Chapter Thirteen

Before I went inside the building, Wanda pulled me aside and insisted on putting a protection spell on me while Lorcan dealt with getting the door open.

We weren’t sure how Kenzie had gotten in, but since the side door we’d approached was still locked, it seemed probable that it hadn’t been that way.

Wanda’s lips were tightly pursed as she traced a finger over my forehead, which told me that in spite of what she’d said, she was still worried about me. That soothed a bit of the sting of her volunteering me so eagerly—well, that and the familiar prickle of her magic soaking into my skin. I didn’t know which spell she’d cast, but I did feel more confident about going in alone after she was finished.

We stood there silently for a second while the muscle in Wanda’s jaw ticked like she was chewing on something sour. Eventually, she tossed her hair back and looked down her nose at me. One finger came up to point dramatically in my face.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

From most people, it would have sounded like a threat. But I knew this was simply Wanda’s way of saying she was worried about me.

I managed a sickly smile. “I won’t.”

“And what’s more, I can’t imagine myself ever liking another soccer mom as much as I like you, so don’t go screwing that up.”

I looked at her. “Wanda, Finn doesn’t even play soccer.”

“The point still stands.”

Lorcan was just slipping a set of lock picks back into his coat pocket when we returned to the door. I blinked at him, surprised.

“I didn’t know you could pick a lock.”

He flashed a smile, his teeth very white in the dark parking lot. “What can I say? I have a storied past.”

And then it was just me, the door, and the dark stretch of hallway beyond.

It was silly to be so nervous. I’d faced down an actual army, even if it was a small one. There was no reason to be this freaked out by a co-ed with a vlog. But Kenzie felt like more of a threat to the town, to the lives we’d all built here, than any supernatural threat we’d faced thus far.

And it didn’t help that I’d had my own hand in the whole thing.

The door swung shut behind me with only the softest creak of hinges, and I scrubbed my hands against my jeans to try and wipe away the sweat beading there. It wasn’t very dark inside. Even though the overhead lights were off, there was still low-level emergency lighting in strips along the walls. It did make the shadows pool near the edges of the ceiling and in the corners like cobwebs, though.

The air was moist and heavy, and I could taste the damp on my tongue when I took a breath. Pipes ran the length of the wall, leading off into darkness. The concrete walls were chilly with moisture, and I could hear a far-off drip somewhere ahead. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it still had some heavy horror movie vibes that I wasn’t thrilled about. As to the building—it was huge, way bigger than I’d imagined it would be, if I’d ever imagined it. It was so strange, how something so ordinary, something I’d taken for granted my entire life—clean water—was suddenly the biggest threat I’d ever had to deal with. As I was making my way down the hallway, past a bunch of closed office and lab doors, I realized that I was angry.

Yeah, more than angry actually—I was pissed! And a whole lot of it. The shaking in my hands wasn’t just fear, and it wasn’t just adrenaline. Someone was using my potion to try and hurt my family, my friends and the other monsters of this town. They were putting us all at risk, and for what? It wasn’t some noble cause. We weren’t villains. Memories had been modified, yes, because that was what we needed to do in order to keep everyone safe and comfortable. Mundanes included.

Once, at one of the meetings of the Black Cat Cocktail Club, Wanda had told me in a hushed voice, how things used to be. How humans who saw too much could be killed, or they’d just disappear, so they wouldn’t be a threat to the supernatural world. There had been such a bleak look on her face that it had filled me with a sense of dread. I wouldn’t stand for anything like that. And luckily for me, I didn’t have to. Hollows weren’t run like that. They were supposed to be safe havens for everyone . Humans and monsters alike.

But Kenzie couldn’t see that. All she could see was a thread to be yanked until the whole blanket unravelled.

Don’t get lost in all of that, Poppy, I reminded myself. Pay attention to what you have to do next. One step at a time.

The main room of the plant was huge, big enough to echo, and it was almost three stories tall. It was all one floor, though, with raised walkways around the perimeters, and narrow paths over the floor. Most of the space on the ground was taken up by huge tanks of water. Closer to the walls were big enclosed blue plastic tanks with a bunch of pipes leading to them, but the middle of the room was filled by enormous, circular tanks that were open to the air. There were paddles in them, sweeping in a slow clockwise motion, washing the liquid inside over what looked like perfectly round white rocks. Out in the middle, leaning precariously against the walkway’s hip-high barrier, was Kenzie. She busily fiddled with her phone, and I saw the flare of a flash as she took a selfie.

In general, I liked to think that I was a nice person. At least, I really tried to be a good person. I didn’t like hurting people’s feelings, for example, and I was usually happy to go out of my way to help someone out. In my experience, people were usually good once you gave them a chance to show you, and I liked being friendly and helpful.

