Page 28 of Commanding Chaos

“I don’t know who else it could be but Boston.” I clasped my hands in my lap. “Chaos thinks they’re here because of what we did to their library, but—”

“You brought home a page from one of their books,” he said. “They could have easily tracked it.”

“Their library was torn apart. There were hundreds of volumes all over the place, so I highly doubt they would have looked in that particular book and noticed a missing page.” Maybe if I kept denying the possibility out loud, it would cease to exist. Otherwise, the guilt would crush me.

Ember drew her shoulders upward. “I wouldn’t put it past them. No telling what kinds of spells they cast to figure out who did it.”

My heart sank, taking my stomach down with it. “Come on. What are the odds they know?”

She tapped a finger to her lips. “Did you take anything else? We left the makeshift amulets behind, but could there be anything else linking us to their HQ?”

“The cards,” Chaos said. “You put the cards from the drawer in your bag.”

“Crap. You’re right.” I grabbed my satchel, opened it, and sure enough…all three cards from the catalog sat in the side pocket where I’d shoved them. “I don’t think I closed the drawer either. They know which ones are missing.”

“And they know who took them.” Ember rubbed her temples. “Who else would be interested in Isabel’s journals except the coven she cursed?”

I swallowed the sour taste from my mouth. “So they either killed Ginger in retaliation or to get information. Her death is our fault.”

Chaos leaned forward. “They acted of their own free will. You are in no way to blame.”

I held up a finger. “I know you’re trying to help, but remember what I said about the guy who got shot yesterday?”

His lips formed a thin line. “I do. Actions can have unintended consequences.”

“Poor Ginger.” I pressed a hand to my chest, hoping to ease the ache. It didn’t work.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Ember chewed her lower lip, gathering her thoughts. “We found black magic in her house, remember? Miles said she’d been practicing, so maybe she had already been in contact with BMS. Maybe her death is unrelated to us.”

“So…what? You think she was working with them? Trying to join them?” I liked this theory much better, but why on earth would she want to join a dark coven? She was happy here. Her boyfriend was here. Ginger was quiet and sweet and friendly…not dark witch material at all, even if she was dabbling.

“How long had she been a member of your coven?” Chaos asked.

“About a year longer than Miles, right?” I looked at Ember for confirmation.

“Yeah, so three years?” She stood and paced the length of the living room.

“Sounds right.” I shifted forward in my seat. “She came from Michigan.”

Chaos leaned back and clasped his hands on his knee. “Did she?”

“She had a Michigan ID. Wait.” I straightened my spine, my thought train joining his on the same track. “Are you saying she was a plant? A spy for the Boston Magic Society?”

Ember shook her head. “We would have known. There’s no way a dark witch had lived in Salem…been a part of our coven…for three years without anyone knowing.”

“Someone could have shrouded her aura like you shrouded mine,” he said.

She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Miles knew.”

I drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair. Surely he wouldn’t have kept that a secret. “He knew she’d been practicing. That doesn’t mean he knew she was a spy.”

“If she even was.” Chaos returned his arms to their outstretched position on the back of the couch. “It’s only one possibility.”

“The other being they killed her because of us.” And there went my heart again, back into my stomach.

“Let’s focus on the spy scenario. Why would they send one?” Ember jabbed her fingers into her hair, fisting and pulling before letting go and dropping her arms. “And why kill her?”

Chaos leaned forward. “The question shouldn’t be why, but rather what you’re going to do about the events that occurred.”

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