Kane elbowed me in the arm. I looked up at him when he lowered his head. “Hey, I really am sorry about last night. I honestly meant no harm. I don’t know what came over me.”
All I could do was nod. I wished I could have said it was okay and pretend that it never happened, but it wasn’t okay. I wished I could forget about it, but forgetting would be stupid on my part. Instead, I had folded the situation up and filed it in a cabinet stored in the back of my mind, marked“never again.”
“I don’t know what’s going on between you and Blackwell,” Kane continued, “But if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll back off.”
“What’s good for him?” I asked, offended as if it were me Kane was threatening.
“Let’s just say you’re under Sacred Sea protection. Blackwell can’t so much as be within twenty feet of you without our permission. If he goes near you or talks to you, the Order will punish him, throw him in the tunnels. So, if you care about him, you should stay away too.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, walking at my side. “It’s what’s best for everyone.”
“Wait,” I stopped walking, staring up at Kane, “Why? Why can’t he be around me?” Was this why Julian was acting strange? Was it the reason he was hiding us? This answered everything, but why didn’t Julian just tell me?
“Do you have any idea what Blackwell is capable of? One slip up, and you’re dead. Is that what you want?” His brows pressed together, and he leaned in. “You think Benny wants to bury his granddaughter? Because I don’t.”
“That’s low, Kane. Even for you. Using Benny like that,” I shook my head, “And for the record, I don’t think protection means groping me, either. When I say stop, I mean it. When I say just friends, I mean it. There’s no hidden line or underlying meaning. If you ever touch me like that again—”
“I said I was sorry. That was just me being a drunk and horny dick, Fallon. I got it, okay?” He stood with his brows in the air, arms at his sides. “Moment passed.Trust me, it won’t happen again.” He’d said it with such disgust, almost as if the mere thought of looking at me put a sour taste in his mouth.
Silent seconds passed between us, and the strap from my laptop bag dug into my shoulder, keeping me unbearably present in every single one. My eyes slid back and forth between his as I thought about what Gramps had said, that Sacred Sea could protect me when he passed on.
“Who is Sacred Sea protecting me from?”
Kane’s eyes grew, and he shook his head. “Probably those Hollow Heathens,” he breathed out, and I rolled my eyes, shifting in place when he pulled back on my shoulder. “Look, all I know is your dad asked for his coven to protect you if you returned. You came back, Fallon. This is the situation you got yourself into. My advice is to stay away from Blackwell. I’ve no doubt he’s killed people before, and hewillkill you. No one is immune. Do you have any idea who his father was?” I shook my head, and Kane sucked in a breath. “Javino Blackwell. Murdered half a dozen people before he was burned on the cliffs. It’s in the Blackwell blood, and you can’t fix something that’s in your blood.”
The rest of the way was quiet, and I no longer wanted to be here.
I wanted to find Julian. I wanted to tell him the same words he’d told me.
I wanted to tell him thatthey’re all liars, but we’re not.I wanted to tell him that I didn’t believe any of them, that they didn’t know him as I knew him.
But I kept my emotions bottled as the four of us stood in front of a tiny storefront wedged between a tattoo shop and a parlor. A neon-blue flashing sign ran up the side, reading,Psychic.
“I warned you about them, didn’t I?” Monday whispered, talking about the Hollow Heathens as she opened the door before we all filed inside.
“I just don’t think they’re as bad as everyone makes them out to be,” I whispered back, feeling the need to defend Julian.
Kane groaned.
Monday chuckled. “Says the girl who took off and almost left Weeping Hollow because of them.”
Milo, who’d already stepped off to the side, kept quiet and wandered over to the wall where books crammed the shelves, stacking from floor to ceiling. Spines were worn and cracked and peeling away, evidence of being read time and time again. The font lettering had faded, and I ran my finger over the bumpy ridges, collecting dust, then blew the fuzz from the tip of my finger.
Monday slammed her palm over the countertop bell repeatedly. “Hello? Ms. Eleanor!”
“Chill out. She’s coming,” Milo hissed.
Monday narrowed her eyes at him just when the curtain of beads parted down the middle and a tall woman with a shaved head and golden hoops piercing the rims of her ears appeared. She wore a black paneled blouse over black slacks with the seams in gold detail and sequins. Eyes as black as night found mine across the room when a familiar and knowing tight grin stretched across her wide lips.
A breath left me, and my chest tightened. “You look just like—”
“Marietta,” she finished my sentence and dropped her head in a single nod. “She was my twin sister.” Her Kenyan accent was just as smooth and strong and stubborn as Marietta’s, untarnished by the Mainers. It was like seeing Marietta all over again, and emotions pooled from my chest, up my throat, and pricked behind my eyes. I wanted to rush over and wrap my arms around her, to breathe in the distinct scent of rosemary and sage. “And you must be our Moonshine.”
“I’m sorry,” I shook my head, trying to drag in a steady breath. “This is hard for me. You look just like her.”
“Me, I miss her too, child. Come, let us talk.”
Eleanor led me through the curtain of beads toward the back. Velvet violet and green canvases hung from the walls, and incense burned in corners of the narrow hallway stacked with boxes and inventory. She opened the door to a small room, and we both entered.
A silk purple table cloth draped over a round table positioned in the center of the room with two tufted chairs facing each other, the arms rolled and scroll details carved into the wood. A deck of tarot cards fanned out across the center of the table. Candles of all different heights lined the walls over vintage sideboards, casting dancing shadows over the dark wallpaper.
