Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(67)

“Hello, Father.” Mom stepped up and took his hand. “It’s been too long.”

His eyes went wide, and he took a step back. “What—what is going on? What are you doing to that poor child, Klaire?”

“We’re here about the robbery last week,” she said, ignoring the question.

Father Sanders backed himself to the wall, eyes glued to Ava. I felt really bad because he looked ready to pass out. “I told Jessie the other day. Nothing was taken.”

“On the contrary, Father, something was taken. A box.”

“A box? What kind of box?”

“You’ve known me since I was a child, Father. Let’s cut the crap. You know damn well this is no child, and you know exactly why I’m asking about the box.”

My mouth fell open. “Ma!”

“You knew my father,” she continued, ignoring me. “I know you’ve heard the rumors about my family.”

Father Sanders watched us and said nothing.

Then I understood what she was getting at. “Are you saying he knows about the box?”

Mom was quiet. It was Father Sanders who answered. “It’s been in this church since the early nineteen-hundreds.”

“Simon Darker arranged to have it stashed here,” I said, finally understanding.

Father Sanders nodded. “Indeed.”

“Then you must’ve known why Lukas and I were here the other day. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Against the rules.” He walked around us, making his way to the back of the church.

“Against the rules?” Mom asked, following him. “What rules?”

“Simon’s rules, of course.”

“I would think those rules don’t apply to future generations of Darkers.”

He turned to glare at us. “Those rules apply especially to future generations of Darkers.”

I threw up my hands and leaned back against the cool stone wall. “I’m confused.”

“Simon didn’t want this life for his family.”

I snorted. “And Lukas thought he was the one who set the Darkers on their career path through Simon.”

Father shook his head. “It was Simon’s death that sealed the Darker family fate. After putting the Seven Deadly Sins back into their box and securing its resting place, Simon went in search of the witch. He managed to trap her, but not before she wounded him fatally. While searching for answers to Simon’s death, his brother Charles took over what eventually became the Darker Agency. He spent his life tracking down demons and such, following leads to his brother’s death. When Charles finally passed on, his son took over. Then, after that, his son and so on.”

I could tell Mom was fascinated—she always had a thing about genealogy, and considering ours was so whacko, I had to admit it was kind of interesting—but we were here for a reason. “If we have any hope of saving the people infected by the Sins, we’ll need the box.”

The priest looked confused. “You already know it was stolen.”

“If our information is correct, the box has returned to its hiding place.”

He didn’t look like he believed her.

“Please,” I pushed. “Could we at least take a look?”

Mom placed a hand on his shoulder. “The Sins have located a witch powerful enough to free them from the box. Permanently. If we don’t find it before they do, there’s a chance she’ll be able to set them free. This is our only lead.” She nodded to Ava who was glaring at the priest. “I’ve been hunting the Sins down, but if I don’t return them to the box before their time is up, six innocent people will die.”

Sighing, he went to the middle of the room and bent down beside the podium. After a moment of searching, there was a metal click, and a loud rumbling. A second later, a rush of cold air filled the room.

Mom and I turned to the back of the church. Behind the altar, a narrow doorway had opened in the old stone.

Mom narrowed her eyes. “I thought you said you checked everywhere?”

I wanted to crawl under a rock. Under a piece of furniture? That was a rookie mistake. I thought about blaming it on Lukas. Saying he’d checked the front room while I’d checked the back, but that was low. Even for me.

We followed Father down a set of dark, narrow stairs to a cavernous stone chamber. Candles mounted along the walls burned to light our way, and I wondered how often someone came down here. They looked brand new.

“Holy Father—” Father Sanders stopped when he got to the middle of the room and fell to his knees, making the sign of the cross. At the other end, sitting on a slab of quartz, was a simple wooden box.

“That’s it?” I’d expected something garish. Inlaid with gems and bright shiny trimmings. This thing looked like it’d been nailed together by a fourth grader, then thrown around a football field for a few months.

Mom stepped forward and reached for the box, but Father Sanders stopped her. “Wait.” He moved to the right of the quartz slab, reaching up into a small overhang. When he pulled back there was a small pouch covered in dust wrapped around his fingers. “Take these.”

Mom held out her hand. “What is it?” She pulled the small string and dumped the contents into her palm. Two jagged bluish-gray crystals tumbled out.