The Devouring Gray(90)

Justin laid the papers back down on the desk. Then he untied the medallion at his wrist, dropping the thin glass disc into his palm.

“If I stay in Four Paths,” he said, “I won’t hide who I am anymore. I’m telling the town the truth about my powers. And I won’t let you erase it.”

Augusta’s face had gone alabaster white. “You will lose their respect.”

“Maybe. But at least I won’t be lying anymore.” He released the medallion, let it fall onto his mother’s desk. The red glass glimmered like a dying sun. “One more thing. I want you to promise you’ll stop using your powers on people.”

Augusta chuckled. “Absolutely not.”

But Justin had prepared himself for this. “Then I’ll cut off your access to Isaac Sullivan. After what you’ve done to her, Violet Saunders will never answer to you—you know that. Which means you’ll barely have any founders on patrol.”

Augusta’s nostrils flared slightly. Justin could tell he’d struck a nerve.

“My powers are an essential part of keeping this town safe,” she said. “Right now, we have fourteen members of the Church of the Four Deities in custody. Would you rather I sent them a county over and let them be tried for attempted murder, or erased their involvement and allowed them to live in peace? Removing their memories neutralizes them as threats. It’s effective. It’s humane.”

Justin paused. As much as he hated to admit it, Augusta did have a point. But surely there was some way to find a balance between people like Violet and the members of Church of the Four Deities.

“Give them a choice,” he said at last. “Ask them if they’d rather go to jail or have their memories taken away. And promise me you’ll never touch a founder kid again.”

The office was silent for a second as Augusta’s face went still, considering. Then she extended a gloved hand.

“You’ll come home?” she said, a quiet sort of respect ringing out in her voice.

It was worth surrendering for this. For the possibility of change. For a town where the Hawthorne name meant something more than fear.

He clasped Augusta’s gloved hand and shook.



The nurses at the clinic gave Violet a hideous paper gown and forced her to sit still as they re-bandaged every scratch and wound. The only thing she managed to cling to was Rosie’s bracelet, which sat on her lap in a plastic bag, the silver scrubbed clean, as she watched the staff swarm around her mother, who lay unconscious on the next pallet over.

From what she could gather, the Church members had drugged Juniper. She was unharmed aside from that, but the sight of her mother’s limp body still hurt whenever Violet looked at her.

Violet was arguing with a nursing trainee about getting her phone back when Augusta Hawthorne burst through the door. She didn’t even acknowledge Violet, just made her way straight to Juniper’s side while volleying questions at the nurse practitioner.

“She’ll be fine,” the nurse practitioner said. “Yes, it has to flush itself from her system. No, there won’t be lasting damage.”

“But it’s been hours.” Augusta’s forehead creased. “She should be awake by now.”

“She will wake up, Sheriff Hawthorne.” The nurse hesitantly patted her on the arm. “Give her time.”

“What’s the deal?” Violet’s voice was sharp and loud. “Are you here to take her memories when she wakes up, just in case?”

Augusta turned away from Juniper, her arms folding across her chest. Violet felt exposed in her flimsy hospital gown, but she refused to flinch beneath the other woman’s gaze.

“I know what you did,” Violet said. “When she tried to leave town, you took her memories of Four Paths away. The real Four Paths. For all I know, you took Daria’s memories away, too.”

“I never laid a finger on Daria,” said Augusta quietly. “As for what happened with your mother—well, that’s complicated.”

Violet curled her fingers around the edge of the cot. “I know about Stephen. He tried to kill my mother thirty years ago, but he failed, and suddenly your family was in charge of Four Paths, not mine. So what really happened? What are you hiding?”

The clinic staff had fallen silent, their eyes flicking back and forth between Augusta and Violet like they were watching a tennis match.

“I think you should go,” Augusta told them. “Miss Saunders and I need to have a conversation.”

The nurse practitioner gulped. “We should stay with the patient.”

“You just said she’d wake up eventually,” said Augusta. “You’re not doing anything important here. Now get out.”

The clinic staff scuttled off, although Violet was pretty sure they’d spend the next few minutes doing their best to eavesdrop.

“Does that mean you’re going to answer my questions?” Nerves thrummed through her—she had control of her powers now, but raising the dead wouldn’t help her if Augusta attacked. “Or are you here to take my memories again, too?”

But Augusta didn’t even move toward taking off her gloves. “You did your ritual. You’re no longer a threat to Four Paths, so I will not be attempting to neutralize you. Although I am interested to know how you restored your memories.”