Page 82 of Girl, Unseen

His phone showed no bars. Of course – he was basically in a concrete tomb. Luca slammed the book shut and bolted for the stairs. He jabbed at Ella’s number as he burst through the door.

One bar. Two bars. Three.

‘Come on, come on, pick up...’

But the only answer was his partner's contralto, telling him to leave a message at the tone.

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

‘Start talking.’ Felix Blackwood looked like death had already claimed him. His black clothes hung loose on a frame that had gotten thinner since Ella had last seen him. Dark circles beneath his eyes suggested he hadn't slept since their barn fight. She kept her Glock trained on his center.

‘We… all have to leave. It's not safe here.’

‘What are you babbling about? Not safe from what?’

His hand moved toward his jacket. Ella's finger tightened on the trigger, but instead of steel he produced paper.

‘Found this an hour ago. On my desk. Another message from the Order. They won't stop. They'll never stop. Ezra is threatening me.’

Ella kept the gun trained on him with her right hand while her left plucked the envelope from trembling fingers.

The elements demand completion. The transformation cannot be stopped.

Ella lowered her weapon an inch. ‘Ezra Crowley's in custody. We arrested him this morning.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, really. So unless he mailed this yesterday, this didn't come from him. But I know who might have sent it.’

‘Who?’

‘Tell me about the Order. I need a list of your female members.’

Felix shifted his weight, and for a moment Ella thought he might bolt again. His shoulders hunched like he was trying to fold in on himself, become small enough to vanish completely.

‘Female members? Why would you...’

‘Because your fearless leader might be in jail, but someone's still sending threatening letters. Someone who knows about the elements. Someone who’s a woman.’

Felix’s mouth dropped an inch. The tears suddenly froze. ‘A woman? No. That can’t be.’

‘I assure you, it can.’

‘But… there are only two women in the Order, and…’

Her phone began buzzing in her pocket. It must have found some signal at this altitude. Ella fished it out, not taking her eyes off Felix. She glanced down and saw Luca’s name flashing on her screen.

'Sit. Don't move.' Ella gestured to the bed with her gun, then answered the call. 'Hawkins. Talk to me.'

‘Ell, listen to me. I found something.’ Luca's voice carried that specific pitch it got when he'd found gold.

‘Hit me. I’m staring at Felix Blackwood right now and if he moves I’m going to shoot his knees off.’

‘Right. So I went to NYU’s archives and found an English copy of Corpus Hermeticum. Check this out. It’s from the introduction. It’s written by the author, Hermes Trismegistus. And get this – it’s a she.’

Another tick in the unsub being female column. ‘What’s the intro say? I didn’t translate that part. I went straight to the elemental talk.’

'I know, but this author? She's disfigured. It says, 'I, Hermes, once deformed and shunned, have used the primal elements to transform my wretched flesh.''

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