“Why the hell didn’t you say that before?”
He scoffed and shook his head. “Do you know how many years it took me to figure it out? It’s not something one can easily explain.”
“Where’s the jewelry?” Christian asked, his voice husky. He looked strangely intoxicated, his fangs still in view.
“I placed the valuables in a trunk. By the grand fireplace downstairs.”
Someone took off behind me.
I strode toward Sparrow and stopped within an inch of his face. “You better not be lying. If this is a trick, I’ll personally escort you to hell.”
“Be careful, Miss Black. It’s like cracking the outside shell of a double-layered eggshell. You can only break the top. If you go too deep and damage the next layer of light, that person can’t be saved.” He gave me a toothy grin. “And I’ve never done it on myself, so I can’t say for certain if you’ll stay this way forever. Good luck. You’ll need it.”
Sparrow went into a fit of maniacal laughter as I followed everyone out of the room. Christian stayed behind. When the door closed, Sparrow’s laughter turned to screams.
CHAPTER30
Gem had spread out a long red tablecloth over the large area rug in the gathering room. She separated all the jewelry—necklaces with necklaces, rings with rings, and so on.
I stared sleepily at the fire burning in the massive hearth from my seat on the soft leather sofa. It had been a long day, and all the images kept playing in my mind like a movie. Christian had been upstairs for a long time with Sparrow, doing God knows what to him. Viktor assigned everyone shifts guarding the prisoners downstairs, Niko volunteering for the first rotation. Even though we had cuffed them, we couldn’t underestimate their desperation. Shepherd and Claude were lighting all the lanterns in the main hallways to restore a sense of normalcy.
Gem reached in the trunk and held up a diamond bracelet. “He only took jewelry with stones. Of course! Stones hold energy longer—sometimes for years depending on how often it was worn. Especially if by a Mage. Wyatt, isn’t this your belt buckle?”
He reached out from his spot to my left and caught the piece she tossed at him. Wyatt kissed the skull buckle. “Yup. This is my favorite, but I don’t like wearing it all the time because of the ruby eyes. I’m always afraid they’ll fall out.”
“Put it with our stuff so I don’t lose track,” she instructed him.
Wyatt placed it on the long coffee table in front of us. So far, we’d found Gem’s quartz necklace, Blue’s hair comb, Viktor’s sapphire cuff links, and Claude’s cuff links.
I nervously looked over all the jewelry. There was no way to practice this, and someone would have to be the first guinea pig.
Viktor relaxed in his favorite chair, staring at a glass of vodka he’d been attempting to drink for the past hour. Shadows danced on the lofty ceiling, which stretched up an entire floor.
Blue snorted once, summoning a light chuckle out of Viktor. Curled up in the chair next to his, she had her head tucked in the crook of her arm and her hood pulled over her face. On the floor next to her sat a jar of green olives. They were her Shifter craving, but she couldn’t even enjoy them because of Sparrow’s curse.
“Aha!” Gem held up a gold watch. “I found Shep’s watch with all the fancy diamonds. This is difficult since some people gave up numerous pieces. I can match up the earrings just fine, but I can’t always tell which necklace they go with. We’re going to need those people to confirm so we don’t make any mistakes. Ooh, look at the tiara!”
Christian shadow walked into the room and appeared behind Viktor’s chair. It startled me, especially with the brooding look in his eyes.
After placing another item on the floor by the others, Gem walked back to the trunk and ran her hand around the inside. “It’s not in here.”
“What’s not in there?” Christian asked.
“Raven’s necklace. That’s so very strange.” She got up and searched the wall near the fireplace. “Maybe it fell out.”
I got off the couch. “I’ll check Sparrow’s cars. Are they still parked in the grass by the garage, or did someone haul them away?”
Viktor stood and replied in Russian.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said, grabbing Christian’s sleeve. “Come help me.”
We took a quiet walk down the hall and out the front door. Even at night it was hard not to notice the aftermath of today’s carnage. A few wolves trotted around the perimeter of the front gate. Knowing Ren, I had a feeling they wouldn’t be leaving until morning.
A few flakes were falling like nature’s eraser, but not enough to cover up the crimson snow.
“I wonder why he didn’t park in the garage,” I said.
“Perhaps he was afraid we’d corner him. We might know a code that’ll lock the doors for good.”
