The corner of his mouth quirked. “Good to know.”
He closed the distance between us, coming to stand entirely too close to me. “What are you doing?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound as breathless as I felt.
He lifted his hands, and with surprising gentleness, placed the chain around both our necks. Looking down at it, I saw that the links were actually tiny figures holding hands. I’d seen it somewhere before.
“This is the necklace one of the angels is wearing in the window at Hex Hall.”
“It is indeed.”
Reaching down to take my hands, he explained, “It’s also a very powerful protection charm, which we’re going to need.”
I swallowed as we laced our fingers and stepped closer to the Itineris. “Why?”
“Because we’re going a very long way.”
I involuntarily squeezed his fingers with mine. The last time I’d traveled through the Itineris, I’d only gone a few hundred miles, and that had made my head nearly explode. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“Graymalkin Island,” he answered. And then he yanked me into the doorway.
chapter 28
Archer’s necklace thing may have spared us the crushing headache and loss of breath, but it didn’t make the landing any more graceful. We were tossed into a thick copse of trees as we came out of the blackness, and I immediately tripped over a huge exposed root, scraping my elbow on a branch as I went down.
Unfortunately, since the necklace was looped around both our necks, that meant Archer fell too. On top of me.
In another lifetime, that might have been kind of pleasant. And yeah, he still smelled nice, and as I grabbed his shoulders to push him away, I remembered that he was a lot stronger than his thin frame would suggest.
But none of that mattered. I didn’t get to notice those things about him anymore.
The ground I was lying on was muddy, and I had a feeling I’d be pulling leaves and twigs out of my hair for all eternity. “Get off of me!” I mumbled against his collarbone, shoving at him. He rolled over onto his back, his sword clanging against a rock or exposed root, but thanks to the necklace, that just pulled me half on top of him.
“And here I thought you were playing hard to get,” he whispered. Moonlight glinted in his eyes, and he sounded a little out of breath. I told myself it was just from the fall.
I thwacked his chest with the palm of my hand, then ducked my head underneath the necklace. Once I was free, I scooted away from him. “Let me guess,” I hissed, nodding at the chain. “Something else you stole from Hex Hall.”
He pushed himself to his feet. “Guilty.”
“Where the heck was I while you were playing Grand Theft Cellar?”
“I only took a few things, and most of those I grabbed during those last few weeks when you weren’t talking to me.”
I remembered that time now, right after the All Hallow’s Eve Ball. Thanks to the weirdness of that night, Archer and I had spent a lot of cellar duties avoiding each other. No wonder he’d been able to stuff all sorts of magical things into his pockets.
“Is that why you defended me in Vandy’s class?
Were you hoping to get cellar duty just so you could lift stuff?”
Dusting debris off his shirt, Archer shook his head. “Believe it or not, Mercer, I’m not quite that calculating. I stood up to Vandy because I felt like it. Getting to snag stuff out of the cellar ended up being a bonus.” He turned his back on me and started walking away. “Now come on. It’s a long walk.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?” I asked as we made our way out of the grove.
“Because I’m not sure you’d believe me. Easier to show you.”
I’d never been on this part of Graymalkin before, and I was struck by how different it looked from the land surrounding Hecate. There was no thick, emerald grass underfoot, or majestic oak trees. The only plants were scrubby pine trees and unidentifiable bushes, and the ground was a mix of damp sand and rocks. From the smell, I knew we were close to the ocean, and sure enough, as we climbed a rise, the water suddenly spread out before us, lapping gently against the shore. The moon was nearly full, making a wide band of silver light on the black water.
“Where are we? Like, in relation to the school.”
“We’re on the other side of the island,” Archer replied.
“It looks so different.”
Archer glanced over his shoulder. “That’s because there’s a spell on the school grounds. Jessica Prentiss did it when she built the house. Apparently she was homesick, because she made it look like her family’s place in Louisiana, right down to the landscaping.” He paused. “Seriously, Mercer, didn’t you pay attention in any of our classes?”
“Sorry, I was a little distracted, what with all the people dying.”
He stopped suddenly. “To be fair,” he said, his voice light, but his shoulders tense, “only one person died. Elodie.”
We were both frozen now, standing several feet apart on the little hill overlooking the sea. “So you do know about that.”
He nodded. “Yeah. We, uh, got a report about everything a few months ago.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned so he was facing the sea. “I didn’t…all of that was never real. Her and me. At least not on my part. And there were days when I thought if I had to spend one more second listening to her talk about beauty spells or shoes, I was going to go insane. Still, when I read the report…” He dropped his head and made a sound that would have been a laugh if it hadn’t been so sad. “It was like being punched in the gut, you know?”
Even though he still had his back to me, I nodded. “Yeah.”
“It’s just hard to believe that someone like her could be gone.”
I remembered Elodie’s ghostly eyes looking into mine, the nod of her head, and thought about telling him that Elodie was maybe a little less gone than we all thought.
Then he shook his head and headed farther down the path and onto the beach. I followed him, gritting my teeth as sand filled my shoes. “So why were you with her?”
“She was my assignment.”
