Where The Numinous Awaits

Ch. 26: Legend's Promise

September 3 | Day

As I listened to Nixie relay how she had outwitted Distefano, a surge of pride coursed through me. I had always thought of her as delicate, but she had proven me wrong by showing her unbreakable resilience. I had no idea what I would have done if anything bad had happened. Nevertheless, before Dex and I could even call Delilah back to the van and hit the road to rescue her, Nixie had texted us that she was safe. Now we sat in Dex's shed comparing our experiences.

"Richter Distefano knows about The Book of Tides, and he wants to use it to keep humans from acquiring the gift of magic." Nixie's eyes were wide with worry as she put the gadgets Dex had lent her back into their box.

Fitz paced the room, glancing through a slit in the blackout curtains that covered the windows for Delilah's sake. He hadn't relaxed his guard since their return. "I think the president could be behind the smugglers finding out," he suggested. "No way an OASIS agent would've leaked information about the book to an everyday civilian, but they definitely would've felt compelled to say something about it to Distefano, if he asked."

As I sat on a stool by the door, I carefully cleaned and oiled my gun, with my gaze bouncing from them to the woman in charge.

Dex semmed to agree, squinting at the computer as she reviewed the footage from our reconnaissance mission. She swiveled in her office chair to face us. "But that's just speculation. Right now, what we know is that our safety net is shrinking. We've got smugglers in New Orleans looking for us, Distefano trying to bribe the princess, and Darcy hot on our trail."

"Darcy and Distefano have been uneasy frienemies for years. Darcy is after the president's seat on the council, although Distefano pretends not to know it." Delilah stretched from her perch on the workstation countertop. "With them both in search of the book, their rivalry will spur them to greater depths of depravity."

"Then why did you tell the vampire about it?" I snapped.

Smiling, she leapt from the counter and strutted toward Dex's computers. "He already knew something. You didn't see the undercurrents running beneath the surface between him and Mal. I had to give my husband a small piece of our information in order to get more of his, but I didn't tell him we have the book.

"Darcy is preoccupied with training his new pet dog to win best in show." Delilah put our focus on the part of the video where a young man was transformed into a werewolf before our eyes. The rest of our team came closer to witness it. Dex and I had already seen.

"The billionaire collector is so wrapped up in his years-long search for the Map of Destiny," said Delilah, "that coming after The Book of Tides is an afterthought for him. So, he's not hot on our trail, but if he finds out Distefano is closer to getting what he wants, then he will be."

At the workstation next to Dex, Abuela Maya was brewing a milky white potion that bubbled with a pearlescent sheen. "Perhaps its time to consider finding another safehouse," she murmured, staring with heightened concentration at what she was adding to the mixture.

"Yeah, this one no longer feels safe." Nixie caught my eye. "Distefano made a point of telling me he knew how to find me." She hugged herself, and anger ricocheted through me at him threatening her. I quickly and forcefully put my weapon back together.

"I dare him to come here," I muttered. Fitz nodded at me in agreement.

Dex smiled tiredly. "Now isn't the time to run away, Abuela. Nor to pick senseless fights, boys. It's time to finish what we started. Delilah's ready to take us to the Gates of Mortality."

"How?" I asked, wary of the vampire.

Delilah and Dex locked eyes, Dex fighting to keep a pained expression from showing. Delilah spoke up, "We have to go to someplace where people regularly hover between life and death."