Seventeen

I had to stay calm, not freak out, not give Minerva any clue that I knew her charms were somehow connected to the girls’ disappearances, to my sister’s murder.

“Murder?” Minerva asked, echoing Iris.

“Yes!” Iris said. “A girl was murdered. And my sister could be next. She and I were kidnapped by some boy. He left me for dead in the woods, and he still has my sister.”

Minerva looked completely shocked.

“And the panels,” Iris went on. “With the oracles on them. They’re in the attic where my sister’s being held.”

“This is too weird,” Minerva said, holding her head in her hands. “I have to think about this.” She began to pace.

“Well, think fast,” Iris said. “I have to find Hayley!”

“And can you tell us everything you know, about the panels or the oracles?” I asked Minerva, striving to keep my voice even.

“It all goes back to the Sibylline sisters,” Minerva said. “When the gene began to affect them, they needed treatment. So they moved into a boardinghouse, kind of like a health spa. A center of magic.”

“More spells?” I asked, my hand closed tight around the charm.

“Yes, in a way,” Minerva said. “Magic combined with medicine, at least according to my great-aunt. Because she was there for it.”

“Do the spells involve gold dust?” I asked sharply. “Or charms? Like the ones you make? Talismans? ”

“What are you talking about?” Minerva asked, taking a step toward me.

“Where is the boardinghouse?” Iris asked, not noticing the drama brewing between me and Minerva.

“Not far from here. Silver Bay,” Minerva said to Iris while continuing to stare at me. “It’s very noticeable. Victorian, with gingerbread around the porch and windows, and a big cupola on top. Our family actually owns it.”

My heart skipped—that sounded like the Miramar, the old hotel in the photo on the pub wall. The Miramar was right on the Silver Bay waterfront, four stories high, so I was sure there had to be an attic. If that was the boardinghouse where the sisters had stayed, maybe it was also where the panels were located—and where Hayley was now.

I glanced outside. As soon as Matt and Fitch arrived, I’d ask Matt to drive us straight to the Miramar. I grabbed Iris’s wrist, ready to pull her out of the store, onto the street.

But Iris dug her heels in and turned toward Minerva.

“Do you know someone named Gale?” Iris asked.

“No, not that I can think of,” Minerva said.

“Whose blue van is that out back?” Iris asked.

“It belongs to our family foundation. My cousin drives it mostly. Why do you ask?”

Family foundation. The words sent a shiver down my back, but why? Something was connecting for me, but I couldn’t reach it. Sisters, needing treatment?.?.?.

Minerva stepped forward and touched my shoulder.

“Something shifted with you,” she said to me. “What is it? Did I say something to upset you?”

I didn’t reply. I just pulled my hand out of my pocket, opened my fist to show her the charm. She stared at it, bending close. She lifted it gently from my palm.

“Not that one,” she whispered, unable to take her eyes off it. “Please, not that one?.?.?.”

Before I could ask her what she meant, I glanced out the window and saw Matt’s Jeep approaching the store. Iris saw it, too. Iris and I ran to the door, stepped onto the street. We had to get to the Miramar. My questions for Minerva about the charm could wait.

The Jeep pulled up. I saw Matt at the wheel, Fitch in the passenger seat. I grabbed the back handle as Fitch jumped out and accidently bumped the door, closing it behind him. He had on his black-rimmed glasses, and he wore a Yale cap.

“Hi, Oli,” he said. Then he glanced at Iris and he looked startled, like he’d seen a ghost.

That’s when I noticed that Iris was backing away. She looked terrified.

“Iris?” Fitch said.

“Guess Matt told you her name,” I said.

“That’s not how he knows it,” Iris said. “That’s him! He’s the one who has Hayley and tried to kill me!”