“From The Eye?”
“No, from the Boy Scouts. That Witch Dating badge just kept eluding me.”
“Well, you must have at least three Total Douchebag badges by now, so that has to count for something. What about Holly? Was that fake, too?” I was panting slightly, thanks to trying to keep up with him. Stupid short legs.
He had his hands in his pockets, and his head was slightly down, like he was walking against the wind. “You know, these were all things I was willing to tell you several weeks ago. Too bad you decided to stand me up.”
I had caught up to him by now, and I snagged his elbow, doing my best to ignore the little thrill that went through me even at that innocent touch. “How is that you can go from decent human being to complete jackass in zero-point-two seconds? Do they teach you that in The Eye?”
He stopped, and his eyes glided over my lips. “Actually, I’m just trying to see if I can make you mad enough to kiss me again.”
chapter 29
My heart, which only seconds ago had been racing, suddenly seemed to stumble in my chest. I immediately dropped his arm and moved ahead of him. “I don’t want to talk about that,” I said as I walked quickly down the beach.
I had no idea where I was going, but at that point, walking straight into the sea didn’t seem like such a bad idea. For months I’d been torturing myself, wondering if Archer kissing me had just been part of his act. But he was right, he hadn’t kissed me. I had kissed him, and he’d just…responded. God, I was a moron.
Archer caught up with me, but I kept looking straight ahead.
“Mercer—”
“Look, forget it,” I said. “Just show me whatever it was you dragged me out here to see.”
“Fine,” he replied, his voice clipped.
We walked down the beach in total silence. In the moonlight, our shadows stretched out before us, alm
ost touching.
Finally we reached a small cove, and Archer turned right, back up the hill and into the forest again. Once more, the trees were so thick, I could barely see anything.
We were only a few feet into the woods when Archer said, “I just thought we should talk about it. Isn’t that what you were getting at?”
I turned toward him, but all I could see was his silhouette. Maybe it was the darkness, the fact that I couldn’t see his face, but suddenly, six months’ worth of anger, confusion, and sadness spilled out of me. “No, Cross, it wasn’t. Okay, so we kissed for, like, three minutes. I knew you formonths before that. We—we were friends. I asked you all that stuff about demons, and you knew what I was. Don’t you get why that might be a little upsetting?”
He didn’t reply, but then, I didn’t really give him a chance to. “All that time we were down there in the cellar, and I was telling you stuff—real stuff—about me, you were just, what? Lying? Casing the joint? Taking mental notes for your bosses? Is there any part of the Archer I knew that actually exists?”
Breathing hard, I stared at his dark form, trying to read anything in his body language. He didn’t move, but after a few moments, he blew out a long breath and said, “Okay. I’ve lived with The Eye for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was about two or three.”
“What about your parents?”
He shouldered past me, walking deeper into the forest. “Killed, but no one knew by what. Whatever it was, it drew the attention of The Eye. They got word of a dead witch and warlock, and went to investigate. Found my parents’ bodies, and then when they were searching the house, me. I guess no one felt comfortable about killing a toddler, so the team took me back to La Reina. That’s what they call the leader of L’Occhio di Dio. Well, when it’s a woman, at least. She saw the potential in raising a warlock as an Eye.”
A branch brushed against my cheek, and I ducked around it. “Where did all this happen?”
I could practically hear him shrug. “Don’t know. They never told me.”
“So you don’t know where you’re from?”
“I don’t even know what my real name is, Mercer. La Reina was the one who called me Archer, after an Eye who’d just been killed in battle. Anyway, she let me live, and gave me to a warlock she’d recruited, Simon Cross. He was the one who decided I should infiltrate Hecate, and—what are you doing?”
I had stopped as soon as he’d said “warlock she’d recruited.”
“There are other Prodigium who work with The Eye?”
Now he went very still. “Why? You planning on telling Daddy?”
I scowled, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “No, the cone of silence has firmly descended over this entire night. I just…they think you’re the only one. That’s why they’re so gung ho about killing you.” It also meant that while Archer hadn’t planted the exploding birthday gift, another Eye might have. Yay for more complications.
“There aren’t many, but they’re out there. Who do you think told us you were at Shelley’s that night?”
Well, that certainly made things more interesting. And scarier. “Keep going,” I said.
He started walking again, holding a branch out of the way so I could duck under it. “Simon trained me as a warlock and as an Eye, and I spent summers in Rome with L’Occhio di Dio, learning sword fighting, attack maneuvers, that kind of thing.”
“No wonder you always kicked my ass in Defense,” I muttered.
“The Eye had been looking for ways to get into Hex Hall for years, but the screening process for teachers was too intense, and they didn’t have any Eyes young enough to get in as students. Until me. When I was fourteen, I turned my middle school gym invisible. Bam, instant ticket to Hecate.”
“What did they want you to do there?”
“Nothing as awful as you’re probably thinking. Listen, mostly. Observe and report back.” He stopped and turned around. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew he was studying me. “This is weird,” he said. “I’ve never said this stuff out loud to anyone before.”
“That’s because I’m using a demon compulsion spell on you.”
