Crystals and Criminals

by Lily Webb

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I shoved the recliner further to make room for the door to open and reached for the handle. With one last deep breath to steel my nerves, I pulled hard and the door swung upward, releasing a blast of cold, dank air into my face.

  I jabbed my wand down into the hole in the floor and the light from its tip revealed a rotting wooden ladder that led into a dark stone pathway. Though I knew I should’ve left the shop to bring in reinforcements, I didn’t think I had the luxury of the time. What if Holly was down there somewhere? She needed my help.

  With a swell of determination, I swung my legs onto the ladder and carefully worked my way down its slippery rungs until my feet met the stone floor below. Immediately, I whirled with my wand clutched in hand, half expecting someone or something to ambush me, but all I found was a long, narrow path formed by stone walls.

  I squinted and followed the light from my wand as far as it reached. Several yards away, the path pivoted right, and though I couldn’t be sure from where I stood, it looked like there was some other source of light that way. I swallowed my fear and rested my back against the stone wall to inch my way toward the turn in the path.

  When I reached it, I closed my eyes and counted to ten, thinking of all the various offensive spells I knew in case I needed to use any of them. I only had one chance before I lost the element of surprise, so I didn’t dare risk a peek around the corner. Instead, I tightened my grip on my wand and whipped around the turn with it thrust forward — only to find myself in another, longer pathway that ended with a closed wooden door.

  I rushed toward it, barely able to breathe, and rested my ear against its surface. What I thought were the sounds of metal clinking worked their way through the door, not the voices I thought I’d heard before. I stayed that way for longer than I could count, fighting with myself about what to do. I reached for the door’s handle and turned it as softly as I could.

  It didn’t give, which meant who or whatever was inside didn’t want anyone else barging in to ruin the party. Too bad for them, I thought as I pointed my wand at the lock. “Recludo,” I whispered and held my breath as the lock clinked and the door hissed open.

  I pushed the door open with my shoulder and charged into the room with my wand drawn. Magical light from its tip washed over the room, which was so dark that my eyes struggled to focus. I spun around slowly, squinting to check every nook in the room, and almost screamed when a person appeared slumped against the wall in the darkness behind me.

  A beat later, recognition dawned: it was Holly! Her eyes were closed, chains bound her hands and feet, and someone had gagged her. I gently shook her by the shoulder, and she jolted awake, her eyes wide in terror, but when she realized who I was, she moaned and cried.

  I pulled the wadded cotton out of her mouth and she sobbed. “Zoe.”

  “What in Lilith’s name is going on in here?” I asked while I stole another glance around the room to make sure we were alone.

  “The crystal,” Holly whispered and pointed behind me. I followed her finger and found Madame Astra’s ball resting on a pedestal and glowing faintly beneath a cloth someone had laid on it to cover it. “It’s not what you think it is, it’s—”

  “Merlin’s Mind, I know,” I interrupted, keeping my voice low just in case. A new round of tears appeared in Holly’s eyes as she nodded. She didn’t seem at all surprised I’d figured it out. “I also know it was you who stole it from Madame Astra, but why?”

  Despite the darkness, I could see the shame of what she’d done bloom across her cheeks. “I was desperate. It was Derwin’s idea. He suspected what the crystal was too, and he talked me into it during our readings. He said he knew someone who would pay a pretty penny for it if it was what we thought it was and agreed to split the profits with me.”

  Just like I’d thought. “Then how did you end up down here in his little workshop of horrors?”

  “He double-crossed me. You don’t understand, Zoe, he has connections. Dark ones.”

  A shiver pricked across my skin, but I didn’t have time to ask what she meant. Voices echoed from somewhere in the darkness, and Holly’s eyes widened in terror. “They’re coming back!” she moaned. “Hide or they’ll capture you too. Go, hurry before they come!”

  I didn’t have time to argue or to ask who “they” were. To keep anyone from realizing Holly wasn’t here alone, I shoved the gag back into her mouth. “I’m getting you out of here, I promise. Obscuro,” I whispered and blinked against the blinding darkness once the light from my wand disappeared.

