Page 39 of Counting Quarters

“Is that all you know about it?”

She eyed me, her curiosity quickly morphing into suspicion. “What are you getting at?”

I held her gaze, silently asking permission to speak freely in front of our audience. She dipped her chin in a subtle nod and squinted at me skeptically.

I thought for a moment, trying to find a way to explain without completely betraying Kyle. “I can see them—the victims.”

Hailey perked up in her spot across the cabin, shifting to face me fully.

“You see spirits?” Remy deduced.

“Not all the time. But these girls…” I looked back at Hailey. “They come through strong. And they're stuck.”

Grammy considered me carefully. I could tell she had been taken by surprise by the admission. I hadn't told her about the spirits before. Out of every side effect that came with the Granger gifts—the power, the rage, the secrecy—seeing the spirits of Rayner’s victims felt the most outlandish and the easiest to keep to myself. They made me feel absolutely insane. There was never a good time for me to confide in her like that when we were constantly butting heads, anyway.

I wondered if she had ever seen them, too. Could she feel other people's emotions the way I did? Did she ever have a Counter?

Suddenly, I wanted all the answers.

Although, Hailey had been lingering in the corners of the cabin for hours now and no one else seemed to sense her.

“They might be able to help us find where Rayner's hiding out. What have they told you?” Lux asked.

I shook my head. “They can't remember anything. It's so weird.”

“Nothing?” Grammy's face pinched in confusion. “That isn't right. They should be able to remember everything.”

“I know. It's like he somehow blocked their spirits’ natural progressions.”

“Interesting.” She gripped her chin with her thumb and forefinger. “He truly doesn't want to reveal his plans until he's ready.”

“What kind of magic could block that out?” I asked Grammy and Lux.

I'd been searching for weeks for some sort of clue, but came up short. At this point, they were my best bet for finding the answer and if we were truly supposed to trust each other, this was a good way to start.

Lux turned his attention toward Grammy, and they stared at each other in bewilderment. “It's got to be something dark, right?” he asked her, scratching his head.

“Knowing Rayner, that's all he's got access to. He isn't gifted.”

“He must have bound something to their souls,” he said, mostly to himself. “I wish I had that black magic spellbook. I bet there's something in there…” He trailed off.

Grammy nodded, snapping her fingers. “I have it. I'll bring it next time.”

Silas Forbes destroyed all the records he held about the Quarters. Every last detail was found in ashes in his study after he was detained for his involvement with the Movement.

They were left with nothing. A complete dead end. Unless one of the others had copies of what was destroyed, then Grammy was their only hope for finding information about most everything.

We talked through our theories, the tension easing as they grew more comfortable with me around. We ended the "meeting" with a plan for the Fire Festival and a list of tasks for us to complete beforehand.

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