“Well, she didn’t trap me last time, and we did a lot more than open a tomb,” said Eli. “Come on, Dusty. It’s fine—I’m fine.”
Bethany shook her head at him then looked at me. “I can’t believe your mother didn’t warn you of the dangers involved. She knows better, never mind how much manipulating she does herself.”
I didn’t reply, my heart sinking. Not just from the fear of what I might have done to Eli, but from the knowledge that my mother had lied to me on purpose. She’d encouraged me to manipulate his dreams.
Had she wanted me to hurt him? There was only one reason I could think of why she would do that—if she was working for the killer. The person behind the killings stood to lose the most from what Eli and I might predict in the dreams. But if Eli wasn’t around to do the dreaming …
Yes, her involvement made a lot of sense. Maybe her attempt to get me to run away with her that day was just a ploy to keep me from identifying the killer. Except there’d only been two killers in the dream, one of them F and the other—who? The Red Warlock? The person had transformed into the black phoenix. Did that mean my mother was innocent or merely that the dream wasn’t as literal as I suspected? Maybe there were three killers.
I closed my eyes and willed my head to stop pounding. There were just too many questions. Too much information I didn’t have.
“What’s wrong, Dusty?” Eli said, his voice soft.
I opened my eyes and shivered. “I’m just thinking.”
“It’s all right.” Bethany patted my arm. I looked up at her. She was smiling down at me with something like sympathy on her face, but I detected a note of smugness, too. “You’re not the first person your mother has tricked into doing something dangerous. She’s the one who taught me how to manipulate dreams. Only I wasn’t so lucky as you seem to have been.”
“How do you mean?” I whispered.
Bethany took a moment to answer. “My dreamer didn’t survive. And it was all Moira’s fault.”
21
Hags and Candy
I met up with Paul the following afternoon. We went for a walk in the tunnels, finally stopping in an alcove I’d never been in before, one far out of the way. With our feet hanging over the edge of the pool, a reservoir that fed into the canal system, I filled him in on my latest suspicions about my mother.
“What are you going to do?” Paul said.
I sighed. “I don’t know. Do you think she’s involved?”
“I think a lot of people are capable of things you’d never believe.”
I swallowed, disliking the certainty in his voice. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
He nodded, not meeting my eyes. “Most people think my uncle is a great man, a good and wise leader, but they have no idea the horrible things he’s done.”
“Like what?”
A bitter smile twisted Paul’s lips. “Put his nephew in the hospital. More than once.”
I covered my mouth as I let out an involuntary gasp. “So you didn’t break your cheekbone falling down the stairs?”
“No, just the wrist and the sprained ankle.” He traced a finger over his cheek where only the barest hint of bruising remained. “This was from his fist, which made me lose my balance and then stumble down the stairs.”
“But how is that possible? I thought The Will keeps magickind from doing physical violence?”
“It’s supposed to, but it doesn’t always. The spell’s probably focused more on magical violence than the physical. Either that or my uncle’s paying one of the Will-Workers to allow him to get away with stuff.”
“Chinks,” I said, thinking about Mr. Marrow. I grabbed Paul’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m so sorry. Have you told anybody?”
He laughed. “Who’d believe me? Or care, for that matter.”
“But what about your mother?”
He shook his head. “Haven’t seen her in years. She moved to Costa Rica when I was three and hasn’t been back since.”
“That’s terrible. And to think I’m mad at my mother.”
Paul wove his fingers through mine. “Please don’t tell anyone, Dusty. I’ve never shared the truth before.”
“I won’t. But I still think you should. He needs to be stopped.”
He smiled. “There’s not much point now. I’ve got less than a year to go before I can move out and start my own life.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Right. Then you’ll be free.”
He leaned his head on mine. “You have no idea.”
We didn’t speak for a couple of moments, just sat staring at the water. We’d come down here for some privacy, but I was surprised to find the small chamber so warm and comfortable. Given better subject matter, it might even have been a little romantic.
“Well,” Paul said sometime later. “We’ve decided how I’m going to handle my problem but not yours. What are you going to do about your mother?”
I sighed, straightening up. “First, I suppose I should tell Eli and Selene about everything. Then maybe we could do some snooping. If I find certain proof she’s involved, I’ll go to Sheriff Brackenberry.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
I glanced up at him. “Speaking of which, our next meeting is tomorrow if you’d still like to come.”