A Grave Problem

36. Spilling Secrets

"So, I have a plan to get rid of the Dullahan, but it's going to be hard." Carmine said.

This was it – Mia's chance to ask what they thought about bringing Zev with them. She hadn't expected the opportunity to come so fast, and she wasn't quite sure how to bring it up. While she worked on what to say, Anna spoke up.

"How hard?" she asked. Mia could tell Anna had seen the same look on Carmine's face that she had and was just as worried.

"Pretty hard. I mean, it's really dangerous. And with just the three of us – well, four now – there's going to be a lot to do."

The three lapsed into a glum silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Mia's mind drifted back to last year. It was true that the three of them had managed to get rid of two vampires, but from everything Carmine was saying, this was different. The Dullahan was going to be even worse – if they weren't careful, there was a very real chance that they wouldn't survive. She looked at her friends. Anna was running her hand through her hair, looking down at the table. Carmine was chewing her lip and looking almost as pale as Anna.

Mia knew this was the time to ask about bringing Zev, but she was busy trying to work out the best way to say it. She figured that since Luke was already coming, there was no reason why they couldn't ask Zev – and maybe Conner – to help out too. There wouldn't be any more risk that Zev and Conner would find out they were vampires than there would be if only Luke came, so what was the harm? And the more people they got, the better their chances looked. Finally, Mia spoke up.

"What if we had more people to help out?" she asked slowly, almost regretting it even as the words left her mouth.

"Like who?" Carmine stared blankly at her.

"Like Zev – and Conner too, if we need."

"Really?" Carmine asked, surprised. "I'm glad to see there's no hard feelings between you guys. But is he really willing to help do this?" The skepticism was obvious.

"...I haven't actually asked him." Mia started. She was about to say more, but Anna cut her off before she got the chance.

"No, we can't." Anna said. "It's bad enough that Luke is putting himself in danger by helping us. We can't afford to risk more people getting hurt."

"What made you think of bringing them?" Carmine asked. Mia could see Carmine was already thinking fast, trying to come up with any angle she'd missed. Mia shifted uncomfortably.

"Well... Luke was very helpful with the banshees, wasn't he?" she said slowly, trying to come up with something other than "they're werewolves" to say.

"That's true..." Carmine said, but her eyes were still narrowed.

"And having a couple extra people would help, right? And I know they would do it."

"It's too dangerous." Anna said, shaking her head firmly.

Carmine raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. Even though she was suspicious of Mia's motives, it was pretty obvious that she was secretly liking the idea of adding a few more people to their list of who was willing to help. Mia smiled to herself; she knew she could get Carmine to side with her if she played her cards right.

"It'll be a lot less dangerous if we get them to help, right? And I know they'll be able to handle it." Mia said, her confidence in her ability to win her friends over growing.

"It would make things a lot easier." Carmine said slowly.

"But the banshees weren't actually dangerous. They were just difficult to catch." Anna said, staying firm.