Page 43 of Signs and Wonders

“The patron saint of preachers,” Travis added. “It’s been simplified, but the essentials are there. Swain was originally a preacher before he joined Rhyfel Gremory’s coven, right? And he’s passed as a minister or evangelist all these years. ‘Wellness mentor’ isn’t a big stretch. So it would make sense he’d appreciate St. Louis even though Swain wasn’t Catholic.”

“Maybe he’s hiding the anchor in plain sight,” Drake said.

Brent brought up the Renou-Vous website, which had a page dedicated to the lodge and a few photos of the interior. “Holy shit. They’ve used that symbol a lot.”

“There.” Travis looked over Brent’s shoulder. “Can you make that bigger?”

The photo became grainy as Brent enlarged it, but even that didn’t hide a glassed-in niche in the wall behind the main pool in the spa. Beneath a banner with the same symbol was an ornately carved wooden box.

“The location resembles where the monstrance is kept in a Catholic church,” Travis said. “It’s a fancy, deeply sacred vessel for holding the consecrated wafer for the Eucharist, and it’s stored in an equally special elaborate box.” He sighed. “There’s so much hubris, blasphemy, and heresy wrapped up in Swain using that for his anchor—I’m at a loss for words.”

“That’s it,” Evan breathed. “That’s got to be his anchor.”

“If so, then he’s probably got protections around both the anchor and the entrance to the hidden cave,” Brent pointed out. “So we’ll need to have a plan to deal with those.”

“Not to mention getting in and out,” Seth said. “The spa is beneath the main lodge building. We might be able to get in and out through the back entrance if we just needed to access the cave—but somehow we’ve got to get to the anchor first in the main spa.”

“Let’s start there with research tomorrow.” Travis stretched. “Seth should have more reports. We can double down on strategy, and we’ll know more after Brent and Evan make their reconnaissance.”

Evan had already texted Parker asking for additional maps and satellite images and figured his night owl brother would probably have results in his email the next morning.

“Tyler is guarding Cameron tomorrow,” Seth said as they got up to leave. “So it’s a good day for Travis and Drake and me to finalize plans and decide when to go after Swain and the Hub. Better get some rest while you can.”

Evan suspected that plunging himself into strategizing would also keep Seth from going crazy with worry.

They thanked Brent, Travis, and Drake and headed back to the RV. Seth and Evan were silent on the ride back, not saying anything until they had parked and done their usual security check.

“You’re quiet,” Seth observed as they locked the door behind them and renewed the wardings.

“I could say the same.”

“What are you thinking?” Seth hung up his coat and toed off his shoes as Evan shed his outerwear.

“We’re close to nabbing Swain—that worries me,” Evan admitted.

“Why?”

Evan loved that Seth didn’t try to minimize or talk him out of his concerns. “Swain has to know we’re here and that we’re coming for him. We’ve never seen one of the witch disciples back down yet because they all think they’re too powerful to beat. So either he’s biding his time for us to come to him—and then he thinks he’ll destroy us—or he’s got a plan to make a first strike. Either way, the shit is going to hit the fan soon.”

“It’s brave of you to infiltrate the Summit,” Seth murmured. “I love that about you, even though I hate having you risk yourself.”

“I don’t like it either. Unless you’ve got another idea, it’s the best option we’ve got.”

“Believe me, I’ll be trying hard to think of an alternative until you step on that shuttle bus,” Seth told him. “But I’m glad Brent is going too. You’ll need to come up with a cover story.”

“I’ll say that he’s an old friend, and we’re on a road trip. We stopped in town on our way to see the big observatory and happened upon the event fliers,” Evan said, selling the lie.

Seth nodded. “That could work. Please don’t get separated, and don’t take any extra chances.” Evan could hear the strain in his boyfriend’s voice.

He opened his arms, and Evan walked into the embrace, resting his cheek against Seth’s shoulder. “When you were a soldier, did you like the going-into-battle part?” Evan asked.

Seth tightened his hold and brushed his lips over Evan’s hair. “Not exactly. It’s a different environment. There was an adrenaline rush anticipating the action and danger, but underneath it, we were all scared. So being a bunch of teenagers, we tried to out-cool each other and pretend we weren’t afraid. Being scared is normal, reasonable—and human.”

“I know that—in my head. It doesn’t help.”

“It never does,” Seth replied. “Because there’s a real reason to be afraid.”

“I don’t want to lose what we have.”

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