“You mean aside from helping Dace and Daire and possibly stopping Cade from destroying Enchantment and maybe the world?”
“Yeah, aside from the obvious.” She twists her fingers against the steering wheel. “Oh, forget it.” She heaves a frustrated breath. “Seriously, forget I just said that. I’ll go. I’ll do it. But I just want to make it crystal clear that what you’re asking of me is bigger than you think. It’s like asking someone with agoraphobia to leave the house, or someone with arachnophobia to make nice with a spider. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Suriel Youngblood freaks me out.”
“Only one way to overcome your fears and that’s by confronting them,” I tell her. “And, if you live through it, I might be able to help you with a little problem of yours.”
“At the moment, the only problem I can think of is going to Suriel’s. Care to enlighten me?”
“Yes, but only if you live through this. Which remains to be seen.”
“And to think you look so innocent. Who would guess the devious mind that inhabits your cute little head?” Lita laughs and taps the wheel lightly.
“Almost no one,” I quip. “Now, instead of making a left, I need you to turn right.”
“How’d you know I was gonna go left?”
“By the way your hand shifted when you hit the blinker.”
“Seriously?”
I shrug.
“Sheesh. You’re more observant than most sighted people.” Her car judders in protest as the road grows progressively worse. “Definitely not the affluent side of town, is it?” She groans. “Not that we have an affluent side of town. Other than the Richters’ compound.”
“What’s it like? I assume you’ve been inside?”
“More than once.” Lita makes a small sound of displeasure. “It’s like getting a glimpse inside a secret society. Only the chosen few get an invite. I felt so cool and privileged at the time, but in retrospect, it was creepy. Aside from all the opulence and excess, it’s a strange mix of eclectic, modern, and tribal, with a sizable stash of priceless antiques. And now that I know what I know, I can’t help but wonder if all of those ancient artifacts were used in the family’s dark rituals.”
“Did you see them perform any dark rituals?”
“None that I know of. But they are sorcerers, so I’m assuming pretty much everything they do is a ritual of some kind. I’m just lucky they didn’t use me as a sacrifice.”
“I think you were safe. They usually need virgins for that sort of thing.”
“Xotichl!” Lita gasps.
“Speaking of—”
“Speaking of virgin sacrifice?”
“Speaking of dark rituals … if my senses are correct, the church we’re looking for should be right up ahead. I’m picking up on some weird energy.” Along with some dense, dark, and shadowy forms—I keep the thought to myself.
“Should I drive right up to it, or should I be more covert?”
“Hard to be covert in the middle of nowhere. Besides, better to be obvious about our interest; if we act sneaky, he’ll get suspicious.”
Lita brakes hard, sending the car lurching forward and back, before cranking the wheel in a series of turns, until she’s positioned just where she wants it.
“Now we can make a quick getaway. I plan to leave the engine running as well. You can thank me later,” she says, as we climb out of the car and move toward the church, which to me appears as a small, lurching form draped in a heavy cloak of black. But I’m curious how it might look to her, so I ask her to describe it in detail. “Well, it’s adobe. Actually, make that crumbling adobe which probably comes as a total shock, seeing that this is Enchantment and all.” The laugh that follows is sharp and sarcastic. “Okay, what else … it’s small, but that’s only because no sane person would ever choose to come here, so it’s not like he needs a lot of room for overpacked pews. Overall, I’d say it’s pretty dilapidated. But then again, you know what they say—zero parishioners equals zero tithing. And yet…” I veer closer. She’s come to the part I’m interested in. “For being so old and crumbly, it’s surprisingly well-maintained. Which I know sounds completely contradictory, but what I mean is that it’s wearing a fresh coat of whitewash, there’s a freshly shoveled path that leads to the door, and the plants are in decent shape, despite all the snow.”
“Oleander, right?” I tip my nose high and inhale deeply.
“Um, yeah. I think so. I’m just wondering where he keeps all the snakes.”
“I keep the snakes in their aquariums,” a voice says from behind us.
Suriel’s sudden and unexpected appearance causes me to jump as Lita squeals and grabs my arm in a tourniquet grip.
“I didn’t know you were here … we were just…” Lita trembles beside me, as I loosen her fingers. Only vaguely aware of my arm tingling from my elbow to my fingertips as I take in the shadowy figure that hosts some of the worst energy I’ve ever seen.