Vicky hurries back to my side of the kitchen table, and the others follow, except for Ginda.
“On three,” she says, her hand resting on the door handle. “One…”
I peer into the annex again.
“Two…”
The crows are still watching the house intently, waiting for movement.
“Three.”
As soon as Ginda pushes the doorknob down, all the crows’ heads turn to the back of the house.
I leap past the doorway to the annex and hurry to the front door as quietly as possible. The others follow, producing almost no sound either.
I reach for my car keys in my pocket and wrap my fingers around them tightly. I wish I could look through a window here. Not knowing where the crows are makes me nervous.
After a ‘go’ from Mona, Ginda joins us. Jeep pushes her next to me at the front door. “You and Dante go first. We can turn invisible, so they won’t be able to see us. You can’t.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be too sure about that. These crows are different from the other enemies we’ve faced. They might be able to see and hurt you, even in your invisible state. Stay close and get into the car as fast as you can. I’m not taking any risks with these birds.”
Ginda has closed her eyes in concentration. We all wait for her signal.
She holds out her arms and moves her hands and fingers again. She twirls them, twists them and moves them back and forth. The back door creaks. Ginda makes a pushing motion and turns back to me. “Now.”
I open the front door, and we spill out onto the driveway like a bunch of prisoners on death row set free but with a gun aimed at our backs.
I reach Phoenix first and fumble to get the key into the keyhole. From behind the mansion there’s a loud screech and a ripping noise.
“Hurry up,” Vicky hisses at me, sliding sideways through the car door.
Finally, I manage to get the key in. The door swings open with a soft creak, and I jump in. While I turn the ignition, Ginda drops down beside me. The back seat is flooded with ghosts. They tumble over each other through the closed doors, legs and arms sticking out on all sides.
“Close the door!” I yell at Ginda, who is moving her fingers again to create some sort of vine net between the side of the house and the forest.
When she doesn’t respond, I lean over to shut the car door. Ginda keeps moving her fingers and arms. Her gestures are even faster than Jeep’s when he’s waking up the dead. But somehow, hers are more elegant.
“Start the car!” Taylar calls out, fumbling to sit up straight.
When I place my hands on the wheel, I realize the engine has stopped running. I turn the key, and Phoenix splutters.
“I told you you needed a new car,” Jeep says matter-of-factly, pushing Vicky’s legs down so she can sit up.
“She always starts at the right time,” I mumble, patting the dashboard gently with my free hand. “Don’t you, girl?”
A quick glance in the rearview mirror tells me Ginda’s vine wall is almost as high as the house. Behind it, the angry caws of the crows grow louder. The first large black head appears above the wall. A vine reaches for it, but the crow swerves left to avoid it and swoops over the wall.
I turn the key again, and Phoenix roars to life. I hit the gas hard, just as the crow dives down. It misses the roof of the car, but its nails scratch the trunk. With a curse, I turn the wheel. Phoenix spins but finds grip, and we lunge forward. I almost hit a tree. At the last second, the car swerves back onto the dirt road, leading us away from Darkwood Manor. In my rearview mirror, I see the other crows catching up with the first. They let out frustrated cries, that almost sound demonic, but then they turn around and fly back to the mansion.
I slow down a bit. My hands are sweaty, and my heartbeat has gone mental.
“Why aren’t they following us?” Kessley voices my thoughts.
D’Maeo turns to look back. “They know we’ll come back.”
While I steer Phoenix through the forest, I rub the steering wheel soothingly. “I’m sorry you got hurt, Phoenix.”
I can feel Ginda’s frown before I see it.
“Are you talking to your car?” she asks.
“Yes, I am,” I say stiffly.
“Why, is it magical?”
I hear Vicky snorting behind me, but I ignore it. Phoenix is special to me, and I don’t care if other people don’t understand that.
“Not magical like you and me,” I answer after a short pause. “But she’s very special to me. She belonged to my father, and I feel like some part of him still lingers inside.”
