The Price Guide to the Occult(45)

“She’d have our hides, man,” Sena Crowe said evenly.

“Exactly. Sorry, cuz. It’s out of the question.”

Gage pushed past everyone and stomped down the stairs into the basement. Pike was still laughing as he and Sena Crowe left.

Charlie and Nor followed Gage into the basement. Gage plopped onto the couch. He pulled Nor’s pillow out from under him and tossed it forcefully onto the floor.

“Where are they going?” Nor dared to ask.

“Dauphine wants them to do a sweep of the entire archipelago,” Charlie answered. “I wouldn’t worry about it, though. It’s fairly routine.”

“Do you think Pike and Sena Crowe will be gone long enough to give us time to get to the other side of the island and back?” Nor asked.

Gage raised an eyebrow.

Nor took a deep breath. “I want to go to the Witching Hour.”

“Fresh out of eye of newt, are you?” Gage said with a sneer.

Nor gave him a look. “I can’t get ahold of Madge. I want to check in on her.”

“I’m going to need more of a reason than that,” he said.

“I just have a bad feeling,” Nor insisted. “That’s reason enough. If you don’t want to come with me, I’ll go by myself.”

“Like hell you will,” Gage snapped.

“Hang on,” Charlie said. “Do you realize how pissed off Pike will be if you leave the compound?”

“And you listen to him about as much as —” Nor paused to let Gage and Charlie think it over.

“I can’t think of a time when we’ve ever listened to him, can you?” Gage asked Charlie.

“Doesn’t ring any bells,” Charlie admitted.

“So you’re in?” Nor asked.

Charlie grinned. “Yeah, we’re in.”

“Any idea how we’re getting there?” Gage asked Nor.

Nor hadn’t thought of that. “I’ll text Savvy about finding us a ride,” she decided quickly.

“Does she have a boat?” Charlie asked.

“She has a Vespa, but Savvy’s resourceful. She’ll figure out something.”

A few moments later, Nor, Gage, and Charlie left the basement and made their way toward the trees at the edge of the compound. Only the vacant eyes of Rona’s aegises witnessed their departure.

When the three emerged on the other side of the trees, they found an old white pickup truck waiting for them. The truck had a long crack in the windshield and, as with most vehicles on the island, was covered with rust. Grayson and Savvy sat in the front seat. Standing outside and leaning against the passenger door was Reed.

Nor smiled in spite of herself. She’d known she could count on Savvy.

Reed unhitched himself from the truck, smiling that crooked grin of his. Nor wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

“Hi,” he said, his voice a susurrus in her hair. “These must be your — cousins?” he asked when they pulled apart. He nodded toward Gage and Charlie. Gage snorted.

Nor shot Gage a look. “Something like that,” Nor said.

Savvy jumped out of the truck, her electric-blue box braids swinging past her waist. Her face softened when she saw the welts on Nor’s face. “Oh. Now you look like a villain in a comic book. Which,” she added quickly, “you can totally pull off.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Nor said, smiling.

Reed stroked Nor’s bruised cheek.

Nor smiled. “I’m okay,” she insisted.

Grayson grinned at them from the driver’s seat. “Shut up,” Reed mumbled to him, but he didn’t take his eyes off Nor.

Grayson laughed. “What?” He swept fast-food wrappings from the seat onto the floor to make room for Nor. “I didn’t say anything.”

Savvy settled herself atop an ice cooler in the bed of the truck, looking like a dairy princess on a parade float. Charlie and Gage climbed over the side to join her.

“I take it you know where we’re headed,” Gage said, his tone even more steely than usual. He was staring at Reed’s hand, which was resting on Nor’s knee.

“The Witching Hour, right?” Reed asked Nor.

“Yeah,” she answered, her heart pounding.

Grayson pulled the truck onto the dirt road. Through the passenger window, Nor spotted a little red fox quickening its pace to keep up with them. Nor wondered if it was right in thinking that going in search of Madge was a horrible mistake.





Grayson pulled the truck onto Meandering Lane and slowly drove through the fog that had fallen on that side of the island. It was so opaque, Nor could swirl it into shapes with her fingertips. What shapes would they be? An eye for caution, a hand outstretched in warning, a question mark for What the hell are you doing?

“The whole street lost power about a week ago,” Reed said. “That’s when even Mom’s regular clients stopped coming. She decided to close up for a bit and visit my aunt Luiza in Florida. She wanted me and Grayson to go with her.” He shrugged. “The way things have been around here, Grayson probably should have.”

They stopped in front of the Sweet and Savory Bakery. The front door was slightly ajar. A carpet of dried leaves and pinecones covered the bakery floor.