“Nobody told me,” Nova murmured. “No one… they said I shouldn’t go, that she was too unstable.”
“That might have been true. Persi said she went back and forth from manic to catatonic. But she showed us the paintings Bernadette’s been making. She had taken several of them, and… and every one of them showed Jess’ face.”
“She was still getting visions,” Nova whispered.
“Yeah. And there was another painting, a sort of woman with three faces. One face was Jess’ and the second was mine. But the third… well, the third was Sarah Claire.”
“Why?” Nova asked in a strangled voice. “Why, what does that even mean?”
“We’re not totally sure. But Jess thinks we should contact Sarah Claire. She thinks she might still be here, even after Persi exorcised her.”
Nova was already shaking her head. “No, that’s not possible. Sarah’s gone. She has to be gone.”
“Bernadette didn’t seem to think so,” I said.
“How do you know what Bernadette thought? How did anyone know? She was… she was crazy. Broken. That painting was probably just… justnonsense.”
“Do you really think that?” I asked gently. “Or do you just want it to be true?”
“Go home, Wren,” Nova said, turning her back on me and looking out the window again. “I don’t need this today.”
I jumped to my feet. “Nova, I know this is the worst timing ever, and I’m sorry I have to bring up painful stuff.”
“Do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Do you have to bring up painful stuff? Because you could just… not.”
“Nova, if this was only about sparing your feelings, I’d never talk about Sarah Claire again. But this is bigger than us. We think Sarah might still be here, and that might be why the Source is all messed up. We need to talk to her, and it would be a lot easier if we had something of your family’s to lure her in?—”
Nova spun around, her expression so vicious that I took a step back in alarm.
“What of my family’s? What are you talking about?”
“Well, the mirror is gone, of course, but…” I swallowed hard, steeling myself. “Well, Jess thought that your coven’s grimoire might work just as?—”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me. You came here to ask me to steal something from my own family? And ourgrimoireof all things?!”
“No!” I cried. “No, of course not! I just thought maybe we could… could borrow it. It’s important, Nova. If we’re ever going to free this town from Sarah’s actions, we need to understand?—”
“Get out!” Nova shouted. She picked up a bud vase off the nearest table, and flung it at me. I ducked out of the way just in time, and it shattered against the wall.
“Nova, please?—”
“GET OUT!”
She reached for a much larger vase as I turned and fled for the front door. I didn’t stop until I was on my bike and had pedaled far enough away that I couldn’t see the Manor anymore. Well, actually, I couldn’t see anything anymore due to the tears that had welled up into my eyes. I blinked them away and wiped them on my sleeve, furious with myself. I shouldn’t have come. Nova would probably never speak to me again, and I didn’t blame her.
Back at Lightkeep Cottage, my mother spotted me from the garden, and hurried over to the fence.
“Well?” she asked.
I just shook my head. My expression must have been bleak, because she opened the gate and hurried over to put an arm around my shoulder.
“It’s okay, honey. We’ll figure something else out.”
“I shouldn’t have gone.”