I swallow the emotions that rise to the surface.
“Besides,” I continue, “we’ve been through a lot together, and she always comes through. Sure, it’s a bit small in here for us, but we manage. It might sound crazy, but she’s like a friend. A companion.”
Ginda nods. “If you put it like that, I’d say she is sort of magical.”
Phoenix roars as we leave the forest, as if she agrees with Ginda.
I smile. “Yep. Definitely magical.”
CHAPTER 19
The roads are busy with morning traffic. I use the magical lanes, but in the end, I think it takes us longer that way, since we constantly need to stop or slow down to avoid running over pedestrians or hitting cars crossing the street. They can’t see us, after all. But once we’re on the magical lanes, it’s not easy to get off unnoticed, so I decide to stick with them until we reach the Winged Centaur.
I park Phoenix at the side of the bar and reach for the door handle.
“Wait!” Taylar calls out, and my hand drops back down.
“What? Did you see Chloe?”
Taylar turns a bit more transparent. “No, it’s… it’s Shelton Banks.”
Vicky breathes in sharply. “You’re right.”
They both disappear from sight, and I exchange a worried look with D’Maeo.
“Vick? Are you still here?”
“I am,” she answers. “You should hide too.”
Her words don’t really get through to me, or maybe it’s my curiosity overruling my fear that keeps me upright.
Finally, I see the man who has made the afterlife so difficult for two of my ghosts. Vicky described him pretty well when she had her vision. He does look average, and pretty boring, with his gray suit and blue tie and his dark hair combed to one side. His round face would be friendly if it wasn’t for the heavy eyebrows that point down in constant anger. His chin is turned up slightly, as if he wants to show everyone he is above other people. The air around him seems to move every time he does, as if it wants to get away from him.
There’s a hand on my head, pushing me down. “If he sees you…”
I know Vicky is right. We can’t risk this man noticing us, but my eyes are glued to him, and my head is spinning with the possibilities of what he can do. Is he an air elemental, like our former friend Simon? Or something stronger? Something worse…
Suddenly, it’s as if Shelton Banks senses us watching him. He turns his head toward us. Instead of ducking, I freeze.
Vicky pushes my head down harder, but it only moves an inch. I’m still in full sight of our enemy. If he turns his gaze a little to the left, it will fall on me. And then… well, I guess we’ll find out how powerful he is.
I try to duck, but my body won’t cooperate. Shelton scans the parking lot inch by inch. Two seconds, and he will notice Phoenix.
My head is starting to hurt from all the pushing Vicky is doing.
“Get down!” she whispers urgently.
But not a single muscle obeys my brain.
Then, something blocks my view: flowers that match the red of my car and black vines wrapping around them to form something resembling a sunshade.
I shake my head and blink several times. “What the hell was that?”
“I have heard of this power,” Maël says from somewhere in the back seat. Like the ot
hers, she has turned invisible, even to me. “He immobilizes the people he is searching for when they are close-by.”
I scratch my head, that’s suddenly itching like crazy, as if Shelton’s magic has left a mark on it. “So he’s searching for me. He knows what we’ve done. Great.”
“That was only a matter of time,” D’Maeo says calmly, blinking into view again. His hand is still raised from trying to block Shelton Banks’ powers. “He’s gone.”
When I’m done scratching, I turn to Ginda. “Thanks for your help.”
Her body tenses in fear, and I place a hand on her arm. “Hey, are you alright? Did he curse you or something?”
Slowly she opens her mouth. “Do you… do you think that man is after Chloe too?”
“I’m not sure. It might be a coincidence.” I bite my lip when the worry on her face doesn’t disappear. “Either way, we’ll do everything we can to save her.”
Ginda nods and balls her fists. “I’ll help you.”
I give her a grateful nod. “That would be great.”
Kessley pushes her nose against the window. “Do you want to go after him?”
