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“They all need to go.” It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when,’ and more importantly, ‘how.’
“The lion is surprisingly docile,” he said. “I thought he might object to being trapped in an enclosure with the others.”
“They’re not typical animals. They won’t bother each other.”
“Too bad it doesn’t keep the donkey from bothering us,” he muttered.
“Is that why you interrupted my breakfast, Ray? To complain about the donkey? Because we can all hear her.”
Ray moved closer and hovered next to the table. “Remember those tattoos you asked me to research? I think I found something.”
I broke into a smile. “That’s great, Ray. Good work.”
He floated a little taller. “Independently, the tattoos mean different things. Together, they act as an enchantment called Hidden Door.”
The news didn’t surprise me. Addison was one big hidden door, and I wasn’t sure I wanted the prize behind it. “If I open the door, what will it reveal?”
Ray shrugged. “You’re on your own for that one.”
My guess was that Addison crafted the tattoos to hide her real identity. As a supernatural, she’d only want to hide her identity from other supernaturals because humans wouldn’thave a clue anyway. Which begged the question—why the need to hide from those of us in the small town of Fairhaven?
Unless she wasn’t trying to hide from all the supernaturals in town, only one.
Me.
I pushed back the chair and stood. “I’ll be back.”
“Where are you off to already?” Ray asked.
“You gave me food for thought.” I rinsed my bowl and left it in the sink. “Thanks, Ray. That was really helpful.”
“What’s next?” he asked.
The sound of the donkey’s bray carried into the kitchen. “Ever dream of being a zookeeper?”
Ray sighed. “No, but I’ll do anything to make it stop.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
With the animals taken care of, I was able to focus on Addison Gray. I wrote a list of everything I knew about her so far. She appeared in town under false pretenses. Cozied up to Officer Leo. Unleashed deities trapped as animals to wreak havoc the old-fashioned way, and then sat back to enjoy the show. I recalled her champagne salute at the Devil’s Playground and her compliment at Monk’s about my fighting skills. She’d been watching me, specifically. She’d basically admitted this whole ‘game’ was about me. What would the winner receive?
If she’d wanted me dead like Brody, there were much easier ways that didn’t involve killing innocent people in the process. This wasn’t about killing me, which meant she wasn’t working for Magnarella.
I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. Addison had access to deities that spread the seven deadly sins. Not just access but control. That signified real power—the kind of power that the vampire mafia could only dream of, which left one viable option.
The Corporation.
Swearing loudly, I chucked my pen across the room. I knew I hadn’t escaped Magnarella’s fighting ring unscathed. I thought I’d managed to hide my real abilities and credit the god elixir, and maybe I’d been mostly successful—but it only took one keen eye to detect my ruse.
If my theory was correct, that meant Addison Gray was an avatar. I wasn’t sure which goddess inhabited her, but I had a couple guesses. She wasn’t here to kill me; she was here for information. That had to be the point of her game—to figure out my identity based on her observations. She unleashed the seven vices to see how I handled the crisis—which powers I used, how I worked. No doubt there’d been times she’d been watching me in action when I hadn’t noticed. Not creepy at all.
This was bad in every way possible. Not only was my secret in jeopardy, but I’d brought death to Fairhaven. I didn’t regret helping Dusty, but I never should’ve used my powers in the ring. On the other hand, if I hadn’t, I’d be dead. Nothing like the dim view between a rock and a hard place.
“Is everything okay?” Nana Pratt asked. She retrieved my pen from the floor and set it in front of me on the table.
I opted for brutal honesty. “No. Would you mind getting Ray? I need to speak to you both.”
I gathered my courage while I waited for the ghosts to join me. I had no idea how they would respond to my revelation.
