Salem's Civil War (Book Five of The Silver Society)

Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

Everyone sat in a stunned silence for a moment before Melissa said, "I thought there were only twelve of us."

"Thirteenth," Alex said, taking the scroll from Cierra. "Thirteenth! What the hell happened to 'you found the twelfth, all are present and accounted for'? Stupid lying useless piece of crap!" He smashed the scroll against the wall again.

"You know, one of these days, it's going to hit you back," Aideen joked.

Evan had started to come around. "Where am I?" He asked Aideen.

"Evan, this is Alex's house. Alex is a very good friend of mine who I suspect you're going to get to know really well," Aideen replied.

"I'm not really all that sociable," Evan replied dryly.

"Neither was Jade, but you can't stop destiny."

"What are you talking about?" Evan asked in confusion.

Alex sighed and read the words on the scroll aloud, omitting a few curse words that had been directly at him. "Evan Blackwell, thirteenth member of the Silver Society... Clairvoyant with precognitive abilities. He arrives only after a loss. Age, legal adult, but otherwise not your concern. History, confidential. His talisman is a silver gun charm on a chain that is charged with protection and divination charms." Alex shook his head. "The scroll's being a bit secretive about the details, but then again, until today, it claimed there were only twelve of us."

"How the hell did you know about that necklace?" Evan demanded. It was around his neck, hidden beneath a cloaking spell. Even with the fact that they'd had to open up his shirt to tend to his injuries, no one had been able to see it. He held it in his hand protectively, looking at everyone suspiciously.

"The scroll told him," Aideen explained. "As it turns out, saving my life isn't the only reason you came to Salem. You're part of the Silver Society, just like the rest of us. Congratulations, Sexy."

"I'm not planning to stick around here for very long."

"Neither was Jade. She changed her mind."

"Who is this Jade you keep mentioning?"

"Jade Collins. She's another one of us, our token goth girl. She's from New York."

Evan stared at her. "Wow," he said in surprise. "What a small world."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked. "Do you know her?"

"No, but I know of her. Most supernatural people in New York heard about what happened to the Collins family."

"She's not evil," Cierra said quickly. "She had a good reason to kill them."

"I know she was a cult kid. When they kill their families, it's usually justified. Look, I'm not part of your little club. The scroll is wrong."

"It's never wrong. It omits details and speaks in riddles, but it's never been wrong," Alex replied. "As much as I hate to admit it, because the scroll pisses me off, it knows what it's talking about." He paused. "So, you're from New York? So am I. Manhattan, specifically."

Evan didn't reply, but it was obvious that he was annoyed at himself for letting that information slip out. He was saved from having to answer as someone else spoke up. 

"So, what, this guy is like Spencer's replacement or something? I don't think that's going to go over very well," Jesse said with a frown.

"No one could ever replace Spencer," Cierra said. "Evan is just another one of us who we need because we lost Spencer."