Page 14

14. He’s Old For a Reason

Kerry

“A storage unit, Clem?”

“Hey, she’s safe and warm and dry. No plants can grow on her and the weather can’t corrode her.”

“We need Kyo Yumi,” Tara declared.

“Why?” I asked.

“He’s a watcher,” John explained. “He can read the past from an object and has some telepathic abilities.”

I glanced at Gemma to make sure I knew telepathic and she tapped her forehead with her index finger.

“He can read minds?” My eyebrows flew up.

“He can hear your thoughts if he touches you.” Tara nodded. “And he can convey those thoughts from one person to another.”

“I thought we weren’t going to communicate with anyone at the Sanctuary.” Gemma bit her lip. “Because there might be a traitor.”

“Oh, come on!” Travis rolled his eyes. “It can’t be Kyo. He’s twelve!”

“John?” I turned to him. “Could you go get him for us?”

“I told you, he’s too young,” Clem growled. “And just because he’s young doesn’t mean he might not be working with the wrong people. Kids can be fooled and tricked even easier than adults.”

“We’re going to have to risk it,” I said. “John, you have the ability to bind him to silence, right?”

“Yeah.”

“His warden’s not going to like it,” Clem muttered.

“It’s only for a few minutes, and we’re in a safe place.” I lifted one shoulder. “All of us are here, and John could get him out in a heartbeat if something happened. I don’t see the risk. And we can fetch his warden, too, if you want.”

“Oh, no!” Clem glared at me. “I won’t put up with Helene Chapman for any length of time, however short. She can hold her poisoned tongue until we get back and cut me down with it then.”

I shrugged and told John to go.

While we waited, I called Gigi to check in. We’d left her with Jax at a hotel, although I didn’t really like to separate the group. But he needed to rest and she needed to be with him.

“He’s fine,” she giggled. “We’re both fine.”

I heard him murmur something in the background and she giggled again. Rolling my eyes, I said good-bye and hung up.

They didn’t need a third wheel.

#

Gemma

When John popped back with Kyo, Kerry briefed him quickly and we all watched as he looked over the statue first, walking around it slowly. Frowning, he came around to the front again and touched one hand to Amanda’s stone cheek, then closed his eyes and stood that way for a few minutes.

“Should we—” I started to say when he lowered his hand and stepped back.

“Demons came, led by the shadow of a prince,” he said. “They were looking for something and thought they could make her help them find it. When she wouldn’t bend to his will, the prince imprisoned her as a warning to others and to take her off the chessboard. He didn’t want a miracle worker to get in his way.”

“Do you know what the shadow prince was looking for?” Travis wanted to know.

“No.” Kyo shook his head. “That knowledge is guarded, unless you don’t mind if I damage her.”

“Don’t you dare!” Glowing blue, Clem stepped closer to the statue and put himself between it and Kyo.

Startled, Kyo took a step back, and I bit back a smile as I put a hand on his shoulder.

“Any ideas on how to free her?” I asked.

“Not really.” Giving Clem a wide berth, he reached up and touched Amanda’s cheek again. “But I can show you exactly what happened and maybe that will help.”

He held out his hand and I put mine in it. Immediately, a woman’s cultured voice filled my mind. I closed my eyes to focus better. Amanda’s thoughts became mine and ranged from menus and books to Clem’s face as a much younger man. So many poignant memories poured through the connection until something I never expected made me gasp.

Oh my goodness.

Opening my eyes, I saw Kyo’s face was grim and he gave me a quick nod. It wasn’t our secret to share, but it didn’t seem right that no one would ever know the truth of it, either. I glanced at Clem, unsure what to do with this new information.

Then Kyo found what he was looking for, and I shoved everything else to the back of my mind as I watched the shadow prince performing the petrification. I tried to memorize every detail to share with Travis so we could reverse-engineer a solution.

When Kyo released my hand, I staggered, but Kerry was there to catch me. I leaned against him, feeling strangely exhausted.

“I never want to do that again.” I scrubbed my face with my hands, then looked over at Kyo. “Thank you for coming. I know we surprised you, dragging you out here with no warning.”

“No problem.” He grinned. “At least it got me out of Ms. Fey’s class!”

#

Kerry

While Travis, Kyo, and Gemma planned, the rest of us gathered together to plot our own strategy.

“If they free her, the prince will know.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “They’re spiteful and have long memories. He’ll come after her, and he’ll want to know who freed her.”

“We’re back to a prince again,” Maddy said. “The shadow prince who hurt Kerry at Midsummer must be the same one who petrified Amanda. Kyo said she has something the prince wants. What if Reilly’s Master is the same prince? Reilly may have been researching this item and where it is.”

