Vicky beckons me and I run to her. “Is she rewinding time?” I whisper.
“Looks like it.” She points to the bathroom door. “Listen. We have to put the boogeyman in there and place him in front of the mirror. When Maël stops rewinding, you create a bolt of lightning.” She smirks. “He’ll be gone before he knows what hit him.”
I glance at the mirror. “Great plan, but what if he unfreezes before we get him there?”
She shrugs. “Then we’re screwed.”
She turns and makes her way toward the boogeyman.
With a sigh I follow her. “D’Maeo, Jeep, Taylar, can you help?”
We gather around the creepy creature fighting in slow motion.
“Don’t get hit by his claws,” I warn the others.
We lift him off his feet and make our way into the bathroom step by tiny step.
Charlie jumps to our aid and together we put him down, facing the mirror.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t close his eyes,” I mumble, then louder, “Okay guys, I’ll need some protection in case something goes wrong.”
With a flip of his wrist, Charlie calls a large ball of gel and aims it at the boogeyman. D’Maeo blocks the doorway, while Taylar and Vicky move back until their bodies are merged with the wall. Jeep calls a small army of mice and lines them up behind the boogeyman’s feet.
I survey the room quickly. “That should do it.”
“Conjure your bolt,” Vicky instructs. “As soon as he unfreezes, throw it in the air. It will reflect in the mirror and vaporize the boogeyman.”
I do as she says. The lightning sizzles in my hand impatiently.
“We’re ready, Maël!” Vicky yells.
The whole world seems to spin out of control when the boogeyman starts moving at normal speed again. He looks around, dazed for a second. The minute his eyes fall on the mirror, I release the bolt. It illuminates the room and the creature screams. The mice jump him and at the same time, Charlie hits him with his gel. The knees buckle under the ragged clothes. The creature tries to steady itself on the floor, but it’s too late. With a howl, it goes up in a million dark pieces. The smell of burning cloth spreads through the room.
Vicky jumps out of the wall and gives me a high five. “Well done!”
We walk into the hallway, where Maël puts away her staff. Myah tumbles out of her bedroom and Jeep rushes to her side to help her up.
“Are you okay?” I ask Maël.
She readjusts her golden cape. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“I can’t believe you rewound them. That was awesome.”
While I’m grinning like a madman, she stays cool as always. A true queen.
D’Maeo puts a hand on her shoulder. “Do you need to rest?”
She shakes her head. “No, I feel fine.”
“You’ve never been able to do that, have you?” I ask.
“It must be the ent blood,” she says. “Both the tree from the Shadow World and the one from the Black Forest left some energy inside me.”
Hasty footsteps come closer and we all turn with our hands raised.
Charlie comes to a halt, panting. “Paul is gone. I’ve looked everywhere. That coward just took off.”
We lower our hands.
“Don’t worry about him,” I say. “I’m sure we’ll see him again.”
Myah clears her throat. “Thank you all for your help.”
My eyes lock onto hers. “Did you …?”
She nods. “I undid the magic I put on the emails. And I sent a new message, telling everyone I was hacked. Do you think that’s enough?”
“That should be fine.”
She fumbles with her hands. “I can’t believe I was willing to rob people. It just all felt so… hopeless.”
Vicky draws in her breath. Her eyes widen. “Can I take a look at your kitchen?”
Myah mimics her expression. “Sure.”
We follow her downstairs and Vicky rummages through the cupboards. After her inspection, she scans the floor with hawk eyes. “There.” She points at a floorboard under the kitchen table.
In a flash she’s bending over it, her butt sticking out through the table.
“Stop grinning, Dante,” she says, which only makes my grin grow wider.
She lifts the board and pulls out a small satchel.
Myah’s hands fly to her face, covering her mouth. “Oh my god! I was hexed?”
“Looks like it.” Vicky lays the satchel on the table and unwraps it.
A foul smell rises from it.
“Is this where you normally eat your dinner?”
Myah just stands there with wide eyes. “Yes, but why-?”
D’Maeo steps forward and quickly ties the satchel up again. “They will do anything to push you in the right direction.”
“More like the wrong direction,” Charlie mumbles.
Myah looks lost. “They wanted me to commit fraud? Why?”
I sigh. “If only we knew.”
D’Maeo holds up the small package. “Do you know how to get rid of this?”
She takes it from him, and holds it as far away from her body as possible. “Sure, no problem.”
“We should go,” Maël says. “Mrs. Delaney will want her powers back.”
“Oh right, I almost forgot.” I race back up the stairs and grab the jar. I’m a bit surprised there’s no trace of any of the demons we defeated. The bathroom is covered in black dust though. Looks like a boogeyman is a pain in the ass, even after death.
