Gavin steepled his hands under his chin and released a long steady breath before exchanging a look with Ichiro.

  Ichiro appeared to be deep in thought too, and it looked painful.

  “I can’t think of a different route. Just keep things short,” suggested Gavin.

  There’s no such thing as keeping it short when it comes to talking to Asia. Her questions and conversation are endless and I don’t want to say the wrong thing.

  “Okay,” I whispered, barely able to get the words out.

  I closed my eyes and held my breath praying she wouldn’t answer.

  “Hey, Lettie!” shouted the voice on the other end. “I was just thinking about you and then BAM, you called. What’s up?”

  “Hi, Asia,” I replied. “Nothing is up. Everything is perfectly fine.”

  Ichiro dropped his head into the palm of his uninjured hand.

  A pregnant pause filled the air and my mouth was getting drier by the second.

  “You sure?” asked Asia. “You don’t sound fine. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I said quickly. “In fact, I have good news and I’m hoping you can help me out a little bit.”

  “Okay, sure, I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Well,” I drawled. “I got my wand lic—”

  “What?” shrieked Asia. “It’s about damn time. I’m so proud of you. Hell, I didn’t think you would ever get that thing. Do you know what kind of wand you want? Oak? Cedar?”

  I have a wand already … one snatched from the decaying hand of dead person.

  “Um, no,” I said. “I haven’t gotten that far. I just wanted to call and tell you about it and ask if you know where I can find my copy of the grimoire.”

  “Well, you better get that far,” she replied. “You’ll need your wand in order to get the grimoire so pick a good one.”

  Too late for that.

  “The grimoire is at the bank. You just go down with your wand and your license and they will take you to the family vault. It should be a piece of cake. I’ll come with you and we can celebrate after.”

  “No!” I shouted.

  “Oh,” said Asia, her voice dropping.

  Shit.

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” I said apologetically. “We can definitely celebrate later, but right now I’m pressed for time. As soon as I handle some other business we can plan something special.”

  “You got it,” said Asia, sounding a little less hurt.

  “Hey, before I forget, Grandma has an entire stash of stuff in the attic. Once we have free time we should go through it and divide everything.”

  A deafening silence greeted me and I had to hold the receiver back and check to be sure we were still connected.

  “Hello?”

  “I’m here,” said Asia. “I don’t want anything out of that house. Knowing Grandma, it’s cursed or something. Be careful poking around in that attic, you know that house is dangerous. I worry about you being there alone.”

  I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips a little.

  I’m not alone. I have Cecilia … rather … I had Cecilia.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got everything under control over here. I’ll head on down to the bank as soon as possible and I’ll let you know how it goes. Love you, bye.”

  I rushed the last part of the sentence because I know from experience Asia will drag the conversation out by any means necessary.

  As soon as I ended the call, there was a knock at the door.

  “I got it,” said Cuddles. “I hope it’s the food.”

  He practically skipped to the front door, eager to get the hot cheese covered disks of deliciousness.

  “Well, it looks like I’ll have to take a trip to the bank,” I said. “Asia said that’s where the grimoire is, so I hope these documents work. Because if not, we’re –”

  “Screwed,” replied Ichiro.

  Chapter Seven

  I thought the guys would have my back, but after they wolfed down the pizza last night, they made a beeline to leave.

  Gavin swore we would link up later after I made my bank run, but I’m not so sure I believe him.

  I hope they aren’t getting cold feet. We’re in too deep to turn back now.

  I’d spent the rest of the night practicing honing in on the bond between Cecilia and I. That warm low hum pulsating just below the surface was the only thing keeping me going. As long as I can feel that, then I know Cecilia’s safe.

  I tried to smooth the wrinkles from my white button-down shirt. If I’m going to the bank in an attempt to trick them into giving me my things early, then the least I could do was look the part of a woman who has her shit together.

  My hair was snatched into a low-bun almost as severe looking as Wilkins’ and I managed to apply a bit of mascara without blinding myself.

  “You can do this,” I murmured to myself. “Just look confident and smile.”

  The pep talk didn’t really help much to calm my nerves and I’m sure my knees knocked a few times as I made my way up the massive steps to the bank.

  A large golem held the door open for me and I tried to slide by it as quickly as possible.

  Those damn things are popping up everywhere.

  I inhaled deeply, thrust my chest forward, and held my head up as high as possible. My inability to effectively look where I was going was the reason I soon tripped over my own feet and collided with a large cut out of a leprechaun.

  Everyone inside of the bank froze as I rolled over to my side and clutched my aching knee.

  A small pale leprechaun with flaming red hair rushed over and scowled down at me. Her overly painted thin lips are pulled into a tight line and a deep frown was etched on her brow.

  “May I help you with something?” she snapped.

  I stumbled to my feet and smoothed my shirt again as I tried to hide my embarrassment and regain my composure.

  “Yes, I’d like to visit my family vault,” I said in a rush. “I finally got my wand license and my grandmother—”

  “Follow me,” muttered the tiny woman.

