Page 127 of Covenant

I roar my frustration at the heavens, spit flying from my mouth, my voice cracking from the intensity of it. Tears leak down my cheeks as I fist my palms against my eyes. When I pull them away, in the periphery of my vision, I see a bird take flight.

Not just any bird. A raven. My family crest.

My gaze follows it as it swoops from the tree to land on the crumbling tower of the old church of St. Dismas.

A church that’s very famous in this town. Not for any religious reason. No, what this particular church symbolizes is very different. It’s a sanctuary for the desperate, a place for fools to bargain.

I can almost hear Wyatt’s voice echoing in my ears, repeating what he’d said the day of the storm. “A group of people making wishes come true for a price? Please.”

At the time, I’d agreed with him. It was a myth. A fairy tale. A stupid decision to ask for something without knowing the cost upfront.

But exactly as I’d known back then, I know now that I’ll do it for him.

I’ll do anything to save Wyatt. The Firm, if they’re real, can ask me for anything and I’ll gladly pay it.

Even if my own life is the cost. I don’t care. I don’t want to be alive knowing I’ve cost Wyatt his dreams, his future.

I stumble to my feet, limping into the churchyard. I ignore the graves as I hurry past, heading straight for the eastern wall. It’s strange, everyone says The Firm is a myth, but how to contact them is common knowledge. That has to be a good sign, right? People don’t give specific instructions on how to reach those who don’t exist.

I count carefully, doing it twice to make sure it’s the right brick. Seventh from the bottom, sixteenth from the left.

It comes loose in my hand easily and I freeze. Shit. I don’t have anything to write with.

I peer into the hole, half afraid I’ll see someone staring back at me. There’s no one, but there is a piece of paper and a pencil.

Grabbing it, I crouch down and lean against the brick I pulled from the wall. Thankful for the clear night, I jot my request by the light of the moon.

I want any charges against Wyatt Malone dropped and wiped from his record. I want him to go to Yale on a full scholarship.

I think hard, trying to cover any other bullshit my father might pull when he finds his plans have failed.

What if he manages to find a way to keep us apart?

I have to make sure Wyatt is protected in that case.

I don’t want any harm to come to Wyatt. I want him to have enough money to live comfortably at college. This should be given as part of his scholarship and he’s not to know why he has extra funds.

I exhale slowly, rereading the note carefully. I don’t worry about if what I’m asking for is too much.

Nothing is too much for Wyatt. I would go to the ends of the Earth for him.

Anything for him.

With trembling hands, I put the note carefully inside before replacing the brick.

Now all I can do is hope for a miracle. To hope Wyatt is wrong.

That The Firm is real.

And they can save him.

28

WYATT

I’m silent through Matthias’s story, horror growing with every sordid detail.

When he finishes, there’s only one question I can think to ask him. “You really went to The Firm for me?”

---