“What?” I snapped.
“Nothing. Does Cinder mention if she found Discord’s skull?”
I looked at Ember. “Did she write anything else?”
“I wondered if you were ever going to let me finish. ‘I’ve located Discord’s skull, and I’m going to release him. I’ll convince him to take me into Hell so I can find Mom and Dad. I hope to bring them back right away, so you never have to read this, but if I don’t return, you have to release the other two. We can end this. I know we can.’”
“Does she say where she found the skull?”
“Anything else? A treasure map with X marks the spot for the other skulls?”
Ember shook her head. “Nothing. The rest of the pages are blank.”
“Well, crappity crap.” My shoulders slumped. “What now?”
Ember drummed her fingers on the counter. “Cinder got the intel about the skulls from the Boston Magic Society’s library. Sounds to me like another break-in is in order.”
I choked on my beer. “You want to break into a dark witch coven’s library? Are you insane? Do you know how many boobytraps they’ll have set? I wouldn’t be surprised if they have magical acid to burn our faces off Indiana Jones-style.”
She lifted one shoulder dismissively. “Cinder pulled it off. Why can’t we?”
“Because she’s Cinder, the most powerful witch in our coven, if not in all of Massachusetts.”
“Actually—”
“Oh no.” I held up a finger. “Don’t you ‘actually’ me, mister. You’re in no position to demonsplain. I’m putting you in a timeout.”
“But—”
“Nope.”
“If you’ll—”
“Zip it.”
He growled, but he didn’t say any more. Good boy. Once I got him out of my head, I’d have to teach him to sit.
Ember tossed her empty bottle into the recycle bin. “I’ll humor you. Cinder may be the most powerful witch in the coven on her own, but you and I together are a force to be reckoned with. We’ve already vanquished a demon and a swarm of fae. We’ve got this.”
“Do we?” I got nauseated even considering this suggestion, but… “Maybe if we had Shade, we could pull it off, but you and me alone…?” My body shuddered in revulsion. I despised that man way more than necessary, but I couldn’t help it.
“We can’t involve him.”
Thank the goddess. “I agree one hundred percent.”
“We can’t let anyone know about this. A light witch consorting with demons is grounds for banishment. A family member of the High Priestess doing it could mean our family losing control of the coven. Add to that the fact they’ve been lied to about the curse for centuries, and… Cinder will bring our parents back. We owe it to them to keep the coven under control.”
I scrunched my nose. “We do have a very good reason for consorting with these particular demons. Maybe we could enlist one other monster hunter. Someone who can fight… Just in case.”
“You can fight, Ash.”
I laughed dryly. “I can also accidentally set their headquarters on fire.”
“Spells, sis. Sigils and spells are your weapons. Forget about the fire.”
My teeth clicked together. Forget about the fire, she said to the freaking fire witch. I knew she meant well, but I couldn’t lie. That comment stung.
“You can do this. Your coven and your life depend on it.”
Ember clasped her hands beneath her chin and flashed a fake smile. “What do you say, dear sister?”
My nostrils flared as I blew out a long, slow breath. I was supposed to be the voice of reason. Ember was the impulsive one. I tried to talk her out of her worst decisions. But at this point, I didn’t see any other way. I mean, aside from letting Chaos take over my body, burn it up, and turn it into his own.
Hecate help me. “I say we’re breaking into the Boston coven library.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A chill that had nothing to do with the weather crept up my spine as Ember and I silently slid out of the van and gathered our gear. Thick clouds blanketed the sky, too high to be rain clouds but ominous enough to add to the foreboding feeling tying my insides into knots.
We’d parked in an alley four blocks from the Boston Magic Society’s headquarters, and thank the goddess it wasn’t raining. Wet leather chafed like a mother effer. I needed to work on a spell to fix that. Fireproofing had been my initial goal—Ember relied on it so her clothes didn’t char and fall off every time she fought a monster—but an end to the chafing was next on my list.
Ember strapped her sword onto her back and secured daggers on her thighs and ankles. She looked like a total badass, as usual. I slung the magic kit crossways on my shoulder and checked to be sure my boots were tied.
“Here. Take this, just in case.” My sister shoved a six-inch, sheathed dagger toward me, complete with leather straps to wrap around my thigh.
“You said no one would be there.” I accepted the weapon and attached the scabbard to my leg. Better safe than sorry.
“It’s the Hunter’s Moon tonight. They’ll be in the Boston Common performing their annual ritual. Dark magic practitioners hold this full moon above all others.”
