I flipped the phone over so he could see the screen. Twenty-five missed calls. “I must have accidentally put it on silent,” I whispered as a feeling of dread washed over me, but then an icon in the top left-hand corner of the phone caught my attention. “She left voice mails.”
With a shaky hand, I pressed the voice mail button and placed the phone against my ear. The first few voice mails were what I expected, Serena urging me to call her back. But as the voice mails progressed, Serena’s tone grew more and more frantic. By the time I got to the last one—left only a few moments ago—I felt like I was going to throw up.
I listened carefully and hung up the phone.
“What did she say? Lainey, what is it?”
I gripped my cell phone tightly as though it were the only thing keeping me anchored to earth. “The vision changed,” I whispered, my voice eerily calm. “Serena saw me die.”
“I still think we should take you to the hospital.”
Maggie plucked a fresh ice pack from the table and applied it gingerly to the knot on the back of her head. “No way. I’m fine. Just a bad headache. I promise, I’m okay.”
“You really scared me back there,” I said, trying not to yell. “What were you thinking? Jumping on that guy’s back like that, huh? He could’ve killed you!”
“He could’ve killed you. I wasn’t going to let that happen.” Maggie reached over and squeezed my hand. “We’re in this together, remember?”
“Like Batman and Robin?”
Maggie grinned. “See? Now you’re catching on, Styles.”
I reached over and hugged Maggie’s shoulders. “Seriously, though, if you do that again, you might just find a few of your precious comic books with pages missing.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Wanna bet?” I smiled but fixed my eyes on Maggie’s face. “Maggie, you have to promise me that you won’t take unnecessary risks me for me, okay? Things are going to get dangerous—more than they already have been. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
I started to protest, but Maggie clamped a hand over my mouth. “Like I said, you’re my best friend, Lainey, and we do this together. I’ll be more careful, I promise.”
“I know you will, but it’s not a good idea. If something happens to—”
“Together, Styles. Batman and Robin. You and me.” Maggie’s face was set in a determined line, and I’d seen that look before—I was more likely to convince a mule to take a bubble bath than talk Maggie into leaving.
“Fine. Batman and Robin.” I sighed. “Now, will you please lie back and try to rest?”
Maggie snorted. “We both know there’s no time for that.” She peered around my shoulder where the sound of heated discussion was coming from the office in Serena’s shop. “What have I missed?”
“A whole lot of nothing. If you’re feeling all right, you should join us.”
“I’m guessing we still don’t have a plan.”
“No. All we’ve really managed to do is argue back and forth about what we should do next.” I wiped my face with my hand, kneading at the tension in my temple. “Despite the visions, Serena thinks the Master still doesn’t know I exist, but she said the power I used at the carnival is enough to raise suspicion. The third Scavenger got away; he will have reported back to the Master by now. We need to act now.”
“But it’s not like the Scavenger knows who or what you are.”
“No, but he has my scent. The Master is cunning. It won’t take long for him to figure out that there’s another DuCarmont witch to contend with. He will come for me. I think it’s just a matter of when at this point.” I sighed. “Serena is spooked enough. She thinks we should go into hiding.” The words settled in the pit of my stomach like rocks, and I frowned. “We can’t get in touch with Gareth. I keep calling, but his phone goes straight to voice mail. It’s freaking Serena out—that and her vision.”
“Well, what do you want, Lainey?”
I stopped chewing on my bottom lip and stared at Maggie. “I . . . I don’t know.”
“I think you do,” Maggie said. “You’re just afraid to say it out loud.”
I shrugged. “I’m absolutely terrified of what the future might hold for me . . . But I keep thinking about Josephine, and my mother, and all of the other Keepers who came before me. They didn’t run.” I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to run either. I’m through with being afraid and refusing to accept that this is my destiny. When I saw what the Master did to Josephine . . . it sparked something inside of me. I’m afraid . . . but I’m more afraid of failing myself.”
I reached for Maggie’s hands, needing her to believe it too. “And I know this is right. I can’t walk away from this.”
“That’s my girl, Styles.” Maggie grinned at me. “So what now?”
I bit down on my lip again. “I think I have a plan. But it’s absolutely crazy and it probably won’t work.”
Maggie scoffed. “You know, I think all great ideas are a little crazy.”
I cracked a smile and helped Maggie up from the couch. “Come on.”
We walked arm in arm to the office where Serena and Ty were still arguing.
“I have a plan,” I said, interrupting the conversation. Ty and Serena turned to face me. “I know what we need to do.”
“What we need is to get you someplace safe,” Serena said. “Something’s wrong. The vision I had . . .” She shook her head as if to shake the image from her thoughts. “I promised Gareth I’d look after you while he’s gone. We need to get you far away from here.”
“No.”
“What?” Serena stared at me.
“I said no. I’m not going to hide, Serena. It doesn’t matter where we go, or how long we run. Eventually the Master will find me.”
Ty reached over and grabbed my hand. “You know we’ll protect you, Lainey. I will protect you. No one will hurt you.”
“I know,” I said softly, “but I’m not gonna run from this. I know who . . . what you are, Ty, but you can’t protect me from my destiny. I’m not going to let you or Serena or anyone hide me away from the world again.” I took a breath, my voice stronger now. “I’ve always wanted to find out who I really am, to go out and see the world, to make my own discoveries—sure, it’s not how I always pictured things to be, but this is it. This is my time.”
I smiled at him, my own version of the half smirk he was always flashing me. “Besides, once the Master figures out who I am, he’ll never stop hunting me. I refuse to spend my life hiding.” I took a deep breath, bolstering my courage. “Therefore . . . I propose an alternative.”
Serena looked uncertain. “But Gareth said—”
“Let her talk,” Maggie said, moving to stand beside me. “It should be Lainey’s call.”
I squeezed Maggie’s hand. “It’s simple, really. If the Master gets ahold of me, he’ll force me to unlock the Grimoire, right? For the spell Lane DuCarmont stole from him?”
Serena nodded. “Yes. The dark magic has made him incredibly vulnerable. He needs that spell.”
“Well, isn’t it obvious, then?” I couldn’t stop the grin from forming on my face. “We have to steal back the book.”