Scarlett nodded. She appreciated Vivi’s fire, but a new idea was blooming in her mind. Maybe they didn’t need to find the talisman.
Maybe they just had to find the person who wanted it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vivi
“This is ridiculous,” Ariana said as she, Vivi, and Sonali completed their third circuit around the oddities and curiosities museum on the first floor of the Hewitt Library. “Of course the talisman isn’t here. Why would it be? Don’t you think someone would’ve noticed if one of the most powerful magical objects in the world was being displayed on campus?”
“I doubt many Ravens spend much time here,” Sonali said, wrinkling her nose at a shriveled, shrunken head in a glass case. “It’s kind of creepy, isn’t it?”
Vivi had to agree. While the collection had appeared mysterious and romantic when she saw it with Mason in the middle of a sunny afternoon, the macabre items seemed very different in the evening light as she, Sonali, and Ariana searched desperately for a clue that’d save their sorority sister’s life.
“Have you not seen the dried frog’s toes in the supply closet at Kappa House?” Ariana asked.
“That’s different. Those have a practical purpose. They’re not so-called curiosities.”
“Whatever,” Ariana said. “We’re wasting our time here. Why would it be on campus at all?”
“Scarlett said it was rumored to have some connection with Westerly,” Vivi said. “Let’s check the archives. You’re right, if the talisman were in plain sight, Tiffany’s kidnapper wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.” She was about to mention what Mason had said about how only 10 percent of the collection was on display for the public, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to explain how she’d ended up on a non-date with Scarlett’s boyfriend.
It’d been about twelve hours since the scrying ritual and it didn’t seem like they were any closer to finding Tiffany . . . and now they had two days to locate the talisman before her kidnapper made good on that grim threat. They’d tried three house-wide spells to locate the talisman and had come up empty each time. After that, Jess, Juliet, and Mei had spent all day examining the inventory records of libraries and museums around the world, while Dahlia, Hazel, and Etta had contacted trusted witch friends to put out feelers, although they had to be careful. If word got out that Kappa was trying to find the Henosis talisman, it could be interpreted as an act of aggression by others in the magical community. It was clear that freshmen had been assigned the least important task—searching for the talisman in person in the incredibly unlikely event that it was somewhere on campus.
Yet, although it was a long shot, it’d be foolish for them to leave without examining every inch of the building, including the archives. Vivi turned to cast a wary glance at the librarian behind the front desk who’d pretended to ignore them while watching them carefully the whole time. It was the same woman who’d been here when she visited with Mason, the one he’d called Miss Irma.
Vivi approached the desk with a warm smile, channeling her inner Mason. “Excuse me, ma’am,” she said. Just a few weeks in Savannah had made it clear to her how much manners mattered here. “I’m sorry to bother you, but we’re doing research for a class and we were wondering if it’d be possible to check out the archives.”
The librarian raised an eyebrow as she looked pointedly at the brass clock on the wall. “We close in fifteen minutes. Last entry to the archives is an hour before closing.”
Vivi opened her mouth to protest, but Sonali put a hand on her arm. She muttered something under her breath, and a moment later, the librarian’s icy smile softened into something more genuine, and her eyes turned glassy.
“Will you please show us the archives?” Sonali said sweetly.
“Yes, of course,” the librarian murmured. “Follow me, please.”
“Shoot,” Sonali whispered as she looked down at her phone. It was the first time Vivi had ever heard her curse. “Reagan needs help charming the archivist in the rare-manuscripts collection. I have to go. Meet you back at the house?”
Vivi nodded while Ariana grabbed her hand to pull her after the librarian, who’d picked up speed despite her dazed expression.
As useful as Swords magic was, Vivi didn’t know how she felt about it. Now that she was a full sister, she could tap into that suit’s power, but she hadn’t tried it yet. There was a fine line between influence and mind control, but if it helped them find Tiffany’s kidnapper, then it was worth venturing into an ethically gray area.
Vivi was still processing everything Scarlett had told her. What had happened to Gwen and Harper was horrible, and Vivi wasn’t sure how she’d live with herself if she’d caused someone’s death. At the same time, no one could’ve predicted how those spells would interact. Scarlett had never meant to hurt anyone; ​she wasn’t a killer. But Vivi knew without a doubt that Gwen was.
They followed Miss Irma down a hallway and into an elevator. “So how are the archives divided?” Vivi asked.
“It’s a bit of a hodgepodge, I’m afraid,” Miss Irma said. “Which class is this for?”
There was a long pause. “Religion and Mysticism Through the Ages,” Ariana said finally. “It’s, um, it’s a sort of independent study.”
Vivi winced, but luckily, Miss Irma didn’t seem bothered by the vagueness. “A fascinating subject. Prayers and spells provide a very interesting peek into the minds of the penitents. We can use them to deduce what people wanted, their major drives in life, the big disasters or societal changes they faced at the time.”
The elevator dinged and the doors parted to reveal what was tantamount to a vault, windowless and sealed off from the world above. Dim lights cast shadows across the room, and in the center stood a series of metal shelving units with wheels on each end so they could be moved around. Along the walls were display cases filled with a wide variety of objects, including bronze statues, ceramic plates, and a number of dusty-looking books.
It would take hours to go through it all.
“Have you ever come across an item called the Henosis talisman?” Vivi asked.
Miss Irma’s brow furrowed. “No, but you’re not the first person to ask me about it. Someone came by a few weeks ago looking for the same object.”
All the air seemed to rush out of the room as Ariana and Vivi exchanged glances. “What a funny coincidence,” Vivi said, doing her best to keep her tone light. “Do you remember their name?”
“Or what they looked like?” Ariana asked quickly.
“I’m not sure . . . I think . . .” Miss Irma’s head jerked to the side.
“Are you okay, Miss—” Vivi gasped as Miss Irma twisted around to face them. Her eyes had turned solid black.
“No one,” she murmured. “I see no one.”
“What the hell?” Vivi whispered, looking from Miss Irma to Ariana.
“I think whoever asked about the talisman tried to erase her memory,” Ariana said, staring at Miss Irma with wide, frightened eyes. “We need to tell someone about this. I’ll call Dahlia.”