Talisman? Whose talisman?
Across the cemetery, I saw two tall figures bathed in moonlight, Apollyon being slightly taller than Arthur, his long feathered wings draping behind him like an inky black robe. I wasn’t close enough that I was worried they would see or hear us, which was a relief. There was a spinning portal to the Netherworld right behind them.
“No, Master, I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve scanned the girl’s storage unit myself. There is no trace of Emery’s magic on any of the belongings.”
My blood ran cold at Arthur’s words.
Emery’s magic? Storage unit?Mystorage unit? The room swam around me as I tried to process what this meant and not have a panic attack.
There was a crash as Apollyon pointed to a gravestone and it burst into a hundred pieces. “I can’t kill her until I’ve broken her spell that ties our powers! In order to do that, Ineedher talisman.”
Gage’s father bowed his head. “I know, Master. I’m sorry, I have my best team on it, but—”
Apollyon was a blur of movement; one second he stood before Arthur and the next Arthur’s back was against a tree with Apollyon’s hand wrapped around his throat. “You’ve been loyal to me, but I will not hesitate to replace you. Find Emery’s talisman or I’ll find someone else to lead Shade Academy in New York City.”
“Yes sir,” Arthur croaked out.
Apollyon released Arthur, and Gage’s dad fell to his knees gasping for air. The ruler of the Netherworld then scanned the cemetery, and I froze, shrinking away from the window.
“The hellhound I sent to bite my daughter and force her to return to the Netherworld was killed byyourson,” Apollyon said suddenly, and I looked over at Gage to see the blood drain from his face.
Goose bumps rose on my arms. How would biting me force me to the Netherworld?
Arthur looked shocked. “He’s alive?” he growled, and my stomach turned sour. There was not an ounce of compassion in hearing that his son wasn’t dead. If anything, he sounded mad about it.
Apollyon nodded. “Since your boy deprived me of my daughter, I’ll also leave it up to you to get Tatum to the Netherworld. My demons can’t drag her there, but maybeyoucan.”
Arthur growled. “Now that I can do.”
Gage moved then, standing protectively over me as if readying for an attack even though we were safely concealed from his father in the mausoleum.
Apollyon gestured to the open portal behind him. “I’ll be back in three days’ time, and when I come I want that talisman and my daughter, or I will spill your entrails all over this cemetery, are we understood?”
Three days! No.We needed more time than that to amass the army to save my mom.
Apollyon turned, not giving Arthur a chance to respond before striding toward the Netherworld portal. There was a crackling noise, then a flash of red lit the cemetery briefly.
Apollyon was gone.
I looked at Gage to see that guilt marred his features. If Arthur wasn’t a threat before, he definitely was now.
“It will be okay,” Gage breathed. “My father isn’t nearly as powerful as he would be if he had his talisman.”
I winced, reaching up to rub the back of my neck. “Yeah, about that…”
I was so screwed.
I exchanged a guilty look with Drea. She was the only one I’d told about Arthur’s talisman having been stolen. She grimaced and then nodded, indicating I should inform the others. After taking a deep breath, I quickly told the group about Arthur getting his talisman back the night of Skye’s death.
“Tate, this is bad.” Gage started to pace the tiny space.
“Why would a hellhound bite force me to the Netherworld?” I asked, my brain on overload.
Gage and Dash shared a quick look I couldn’t interpret.
“Dude, who cares?” Dash said. “Apollyon is after your mom’s talisman. And from the sound of it, getting it means he’ll be able to kill her and break some kind of spell she put over him.”
Drea nodded. “Yeah, it seems like your mom must have cursed him to link their souls or something and he can’t remove it without her talisman.”
