Augustine sat back, for the first time, saying and doing absolutely nothing. After all, Kane had intended to get into their heads while he had the chance. He wanted to reveal their weaknesses and pin them against one another. It was everything Augustine could ask for in a son.
“They came here behaving like boys, they’ll have to figure out how to control themselves like men,” Viola muttered.
“Zephyr, let him go,” Clarence demanded of his son, the boom in his voice shaking the room. And as much as I despised Zephyr, I found pleasure in seeing Kane hang by his throat in the air like a witch from a tree.
“Let him go, Zephyr!” Clarence repeated, his face turning red with anger.
Kane gasped, eyes pooling with fear as his face turned purple.
Augustine appeared bored, for he had done much worse to Kane.
Kane’s body twitched, and that’s when horror shuddered through me that no one was actually stopping it. No onecouldstop it.
Clarence bolted his arms forward, a ball of air shooting across the room at Zephyr, but Zephyr stopped it with a raise of his other hand and swung the forcefield into the wall.
The stone wall caved and crumbled to the ground, the transparent green ball of air leaving a massive dent behind.
Kane’s eyes were rolling to the back of his head.
“Zephyr!” Clarence barked. “Zephyr, release him!”
Then, “That’s enough,” Julian ordered, and Zephyr cut his eyes to Julian.
Kane tumbled to the ground and hunched over once he caught his bearings, gasping for air. The rest of the room had gone silent, all eyes on Julian and Zephyr.
Even Clarence stood frozen and speechless.
No one had to say it for it to be evident.
Kane was right, more right than I was sure he would have believed. The Heathens already looked to Julian as their High Priest, not Clarence Goody. Even the Heathens hadn’t realized it until this moment.
“Let’s get back to the topic at hand,” Augustine said calmly with a triumphant smile, and Clarence eased back into his chair with confusion written across his expression. “No more magic.”
Kane gripped his neck, relieving it. “He’s a psychopath,” he said from a scratchy throat. “Is this not proof enough? There’s nothing the Heathens can do on the east side that we can’t. There’s a hidden agenda here. Just because they don’t wear masks anymore doesn’t mean they’re different people or that we should trust them. The town is already scared. No need to let the dogs out and bring on more insanity.”
Julian squeezed his hand into a fist. “Augustine, if I may?”
Augustine nodded, giving him the floor.
“Our only goal is to find the answers to end the Shadows. If you’re concerned about what people will think and how they’ll react to us walking Eastside streets, there’s no need. Nothing will come of it. No one will ever know.”
“How?” Cyrus asked, intrigued. “How can you assure not one soul will see you? They will be standing at their windows, watching from behind their curtains. They’re scared, Julian. If they see the Heathens walking along the shore, they may mistake the Heathens for the Shadows, or, at the very least, believe the Heathens are in fact linked to the Shadows. It will cause panic and only make things worse for Norse Woods. Is that what you want?”
“I don’t think I’ve made myself clear,” Julian stated.
“We don’t want to search Weeping Hollow’s shoreline,” Zephyr said. “We want permission to search the shores of Bone Island.”
SACCHARINE SECRETS
Alec & Circe
Winter daysin Weeping Hollow were the shortest, and while Alec was fond of the night, it was only during the light of the sun when Circe would come.
However, each time they were together, Alec lost track of time. She robbed him entirely, and he forgot there were tomorrows. She was a song, a dangerous femme fatale, wrapped in mystery in those dresses that clung to her body, and with lips that cut him open … and when she smiled, he couldn’t think at all.
The fire beat against Circe’s golden Skin as she stepped into the bedroom to find Alec. Instead, she was greeted by letters tucked into an envelope with her name scrolled in script across the top.
Inside was a treasure map.Come find me, Circe, it read.
