“Since what?” Reece snapped. “Since my powers have been a little inconsistent? Is that what you’re trying to say?” Great. An angry Reece was never a good thing.

“I—I just meant, are you sure you’ll know if he’s lying?” It was too late to backpedal now.

Reece looked like she wanted to tear my head off. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m still a Sybil. Whatever I see in his face is the truth. If my powers are off, I won’t see anything.”

Lena slid between us.

You’re in over your head. I’ve got this.

Thanks.

I’ve been dealing with Reece the Beast a lot longer than you have. It’s an acquired skill.

“Reece.” Lena took her hand, and I could see her hair begin to curl. I winced. Casting at a Caster was almost never a good idea. “You’re the most powerful Sybil I’ve ever met.”

“Don’t try that on me.” Reece pulled her hand away. “I’m the only Sybil you’ve ever met.”

“But you know I trust you, no matter what.” Lena smiled encouragingly at her cousin. Reece frowned at both of us.

I looked away. Misfiring powers or not, I wasn’t looking into the eyes of a Sybil if I could help it. I noticed Liv hadn’t said a word or looked in Reece’s direction either.

“One shot. Then you’re telling Uncle Macon, either way. Because this whole thing shows, once again, why you should not be allowed to Cast when you’re underage.” She folded her arms again. It took me a while to figure out that was a yes.

John hopped off the bed and walked over to where Reece was standing. “Let’s get this over with. What do I have to do?”

Reece stared into John’s green eyes, studying his face as if it held all the answers we were looking for. “You’re doing it.”

John didn’t move. He stared back at Reece, letting her absorb his thoughts and memories. Reece turned away before he did, shaking her head as if she didn’t like what she’d seen.

“It’s true. He didn’t know what Abraham and Sarafine were planning, and he doesn’t remember what happened that night. Ridley let him out of the Arclight, and he’s been here ever since, doing my sister’s dirty work.”

John looked at me. “Satisfied?”

“Wait? How is that possible?”

Reece shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint you. He’s not evil. He’s just a jerk. Sometimes it’s a fine line.”

“Hey.” John looked less smug now. “I thought you were supposed to be the nice one. Where’s that famous Ravenwood hospitality?”

Reece ignored him.

I should’ve been relieved, but Reece was right. I was disappointed. I didn’t want John to be one of Sarafine and Abraham’s pawns. I wanted him to be one of the bad guys. That’s how I saw him—how I would always see him.

More than anything, I wanted Lena to see him that way.

Lena wasn’t thinking about John. “We have to talk to my uncle. We have to find Ridley before she does anything stupid.”

Right. If I knew Ridley, she was probably hitchhiking her way out of Summerville by now. After the stunt she pulled tonight, she knew Lena would go straight to Macon. And Ridley wasn’t big on facing the music. “I think it’s a little too late for that.”

Lena bent down and flipped back the corner of the pink shag carpet. “Let’s go.”

“You sure about this? I don’t want to, you know, wake him up or something.” I also didn’t want to see the look on his face when we told him that Ridley had turned Savannah Snow’s house into a thirty-on-thirty boxing match, using the Charmed belt of an Incubus we were all looking for—who just happened to be living in Ridley’s bedroom.

Lena opened the trapdoor. “I doubt he’s asleep.”

Liv shook her head. “Lena’s right. We have to tell Macon. Immediately. You don’t understand, we’ve been—” She faltered, looking at Lena. “Your uncle has been trying to find John Breed for months.”

Lena nodded. It wasn’t a smile, but it was something. “Let’s go.”

John ripped open another bag of Doritos. “While you’re down there, can you ask him to let me out of here?”

“Ask him yourself,” Lena said. “You’re coming with us.”

John looked down into the darkness that led into the Tunnels below us, then back at me. “Never thought you’d be rescuing me, Mortal.”

I wanted to kill him or punch him in the face. I wanted to make him pay for everything he’d done to Lena and Link, all the trouble Abraham had caused because of him. But I would leave that to Macon.

“Trust me, I’m not.”

He smiled, and I stepped into the air, feeling for the rough solidity of the steps I would never see.

10.19

The Ultimate Weapon

I knocked on the door of Macon’s study, and it swung open. I didn’t need to worry about waking him up, though. A miserable-looking Link was already sitting at the table.

Macon waved me in. “Link has filled me in on everything. Luckily, he came straight here, before he hurt anyone.” I hadn’t considered the damage a raging Incubus could inflict.

“What part of everything do you know?” I stepped inside.

“That my niece snuck out of the house.” He looked at me pointedly. “Not a wise decision.”

“No, sir.” Macon was already angry, and I didn’t want to tell him something that was going to make him even angrier.