“Cahoots?” Cormack’s eyes twinkled.
“It’s a word my father-in-law uses.” Zoe was sheepish. “I guess I kind of like it.”
“I like it, too.” Cormack sobered. “The house in Poletown doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. You said it looked abandoned, right?”
I nodded. “I can’t imagine anyone living there. It was clean inside but there was no furniture. It was an empty house. Luna said she doesn’t think it looked like anybody squatted there on a regular basis, because there were no comforts of home.”
“Which means the only reason anybody goes in or out of the house is the gate,” Cormack mused, pursing his lips. “It’s an interesting development.”
The room fell into silence for a beat and Zoe was the one who ultimately broke it. “There has to be a master list of these gates,” she noted. “I mean ... they have to be placed strategically, because otherwise there’s no point to this thing.”
“I think the point is that revenants have been moving into the area for a lot longer than we’ve realized,” I countered. “There could be hundreds of them here at this point.” Suddenly, I thought of something and straightened. “Has anyone seen Cernunnos since yesterday? He really should be here for this conversation. He told me the revenants had been closed off from this world. These gates would suggest otherwise.”
Zoe snorted. “You can’t rely on him. He’s only here to see what we’re going to do, maybe guide us a little if he can. He’ll leave the big fight for us. That’s what he does.”
“If you have such a low opinion of him, why would you work with him?” Cormack queried.
“Because he saved my family.” Her answer was simple. “Sami got worked up when she let it slip that she brought me back from the dead. We’ve cautioned her about telling the wrong people what she did because every nut in the state will try to snatch her if they think she can bring back lost loved ones.”
“Did she really bring you back from the dead?” I queried, thinking of her black eyes. “Did she turn you into something else when she brought you back?”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t certain if I died. Honestly, I didn’t cross over some mystical barrier. There was no gate or omnipotent god. One second I knew I was dying, and I told her that Aric would always take care of her. He was howling and crying ... and something inside me broke. The next second, I was awake and Sami was healing me. Bob helped her.”
Cormack slid her a sidelong look. “That must’ve traumatized your family.”
“We survived. Aric was the one who had the hardest time. At that moment when I let go, I thought things would be okay because we had ended the Academy once and for all. In hindsight, I realize that was naive, but I felt it at the time. I just wanted them to be safe, and I knew they would be.”
“And now you know that there will always be some sort of fight,” Cormack mused. “That’s why you did what you did today. You will always do what is necessary to be the one fighting because it’s how you protect your family.”
“It’s all I can do,” she confirmed.
“Well, we’re going to help with your family this go-round,” he reassured her. “You’re right about having to figure out where these gates are, though. There has to be a master list.”
“There also has to be a way to destroy them,” Zoe insisted. “I mean ... I get that we probably can’t get to all of them, but if we start taking them down it might have them rethinking their plan.”
“I agree. Where do we get the list?”
I had an idea about that. “Adam Grimaldi.”
Cormack shifted his attention to me. “You think we should question him?”
“I think he wants us to come to his house for that party tomorrow night,” I countered. “That means he’s got something up his sleeve for us. We have to be ready to fight.”
“But how can we know what he has planned?” Cormack queried. “It’s not like he’s going to tell us.”
“No, but he might’ve let something slip in front of Angelina,” I pointed out. “She might not even realize she knows something. We need to question her again.”
“Oh, well ... .” Cormack’s eyes drifted to the door as Aisling slid past me and joined the party.
“What’s going on?” Aisling asked. “Braden is acting weird.”
“That’s no longer important,” Cormack replied. “Suffice it to say that Cillian is my favorite today and he gets whatever he wants for dinner.”
“Oh, man.” Aisling made a face. “He’s going to pick Mexican. I wanted seafood pasta.”
“Well, he’s my favorite today so he gets to choose.” Cormack’s expression was contemplative. “I do have a special something for you, though.”
“Oh, yeah?” Aisling brightened. “What is it? Tell me it’s better than tacos.”
“How would you like the opportunity to torture Angelina?”
“I don’t need your permission for that.”
“No, but Zoe and Izzy will be using their magic to help you.”
Aisling’s smile grew so wide it practically swallowed her entire face. “Sign me up.”
Cormack chuckled. “Something told me you were going to say that.”
SINCE IT WAS UNLIKELY ANGELINA WOULD fall for the bait – no matter what it was – and willingly come to Grimlock Manor, Aisling placed a few calls and found she was hosting an open house in St. Claire Shores. Aisling drove because she was familiar with the area, and Zoe marveled at the lakefront view as we crossed into Macomb County.
“This isn’t so bad,” she said. “I keep picturing this area as completely urban but there’s a lot more down here.”
Once we arrived at the house, Aisling took the lead and headed straight inside without knocking or announcing our presence. I was a bit leery of giving her so much power but Zoe seemed happy enough to cede