“No, I don’t want to provoke him, in case he’s not after Chloe. And I’d rather avoid him altogether, if we can,” I confess.
“How did he get out of jail anyway?” Taylar asks, anger seeping into his voice. “Why didn’t they arrest him?”
“He’s probably out on bail,” Jeep offers. “Until the trial starts.”
I turn to face the white-haired ghost. “I can go ask later, if you want to.”
He nods, but it’s not convincing.
Vicky leans over to him from the other side of the back seat. “I can run over to the police station to hand over the list of victims now.”
Taylar mumbles something incomprehensible, but I think it’s a good idea.
“You should,” I tell her. “We need to make sure Shelton is gone before we go into the bar anyway. We’ll wait for you here. Make sure you stay invisible as long as you can.”
She shakes her head. “We’ll all have to go, or we’ll get too far away from you. I don’t want to be pulled back to Darkwood Manor.”
I grit my teeth. Right, I hadn’t thought of that.
“Okay, we’ll go together then.” I turn to Taylar and wave a finger in front of his face. “But don’t do anything stupid in there; that’s an order. Vicky and I will be the only ones visible. Understood? I don’t want to risk anyone even thinking we might not be who we say we are.”
“Fine,” he pouts.
Jeep puts his hat on firmer. “I’ll go see if that Banks guy is still there. I’ll wave if the coast is clear.”
I give him a thumbs up, and he steps through the car door into the parking lot.
It always makes me nervous if they claim to be invisible, but I can still see them. I tell myself Jeep has plenty of experience going invisible. He knows what he’s doing.
Nevertheless, I can tell I’m not the only worried one. Vicky is leaning through Kess to keep an eye on the tattooed ghost. She’s probably afraid to lose him again. They’ve known each other for so long they’re like family. When he got stuck inside the portal in the silver mine, it must have felt as if she was losing her favorite uncle. Or worse, probably.
“He’ll be fine,” I tell her, and she throws me a quick smile.
Ginda lowers the vines and flowers a bit so we can see more.
Jeep walks around the corner without even stopping. Vicky leans back to give Kessley and Taylar some room.
We wait.
After about a minute, Vicky sits up again. “Is he coming back yet?”
“Not yet,” I say. “Be patient. He has to make sure Shelton Banks isn’t anywhere near anymore.”
“Right.”
She sits back and fumbles with the hem of her jacket. I’ve never seen her this nervous before.
After another thirty seconds or so, she sighs and moves through Kessley and Taylar. “I can’t stay here.”
“Wait.” My heart leaps to my throat at the thought of my girl getting close to Shelton Banks. He’s the one that cursed her. He’s the one that keeps touching her grave to make sure she gets pulled closer and closer to the Shadow World. Who knows what he’ll do when he sees her.
She’s out of the car before I can grab her arm. I open the door to follow her, ignoring the protests from the others.
“Vick,” I hiss. “Stay here. Jeep can take care of himself.”
She stops in the middle of the parking lot.
“Please come back. I don’t want that Banks guy to see you.”
She turns her face toward me. Tears slide down her cheeks. “I can’t leave him, not again, Dante.”
“We’re not leaving him. He’ll be back any second.”
As if on cue, Jeep rounds the corner of the bar. When he sees us, he shoos us back to the car with panicked gestures.
Without hesitation, I dive forward, grab Vicky’s arm and drag her along. She steps into the back of the car, and I drop onto the driver’s seat. Carefully, I close the car door. It produces only a soft click.
Ginda directs the vines and flowers back up to block the view.
Jeep doesn’t follow. He stays close to the wall, as if he’s afraid Shelton Banks will be able to see him if he doesn’t.
Vicky sucks in her breath when Shelton Banks strolls by. He’s muttering to himself, looking very displeased. I mean, more displeased than he did before. This time, he doesn’t pay attention to anything around him. He must no longer be looking for us, because none of us freeze this time.
