Actually, I know it as we study the mansion from our vantage across the street. It’s not the gate itself, even though it’s centered by dramatic iron wolves that fit together to embrace in the middle. It’s something else. A vibration, unconventional but exceptional, that clings to the air. It’s as revealing as petrichor after rain or cocoa after Reg has made her special Barbajada.
Kara has been here before. Many times.
I’m as sure of it as my next breath, which doesn’t enter my chest without some taut resistance. “Yep,” I murmur, leaning over the steering wheel to gain a better view of the multifloored mansion beyond the well-developed olive and palm trees. “This is it. I’m sure of it.”
Jesse nods while applying the last fold to the tourist map. “Are you as certain of how we’re going to get inside now? Because something tells me that little guy has plenty of friends.” He gestures toward the small security camera atop one of the gate’s support pillars before joining me in focusing on the mansion.
There’s no screaming bustle of activity inside, leading me to believe Veronica is still in the dark about the trouble two-thirds of her children have stepped into, but it’s obvious the matriarch is still home. Her pristine Bentley is parked out front, and most of the mansion’s windows are glowing with gold-hued light.
I push away from the wheel with a peeved grunt. How could I have not accounted for security cameras? The old me, controlled and cogent to a fault, wouldn’t have. But that guy was also only half of me. The man who’d never actually allow his stronger side to take over, even for six seconds.
The half dozen beats that it takes me to speak now-familiar words, “Ex ignes victoria.”
“From fire, victory?” Jesse returns with a rough chuff. “Do you really need the translation again, man?”
I toss him a fast side-eye. “Of course not.”
“Then…what? Because I’m not sure the Valari rally cry is the Alakazam you’re looking for. As magic spells go, that’s—okay, whoa.”
During his snark, I’ve been focusing harder on the security camera: willing the powerful Latin creed to fill my mind and senses. The harder I concentrate, the thicker the air swirls directly over the security camera. Soon, it forms a thick, dark cloud. The small nimbus starts to overflow, dumping out a three-foot-wide downpour. Within seconds, there’s even a triple feature of lightning.
Jesse chuckles in time to those electric charges. “Professor Kane says lights out, bitches.”
After a moment, I get out and make short work of setting up his chair on the truck’s passenger side. As soon as he swings down and gets settled, we go into stealth mode that’s been well-practiced since fifth grade.
We slip past the sprung gate with less ruckus than a pair of alley cats and then cautiously proceed down a wide flagstone path alongside the main mansion. The outdoor lights ahead are already making it feel like a direct way to the backyard.
Thankfully, we’re right. Soon we discover an enormous pool, a large stone fire pit, two marble fountains, and a scattering of Caesar-worthy loungers. More importantly, I spot the guesthouse and the narrow pathway to it.
Once we’re side-by-side in front of the door, I hesitate to knock. But why? I am the one who insisted we walk out on hot pizza and reliable scientific research to come here. But for a split second, I doubt the call. I worry it won’t be the Valari elder on the other side of this door. Or worse, it will be, and he’ll refuse to help us.
“Seriously?” Jesse mutters it as if all my thoughts have turned into holograms across the small stoop. He spares me the lecture and leans forward to level a forceful knock on the door.
There’s an answering rustle from inside. And then, “In the study!”
Following instinct, I try the doorknob. It’s not locked. “Come on.”
Inside, the furniture is well worn but clean, and the air smells like herbal tea and biscotti. Already there’s a pang in my chest. Just by inhaling, I can discern why Kara treasured her visits here. As Jesse and I take a slow perusal through the place, I envision her hanging out with her gramps at the small table in the kitchen or snuggling under the thick blanket on the couch while trying to convince him to watch a film from this century.
I miss you, little demon. With every cell in my being.
“Dalton! Christmas on a cracker. I already told you I’m back…”
As the man’s voice fizzles, I’m finally able to follow it to one of the rooms at the back of the cottage and step into the doorway of a sizable study. The figure in the leather chair is an odd but ideal match for the scene, with his wrinkled pants, argyle sweater vest, and tortoise-shell eyeglasses.
Glasses he uses to size me up with eerily calm thoroughness. “You’re not Dalton.”
I shake my head. In return, he draws in a long breath.
“I know who you are. I just always thought Kara would be the one to introduce us when the time came. And since you’re not here with her and you look like you’re about to start a tsunami in the swimming pool…”
With traces of Kara’s presence all over the air, I’m reminded again of how far away she really is. My scowl becomes painful.
“What’s wrong?” he chokes out at once. “What’s going on? Is she in danger?”
I take the room’s other chair. As Jesse glides across the threshold, I plant both hands onto my knees, squaring my posture to fully face the only man who might understand how deeply I love Kara Valari and how dire these circumstances truly are.
Jesse rolls in a few more inches and pulls out his spiral pads from one of his wheelchair’s saddlebags. “We need your help, Giovani. Kara needs it.”
Gio drags his worried gaze from me to Jesse, who offers a small wave of introduction. “Greetings. I’m Jesse, by the way. This dude’s best friend, which defaults me to the front of the line for Operation Find Kara enlistment.”
“Find her?” Gio’s eyes bulge wider. Harsh air snags in his throat. “What’s happened?”
“We were on a date,” I begin. “Actually, Jaden invited her to a party he was co-hosting with his friend Rerek.”
The old man’s growl says enough about his opinion of Rerek, so I don’t elaborate further on that part of the story. The snake will get what’s coming to him one day, but finding Kara is my first priority.
“Rerek was in on it. Hades…” I sigh heavily. “My uncle…he took her.”
“In the middle of the party?” Gio demands. “With mortals watching?”
“Nobody in that room was pumping warm blood,” I say. “The whole thing was a setup. Hades had the upper hand from the start. He took us by surprise, and his strength and powers unfortunately far exceeded my own. We didn’t have a chance of saving her.”
“Are you saying—”
“We’re pretty sure Hades dragged Kara back to hell…so to speak,” Jesse supplies. “Which means someone needs to find a way down there. And we’re lost, man. There could be a million paths to take. Or none.”
“No.” Valari snaps his gaze, already filled with so many haunted shadows, between the two of us. “There’s only one. That’s if you haven’t lived a life of sin or plan on meeting an untimely end and intend to arrive there with no hope of getting back.”