  The barely visible glow of Madame Astra’s crystal ball pulled me toward it like a moth to flame, and I’d just crouched behind the pedestal holding it when the creak of another door opening filled the room along with three male voices as they argued. A faint light coming from beyond the door silhouetted three figures, each of their faces obscured.

  “Nay, don’t be a fool. If you try to touch it, you’ll end up as fried and dead as that Norwood snob,” Derwin said, his voice unmistakable.

  “There must be some way to get to the stone,” one of the other males answered. “Do you think the woman would know?”

  “She can’t use magic. What use would she be with this?” Derwin spat.

  “He has a point,” the third male said as the three of them approached the crystal ball — and the tiny space between its podium and the wall behind it where I crouched holding my breath, praying they wouldn’t see or hear me.

  “If we can’t touch it, how in Lilith’s name are we supposed to get to the stone?”

  “I thought the Brotherhood has all the answers,” Derwin said, and I almost gasped. The two men with Derwin were members of the Black Brotherhood; now I knew exactly what Holly meant when she’d said Derwin had dark connections, and why he’d turned on her. He’d played her; Derwin had no intention of selling the crystal or splitting the profits with her at all.

  One of the Brotherhood members scoffed. “Even we don’t know everything, old man.”

  Well, that was reassuring. Still, I had to find some way to get both Holly and the crystal ball away from the three of them before they realized I was there — or worse, figured out how to pry Merlin’s Mind out of it.

  “What about the psychic?” the other Brotherhood member asked.

  It was Derwin’s time to scoff. “Are you kidding me? She’s been carrying it for years without ever realizing what it was. I doubt she has a clue either. We’ll figure something else out.”

  “If you’d just turn the crystal over to the Brotherhood, I’m sure we could get an answer faster than—”

  “Nay, not so fast. I may be old, but I’m not ignorant,” Derwin interrupted. “As soon as I let you lot get your dirty hands and wands on it, I’ll never see it again. It’s not going anywhere as long as I’m around. Now go on, get out of here. We’ll talk later.”

  Though the Brotherhood member grumbled, the sound of three sets of footsteps carried through the room as they walked back toward the door they’d come from. Seconds later, it slammed closed and their voices trailed away. I stood — but froze when my phone began ringing in the pocket of my robes, its chime shrill and piercing.

  “What was that?” Derwin demanded. “Someone’s inside!”

  Horrified, I fumbled for my phone and declined the call from Beau while kicking myself mentally for not thinking to silence it before I went into Derwin’s shop. There wasn’t any way I was getting out of this room unscathed now.

  The door flung open again and the blinding flash of spells filled the room as Derwin and two men in all black robes and matching, shiny black face masks charged inside. I stayed hidden behind the podium with my wand clutched tight until the spells stopped bouncing off the walls and died out.

  Before their eyes could adjust to the darkness, I leaped out from behind the podium. “Obstupefacio!” I shouted as I soared through the air and landed in a roll across the stone ground. The paralyzing spell zipped past the head of one of the Brotherho
od members and crashed into the wall, sending bits of stone showering to the ground.

  “It’s the Head Witch! Kill her!” Derwin roared and the three of them fanned out across the room, their wand tips filling the room with light.

  I ducked and dodged as they fired killing spells indiscriminately, desperate to stay out of their sight and range. When my back unexpectedly thudded against the stone wall on what I thought must’ve been the opposite side of the room, I thrust my wand out in front of me. “Obstupefacio!” I bellowed and rolled away again after the crippling jet of light shot from my wand. This time, it connected with one of the Brotherhood members, and he groaned as he fell to the ground.

  Derwin and the remaining Brotherhood member rushed toward the source of the spell, but by the time they got there I’d already crossed back to the podium where the crystal ball sat. Beams of light from their wand tips crisscrossed the room like lighthouses as they frantically searched for me in the dark, so I slipped behind the podium.

