She gives Crane a tired look.“I have had many sons, Mr.Crane.”Then she sighs and gazes at Brom.“And Abraham is my last one.No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations,” she quotes.
“You’re quoting the Bible now?”Crane asks with a shake of his head.
She shrugs with one shoulder.“I thought it was a fitting name, given that he was the coven’s last chance to sire our immortality, the nations of witches.”
“Just wait a minute,” Brom says.“Are you saying that my father is actually my brother?”
Sister Sophie’s eyes dance.“Your father is your cousin.He isMargaret’s son.And you wouldn’t even be in this predicament had Sarah married Liam like she was supposed to.”
“Technically he wouldn’t have been born,” Crane points out.
“So my mother was supposed to marry Liam, and they were supposed to have the child given to Goruun,” I say.“Is that correct?”
“Yes,” she says flatly.“But your mother is selfish.She chose your father because she wanted to use his energy to keep herself alive.Liam and your mother should have birthed the child, it should have been Liam who was disposed of after the sacrifice, not my dear Abraham.”
I inhale sharply, and Brom’s eyes widen.“You’re planning to dispose of me?”he asks, as if he’s taking it personally.
“I’m not,” she says in a rush, her hands pressed against his chest.“I am trying to help you.You don’t have much time left before they put their plan into action.It’s imperative that you leave now while you still can.Leave the school, and leave Sleepy Hollow.”
“We can’t,” Crane says grimly.“Not with the horseman attached to him.The minute we’re gone, they’d know.We wouldn’t get very far, would we?”
She presses her pinched mouth together and shakes her head.“No, you wouldn’t.”
“I didn’t kill Daniels,” Brom protests.
“I know you didn’t,” she says.“They called on the horseman last night to do their bidding, to get rid of Daniels for what he was about to do.They can call on the Hessian at any time.And until he is exorcised from you, he can call on you.You must complete a ritual to drive him from your soul.”
“We’ve been trying,” I tell her.“It didn’t work.”
“Blood magic and sex magic,” Crane divulges.
She thinks that over for a moment.“It needs to be under the full moon.In a body of water, so that at least part of you is submerged.The lake is a particularly potent nexus, and blood and sex magic are particularly good anchors.You might want an elixir of the veil to help open yourself to the spirits.”
Crane’s face is going red with restraint.I can tell he’s trying to hold himself back so he doesn’t interrupt Sister Sophie and tell her that he already knows everything she’s saying.
“And you must bring someone to the brink of death,” she adds.“The one you have chosen as a vessel.”
Crane’s face goes slack.“Brink of death?”
Brink of death, and I’m the vessel.
She nods and looks at me.“It will be you, Katrina, I’m sure.You won’t die, of course.That would be counteractive.But by going to the edge of death and back, you are flirting with the veil.You are drawing power not just from your men but directly from the veil itself.You are bringing that light at the end of the tunnel directly to you.”
She clears her throat and raises her chin.“Now, I’m not one to advise how one’s sexual activities must commence.But if I were you, I think strangulation would be your best option.Of course, you have to know what you’re doing.”She looks at Crane as she says that.“And you, of course, do.Your talent for control might come in very handy.”
Suddenly, movement outside the windows catches Sophie’s attention, and she moves to them.
“The other sisters are out there now,” she says, looking outside.“Soon they will wonder where I am.I must go.”
“Wait,” I say, reaching out and putting my hand on her arm.“What are we supposed to do until the ritual?”
“Lie low,” she says, looking each of us in the eyes.“Stay out of trouble.Hide away when you can.They will continue to plan your binding ritual—”
“What binding ritual?”Crane interjects, anger flaring in his eyes again.
“The one between Abraham and Katrina,” she says patiently.“They know by now that these two aren’t falling for each other, not in the way they want.And they know you’ve inserted yourself into the picture, Mr.Crane, further complicating things.On Samhain, they plan to drug Katrina and use the horseman to take over Abraham fully.I don’t need to tell you what will happen next.”
A sickly feeling spreads across my stomach as I eye Brom briefly.Thankfully he looks as appalled as I do.
