oh wait i literally can’t
Cool, so everyone was melting down about as much as I was. This was going to devolve into chaos if someone didn’t take control, and it looked like that person was going to have to be me.
We all need to talk. In person. Can you meet me at Shadowkeep at noon?
Zale and Eva replied at once. It was several minutes of being left on read before Nova finally agreed. I ran up to change out of my pajamas and threw my hair into a ponytail, and then stopped into the kitchen where Rhi and my mom were conversing in low voices.
“I’m headed out,” I said.
“Where are you going?” my mom asked.
“I’m supposed to be opening this morning, remember? Busiest week of the year?”
My mother groaned. “Of course. Shadowkeep. I should have… do we really have to…?”
“Of course we do,” I said. “Mom, we can’t just close on a Saturday with all those tourists in town. Think of the complaints.”
“She’s right, Kerridwen. Not to mention it will look suspicious, and we don’t want to give the rest of the town any reason to poke their noses into our business. Besides, what’s the point of staying home? We’re just going to pace around and drive each other nuts waiting for news. Might as well keep busy.” She stood up and fetched a large basket of pre-wrapped scones and cookies off the counter. “Here, honey. Replenish the jars on the counter, and don’t forget, we got the new branded wax paper bags in.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” my mom asked.
I blinked. “Why? I know how to open. Besides, Persi should be there.” “Should” being the operative word. Between everything happening at the lighthouse and her frequent slipping away to visit Bernadette at all hours, I wasn’t exactly counting on her.
My mom bit at her lip, and then sighed. “I know, I’m just... I’m just onedge with this whole…” She struggled for a few seconds as she tried to put it into words.
“The whole ‘a-stranger-who-found-our-grimoire-turned-up-dead-and-then-the-body-vanished’ thing?” I suggested.
She laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. That.”
“Well, sitting at home won’t change it,” I pointed out.
“I suppose not,” she said with a sigh, “but I’d feel better if this was all figured out.”
“I know,” I said. “But in the meantime, a crowded shop full of people is probably the safest place I could be.”
Rhi was nodding and looking down at the grimoire, running her fingers over the cover gently. “I know we didn’t want the Conclave to find out about the grimoire yet, but I must confess, I’m glad they know now. I don’t feel safe keeping it in the house anymore.”
“I agree,” my mom said. She threw the book a baleful look, and then smiled up at me. “Go ahead, honey. I’ll keep you posted about the lighthouse.”
“And I’ll be down to relieve you at lunch time,” Rhi added. “Just have to jar and seal last night’s charms. They’re selling out like crazy.”
I gave them both a quick hug and, after promising again that I would be careful, slipped out before they could think of another reason to keep me there. Guilt rippled through me, but I kept my lips pressed shut. It wasn’t just that I thought I’d get in trouble for helping Jess get her body back. This might be my only chance to understand the Source, a chance not a single adult in Sedgwick Cove would allow me to take if they knew about it.
The truth was that none of the witches of Sedgwick Cove had ever fully comprehended the Source. It wasn’t until just a few months ago that we even realized where exactly it was. Though we had drawn on its power for hundreds of years, we could neither understand it, nor claim it as our own. All we’d managed to do was stop the Darkness from taking control of it, and even that accomplishment was in danger of falling apart. But Jess wasn’t a witch. She had information that we didn’t, and it was possible she might finally help unravel a mystery that had underpinnedthis town and its residents for our entire history. As for me, I was the one the Darkness was after. I was the one it wanted to use to access the Source. Didn’t that mean I should learn as much as I could about it? Wasn’t I the one person who needed every bit of knowledge about the Source I could possibly find?
I knew the answer to that question.
I had to get off my bike and push it when I reached downtown—Main Street was too packed with people to maneuver through them safely while riding. It was barely nine o’clock in the morning, but people were already crowding the shops decked out in elaborate costumes, and lining up for the walking tours.
“—says they start at nine o’clock, but there’s no tour guide here,” a woman was saying loudly into her phone, while three middle schoolers dressed as the Sanderson sisters moped and grumbled beside her as the line behind them stretched down the street.
As I secured my bike inside the gate at Shadowkeep, movement caught my eye from where the glamour hid a secret staircase up to the second floor. I adjusted my gaze and watched as a young woman hurried down the steps toward me. It took me a moment as my eyes focused to see that it was Leila Nightjar. Her pretty face was twisted with worry as she hurried toward me, wringing her hands.
“Wren, hi! Is Persi around? I’ve been ringing the bell upstairs but no one’s answering,” she said, looking over my head toward the street, like she was worried she might be overheard.
I glanced at my watch. I was late, but only by a few minutes. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Leila,” I said. “She’s not here yet, but she should… well, actually, I’m not really sure when she’ll be in,” I hedged. With what was happening over at the lighthouse, I couldn’t guarantee Persi would be at the shop any time soon.
“Oh.” Leila’s face drooped into such a pitiable expression, I wanted to hug her. She was carrying a bunch of flowers wrapped in brown paper tucked under her arm.