  “Where are you, you miserable wretch?! I knew I should’ve ended you when I had the chance, consequences be damned,” Derwin spat.

  I stayed quiet, listening intently for the sound of approaching footsteps. My shoulder rested against the stone podium, which seemed sturdy and crushingly heavy, giving me an idea. Derwin wasn’t the fastest on his feet, so I could push it over onto him. I tested it with a gentle shove from my shoulder, and it seemed like it would give if I applied enough force.

  “You mean your Third Eye can’t help you in the dark?” I shouted, intentionally giving myself away as I braced against the podium.

  The sound of running footsteps filled the room as someone charged toward the podium, and I pushed as hard as I could. Finally, it toppled over and a scream echoed off the stone walls as someone crunched underneath it. The crystal ball cracked against the ground and bounced across the room, revealing the masked face of the Brotherhood member I’d trapped as it rolled away — not Derwin’s.

  “There you are!” Derwin growled, and I glanced up just in time to see him stumping toward me. “Interficio!” he roared, and without thinking I desperately jabbed my wand at the crystal ball. As if it read my mind, the ball lifted from the ground and intercepted the killing spell that should’ve ended my life. It ricocheted off the crystal, flinging dozens of beams of light from it like a disco ball, and a blood-curdling scream followed as the re-directed spell collided with Derwin’s chest.

  He clutched the space over his heart and collapsed to his knees, the look of agony on his face visible thanks to the light from the crystal. I saw myself and the still levitating ball reflected in his eyes for a brief second before he fell on his face and lay still.

  When I dared to take another breath, my focus and telekinetic hold on the crystal broke. It tumbled to the floor where it shattered, scattering dozens of razor-sharp shards across the room. I flung my hands in front of my face to protect it, and when I lowered them, I found a large, jagged white gem sitting at the center of the wreckage. It glowed so brightly it brought tears to my eyes, but still I crawled toward it.

  Hundreds of whispering voices flooded my ears as I reached for the gem, growing louder as my hand drew closer until their roar drowned out everything else.

  “Zoe, don’t!” A voice shouted, and before I knew what was happening, I was rolling across the ground. I blinked the moisture from my eyes until my vision cleared and found Heath standing between me and what could only be Merlin’s Mind. Heath drew his wand from his robes cautiously.

  “I heard voices, they were telling me to touch it,” I mumbled, my mind and speech slurred by the enchanting light pouring from the gem.

  “I know, but you can’t. None of us can,” Heath said. He pointed his wand at the stone. “Evanesco,” he said, and the gem vanished with a pop, plunging us into an inky, complete darkness once again. As soon as it disappeared, my mind snapped into focus as if I’d woken from a trance. Merlin’s Mind was safe. Holly was safe. We’d done it.

  “Come on, let’s get you both out of here so you can rest. We’ll talk more about all this tomorrow. Lumino,” Heath said, and soft, warm light spread from the tip of his wand, revealing Gorloz and Umrea where they stood behind him.

  Umrea’s feline yellow eyes flashed as she stomped toward me, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she scooped me up in her strong, stone-cold arms. They hadn’t listened to my directions — not entirely, anyway — but that was probably for the best. I shuddered at the thought of what might’ve happened if Heath hadn’t stopped me from touching the gem.

  Gorloz retrieved Holly from the corner where she cowered. He removed her gag and she hurried to speak. “Zoe, Heath, I’m so sorry. I only did what I thought I had to, for my kids,” she sobbed as Gorloz ripped through her magical binds as if they were nothing more than string.

  “It’s okay, Holly. I understand,” I said, and as I touched my stomach, for the first time I felt like I truly did. My child hadn’t been born yet, but I already grasped the drive to do whatever it took to provide for them.

  “Thank you,” Holly stuttered and fell silent. Heath crouched to check the two Brotherhood members for a pulse. Neither moved, which sent another wave of relief crashing over me.

  “Derwin didn’t make it either,” I said as Heath returned to his feet.

