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“Then we’re looking for any restricted demonology book,” I said. “Let’s hope this doesn’t take us all night.”
I stepped down one of the aisles to begin my search, but before my hands landed on a book, a crash sounded from the upper level of the library. I froze.
“What was that?” Grant hissed.
I listened closely, and though it was faint, I caught the sound of footsteps upstairs.
“Someone’s here,” Nadine whispered.
“Do you think someone followed us?” Talia asked, sounding worried.
I glanced toward the doors. There was only one way in and out of the library. “No. They were here before us.”
Nadine sighed, and she stepped out into the center of the room. “Okay!” she called up the stairs. “You can come out now.”
“Nad,” I hissed. For all we knew, it was one of the priestesses. But Nadine was fearless.
When no response came, Nadine raised her voice further. “I am a high priestess of the Miriamic Coven. I demand that you show yourself at once, or suffer the consequences.”
Someone huffed, and footsteps sounded as they emerged from the shadows. A tall, thin female stood at the top of the balcony, and the shadow of a cat prowled beside her. She held a thick book in her arms. I couldn’t tell who it was in the darkness, until she spoke.
“There’s no need to be so dramatic, Nadine,” Chloe said. “It’s just me.”
Grant conjured a battle orb in his hand within a second, and my fingers sparked with magic. I moved to Nadine’s side in an instant.
“What are you doing here, Chloe?” I demanded.
She strolled along the balcony casually, like she didn’t find Grant’s magic to be a threat in the slightest. “The same as you—looking for answers.”
“Answers about what?” Nadine asked curiously.
“The Waning,” Chloe stated as she descended the stairs. “Our magic is disappearing more frequently, and for longer periods of time. Things have been worse since the Burning. It’s too weird that all our magic went out at the same time that night. I thought if there was a way to end it, perhaps everything else could be solved, too. But now you have me curious about demons. What exactly do you know?”
The four of us hesitated, and Nadine shot me a nervous glance.
“Like we’d tell you,” Grant sneered. “You’ll run off and tell your priestess grandmother.”
Chloe stepped into the moonlight, and I caught the scowl on her face. “Did I not prove myself to you during the Burning? I’m on your side.”
“We were all desperate that night,” Grant pointed out. “You’ve been nothing but mean to us otherwise. Hell, you tried to hang Nadine!”
“When I was cursed,” Chloe reminded him.
“But it was still your choice,” he shot back. “You called me Hispanic scum.”
“And you have every right to be mad at me about that,” Chloe said. “Look, I know I can’t make up for the past. I can’t say sorry and hope that it will magically fix everything. Come on, Lucas. I was at your Evoking Ceremony.”
“Because you wanted to make Ryan jealous,” I reminded her.
“Ryan and I are long over,” she assured me. “I know what kind of bitch I was, but I’ve changed. Please let me show you that. All I ever wanted was to protect the coven, and I know that’s what you want, too. I’m here doing research just like you, so let me help.”
I’d never heard Chloe beg the way she was pleading with us now. I was skeptical, but I heard the truth in Chloe’s words.
“Well, you can’t help us,” Grant insisted. “Tell her, Lucas.”
I hesitated. She had helped us escape arrest the night of the Burning. “It might be useful to have a Mentalist on our side.”
“Lucas!” Grant balked.
