You’re totally hot for him, Selena repeated.
No, I’m not! Emily’s resistance was futile. She knew it to be true. Still, she fought it. It was something that couldn’t happen. Never. He was the freaking enemy. He had kept Michael in captivity. He had done so many horrible things. Besides, she didn’t even know him.
Sure, he was smart and well dressed and so hot—but he was an evil rove. No, it couldn’t happen!
Yeah, except for the fact that he’s in love with you! Selena said. And he has protected you once already.
He’s not in love with me. He can’t be because we have barely exchanged two words, Emily argued, but recalled that moment when Alice almost caught her with a lightning blast. If not for Marion’s early warning, Emily might have been fried. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now that Selena was putting that action side by side with Alice’s angry confession of Marion’s affection, it did line up.
Hey, we could use this to our advantage, Selena said. He loves you. He doesn’t want to hurt you.
Oh yeah? Then why’s he helping his psycho vampire sister get to me? Emily asked. As if he’s not aware the Na-Ma ritual will kill me.
Selena had no answer for that question.
Emily’s lips twitched in anger. That’s what I thought.
Aunt Anastacia sucked in a deep breath and said, “The legend must be true. The legend about The Man.”
“Really?” Michael blurted. “I thought that must have been a myth.” Michael chanced a glance at Emily, who was a bit surprised since Michael had come to her the previous night and told her about The Man without mentioning it was a myth.
“The legend is true in the sense it is a legend,” continued Anastacia. Her voice had a philosophical undertone. “It’s a belief held by the ancestors of this region. They believed it. It is true they believed it. It is true that it wasn’t made up last week.”
Aunt Anastacia paused. She twisted on her chair to face them all. “However, is it true there once lived a man whose name was never mentioned, who built a castle with dungeons? I can’t say.”
Dad squinted. “But if this Man does exist—”
“If he does exist,” Aunt Anastacia interrupted, “then we’d all be dead already.” She shook her head. “He can’t exist.”
“So who is he, though?” asked Emily. “Forgive me, but I don’t know squat about the legend. What does it say?”
“Are you positive that the man who hexed you was Gregory?” asked Aunt Anastacia, ignoring Emily’s question and pointing a sharp finger at Dad.
Dad thought for a bit, then nodded. “Absolutely. I remember his face from the picture you showed me. It’s him all right.”
“Then The Man might be a myth after all,” Aunt Anastacia concluded.
“Um, I’m kind of lost,” Emily interjected. “Do you believe The Man might be after the Na-Ma thingy?”
“What’s that?” Aunt Anastacia asked.
Emily explained about Selena’s response to the term. Aunt Anastacia only raised an eyebrow to that. She obviously knew more, but wasn’t saying it.
“Yes, it might be a possibility, if The Man does indeed exist,” said Aunt Anastacia.
“So he’s a rove?” asked Emily. “Is that what he is?”
“He’s not just a rove,” said Michael. “He’s a nightmare.”
Aunt Anastacia went on, “We’re better off not thinking about The Man. Like I said, if he does exist, we’d already be dead. Therefore, he doesn’t exist. Whoever filed these plans must have put “The Man” there to stoke the legend. Maybe to prevent people from entering the castle.”
“Yeah, but who filed the plan?” asked Michael.
“Maybe the Alfreds,” replied Anastacia. “The Alfreds have been around for centuries. Maybe Gregory’s father or grandfather built the building and then filed the plan under the name. Heck, maybe they created the legend.”
“You really think so?” Dad asked, incredulous.
Aunt Anastacia shrugged and then responded with a complete change of subject. “The Alfred kids didn’t figure out the illusion until you guys were in Dallas. Yes, I put a tracker in your car. Get over it.” The woman waved away Dad’s appalled look. “Anyway, I stuck around until they figured it out. They weren’t too happy about it. Alice tore the house apart, and then went on to give Marion a lecture for not getting his emotions together.”
“Um, what?” Dad looked confused.
“It turns out he has a thing for Emily.” Anastacia smirked.
At that point, everyone looked at Emily—who just blushed.
Anastacia went on, “They retired to the castle to rest up before they started the search for you guys. They also let slip that their parents would wake by midnight tonight.”
“So we go in before then and rescue the girls,” said Michael matter-of-factly.
“Or,” Aunt Anastacia opposed, frowning at Michael, “we use the opportunity to destroy the spell that has the entire town under the Alfreds’ thumb.”
“No!” Michael leaped to his feet, knocking his chair down behind him.
“Think about it,” Anastacia reasoned. “We only have this one chance. If the Alfreds wake up, they’ll be very powerful. It would be a lost cause for us. But now that they’re weak, we can break their spell over the town.
“We can have the town’s backing and that of the vigilantes. Why do you think the Alfreds took them out in the first place? Because they knew that with the vigilantes active, they would face opposition they might not be able to overcome.”
“It’s still a no!” Michael boomed.
Aunt Anastacia glanced at Emily. “Think about it. With the vigilantes, we have a multiplied workforce. We can rescue Rina and Joanna. We can run the Alfreds out of town or, better still, remove their magic and render them impotent for all eternity.”
“We can do that?” Emily cut in.
Aunt Anastacia nodded. “Difficult but doable. Especially with a fire demon. It’s the only ingredient that’s missing. The breath of a fire demon.”
Emily nodded. Of course. The breath of a fire demon. Totally obvious, right?
“You can’t seriously be considering this,” Michael said