Jeep follows him as he walks out of sight, and we all watch the road closely.
Soon, the sound of a heavy engine starting echoes through the street. The driver pulls up angrily.
Jeep appears on the sidewalk. After one last look in the direction of the fading noise, he beckons us.
Vicky hurries over to him and hugs him so hard he nearly topples over. When I reach them, I check the street for any sign on Shelton Banks. Of course there is none, or Jeep wouldn’t have beckoned us, but the guy gives me the creeps, so I want to be sure he isn’t hiding in a corner somewhere.
“What did he do?” I ask when Vicky finally lets go, wiping tears from her cheeks again.
“He went into the Winged Centaur and talked to the bartender. He didn’t seem very pleased with the answers he got.”
I snigger. “I could tell.”
CHAPTER 20
Charlie’s car rounds the corner. He stops next to us and rolls down his window. Gisella is sitting next to him, dressed in her usual red catsuit.
“Sorry we’re late,” Charlie says, holding up a bar of chocolate. “We had to stop for supplies.”
With a grin, I slap him on the arm that rests on the car door. “It’s fine. We’re going to the police station to deliver the hitlist we found at Shelton Banks’ house first anyway. Maybe Ginda can stay with you until we get back?”
“Sure!” He reaches into his pocket and holds up a flash drive. “I transferred the pictures I took of that Devil’s shrine at Shelton Banks’ house from my phone to this drive. Added some pictures of dead bodies, which I found in one of his drawers. You should hand that in too.”
My mouth falls open. “You found pictures of his other victims? That’s great! Why didn’t you tell us before?”
He shrugs. “We found Jeep and then I kind of forgot. We had more important things to think about, you know.”
Taylar gives him a relieved smile, and I slap my best friend on the back. “I know. It’s fine. This is great news.” I introduce him and Gisella to the chlorokinetic witch, and Charlie turns into the parking lot.
“We’ll be right back,” I tell Ginda, and she walks over to Charlie’s car.
I turn back to my Shield. “Is everyone, except Vicky, invisible?”
They all nod, so I cross the street to the police station.
At the door, Vicky stops me.
“We forgot something.”
I frown. “We did?”
“Yes, when we delivered the footage of the murder, we were dressed as FBI agents, remember? Mona disguised us.”
I slap my hand against my forehead. “You’re right. We can’t walk in looking like ourselves. But it’ll take too much time to do a spell. Chloe probably needs us now.” I turn to Taylar. “I’m sorry, we can’t do it now, but we’ll come back as soon as possible.”
Instead of the depression I expect to appear on his face, I find anger. His see-through skin goes dark, and I take a step back.
“Shelton Banks is walking around a free man,” he hisses. “He should be punished.”
It takes a lot of self-control to stay calm. “I agree,” I say, “which is why we can’t afford to mess it up. He might never be convicted if they don’t take this evidence seriously.”
Taylar is about to reply when Kessley holds up her hand. “I can help.”
We both turn to face her.
“How?” we ask in unison, me sounding hopeful, Taylar with impatience in his voice.
Kess raises her chin proudly. “I can transform myself, copy the way you guys looked. I can even disguise myself as both of you at the same time, if you remember what you looked like.”
“Great plan,” Taylar responds, his color returning to normal.
I glance through the glass front doors of the police station. “I don’t know, it sounds risky.”
“All I have to do is deliver the note, right? I can go in disguised as one of you, tell the woman at the counter that I’m in a hurry and that she should put the list and the flash drive with the footage of the murder. It’s no problem, really. I can do it.”
Vicky nods. “I think it’s a good idea. I can go with her, invisible, and tell her what to say if the woman has any questions.”
I take some time to go over the risks in my head and decide they’re not much bigger than when I would go myself.
“Fine,” I say. “You’ll go in as Vicky, since you’ll be more convincing as a woman than as a man.”
Kessley changes into an exact copy of Vicky before I can even blink.
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