CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Haven banged on the door of the little yellow
house on the corner of Sylvan Terrace. Blue-haired Vera answered,
and her eyes bulged.
“Haven! What are you doing?” the young woman
whispered, looking around nervously. “You shouldn’t have brought
someone with you. Please go before Phoebe finds out. You’ll make
trouble for all of us.”
“No one followed us,” Leah stated, her tone polite
yet firm. “But if you don’t let us in soon, everyone in town’s
gonna know where we are.”
“Is that Haven at the door?” Vera cringed at the
sound of her leader’s voice. Stepping away from the entrance, she
gave Phoebe a full view of their unexpected guests.
The old woman smiled until she caught sight of
Leah. “Who is that?” she screeched. “No one said you were
allowed to bring friends, Haven! Get inside before anyone sees you.
How dare you risk our plans like this?”
Haven didn’t answer. She was watching Vera, who had
anticipated Phoebe’s outburst. The calm, composed head of the Horae
must have been just an act.
“It’s my fault, ma’am,” Leah explained once they
were inside the circular room with the spiral staircase. She wasn’t
at all intimidated. “You see, I’m the one who told Haven she needed
to find you. Now that I’m in New York for a visit, I thought I’d
drop by and say hi. So don’t blame Haven. I made her bring me up
here.”
Phoebe trained her wrath on the redheaded girl.
“Just who do you think . . .” Her words trailed off, and her anger
drained away. “Did you say that you told Haven to see me?
You’re the reason she came to the spa?”
“I saw you in a vision,” Leah explained. “You were
sitting in a cloud of smoke with a towel on your head.”
“A vision of the future?” Phoebe asked in an
awestruck whisper. “Is it you?”
“Is it who?” Haven asked.
Phoebe ignored the question. “Why have you come
here?” she asked Leah. “What have you seen?”
Leah grinned at the woman, playing dumb like a pro.
But the power in the room had shifted with a single sentence. Leah
was in charge now. “My name is Leah Frizzell. I’m a friend of
Haven’s from Snope City, Tennessee. I’m here to see what y’all can
do to help us find our friend Beau.”
“We are already doing all we can.”
“Are you?” Leah inquired. “Haven’s not so sure
about that. I think it’s time we all had a chat, don’t you?”
“We should do as she asks.” Vera stepped forward
and put a hand on Phoebe’s arm. “If she’s the one . . .”
Phoebe clearly didn’t appreciate the advice, and
she pushed the younger woman back into place.
“Our sisters will want—” Vera tried again.
“Enough!” Phoebe shouted. “All of you.
Follow me to the council room.”
THE CHALK-COLORED CHAMBER was perfectly round and
empty but for a blazing fireplace and twelve regal chairs arranged
in a circle. There were no windows to distract the eye. No interior
design to admire. Only the ceiling was decorated. Haven gazed up at
the map of the heavens painted in gold on the plaster. For a
moment, she could have sworn she’d seen it move. Then her attention
was drawn to the small group of women who were wandering in through
the room’s open door. Vera and Cleo were there, as was the blonde
girl from Florence. None of them spoke, but Haven realized they’d
come to see Leah.
Phoebe opened her mouth to speak, but Leah
interrupted. “Haven’s got a few things she’d like to get off her
chest first. I think you better sit down.” She pulled one of the
chairs out of the circle and gestured for Phoebe to take a
seat.
Phoebe’s mouth clamped shut, and she did as she was
told. Six other Horae came to stand behind her chair. Haven’s eyes
rested on Leah. She was just a scrawny nineteen-year-old girl with
a few extra servings of pluck. Why would the Horae obey her
commands?
“Haven?” Leah asked. “You wanna get us
started?”
“I know who the Horae really are,” Haven announced.
“I know the story about the twelve murdered sisters isn’t
true.”
“The magos told you that, didn’t he? How dare you
speak of us to him! How dare you believe his lies!”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Leah chided Phoebe. “You’ll get your
turn. Haven’s talking now.”
“Lies?” Haven continued. “Let’s talk about lies.
You double-crossed Iain, and you’ve been lying about Halcyon Hall
this whole time. I took the train up there yesterday. There wasn’t
any ‘impenetrable security.’ They aren’t brainwashing the kids or
abusing them in any way. Adam may have had other plans when he
opened Halcyon Hall, but now it’s just a school,
Phoebe.”
Phoebe’s smirk questioned Haven’s convictions.
“You’re certain of that, are you?”
“I just know what I saw, Phoebe. And after I got
back, I swore I wasn’t going to have anything to do with you
witches. I’m only here because I have to find Beau as quickly as
possible. But unless you help me see Naddo, I’m never setting foot
on Sylvan Terrace again. Which would be a real shame, since I’ve
got Adam right where you need him.”
“Do you?” Phoebe leaned forward on her chair like a
pit bull straining against its chain. “You think I don’t know
everything that goes on at the Ouroboros Society? I heard you were
hauled in against your will to see the magos this morning. Maybe
he’s not as convinced of your love as you think.”
“He wanted to tell me that he knows Iain is alive.