  She turned on her heels and took of at a speed that was difficult to keep pace with. For something so small she could cover quite a distance with her short little legs.

  She ducked through a small round door that I had to stoop down in order to enter. Martha, according to the nameplate on the massive desk, plopped down in a chair and stared at me.

  “Well?” she grumbled.

  I glanced around the room and noticed there wasn’t anywhere for me to sit, so I edged close to the wall and leaned against it.

  “Well, what?” I asked.

  Martha, rolled her eyes, and tucked a wispy strand of hair behind her ear.

  “I need the vault name and number,” she said.

  “Oh,” I replied, jumping to attention.

  It’s rare I come down to the bank and I’m rusty on the protocol. I almost forgot how short-tempered leprechauns are.

  If I had a bag of gold in my hands she’d be more inclined to be polite.

  I fished around in my pocket for the little slip of paper and handed it to her. She snatched it out of my hand and gave it quick glance before turning toward the massive filing cabinet behind her.

  She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes as she flipped through the different folders compacted into the small drawer.

  “Hollingsworth. Holly. Holman. Okay, here it is, Holmes,” she said, wiggling the file free.

  She blew off the thin layer of dust coating the outside of the folder and opened it up on the desk.

  “It looks like your family vault is in basement under our highest level of security. I hate going into those vaults. You never know what kind of day Angela is having, and she’s been very temperamental lately,” she huffed.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Who is Angela?”

  Martha slammed the filing cabinet closed and came back around the desk.

  “Angela is the dragon guarding the hoard down there,” she replied. “I take it you didn’t bring a sheep or a goat?”

  My brow furrowed and I twisted my mouth to the side. “Why the hell would I bring either one of those things? I just need to get something out the vault.”

  Martha shook her head as she scurried through the door and back out into the main lobby.

  “It’s for Angela. Since you aren’t making a deposit, how else do you think you’re going to get by her?”

  Before I’m able to offer up any type of retort, Martha maneuvered her way across the room toward another large door. She mumbled under her breath and I could only catch some of what she was complaining about.

  Something about hazard pay and her hair growing back after her last encounter with Angela.

  Maybe I should have let Asia tag along? At least she could have given me the heads up about possibly getting flash fried by a dragon. I need to add this to the list of things I’m going to use in order to guilt trip Cecilia into obedience.

  The last couple days have been more adventurous than anything I’ve ever dealt with in my life so far and I haven’t even gone to Abaddon yet.

  “A sacrifice will be provided to you by the bank for a charge,” said Martha.

  She climbed into what looked like a giant bucket and gestured for me to get in. I tried to swing my leg over the side without kicking Martha in the head and narrowly missed her by inches.

  She exhaled again and turned a pretty shade of pink. Aggravation looked cute on her, but I kept my thoughts to myself. I’m sure she wouldn’t take anything I said as a compliment.

  With absolutely zero warning, Martha grabs the handle next to her and the bucket drops down. My stomach dropped lower than I ever thought possible and I tried to brace myself. I made the mistake of looking around and everything around us was a complete blur. My breakfast of cold leftover pizza would be making an appearance soon and I doubt it would earn me any points with Martha.

  Just as I swallowed the bile rising in my throat for the third time, we suddenly came to a complete halt. My chest heaved up and down as I struggled to catch my breath and steady my nerves.

  Martha scrambled out of the bucket completely unbothered and made a beeline toward a door off to the side. I slowly climbed out too and made my way over to her despite my legs feeling like jelly.

  I watched as Martha covered herself in soot covered armor. Parts of the outfit was charred and nearly worn through.

  All of this just to get into the damn vault?

  “Let’s go,” she said, her voice muffled by the huge helmet she just put on.

  “Hey,” I said jogging to close the distance between us. “What about me? Where’s my armor?”

  Martha didn’t turn around or break her stride. “It’s for bank employees only.”

  I hugged myself as if that would stop me from becoming a rotisserie snack for Angela. The basement part of the bank was dark with small lanterns lining the walls. The longer we walked, the hotter it got. Breathing became difficult as the air thickened. I’m not so sure I’ll be able to go much further if things get any hotter.

  “Stay here,” snapped Martha.

  She turned the corner and quickly ran down the corridor.

  Oh hell no. She has to be joking right now.

  I turned around and squinted my eyes into the darkness. I’m not opposed to leaving her little ass down her and I’m certain she would do the same. My fight or flight instincts are on high alert and I quickly contemplated my options.

  I licked my lips and prayed she’d return soon, if not, I was definitely getting the hell out of here.

  Just as I’m finalizing my escape plan, Martha turned the corner holding a leash attached to a sheep six times her size.

  “This way,” she grumbled. “Stay behind me.”

  I silently fell instep behind her once again and tugged at the collar of my shirt. Soon the shirt would be a distant memory because it felt like it was melting away.

  “Angela!” shouted Martha. “I have something for you.”

  There was a brief pause before a heart stopping roar filled the room.

  “Is that good or bad?” I asked nervously.

