There were so many unanswered questions. Who had sent Caleb to me? What or who had burned the eyes from the residents of Peach Tree? In the grand scheme of things, this didn’t seem important, but I think someone behind the scenes was pulling my strings, guiding me in a direction of their choosing. Whether their intentions were good or bad remained to be seen.
I lifted the stack of little black cards and placed them on my desk, spreading them out in the order I’d received them. I searched through the pile of mail I had yet to tackle and sure enough, another card slid out. This time a vertical line, with another line attached to the top, dropping down at a forty-five degree angle to the left. On the reverse were the words, ‘The dawn has risen’. What the hell did that mean? There was a niggling memory buried somewhere deep about a clandestine organization, but it was just a legend. I flipped the card and ran my hand over the lines. The faint magic tingled against my fingers.
No amount of staring was helping my brain put together what these meant. I stacked the cards together and tapped them against the desk to even the edges. Power splashed in the room, sizzling against my flesh. My gaze flicked to the cards just as Hudson’s shout came down the stairs. The cards fused together and the lines formed two familiar runes. My molecules began rearranging themselves, and I glanced up just as a frantic Hudson burst into the room.
My vision darkened, Hudson’s hand whipped out and passed through my body. “Cora!”
The office swung around, like a switch had been flipped. I rose from my chair and my mouth fell open at the scene before me.
The sky was painted in breathtaking shades of pink, orange, and red. The landscape was a series of grassy hills, and on the top of the tallest one sat a blossom tree in full bloom. Underneath that tree was a round table, surrounded by six high-backed wooden chairs. I began walking toward the tree, the figures coming into focus the closer I got. I climbed the hill and the closest figure turned to face me, and I blinked. Sebastian’s mother, Aira, looking as ethereal as ever smiled at me. Dave folded his arms and stared. Harry hovered over a chair like he was able to actually sit, and Aunt Sophia offered me a welcoming smile as she continued to crochet.
The final familiar figure tilted his head and smirked. “Welcome to the Serpents of the Dawn, niece,” Lucifer said.
Cora Roberts - mistress of missing the big huge fat clues.
