Immediately, my pulse started to race. Only Kas, Legion, and Shai had this number. I’d been very clear that they were only supposed to text me if something had gone very wrong.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and stared in horror at—nothing. The fucking phone was invisible, too.
With frustration mounting, I pushed the side button and yelled at Siri to call Shai.
I pressed it to my ear, and my blood pounded when it went straight to voicemail.
Fortunately, Legion picked up immediately, barking, “This is Legion,” into the phone.
Breathless, I shouted at him. “What’s happening? I can’t read the text. I’m falling behind, Legion.”
“Something is wrong, Rowan. I think the hunters knew you were coming.”
My blood turned to ice. “The demon hunters? How? No one except us knows where we’re headed.”
“I have no idea. Someone tipped them off. Because it’s not just the three or four guards—there’s a whole army out there.”
I scanned the clouds, but I saw no trace of Orion’s shadowy presence. “Where’s Shai? She didn’t pick up.”
“She’s fine. She told me she’d be waiting for you at the southern wing if you need help getting out. I just can’t see her because she’s invisible.”
“Legion, it’s too late for me to stop this. I’ve lost Orion, and I won’t get the chance to tell him before we arrive. This is happening, no matter what. All we can do is fight our way in and out.”
I shoved the phone back into my pocket and focused on my flight, trying to pick up speed.
My heart pounded hard as I raced further west and the land beneath me grew greener. Drawing closer to Sudbury, I swept closer to the ground, my eyes sharp on the earth beneath me. If I overshot the mark, I’d find myself in the underworld again, and the last thing I needed was another angry Puritan mob…though I supposed I was heading for an angry Puritan mob either way.
And there it was—the outer edges of the Great Meadows conservation land stretched beneath me. In the cool autumn air, the trees had turned the color of flames.
As I homed in on the Noyes Mansion, the metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air.
29
ROWAN
My stomach turned at the sight of the slain mortals—some of them decapitated, others burned. Blood pooled over the earth, staining the grass. Feeding the soil, just as the Puritans had done.
And for a moment there, I’d almost been worried for Orion’s safety.
I swallowed hard, ignoring the shaking in my legs as I found the stone slab that marked the entrance to the invisible mansion. I pressed my hand against the spot where the door should be for the unlocking spell, but Orion had left it open for me.
Inside the mansion, distant shouts rang across the building. This place was far grander than I’d ever imagined, with towering arched windows that let the forest’s light spill onto an old stone floor. Oil paintings of demon hunters festooned white walls above mahogany wainscoting. At either side of the hall, sweeping stone stairwells led upstairs.
But the chancery was on this lower floor.
Demon hunters were racing around the large halls, shouting orders at each other. They passed by me, completely unaware of my presence. One of them slammed the door shut behind me, and the sound echoed off the stone.
Quietly as I could, I raced toward the chancery. I sprinted through the eastern wing, counting four doors on my right. Then I slipped into a stone room with stained glass windows that let in flecks of colored light. A wooden cabinet stood in one corner. Legion had found the safe—and the grimoire—in there.
But as I approached the cabinet, a loud bell started ringing.
“Lockdown procedures in place,” a voice boomed over the intercom. “Demons have been identified in the building. We are initiating lockdown procedures.”
Breathing hard, I knelt before the safe to whisper the unlocking spell. A thrill rippled through me as the lock spun and the door clicked open. Relief loosened my breath as I pulled out the leather-bound grimoire—though it was much smaller than I’d expected. And much newer, too.
When I cracked it open, I found that it was not a grimoire at all, but a list of ordinary names and addresses.
My stomach clenched. Fuck. Had Orion already found the grimoire, then? Or had the demon hunters known to move it?
My gaze snagged on one of the names in the book, my heart hammering.
Giuseppe Esposito, 8 Gallows Hill Road, Osborne MA. Missing since September. Believed to use glamour to appear older. Likely dangerous. Missing.