“Okay, now you have some major explaining to do,” Hadley informed me, crossing her arms over her chest.
Lacy was lying on her sofa, strange-smelling herbs caked on her bite wound, and ice against the big knot on the back of her head.
“You bring me a poisoned mermaid who was hit with a bat.” Hadley’s eyes flicked to Blake. “And your foster brother.”
“And another broken crystal,” I added, forking over the contents of my pocket.
“Geez, Claire,” she said, taking it. “If I’d known you were going to be that much trouble when I told Logan you needed to get into Imperium, I never would have suggested he go and fetch you. I’d have told you to just come and live with me instead and taught you some witch magic. At least then you could fix some of this yourself.” She stopped complaining for all of a second before her eyes narrowed. “Speaking of Logan, where is he?”
“The headmistress exiled him right before Lacy attacked me.”
She looked surprised, but when she saw me tear up, she tactfully held onto her comments.
“I have to save him, Hadley. What can you tell me about the Forest? I need to know how to get in and get him out before it’s too late.”
“I don’t know enough,” she admitted. “The others in the coven are in charge of keeping the shields around it. I do know that the magic there is strong…and old. I don’t know much else, other than the shields have been up since Imperium was founded.”
“Books,” Lacy said, wincing as she attempted to get up.
“Hey, easy does it,” Blake told her, helping her sit up.
“There should be books,” she repeated, tenderly touching the back of her head. “In class one day, it came up that in the early days of Imperium, everything was recorded and written down. It would be in ledgers somewhere. We should try the library. Odds are, there’s something there to point us in the right direction.” She picked up the bag of ice and squeezed it in her hands. “I’m so sorry, Claire. I remember breaking the crystals—the one by the gargoyles and the one in the dorm. And I remember what I said. I fought it, but he was too strong.”
“It’s all right,” I said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault.”
Lacy looked at Blake. “I never thought I’d thank someone for hitting me, but I’m glad you did.”
“I’m sorry I hit you that hard,” he replied. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I will be,” she said. “We’d better get a move on if we’re going to help Logan. Are you ready to head back and see what we can find in the library?”
“I’ll head out and ask the others in the coven about the Forest and see what they’ll tell me,” Hadley offered.
“I’ll head back to the Watch. If I dig around, I might find someone who will tell me what they know. We’ll figure out a way to get him out, Claire.” Blake smiled.
And we would, I realized. While I might have been the one to promise Logan I would find a way to save him, there was power in numbers. After all, when a witch, a mermaid, a Yokai, and one of the Dark Watch joined forces to save a dragon, what could possibly stand in our way?
But before they could get in any deeper than they already were, they deserved to know.
“I’m the reason some of the crystals exploded. I’m a Yokai,” I blurted out, closing my eyes tight as the secret left my lips.
Complete silence enveloped me for a moment, then I cautiously opened them to find Lacy smiling at me.
“It doesn’t matter to me what kind of shifter you are, Claire. I’ll always be your friend.”
“I suspected you were something more than a woodland shifter when I suggested to Logan he needed to help you get into Imperium,” Hadley admitted. She handed Lacy a small chunk of a clear crystal that seemed familiar to me. It pulsed blue the instant it hit the mermaid’s palm. “I found this when I was doing research in some of the old spell books. It’s a piece that was left over from the globe the witches made years ago for Imperium.” She picked it up from Lacy’s hand and placed it in mine.
It instantly changed to a multitude of colors.
“The day before Logan came to pick up the crystals, you visited and picked this up. I knew then you were different. I hadn’t put the pieces together that you were the reason they were exploding, though,” I must have looked worried, because she added hastily, “Just because you’re the newest paranormal at Imperium doesn’t mean you’re the one responsible for the crystals breaking, you know. But even if you are, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m working on a spell to make them stronger so even you won’t be able to destroy them. With the bond between Victor and Lacy broken, and my new spells, the Dark Watch doesn’t stand a chance getting inside again.”
Blake had been the only one not to speak so far. Figuring I needed to explain what a Yokai actually was, I turned to him, only to find his face ashen.
“Yokai…” he whispered. His shocked eyes met mine. “I know who the Dark Watch wants. Claire, it’s you. They know what you are.”
*****