The Legend of the Eight: The Wicked (Book 2)

18: The Manor

EIGHTEEN: THE MANOR
MARCH 26
WIL DIAMOND

WIL AND DAMON SPENT TWO days at his apartment before she decided it was probably time to check in at Luke's. She owed it to him and stop by—and to assure him she wasn't on some Dark's chopping block. Damon went with her, considering he was supposed to be there weeks ago, he figured it was time for a drop-in.

When they arrived, they were met by a frantic Luke Heart who sported a fresh black eye and shoulder sling. Wil made a face when she saw him, having stepped off the elevator only moments earlier, and then she asked,

"The hell happened to you?"

"Bartemius happened," Luke said and Wil's stomach dropped at the sound of that name. Damon exited the elevator behind her and Luke's eyes widened. "Oh. You found him. Good. I could use your help."

That's when Wil noticed a gray, chalky substance on Luke's fingers and down the front of his shirt. He was a mess.

"What's going on?" asked Damon. He must have seen it too.

"I'm trying to get to the Shadow Lands," Luke answered like it was obvious. Damon frowned.

"The only way to get to the Shadow Lands is with Dark Magic. You need a Dark Wizard or a—"

"—Dark Object," Luke finished with a huff. "I know. That's what I've been trying to conjure one up. I thought with enough black ash I could forge one but—"

"Black ash?" Damon interrupted. "Where did you get black ash?"

Wil raised her hand like she thought they might see it. "Can someone please explain what the hell is going on? What is black ash and why are you trying to get to the Shadow Lands?"

"Black ash is what it sounds like," said Luke which was exactly no help. "It's a residue of spells rooted in Dark Magic. Particularly curses. Such as the curse that took your friends from my apartment a few days ago."

"My friends? What the hell were my friends doing here?"

"They were at the Armory," said Luke and Wil almost asked what the Armory was but didn't get the chance. "Your sister was with them too," he said to Damon.

"Chloe was with them? Why was Chloe with them?"

Luke shrugged. "Guess she's friends with the Eight now? Her mom works for the Armory too, doesn't she?" He shook his head to say it didn't matter. "Bartemius took all of them. Threw me against a wall. They were gone by the time I woke up."

"We have to go," Wil said, her heart racing at the thought of Bartemius Thawne capturing her friends. "If Bartemius took them—" She stopped and ripped up her sleeve to look at the tattoo inside her wrist. Seven knots. No one else had died.

"I'll go," said Damon, like he was volunteering to pick up dinner and not for a mission to the Shadow Lands that would most likely get him killed. He walked with Luke back to the study where the secret door was open and Luke had been working a spell in that back. Wil followed them.

"I'm going with you," she said before she could actually consider what she was offering. But even after she realized what a trip to the Shadow Lands meant for her, she didn't take it back.

"No. Absolutely not," Damon immediately protested. "It's not safe for you."

She grabbed his hand. "It's not safe for you."