“Jackson, I appreciate the offer . . . but I need to be with my sisters tonight.”
She needed to tell them what had happened. They needed to figure out a new plan. If Gwen was dead, then either she had been the kidnapper and she’d killed Tiffany before she . . . Before she what, Scarlett? Cursed herself to death?
There could be no mistaking the billowing clouds of smoke or the lack of marks anywhere on Gwen’s body despite the sea of blood around her. Someone had done that to her. Somebody cursed her.
Which meant Gwen likely wasn’t the kidnapper. Which left the Ravens back at square one.
Who is doing this?
Scarlett racked her brain for the answer. It was someone with power. Another witch. Maybe one of the girls they’d turned down for Kappa had somehow gotten her memories back. Maybe it was a witch who never even pledged. But why would anyone target the Ravens? Gwen had been the only person alive with a motive to hurt them, and now she was dead. Scarlett and Tiffany had joked about girls dying to get into Kappa, but she’d never imagined anyone killing for it. It just didn’t make any sense.
Scarlett needed the full force of the Ravens to help her. Together, maybe they could try another scrying spell, like they’d done the morning after Tiffany went missing. Something, anything.
She looked at the sky. Searched for the moon that, just like Tiffany, she knew was there but couldn’t see. She missed Tiffany so much, it physically hurt. She’d always felt so connected to her friend; sometimes they barely even needed words to communicate. But their connection had gone silent, as if severed by a magical wall. If only she could talk to her. If only Tiffany could tell her where she was.
She jolted straight up in her seat, an idea taking form in her mind. Maybe she could ask Tiffany . . .
“Are you sure you’ll be safe there?” Jackson asked, interrupting her thoughts. “I mean . . . if whoever did this is targeting witches . . .”
She cut him a sharp glare. She felt a flash of impatience even though she knew he meant well. Jackson had an irritating way of always pointing out the truth. “So I’m just supposed to slink off to safety and let them hurt another of my sisters instead of me—is that your suggestion?”
“I didn’t say that. Maybe you should all leave that house. Go somewhere safe, like your parents’ or—”
“Not until I find Tiffany.” Scarlett clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms, although she didn’t notice until Jackson reached over to touch the back of her knuckles. She forced herself to relax.
One look at his face told her he wanted to argue. But after a few beats of silence, he nodded and started the car.
“Trust me, Jackson. I can handle myself. Whoever is doing this messed with the wrong witch.”
* * *
When they reached Kappa, the house had gone dark for the night. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving Jackson alone with the new knowledge of how big and strange the world was—not to mention what kinds of monsters it contained. But she had to be with her sisters right now.
And honestly? Jackson would be safer far away from her.
Scarlett unlocked the front door and held her breath as she crossed the threshold. It sounded quiet. Too quiet for a house of girls in full-blown crisis mode. Her heart started to hammer in her chest, and in her mind’s eye, she kept seeing Gwen again.
What if the killer had come here next?
Quietly, Scarlett eased the door shut behind her and started up the hallway, holding her breath. The creaky old floorboards sounded creakier than ever. Every step she took felt like she was announcing her presence, shouting, Come and get me.
She reached the main sitting room, which stood dark and silent, and squinted at the staircase. A single light burned at the top of the stairs.
“Scarlett?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped around to find Mei behind her, frowning, arms crossed. “Where is everyone?” Scarlett asked, her voice overloud in the silence.
Mei’s frown deepened, as if Scarlett were the one acting weird. “Sleeping. Or trying to, anyway. Though I think Sonali and a couple other sisters are still up on the top floor digging through the old files.”
“What about Dahlia? I need to talk to her.”
“She’s preparing a new spell and had to run out to grab a final ingredient.”
Scarlett fought the urge to curse. Dahlia truly believed that if they gathered enough magical objects and held hands and chanted, they would survive this. Then she thought about her phone and the missed call from Vivi. “What about Vivi?”
“She took off earlier. Something about her mother.” Mei hesitated and then reached out to touch Scarlett’s forearm lightly. “Hey, for what it’s worth, I think Vivi was way out of line with Mason.”
“Thanks.” Scarlett nodded. While she felt a rush of pain at the mention of Mason and Vivi together, this time it was coupled with a surge of gratitude toward Mei for being on her side, especially since she knew how much Mei liked Vivi, if for no other reason than being an incredible Before in her inevitable makeover. But it should have been Tiffany who was offering to hex Vivi into oblivion, not Mei.
“Are you okay?” Mei asked. “Maybe you should get some rest. You look beat.”
“I can’t.” Scarlett took a deep breath and held it for a second, hoping it would steady her racing pulse. “Mei . . . Gwen is dead. I just found her body. It looked like she’d been cursed.”
Mei’s eyebrows shot so high they disappeared under her razor-straight bangs. Scarlett watched as her pretty face went through a strong cycle of emotions: Denial. Acceptance. What-the-effness. “Oh, man . . . she was evil, but still . . . that’s awful. But then she couldn’t have—”
“Kidnapped Tiffany? No. Doesn’t look like it.” Scarlett crossed her arms. “I have an idea for how we can find her. But I need everyone’s help.”
Mei hesitated, her gaze drifting past Scarlett toward the front door, but only for a moment. “Dahlia isn’t here.”
“If she were, though, I’m sure she’d agree with me. Wake the Kappas. Have every witch meet me in the greenhouse. Now.”
* * *
“What’s going on?” Juliet squinted blearily around the greenhouse, clutching Jess’s hand. In the dark, with only half the taper candles lit, the trees threw gloomy shadows across the girls’ sleep-deprived faces.
Scarlett had never led the sorority in a spell like this before. She felt the weight of it like a physical presence. Help me, Minnie, she thought, looking at her sisters. She hoped they were up to the task.
“Sisters, I need your help. Tiffany needs your help. But I can’t command it. I am asking for it. Anyone who’s not up to it can leave now.”
Scarlett looked at her sisters, all in various states of undress. None of them budged.
“All right, then. This is higher-level magic. I need all your focus. We’re casting a new spell to find Tiffany. Reagan, can you give us some light?” Scarlett gestured toward the candle in the center of the floor. Reagan stepped over to touch the wax base. A few heartbeats later, a flame flickered to life on the tip of the wick. Scarlett flashed the girl a grateful look and left her to light the remaining tapers.