He’s known for months. I managed to convince him that I couldn’t
care less. I’m making my public debut as Adam’s girlfriend tonight.
There’s a party at the Society.”
The women standing behind Phoebe exchanged loaded
looks.
“If this is true, it could be excellent news,”
their leader offered cautiously.
“But there is one little problem. Adam knows about
the bank vault.”
“How?”
“Iain. He asked Adam to meet him at the address on
Lenox Avenue. Adam had the place checked out, and his men found the
vault in the basement. I don’t think I can ever convince him to
follow me there.”
“That imbecile!” Phoebe turned on the women
gathered behind her as though they were to blame. “I told you we
should have gotten Iain out of the way years ago! This is what we
get for protecting people’s feelings.”
“Stop!” Haven barked. “Iain may have made a
mistake, but I have a solution. I know where you can put
Adam.”
“Where? It took us decades to find an ideal
spot.”
“No!” Leah interrupted just as Haven was about to
speak. “First Phoebe’s gonna help us find the answers we
need, and then we’ll decide whether we want to help
her.”
Phoebe rose and stood with her face just inches
from Leah’s. The girl didn’t flinch, but the rest of the Horae
watched the confrontation with a mixture of fascination and horror.
“If you insist,” the old woman snarled. “Haven, follow me to the
roof. The rest of you make Miss Frizzell comfortable.”
“If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to tag along
with Haven and see how all this works,” Leah said.
“Absolutely not.” Phoebe refused to budge on the
matter. “You may have brought Haven to us, but she must face the
past on her own. When she’s done, we’ll find out if she has the
courage to tell her friends what she’s seen.”
BEATRICE WAS STROLLING along the banks of the
Arno River, a young man by her side. Ahead, the bridge that the
water once washed away had been rebuilt. Four doctors dressed in
long dark coats and terrible, birdlike masks stopped to knock at
the door of a building on the other side of the street. A frantic
woman ushered them inside.
“The sickness is spreading,” Beatrice stated.
Her mother had warned her to stay at home, but nowadays Beatrice
did as she liked.
“Yes,” the young man confirmed with no emotion
in his voice. Beatrice glanced over at him. He was handsome—all of
her friends thought so. Tall and dark with a resonant voice that
told the world he was someone to be reckoned with. But his eyes
could be cold. They had little of Ettore’s warmth. She liked
him—even trusted him—but she didn’t love Adam the way she’d once
loved Ettore.
“Piero told me that the pestilence arrived on
your ships,” Beatrice said. “He almost suggested that you brought
it here.” It couldn’t be true, she reminded herself once more.
Piero let his passions rule him. He didn’t always see things
rationally.
“Your brother is jealous,” the young man said,
“because he can never have what we have.”
Beatrice bit her lip with such force that she
almost drew blood. “I shouldn’t have told you,” she said. “I know
you don’t care who Piero loves, but it wasn’t a secret I was meant
to share.”
“We’re to be married. There can be no secrets
between us. Which is why I must speak with you now. It concerns
your brother.”
“Yes?”
“When was the last time you saw
Piero?”
“We had an argument three days ago. He’s been
avoiding me since then. My mother says he hasn’t been home. He’s
with Naddo, I suppose.”
“He is with Naddo. But I’m afraid they’re no
longer in Florence.”
“Where did they go?”
“I do not know. No one does, and that is a very
good thing.”
“Why?” Beatrice asked cautiously, not certain
she wanted to hear the truth.
Adam turned to her. His icy fingers gripped her
bare hands. “They were going to be arrested, Beatrice. The city’s
leaders know about their relationship. Piero fled Florence with
Naddo. He asked me to say goodbye to you.”
A stabbing pain made Beatrice jerk a hand free
and clutch her stomach. “You spoke to him?” she managed to
ask.
“I went to see him. I wanted to end the
animosity between us. He agreed, and he shared his secret with
me.”
“But how will they survive?” Beatrice
moaned.
“They have everything they need,” the young man
assured his fiancée. “I gave them more money than they can spend in
a year. Your brother is very resourceful, and Naddo will always
ensure that he says the right thing.”
Beatrice watched the murky waters flow away from
the city toward the sea. She knew she would never see her brother
again.
“The men who have done this to my brother must
pay,” she said. “I want you to make them suffer.”
“They will,” he told her. “And very soon
indeed.”
“THAT WASN’T WHAT I wanted to see!” Haven
blurted out before she was fully awake. “It’s what you wanted to
show me. You’re trying to make me doubt myself! I already know Adam
and Beatrice were engaged. I’ve known from the very beginning. I
need to see Naddo, not Adam!”
Phoebe peeled off her mask. “Tell me about your
vision.”
“Adam told Beatrice that her brother and Naddo had
fled the city.”
“You’re right,” Phoebe agreed flatly. “That doesn’t
sound like the vision you need to have.”
“I’m sick of all this!” Haven raged. “You obviously
don’t care whether I find Naddo or not. What is it that you want me
to see, Phoebe?”
“If I knew, I would tell you,” Phoebe responded.
