lout,” Taurin said, taking a step toward the man. “The havens fester in thy greed. I will not surrender the trinkets. The Tetrad shall stay entombed forever.”
Taurin raised the ball, but before he could lob it at the cloaked man, a knife pierced his back. The electric ball fell and then exploded on the ground, blowing a hole into the floor and charring the wall nearby. Taurin’s body crumpled to the floor.
My hand was wet, so I inspected it, but I found myself looking at long, thick fingers and a massive palm. It wasn’t my own; it was a man’s hand. Blood dripped down the blade of the knife in the man’s hand. A hand that was just used to kill a man. I would have screamed, but the body wasn’t mine, either, and I couldn’t make the mouth work.
“Fool, now he is unable to tell us where he hid the Chiavi!” the cloaked man yelled down the corridor at me.
A vision of seven thin, smooth rods about the length of a hairbrush went through my mind. The body I now mentally shared tagged the rods as the Chiavi. When combined they made one magical key. A key to what, though? The cloaked man turned fuzzy and my ears started thrumming again.
“He would never give them up,” came out in a deep voice. “By torturing his sons, we shall find the charms…” I tried to dig deeper into the mind, learn more about the key, but the words vanished as I slipped into darkness.
“Gia, you all right?” Lei’s voice pulled me back to the present and into the light.
“Um…” I inspected my fingers. The bloody knife had vanished, and my hand was my own again. Great, now I’m seeing things—a vision from inside the body of a murderer. It felt like I’d stabbed Taurin myself, which creeped me out. I had to work to avoid shuddering. There was some sort of significance to what I’d seen, but I knew I couldn’t tell anyone. Don’t trust anyone, both Nana and Arik had said. I gave Lei a slight smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
A man somewhere in his forties, wearing a tweed jacket, hints of silver in his dark hair, cleared his throat as he stepped into the foyer. I moved to Nana’s side.
Carrig headed over to the man. “Good evening, Merl.”
“I trust your journey was safe?” Merl said.
Carrig shot his hand out. “For the most part, we’ve made it unscathed.”
Merl hesitated, giving him a curious look before shaking his offered hand.
What’s up with that?
Carrig looked at Nana and me. “This be Gia and her grandmother, Ms. Kearns.”
“You may call me Katy,” Nana said.
Merl’s face brightened. He stretched his hand out to Nana, and she took it. “I’m delighted to meet you.” His deep, warm voice sounded as if it dripped with syrup.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Nana said, their hands lingering in a hold.
Ew. It was time to interrupt Nana’s obvious flirting. “I’m Gia.”
Merl released Nana’s hand. “Yes, I’d know you anywhere. You have your mother’s beauty. Our people are quite excited to have a most talented Sentinel’s daughter return to Asile.”
My cheeks warmed. “Thank you. Um, but how did they know I was coming?”
“The story about how you were found and that you are the daughter of Marietta Bianchi and Brian Kearns was placed in Asile’s weekly Scroll. I have found if you give the public information, fewer questions are asked.”
That’s clever. And it would’ve made me feel a little less nervous if everyone’s eyes weren’t on me.
“You both must be tired,” he said. “Faith will show you to your rooms.”
“We want to room together,” I blurted. There was no way I was going to sleep alone in this enormous spooky place, especially after the freaky vision of Taurin. I was sure the castle was a haven, all right—for ghosts, and not the normal ghoulish type. Any poltergeists living here would be deceased wizards, warriors, or worse. I couldn’t imagine what would be worse, and that’s what scared me most—the unknown.
“That’s a good idea. Adjoining rooms will do,” Nana was saying as I drifted back to the living. “Don’t you agree, Gia?”
“Oh. Sure. Adjoining rooms,” I said, uncertain.
“I’m Faith,” said an extremely pale girl, startling me.
Where had she come from?
“Follow me, please.” She sounded American.
As Nana and I shadowed the apparition, or rather Faith, Arik gave Merl the details of his face-off with the compelled man. “When I left the subway station, he cornered me in an alley—”
A door