isn’t English.”

I looked again. Sure enough the words were made of odd scrolling symbols that should have been gibberish, but they weren’t. I read them all as easily as a sign on the road.

“You’ve remembered a lot, haven’t you?” he asked.

I bit my lip. “I have more important things to do than discuss my memories. The killer is practically taunting me.”

Cheney stood. “And why do you think this letter is for you? It was left in my castle, in my office, and if you turn it over, you will see my name on it. Someone is holding your friend to get to me.”

I narrowed my eyes. I had the urge to tell him everything and the urge to reveal nothing. “Why would they take Devin to get to you?”

“Everyone knows I love you. They have taken your friend to make me deal with them. I didn’t involve myself with Michael’s disappearance. It’s my fault he is dead.” He looked truly regretful. “But why did you assume this was about you? Have you gotten a different letter?”

“There was one at my house with Michael.”

“What language?”

I thought back. “English.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah.” Holden and Olivia were able to read it; it had to be English. “Have demands been made?”

“Sit down.” He gestured to a chair. I sat. “Were demands made last time?”

“They wanted me to give you the rebel leader for public execution.”

Cheney frowned. “I too received a letter regarding Michael. It wanted me to purge the kingdom of half-elf insolence.”

“You didn’t tell me?” I snapped.

“Not so hasty on the indignation. You didn’t tell me either. It seems we both have our fair share of secrets. But there’s nothing new in that.”

“So both letters wanted the rebels to be killed.”

He met my gaze full on. “Or both letters wanted you dead.”

“But if you kill me—”

“I kill myself. Yes, I know.”

“Another little detail you failed to mention.”

He nodded slowly.

“That’s why you came back for me, isn’t it?”

“I told myself that was why, but it wasn’t, no matter what I wanted to believe.”

I took a deep breath. I didn’t have time to get into this now. We needed to focus on getting Devin back, safe and unharmed. I cleared my throat. “Where’s your father being held?”

“My father couldn’t have done this.”

“How can you be certain?”

“He is under constant watch. I double-checked everything after I received the first letter. It isn’t him.”

I sighed. “If you don’t need the letter for anything, I’m going to see if I can trace it back to the person who wrote it.”

“Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know what I believe.”

“Selene—”

“Cheney, I can’t discuss this right now.” I folded the paper and slipped it into my pocket. Then I left the room without looking back. I checked with each of the girls, except Katrina, who was in the shower. None of them had the book. Whoever had Devin had the Book of Shadows too. Jessica and Leslie came with me to Devin’s room.

We got Devin’s brush and worked together and made a circle. Tracking spells were fairly simple, so it should have worked. But the crystal turned black and began to shake.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Leslie said.

We all covered our heads just as the crystal exploded, showering the room with glittery shards.

“What the hell happened?” Jessica asked.

I shook my head. I’d never had a spell react like that. “I don’t know, but this isn’t over. I’ll find another way. I promise I will bring Devin home.”

Sebastian and Sy were standing in the garden, chatting pleasantly, while Femi investigated the body.

“I’m glad you rushed, Selene. It isn’t like I had things to do today,” Sebastian said without looking at me.

“Devin was taken,” Cheney said behind me.

Sebastian’s head snapped back. “How? She was in the castle.” Sebastian looked more frazzled than I had ever seen him. Apparently my friends had grown on him. “What are you doing to protect the others?”

“Was she in your coven?” Sy asked.

I nodded and swallowed against the lump in my throat. I had to be strong right now, not so human. “She
is
a member of the coven.”

“The others each have personal guards assigned to them,” Cheney told Sebastian.

“It’s not enough.” Sebastian made steps toward the castle and Cheney stopped him.

He nodded to the body. “Selene needs your protection.”

“Selene doesn’t—” Cheney gave him a look. Sebastian’s jaw clenched, but he gave a curt nod and turned back to me. “Where’s your grandmother’s book?”

“It’s gone.”

“I assume you have another plan?”

Femi stood apart from us, her eyes contracting with interest as she took everything in. I pulled the letter out and waved it in front of Sebastian. “I’m going to try to find the source.” I rattled off what I needed and Cheney went inside to get it. I could have used the coven’s help, but I didn’t want the same thing to happen to the letter that happened to the crystal when we tried to track her—in case our collective amped-up nerves were overcharging what we were trying to do. I read the letter to Sebastian, Sy, and Femi. When I finished I looked over to Sy. “Why are you here?”

