Yeah… not going to happen, Alton.
Just then, my phone rang. The tone echoed through the Bestiary, startling me out of my skin. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Wade. My heart beat harder at the sight of his name, my mouth going dry.
“Are you going to answer that?” Tobe asked, with a knowing smile.
“Yeah… uh, I just… never mind.” I pressed the call button and lifted the phone to my ear. “Wade?”
“Are you busy?” Blunt as ever.
“I’m… uh… kind of busy, yeah. Although, you know, I can make some time… or something… if that’s why you’re calling?” I replied, stumbling over my words. What the heck had this boy done to me? Seriously, it wasn’t cool. I’d never bumbled in my entire life, and now I couldn’t stop.
“So, are you free, or aren’t you?”
“Uh… actually, there was something I wanted to… you know, if you’re not doing anything… there was a—well, it was more of an idea, really.” My heart was hammering like crazy, a cold sweat trickling down my neck. This was starting to get downright embarrassing. I could barely mutter one coherent sentence to the guy. On the other end of the line, I imagined him rolling his eyes or wondering what the heck was going on. The vision of his face made me smile. Even when those deep green eyes were looking at me in total despair, they were hard to look away from.
“Is there something wrong with your connection?”
I reddened, not knowing what to say. Tobe and Wade had both thrown my mind for a loop, for very different reasons. Since hearing about Sál Vinna from Isadora, I’d believed it as fact. Tobe had reduced it back down to mere speculation. I couldn’t let anyone else come to New York with me, if there was even the slightest chance of discovering that I was wrong about everything. Especially not Wade. What if my dad wasn’t under the spell at all? What if he’d committed those terrible crimes of his own volition? I couldn’t even bring myself to think about that outcome. It made me sick to my stomach.
“Yeah, I think there must be,” I said quietly. “I’ve got some stuff I need to do. I’ll call you later, or something—if that works for you.”
“Yeah, fine. If you do find yourself without anything to do, send me a text and I’ll let you know where I am. We’ve got a massive stack of folders to look through, and there are plenty with your name on them if you have nothing better going on.”
“I have to look into something first,” I murmured. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take.”
“What thing?”
“Some books on the Children of Chaos. I keep thinking I’ve missed something.” The lie tripped easily off my tongue—the smoothest sentences I’d spoken throughout the entirety of our conversation.
He sighed. “Fine, just call me when you’re done.”
The phone clicked, leaving me in an awkward silence. I’d made the right decision in not inviting him along. Judging by the sound of it, everyone else had enough on their plates with trying to find a new lead on these missing kids, and I didn’t want to distract them from that. Marjorie’s visions had proven temperamental at best, leading us on a wild goose chase around San Diego. Poor girl. I knew she was desperate to help us, and she was trying her best.
Tobe nudged me out of my reverie. “Penny for your thoughts.”
“Thanks for the talk, Tobe. Sorry, I’ve got to go.”
I hopped down from the box and hurried out of the Bestiary. Nope, nobody was coming with me this time; I had to do this alone. This is between me and my dad.
Hiram Merlin, do not let me down.
Eighteen
Santana
Still lounging on Astrid’s bed, I had a sudden change of heart. Harley had looked stressed out, striding past the door like that. Not a normal kind of stressed out, but something a bit more troubling. If she was having a hard time, it was my job to cheer her up.
Don’t worry, hermana, I’m coming for you.
“Where are you going?” Astrid asked. “We were just getting to the juicy part.”
“Astrid, I love you dearly, and I’m insanely happy that you’re getting your flirt on, but having Garrett brush your hand while you were both reaching for the salt isn’t so juicy. Come back to me when there’s a smooch.” I winked at her and darted for the door.
“Hey, who are you abandoning us for?” Tatyana called after me.
I ducked back into the room. “Harley just went by. I want to check on her, make sure she’s doing okay. Things have been a bit crazy since she got here, and I don’t think the Family Gathering is helping.”
Tatyana grimaced. “I’d forgotten about that. Do you think Alton might make an exception for the Smiths? The cleanup guys could always wipe their memories afterward.”
“I doubt it. With this mystery spy in the coven, and everything else that’s going on with the kids and Katherine, I’m guessing Alton doesn’t want to add any more complications to the mix… even if it would be kind of nice for Harley.”
