Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(78)

“Let’s go find out what. Knowing what I know of my grandfather, maybe we’ll find something useful.”

…

After making sure any calls to the office phone would be rerouted to my cell, Lukas and I set off for the storage place on Gateway Drive. Three blocks of brisk walking, and we stood in front of the darkened gates.

“It doesn’t look like you’re allowed entry at this late hour.”

A crooked smile slipped across my lips. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but do I really seem like the kinda girl to let that bother me?”

I dragged him away from the front gate and around to the back. I knew for a fact that the cameras attached to the perimeter fencing were there for show only. They didn’t even have night security.

Once we hopped the fence, I pulled the key out for another look.

Lukas peered over my shoulder. “Which one is it?”

Flipping the key over, I squinted against the dark. I had to lean back because Lukas was blocking my light. “Looks like it’s unit number seventy-five.”

Mom’s birthday was July fifth. I hadn’t gotten to meet my grandfather, but the stories Mom told were of a gruff man with an ooey-gooey center. Apparently, Grandpa had been the sentimental type.

The sign above us pointed to the lower numbers at the back of the lot. “That way,” I exclaimed and took off. I could hear Lukas’ footsteps behind me. In and out, I searched the rows ’til I finally found seventy-five. Holding my breath, I slipped the key into the lock. It was a perfect fit! Pulling up on the handle, I slid the door up and froze.

“Hell in a hail storm…”

It didn’t take me long to figure out why Grandpa kept this stash a secret.

A collection of the most dangerous tools and artifacts I’d ever read about. That’s what Grandpa had been trying to hide. Mom would be speechless if she could see this.

Speechless and drooling.

“What’s this?” Lukas held up a small black stone.

“Oh my God! Put that down!” I snatched the rock from him and gently laid it on the box it’d come from. “Shaking that stone will summon a demon of death.”

“That sounds bad.”

“Um, hello? Demon of death? Yeah. Just don’t touch anything.” Once I was satisfied he could be trusted not to get us both obliterated, I went to work.

As far as organization went, there wasn’t any. Mom must have gotten her pack rat mentality from Grandpa. There were piles of unlabeled boxes, stacks of old books—I even scoped out what might have been a rotting apple core. Or it could have been half a sandwich. I couldn’t tell, and honestly? I didn’t want to know.

“Here,” I said, picking up a pile of books. “Go through these and see if you can find anything useful.” The chances were slim, but at least it was safe. He couldn’t accidentally curse us or summon something ugly.

Actually…

“And don’t read anything out loud.”

While Lukas set to work on the books, I started on the first pile of boxes. The first few were smaller than the rest and stuffed with rocks.

Well, more like stones. Quartz, onyx, chalcedony—the boxes were full. Some stones were loose, others hanging from delicate chains of silver or leather cords. Some were polished, shiny, and as perfect as anything you’d see in a new ager’s jewelry display. Others were in their natural form. Seemingly pulled right from the earth. Hell, some were still covered in dirt.

The next box I opened was full of papers. Old receipts, bills, I even found a Sears advertisement. There had been a big sale on refrigerators that week. Box after box, there was nothing that could be considered helpful to our current predicament.

“I think I found something.”

Lukas was sitting on the floor against the door with piles of open books spread around him, and I couldn’t help thinking how comfortable he looked. This was his element. Researching and fact-finding. He was like a kid in a candy store, face lit up and eyes hungry. I sank to the ground. “Okay…”

He pushed the nearest book across the floor. “What do you see?”

The page was spider webbed with names, all connected. “Looks like a family tree.”

“Look further than that,” he huffed, thumping the page. “Look at the details.”

I picked up the book and eyed the open page. It started with Simon and ended with my mom, but other than that, I didn’t get it. “They’re all…Darkers?”

Lukas pulled the book back. “Male. All the Darker offspring are men—until Klaire.”

I still didn’t get it. “Um, okay. So?”

He set the book down. “You don’t find that odd?”

“Well, sure it’s a little funky, but no cause to alert the papers.”

Pointing to the top of the page, he sighed. “And this? Is this simply funky?”

His finger was on Sarah, Simon’s wife. I shrugged.

“Look at the dates. Specifically the date of death.”

“1868. So?”

Lukas rolled his eyes. “Simon and Sarah’s son Andrew was born in 1868. The same year she died.”

I still didn’t see what he was getting at. “Medicine wasn’t what it is now. A lot of women died in childbirth back then.”