Coven Betrayed (The Silver Legacy Book 4) Page 6

  Denny looked back down at the report, a million thoughts banging into each other. “So whose blood was on her hands if it wasn’t hers or his?”

  “Whoever was chasing them is my guess,” Lauren offered. “The scenario I make out is this: your dad wanted time away from you kids with your mom in order to talk about the collapse of the marriage. They started off, and maybe someone started chasing them. Maybe they didn’t. We don’t know for sure. If he was trying to outrun them and crashed, then the other car had to skid to avoid them. Your mom made it out alive, and she killed or hurt whoever was chasing them. That’s my guess about where the blood came from.”

  “It was a human, because they would have found demon guts all around if she’d killed a demon.” Denny locked eyes with Lauren. “Witchers?”

  Lauren shrugged, then looked at Rush. “I don’t know enough about them to make an educated guess. The supernatural is your area of expertise, Den.” Lauren looked over at Rush. “Any idea where Valeria was in Gwen’s life at this point?”

  Rush looked away.

  “In Mom’s bed, perhaps?” Denny said softly.

  Sighing, Rush was now barely visible. “Yeah. More than likely. Their love affair had been going on for quite some time, and no, I don’t know how much your dad knew about it.”

  “Then I guess we need to find out a few things before my Hanta goes all ghetto on someone. Was my dad protecting Mom, or was he trying to get himself reinstated into the Kramer clan? Who was following them and what did they want? Who did Mom kill or injure to such a degree there was blood on her hands and—”

  “And why would she have left her weapons at home?”

  Both Rush and Denny turned to Lauren.

  “I’m sorry, Den, but that is the biggest question for me. If Robert asked her to leave them, knowing it would make her vulnerable, then he is a villain in this scenario. I don’t buy that he wanted her weapon-free for a ‘date’. It wasn’t a date. It was a negotiation of sorts. He wanted her weapon-free to weaken her. If she were in trouble, and without her weapons, who could she count on to come help her?”

  Denny and Rush looked at each other and said in unison, “Valeria.”

  Lauren nodded. “I think you’re searching in the wrong place, Den. I wouldn’t spend too much time looking at your parents. Valeria is probably the key to everything. That’s where I think we should start.”

  Denny leaned on the table, scanning all of the documents. On the table in front of Lauren was one last document she hadn’t looked at. “Lay it on me, Lauren.”

  Sliding it over to Denny, Lauren said, “This was an eyewitness account after the initial incident report was filed.”

  Denny held her breath as she pulled it over.

  “It was discounted because the report came from a homeless woman known to be a raging alcoholic.”

  Denny read the report slowly. Then she looked up at Lauren. “Oh my God.”

  “Yeah. This is why I think she’s the first place to look.”

  “What? What?” Rush asked.

  Denny pinched the bridge of her nose. “The woman claims an angel with white hair appeared out of thin air and helped Mom out of the wreckage. The second car came around the bend less than ten seconds after the crash and slammed on its brakes. Three men jumped out and fought the angel and the woman from the car, whose eyes were red.” Denny stopped and smiled. “He…the Hanta did save her. He gave her the strength to fight.” Wiping her eyes, Denny continued. “Together, the two women fought off the men, killing one, whom the other two dragged into their car, then sped off. The angel then sat with the other woman, cradling her in her arms, until the sirens scared her off.”

  No one said a word, until finally Rush let a small sob escape her lips. “She saved your mom’s life.”

  Lauren nodded. “The story is so insane, the officers just stuck it with the file, never really considering it anything but the ravings of a mad drunkard.”

  Denny slumped back in her chair for a moment, staring straight ahead. “Okay. Okay. Valeria is the key here. I think we can all agree to that.” Then she rose and headed for the kitchen, grabbing two shot glasses and the bottle of Jameson’s whiskey she bought for the Hanta.

  “Den?”

  She poured two shots and slid one over to Lauren. “I don’t know how to thank you, Lauren.” Denny raised her glass. “To my super sleuth.” They clinked glasses, and Denny tossed hers back.

