“Oh, we’ll definitely have to get you over there for a visit,” Jess said, grinning. “You know most of our secrets now. And there’s no better place for a spirit witch to practice her craft.”
Rhi called us all together at that point for a planning meeting around the kitchen table. The two grimoires lay in the middle of the table, ancient and exuding their own unique airs of magical power.
“I’ve been wondering about the Vesper grimoire,” Jess said. “You mentioned that Sarah used it to try to help the Darkness gain control ofthe Geatgrima—sorry, the Source. But you don’t know what spell she used?”
“Nobody does,” Rhi said. “Well, I suppose Mary Vesper might have, but she took that secret to the grave, and I don’t think she’d tell us even if we tried to contact her with the spirit board.”
“We couldn’t try even if we wanted to,” I reminded her. “Spirit contact is cut off. That’s what we’re trying to fix.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Rhi said.
“Well, that will be one of the things we try to get out of her once we have her where we want her. If Sarah really is still around and she answers our summons, she’ll be drawn into the circle, and she’ll be trapped there,” Jess said. “Then we can question her and figure out what she’s done to the Gateway, and therefore how we might be able to reverse it.”
We began to formulate our plan. Of course, my mother wasn’t happy until we’d worked out every single logistical possibility. She came up with scenario after scenario—“Well, what will we do IF”—over and over again, until they became so far-fetched that I had to put my foot down.
“Mom, next you’re going to ask what we do if aliens descend in a spaceship and abduct us,” I cried. “We are as prepared as we can be! At some point you will have to accept that we can’t plan for every single variable! It is literally not possible!”
My mom flushed, and raised her chin defiantly. “Well, excuse me for wanting to be prepared.”
“You’re very thorough,” Jess said, smiling kindly at her. “But I promise you, I have a lot of experience with ghosts. Yes, even ghosts as dangerous as Sarah Claire,” she added, as my mom made every indication of interrupting. “In fact, I just finished dealing with one in Scotland that makes Sarah Claire sound like a fluffy little bunny rabbit. You’ve taken a huge leap, trusting me as far as you have. I’m just asking you to trust me far enough to solve this, okay?”
My mom hesitated only a moment, and then nodded.
“Sorry about that,” I said to Jess as we all got up from the table. “She’slike… crazy overprotective. It’s the whole reason we left Sedgwick Cove in the first place.”
“Don’t apologize,” Jess said. “I think it’s sweet. Besides, it’s probably good for me, having someone like your mom around to ask those kinds of questions. I’m more of a charge-ahead-and-make-it-up-as-I-go kinda gal. Drives my sister crazy. This is better. Well, maybe not as fun, but definitely safer.”
She grinned, and despite my nerves, I grinned back.
It was agonizing, waiting until midnight, but finally it came. We set out up the shore road, Rhi driving my mom’s car, and the rest of us cutting as quietly as we could through the woods up to the Playhouse. Rhi had a basket of baked goods and a thermos of hot chocolate on the front seat beside her. The plan was for her to tempt the police on duty to have a snack and then, when they’d passed out from the sleeping potion she’d laced the food and drink with, we’d be able to enter the cavern unnoticed.
Jess, Persi, my mom, and I waited in the trees, shivering with the cold, until finally we saw Rhi flagging us down from the parking lot. We hurried out to meet her where she stood beside the car. Sure enough, Maeve and her fellow officer were slumped on the ground snoring, their expressions peaceful, half-eaten cookies on the pavement beside them.
“I don’t like this at all,” Rhi said, bouncing anxiously on the balls of her feet. “There’s going to be hell to pay when the Conclave find out what we’ve done.”
“And they’ll forgive us as soon as they realize Xiomara and the rest of the spirit witches have their powers back,” Persi snapped. “Come on, Rhi, pull yourself together. There are things worth getting in trouble for.”
Rhi nodded, though she still looked like she wanted to cry with guilt as we all worked together to pick up the two officers and move them into their cruiser. Once we had shut the doors on them both, we moved swiftly for the Playhouse. Rhi took her lookout position by the front door so that she could keep an eye on the parking lot, in case anyone arrived or the officers started stirring. My mom stayed with us as far as the hole in the side of the building, and then stayed posted beside it, in case anyone tried to enter that way.
“You shout for me if you need me in there,” she said, her tone sharp with anxiety.
“Of course, Mom,” I said.
“I’ll be right next to her,” Jess assured her.
“And I’ll be there, too,” Persi said.
There had been no arguing with Persi. She demanded to be inside, where Sarah was going to be; and no one dared say no to her, not with the state she was in. Still, Jess was eyeing her warily as we made our way into the cavern.
The cavern should have been dark, but there was a strange glow from the Geatgrima that bathed the whole space in an eerie, bluish light. Persi had been here before, but now that she understood what the Source was, she didn’t seem able to take her eyes off it. She walked in a wide circle, taking it in from every angle, with an expression of awe on her face. Then, that expression twitched with a spasm of emotion.
“Is this where… did Bernadette…” she choked out.
“It is the place her soul would be naturally drawn to, if it were working properly,” Jess said gently. “But as it is damaged right now, I don’t know if she would have been able to Cross here.”
Persi nodded, struggling to keep her face under control. Jess threw me a look, and I went over to Persi.
“Is this going to be too difficult for you?” I asked her.