So, the sudden urge I had, welling up inside me like a tidal wave, to storm over there and push Kenzie into one of the open tanks to ruin her phone and give her a good drenching, shocked me to the core, because it was so out of character. It wouldn’t help, anyway. For someone who was that attached to her phone, I was sure she had back ups.

As soon as I stepped onto the metal walkway, it became obvious why Kenzie had picked it as her waiting spot. The open tanks gave her the easiest way to add the potion to the water, and while the tanks were excellent at getting rid of impurities, I didn’t think UV light would do anything for magic. But more importantly, every step was so noisy, ringing against the metal with a shuffling scrape, that it might have been impossible to sneak up on her or take her by surprise. Even Lorcan might have had trouble.

The first step I took had Kenzie straightening up and turning to face me. There wasn’t any triumph or excitement in her expression, though. She just watched me with narrowed eyes until I made my way closer.

And making my way was no easy feat, because every time I looked down, I got a rush of vertigo. It was silly, really. Hundreds of people had to have walked across the platforms today alone—there was no reason to feel the bounce in the mesh and think it was going to plummet to the ground. That didn’t stop me from clutching the railing like it was a lifeline, though.

Kenzie’s lip curled back when I came to a stop about ten feet from her. She turned to lean her back against the railing, and I swallowed hard at the vibrations I felt in my feet and legs at the movement.

“They sent you? The potions lady?” Kenzie laughed, and it wasn’t a nice sound.

“They did.”

She shook her head and then looked really annoyed. “There’s no way you’re the one who’s messing with my feed. Were computers even invented when you were born?”

The question hit me as beyond strange because, first of all, what ? Second, we were there for blackmail and magical conspiracy reasons, and this felt like a weird left turn. Thirdly, Henner was actually a year or two older than I was. And fourth, what?

“I’m forty-seven,” I told her, confused.

She rolled her eyes and snorted. “Okay, Boomer.”

Was this what it felt like to be on drugs? I’d never had anything harder than a Marguerita, but suddenly nothing made sense. It felt like Kenzie was reading a script to a play I didn’t know.

“I’m not a Boomer,” I informed her. “I’m Gen X.”

Her face screwed up with confusion, so at least it was nice we were equally poleaxed by each other. “Whatever.”

Kenzie’s face was slowly twisting towards anger, and I really wasn’t good at the whole covert, blackmail sort of thing. I was so the wrong person chosen for this job, even if this whole thing was my fault to begin with. But there was no other way, not anymore, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“How did you even get in here?”

She gave me a narrow look, clearly suspicious that I was up to something. And I was, so it was fair. But she answered me anyway, rolling her shoulder in a fluid shrug.

“A lot of haunted places aren’t exactly public access. That means I’m good at getting into places, especially ones where I’m not supposed to be.” Her grin turned nasty. “Plus, I bribed the security guard. I didn’t want to get interrupted by some rent a cop.”

Well, that did explain why I hadn’t seen or heard anyone on my way through the building. It still made me uneasy, though. I’d had to come a long way to get here. What if I needed help, and the others couldn’t make it? Or what if they got lost in the maze-like hallways?

Nope, no, I was not going to work myself into an anxiety spiral. This was a human girl (granted, a super annoying one) with a camera, not some monster out of nightmares.

Kenzie typed something into her phone before giving me an appraising look. She made a face when she saw my shoes, which was rude. Sure, they weren’t fancy sneakers, but they were comfortable.

“So, whoever is running things sent you?” she asked. I just nodded. “Wonder why that is.”

Her tone was flat, no inflection, so it wasn’t really a question. But it did jerk me back into the moment. I’d been sent for a reason, and that reason was to be underestimated. It seemed to be working, at least. My braid, cardigan and sneakers didn’t exude the same aura Wanda in her killer boots might have. Actually, I doubted Wanda would have even made it this far. She would have seen all the cobwebs and her stiletto heels would have gotten caught and two minutes in, she would have already been out.

I cleared my throat. The sound echoed strangely, like the water was tossing it back at me. “First thing. If we’re going to talk, you have to turn your phone off and put it in your pocket.”

Kenzie snorted, her nose wrinkling up. “Why would I do that?”

Here it was. I took a deep breath to steady myself. Just stick to the plan, Poppy. Just stick to the plan.

“Because it’s the only way you’ll learn the truth.”

“I don’t think you understand what an ultimatum is.” Kenzie straightened up, and it was a little galling that she was taller than I was. “I gave you the terms. Interview on camera, or I toss this ‘magic potion’, whatever it is, into the water.”

