blood by selina

Author:selina [selina]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter Sixteen

Everly stared at the bloody parchment. A light-headed queasiness swelled through her, then drew together into a hard lump in her throat.

They hadn’t known for sure that the Bane of Teeth and Stars was the answer they needed regarding Everly’s powers. Maybe the name of the artifact had been a total coincidence. Maybe the vasmire’s dying words didn’t mean anything at all. But this artifact was the only possible lead they had.

In its absence, Everly watched all her hopes for figuring out how to deal with the dragon fade away.

She couldn’t live like this, in this constant state of worrying that she’d slip up and kill someone else. Nell’s husband may have been a resurrected zombie, but he’d been a living, breathing person when Everly’s light ended him. He’d saved her, led her to Rylan, showing a heart that was still good, a mind that still comprehended the world around him. The guilt hummed like a swarm of hornets inside her. The thought of anyone else getting hurt by her ... Lian, Callan ... Harper.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Are you sure this is where it’s supposed to be?”

Lian nodded and pointed to a small bronze plate on the side of the podium, engraved with the name. She then pressed her palm against the corner of the glass. The whole glass facade popped open and released a blast of cool, dry air. She reached inside and grabbed the parchment. “This is the place. Whoever took it left this behind. It belongs with the Bane.”

“Could it just be, I don’t know, being used or something right now, by someone at the estate?”

“The things in here, they don’t get used. They’re considered too precious, or rather, no one knows what to do with them. Some are just, things. Some may have special powers, but it takes a bit of trial and error to work that out, and Mordan doesn’t like sharing his toys.” Lian shook her head as she pulled a clean square of canvas from her tote bag and wrapped the bloody parchment in it. Up close, it looked like leather made of a dull, pale skin. “It is weird, though, how so many artifacts are missing from their cases.” Lian cast a wary look around at the sea of illuminated podiums. Then she tucked the wrapped parchment into the back waistline of her jeans.

“What are you doing?”

“If we find the Bane, we’ll need this,” Lian explained, releasing her jacket so that it fell over the parchment, hiding it from view. “It’s somewhat disturbing that it’s not with the Bane now.”

Everly closed the glass door, the lock clicking back into place. “We’re still going to try and find it? How?”

Lian shrugged. “I don’t know. Having the wrapper is a start though. Maybe whoever has the Bane will come to us to get it. Otherwise, things will get pretty messy.”

Everly’s forehead wrinkled. “Messy—?”

A hint of movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She whirled around, her heart leaping into her throat.

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