there without being caught. One shot of a courtyard there showed where they'd spray-painted: ALL HAIL THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS .
'Glad to see they haven't lost their touch,' Roman said wryly.
I sank down onto the couch beside him, my mind spinning. Why? Why now? I'd toyed with the theory that the Army's activities had been an absurdly elaborate distraction to take everyone's attention away from Seattle. By that reasoning, their shenanigans should have stopped once Jerome was summoned. Yet here they were again. Had they acted on their own, just for the fun of it? Had Blake discovered a spray-paint sale? Or had Grace directed them again-and if so, why?
Most of their other activities had lined up with some other significant part of the seal's creation or Jerome's summoning. Without wasting another moment, I picked up my cell and called Cedric. I actually got through to him rather than Kristin.
'What?' he demanded when he answered.
'This is Georgina. I just saw the news.'
'Look, I do not have the time for you. In fact, you're the last person I want to talk to right now, seeing as how none of this would have happened if you'd done your job in the first place.'
'Yeah, yeah, I know, but listen…was anything important going on today?'
His voice was incredulous. 'What, you mean aside from those idiots embarrassing me again ?'
'No, I mean…any events or, I don't know…just anything important, um, demonically…'
'Well, if you consider my evaluation with Ephraim important, then yes.' The sarcasm dripped through the phone.
I froze. 'Thank you. That's all I needed to know.'
He actually seemed surprised by that. 'Really?'
'Yeah, no, wait-when I talked to Kristin the other day, she said that you came to Seattle the day Jerome was summoned, but then Ephraim said when you got here, he was already gone. Is that true?'
'Yes, of course. Do you doubt him?'
'No, no…just making sure I heard right. And you were in Seattle for a while?'
'Yeah, was with Grace and Mei dealing with the aftermath. Look, if you want to track my activities, wait until Kristin's back in the office.' He sighed in frustration. 'Fuck. I wish she was here now.'
I hesitated, then figured I couldn't make things worse. 'Hey, just some friendly advice…but the next time you're looking at Match. com or asking out succubi, why don't you look a little closer to home?'
'What the hell are you talking about?'
'Kristin. If you're looking for someone who 'gets' you, you've already got her. See you later.' I hung up before I could hear his response. Roman gave me a bemused look.
'Are you matchmaking in the middle of this crisis?'
'Just doing a good deed.' I tossed my cell phone from hand to hand, thinking. 'Okay, so. The Army did a prank today-while Ephraim was interviewing Cedric. Not good for Cedric.'
'Which is going to ruin his candidacy for Seattle.'
'Likely, even though he claims he doesn't want it. Still, it makes sense that Grace would have them do it today… if she had them do it and they didn't act randomly…'
He shrugged. 'Makes sense, but what's it matter? You already know she's got a role in this. All this does is clear him.'
I frowned. I had the same sense I had the other day while analyzing the cult's activities, like I was so close but couldn't grasp all the threads. Against my better judgment, I dialed Evan. He flipped out when he realized it was me.
'Georgina! We've been wondering what happened to you. Man, you will not believe what we did today, it was this-'
'I already know,' I interrupted. 'It was on the news down here.'
'What? Holy shit. Hey! You guys!' I pulled the phone away as he yelled at whoever was with him. 'We made the Seattle news!' A moment later he returned to me. 'Wow, that's awesome. International recognition!'
'Look, Evan. I need to know something. Did the Angel actually tell you to do this? And when I say that, I mean, did she actually appear in one of those visions or did you presume she wanted this?'
'She was here. Told us to leave our mark at Butchart Gardens, so the world would know her glory. Cool too, since you know, it's a powerful place and all. No wonder it's having such far-reaching effects.'
'Powerful place…' My fist closed around all the threads. 'Evan, listen to me. Are you familiar with other places of power around you?' I'd always dismissed this group's arcane knowledge, never considering they might know a few things about the unseen world.
'Of course.'
Roman's eyes were fixed on me so hard, I thought they'd shoot lasers right through me. He could tell I was on to something. I took a deep breath. 'Do you know of any place up there that's by a beach-on the ocean-that has white rocks or gravel or sand or anything like that? That's infused with power?'
'White rocks?' he asked. There was a few second's silence. 'Well…there's White Rock.'
'What?'
'It's this town that has, well, a giant white rock. Some kind of glacial thing, but the Indians thought it came from the gods or something. Always been a holy place.'
'White Rock,' I repeated flatly.
'Yup.'
No, no. It could not be that obvious. Balancing the phone with one hand, I opened the atlas with the other and flipped to the section on British Columbia. There it was, on the coast, just barely north of the American border.
White Rock.
'Son of a bitch,' I said.
CHAPTER 24
Once I'd assured Evan I wasn't calling him a son of a bitch, I got off the phone and turned to Roman.
'The vessel's not anywhere around here. It's up in BC.'
Roman's eyes had followed my finger to White Rock on the map. 'Okay, you get points for the compelling name, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.'
'Yes! It means everything. The Army's been a distraction from the beginning, when the seal was created, when Ephraim talked to Cedric…and when Jerome was summoned. They staged their event on the Space Needle- here , but they didn't actually do anything until Jerome was taken. As soon as he was, they acted out to draw Cedric's attention here, away from his own territory.'
Realization lit Roman's features. Sociopath or not, he'd always been smart. 'Because Grace then hid the vessel in Cedric's territory.'
I nodded. 'That's where it's at. She needed Cedric gone, in case he noticed its presence before it was hidden. I think he's down here for the thing with Ephraim, but if I call now and tell him-'
'No,' said Roman quickly. 'We can't tell anyone.'
'What is up with you?' I exclaimed, standing up. 'The clock's ticking. We may not have time for a leisurely drive before the stasis ends.'
'Chance we've gotta take, love.' He rose as well. 'Grab your keys. Let's go.'
I started heading toward my bedroom, then hesitated. 'Damn. I told Seth I'd consider taking him with me. Too late now.'
Roman considered. 'No, do it.'
'Why?' I asked in surprise.
'I'll go invisibly. I don't know if anyone'll notice you leaving, but if they're tracking you, better they think
