“What can I do?” Grabbing the back of my neck, my frustration leaked out as I leaned back and glared at the ceiling. “Gran says this is all going to be on Skylar, so I have to sit back and let her teach him what he needs to know. Pops isn’t even here for me to talk to, which, what the fuck is that?” I asked, anger burning in my stomach.
I’d worked hard to forgive my grandparents for not telling me Pops was still around and about the whole dreamwalking thing. I’d done my best to understand their perspective, especially since my own mother’s reactions to her life with them seemed to have a lot to do with why they’d made the decisions they had. But this was about more than me or them. This affected Booker and Sky. How could we help the sorcerer if we didn’t know what we were doing? How did I keep Sky safe if I was basically being given no information?
“I’m not sure, King,” Jetty said with a troubled expression on his face. “This definitely sucks, but I think you need to trust your grandparents. They love you, and it’s obvious they adore Sky. I’m sure they’re doing everything in their power to help.”
There was a time I’d have said the same thing, but right now, I wasn’t so sure about that. My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I pulled it out, surprised to see Malcolm’s name on the screen. I’d shot him a text early this morning that I wouldn’t be in. He wasn’t normally the type of boss to bother his employees when they called out.
“Hey, Malcolm. Everything okay?”
“Hello, Dreamwalker. I’m calling you as the Lorewarden,” he said, sounding more formal than I’d ever heard him.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“When I came in today, I checked The Vault as I do first thing every morning. A folder was opened on the table. There was nocontext and no clue who needed it or what I was supposed to do with that information, so I waited. And then Lee came to see me.”
“My grandfather?” I asked, sitting up.
Jetty leaned forward, whispering, “What? Where?”
I put the phone on speaker. “Yes, as a matter of fact. When I left the The Vault, I found him waiting in my office.”
“What did he want?” I asked, confused.
“For me to share the contents of the file, of course,” he said, sounding less formal and a little cheeky.
“My pops asked you to do that? But why didn’t he just?—”
I cut off as the man in question appeared on the settee next to me. “Because I can’t remember, and that’s the truth.”
“What?” Jetty and I asked at the same time.
Malcolm gasped, then asked suspiciously, “King, who else is there with you?”
“Sorry, sir. It’s Jetty. My best?—”
“I know who Jetty is. He did some work on my house, as a matter of fact,” he said, cutting me off.
“Hi, Mr. Everett.”
“Hello, Jetty. I must say, this is all unusual.” He cleared his throat. “King, would it be alright if I met you somewhere?”
“I’m out at Willowhope Manor. It would have to be here. My gran doesn’t want me leaving.”
“Yes, well,” Malcolm said, sounding a little scattered. “I imagine the High Priestess knows best. I’ll be there shortly.”
He hung up, and after exchanging a bemused look with Jetty, I turned to my grandfather. “What do you mean you can’t remember?”
My grandfather scrubbed a hand down his face, blowing out a resigned sigh. “There’s so much I can’t tell you, kiddo.”
“Because you don’t want to,” I said, my anger spiking again.
“No.” His tone was firm. “Because it’s not there.” He waved a hand around his head. “Your gran and I didn’t realize until the last few days how much is missing. Blank spots where there should be a wealth of information. We chose to keep the dreamwalking from you. And obviously, we remember doing it. It was our life, and as soon as you came into your gift, we knew there was much for you to learn.
“What kinds of entities are in the Dream-veil, and how some of them I had to eliminate, and others were up to her and her magic. But once she went to prepare more structured lessons for Sky, she got…confused. So I said I’d prepare you, but…it’s like our thoughts are only half-formed and then they trail away like a thin line of smoke. It’s…disconcerting.”
All the anger I’d been feeling seeped away as I stared into the earnest, slightly panicked face of my pops. His words rang true. I cut a glance over at Jetty, who looked as concerned as I felt. Things in this town just kept getting stranger by the minute.
“Do you want me to leave?” Jetty asked.