“Seriously?”
“No, you dork. So keep going. What about Holly and Elodie?” And me? I thought, and even though I didn’t say it, I could feel the words hanging in the air around us.
“The betrothal with Holly was all aboveboard. Simon and her father arranged it.” He took a couple of steps back, and I heard a faint metallic clunk as he leaned back against a tree. “It was part of my cover, but I liked her. She was sweet. Quiet. It’s not like we had this great love or anything, and I obviously had no intention of actually marrying her, but…I don’t know. It wasn’t hard spending time with her. Elodie was a different story, especially after what she did to Holly.”
“So when you left Hex Hall after Holly died, that wasn’t because you were the grief-stricken fiancé. You were going back to The Eye.”
“Yeah. I told them that I thought Elodie and her coven had raised a demon, so we decided I should get close to her, see what was really going on.”
“And you decided to getreally close to her.”
He laughed softly. “I can’t see you, but I have a feeling you’re cute when you’re jealous, Mercer.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I said, “It’s not jealousy you’re hearing, it’s disgust. You dated a girl you didn’t even like just to get information out of her.”
His laughter died, and his voice sounded weary when he said, “Trust me, a lot of my brothers have done much worse.”
There was so much more I wanted to ask him, but it’s not like we could sit out here all night passing the sharing stick or whatever. Time to cut to the chase.
“So did The Eye tell you to get all Mata Hari on me too?”
There was a long pause before he answered. “I was supposed to watch you, yeah. They thought it was weird that Atherton would send his own kid to Hecate, so we wanted to keep an eye on you. No pun intended.”
He kept doing that, using “we” and “they” interchangeably when he was talking about The Eye. Not like I could blame him for being all schizo. It had to be bizarre to live two lives for as long as he had.
He pushed himself away from the tree. “So yeah, you were part of the job. Don’t get me wrong, Mercer, I like you. You’re smart, fluent in sarcasm, and, Bad Dog incident aside, pretty kick-ass at magic. And it’s not like you’re hard to look at.”
“Be still my beating heart.”
“But to answer your question, no part of the Archer Cross you knew at Hecate exists. That day in the cellar, I kissed you back because it was my job to stay close to you. If that’s where you wanted to take things, then that’s where I was going to go. I kissed you because I had to. Not exactly the hardest assignment I’ve ever had, but an assignment nonetheless.”
I stood there absorbing his words like blows, my heart aching. But it wasn’t what he said that made me feel like I’d been punched in the chest.
It’s that I knew he was lying. That speech came out way too quickly and way too smooth, almost like he’d been practicing it in his head. The same way I’d been practicing what I’d say to him if I ever saw him again.
I couldn’t even begin to handle that right now, so instead I just said, “Okay, then. Yay for honesty. Now that we’re done with the confessional part of the evening, why don’t you tell me why we’re here.”
There was another pause, then he started walking again. I followed, leaves crunching under my feet.
“Like I said, Hecate Hall has always made The Eye nervous.”
“Why? Are they allergic to plaid?”
I thought he might laugh, but instead, he said, “Think about it, Mercer. One place where Prodigium round up their most powerful members? Don’t tell me that’s not suspicious.”
That had never occurred to me. I’d always just thought of all us at Hecate as giant screwups, but in a way, Archer was right. We’d all been sentenced to Hex H
all because of spells that were powerful and dangerous. I thought of Cal saying I created “too big.” Wasn’t that what just about everyone at Hecate had done?
Still, the idea that the place I’d called home for nearly a year was actually some evil farm for powerful Prodigium was unsettling to say the least. “Hecate isn’t like that,” I said weakly, almost more to myself than to him.
“Isn’t it? Do some kind of illumination spell.”
I raised my hand, and within seconds, a glowing orb of bluish light had appeared. It lit up the surrounding area, and I gasped. This section of forest looked like a meteor had landed here. We were standing at the edge of a crater that was about eight feet deep and thirty feet in diameter. All around us were flattened trees, lying broken like matchsticks. The trees that were still standing were scorched and blackened.
But it wasn’t just that. Dark magic, darker than anything I’d ever felt, crackled over everything. It was like the whole area was marinating in it. It seeped up from the dirt under my feet, and I could practically taste it in the air.
There was a large flat rock at the base of the crater with something carved into it. I wiggled my fingers and the orb grew larger and brighter until I could see the markings.
I’d only seen writing like that one other place—the grimoire.
“Now you see why I wanted to show you this,” Archer said quietly. “Whoever is raising demons is doing it here. At Hecate.”
chapter 30
“This is bad,” was all I could manage to say.
“Yeah, I kind of picked up on that too.”
“No, I mean really bad. Like, to a level I didn’t know badness could reach.”
Archer crouched down near the lip of the crater, the flickering blue light playing in his eyes. “It gets worse.”
“What, does this pit also eat kittens? How much worse can it be?” I stared at the flat rock, blinking at the power radiating off the markings.
“Ever since I left Hex Hall, I’ve been looking into the history of the place. In the past eighteen years, six students have disappeared from the school.”
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