  Lauren stared at her a moment before doing the same.

  Denny looked at the bottom of the glass. “Those men who were following my parents...is there any way to find out who they were?”

  Lauren nodded. “Way ahead of you, but that’s going to take some time. And money.”

  “Money I have. How much time?”

  “Enough for my guy to locate any archival footage of any video or traffic cameras in the area. Even then, we won’t know if the plates are—”

  “Do it. Whatever the cost. I want to know who the fuckers were who killed my parents.” Denny collected all of the files and stacked them in the center of the table. “While you do that, I have a fucking map to find.”

  Denny stood in front of the twin wooden chests and stared at them. She’d been able to open a smaller chest a while ago, and had found a couple of odd objects in it. It contained three fountain pens, a pair of glasses, a metallic blanket, a pendant, a ring, and a baseball cap she now wore constantly.

  She left the rest of the items in the smaller chest because she’d been too busy to deal with the mystery of it all. Perhaps it was time to figure out what these held and why they were hidden within the back portion of her mother’s old lair.

  Walking around the chests, Denny stopped, knelt down, and ran her fingers over the intricate carvings. “It must have taken years to carve these,” she murmured.

  “You stroke them like you stroked me,” Rush said, appearing in the same odd getup she’d had on downstairs.

  “What are you wearing now? I recognize it but––”

  “I’m Velma, from Scooby-Doo. We’re binge-watching cartoons from the seventies later tonight. What do you think?” Rush twirled.

  Denny forced a grin. “I think you look just like her. I also think you and your ghost pals need to find a better hobby.”

  “Ah, come on, baby, it’s fun. Binge-watching anything is a great time. We’re already halfway through season one.”

  “You took a break?”

  “Cecily had to haunt someone. You know...she’s got that gig at the hotel and there’s some ghost hunting show doing a special on her. So, what are you thinking? You okay?”

  “My head is spinning, Rush. I don’t know what to think, but I have a feeling these trunks hold the key. Did you come up with anything?”

  Rush tilted her head this way and that. “I bet Scooby could solve it.”

  Denny rose and opened the small chest. “I just wish I knew what all this shit was for.”

  Hovering over the open chest, Rush gazed into it. “That ring looks super old.”

  Denny picked it up and examined it. The initials KM were inscribed on one side, which sported a dirty green stone that might have been an emerald. “Yeah. It’s old and ugly. Wonder who KM was?”

  “Ask your Encyclopedia Brown. That girl knows everything.”

  “Isn’t that the truth? Thank God we have her.”

  “I wish she was gay so you could hook up with her. She loves you something awful.”

  “That she does.”

  Rush hovered over the chest. “Are those fountain pens? Who uses fountain pens anymore?”

  Denny pulled them out. “Oh. Wait. I thought that’s what they were, but those aren’t nibs. They’re like needles or pins.” She studied them a moment. “That’s really odd. I need to take these to…what did you call Lauren? Encyclopedia Brown?”

  “Yeah. She’ll know in a Nanu Nanu. What’s that silver tablecloth?”

  “It’s a metallic blanket.”

  “Why would anyone want a blank
et made out of metal?”

  “It’s to keep you safe from heat, I think.”

  Rush moved in closer. “Are those glasses? Those are seriously ugly.”

  Denny nodded but didn’t touch them. The Hanta was getting twitchy. She was getting warmer.

  “Hmm.” Rush leaned in for a closer look.

  “What?”

  “Well, in one of the Scooby-Doo episodes, Velma—that’s my character—wore glasses that let her see things that nobody else could see.”

  Denny smiled. “I see you’re learning a lot with your TV viewing.”

  Rush crossed her arms over her chest. “You know, for a woman who’s possessed, talks to ghosts, beds witches, has a voodoo tattoo on her face, and lives in Savannah, you can be awful prigmatic at times.”

  Chuckling, Denny reached for the glasses. “It’s pragmatic, and...fine. I’ll humor you, Velma.” Denny put the glasses on and looked at Rush.

  “Anything?”