“That sucks,” Astrid muttered.
“Yeah, here we are, complaining about our families…” I sighed, feeling like crap. “Ah man, she must have heard us talking from the hallway.”
“Do you want us to come with you?” Tatyana asked.
I shook my head. “Nah, it’s probably best if we don’t crowd her. You know how much she hates talking about stuff. She’s like a tortoise. One mention of something personal and in she goes, back into her shell. If it’s just me, I might be able to coax some truth out of her,” I replied, waggling my eyebrows. “Anyway, if we need some Amazonian backup, and a few drinks at Waterfront Park, I’ll send you both a text. That cool?”
“Sounds good to me,” Astrid replied.
“Oh, and don’t think you’re off the hook about the Family Gathering, Ms. Hepler. I want to hear all of your family woes later, entiendes? There have got to be some skeletons in your closet.”
She flushed. “I’ve got nothing to tell!”
“Sure you haven’t.” I flashed her a mischievous grin and hurried out into the hallway, leaving them to discuss the juicy details of Astrid’s hand-brush.
Reaching the magnolia trees in the circular courtyard below the living quarters, I realized I had no idea where Harley had gone. I racked my brain for places she might be, in a state like that. An idea sprang into my mind—the banquet hall. Whenever I felt like crap about something, and Tobe was too busy doing his actual job, the banquet hall became my sanctuary, my confessional, my therapy, all rolled up into one. There was nothing that the Coven’s caramel apple pie couldn’t fix.
Coming to a halt outside the doors to the banquet hall, I peered in to find it eerily empty. Channing and Stella were pretty much the only people inside, and they didn’t seem to be enjoying each other’s company. Stella was pushing tomato pasta around her plate, her head resting on her hand, while Channing wolfed down a stack of pretzel sliders that was almost as tall as him. Not a single word passed between them. Daydreaming about Crowley, are we, Stella? I liked the girl, for the most part, but she was barking up the wrong tree if she thought she could nab Wade for herself. The cringeworthy display of flirtation she’d put on during our search for Marjorie was still seared into my brain.
Hate to burst your bubble, mi fresa, but Crowley isn’t for you.
I ducked back out into the hallway before they could see me. This required a rethink.
Figuring I’d eventually cross paths with her, even if it was back up in the living quarters once she’d blown off steam, I started my evening stroll around the coven. Along the way, I stopped at all the places I knew she liked to go. The courtyard with the dragon fountain, the Luis Paoletti Room, the library. I couldn’t find her anywhere.
Well, this is freaking hopeless, I thought, coming almost full circle. I’d tried calling, but it kept going straight through to voicemail, and she hadn’t texted me back yet. Having ended up on the opposite side of the building, I walked toward the main doors of the Assembly Hall and pushed them open with an almighty heave. Pushing both at once gave me a childish cheap thrill; it made me feel like a warrior princess striding into her great hall after a victorious battle. Plus, the Hall was the quickest way through to the other side.
I froze. Up ahead, standing in front of the travel mirrors, was the very person I’d been looking for. Harley stood on the raised platform, staring into the liquid-like pools of the event horizon. The scalloped bronze edging of the mirrors glinted in the low light of the chandeliers. Everything had been put back in its place since Harley’s pledge incident. Looking around, nobody would ever have known that anything had happened here—apart from the poor bastards who nearly got crushed to death by a falling lampshade, that is. My little Harley, already making a legacy for herself, like all the Merlins before her.
Letting the doors swing slowly shut behind me, both of them whispering across the marble floor, I edged toward Harley. She seemed transfixed by the swirling matter that made up the mirrors. Either that, or she was contemplating what the hell she was going to do next. Frankly, I was wondering the same thing.
“Going somewhere?” I asked, once I was close enough.
She whirled around, her eyes wide in fear as she clutched her chest. “SANTANA! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“I didn’t want you jumping through before you told me where you were off to,” I replied. “Having a little evening jaunt? Going to read Finch a bedtime story?”
“No.”
“Does Alton know where you’re going?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’ve already got clearance to use the mirrors. He doesn’t need to know.”
“You had clearance to use the mirrors when you went to Purgatory. Does he know you’re using them for something else?”
“He doesn’t need to, I already told you.”