I followed her out of the Keep, back down the improbable hallway, and out onto the rocky shoreline. We retraced our steps to the pier, but this time, Persi didn’t turn to ascend the steps back up to Harbor Street. Instead, she began climbing the stairs that led to the pier.
“Persi? What are we doing?”
“We’re sending Sarah Claire right back through the veil, where she belongs,” Persi huffed.
I followed breathlessly behind her as she charged down the pier and, when we had reached the very end, watched as she hurled the mirror with all her strength. We watched it shatter on the rocks before being swallowed up by an incoming wave. Only when it had disappeared did Persi let out an exhalation of relief, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion.
She turned to me. “We’ve done what we can do. It’s time to go home.”
13
“What’s Kildare?”
“Huh?”
We were flying back along the road toward Lightkeep Cottage, Persi behind me, using the leather satchel on the back of my bike as a makeshift seat.
“I saw it carved into the wall behind Bernadette’s head, in the cell. What does it mean? Is it like, an incantation or something?”
“No, it’s a name. The Kildares were a coven that lived in Sedgwick Cove a long time ago—close to two hundred years ago, I think.”
“Why’s their name carved into the wall of the Keep?”
Persi laughed humorlessly. “Probably because they saw it as a badge of honor to be locked up in there. They were a nasty bunch, or so the stories go.”
“Really?”
“By all accounts, they made no secret of their affinity for dark magic. They rose quickly when they came, gathering allies and challenging hierarchies. Soon it became clear that they were not content to simply coexist in Sedgwick Cove —they wanted the deep magic for themselves. They even tried to summon the Darkness, like Sarah Claire had once done. When their attemptswere discovered, they were banished, but not before they spent a bit of time in the Keep.”
It surprised me to hear of another coven doing what Sarah Claire had done, but I supposed it really shouldn’t have. I was beginning to understand that the deep magic was a temptation that brought out the worst in those who sought it. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, or whatever the saying was.
We managed to make it in the door, and up to our rooms without arousing any suspicion. I fell into bed fully clothed, and didn’t wake up until well past ten o’clock. My mouth felt like sandpaper, and my head was pounding. I’d never been hung over, but I thought this might be how it felt. I really needed to start sleeping on a normal schedule again.
The door to Persi’s bedroom was closed, and the room on the other side of the door was quiet. I didn’t have the courage to knock, though I wondered how she was holding up. Other than answering my questions about the Kildares, she’d been silent the whole way back from the Keep —the kind of silence that demands to be respected rather than broken. So I had taken my cues from her, and we had not discussed Bernadette or Sarah or anything that had transpired that night. I wondered, in the light of day, if she had any regrets. Maybe, given how late I’d slept, she was already gone, off to turn herself in and confess everything to the Conclave. I supposed I’d hear about it one way or the other. It would likely be all over Sedgwick Cove within an hour of her walking out the door. I didn’t know a whole lot about my hometown yet, but I did know that gossip spread like wildfire, and that Persi frequently made herself the subject of that gossip.
My mom wasn’t in her room, or anywhere in the cottage. I decided not to text her or try to hunt her down. My relief over the successful Cleansing was already fading, and I was ready to dive back into my studies. I ate my breakfast with one of my introductory magic books propped up against the pitcherof orange juice. I spent the next couple of hours reading and taking notes, and then heading out into the garden and seeing how many of the plants and herbs I could identify by sight. The answer was not a lot, so I started taking pictures of them all, and storing them in an album on my phone, so that I could flip through them almost like flash cards. Then I started making a map of how they were all laid out that I could study. I’d only just begun this, though, when Rhi came running out to the garden.
“Wren, there you are! I was looking for you everywhere!” she said, slightly out of breath.
“What’s up?” I asked, rising from the grass and brushing the dirt from my knees.
“Do you think you might be able to come down and help at Shadowkeep for a little while this afternoon? Persi is… well, she’s got something she needs to deal with.” Rhi attempted a smile, but it was forced and slightly manic.
I kept my expression as neutral as possible. “Sure, no problem.”
“You won’t be by yourself, I’m headed over, too. I just need someone to keep an eye on downstairs when I need to pop up to the second floor.”
“I think I can handle that,” I said. “I’m supposed to meet Zale at six for pageant stuff. Do you think we’ll be done by then?”
Rhi nodded. “Shop closes at five, except by appointment on the second floor. I wouldn’t ask, but with tourists coming in for the Solstice Festival, we’re busier than usual this week.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad to help,” I said, clamping down on the urge to ask more about Persi.
“Great. I’ll just change clothes and we can head over there,” Rhi said, glancing down at her flour-sprinkled overalls.
Despite her usually chatty nature, Rhi hardly spoke a word as we rode side by side into town on our bikes. She kept her eyes locked ahead of her, and she was chewing anxiously on herlower lip. I could only conclude that Persi had done as she said she would, and gone to confess to a member of the Conclave. What would happen now? She’d said she would keep me out of it, but would she really be able to do that? Would she even want to? Persi and I had been together—cooperated with each other—during a very vulnerable moment for her. Had she woken up today and remembered how much she still resented me? If so, I was likely to be in nearly as much trouble as she was. My palms were sweaty against the handlebars of my bike, and I could feel nervous perspiration starting under my arms. Despite this, I told myself I didn’t care. I told myself that I had done the right thing by helping Persi, and I still believed it. If I had to face consequences for that, so be it.
The door to Shadowkeep had been locked, and a sign had been hung in the front window:Gone for a Spell. Be Right Back.I smirked at the pun, but quickly sobered my expression as Rhi fumbled with the keys, swearing under her breath. She pushed open the door, flipped the sign, and checked the register as I followed behind.
