Abigail parked near a hedge and rushed to Mina’s front door. It was locked.
“Molofi galif”” she hissed with one hand on the doorknob, the other hand on the nose of her cask, speaking powerful words of an ancient spell.
ZAP.Crimson smoke leaked from the keyhole. Abigail turned it and pushed inside into the entryway. Rissa, another of her granddaughters, was rushing down the steps, dressed in black pants and a dark sweater, her long brown hair wet and plastered to her face like she’d just gotten out of the shower, a look of horror on her face. Rissa, aged 29, was actually Abigail’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter. Or something. Abigail had given up counting ‘greats’ long ago.
They stopped and locked eyes, Rissa pointed at the back door, and they both ran for it at the same time. They reached the yard, and Mina, Rissa’s mom, came running from the far corner. She wore jeans and a jacket, her long brown hair twisted into a bun on top of her head.
“He took her,” Mina yelled, her voice breaking, as she pointed across the yard. “I was right there, raking leaves, and she was jumping in the pile! He didn’t even see me—just snatched her out of the pile and disappeared with her still screaming—he pulled her right into the Pravus!”
Mina ran for Abigail, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, making Abigail’s head fly. Abigail pulled away and spunvvystaround herself to stay upright. She blasted some at Mina with a scoop of her hand, and anyone else would have been knocked out, but Mina had a little magic and had learned years ago to seevvyst. She twisted under it to grab Abigail by the shoulders and shake heragain.Abigail’s teeth rattled in her head and she felt murderous.No one shook her like a pup.
“You swore this would never happen!” Mina yelled, “You promised as long as Paisley stayed with me, she was safe!”
Abigail wrenched away, taking a few steps, breathing heavily with a hand to her head. Rissa stood several feet away, her arms crossed, looking at each of them in turn, nodding.
Abigail had no words. Paisleyshouldhave been safe; sheshouldhave been protected from Khain! Khain should not have been able tofindher in the Ula.
A young female came running across the yard from a neighboring house, yelling for Paisley. It was Frannie, a slim teenager with long, straight, brown hair—another of Abigail’s granddaughters.
“Frannie,” Mina called, raising her hands up. “It’s too late,”
Frannie slid to a stop, shaking her head. “No, no, no—tell me he didn’t take her.”
Mina stepped forward to draw her into a hug, but Frannie yanked away and pulled out her phone out of her pocket.
“What are you doing?” Abigail snapped.
“Calling thevod,” Frannie said, backing away, tapping the screen. “Sage would want thevodto come.”
“No, girl, don’t you dare,” Abigail said, lunging for Frannie.
Rissa moved fast to get out of Abigail’s way, but Mina stepped in front of Abigail, blocking her. Abigail shoved her away using magical force and Mina went flying into the bushes, cursing.
Frannie quickly ducked around the corner of the house, speaking into her phone.
“911, come quick. My cousin’s been kidnapped. She’s only four. The address is 338 GailAnn Circle.”
Abigail ran after the fleeing girl as fast as she could, holding onto hercaskso it wouldn’t fall off her shoulders. She rounded the corner of the house, spotted Frannie and pointed at her phone, shouting.“Infernifi!”
Frannie screamed and threw her phone to the ground, then clasped her hands to her chest. “You burned me!”
The phone glowed red-hot, then melted to liquid in the grass.
“My phone!”
“You little cur!” Abigail hissed. “How dare you call thevod! I’ll disown you! I’ll wrap you in ribbon and leave you on the demon’s doorstep!”
A range of emotions played over Frannie’s face: fear, disgust, condemnation, then fear again. “Nana—”
Abigail slashed her hand through the air, cutting off Frannie’s voice, then she clutched her hand at chest-level and swooped her palm toward Frannie, shouting, “Sleep, sleep, sleep like the dead!”Vvystflew outward in a stream and hit Frannie in the face, then engulfed her body and pulled her feet out from under her. Frannie fell to the ground, facedown, wiggling and shouting, the sound muffled. After a moment, she lay still.Abigail advanced on her, seething with rage that this normally docile girl had dared to defy her.
Mina, her bun askew and full of leaves, sprinted around the corner of the house and rushed between Frannie and Abigail, hands out, crying, “Don’t hurt her!”
“I disown her,” Abigail shouted, then she turned and stalked away, thoughts of damage control swirling through her mind.
5—Canyon
In the bunker, Canyon tossed the empty Cracker Jack box onto Timber’s desk.
