Page 55 of Death Card

Gramps exhales as he leans against a chair. “I need to speak to Gloria Hightower. I’ve had enough of this cat-and-mouse game. I—actually, no—youare going to be very direct with her about what’s at stake here.”

I point toward my chest.“Me?”

“Mm-hmm. Consider it part of your training.” With that, he leaves.

Aunt Lorraine clears her throat but doesn’t look in my direction. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s your fault that your grandparents left you woefully unprepared.”

“Oh, hush, Lorraine,” Aunt Roberta snaps. The two women squabble as they leave the room.

Once I’m alone, I squeeze my eyes shut. All I want to do is cry, or scream, or both, but I have work to do instead.

My phone dings. It’s Lizzie. Great, now I have to go ruin my best friend’s night, too.

We assemble ina secluded corner of the park near our house. Word has quietly spread of Chris’s death, so a few other witches have joined us. Orion and Malik made it back unscathed and stand on opposite sides of me, like two guardians crafted out of stone.

Beneath my breath, I fill them in on how Lizzie took the news of Chris’s death. She became a teary, snot-nosed mess before all the words had even left my lips. I had to call her mom to come pick her up.

“It isn’t right,” Orion murmurs. “He should still be alive.”

“I know.”

My attention has been spread too thin. I’ve wasted too much time focused on Joelle when I should’ve been doing everything I could to prevent more witches from dying. I’m finished withthat now. As far as Joelle and I are concerned, we’re done. I’ll stay as far away from her as possible, even after the threat of the full moon passes.

Beside me, Orion curses, drawing my attention to the nearby copse of trees where a cloud of black smoke has appeared.

“Look alive,” Gramps shouts. His eyes find me in the crowd. “Mikaela, at my side.”

I stand beside Gramps, peering into the smoky void. All of a sudden, there’s a blinding flash of light and a clap of thunder. When my vision clears, the smoke has dissipated, and a group of six people stalks toward us. I recognize Aria and the massive man from the bookstore. At the front of the group stands a petite white woman who can be no one other than Gloria Hightower.

The Matron wears a thick black shawl, despite the heat, with red leather pumps. Her white hair is cut in a neat shoulder-length bob, and a thick gold band with a ruby center adorns her left ring finger. Aria is at her right side, half a step behind her grandmother. Her expression is a closed book, difficult to read, as usual.

“You have a lot of nerve sending your grandson to my door, Ezekiel.” Gloria’s voice rings out across the field. “How did you know I wouldn’t break his neck and send his corpse back to you?”

A muscle in Gramps’s jaw twitches. “Because my grandson can hold his own, and it seems that you need dark entities to do your dirty work.”

Gloria tilts her head and clasps her hands together. “Oh?”

“You’ve killed two of my own,” Gramps says. “I’m well within my rights to retaliate against you.”

“So, why haven’t you?”

Gramps remains silent. They stare at each other, both refusing to back down.

Aria is the one who speaks. “They think we’ve summoned a demon.” Her gaze finds mine, and I clench my fists at my side.

“We don’t think,” I retort. “We know.” Gramps nudges me and I take a step forward, holding my phone up in the air. When I hit play on the audio recording, Gloria’s brows lift as she hears her own voice coming out of the speakers. Beside her, Aria glowers at me.

“See?” I ask. “You admitted to it yourself.”

“Stupid child,” Gloria growls. “When did you hear me say anything of the sort? All this proves is that I have well-informed spies.”

“But—”

“I’ve been aware of every single event that’s occurred in your coven for at least a decade,” she says. “I make a habit of keeping an eye on the threats to my family.”

“We’re not a threat to you,” I snap. “We didn’t even know your whereabouts until a week ago. If anything, you’ve always been the threat. You kill innocents for your own gain.”

Gloria’s reptilian eyes gleam. “You seem to have all the answers. Then tell me, what is the name of the demon we’ve invoked? What purposes do we have for dragging it onto this earthly plane?” A knowing smile crosses her face. “But you won’t be able to answer either of those questions because you’re nothing but a child playing at being a queen.”