“I brought Femi.” He patted my shoulder. “How are you?”

“I’ll be fine.”

I moved away, not knowing who was watching. Whoever took Devin had access to the castle and knew about the church that Cheney took me to. “Why didn’t Cheney just do the thing where he pulls stuff out of the air?” I asked Sebastian with a frown. The longer I waited, the more my stomach twisted into knots.

“I doubt he had those particular items in his holding,” Sebastian said, but he stared back at the castle too, his eyelid twitching.

I thought back, trying to place what a holding was but came up empty. “What’s a holding?”

He sighed. “It’s a small room, if you will, in the in between only accessible by a particular person’s magic.”

“Do I have one?”

Sy shook his head. “You have to be royalty.”

“Why?” That hardly seemed fair.

“It’s a difference in magical ability,” Sy explained. “The ancient families who rule the different houses have less, let’s say, ‘snags,’ in their lineage. Their magic is stronger.”

Femi scoffed. “A.K.A., inbreeding.” She winked at me.

“I’ve seen you do it,” I told Sebastian.

“And what does that tell you?”

“You’re royalty?”

He nodded.

“Then why do you work for Cheney?”

Sebastian laughed. “I am the advisor to the Erlking. Many would love to be in my position.”

Cheney returned with everything I’d asked for. I drew the circle and meditated for a quiet minute, trying to find my center. When peace eased through me, I began the spell, submerging the parchment into the bowl of water, along with the large, clear crystal. I poured energy into the crystal until I was woozy. Then I broke the circle and clutched a rock in my hands, focusing. A throbbing energy pulled me directly to Sebastian.

I stared at him, my mouth open slightly, and he stared back. That couldn’t be right. I moved around him and the energy directed me back to him. I tried again, moving farther away, yet I had the same result. “You.
You
wrote the letter.”

His eyes widened and he shook his head.

Sound roared in my ears. Sebastian. No one moved. They stared at us, waiting to see what would happen.

“Selene—”

I slapped him, hard. “How could you? Where is she?”

“I didn’t.”

“Where is she?” I shouted. My hand twitched, wanting to lash out at him again. I trusted Sebastian, possibly more than I did Cheney, though I couldn’t say why. Why would he kill Michael? Why would he take Devin? I wanted to hurt him. A voice in my head reminded me I could hurt him. I tightened my fist, envisioning his lungs constricting with the motion. He grabbed his throat. His face went from pink to purple and headed toward blue.

“What’s happening? I heard you were looking for me.” Katrina appeared in my peripheral vision. “Oh my god, Sebastian!” She rushed toward him and I snapped out of my rage, releasing him.

My legs gave out and I fell to the ground. Sebastian gasped for air.

Cheney gently moved Katrina to the side, slapped shackles on Sebastian’s arms, and handed him to a guard I didn’t even see approaching. “Where do you think you’re taking him? I have questions for him,” I said.

Cheney spoke in a calm, soothing voice. “You’re too emotional at the moment, Selene. You’ll kill him if I allow you to continue. You won’t find out anything if he is dead.”

I glared at him. I was in control now. I wasn’t going to injure him, not until I knew everything.

“Selene,” Sy said in that way of his that sounded oh-so-reasonable—totally infuriating. He was taking Cheney’s side.

“Selene, what’s happening?” Katrina asked, kneeling in front of me with a tear-streaked face. “Is that Michael? What did Sebastian do?”

My eyes welled with tears. I transported back to the Office and stalked through the bar, past a stoic looking Sy standing in his normal spot behind the bar. How had he beaten me there? I stared straight ahead and marched into the apartment. I crashed onto the couch, burying my face in the pillow, and cried. I cried because Michael had been killed because of me and there was nothing I could do to reverse it. I cried because Devin was gone and I didn’t know if I could get her back or even where to begin. And I cried because I was on a pity parade. Finally I rubbed the tears from my eyes, admonishing myself for being weak. I couldn’t break down. People were depending on me. I pushed myself up and took several deep breaths.