  “Oh my God! Yes! I can see ghosts!”

  Rush started laughing. “You’re dumb.”

  “Maybe, but at least I’m not wearing some ugly-ass turtleneck in ninety-degree weather.” As Denny turned back toward the trunks, she froze. “Fuck me.”

  “I have. It was nice. I’d do it again, too.”

  “No. No. Rush...you...holy shit...you were right! Velma was right! I can read the carvings.” Denny knelt in front of the first trunk. “I can see writing.” Denny ran her hand over the chest. “I’ll be damned.”

  Rush knelt next to her. “What does it say? What does it say?”

  “I can’t tell. Goddamn it, I think it’s in Latin. You are brilliant, Rushalyn Holbrook.”

  “Then take back all your TV criticisms, you Scooby-Doo hater.”

  Denny pulled out her cell. “I take them all back, and from now on, you can watch whatever the hell you please without any comments from me.” She called Lauren.

  “Where are you?”

  “Not getting ice cream, no matter what rumors you heard. Why?”

  “I figured out how to read the—”

  “Ahem...”

  “Okay, Rush figured out how to read the trunks. How quickly can you get back here?”

  Ten minutes later, Lauren stood with the glasses on and began transcribing the words on the trunk.

  “Thank God it’s not long. The carvings appear to actually camouflage the letters, but if you run your finger over them, you can see that the letters are just slightly elevated. These glasses seem to allow you to see the raised letters.” She looked over at Denny. “Could your life get any weirder?”

  Rush nodded. “I’m thinking yes.”

  “Okay...I’m going to just read this into my handy dandy translator app and see what it comes up with.”

  “Non est intus (it is not within) verum quareritis (the truth you seek) iter continet conclusionem (the journey contains the death you shall wreak) hae dure partes monstrabo viam (these two pieces will show you the way) coniungere punctis relinquere elte (connect the dots then leave today).”

  “What in the hell does that mean?”

  “Weren’t you listening?” Rush asked. “There’s nothing inside. Whatever it is you need is on the outside.”

  “Lauren?” Denny looked over Lauren’s shoulder.

  “That’s how I heard it. The pieces it’s referring to must be the two trunks.” Leaning in for a closer look, Lauren studied both sides of the trunks as they sat side by side. “Well, what have we here?”

  Denny and Rush crowded around her. “What?”

  “Someone took a great deal of care to carve the negative of one side into the other trunk. I think we should try pushing them together.”

  “Oh, hell no,” Rush said. “What if they blow up? You know, like nitro and Listerine?”

  Lauren looked over the glasses at Denny. “Really?”

  “She doesn’t get out much.”

  Lauren returned her attention to the trunks. “They definitely interlock. Let’s give it a shot.”

  Lauren got on the side of one box, Denny on the other. “On three. One, two, three.”

  The moment the two trunks clicked together, the carved images began moving.

  “Oh shit,” Denny muttered.

  “You can see that?” Lauren took off the glasses and the three of them stared as the trunk’s carvings repositioned themselves.

  When the images finally stopped moving, Denny whispered. “That’s our map. Holy Jesus, mother and Mary...it’s a goddamned map!”

  “Not any map, Den. It’s a map of a more ancient Europe. This is...wow. Impressive.” Lauren looked at the map from several different angles.

  “A map. All of that for a map? They could have more easily drawn one and locked it inside.”

  “Something this intricate has more steps than just pushing it together. For example, what are these three holes?” Lauren pointed to three small holes.

  Denny extracted the three fountain pen-shaped sticks. “I bet these fit right in there.” She handed them to Lauren, who examined each one as she did.

  “These definitely look like they will go, but I wonder if there is a certain order or way to go about it?”

  “One way to find out.” Denny nodded to Lauren. “Go for it.”

  Carefully, Lauren pressed the first widget in. It made a clicking sound. Then she placed the second. Another click. When the third clicked into place, the center of the triangle rose.

  “Denny, be my best friend forever. Your life has officially become uber.”

  “What’s that area?”