“Beatrice never explained why she decided not to sell her
soul.”
A snippet from a recent dream began playing in
Haven’s head. A small blonde girl screaming at Beatrice. A child
who masqueraded as the daughter of a servant. “Wait a second. You
were there too, weren’t you, Phoebe? In Florence. I’ve dreamed
about you. You were just a little girl back then.”
Phoebe regarded Haven with something close to
respect. “Yes. I was there, as were my sisters. We were the ones
who led the magos to Beatrice. All you had to do was follow our
instructions, and humankind would have been free of him. But you
betrayed us. The magos gave you everything you wanted, and you
refused to listen to our warnings. But then something happened.
Your brother disappeared with his lover. We don’t know exactly what
took place in the days that followed Piero’s death, but we do know
that you witnessed something that turned you against the magos.
Whatever it was, you need to see it again.”
“Why?” Haven demanded. “I’ve already agreed to help
you.”
The respect on Phoebe’s face was replaced by a look
of distaste. “We’ve been seeking your assistance for centuries,
Haven. You never made it easy for us. You would betray us again in
a heartbeat if we gave you the chance.”
Haven’s face began to burn. She couldn’t let Phoebe
see she was right. “I can prove that I’m willing to help. You need
a new place to put Adam. Well, I’ve found one. It’s in Green-Wood
Cemetery in Brooklyn.”
“I wish that were an option, but we can’t kill the
magos.”
“That’s not what I mean. Adam used to keep six
bodies in that mansion near the Ouroboros Society. My
bodies. Now he’s decided to lay them to rest. He had a mausoleum
constructed in Green-Wood Cemetery. It’s built into the side of a
hill, not far from a lake. It wouldn’t take much to convince him to
give me a tour of the place. And while we were there, you could
lock him inside.”
Phoebe considered the proposition. “I will send
Chandra and Cleo to look for your tomb in the morning,” she said.
“Tonight I shall attend the Society’s gathering. Like you, I am
only prepared to believe what I see with my own two eyes. You tell
me the magos is convinced of your love? If you have completed the
task we set, I will know.”
“Spy on me all you like, Phoebe. Show me whatever
horrible thing you want me to see. But I’m not going to help you
imprison Adam until I have the vision that will help me find
Beau.”
“Yes, you and your friend have made that perfectly
clear. Now tell me: How do you know the girl you brought here
today?”
“I grew up with her,” Haven said. “She went to
school with me and Beau.”
“She sees the future, doesn’t she?”
“You should ask Leah yourself,” Haven said.
“I’m asking you, Haven.”
“And I’m not saying anything.”
“These games must stop!” The water tower shook with
the force of Phoebe’s fury. “If Leah is the one, you’ve been
brought together for a reason. This is a development that I never
anticipated.”
“Like I said, Phoebe, you’ll just have to ask
Leah.”
Phoebe rose and opened the tower door. “So let’s
find her,” she snarled.
Inside the council room, Leah was still wearing her
winter coat. The chamber was scorching hot, but the girl hadn’t
broken a sweat. Haven suddenly remembered seeing ten-year-old Leah
climb off a school bus in the middle of a snowstorm wearing only a
T-shirt and skirt. And one summer, she’d arrived at the Snope City
public pool in a woolly sweater that would have fit a grown man. A
gang of swim-suited boys had gathered to harass the strange girl.
Beau stepped in to defend her, and a fight ensued. But Leah just
sat in the sun, paying less attention to the scuffle than she had
to the weather.
Haven thought back to the night Adam had left his
coat behind when they went for a walk. The way Phoebe bore the
swelter inside the water tower. They didn’t feel heat or cold the
way others did. Now Haven understood why the Horae took Leah so
seriously. She couldn’t be fully human. She had to be one of
them.
“You see what you wanted to see?” Leah asked
Haven.
“No, not yet,” Haven said, looking at the girl
through new eyes.
“Then I guess we’ll be on our way,” Leah told
Phoebe. “It sure was nice to meet y’all.”
“Wait!” Phoebe barked, then softened her tone.
“Wait. Please.”
“Yeah?” Leah inquired.
“Do you have any idea who you are?” the old woman
asked.
“Who?” Leah asked, though she didn’t seem to
care.
“In each generation, there is a single woman who
can see the future. Others may glimpse it from time to time, but
there’s only one person able to give true prophecy. She comes to us
in times of great trouble. For the past two millennia, we have
called her the snake goddess.”
“Well, if there’s only one person who can see the
future, I guess that would have to be me,” Leah said with a shrug.
“But I’m no goddess. My abilities are a gift from the Lord.”
“What have you seen?” Phoebe demanded, her
suspicion confirmed. “Something brought you here. What is
it?”
Vera stepped forward. “We will do whatever you ask
of us. But please tell us why your visions have led you
here.”
“I’ll think about it and get back to ya’ll,” Leah
told the Horae.
“When?” Phoebe asked.
“As soon as I’ve decided whether you really need to
know. We’ll see you when it’s time for Haven’s next vision.”
No one dared stop them as they walked out of the
house.