A Darker Past (The Darker Agency #2)(58)

Mom swung open her car door. “Cass wants Kendra back as much as we do, Jessie.”

“I’m glad one of us is confident about that,” I muttered as we started up the walk. It was unfair, and I knew that, but Cassidy Belfair had never been June Cleaver. She’d always been hard on Kendra, and cold, and there were times when I wondered why the hell she’d had a kid in the first place. But she loved her daughter, right? They might not have the relationship Mom and I had, but she was still Kendra’s mother.

Mom took my hand and squeezed once before letting go and knocking. It took Cassidy forever, but just as I was about to suggest breaking down the door, she appeared and begrudgingly pushed it open and ushered us inside.

“Before you start with the interrogation, I don’t have the prison,” Cassidy stated coolly. She’d obviously gotten over her shell shock and had reverted to queen witch. Leading us down the hall and into the living room, she added, “But just so we’re clear, if I had possessed it, I wouldn’t need your guidance over what to do with it.”

“That,” Mom said coolly. She sank onto the couch, and I took the spot next to her. “Is beside the point at the moment. You need to be straight with us. Tell us the truth. Has the Belfair magic faded?”

Usually the very definition of restraint, Mom was losing her patience with Cassidy already. A new record for her.

Cassidy faltered, and for a second, I was sure she’d deny it. Her face went from pale to bright red before settling someplace in the middle. She sighed. “It’s true that the Belfair magic isn’t what it once was. My ancestors have gotten by, passing on the illusion of complete control, only because our mettle has never been tested. Should the coven find out…”

She was seriously worried about a power struggle right now? “Um, in case you missed it, half your coven is dead.”

She glared at me, but didn’t respond. Instead, she turned back to Mom and continued. “Our sad state can be blamed on Lorna Belfair. She did this to us.”

“How?” Mom asked.

Cassidy sank onto the chair across from us. The house felt so empty with Kendra gone. Like all the light and life and love had been sucked from the air, leaving her mom’s hostility and darkness to engulf what was left. “As you know, Lorna helped Charles Darker trap him in the mirror. What you don’t know, is that to do it, she had to imbue the mirror with a large portion of her magic. She sacrificed our family’s magic.”

Understanding bloomed in Mom’s expression. She almost looked sympathetic. “That’s why the line was weakened.”

“Yes,” Cassidy said with bite. “I’m sure you’ll now understand why it is that I despise you people. You’ve taken everything from my family.”

I could actually see the words push Mom over the edge. Her jaw tightened, and her eyes got all squinty. “Do you even hear yourself when you speak? Lorna was a good, honorable woman. An honorable witch. What she sacrificed saved, I imagine, millions of lives. No one asked her to do it. That’s what sacrifice is, Cass. It’s a choice. One that’s hard and has a lasting effect. I’m guessing she put a bit too much faith in her line. Faith that they’d understand and continue to follow her example to do the right thing.”

“You sanctimonious bitch,” Cassidy spat. “This is easy for you to preach because you haven’t lost anything. The only reason I am tolerating your presence is because I fear I can’t find my daughter without you. Beyond that, I suggest you watch your back.”

Mom stood and took a step forward, and as much as I would have loved to see them go at it—my mom would totally kick Kendra’s mom’s ass—we had other things to deal with.

“Could we cool the girl-fight for just a few minutes and focus on Kendra?”

For a second I thought they’d both ignore me and lunge for each other, but Cassidy backed down first. “I suggest we find the prison.”

“What?” Mom and I exclaimed at the same time. What we needed was to find Kendra.

“Hear me out,” Cassidy said. “To get my daughter back unharmed, we need to give him the prison. I doubt we’ll be able to pass off a fake, so we’ll need the real thing.”

“Because giving him the real one is such a great option?” I said. I wanted Kendra back, but there had to be a way to do it that wouldn’t obliterate the rest of the world. I glanced over at Mom. Her expression was neutral.

“We’re not going to give it to him,” Cassidy snapped. “Not really.”

I was confused. “But you just said—”

“You’re suggesting a sort of fake out, then? Use the real deal to lure him out, then take it, and Kendra? And how do we prevent him from simply taking it from us?” Mom was all work-mode. I could see the wheels turning. She didn’t think this was a great idea, but she was trying to figure out a way to make it work. Better her than me. I had nothing.

“Leave that to me. Belfair magic might be weaker than it used to be, but it’s not tapped. And I have other resources. If you find the prison, I’m confident that I can keep it from him long enough to get Kendra back and retrap him.”

“Oh, so now you wanna help us trap him?” I snapped. “A little late for—”

“Fine,” Mom said. She grabbed the back of my jacket and hauled me off the couch. “We’ll find the prison, but you must find a way to keep it safe. It cannot fall into his hands. There’s too much at stake.”