揚ersephone抯 here, too,?Circe said.
Lucille chuckled. 揂re you having a family reunion??
揝omething like that.?Circe winked at me.
Lucille swept over to me and took my hands in hers. She traced the lines on my palm, the same way she had when we first met. She stared into my eyes. 揙h, baby, what happened??
I shook my head. 揑 don抰 even know where to start.?
She ushered me into the front room as Persephone and Nyx rejoined us. Nyx grabbed a few chairs and we all sat down. Mo and Marie sat on either side of me, while Dr. Grant and Circe seemed to have reached some kind of shaky truce. They sat side by side on two folding chairs, their knees brushing against each other. Isaac stood in the doorway, and Nyx and Persephone stood shoulder to shoulder by the fireplace. Lucille paced in front of the table as Circe spoke.
揑抦 glad we抮e all here together.?She quickly glanced at Dr. Grant. 揑 have a confession to make.?
I held my breath. I didn抰 know if I could take another revelation.
Circe massaged her temple and sighed. 揑 think I抳e done a disservice to you and, if we抮e being honest, to myself by not being a little more open about what has been going on here over the years. I抳e always been a pretty private person. I thought it was what was best. Now, I know that was the wrong thing to do.?She kept her gaze on the floor. 揑 can抰 go back but I can start to try and do better.?
揘obody blames you for being so private,?Lucille said. 揕ook what you抳e had to shoulder.?
揟he burden is heavier than you could possibly imagine,?Circe said. 揃ut I抦 learning to set it down.?
揙r let us help you carry it,?Dr. Grant said.
Circe looked into her face, and it reminded me of the way Mom and Mo looked at each other. Circe swallowed hard and continued. 揥hat I want to tell you all is that we have a pretty good idea about where the last piece of the Heart is and we have to go get it to try and bring Bri抯 mom back.?
Lucille turned to me. 揥as it the oleander??
I could only nod.
揑桰 didn抰 know,?she mumbled half to herself, half to us. 揑 just saw that it was bad. I felt the pain but I didn抰 know.?
揟he only people to blame are this Redmond woman, her son, and anyone who was helping them along the way,?Circe said. 揕ou抯 disloyal ass was feeding them information.?
揑 never trusted him,?Isaac said. 揘ot fully.?
揌e抯 so good at his job, though,?Dr. Grant said. 揌e did the body when my aunt Nene died.?
Isaac nodded. 揘ene looked like she was sleeping.?
All I could think of was the body I抎 seen in the coffin when Karter and I had gone to see Lou for the first time, how Lou had been so proud of the reconstruction work he抎 done on that poor old lady抯 skull.
揌e has a good cover,?Circe said. 揌e needs to be good at his job in order to steer suspicion away from him. Nobody would have known he was betraying a sacred oath at every opportunity.?
揌e抯 been dealt with,?Marie said.
Isaac raised an eyebrow, and Lucille shrugged her shoulders like she didn抰 care one little bit.
Mo gripped my hand. 揝o now what??
揥e have to go to Abana,?Circe said. 揥e have to locate the Great Eye.?
揥e抮e not worried Karter is leading us into a trap??Marie asked.
揥e were already going to the general area,?Circe said. 揥hat I抦 more concerned about is that they抮e already so far ahead of us.?
揑f they get in your way it could trip things up,?I said. Circe抯 celestial clock sat open on the table. We were running out of time.
Lucille suddenly shuffled past Circe and approached Mo, extending her hand. Mo glanced at me and I gave her a half smile. She rested her hand in Lucille抯 and Lucille traced the lines on her palm.
揧ou stay here when they go,?Lucille said. 揧ou don抰 step foot outside this house when they go or you抣l die, just like棓
揙kay, Lucille,?Circe said. 揑 know your word is ironclad but ease up just a little for me, please. We have to focus here.?
Mo pulled her hand into her lap. 揑抦 staying. So is Bri.?
I stared into my lap because if I looked at her, she抎 see that I was up to something. Moms just know, and I couldn抰 lie to her right in her face.
揑 think our best course of action is to gather as much information as we can about Aeaea and then get to the last piece of the Heart before Karter and the others do,?said Circe. 揑t抯 clear that Karter still has someone in his corner, probably his extended family, who ferried him away on a private jet. I don抰 know what resources he has, what he抯 told them about what happened here or if it even really matters. All I know for sure is that this is going to be extremely dangerous.?
Isaac cleared his throat. 揥e were all so close for so long and then you up and disappeared for ten years. I hate seeing you leave again, but I understand you all have something you need to do.?He reached into his pocket and took out a small vial. 揑 have something that may lift your spirits.?He uncorked the glass container and poured a small amount of the shimmering silver liquid into his palm.