I forced myself to shrug, like the idea didn’t scare me spitless. It was a good thing that the lights were so dim, otherwise she might have seen my pulse hammering in my throat.

“You could do that. But it won’t help you, because it would mean that you’d walk away from here still not knowing the real truth.”

That caught her attention.

I did my best to stand up straight and not fidget. Putting on an air of mystery when I was really an open book was way beyond my acting ability. Instead, I just went for cool confidence, like nothing Kenzie did could touch me.

It didn’t feel very convincing.

Kenzie bounced her phone in her hand like she was weighing it. She watched me, considering. A little smirk played around the corners of her mouth, but there was something there in her eyes. At least I hoped so. It also could have just been the reflection of the water on her face.

“So, if I put my phone away, you’ll tell me what’s actually going on in this town?”

She was probably hoping I didn’t notice the little omission. That was okay. I was used to people thinking they were smarter than I was. I was just hoping it was enough to trip her up.

I let out a breath and nodded. “That’s right.”

Kenzie thought about it for a moment, and then made a big show of putting her phone away in her pocket. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and cocked one hip. The shuffle of her feet against the metal catwalk was louder than it should have been.

“Okay—my phone’s put away. Spill.”

“First thing first.” I fished the thing that Henner had given me out of my pocket, and underhand tossed it towards her. “Catch.”

It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, in retrospect. Kenzie might have missed it and knocked it into the tank below our feet. But I was hoping the instinct to catch something coming at her face would win out. And, yes, maybe a small and petty part of me wanted to see her scramble a little.

Unfortunately, Kenzie had surprisingly good hand-eye coordination, and she caught the object easily. That didn’t mean she didn’t look at it with extreme suspicion, holding it at arms length from her.

“What is this ?”

It was a fair question. It sure didn’t look like much. When Henner had given it to me, I’d just thought it was a little rectangle of plastic. But in the car, Wanda and I had gone at it with some leftover nail polish she’d had stashed in Lorcan’s car, much to his horror. Somehow, we’d managed not to drip ‘mulberry madness’ (which I was fairly sure belonged to Astrid) all over his upholstery, and now the plastic rectangle was adorned with some hastily painted sigils that Wanda assured me looked mystical. To me, they just looked like someone had turned a toddler loose with markers and not enough supervision.

“It’s a charm,” I told Kenzie, hoping I sounded wise and sincere, and not at all like I was lying through my teeth. “You have to hold it while we talk, otherwise, you’ll forget this whole conversation the moment you leave here.”

She gave me a sharp look, slowly turning the pit of plastic over in her hands. “You’re being awfully accommodating after I’ve forced your hand. And now you’re willing to talk to me, and make sure I remember what you’re telling me? What’s the catch? What changed?”

I shrugged. “It’s like you just said—you forced our hand.” It was easy to let some of my stress show through the front I was putting on. I raked a hand through my hair, forgetting that I’d braided it back and almost got my fingers caught. “I don’t want you polluting the water supply, none of us knows what adding that potion to everyone’s drinking or bathing water would do to them. I’d rather talk to you than have it come to that.”

The smirk was back, a little wider and twice as grating. “It’s about time you realized I’m not playing around.” Kenzie examined the ‘charm’ again, before tucking it into her pocket.

I tried not to let my breath shake when I exhaled.

“So.” Kenzie turned to face me, one hand on her hip. “Tell me, Potion lady, what the hell is up with this town? Is it a government conspiracy? Are they testing weapons here? Is that why so many people have their memories erased?” She paused. “Or is it some kind of UFO coverup?”

She was actually leaning forward eagerly, like she could pull answers out of me if she got a little closer. There was an unsettling intensity in Kenzie’s eyes. Some people disturbed me when I met them because their gaze was flat, hollow. Like there was nothing behind their eyes. But there was too much in Kenzie’s eyes, like a supernova on the edge of exploding.

A nervous giggle crept up the back of my throat, and I ground it to dust between my teeth before it had a chance to slip free. I had to keep it together, and not give Kenzie any chance to think that I wasn’t taking this seriously, or she might just drop the potion into the water and then… well, that couldn’t happen.

“No. No, it’s nothing like that. At least, nothing to do with the government or aliens.” I had to pause to breathe. This was all going against everything I’d agreed to when I’d first landed in Haven Hollow—when I’d been asked to keep the town’s secret. Just telling a human, it felt so wrong, which was really silly because I was human too. But there was a big divide between Kenzie and me, and it wasn’t just those too bright, manic eyes of hers.

I braced myself, opened my mouth.

And I told her the truth.