Midnight. Christi Whitney J.

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СКАЧАТЬ they get there. I haven’t been to our Haven in years. I’m not even sure the High Council still meets in the same place. I need the Corsis’ help, but this time, they won’t be able to push me out.’

      Katie chose an empty parking spot near the road, but one that faced towards the tattoo shop. She turned off the car, and we settled in to wait. I glanced down to check my phone. It read 11:50.

      ‘Hey, isn’t that Ms Lucian?’ said Katie suddenly.

      I peered through the shadowy lights of the parking lot. A woman was making her way quickly across the empty space, carrying a small bag. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and her red-tipped black hair blew across her face as she walked in the direction of the Gypsy Ink.

      ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘That’s her.’

      ‘What’s our drama teacher doing here, and this late at night?’ Katie leaned over the steering wheel, watching with narrowed eyes as Esmeralda Lucian walked into the shop and closed the door behind her. ‘Oh, do you think she’s getting a tattoo?’

      I glanced over my shoulder at my duffel bag in the back seat. I could just see the outline of the small, leather-bound book, where I’d placed it in the side pocket. If Ezzie was here, it could only mean one thing: she was going with Hugo and the Corsis to Savannah.

      ‘There was something I left out when I was telling you everything,’ I said, turning to Katie. ‘Ezzie sort of works with the Corsi clan.’

      ‘Ezzie?’

      ‘Ms Lucian … Esmeralda Lucian … is a former gargoyle.’

      Katie shot me another suspicious look. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

      ‘I don’t know all the details,’ I said, looking back towards the tattoo shop. Everything was still quiet. ‘A long time ago, when she was a gargoyle, Esmeralda had a charge. His name was Markus, and he died. Apparently it was her fault, and she was turned human as punishment.’

      I could see Katie processing. I assumed it was about Ezzie, but her question caught me off guard. ‘So, does that mean that Sebastian could be cured of whatever this is?’

      ‘It’s not a disease.’

      The words snapped free of my lips harsher than I’d intended. But I didn’t regret them. My stomach turned over again as I saw Sebastian’s face in my memory and heard my name as he said it, gentle and full of warmth.

      ‘I didn’t mean—’

      ‘I know,’ I said quickly, studying the flashing neon sign of the Gypsy Ink. ‘Ms Lucian still has a lot of shadowen abilities,’ I continued, preferring to switch the subject back to Ezzie. ‘And her senses are really good. Plus, she’s still really protective of the Corsis.’

      ‘Why do the Corsis need protecting?’ Katie asked.

      ‘We all do,’ I replied.

      ‘From what?’

      ‘I told you, from the shadow creatures.’

      Katie slumped in the driver’s seat with a heavy, exasperated sigh. ‘Yeah, yeah. The monsters that have been after your people since the Dark Ages. I heard everything you said back at my house.’

      I didn’t have the energy to reply, not that there was anything else to say. After listening to my outrageous story, Katie had still chosen to come with me. Could I really expect anything more?

      The shop’s neon sign went dark.

      I checked my phone again. It was five minutes past midnight. After a few moments, three motorcycles rounded the side of the building from the back of the strip mall. It was easy to make out the figures of James, Kris, and Vincent, even underneath the sickly light of the street lamps. An old pick-up truck followed them through the empty lot. As the vehicle slowed to pull out into the street, I caught a glimpse of the occupants: Hugo driving and Ezzie in the passenger seat.

      ‘Okay,’ I said, buckling my seat belt. ‘Let’s go.’

      Katie kept a considerable distance from the Corsi caravan as they took the main road leading out of Sixes, just enough to keep Hugo’s brake lights in view. Neither one of us spoke as we turned onto the Interstate. I leaned against the window, staring at the darkened road and the occasional white lights from oncoming cars.

      ‘So, what are we going to do when we get there?’ asked Katie.

      ‘I’m still working on that.’

      I massaged my temples with my fingertips. I would testify before the High Council on Sebastian’s behalf. I would do everything in my power to make sure he walked free. But my head ached with uncertainties, questions that went deeper than his being framed at the kris.

      What information did Karl’s books contain that was so important Augustine would be willing to murder for it? And why was he still after Sebastian, as Hugo believed? But there was one question that bothered me the most: what had happened to Sebastian when he was in that cage to turn him so wild?

      ‘Josie, did you hear me?’

      I jumped in the seat. Katie threw a sideways glance at me as she drove.

      ‘I’m sorry, I was thinking.’

      ‘About Quentin?’ she asked. Her tone was level and pointed. ‘You do realize you haven’t said one thing to me about him this whole time.’

      I felt cold again, and I wrapped my arms around my stomach. ‘He went with Augustine last night, on my father’s orders, to make sure Sebastian was delivered safely to the High Council. I’m sure he’s probably on his way back home by now.’

      ‘You don’t know?’

      ‘He hasn’t texted. But he usually doesn’t when he’s working.’

      Katie’s curious stare burned into me. But I didn’t look at her. I knew Quentin had been pleased with how things had turned out in the kris, despite the sweet words and consoling hugs he offered me. He’d never liked Sebastian, never even gave him a real chance. And I knew I was going to have to confront that head on. But right now, I had Sebastian’s trial to think about.

      *

      ‘We have to stop for gas,’ said Katie.

      ‘What?’ I bolted out of my half-slumber and yanked out my phone. We’d been on the road nearly three hours. I stared at the black road stretching out before us. There were several red taillights, and I wasn’t sure which one was Hugo’s anymore. ‘No, we can’t. We’ll lose the Corsis.’

      ‘My refuel light’s been on for the last twenty miles,’ said Katie. ‘We won’t make it there on this tank. Besides, I really have to pee.’ She glanced pleadingly at me. ‘I promise, we’ll be really quick. But I’m seriously going to wet myself if we don’t stop now.’

      ‘Okay,’ I said, trying to manage my frustration. ‘Just hurry.’

      We took the exit ramp and stopped at the first gas station. I filled up the tank while Katie went inside to use the facilities. She came СКАЧАТЬ