  Heath nodded solemnly. “Mr. Moriarty’s fall from grace is truly a tragedy, but you and the artifact are safe, and that’s all that matters to me,” he said, and led us out of the underground chamber without another word.

  Outside, the evening’s gentle breeze was like a mother’s kiss on my skin, warm and soothing. As Umrea took to the skies, the adrenaline high I’d been riding quickly dissipated, replaced by an all-consuming sweep of exhaustion, and though I tried to keep my eyes open, the soft, rhythmic beating of Umrea’s wings against the air lulled me to sleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I woke the next morning in my bed with no recollection of how I’d gotten there or any idea how long I’d been asleep. When I rolled, I found Beau lying beside me wearing a warm smile. His golden eyes sparkled in the early morning sunlight that seeped in through the cracks in the blinds.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  I moved closer and my body screamed against the effort. Everything was sore. “Same to you, though I dunno if I’d call it good just yet.”

  Beau laughed, pecked a kiss on my forehead, and rested his hand on my waist. “I heard you had an eventful night.”

  “What else is new?” I joked, and he fixed me with a serious look. “How did you find out? More importantly, how did I get home? I don’t remember.”

  “Umrea and Heath brought you. None of us wanted to wake you, so I had Umrea take you right to bed while Heath filled me in.”

  My heart lurched. What all had Heath told him? I hoped Beau hadn’t already gotten the big news from him instead of from me.

  “Did he also tell you it was your call that almost got me killed?”

  The smile on his face vanished. “What? Are you serious?”

  I placed my hand on his cheek and smile. “Only partially.”

  “Well, you said you had big news and to call you back.”

  “I know, I’m only giving you a hard time. But that reminds me, there is something big I need to tell you,” I said and tried to swallow down my heart that had worked its way up into my throat while we spoke.

  Beau pushed himself up into a sitting position. His brown hair stuck out in all directions like he’d been tossing and turning all night, and it killed me to think I caused him all this worry. Once I told him the big news, he’d only be angrier with me — and he’d have every right to be.

  “What is it? Are you okay? Did something happen?”

  I sat up to join him, forcing a groan out of Luna. I hadn’t realized she was curled up between our feet at the end of the bed, but she didn’t wake entirely. Tears welled in my eyes as I stared straight into his — I couldn’t help them — and he took both my hands.


  “Zoe? What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s good. Perfect, actually,” I laughed through a happy sob.

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m really confused. You’re scaring me.”

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t know how to tell you this.”

  “Tell me. One word at a time if you have to, just tell me,” he said and squeezed my hands on the last syllable for emphasis.

  As I stared into his eyes, my life since moving to Moon Grave flashed before me: The uncomfortable ride on the Silver Bullet bus to town; meeting Beau at the front gates in his golden retriever form and fainting when he turned back into a man; and the way he’d walked nonchalantly through town without his shirt like it was perfectly normal; our first official date at Nouvelle Lune; the way Grandma Elle instantly approved of him when she met him…

  Everything had been leading to this point, and I’d never seen it until it was upon me, and despite the circumstances, it felt exactly right. We fit each other perfectly, so of course we were having a baby together.

  I looked up at Beau with a fresh round of tears in my eyes. “I’m pregnant, Beau.”

  The look of concern on his face dissolved, replaced by pure, unadulterated joy. His eyes shot wide open and he squeezed my hands again. “Are you serious?” he whispered, and when I nodded, he let out a sound somewhere between a whoop and a bark and threw his arms around me to squeeze me like he’d never done before.

  I melted into his shoulder, a bundle of heaving, joyous sobs and blinding tears. When he pushed me back, I saw he was crying too — just like I’d seen in Madame Astra’s crystal ball during my reading. If I ever had any doubts about the Seer’s abilities before, she’d changed my mind.

  “Zoe, this is fantastic news! Oh Lilith, wait until I tell my parents! They’ll lose their minds! We have to clear out one of the rooms to make it into a nursery and we need to shop for clothes and pick out names and—”