My heart rate kicked up. Had Diana already found something amazing? “Yeah, why?” I looked at the book in front of her. “Weren’t you reading that one yesterday too?”
Diana nodded. “Yup. It has a lot of info, so I just picked up where I left off—right before the section on Morgan. Apparently, she was a disciple of Merlin. Closer than a disciple, actually. This text insinuates that they might have been lovers, which is racy for a book written in the 19thcentury.”
My face fell, but I recovered quickly, not wanting Diana to become suspicious and start asking questions.
“But that’s not the oddest part,” Diana continued, catching my interest again.
“Oh?” My pitch went up. “What did you find?”
Diana looked up from her book. “For a spy-in-training, you’re not very smooth. It’s obvious that you want me to study this for . . . Well, I’m not sure why yet. I’m going along with it because I was a jerk last year and I really don’t care who I write this paper about. But if you chose Merlin for an important reason, you should tell me. You know I’m capable, and if I can help you, I will.”
My mouth dried up.Should I tell her?
Having Diana as an ally would be powerful, and I certainlywantedto tell her. But no . . . I couldn’t, not without talking to Alex first. It wasn’t only my secret to keep. Plus, it was a dangerous. The fewer people who knew it, the better.
“Maybe one day, I can tell you,” I said carefully. “For now, would you accept that I’m suggesting you study Merlin for an important reason? One that might change the world.”
Diana’s eyes narrowed. “Change the world? Are you serious?”
I gulped. “Or save it.”
“From the demons popping up everywhere?”
I nodded.
Her face blanched. We remained staring at each other for God-knew-how-long. I was just beginning to wonder if this would be too much for her, and if she would bail on helping, when she exhaled a long breath of air.
“Jesus, Dane. You’re a magnet for trouble.” She shook her head. “I’ll help, but if something goes down—like,reallygoes down—you’d better fill me in.”
“I will,” I whispered. “So, what did you find?”
She bent her head over the book. “According to this text, Morgan and Merlin were together during a few events that the ancient world would have described as cataclysmic. Floods, fires, plagues, you get the idea. They’re glossed over, which makes sense because a lot of this is based on oral history. But there is one that this author details well. They must have had a lot of sources to get this much information.”
Diana flipped the book and pressed it toward me.
“An earthquake? In England?” My lips pressed together in a line. “Isn’t that unusual?”
“Yes, particularly of this magnitude. A witch in the area described it as being so strong that her neighbor’s home toppled. But the writing goes on to say that no one outside of what would now be considered central London felt it. That’s an isolated shaker.” Diana arched an eyebrow. “And that’s not the only odd thing. The book claims that the skies grew black as night and swarmed with screaming bugs during the earthquake. According to a handful of magical witnesses, the earthquake was so strong, it created a crack in a river. Fire sprang up from the water and the river turned red, like it was full of blood. Even more crazy, after this whole catastrophe happened, only a few remembered it.”
What the hell?“But how could they forgetthat?”
“It’s suggested here that Morgan and Merlin didn’t want to traumatize people, so they altered their memories.” She paused and read a little more before continuing. “It says here that the affected river flows through the center of present-day London. Lucky for them, the population was smaller back then. It would be easier for them to modify memories.” Diana shook her head. “Although, since this document is written well after Merlin’s lifetime, I’d venture to say that the few people who knew the truth—if thisisthe truth—passed it on. Probably they were magicals. Maybe Morgan and Merlin were unable to modify the memories of the magicals present. Or they didn’t want to—but why wouldn’t they?”
While Diana spoke, dread descended over me. Now I was encased in it, my breath tight and thin.
They modified hundreds of memories so people wouldn’t remember that a river had cracked open to spew out fire and run red with blood. A river in the middle of London. It has to be the Thames.
As far as I could figure, there was only one reason someone would go to such great lengths to erase history, but strategically allow others to remember.
Theywantedsome people to remember. Those who might make a difference if another cataclysmic event occurred—magicals. From this information, I made a terrifying deduction.
The River Thames was the entrance to the Hellgate.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
My revelation about the location of the Hellgate was monumental, but also a little anticlimactic. I told Alex, Hunter, and Eva, and all three responded to the discovery with the appropriate amount of awe and horror.
But then, it just sort ofwas. . .
