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The two of us remain still and quiet until long after Summer slams the door and stomps away. Then, we crawl back through the tunnel to the trees outside.
Standing, I brush at the damp dirt, but get nowhere. I’m a mudball. “Has that witch been here before today?”
Violet brushes her hands together and nods. “Twice. Aunt Lilian made me leave the house both times.”
“Ye didn’t happen to stay in yer secret tunnel to listen to Lilian’s conversations with Summer, did ye?”
“No.”
“So ye don’t know anything about her?”
“I didn’t even know her name was Summer until this moment.”
“Ah, right. That’s all right.”
She deflates. “Sorry. I spend as much time as possible as far away from Aunt Lilian as I can be—which isn’t far, considering I’m bound to the stupid cabin. If I spied on her every time she kicked me out to have a private conversation, I would have less time to hone my magic.”
“I guess you wouldn’t know where Summer lives, then? Or where she spends her time?”
“Hello…what part of ‘I’m bound to the cabin’ isn’t computing? I’ve never left this swamp.”
I think about that. It seemed boring and like having no life at all when I was considering Lilian in hiding, but Violet got dragged into this simply by association. She should be in Tremé, going to high school and hanging out with kids her own age.
“I’m sorry, Violet. That’s unfair. Ye deserve a better life.”
She blinks up at me. “Do you really mean that? You’re not just saying it?”
“Och, no. Whatever our concerns with yer aunt, it’s clear ye got the raw end of the deal. Ye deserve better than bein’ stuck in the middle of nowhere to be dismissed every time yer aunt wants ye gone.”
Her eyes glass up and I worry I’m about to have a crying teenager on my hands. I’m a vampire enforcer. I’m not properly prepared for that. Besides, every moment I waste here, Summer gets farther away.
I could run back to the Elysian where there’s a record of every Sun Witch, past and present, including their current address, but what if that’s not where she’s going? I’d rather follow her.
It will take Summer at least a half hour to make it back to the city. If I run fast enough, I should?—
“Here, you could find her with this.” Violet draws me out of my frantic plan-making. She pulls a little pearl barrette from her blonde hair and holds it out for me.
“A hairpin?”
“Yeah. Summer left it behind the last time she was here.”
“And what do I do with her hairpin?”
“Nothing yet. Just wait.” The young witch closes her eyes, and after a minute of silence and nothing happening, I’m about to excuse myself and take off when a pulse of magic washes over me.
“There. Now you can follow the little blip until it stops blinking and is fully red.”
“What blip?”
The pearl flashes a faint red before slowly fading out.
“That blip.” Violet’s gaze lifts from the hairpin to me like she’s looking for my approval. “It’ll track her and get stronger the closer you get.”
“Thank you, Violet. This is very helpful.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
I turn to leave, but the way Violet’s emotions flare makes me pause. Everything in me tells me not to get involved, but I can’t leave when she’s so obviously in pain. “Are ye all right, Violet?”
