Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“I’m okay,” I tell her right away.
She just gives me a look, letting me know she doesn’t believe me.
I let out a slow sigh and push the book away from me. “I’m scared,” I confess. “It just seems like we’re facing the impossible, and with an invisible doomsday clock ticking above my head, I haven’t even had time to process how fucked up everything is. I don’t know if Antonio is okay, and I feel like a terrible sister for not checking in on him more.”
“You’re not talking about being physically okay, are you?” she asks gently.
“No. He died, and his parents just stood there and watched. I don’t think Vivian and Marco intended for him to lose his life, but Vivian just…did nothing.” My eyes widen as I think back to it.
“Zeke told me,” she says. “I had him explain it in great detail, and I’m shocked, too. Losing a child does something to you. And Zeke said Vivian didn’t even go to his side. She went to the body of that Order guy instead and took a necklace off of him or something.”
Hearing her say it out loud makes something click into place in my head.
“Holy shit,” I say. “Holy fucking shit.” I look at Mabel, eyes wide. “You’re a genius.”
“I am.” She agrees instantly, then gets a confused look on her face. “Wait, I am?”
“Yes, because it all makes sense now.” I get to my feet, hardly able to contain myself. I pace across the floor and then come back to the table. “It all makes sense,” I say again, knowing that to her, I’m not making any sense at all.
“I think you’re going to have to explain,” she says patiently.
“Vivian didn’t go to Antonio. She went to Marcus Henry.”
“Yes,” Mabel says, still not following, and I don’t blame her because I know I’m rambling. Hell, I’m still trying to process it myself, double-checking my own thought process.
“Vivian is a monster, but not that much of a monster. I don’t think she is,” I continue. “She wasn’t upset by seeing Antonio’s body because she thought she could undo it.”
“Undo it?”
“With the demon’s help. That’s why she went to Marcus Henry and took something off his body.” I sit down, looking into Mabel’s eyes. “The sigil,” I go on. “He was wearing it around his neck.” I swallow hard. “Vivian has the key.”
Chapter
Thirty
“Are you sure?” Mabel asks, and I know she’s trying not to get too excited.
“Yes,” I say confidently. I suppose there’s no way to be one hundred percent sure. “There’s no way Marcus Henry would go through with this ritual if he wasn’t in possession of the key. It would be way too risky for him.”
“Do you think Vivian knows only your blood can let this demon out?”
“That I’m not sure of,” I tell her and sit back down at the table next to her, staring blankly across the room as I think it through. It makes sense and is the first solid lead we’ve had this whole time.
“Do you know where Vivian is?” Mabel asks me.
“No, and when I talked to Leo last night, he didn’t seem like he knew either. But all I need is something of Vivian’s and I can track her. I can get her exact location, but if she’s far away, she can move. She could be long gone by the time we get there.”
“It’s definitely worth a try, though, right?”
“Oh, of course.” I absentmindedly twirl my hair around my finger. Finding Vivian is going to be the easy part. Getting the key from her will be the challenge. “I need to let everyone else know.”
“I’ll get Zeke and Devon,” Mabel says. “I think your brother is playing video games with them again.” She smiles. “They all get along really well.”
“Yeah, they do. It’s nice… but odd, isn’t it?”
Mabel says something else, but I sit there stunned for a moment before getting up to go find Xavier. He and Theo are back in the office on another call, and I can hear them still talking to someone as I draw near. I recognize the voice on the other end of the conference call as Governor Richards, telling Xavier that he will endorse him for mayor since it’s mutually beneficial for both of them.
I could knock. Or even stand outside the door and barely whisper what I’ve just discovered. Xavier would be able to hear me without interrupting his meeting.
But I don’t.
I just stand there in stunned silence, almost afraid to let myself believe that we know the location of the key. My heart rate must increase enough to be noticeable because Xavier opens the door silently, motioning for me to come inside.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
I shake my head, then nod, then do a very poor job trying to mime a key to him. He just gives me a look, letting me know he has no idea what the hell I’m trying to say. Theo turns around, glaring at me. Xavier tells him to finish the call and that something urgent just came up. We step out of the room, and he closes the door behind him.