“He could have been researching anything.” Tara shook her head. “We don’t know enough to make that connection yet.”

“We could ask him.” I liked that thought.

“Who?” John narrowed his eyes at me.

“Argaud. We know where he is, right? And he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

“And why would he tell us anything?” Maddy rolled her eyes.

“I’ll make him. A few hot coal shoved—”

“Pleasant, Kerry,” John interrupted. “Better stop before Gemma hears you.”

I made an ugly face at him.

“Let’s figure out what to do with Amanda first.” Tara held up both hands like Jax did when he was playing peacemaker. “Clem, if this works, you’ll have to take her back to the Sanctuary. Her and Kyo.”

“Anything Diabolical would follow them.” Maddy frowned and looked worried.

“Aw, Clem can handle that.” I waved a hand. “He’s old for a reason, you know.”

Clem’s smile was wolfish as he met my eyes.

“Or I can ’port everyone there in seconds,” John offered. “No problem.”

“We could cause a distraction. Give you time to get away.” Tara’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Setting up a wild goose chase would be even better!”

After she explained what that meant, I was all for it.

“That’s what we’ll do. We can draw out the traitor.” I looked around at their faces. “We’ll make it seem like Amanda handed the item off to us, then we’ll head the opposite way while John gets Clem, her, and Kyo back to the Sanctuary. Hopefully, anything Diabolical will follow us instead of them and we’ll take out the traitor at the same time. Win-win.”

“How would we make them think we have it?” Maddy asked.

“Easy.” I jerked my head toward Clem. “All he has to do is contact some of his pals at the Sanctuary and on the Council. Word will spread until the traitor hears it, then everyone will know.”

“Wait,” Tara said. “We don’t know if Amanda has an actual physical item to give us. Kyo said the prince thought she could help him find something, not that he came to take something from her.”

“We’ll pretend we’re taking her with us and the woman with Clem is a decoy.” I slid my hands into my back pockets, thinking this through. “I’m pretty sure a miracle worker can cast an illusion to make it seem real enough.”

“And what do we do when something Diabolical catches up with us ?” She chewed on a fingernail until John took her hand in his.

“I’ll kill it, of course.” I shrugged. “We’re a strong team. We can manage most things. Not a prince, but any of his boys for sure.”

“After Kerry told the story about the shadow prince, Travis did a little digging.” Maddy turned back to me. “According to his sources, the prince will stick to this shadow form because, if he puts too much of his essence onto this plane, he’ll make himself vulnerable to attacks here and the part of himself confined to the Pit.”

“That’s true,” Clem said. “He must have taken the risk and manifested a good bit of himself here to petrify Amanda. And let’s hope he doesn’t do that again anytime soon. None of us could hurt the prince himself. His shadow, though, is another story. As soon as it begins to take serious damage, he’ll dissolve it and pull that part of his essence back to himself.”

“He can’t get out of the Pit, so he sends out his shadow, right?”

John glanced at me, and I nodded.

“Yeah. It’ll look kinda human, but there will be something off about it. They never quite get it right.”

I looked at Clem and raised an eyebrow. He was the teacher, after all.

“Until - or unless - a demon finds a way to free himself, he’s bound there,” he told them. “The shadow, the prince’s avatar, can direct the prince’s minions and communicate with others for him. What Diabolical power it has access to would be very limited, though. Still, it can feed off humans for him, spy, give reports, and so on.”

“But you can damage the shadow enough to buy yourself time?” John must have wanted to be clear on that.

“Sure you can.” I shrugged. “You can dissolve it just like any other Diabolical creature.”

“Kids, it’s a good plan, but it puts you in too much danger.” Clem scratched his head, then looked at me. “And I’d get in trouble for leaving you on your first mission.”

“As if that last part would really bother you.” I rolled my eyes.

“You’re right, but I don’t want to desert you. Especially if you’ll have a host of demons on your tail.”

“Got a better idea?”

“Well, I could call in a few reinforcements that I trust.”

I shrugged, not really caring one way or another. I wasn’t full of myself, but I knew what I could handle.

“Don’t forget,” he said. “ You can’t contact the Sanctuary. Communicate only with me for now.”

“Fair enough. But if they manage to free Amanda, take her to Chessie Catt. I have a feeling she’ll need that kind of help when she wakes up.”

“You’re sure Catt is safe?” Clem squinted up at me.

“Without a doubt.”

“Okay, everyone.” Gemma and Travis walked over to us. “We’re ready.”