Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(66)

“I’ll go out and buy you a cape,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Please try to be serious.”

I wanted to tell her my brain had overdosed on serious lately, but decided to keep it to myself. “Oh! And a mask. That’s important, too. Secret identity and all.”

“Or maybe you were just sleepwalking.”

“Then how do you explain what just happened?”

“Stress? Neither one of us saw you move.” I could tell from her voice that she didn’t believe that. How could she? Mom was nothing if not logical.

“I’ve been waking up in strange places lately. And the other night—the one you found Lukas and I on the couch? That night, I was sitting in bed, then poof. I was downstairs in the kitchen.”

She pulled up to the red light on the corner of Conclave and Main and turned to stare.

Eyes wide, Mom smacked me across the back of the head. “And you thought that was normal?”

“I’m seventeen. Teenagers do weird crap all the time. We don’t analyze. I was tired. I just figured I didn’t remember coming down the stairs.”

A few seconds of silence ticked by. The light turned green and Mom tapped the gas.

“I have something else to tell you, too.”

She gripped the wheel and sighed. “Why does that sound ominous?”

“Don’t be mad at him, but I went to see Paulson.”

“Paulson? Why on earth would you—” Lips pressed in a thin line, she growled, “Jessie, I told you to keep out of it!”

I threw up my hands in surrender. “I know! But it was the only way. I needed to find out why Meredith seems to have a bug up her ass when it comes to us. Plus, I thought he might have some ideas about the location of the box.”

“Meredith—what are you talking about?”

“Our relative Simon Darker figured out who Meredith really was when he tried to help Lukas the first time the box was opened. Only he found out too late. He and some witch—a Belfair witch—trapped her, but not before flinging the whammy that killed him. Somehow she got free, and now she’s got a serious grudge against the Darkers.” I took a deep breath.

Mom knew me too well. “And?”

“And what?”

“Did he have any ideas about the box?”

“He says it’s at the church.” I swallowed. “Which is another confession…”

“You already went to the church,” she sighed again and flicked the blinker. The car veered to the right as we turned down Gingham Avenue.

“Yeah—but we didn’t find anything. Simon says the box is safe, though. The Sins can’t touch it unless a human hands it to them willingly.”

“You’re forgetting something.”

“No, I’m not.” I protested. I’d been over the whole thing a million times in my head. There was nothing I’d missed.

“They have a human.”

I blinked. “They do?”

Mom sighed. “Meredith may be a witch, but she’s still human.”

I didn’t answer. There was nothing I could say that would gloss over that little oversight.

“Anything else—that Simon said? I’ve had enough confessions for one weekend. I’d like to get them out of the way now.”

“The only other thing he said was that we could get help.”

“Help? Dealing with Meredith or help for Lukas?”

“Both, I think?”

“I don’t suppose you know who we’re supposed to get help from?”

“Wouldn’t that just make things too easy? No challenge.”

“I’ve had enough challenge with this to last me a lifetime.”

“I second that.”

We were quiet for a few moments.

“What about the shadowing?”

Mom glanced into her rearview mirror at Ava. The kid was sitting in the back seat sulking like a pro. “I still don’t truly believe that’s what it is. Let’s forget that you’re seventeen. If you were going to start shadowing—why now? But it’s moot. Half-demon children do not inherit demonic traits. My human genetics overwrite them. For now, you tell no one. Not until we have everything figured out.”

“Not even Dad? He might be able to—”

“Especially not your father.”

I wanted to argue, but the fact that we’d just missed our turn caught my attention. “Um, did you forget how to get home?”

She glared at me from the corner of her eye. “We’re making a little pit stop.”

“Oh! Ice cream?” I hitched a thumb toward the back. “What about the Sour Puss? I don’t think she deserves any…”

“No ice cream,” Mom said with a slight smile. “How about some religion instead? I feel it’s my duty as a parent to reinforce your faith in God. Let’s check out that church.”





Chapter Twenty-six




“Twice in one week?” Father Sanders greeted us at the door, then froze. I walked in, followed by Mom—and Ava, who was still cuffed, mouth covered in duct tape. Mom had wanted to leave her in the car, but I’d argued that not only would we be toast if someone saw her, but the Sins were slippery bastards. There was no point chancing her escape.