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Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “You better hold tight to that whisker. She’s a very powerful creature.”
Chloe subconjured the whisker, so she wouldn’t lose it. “I will.”
“Thank you for everything, Sam,” I said. “We can’t stay long, but we appreciate all your help.”
“Anytime.” Sam waved, and we said our goodbyes.
The glawackus let out a strange bark—almost like the sound of a hyena. The creature bowed its head to Chloe, before I opened a portal to the safe house. We stepped through it and into the hallway. Voices came from the home library a few doors down.
“They’ve been gone too long!” Helena insisted.
“It’s only been a few hours,” Verla assured her. “I’m sure your granddaughter is fine.”
“Nadine and Lucas can handle themselves,” Professor Warren added. “Hok’evale is a safe place.”
We approached the open doorway. The library was one of the largest rooms in the house, apart from the main living area. The walls were lined with bookcases, and a narrow staircase led to a second-level balcony. A big mahogany desk stood in front of a large, ornate window. A couch and matching armchair sat in the center of the room next to a coffee table.
Grant, Talia, and Onyx sat on the couch, and I noticed another guest had arrived while we were gone. Hattie sat in the chairs, stroking her wolf Familiar’s head. Usually, Hattie stayed within the borders of Octavia Falls. She kept us updated on what was happening in town, and the priestesses didn’t know she was working with us. It was dangerous for her to come here, but Verla must’ve called her in. This was important.
Helena paced the room, while Verla and Warren tried to comfort her. She heard the sound of our footsteps and whirled around. Her eyes lit up when she spotted her granddaughter. “Nadine, you’re all right!”
“We’re fine, Grammy,” Nadine promised.
Helena frowned. “What took you so long? We were worried sick!”
“You might want to sit down,” Nadine suggested. “We have a lot to tell you.”
Everyone gathered around, and we told them what we’d learned while in Hok’evale. There was a lot of information to go over, and it took nearly an hour to come to a conclusion.
“If I’m to obtain the Mortana Wand, I need to pass the Warlock’s Trial,” I said. “That’s how I will become a member of the Reaper Order. Once that happens, the reapers will pass the Mortana Wand on to me. We don’t know what this trial entails, though. Every apprentice needs a master, but mine hasn’t appeared—for whatever reason. Since there isn’t magic we can do to summon a reaper, we’ll have to go to Edgar Nowak so I can complete my training.”
“How are you going to get to him?” Talia asked.
“That’s a problem, because I can’t portal between realms yet,” I said. “Our first step is to track Edgar down, then find a way to him. There’s no point in discussing our options until we know where we’re going.”
“Then let’s find him,” Grant said. “How exactly do we do that?”
“I have an idea for a tracking spell that should work, if we all combine our magic,” Nadine announced. “The priestesses and I used something similar before. I don’t think it would normally work, except that Lucas is the Reaper’s Apprentice, so he has a connection to Edgar. With Lucas’s reaper magic in the spell, we should be able to learn where Edgar is.”
“Then let’s get to work,” Verla said. “What do we need?”
“A crystal ball, for starters,” Nadine requested.
“I’ve got you covered.” Talia conjured a crystal ball and set it on the coffee table.
“Everyone join hands,” Nadine instructed. I took her hand on one side and Hattie’s on the other.
Verla stepped out of the circle we were forming. “I won’t be of any help. I had to use magic to cover my tracks when I went to meet up with Hattie earlier today, and I haven’t been able to cast any spells since. I took every precaution to prevent being followed, and it drained my reserves.”
“It’s got to be the Waning,” Nadine theorized. “It’s like the closer you get to town, the more it affects you.”
It was the Waning for sure, because Verla was a powerful witch, and though her spell was complicated, it shouldn’t drain her completely. I sighed heavily. “Damn the Waning.”
Chloe chuckled. “If we succeed, we may do just that. Let’s give the Waning hell.”
“All we need now is an incantation,” Nadine said. She thought about it for a moment, but I’d already quickly formed an incantation in my mind.
“Through this crystal ball we’ll see where he’s been. Show us the realm we’ll find Edgar Nowak in,” I suggested.
