Keeper(79)

“Well, what do you want, Lainey?”

I stopped chewing on my bottom lip and stared at Maggie. “I . . . I don’t know.”

“I think you do,” Maggie said. “You’re just afraid to say it out loud.”

I shrugged. “I’m absolutely terrified of what the future might hold for me . . . But I keep thinking about Josephine, and my mother, and all of the other Keepers who came before me. They didn’t run.” I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to run either. I’m through with being afraid and refusing to accept that this is my destiny. When I saw what the Master did to Josephine . . . it sparked something inside of me. I’m afraid . . . but I’m more afraid of failing myself.”

I reached for Maggie’s hands, needing her to believe it too. “And I know this is right. I can’t walk away from this.”

“That’s my girl, Styles.” Maggie grinned at me. “So what now?”

I bit down on my lip again. “I think I have a plan. But it’s absolutely crazy and it probably won’t work.”

Maggie scoffed. “You know, I think all great ideas are a little crazy.”

I cracked a smile and helped Maggie up from the couch. “Come on.”

We walked arm in arm to the office where Serena and Ty were still arguing.

“I have a plan,” I said, interrupting the conversation. Ty and Serena turned to face me. “I know what we need to do.”

“What we need is to get you someplace safe,” Serena said. “Something’s wrong. The vision I had . . .” She shook her head as if to shake the image from her thoughts. “I promised Gareth I’d look after you while he’s gone. We need to get you far away from here.”

“No.”

“What?” Serena stared at me.

“I said no. I’m not going to hide, Serena. It doesn’t matter where we go, or how long we run. Eventually the Master will find me.”

Ty reached over and grabbed my hand. “You know we’ll protect you, Lainey. I will protect you. No one will hurt you.”

“I know,” I said softly, “but I’m not gonna run from this. I know who . . . what you are, Ty, but you can’t protect me from my destiny. I’m not going to let you or Serena or anyone hide me away from the world again.” I took a breath, my voice stronger now. “I’ve always wanted to find out who I really am, to go out and see the world, to make my own discoveries—sure, it’s not how I always pictured things to be, but this is it. This is my time.”

I smiled at him, my own version of the half smirk he was always flashing me. “Besides, once the Master figures out who I am, he’ll never stop hunting me. I refuse to spend my life hiding.” I took a deep breath, bolstering my courage. “Therefore . . . I propose an alternative.”

Serena looked uncertain. “But Gareth said—”

“Let her talk,” Maggie said, moving to stand beside me. “It should be Lainey’s call.”

I squeezed Maggie’s hand. “It’s simple, really. If the Master gets ahold of me, he’ll force me to unlock the Grimoire, right? For the spell Lane DuCarmont stole from him?”

Serena nodded. “Yes. The dark magic has made him incredibly vulnerable. He needs that spell.”

“Well, isn’t it obvious, then?” I couldn’t stop the grin from forming on my face. “We have to steal back the book.”

Serena’s laugh made me jump. “You’re joking, right?” When I didn’t respond, her smile faded. “Lainey, you can’t be serious. Stealing the Grimoire from the Master? It’s suicide. He’d kill us all.”

“The way I see it, if the Master unlocks that spell, we’re dead anyway. We can’t just sit back and hope he never finds me. He may have already figured out some other way to unlock the Grimoire. Some other form of black magic, for all we know.” I moved to Serena and grabbed her by the shoulders. “If that spell is the one thing that’s keeping the Master from completely conquering the Supernatural realm, then we can’t let him have it. We’ll steal the book and destroy it. He’d never get the power he needs.”

Serena shook her head. “It’s not that simple. You can’t just destroy the Grimoire. It’s infused with generations of DuCarmont magic. The effort alone would kill you.”

“Well, we’ll hide it, then,” I said. “Put it someplace that he can never find it. As long as the Master possesses the Grimoire, I’ll never be free to live my life, and there’s a good chance he’ll figure out some other way to open it. If the Master gets ahold of that spell . . .”

“He’d be unstoppable,” Serena whispered. “More powerful than anything our world has ever known.”

“So don’t you see? Stealing the book is the only way.”

“But Lainey, you’d be putting a target on your back. Gareth would never agree to this.”

“Gareth’s not here. I’m deciding this. Besides, I already have a target on my back. I’m the last DuCarmont Keeper, and it’s my job to guard that book. My mother died protecting it, and now the job belongs to me. I have to get it back. My death is . . .”—I let out a breath—“inevitable.”