I shake my head, forcing my mind to focus on the task at hand. I dig out the letters with gleeful abandon. Haphazard piles of envelopes build up on the floor. Sweet. If nothing else, it will give Prescott something to clean up later. And if the headmaster freaks out that someone was rifling through his office? We’ll be long gone.
Lincoln steals closer. “Tell me the codex is in there.”
I dig out more letters and find nada. Disappointment weighs on my shoulders. “Not yet. But the drawer is really long.” Leaning forward, I jam my arm shoulder-deep into the drawer.
Still nothing.
Panic tightens up my rib cage. What if I totally miscalled this one? If we don’t find the codex, then Lincoln and I could go to jail, which would really suck…And not only for personal reasons. Together, we’d have a much better chance to stop Lucifer’s coin from releasing Hell on Earth. That is, assuming Prescott digs up the coin in the first place.
I sigh. The way my day is going? Prescott’s totally going to dig that thing up.
At last, my fingertips brush something smooth and hard. My tail does a happy dance. “Yes!”
“You’ve got something?”
“I think so.”
Moving quickly, I haul out more letters than ever before. Angling my head, I look into the depths of the desk drawer. A glint of white shell appears in the back corner. Bit by bit, I slowly pull the object out. It’s a magical codex, all right. Lifting the item up, I scan the bottom for the runes that mark it as ours.
“This is our codex, all right.” I smile so hard, my cheeks hurt.
A little bubble of happy seems to descend around me. It’s getting to be late Friday morning. Lincoln and I still have enough time to get the codex into the court, submit it as evidence, and put Aldred into a nasty little dungeon for the rest of his natural-born life.
Nyah part deux.
Lincoln’s grinning, too. He offers me his fist to bump. “Good work, Myla.”
Before I can raise my arm, my tail swoops in, the arrowhead-end curving as it knocks into Lincoln’s fist. I can only chuckle. My tail is such a ham.
Lincoln’s gaze locks with mine. A warm feeling seeps through my chest as my little bubble of happiness expands. For the first time in days, I contemplate all the wonderful things in our joint future. The wedding. Starting a family. Throwing Aldred into prison. Nothing but fun times. Sure, the coin is still floating around. That said, the only reason the coin’s a problem is Aldred. Once he’s locked up, we should be golden.
But none of that will start until we get our asses out of here. Cradling the codex against my chest, I march toward the door, pausing beside coatrack where Prescott had a collection of jackets and stuff.
“Are you cold?” asks Lincoln.
“Nope. I need something to carry this codex.” I spot a leather backpack. “This will do perfectly.” Oooh, it’s Prada too. My BFF Cissy’s been teaching me about these human things. I zip open the bag. It doesn’t look like anything special. Then again, what I don’t know about fashion is a lot. I slip the codex inside, zip it back up, and hoist the pack onto my shoulders. “There now, all set. How close is the nearest Pulpitum?”
“Not far, once the boatman takes us across the lake.”
“Makes sense. I suspected that Dad was driving in circles to get here.”
“Your father is a total gear head. Xavier knows almost as much about human automobiles as he does about demons.”
“Wow.” That’s all I can say because Dad knows a ton about demons.
We step outside. The moment fresh air hits me, my skin prickles with awareness. Something’s not right here. First of all, finding the codex was way too easy. Second, the courtyard is deserted now. Presumably, everyone’s digging holes on another part of the island. That’s not what has my danger-radar going off, though. An odd tension hangs in the air. I’m no expert in hunting, but I think we’re being watched. I pause just outside the door. “Someone’s out there.”
Lincoln stands beside me, his mouth thinning to a line. “Yes.”
“Should we run for the dock?”
“No, they’re thrax. They’ll catch up to us in the woods. Better to face them here.”
My eyes almost bug out of my head. I don’t know how Lincoln knows who’s watching us. Still, I have no doubt that he’s spot-on about them being thrax. It’s all part of the expert-hunter thing he’s got going on. I clasp the straps of my backpack more tightly.
Crap on a cracker. Thrax.
Lincoln kisses my cheek. “Let’s see who’s lurking, eh?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Lincoln and I move to stand at the top of the stairs leading to Prescott’s office. We both look out over the clearing. It looks like a bunch of grass and trees to me. Lincoln focuses on one particular section, though. “We can see you, you know.”
Actually, I can’t see dick, but I’m not volunteering that fact.