I had to act quick to get ahold of it. The wrappings flew off of it as Byron tossed it to me, unveiling the black stone and the light that came surging out of it. Remembering how the light knocked me back, I thrust it toward Piers. The map was trembling in my hands with the energy that was pouring out of it, and it struck Piers in the chest and knocked him flat.
Byron passed a hand through Piers’ head. “He’s down. Wrap it up.”
I grabbed the cloth, struggling to contain the energy of the map. The blast seemed to pass harmlessly through the trees but it definitely hit people. I wondered how the cloth kept it contained. It must be specially treated.
“What do we do with him now? My mother is back there,” I said.
“We can’t kill him,” Jake growled, now in human form and pulling on his jeans—oh damn, I missed that when my back was turned—and then he turned to Jasper. “But if he killed my brother, I might do it anyway.”
“We can alter his memories like we did with Caleb…but it won’t last long,” I said.
“No…,” Byron said. “We’d have a clock to beat. But…”
For the first time, I saw something in Byron’s eyes that made me wonder just how far he would go to do whatever it was he was trying to do.
Jake went over to Jasper. “Fuck. His leg.”
“Is it broken?”
“Yeah, it’s—snapped. Fuck. I feel sick just looking at it. I don’t want him to wake up. He needs a healer stat.”
I heard very careful footsteps behind me and just when things couldn’t get much worse, I saw my mother distantly approaching. She was going for it, heels or not.
I quickly shoved the map under a pile of leaves. Then I didn’t know what to do, but my heart said helping Jasper was more important than worrying about Piers.
“Ohh…ohh no!” Jasper’s leg already looked so much more fragile in his wolf form, and it was snapped, the bone showing. So much worse than I thought. His leg had clearly gotten the brunt of Piers’ blast because the rest of him seemed all right.
Jasper suddenly seemed to come to and he let out a howl of pain. He was shivering. I could see his thick fur trembling.
“Don’t change!” Jake said. “Stay still.”
“What’s going on?” Mother said behind me.
“Jasper…” I swallowed a sob. “I know he’s just a werewolf to you, Mother. He’s just been helping me on this project. He’s a good guy. Piers—“
“Oh, dear. That does look bad. Come on. Let’s do it together.” Mother pulled her heels off and knelt next to me on the forest floor.
It had been so long since I’d suffered any stupid childhood injuries that I forgot this side of my mother. She was a strict disciplinarian—but she was also a good nurse. She put one hand on Jasper’s head and the other on his leg. My hand joined hers. She spoke familiar healing words, leading me in the chant, and as the healing magic flowed, warm and soothing as hot tea sliding down to the stomach on a winter day, I could feel the magic working through the wound and I let the worries leave my mind and gave everything over to the magic. Now she deftly worked her hands to set the bone in place, catching the spell as it sparked through Jasper’s fur.
“There, that’s better,” she said.
“Thank you. Really.”
“Of course. But…” Her attention turned, as did mine, back to Piers. And Byron. Byron was in his ghostly human guise and not his demon one, but he had his hand on Piers’ forehead and my mother immediately turned suspicious again.
“Get back from him!” she said. “Piers…”
Byron took a step back and bowed to her. “I beg your pardon. I’m the resident ghost. A friendly ghost, or so I hope. I protect the house, and I don’t appreciate this gentleman attacking the men who are trying to repair it. But I also don’t want anyone dying on my watch. He seems to be all right.”
Even my mother wasn’t immune to the charms of an incubus. I could see her wrestling between her distrust of Sinistrals and thinking that this was a very gentlemanly ghost.
Piers opened his eyes and groaned.
“Piers?” Mother said. “Did you find the thing you’re looking for?”
“I was wrong. It’s not here. Just these stupid wolves.” His eyes were even more dead now, glazing with confusion.
I glanced at Byron. He looked back at me. I understood.
The clock was now ticking until Piers remembered all of this.
Piers got to his feet, and I was still so disgusted with him that I had to open my big mouth. “Get out of here,” I said. “You attacked my workers over nothing. They’re good guys; I don’t care if they’re wolves. I’d rather hang out with wolves than your entitled ass.”
“I’m sure that’s true,” Piers said. “You’re on a pathway to destruction; I hope you realize it before I see you in jail.”
“Piers, let’s go,” Mother said. She put a hand on my shoulder and whispered, “Helena, remember to keep your wits about you. And you know what I always told you. Never trust demons.”
“I remember, Mother. It’s just a job.”
But I could tell by the way she held my gaze too long, the way her eyes seemed a little moist, the frown tugging at her mouth—she wasn’t fooled at all. She was saving me today, but she wouldn’t save me tomorrow. She was giving me a chance to rethink my decisions.
I don’t trust her either.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
HELENA
I LOVED and hated open houses, the way I loved and hated Christmas Eve as a kid, or getting on an international plane flight. The mixture of anticipation, excitement, and fear, the butterflies in my stomach that made me feel alive.
I was so proud of how we had transformed Lockwood House.
I made cookies the night before, and now
