Page 54 of Commanding Chaos

“You need to call a meeting with their High Priestess,” Patrice said. “No one from our coven destroyed their library, but they are attacking our witches. Convince her this has to stop.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Chaos said.

No. No, it was a horrible idea, and the face I made at him said as much. Lying to our own coven members was one thing. Their High Priestess would put us under a truth spell, and we’d admit to everything. Or worse. She might force us to falsely confess to a whole slew of magical crimes.

Ember rubbed her forehead. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I’ll work on that. In the meantime, we need to protect Miles. He can’t go home.”

“He’d be safest here,” Chrys said. “With all the wards I put up today, nothing with malicious intent is getting inside.”

Again… No. Absolutely not. “Don’t underestimate that coven. They’ve already attacked me, and they know where our headquarters is.”

“Can I stay with you?” Miles asked Shade.

“Of course. You’ll be safer with me anyway.”

“I can come too,” Chrys said. “Safety in numbers.”

“We’re good.” Shade rose to his feet and looked at Ember. “Let us know when you get a meeting.”

“I will.”

Shade and Miles headed downstairs, and Chrys shook her head. “The ego on that one keeps getting bigger, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Chaos said.

Patrice rose and grabbed her bag. “You can stay with me, Chrys. I could use a little safety.”

“Gladly.” She stood, and they left the house too.

“Holy Hecate.” Ember dropped onto a chair and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “So we’re on the same page…” She lifted one lid. “A meeting with the Boston High Priestess is not happening.”

Thank the goddess. I sank onto the arm of Chaos’s chair. “Why did you say it was a good idea?”

“To buy us time and remove suspicion when we return to Boston,” he said.

“Why would we go back there?” Ember sat straight. “We know everything about the curse.”

“But we don’t know who has Mayhem’s skull.” I tapped my foot. “They’ve obviously put the pieces together. The missing cards from the catalog, the torn page from Isabel’s journal. They have a copy of the stolen map since they found the hiding spot. They know what we’re up to.”

“And they have his skull.” She dropped her head back on the chair.

“Maybe not,” I said. “Those were Boston witches in the tunnel. I saw their emblem tattooed on the man’s wrist. They didn’t know the skull was already gone.”

“Yeah, but they didn’t sound official. That was definitely a covert operation. Those two wanted the skull for their own reasons.” She stood and started pacing again. “The only thing we know for certain is that someone got to it before we did, and it happened recently. We have to find it.”

“Wait.” I tapped a finger on Chaos’s shoulder. “Do we really?”

“Our entire plan hinges on it, so yeah,” she said.

Chaos tilted his head, flashing a conspiratorial expression. “Once they summon my brother, I will sense him. The hunt for his skull is unnecessary. We’ll find him once he is whole.”

Ember opened her mouth like she wanted to argue, but she paused. “It’ll be that easy for you to find him?”

“Indeed.” He steepled his fingers.

She sank into her chair. “So we wait?”

“Seems like the best course of action at the moment,” I said. “Rest, recharge, let someone else summon the demon for once.”

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