We listen in rapt silence as his towering figure stands before us. Shadows ripple around him like the threat of a storm on the horizon, and the salty sea breeze traveling through the room pauses as Silas speaks again, as if giving him its full attention.
“Briar can’t walk into his territory unprepared. We must protect her against Malachi and his magic.”
Larkin, Warrick, and Fen tense up around us, shifting in their seats. Oak and Maines glance at each other, waiting to be clued in on what’s happening.
“Silas, no,” Fen pleads, placing both hands against the hard table. “You aren’t serious.”
“We aren’t prepared for this,” Warrick sounds. “I’m siding with Fen here. No.”
He ignores their words. “Malachi holds a power we do not understand.”
Silas looks at Maines and Oak, recounting what he said to me just moments earlier. When he finishes the story, their jaws drop in disbelief.
Maines whispers. “How is that possible?”
“We don’t know, but the people at this table have been searching for an answer for years. He can linger in a shift.” Silas’s brow tightens as he explains Malachi’s power. “He can appear as a spirit and haunt you. He has driven many people mad with this power, and I fear he will start using it on Briar. I fear this, because he already has.”
Maines and Oak snap their attention to me.
“What?” Oak says, standing with force. “Care to explain?
I notice the others squirm in their chairs, already knowing how this awful man works.
“When we first arrived, I saw him at the dinner before anyone else did. He taunted me, but I was too afraid to speak. I didn’t understand what I was seeing, and my body was being held captive so I could only focus on him.”
Silas nods. “But, there is a way to stop this. We only discovered this a few years ago. Had we known sooner, this would have saved us many years of torment.”
I glance at Fen, who refuses to make eye contact with anyone at the table. I know she’s blaming herself for the years of pain Silas went through, and she gazes hard at her hands.
“But, Silas, like I said, we don’t have time for this right now,” Warrick says, standing with both large hands pressed against the table. “We don’t need to rush this. We know where that may land us.”
“Do we have a choice?”
“We always have choices,” Warrick responds.
“Bullshit.” Fen scoots away from the table. “I can’t fucking believe this, Silas.”
She glares at him and walks to the balcony in silence. We all watch her place her hands against the railing, squeezing it tightly—as if contemplating shifting away from this conversation as fast as she can. Warrick watches her leave, but gives her space to breathe.
“We will have to make time, I’m afraid. I’m not sending her in there unprotected.” Silas’s eyes travel to mine. “We need to make a decision soon. We’re running out of time.”
Warrick opens his mouth to speak again, but Silas dismisses him with a wave of his hand.
I hold my breath.
“We discovered a Rigil in a book located in the Forgotten Archives. Actually, my mother found it. It’s a symbol that can shield you from precisely what my father is capable of. It can protect you from possession.”
My brows shoot up. “What?”
He nods. “We spent months trying to get it to work, and many of our tactics failed. We tried ink, blessed ink, and ink mixed with blood, but nothing was strong enough. Nothing stopped him from entering our minds.” He pauses, seeming to find the right words. “So, we looked further, deeper, and darker.”
My heart races in my chest, and I can feel the panic rising. I grip the edge of the chair, fearing I may pass out.
Maines speaks, “And you realized that the poison that’s linked to Andorwood is the strongest thing we’ve seen in centuries.”
“Exactly,” Silas adds.
Fen reenters the room, sweat beading on her forehead. Anger radiates from her as she glares at her brother, and the shadows darken behind her green eyes. As if out of nervous habit, she grasps the necklace around her throat and squeezes, herknuckles turning white. “Silas, we can’t do this to her in just a few hours. Are you insane?”
