Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(32)

“Seek the one you once sought,” the Red Prophet said, looking skyward. “The most dangerous will prove the safest. The newly awoken will be your ace in the hole. Use her, and allow her to use you. It is in this partnership that a new path shall be forged. Beware the trickster, for he will ruin you.”

Karen turned in her seat and looked at the Red Prophet. “I didn’t get that in the reading.”

“You will not get everything. Just as I will not get everything. It is foretold.”

“By who?”

“By whom…”

“Jesus Chri—” Karen turned toward the others again, her face red and her tolerance for the Red Prophet completely dried up, if she’d had any in the first place.

“If Reagan travels with the vampire, it’ll be immediately clear it was they who went into the Underworld,” Romulus said. “Especially if Charity is traveling with them.”

“Correct,” the Red Prophet said. “And if she travels without the vampire, it’ll be almost immediately clear who she is. The dam has burst. She has been unknowingly waiting for this moment since she was born. It is time she spreads her wings and challenges the lord of the Underworld.”

“Buckle up,” Roger said. Darius nodded grimly.

“Will you be going?” Romulus asked her.

“No. I must stay behind for now. Thankfully. I’ve had about all I can take of the Flush. What a boring waste of time.”

“What joy is mine,” Karen said sarcastically, looking over her tarot. She glanced back up at Darius and said, “It isn’t clear to me what is in store after you make it to the elves.”

“That journey is not yet written,” the Red Prophet said.

“I am not doubting you ladies, since I have seen your—at least one of your—merit in real time.” Darius slipped a hand into his pocket. “But you heard about my exchange with Vlad earlier. If I leave him unchecked, even for a few days, the damage he could do…”

“You must,” the Red Prophet said.

“Leaving him will do more good than harm.” Karen tapped a card. “I am in agreement with the nutter. You must. It is the only way to protect the heir. Otherwise she’ll never make it to the elves, and that would be the end. She must make it to the last battle.”

“She must,” the Red Prophet added. Karen rolled her eyes.

Darius shifted his weight in frustration, but he did not argue. Although Charity hadn’t been in the magical world for long, she knew a Seer’s reading was like a cheat sheet for a final. These Seers agreed on the path forward, even though they hated each other, which inspired plenty of trust.

Still, Charity worried about what would come. It was pretty clear from all her dad had said that there would be a trial. That Grandmama would be judged and might even be asked to step down. Tensions would be high. Charity hadn’t assimilated very well in the Flush, and she’d been actively trying. From what she’d seen of Reagan, she assumed Reagan wouldn’t try at all. That would drive Grandmama crazy, which would add even more complication to an already complicated situation.

“You must leave behind a small force to protect the back door, Romulus,” Karen said.

“The Brink being the back door, of course,” the Red Prophet added.

“The power players must take the heir into the Realm…” Karen wiped her brow and shook her head. “That is all that has been revealed at this time. There are a lot of moving parts. After a break, I’ll try to look again and get more details. For now, however, we’ll have to go with the bigger picture.”

“All of this is about what we’d deduced,” Romulus said, and Roger nodded. “It gives us confidence. I thank you for that. You relay your findings…quite clearly.”

“I’ll try not to take offense,” the Red Prophet said, and cackled.

Romulus ignored her. “I do wonder, however. What is our end game?”

“The shifters have shown you what duty means,” the Red Prophet said, and jumped off the table like a cat. She straightened up and swiped at her hair. “You must do your duty, regardless of the outcome.” She sobered and her eyes cleared. She met Charity’s gaze. “Your quest is incredibly important—not just to the Realm, but to all the worlds. Your task is to restore order. It is to find balance. You have all the pieces. Now they will be set in motion. At the end of this, you will either have righted the wrong, or you will die, and your family and friends with you.”

Adrenaline spiked through Charity’s blood and shivers washed over her. She’d gone from a lonely, poor kid to all of this in a matter of months. She couldn’t believe anyone would go along with her role in all of this, but there was no question that they were.

“No pressure,” she mumbled, and the Red Prophet cackled again.





Ten





The next day, in the dead of night, I put my hands on my hips and sighed in annoyance as we waited in front of a jagged line cutting through the sky, marking a gateway into the Realm. Everyone in this group had more than enough magic to step through without even a twinge of pain or fatigue, but they had stopped to assess the situation all the same. I got the feeling they were worried about what was on the other side.

I hadn’t progressed that far yet. I’d purposely sat out of the Seer readings, so I didn’t know what to expect. When you pretty much only had downhill to go, hearing your fate seemed like overkill.