“the Sisters” anymore, now that one of them was gone.
But now it was Marian who walked over and took Amma’s arm reassuringly. “It’s about The Book of Moons .”
“We have it,” I blurted out.
Liv stepped aside, revealing The Book of Moons lying on the ground behind her. Amma’s eyes widened. “Do I wanna know how you got it?”
Link jumped in. “Nope. I mean no, ma’am, you sure don’t.”
“The fact remains we have it now,” Marian said.
“But we can’t get it to Ethan—” I heard the desperation in my voice.
Amma shook her head and approached the Book, circling it like she didn’t want to get too close. “ ’Course you can’t. This book is too powerful for one world. If you want to send it from the world a the livin’ to the world a the dead, we’ll need the power a both worlds to send it.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I only cared about one thing. “Will you help us?”
“Not my help you need. You need help on the receivin’ end.”
Liv inched closer to Amma. “We left the Book for Ethan, but he didn’t take it.” She sniffed. “Hmm. Ethan’s not strong enough to carry that kinda weight across. He probably doesn’t even know how.”
“But there is someone strong enough,” Marian coaxed. “Perhaps more than one someone.” She was talking about the Greats.
The question was, would Amma call them?
I bit my lip.
Please say yes.
“Figured if you were callin’, you were lookin’ to test out just how far crazy will go.” Amma opened the quilting bag and took out a shot glass and a bottle of Wild Turkey. “So I came prepared.” She poured a shot and pointed to me.
“You’re gonna have to help, though. We need the power a both worlds, don’t forget.” I nodded. “I’ll do whatever I need to.”
Amma nodded in the direction of Ravenwood. “You can start by gatherin’ up the rest a your kin. You don’t have the kinda power we need on your own.”
“Rid is here, and John can help, too. He’s half Caster.”
Amma shook her head. “If you want that book to cross, you’re gonna have to go get the rest a them.”
“They’re in Barbados.”
“Actually, they returned a few hours ago,” Marian said. “Reece stopped by the library earlier tonight. She said your grandmother wasn’t fond of the humidity.”
I tried not to smile. What my grandmother wasn’t fond of was missing all the action, and Reece wasn’t much better.
With every Caster power in my extended family, I was certain they knew something was going on.
“I could ask them. But they might be tired from all the travel.” I was worried enough that Uncle M was going to change his mind about all this. Adding the rest of my family into the mix fell somewhere between risky and idiotic.
Amma crossed her arms, as determined as I’d ever seen her. “What I know is that this book isn’t going anywhere without them.”
There was no use arguing with her. I had watched Ethan try to talk her down when her mind was made up, and he rarely succeeded. And Amma loved him more than anyone in the world. I didn’t stand a chance.
Ridley nodded at me. “I’ll go with you for backup.”
“Your mom will freak if you just show up. I’m going to have to tell her you’re back. And I should probably tell them that you’ve—” I hesitated. It wasn’t going to be easy for anyone in my family to deal with the fact that Ridley ran back to Sarafine for her Dark Caster powers. “Changed.”
Link looked away.
That wasn’t the worst of it. “It’s going to be hard enough to explain to Gramma why I have the Book.” Rid slung her arm over my shoulder. “Don’t you know that the best way to distract someone from bad news is to give them some worse news?” She smiled, leading me toward Ravenwood. “News doesn’t get much worse than me.” Link shook his head. “No kidding.”
Ridley spun around and pushed her sunglasses up. “Zip it, Shrinky Dink. Or I’ll make you want to rip into your mother’s room and tell her you’re becoming a Methodist.”
“Your powers don’t work on me anymore, Babe.”
Ridley blew him a sticky pink kiss. “Try me.”
CHAPTER 28
Caster Catfight
I opened the front door, and the air inside the house seemed to move. No—it was moving. Hundreds of butterflies fluttered through the air while others rested on the delicate antique furniture Uncle Macon had spent years collecting.
Butterflies.
What was I doing to Ravenwood?
A tiny green butterfly with streaks of gold across its wings landed on the bottom of the banister.
“Macon?” Gramma’s voice called from the second floor. “Is that you?”
“No, Gramma. It’s me. Lena.”
She swept down the stairs in a high-neck white blouse, her hair gathered neatly in a bun and her lace-up boots peeking out from under her long skirt. Against the perfectly restored flying staircase, she looked like a Southern belle right out of an old movie.
She glanced at the butterflies flitting around the room and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad to see you’re in a good mood.” Gramma knew Ravenwood’s interior constantly changed to mirror my moods. To her, a room full of butterflies meant happiness. But for me, it meant something entirely different—something I had been clinging to tightly.
Hope, borne on green and gold wings. Dark and Light, like I had become the night of my Claiming.
I touched the wire Christmas tree star on my charm necklace. I had to focus. Everything had come down to this.
Ethan was out there somewhere, and there was a chance we could bring him home. I just had to convince my family to lend their powers to us.
“Gramma, I need your help with something.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
She wouldn’t be saying that if she knew what I was about to tell her. “What if I told you I found The Book of Moons?”
Gramma froze. “Why would you ask me something like that, Lena? Do you know where it is?” I nodded.
She gathered her skirt, rushing toward the stairs. “We have to tell Macon. The sooner we get that book back to the Lunae Libri, the better.”
“We can’t.”
Gramma turned around slowly, her eyes looking right through me. “Start explaining, young lady. And you can start by telling me how you found The Book of Moons .”
Ridley stepped out from behind a marble column. “I helped her.”
For one long moment, I held my breath, until it became clear Ravenwood wasn’t about to fall to the ground.
“How did you get in here?” Gramma’s voice was as controlled as Ridley’s, maybe more. She’d been around a long time, and it would take more than my Dark-again cousin to throw her.
“Lena let me in.”
There was a flicker of disappointment in my grandmother’s eyes. “I see you’re wearing your sunglasses again.”
“It was kind of a self-preservation thing.” Ridley bit her lip nervously. “The world’s a dangerous place.” It was something my grandmother said to us all the time when we were kids—particularly to Ridley. I remembered something else she said, something that might delay the confession of the Abraham story long enough for me to get the Book to Ethan.
“Gramma, do you remember the deal you made with Ridley the first time she went to a party?” She looked at me blankly. “I’m not sure I do.”
“You told her not to get in a car with anyone who had been drinking.”
“Certainly good advice, but I’m not sure how it relates to this situation.”