I collect the spy cams we installed and go back to the kitchen to say goodbye. “Sorry about your computer and bathroom.”
She smiles. “That’s okay. Thanks for saving my life and that of my parents.”
“You’re welcome.”
CHAPTER 38
“Can you wipe that smirk off your face, please?” Vicky asks as we drive out of Silverton.
“What? Can’t I be proud of what we did today? We kicked some serious ass.”
“Proud is not the vibe I’m getting here,” Jeep answers.
“Yeah, smug’s more like it,” Vicky adds.
I shoot Charlie a sideways glance.
He stares back at me. “Sorry, I have to say they’re right.”
I shake my head. “Just let me be smug for a few minutes, okay? Before I have to get back to my life, in which my mom is in some sort of coma.”
Everyone is quiet for a while. Then I feel something brushing my neck. Vicky pushes herself between Charlie and me and kisses my cheek. “Don’t feel bad. We’ll save her, too.”
The corners of my mouth move up again.
“Oh yeah, that smile is much better,” Jeep says with a snort.
Ignoring him, I ask Vicky, “Do we need a spell to give Mrs. Delaney her powers back?”
“No, the spell said they’d return to where they’re supposed to be by themselves, remember?”
I dig in my memory. “Sorry, a lot happened these last few hours and I was in kind of a hurry.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, man.” Charlie digs through the glove compartment. “Hey, do you have anything to eat? Fighting makes me hungry.”
“You know the rules. No eating in my car.”
“Oh, come on. You’re just like Quinn.”
I scratch my chin. “I’m a six foot tall black guy who gets all the girls? I wish.”
He punches me in the side. “You know what I mean. Treating your car like a girl.”
“Shut up.”
“Fine.” He turns on the radio and does a pretty good imitation of Cher.
“Hey Maël,” he yells over the music. “This song is for you.”
“If I could turn back time …”
When we reach Mrs. Delaney’s street, I take my foot off the gas and turn down the music. “Keep your eyes open for Paul. He’ll know we’re coming.”
We slowly approach the house. The Shield is already out of the car, scanning the street. Vicky vani
shes and a second later I see her pop up behind the window. She turns and gives me the thumbs up.
“I’ll check upstairs,” D’Maeo says.
Jeep examines the back garden.
When everyone is back, I park Phoenix. With the jar tucked firmly under my arm, I ring the bell.
Mona opens the door and throws her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“How’s Mom?” I ask.
“Still the same, I checked on her just before you got here. But we have to hurry. Mrs. Delaney is getting weaker by the minute.”
She leads us to the bedroom, where Mrs. Delaney’s frail figure is lying under a blanket.
“Does this always happen when someone loses their powers?” I whisper to Vicky.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
Mona walks to the side of the bed. “Okay, release it.”
The light inside the jar is wriggling, as if trying to escape. As soon as I lift the bowl that serves as a lid, it shoots out of its containment like a magical ribbon. For a moment, it hovers near the ceiling, turning in every direction. Then it glides down to the bed, moves over the covers and disappears into the mouth of the old woman.
She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes. They sparkle when they see me. “Hello Dante, it’s so nice to see you again.”
I smile. “You, too, Mrs. Delaney.” I lower myself onto the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
She pulls herself up a bit. Mona dives to her aid and plants a pillow behind her back.
“I’m much better now, thanks to all of you. For a moment I was afraid it was already my time to go.”
She grabs my hand and squeezes it.
“I’m glad it wasn’t,” I say. “But why did you get so weak?”
“Oh, I’ve been keeping my own molecules together for years with my powers, love. Otherwise I would have been dust ages ago.”
I pat her hand. “Oh come on, you’re not that old, are you?”
She moves her head from side to side, thinking it over. “Well, compared to some dragons, I guess I’m just a baby. And I’m not ready to go until I’m at least two hundred.”
Charlie steps closer to the bed. “So how old are you now, if I may ask?”
She sweeps back her long gray hair and gives us a playful look. “Almost one hundred and sixty-nine years old. So I’ve got a few springs left in me.”
My mouth falls open, as does Charlie’s.
Mona throws her head back laughing. “Oh, you guys are such rookies. You have so much to discover.”
“Speaking of which,” Mrs. Delaney says, lowering her voice. “Do you know about the portal in the old mine?”
Once more she catches me off guard. “Sure, we tried to close it. But how do you know about it?”
She gives me a crooked smile. “I knew your great-great-great-grandfather. Or the one before that, I lost count.” She giggles. “He fought the Devil, too, you know.”
“He did?”
“Definitely, the Banner family has been fighting to keep him in Hell for a long time.”
Goosebumps appear on my arms. “I thought it started with my grandfather.” This is even bigger than I thought.
