“Oh, okay.”
“And I got a job.”
“Oh, wow,” she said. “Good for you.”
“I’m leaving town. It’s a relocation, not sure of exactly where yet. So I wanted to say a permanent good-bye.”
She felt her heart actually shrink. Kyle was never a permanent good-bye. The door had been left open, but now it was shutting. She didn’t like it.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re moving forward in your life, but I will miss you,” she said. “Even though we haven’t seen each other in months anyway.”
“Yeah, I felt the same,” he said. “But I wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
“If you hadn’t kicked me to the curb, I wouldn’t have ever been motivated to go make something of myself. It was the kick in the ass I needed. Thanks.”
She softened and Skylar popped into her mind. “Kyle, Skylar …”
A car careened down the driveway, cutting her short. She looked up, questioning the unfamiliar car, and was horrified to see Britt Anjawal hop out after it screeched to a halt.
“You have nerve coming here,” she said angrily, moving toward Britt.
“Please wait,” Britt pleaded, approaching her. “Let me explain.”
Suki didn’t slow her steps; she felt like she might punch the girl.
Britt, seeing the look in her eyes, started backing away. “I had to try to save my mother,” she blurted. “That stone was supposed to restore a memory. My mother’s is all but gone.” She held Skylar’s simple rock out in her hand as an offering. “If it’s any consolation, it didn’t work.”
“No shit.” Suki grabbed the rock out of her hand. “It was a decoy. But Skylar succeeded anyway, without your help. So maybe, after a little time has passed, your mother will recover.” She said in a more gentle tone, “I hope she does.”
“Thank you,” Britt said. “Is Skylar home?”
“I guess you don’t know,” she said, glancing at Kyle. “Skylar was taken.”
“Taken? Where?” Britt and Kyle asked in unison. Both looked horrified.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Suki said. “No one knows. She went through an alchemical door with a black sorcerer. And we’re devising a plan to get her back.”
“No … shit,” Kyle said slowly.
Britt’s face fell. “I can’t believe it. After all she went through at Silverwood, all she’s done for humanity … she gets punished even more. This is terrible.”
“Tell me about it. But this isn’t the end. Like I said, we’ve got a plan,” Suki said with conviction.
“I wish I could help, Suuk, but I’ve got this new job,” Kyle said.
“Yeah,” Suki said. “You need to go start that job. Don’t worry. We’ve got a lot of people working on this.”
“I want to help,” Britt said.
“Well, thanks,” Suki said, unconvinced. “Leave your number under the doormat. If something comes up that fits, I’ll give you a call.” She hopped in her car.
“Sure you will,” Britt mumbled, just loud enough for Suki to hear as she drove away.
Ocean opened her front door seconds after Suki knocked. “I expected you long before now.” She glanced out to the circular driveway. “Did you come alone?”
“I’m not with Kyle anymore,” Suki said.
Ocean moved aside and let her through.
Suki had only been in Ocean’s house once before—the day Skylar was taken by Cyril Magus. She followed her into the parlor room. She hadn’t noticed the incredibly odd paintings on the walls the last time she was here. They were Renaissance style. Most depicted goddess-like women in battle. One was fighting the actual devil.
Suki sat on the sofa. “Ocean, what do we do?”
“Would you like some tea, dear?” Ocean asked, ignoring her question.
“No, thank you. I really just need direction. I understand the mechanics of Skylar’s rescue, but I can’t help but think there’s another part of this. Like we have a chance to help in a different way.” She put the gift shop map on the coffee table.
Ocean looked at the map. “Witches don’t want to help us.”
“There seems to be a lot of information on these maps,” Suki said.
“There’s a lot of information everywhere. You just have to be open to it. Tuck that away for later, Suki. Maybe it will come in handy.”
Suki forced herself to say the words. “The red book,” she said. “I read it.”
“All right,” Ocean said, expressionless.
“And he was the president of this country! And now Mr. Magus is still out there, with Skylar. I can’t help but think that what’s going on with Skylar is tied to that book. Kyle was the conspiracy theorist between us, but I think of Joshua and his behaviors and the things I read in that book …” She winced. “I was under the impression that it was Milicent who had the control over him, but now I’m thinking it was Devlin.”
Ocean sighed. “You’re not far off.” She left the room and came back a moment later with the red book in her hand. She tossed it on the coffee table in front of Suki. “The Freemasons are just one of the many sects over the millennia that have had knowledge and kept it hidden,” Ocean said. “They weren’t all bad. George Washington was a decent man. But things have deteriorated a lot since then.”
Suki got up again to pace the room. “Skylar getting caught up with Joshua was no coincidence. I never understood it. He was so crass. But now I think it was all so much more complicated than we could have imagined—or, at least, I could have imagined. Milicent was never involved in the dark occult.” She phrased her statement like a question. “I mean, it looked like witchcraft but it was actually more science—manipulating energy, that kind of stuff, right?”
“Fine,” Ocean said, throwing up her hands. “I guess everyone is involved at this point.” She went out to the back deck and Suki followed her. “Devlin had his own secrets, but mostly he was a puppet for Magus. He knew about Joshua all the years of his marriage to Milicent. She is brilliant but oftentimes blind to what is right under her nose. For every measure she took to make Joshua superhuman, Devlin countered it with occult darkness.” She studied Suki. “The heart thing?” she asked, reading Suki’s thoughts.
Suki nodded.
“Yes, that came from Devlin. There are deplorable practices swirling in the world of the Freemasons I can’t pretend don’t exist. Unfortunately, Joshua is in the past and I’ll have to wait until the next time he comes around to fix him.”
“Right,” Suki said. “But did Milicent know? I mean, she’s always been pro-woman. How was she married to a Freemason?”
“She firmly believed in keeping your enemies closer,” Ocean said. “But I know that rocked her. She thought she was the one in charge of their sham. But it turned out he was.”
“All of a sudden, this is bigger than just our circle. Like, the whole country big,” Suki said. “Are there other superhumans on our side to take on Magus?”