“We will,” Freya told me, steel and determination in her voice.
I hoped she was right.
We pulled before the sprawling house I’d delivered Auggie to, right into the lion’s den, just earlier that day. There were still six hours before 3:00 a.m., plenty of time to spirit Auggie to safety before he was sacrificed. If all went well.
“How do we do this?” Freya asked as we exited the carriage and stood before the house. All was dark and still, save for one window on the ground floor, where an oil lamp yet burned.
“We demand to be let inside and taken to Erik,” I said, hesitating as I thought about Therese. “Perhaps you should wait outside.”
Therese’s throat bobbed indignantly. “Auggie is my friend too. I was helpful against Ambrosia, wasn’t I?”
I made a noise of assent. I didn’t see how Therese could be of use in the forthcoming battle, but I’d been surprised once already. I just didn’t like the idea of having to worry about the child’s well-being. Therese was no fighter.
I met Narcissa’s eyes. She frowned, but nodded, understanding that she would need to watch over Therese as much as possible.
Before I could think about what I was doing, I marched up to the front door and grabbed the door knocker, that of a goat’s head. I really wished I’d been more observant the last time I’d been here, rather than making cow eyes at Auggie. The signs had been all around me.
It took a minute, but just when I was about to pound on the door again, it opened with a soft click. The man from earlier looked out at us, face tight. “Apologies, but the master is not in at the moment. I can take your card and let him know you’ve been by.”
I shoved the toe of my shoe into the space between the door and its frame. I drew close to the man. “I’m afraid we have to insist.”
He blinked at me. “Oh, witches! Are you here for the ceremony? You should be wearing your robes.” Then, he seemed to recognize me all at once. “Well, I’ll be. You’ve returned! The Devil’s reaper himself.” He shook his head happily and opened the door wider, waving us inside. “Apologies. I didn’t recognize you.” He paused before hastily adding, “Please don’t tell Master Erik. It was an honest mistake.”
Freya tilted her head curiously. “What would he do if we did tell him?”
The man paled. “I suppose he might add me to the crop of sacrifices.”
My frown deepened. “Human sacrifices?”
“Of course,” the man said, stilling as he noticed Therese. “And this is?”
Freya straightened. “My familiar.”
The man nodded, a little disconcerted by Therese’s appearance, before turning to lead us through the house.
Lush red carpeting muffled our footfalls as we traversed open corridors and high-ceilinged rooms that made our voices echo. “Oh, but Master Erik will be delighted that you’re here.”
“Yes, I hope it’s quite the shock to his system,” I agreed, hands clenched at my sides.
The man led us to the back door which opened out to a patio. He pointed to the treeline at the edge of the backyard, where a forest began. A forest in the middle of the city. Some enchantment was at work here, allowing this space to be much larger than it should have been. I’d been thinking the same about the house as we’d walked through it. Whoever Erik’s friends were, they were powerful. But that was obvious, as clearly Lucifer was among them. “The guide will escort you the rest of the way. Wait with them and he will arrive.”
He closed the door behind us.
I exchanged an uneasy look with Freya before we strode to the edge of the forest, waiting for someone to appear. Two figures in black robes approached the forest ahead of us, the telltale red goat’s head on their shoulders. I tensed, waiting for them to attack or accuse us of being where we didn’t belong, but they remained at the edge of the woods, staring expectantly.
“I don’t like this,” Therese whispered.
I shot her a look, and she pushed her lips together. We couldn’t afford to stick out. If these other witches were happy to keep to themselves, I was quite willing to go along with them.
The crickets suddenly stopped making their music all at once.
I followed their lead, holding my breath.
Freya threw me a look that said she didn’t like this one bit.
Just when I thought perhaps whatever had planned to come wasn’t going to show, we heard thunder. Only it wasn’t quite thunder. I tilted my head, trying to place the crashing noise, then realized that it was nearing the house. Trees shifted in the forest, groaning in protest, some of them cracking loudly as branches splintered and snapped, like something was pushing through them. Something too big to fit through the openings in the trees.
An unexpected crash signaled a tree toppling over; the thunderous noise I’d heard in the distance, only much closer.