She sighs. Her eyes are locked on something only she can see. “He was a beautiful man, your great-great-great-grandfather. Inside and out, like all Banner men. Such a shame he was already taken.”
Vicky covers her mouth with her hand to smother a giggle.
“Anyway …” The old lady turns her eyes on me again. “It started a long time ago, even before I was born. But it will end with you. That is what the prophecy says.”
“You know about that, too?”
“Oh, I know a lot. Like many of us do.” She takes a glass of water from her night stand and sips from it.
“Many of who?”
She twirls the glass around in her hands. “Nobody ends up in Blackford by chance, Dante. Don’t you know that by now?”
Excitement radiates from her face. I can almost see her powers restoring her body.
“Let’s say I just recently discovered that Blackford is an interesting place.” I wink at her and she laughs.
“Oh yes, very interesting. And dangerous.” Her smile fades. “Do you know the meaning of the word ford?”
I shake my head.
“It’s an old word for port, or entry. Blackford, the place where darkness can cross over to our world.”
Her grip on my hand grows stronger. “Centuries ago, your ancestor wrote a book about a system to trap the Devil in Hell: The Divine Comedy.”
I frown when I remember the dream in which Myah told me about this writer.
D’Maeo gasps. “Dante Alighieri is his ancestor?”
I ignore his comment and keep my eyes on Mrs. Delaney. This information might help us fight Lucifer. “What kind of system?”
“The final battle is almost here.” She pulls me closer. “Tell me, Dante … the demons you fought … did they fight with ice and pitch?”
“How did you know?”
“The circles, Dante. The circles are important.”
Her grip loosens and she closes her eyes. I turn to the others, who are as speechless as I am.
I shake her arm. “What circles? What do you mean? Mrs. Delaney?”
Mona pulls the covers up. “She needs rest. We can come back later.”
“What do you know about this, D’Maeo?” I ask quietly.
The old ghost ruffles through his beard. “Nothing more than what Mrs. Delaney already told us.”
I take out my phone and open Google. “Well, I guess we’ve got some digging to do.”
While we go downstairs, my mind races. All the new things I’ve discovered buzz around in my head, making me dizzy.
Mona grabs my arm when I almost tumble down the stairs. “I think it’s time for you to rest, Dante.”
I rub my face and shake my head. “No, I want to gather more information about these circles before the next set of cards arrives.”
We continue down the stairs.
“The set you have hasn’t crumbled to dust yet, has it?”
I come to a halt again. “Why? Do you think it’s not over yet?”
I take the cards from my pocket and hold them up. Immediately, they go up in dust.
We all watch it blow through the open window in the living room.
The corners of my mouth move up. “I guess we’ve completed our second task.”
“So, time for a break?” Mona tries again.
I kiss her on the cheek. “Thanks for your concern, Mona, but I have to do this now.”
She shoots me a proud smile. “I know. That’s why I love you.”
What’s next?
Do you want to know what happens to Dante and his friends next? Are you curious about the circles of Hell? Are you wondering if Dante’s mom will ever wake up?
Then be sure to move on to book 3: Cards of Death - The Third Sin.
It will be released on October 12th 2019, but you can already read the first chapter on the next pages.
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Preview
Cards of Death book 3
The Third Sin
CHAPTER 1
Sitting at Mrs. Delaney’s dinner table I scan the search results for Dante Alighieri on my phone.
“So this man was my ancestor and he wrote about Hell?” I ask, just to be sure.
D’Maeo paces the kitchen. “Well, if Mrs. Delaney says so.”
“But you’ve heard of this Alighieri guy?” I press.
“Sure, he’s famous.”
“There.” Vicky leans over my shoulder and grabs my hand, to make me stop scrolling. “There it is, Dante. The Nine Circles of Hell.”
I tear my gaze from her beautiful face and focus on the screen. I scrunch up my nose. “And Mrs. Delaney thinks these are real? Why would Hell consist of circles? What does that even mean? Are they like layers, on top of each other?”
I stop talking and close my eyes when I get the feeling of being lifted off my feet. It’s like sitting in a roller coaster and going into a sudden drop. My stomach flips and I swallow. A soft breeze whistles in my ear.
“Wow, you came with me!” Vicky exclaims.
I open my eyes and grab her for support.
Darkwood Manor’s kitchen is gone. We’re standing in an attic. There’s not much light, but I can make out an old dresser, a mannequin with a straw hat and some carton boxes.
I blink a couple of times, but we’re still here. “Where are we? What happened?”
“Someone touched my grave. I get sucked into a memory and towards the Shadow World when that happens, remember?”
A strange smell hits my nostrils when I take a deep breath and I clasp my hand over my mouth. “What is that stench? Did something die in here?”
The Second Premonition Page 21
