“Like you.”
“Life demands risk. You know that.”
Ricky had found a glass of lemonade and took a drink. The ice in the glass clattered. “You’re asking them to take a hell of a lot of a risk, Raven.”
“We can save the girl,” Lula said. “We will save her,” she said to me, “that was never the question. If we get Dominick’s blood, will the witches need more than their power to cure Rhianna? Will they need more to cure Variance?”
Raven looked at Ricky, and Ricky set down her lemonade. “Let me do some research.” She walked out of the kitchen toward her study.
“Remember,” Raven called after her. “He’s a witch vampire, not vampire witch.”
“How can I forget something I just learned ten minutes ago? And stop feeding the birds. You’ll attract geese, and they’ll crap all over my lawn.”
“I know you were talking to Brogan,” Lula said, “but I need to hear it from you. Do you think his blood will cure Rhianna?”
Raven rubbed at his jaw. I had a second to consider just how old of a creature he was, and just how many things he had experienced, known, and forgotten.
“If I had to guess,” he began in that low, kindly voice, “I’d put my money on the witches finding a way to bring her and her father back to his humanity.”
She nodded and looked up at me. “I’ll go ask Ricky for weapons.”
“Good,” I said, “good.”
She drew away. Then it was just me and Lorde and Raven in the kitchen. A headache settled behind my eyes. I wanteda shower and to sleep for a month. No, I wanted a vacation. Somewhere away from the Route. Away from all of this.
“You’ll want to get that,” Raven said.
The phone rang. There was now an old-fashioned, yellow landline telephone attached to the wall.
“It’s Ricky’s phone,” I said.
“Ricky’s busy.”
“Then you get it,” I said.
“I’m busy too.Sobusy.” He kicked his feet up into the empty chair and gulped down more coffee.
“For the love of—” I picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“Hi, Brogan, hi!” Abbi was breathless, happy.
“Did Ricky make moon cookies? I love moon cookies. And is Valentine there? I bet Valentine’s there. Oh, Cassia says hello. She wants to wave at you, no, she wants cookies too. No, oh…the phone?”
The sound of the phone being handled crackled through the line.
“We have information on Rhianna. A way to reach her,” Cassia said.
The pounding in my head got worse. “How?”
“We are witches,” she said. “We used magic, guided by the Moon Rabbit.”
“I’m very powerful! Very bright!” Abbi shouted so close to the receiver, I winced. “Like the sun!”
“How can she be reached?” I clarified.
“I’d rather not say over the phone. But we need to act quickly. Tonight…”
“Because it’s a full moon, and that’s better than a full sun!” Abbi said.
