Page 46 of Mastering Mayhem

“As Ash does me.” He unrolled the parchment again and scanned the words. “Hopefully Discord has a plan. He’s been in touch with Hecate at the very least.”

I stood behind him and read the letter over his shoulder, scanning the last three sentences repeatedly:

There’s an amulet somewhere on your side. You have to find it and summon Discord so he can return it to its rightful owner. I can’t come home without it.

“He’s already done it.” I leaned forward and tapped the final lines. “The rightful owner is Lucifer. Discord has bargained for Cinder’s safe passage home, and the amulet is the price he’ll pay.”

“Maybe.” Chaos returned the scroll to the drawer. “But the amulet belongs to Hecate as much as it does Lucifer. The goddess has been holding the veil together. Perhaps Cinder bargained with her, promising the amulet in return for her assistance while Ash and Ember complete their quests in this realm.”

My heart sank yet again. That idea made more sense. Hecate was livid when Lucifer lost the amulet to Discord, and she had held the grudge for centuries.

“Speculating is pointless.” I walked the width of the room before turning around and striding back. “At this point, it doesn’t matter to whom Discord plans to give the amulet. We don’t have all of it, so we should focus on retrieving the final piece.”

“Hey, guys,” Ember said, descending halfway down the stairs. “We found it. Come on up.”

16

EMBER

“The griffin has it, but she’s on the move.” I paced in front of the television while the others took seats in the living room, just like old times. Well, all but Mayhem.

“How do you know she’s on the move?” He stood between the kitchen and living room, shifting his weight from foot to foot, more restless than I’d ever seen him.

“We felt the amulet in motion when we scried,” I said. “When we pulled back, we saw her flying. She hasn’t laid her eggs yet, so we assume she’s looking for a place to nest.”

“Or for a way home,” Ash said.

I nodded. “She seems agitated. She knows she needs to nest, but something is stopping her.”

“How do you know she hasn’t laid her eggs?” Mayhem took a few steps toward me before dropping into his usual chair. “Perhaps she’s searching for food.”

“Her belly is distended, and her mannerisms say she’s about to give birth.” I stopped pacing and rested my hands on my hips. “So, the question is, how do we call to her and convince her Salem is the place she needs to be?”

“The veil is thinnest here, even with Hecate’s magic holding it together,” Ash said. “If she’s looking for an easy path to the Underworld, this is where she’ll find it.”

“But if she’s going to nest in this realm,” Miles said, “Salem isn’t the place. We have over a million tourists coming and going this time of year. Every hotel within twenty miles is completely booked. It’s loud.”

“You’re right. It’s way too noisy for nesting here.” I sank onto the arm of Mayhem’s chair and tapped a finger to my lips as an idea formed in my mind. It was a terrible, horrible, no-good idea, but it was the only one I had.

“The griffin is from the Underworld. I know she’s not a demon, but can you call to her? Will she be attracted to your power?”

“All creatures from the Underworld are attracted to our power, especially in this realm,” Mayhem said. “But she won’t blindly obey us like a demon would. She will need an incentive to come here, even if we connect with her.”

“And the noise of the city will scare her away,” Chaos said. “Griffins are docile, solitary creatures. She’ll choose quiet over whatever we have to offer.”

“Maybe not.” I stood and resumed pacing. “We’ll head to the outskirts of Salem, past the residential area and into the woods where tourists rarely go.”

“Where we fought the shedim,” Ash said. “It’s quiet there, but the guys said we need some incentive to convince her to come. What are you thinking? A mound of birdseed?”

“Griffins are carnivorous,” Mayhem said. “A mound of raw meat would entice her more than seeds, but not enough to draw her here. You have something else in mind, don’t you?”

He flashed a conspiratorial grin, making my stomach flutter. “You want to open a rift, an invitation for her to go home.”

I smiled in return. “That’s exactly what I want to do.”

“You’re both crazy.” Ash shot to her feet. “Are you sure I’m the one who’s cursed? Because that maniacal grin you’re sharing…? You look like you both need to be hit with a binding spell and a straitjacket.”

“Opening rifts is what started all this trouble,” Miles said. “I don’t think creating another one is going to solve our problems, especially this close to Halloween.”

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