They’d stayed in contact for a while, but then Zach’s mother died and he’d started to close in on himself. Writing cheerful replies about his happy life in Wales was no longer possible and he’d been slower and slower to respond to her letters. His life had been consumed with death and grief, and somehow losing Emma had tangled up with all the other misery. Then James had arrived and dragged him into a new life, and Zach had done his best to forget his old one. That world of innocence was gone, and he would never get it back.
But now, since James’s attack, he couldn’t stop remembering. Now, when his world was falling apart, and Emma’s father was driving the destruction, he remembered.
Zach dragged his hand down his face, avoiding Ethan’s concerned look as he explained. “I’ve followed up with the school in Paris, but they say she left as soon as she was legally allowed. They don’t seem to have any idea where she went after that. No one remembers her having any friends or any Circle job to go to. I’ve tried calling her teachers and friends of her mother’s here in Wales. I’ve tried college records. I even called the Council admin teams, here and in Paris, and told them I was looking for an old friend. They don’t have any record of her either.”
He looked across at Kay’s and Ethan’s serious expressions. “How the hell is it possible to lose a Shadow Weaver?”
It shouldn’t be possible. Every Shadow Weaver belonged to a Circle and the Circles provided records to the Council. Unless there was a reason a person wanted to stay hidden. And, perhaps, if that person had a daddy on the Council who had an interest in helping them hide.
Was Emma working with Gordon? Was she part of whatever he was planning with his murky security company, Oracle? Was she preparing, just as James had, to betray them all? It was the most sensible explanation for why she had completely disappeared. And also the most devastating.
Emma’s mother was a powerful Seer with a lineage that led all the way back to Fedelm, the prophetess of the Tuatha De Danann. Emma was almost certain to be an exceptional Shadow Weaver. It wouldn’t be any surprise at all if Gordon had recruited her and then hidden her away.
“I think I might be able to help,” Kay said slowly, glancing at Ethan before she looked back at Zach. “That’s why we’re here. Elizabeth had a dream… about a beach.”
Zach frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. So many of his memories of Emma involved the sea. “What beach?”
“She didn’t know. But she said something about the Devil’s Anvil?”
“What does that even mean?”
Kay groaned. “Don’t ask me, you know how I feel about this.”
Kay hated how vague Seers’ visions could be and Zach completely understood her frustration. It was probably why they were both Guardians, they couldn’t bear to sit around waiting for clarity when they could bedoingsomething. And waiting for a Seer to have the right vision could take forever.
“It’s in Dorset,” Ethan said, and they both turned to him in surprise.
“Here,” Ethan held up his phone to show them the Google search. Fuck. This was exactly the problem. They had to drag the Order into the new millennium—a new world where they could simply open their phone and do some research without waiting for a vision—and that included wiping away their own terminally bad habits.
“There’s some kind of big stone, and a castle,” Ethan continued, reading and scrolling. “Lots of history, barrows, evidence of ancient Celtic settlers, plus a fantastic beach nearby.”
Zach nodded slowly. He didn’t know the woman, but that was exactly the kind of place Emma would have loved when she was a girl. Somewhere that called to her sense of the Dru-vid, their long history, and put her near the sea.
“You think it’s her,” Kay observed.
He shrugged. “It’s the right kind of place, but someone would have to go and check.”
“I think you should go,” Kay said. “Elizabeth does too.”
Zach hesitated. He wanted to get away from James and the horror of his former friend’s screams and silences. He wanted enough distance that he could get over the crisis he was having about walking away from the job he’d dedicated his entire life to. But the last thing he wanted was to leave Kay and Ethan to deal with everything alone.
“We’ll be fine, if that’s what’s worrying you,” Ethan added.
Zach gave him a wry look, mulling it over. What if James started to sink back into the darkness again? What if Gordon came after him? Hell, if the Council finally pulled their heads out of their arses and accepted that blood Shadows had been returned to the world, they might start taking some action…. And they might start looking for their missing London Guardians. What would they do to James if they suspected he was the one who’d used the forbidden Shadows? Nothing good.
Would he protect his friends best by staying or by hunting Emma down and using her to find Gordon? If Emma was working with Gordon—which seemed likely—she might be their best chance of stopping him.
Kay gave him an amused look. “We really will be okay, you know.”
“I do, it’s just—”
“David will let us know if the Council starts taking an interest in James, or if Gordon comes back. We can manage, I promise,” Kay said.
Zach shook his head. He wasn’t so arrogant as to believe that they couldn’t manage without him. He just wanted them safe. Wanted some kind of certainty that he was not about to lose another family member. “Will you call? If you need anything?”
“Yes. We’ll call if we need you. James is doing much better and Bryn’s here to help. Elizabeth will warn us too.” Kay grinned. “But I’m not promising to get a Volvo.”
Zach groaned. She was never going to let him forget his suggestion that she sell her motorcycle. He knew she loved it, but it was dangerous. She would be safer in a sedan. Not that he was going to say it again. Ever.