  Martha shrugged her shoulders and inched forward a little bit. She leaned around the corner for a split second before snatching her head back. Luckily, she managed to move just in time to avoid taking a full blast of flames to the face.

  “Bad,” she replied.

  I started to back up at little bit more.

  “Today seems to be a bad day,” I stammered. “I think I should come back some other time.”

  Or never. Fuck that grimoire. I’ve made it this far in life without it, so I probably don’t even need it. Hell, I’ll just pay the guys extra to do all of the work, that way I don’t have to use my wand at all.

  “No,” hissed Martha. “Get back over here so we can finish this. I’ve already got the sheep, so it’s too late to turn back.”

  “Actually,” I said, widening the distance between us even more. “It’s never too late to turn back, just put the sheep back where you got it from and let’s get out of here.”

  The little leprechaun ignored my protests and somehow managed to quickly close the space between us. She held the leash to the sheep with one hand and latched on to me with the other.

  She practically dragged me deeper down the hallway and I tried everything to break her hold.

  How is something so small this damn strong? Maybe I should kick her and take my chances running away? Kick her? Don’t kick her? Kick the sheep?

  My foot was poised and ready to ninja kick Martha into oblivion, but she quickly nudged the sheep around the corner. Before I’m able to do anything, she pushes me against the wall and we both wait.

  After a few moments of heavy breathing and severe sweating, the ground shook, and I covered my head to avoid the small rocks falling off of the walls around us.

  “Now!” shouted Martha.

  She tightened her grasp on my wrist and dragged me around the corner. The dragon filled the entire space before us. Her yellow eyes tracked us as we ran by. Instead of deep frying us though, she licked her lips and focused on devouring her little snack.

  Martha quickly released the latch to the door just behind the dragon and yanked me inside.

  She leaned against the door, and pulled off the helmet. Her face was a deep scarlet hue and her red hair had darkened because of the buckets of sweat pouring from her.

  “How the hell are we supposed to get out of here if it took all of that just to get inside the vault?” I asked.

  I started out bent over with my hands on my knees, but they quickly gave out and I crumpled down onto the floor. The bun at the nape of my neck had come down and I’m positive the mascara was dripping down my face.

  “She’s doesn’t mind visitors leaving, she’s just not keen on anyone coming in,” replied Martha. “Go ahead and retrieve what you came for.”

  I wobbled to my feet and turned toward the vault. If Ichiro saw this he’d probably piss his pants. The bounty of coins and various other jewel encrusted treasure was ten times better than what we saw in the attic. I’m positive my heart stopped and yet I didn’t drop dead on the spot.

  I licked my lips again as I shuffled forward deeper into the vault. There, in the center of the room, was a tall stand with a leather-bound book in a glass case.

  I stepped forward and reached out for it, but an invisible forcefield knocked me back. The room lit up with a blue light as the book trembled. Suddenly a bright flash blinded me and I covered my eyes to prevent my pupils from being scorched out of my skull.

  When I finally dared to open them, the entity staring back at me … was my grandmother.

  ***

  “What the hell?” I stammered, backing up into a pile of coins.

  “It’s just a memory,” said Martha. “It won’t hurt you.”

  I wanted to believe her, but my grandmother was dead, and seeing her appear in front of me wasn’t on my to-do list for the day.

  “Charlette, if you are seeing this message, then you passed your exam and have you license. Congratulations. Please hold up your license for inspection,” said the ghostly entity.

  I fumbled around in my pocket and grabbed the license. If I would have known I would have to jump through hoops just to get the grimoire then I would have nixed the idea from the very beginning.

  My hands shook as I held up the paper. The ghostly version of Grandma stared at the paper for a long time before her eyes flickered over to mine.

  I knew that look, and I tried to stop myself from cowering any more than I already was.

  “Your name doesn’t match what’s on file,” she said.

  “Uh, um, yeah,” I stammered. “I changed it.”

  Grandma narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side.

  Uh oh. I’m losing her. The wand!

  “I have my wand and everything,” I said.

  I quickly tucked the paper away and pulled out the wand to show her. Hopefully it would take her mind off of things.

  “That’s your wand?” she asked.

  She still seemed suspicious of me, the license, and the wand.

  “Yes,” I replied quickly. “It works and everything.”

  Grandma twisted her lips to the side and moved to the side of the grimoire case.

  “If that’s true, you should be able to open the case with your wand,” she said.

  I nodded and planted my feet like the guys told me. I tightened my hold on the wand and gave it a small flick. I knew as soon as I did it that I’d missed my target. A bright spark shot out the end, went through Grandma, and ricocheted off of the mound of coins on the other side of her.

  “Sorry,” I muttered. “I’m still getting used to it.”

  I inhaled sharply, planted my feet, and tried to focus on the glass case. I envisioned it disappearing, leaving only the grimoire.

  You can do this. Just concentrate. This is just like the wand range.

  As dumb as it seemed at the time, Ichiro’s advice came to the forefront of my mind. I planted my feet and angled my body just a bit.

  I took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before raising the wand again.

 

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