  Lauren studied the map. “Some place in Germany. Speyer?”

  “Never heard of it.”

  Lauren brought her phone to life and looked it up. “Well, it’s not a hopping hot spot, but it does have something of interest.” Turning her phone around to show Denny and Rush, Lauren waited.

  “The Speyer Cathedral,” Rush murmured. “It’s beautiful. I’ve always loved Catholic Cathedrals.”

  “That must be it,” Denny said. “That must be where she wants me to go.”

  “It? What it? It’s a church, baby. There could be any number of places in that city you could go to.”

  “Or any number of cathedrals.”

  Denny shook her head. “I doubt it. Look. The Kramer clan is from Germany. The witchers originated in the Catholic Church. Valeria said to find the map and go. I’ve found the map and now I have to go. I have to find my mom. I have to find out who killed my dad. I have to go.”

  Lauren reached into the smaller chest and pulled everything out. “Take everything. Including these.” When she plucked the three pegs from their holes, the map cranked and ground to another configuration.

  “What in the blazes?”

  When it stopped moving, the three holes were in different locations.

  “Shit.” Denny stared down at the new map. “This could go on forever.”

  Lauren shook her head. “Not necessarily. Look. It’s on another cathedral.” Lauren typed the name into her phone. “Notre Dame.” Taking the pens out of the holes, she watched as the map changed again. “They’re European Cathedrals, Den. All of them.”

  Denny nodded. “Excellent. I need to get everything together for my trip to Europe.”

  “Go. I’ll stay and try to figure the rest of this thing out.”

  “You sure?”

  Lauren smiled over her shoulder. “This is like a dream come true, you know? Go.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Rush asked. “I feel so useless.”

  “You’ve been a great help, love,” Denny said softly. “Go on to your marathon. Keep an ear open in case I need you.”

  “Okay. I’ll keep checking back in. Don’t leave without saying goodbye. I will kick your ass if you do.”

  “You got it. And...thank you, Velma. You unlocked the mystery.”

  “Scooby-Doo!”

  When Rush was gone, Lauren turned to Denny. “Don’t go alone, Den. You have no idea what you’re going
up against.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  Denny went to the store and grabbed all the small travel bottles she could for her trip. She hit the bank to get cash, then went to a department store to get a backpack.

  Back in her car, she called Iris.

  “You okay, DH?”

  “I’ve learned a ton about what’s going on, and maybe even why. I’m heading out of town to find my mom and put the hurt on those fuckers who think they are coming after you.”

  “Let me come.”

  “No way.”

  “DH, I’m surrounded by more witch energy than you can shake a broom at. Let me help. Please.”

  “No. I’ve got a call in to Annalee...see if she can come help, but you’re safer away from me.”

  “At least tell me where you’re going.”

  “Fat chance. I just called because I wanted you to know I’m all over this, and I won’t stop until the ground is littered with witcher body parts.”

  “I wish you weren’t so stubborn.”

  “Yeah, you and everyone else we know. You mean a great deal to me, little witch. Stay safe. Keep your head low, and know I am doing everything in my power to end this. I’ll be in touch.” Denny hung up, called Sterling, and told her to meet her in front of the church. Then she tossed the phone on the passenger seat.

  As much as she loved Sterling, it was time to take the gloves off and get down to the business of finding the truth. Denny wasn’t a little girl any longer. She was a goddamned demon hunter, and she was certain Sterling had answers Denny needed before she left.

  When she pulled up to the curb, Sterling opened the door and slid in.

  Denny gripped the steering wheel. “People I love are in danger because of all the secrets I am having to unearth. I know you know things that could help, so start talking, sis.”

  Sterling straightened her habit. “Don’t do this, Golden. Valeria knows what she’s doing. Trust her.”

  “Do you know where they are?”

  Sterling shook her head. “No. I wish I did, but I don’t. And I’m so sorry for not telling you, but Valeria said if you knew, if you came before you were ready, things might go badly for you. I’m sorry, Golden, I really am, but my job has always been to protect you. Often, from yourself.”