Page 23 of Catastrophe

She nodded. “If they are hiding it even from their kin, their allies, it may hold important information.”

“You found nothing else? No diaries?” I asked.

“No.” She waved a hand, urging me toward the door.

“What about the blade?” I looked back at it. “It looks like the knife Mary used to kill Winnie. She gave it to Fafnir for him to use on the protector. She said it was poison because it had the blood of the betrayed. I assumed it was lost in the warehouse when it burned down.”

“The blood of the betrayed. She’s embraced such dark sacrificial magic.” Sorrow passed over Elizabeth’s face like a rain cloud, but she shook it off and replied stoically, “It is the same blade. Items like that can be spelled to return when called. Since she went to the effort of making this gift, she wanted to ensure it was going to be used to its full potential.”

“That’s what worries me. If it’s not actually a gift for Fafnir, then who is she planning to use it on?” I shuddered.

Winnie died for the blade to be as dangerous and evil as it is. It wasn’t right.

Elizabeth must have sensed my desire to take it out of their hands. “We cannot bring it with us. It will only be recalled.”

I sighed and nodded, finally heading toward her, but I dragged my feet. I felt sick leaving such a weapon with evil people.

But at the sound of a car coming to a stop outside on the gravel driveway, my heart stopped. My eyes, wide and panicked, flicked to look at Elizabeth, who was just as frozen as I was, and a hint of sadness crossed her expression as car doors opened and closed and then female voices sounded.

Elizabeth tugged my arm, and we stumbled over to the window, threw the latch, and quickly climbed onto the bins below just as the key turned in the lock and the door pushed open.

Without looking back, we raced to the car and prayed our getaway was a clean one. But it was only a matter of time before someone noticed the missing phone, and then we’d really be in trouble.

When my pulse had calmed and I no longer felt like I’d be sick if I opened my mouth, I turned down the blaring car radio and asked Elizabeth, “Where are we going?”

“I’m not sure right now. Away.” She didn’t look at me, but her hands tightened on the steering wheel and her jaw tensed.

Maybe she didn’t want to drive? I’d offer to portal but … “I don’t think I can portal us right now.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” she snapped and then shook her head. In a softer tone, she said, “I’m looking for a hotel. We can portal in the morning. After a rest.”

“Are you all right?” I asked quietly. She might not be my favorite person, but I didn’t enjoy seeing her so distressed. I sympathized.

She sighed and flexed her fingers. “Hearing them after so long … brought up a kind of grief I haven’t let myself feel in years.”

I waited for her to continue, but her lips tightened, and her chin jutted out. Charlie did the same thing when he was in pain.

“Being betrayed by your family is hard,” I began slowly. “When you look at someone you love and wonder if you ever really knew them at all … it’s painful to think you only loved the nice parts they showed you and their capacity, ability, to do evil things was hidden.”

She didn’t acknowledge my words, just stared straight ahead and continued driving. But eventually, she said, “There were no records of dark magic tomes in the library.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“I checked every record, every entry, of a book in that library that could teach a young witch like Karin how to use dark magic spells, and I couldn’t find anything.”

I wasn’t sure how we’d jumped from her family to Karin, but I didn’t question it. I simply asked, “Could she have figured it out?”

“No.” She shook her head. “She was a bright witch, but she wouldn’t have tried to do anything outside of a book. It’s how she learned everything.”

“So, how do you think she learned the dark magic?” My eyebrows shot up as a thought hit me. “Your family?”

Elizabeth nodded slowly, her jaw tensed again, but she took a deep breath and explained, “They’ve clearly embraced dark magic. They were close enough to communicate with the witches on the island. They could have influenced Karin and talked her into taking the magic from the wards.”

“That suggests they are working with the hunters. But why?” I asked.

It didn’t make sense. They are witches. The hunters hunt witches and other supernaturals. How are they working together? And to what end?

We checked into a hotel about an hour away, and I practically crawled into the room, I was so drained. Despite my exhaustion, worry caused my mind to spin.

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