A Book of Spirits and Thieves

A shiver sped down Crys’s spine. “Dr. Vega wrote a paper on the Codex. He’s the one who made it public after all those years of it being hidden.”


“A very stupid move by a very smart man. If he hadn’t done that, Markus might never have found out about it.” She let out a shaky sigh. “But Uriah wanted so desperately to please his father—to make him proud. His intentions were not malicious—I know that now. At the time . . . it was all so confusing, Crystal.”

Not much had changed in that regard. “Mom, Markus says the book is his. That the magic in it can help him save the world from evil.”

If that was true, how could Markus be the bad guy her mother believed him to be?

Her mother stared at her. “Markus mentioned the book to you?”

Crys nodded, her heart pounding. “He knows Jackie found it.”

Julia Hatcher’s expression turned bleak. “So it seems we’ll have to deal with him sooner than I thought we would.”

Her voice held both fear and resolve.

Crys still needed more answers, and she couldn’t let herself be distracted. “Mom, if Markus is evil like you say he is, why would Dad stay with him? Why wouldn’t he be with us instead?”

Julia sat back down at the table. “When one is initiated into the society, Markus gives them a mark on their left forearm. They’re given a second if they’re accepted into Markus’s trusted circle. Markus carves the marks into their skin with a golden blade, and then he heals them with his magic. The first mark keeps his followers healthy, safe from any physical illness. It also ensures their loyalty to him and the society. The second mark improves their senses. They can literally see in the dark or hear whispers from across a room. The gift had its shortcomings, though, as we soon learned. Bright light becomes unbearable to the eyes and loud noises are deafening.” She ran her fingers gently over her skin. “And the arm stays incredibly tender for a very long time.”

Crys stared, speechless, at her mother’s forearm, the flesh unblemished.

“The effect was always weaker for me than for Jackie and Daniel,” she explained. “My senses, my loyalty, my health. I still got sick from time to time. I knew it hadn’t worked as well for me, but something kept me silent. It became my horrible secret. When we finally left the society, your father fought against the urge to return for nearly thirteen years before he couldn’t fight anymore. He was drawn back to Markus like a magnet because of the magic etched into his flesh. There are times when I also feel that pull . . . a little. But it has much less power over me than it does Daniel.”

“What about Jackie? Does she feel the pull of loyalty?”

“No. She hates Markus.”

“She thinks you can use the Codex to destroy him.”

“She knows the more time he’s in a world that’s not his own, the weaker he becomes. He needs the Codex to renew his strength, his magic. Right now, he’s vulnerable.”

“How does she know all that?”

“Because Markus once told her himself.”

“Seriously?” Crys’s brow shot up. “He trusted her that much?”

Her mother drained her coffee and went to pour another cup.

“Mom?” Crys prompted. “How did Jackie get Markus to tell her something so personal?”

She took a deep breath as she returned to the table, clutching her coffee mug tightly between her hands. “Because . . . once, a long time ago, Jackie and Markus were madly in love.”

Again, the breath left Crys’s lungs. “In love.”

Julia nodded. “They kept their relationship a secret, but he soon came to trust her more than anyone else. He told her secrets he’d never share with another, not even my grandfather. But then she learned of his crimes . . . and how he sought to control her, how he sought to control the Kendall line . . .”

“How?”

Her mother didn’t speak right away. She took another sip of her coffee, as if it would give her the strength to continue. “When he learned that Grandma had kept the Codex away from him for all those years, Markus was furious. When she wouldn’t reveal where she’d hidden it, he . . . he killed her. He killed a harmless old woman.”

Crys stared at her, horrified. “Oh my God.”

Her jaw tensed. “When my parents learned the truth, Markus had them killed, too, leaving us orphans when we were not much older than you and Becca. When my grandfather died soon after, of natural causes, he left his fortune and his mansion to Markus. Markus is the one who allowed us to keep the bookshop in our family out of the goodness of his cold, black heart. How could Jackie have continued to love a man like that?”

It was too much for Crys to even attempt to wrap her mind around. The very thought that this was the whole, actual truth made her sick to her stomach.

But she’d asked for this. She’d wanted her mother to open up, to trust her with the whole story. She couldn’t turn back now. She needed to know everything.