Page 116 of Shadow Witch

Paige scrunched her eyebrows. “How do we read this? Someone knows what this says, right?”

“No,” Drucinda answered. “I can’t read it.”

Dewey’s horns wiggled as he wrinkled his nose. “That’s Celestial. I don’t speak or read it.”

“No one that I know does,” Drucinda said with a shake of her head. “Not even my grandmother. It takes a special bloodline for that.”

Paige’s jaw dropped. “So, if no one can read it…we’re stuck. We can’t find her. We went through all of this, and we can’t find her!”

CHAPTER 26

Paige’s heart sank as she stared down at the unreadable symbols surrounding the compass. She’d nearly died multiple times in the pursuit of this compass only to find out it was useless to them.

Her heart twisted into a knot and tears welled in her eyes. She glanced up to find a grin on Devon’s features.

“Why are you so happy?” she snapped, feeling instantaneously guilty for coming across as so harsh.

“Drucinda’s right,” he answered. “It takes a special bloodline. And I know someone who both speaks and reads Celestial.”

“You? I didn’t think your mother had Celestial blood,” Drucinda said.

“She didn’t.” He slid his eyes sideways to his Valkyrie friend, the grin still on his features. “But Luna’s did.”

“Oh, Luna,” Dewey said as he clapped his paws together. “Of course. The blue hair.”

Devon poked a finger at him. “Yep. I’ll get her. I know she’d love to help us.”

“I’ll come with you.” Dewey fluttered over and settled on Devon’s shoulder.

“Dewey!” Paige cried.

“What? I’ll be there as your representative. In case we need to make a hard sell.”

Paige offered him an unimpressed stare. “Yeah, right. You want to flirt with her.”

“If that should happen…I don’t see the harm in it. Perhaps my devilish charm will make all the difference.”

“Devilish charm?” Paige slid her eyes closed and shook her head. “Never mind, just go.”

As they left the room, Paige collapsed into her armchair with a sigh. Her fingers tightened around the compass as she stared at it, tears filling her eyes. Had they come this far only to be stuck. Would Luna help them?

Drucinda sucked in a breath as she paced the floor in front of the fireplace. “Thank heavens Luna is a Celestial. I haven’t seen her in so many years, I had forgotten.”

“Really? Where has she been?”

Drucinda spun on a heel and traversed the room in the opposite direction. “Bouncing around the French countryside with some traditional vampire.”

“Oh, right.” Paige creased her forehead as she tried to figure out why Drucinda had said it with such disdain.

“You know the sort,” Drucinda answered, her eyes locked on Paige’s. “The kind in the movies. They’re all swagger and trouble.”

“Yeah. Uh-huh,” Paige answered as she nodded.

“Are you kidding? Do you really not know the typical dark-haired, dark-eyed, sexy yet troubled vampire bit?”

Paige frowned as an image of her husband formed in her mind. “I do know that type, yep.”

“If you’re thinking Devon, you’re wrong,” Drucinda said with narrowed eyes.

---