揂re there any other secret compartments or hidden rooms I should know about??I asked.
Circe touched her thumb to the tips of her fingers one at a time like she was counting in her head. She raised her eyebrows and smiled. 揧es. But we抣l talk about that later.?
She handed me the object she抎 taken from the hidden drawer. It was a heavy pocket watch with a long silver chain. The faded engraving pressed into its dull golden face was familiar, the Colchis family crest梩he three faces representing the goddess Hecate. Circe reached over and pressed a small button on the side, and it popped open. Inside was a series of interconnected silver rings with notches and grooves that all fit together perfectly against a backdrop of tiny painted moons in all its waning and waxing phases. Pointed golden arrows, like the hands of a clock, moved almost imperceptibly; the longest one had just moved past the illustration of the bright, full moon.
揑t抯 an astrological clock,?Circe said. 揑t tracks the cycles of the moon, the rotation of the planet on its axis. Hecate and the moon are inextricably linked. This device has been in the Colchis family for at least a hundred years, maybe longer. It can help us keep track of time. If we have a full cycle of the moon, then, according to this, we have about twenty-eight more days to find the last piece of the Heart.?
Persephone excused herself and came back a few moments later carrying a stack of books, papers, and a rolled-up map. She and Circe organized everything on the table.
揇o you have the parchment??Persephone asked.
I realized she must have been talking about the crumbling document pressed between plastic I抎 found in the secret office behind the fireplace in my room. I quickly went to my bag and took it out, carefully handing it over.
揅an I ask you something??I said to Circe.
揙f course,?she said.
揇id you梔id you steal this from the Vatican Archives??
Persephone抯 head snapped up. 揧ou can抰 really steal something if it belongs to you.?
揑 mean, I抦 on your side,?I said quickly. Persephone gave me an approving grin.
Circe handled the parchment as if it were made of glass, and I felt bad I抎 shoved it in my bag like some old homework. 揟his document was taken from our family a very long time ago,?Circe continued. 揑t belongs to us. I wouldn抰 say we stole it as much as we reclaimed it. How did you know it came from the archives??
揗o has a friend who used to be a curator at the Brooklyn Museum,?I said. 揇r. Kent. She sent me a picture of it. She抯 the one who told me Medea was probably a real person.?
Something dark passed over Circe抯 face. She looked worried. She exchanged glances with Persephone, whose expression was much harder to read.
Circe turned to Mo. 揅ould you put me in touch with this Dr. Kent??
A little ripple of fear traced its way down my back. 揝he抯 really nice,?I said. 揕ike, I didn抰 tell her anything. I just asked some questions about Medea抯 story, that抯 all. I know y抋ll kept all of this within the family, but棓 I pictured Marie in the cemetery梩he carnage left in her wake. Persephone had the Heart抯 power running through her, too, and I didn抰 want to see Dr. Kent hurt because of something I might have said.
Circe smiled warmly. 揑t抯 okay. I actually have some questions of my own, and if she was able to glean some truths from the pages, there might be some other things she can help me with.?
揕ike what??I asked.
She opened her mouth to speak when the doorbell rang. Mo went to answer it and returned a few seconds later with Nyx and Marie. Persephone had seemed distant, maybe even a little stiff, but she lit up when she saw Nyx. Nyx brushed Persephone抯 braids behind her shoulder, then ran a hand over her own bald head.
揅ut it all off and be like me, Seph. Free yourself.?
Persephone laughed. 揑 like the braids. And nobody does bald quite like you. I couldn抰 compete.?
揝top,?Nyx said playfully.
Marie came over and slipped her hand into mine. 揌ey,?she said. She kissed me gently on the cheek. 揧ou doin?okay??
揘o,?I said honestly. 揘ot even a little. But we were about to sit down and try to make a plan. Maybe that抣l help me feel like we抮e doing something instead of just hanging around waiting for the pieces to fall into place.?
Mo eyed our intertwined hands and smiled gently at me before sitting down in the only chair Persephone had left in the room. Circe rounded the table and rested the tips of her fingers on its surface as she surveyed the vast collection of papers, maps, drawings, and books.
揟he Colchis family is tasked with guarding the pieces of the Absyrtus Heart,?she said. 揥e all know and understand this, but over hundreds of generations, the pieces have been separated as the branches of our family tree diverged. We come from Medea. She was the daughter of the goddess Hecate, niece of the legendary sorceress Circe, wife of the leader of the Argonauts, Jason. Magic梐nd poison梤un in our veins.?She took a deep breath. 揓ason抯 line has always coveted the Heart抯 pieces. They have always been hunting it梐nd us. Just before Selene was murdered棓 Circe gripped the table and I held tight to Marie抯 arm. 揥e had come to an understanding梩he risk of continuing on this way just wasn抰 worth the pain, the loss. We thought if we could find all the pieces, we could destroy them and be done with this treacherous work. I still feel strongly that we should try to finish what Selene, Persephone, and I started, and of course now we have a reason to do it as quickly as possible.?She looked at Mo. 揥e have to get Thandie back. I won抰 entertain any other options.?