Page 57 of The Lies We Conjure
Since everyone arrived, Evander, Winter, and I explained in turns exactly how we came to have this relic in hand. It has all the markings of having been protected by a powerful spell—no erosion, no damage. It’s as pristine as it likely had been the moment Shadrack spelled it and concealed it. Exactly as one would expect an invaluable magical relic to be preserved.
Yet, what it supposedly contains has been a point of contention for at least ten minutes now. Despite all the evidence, despite our assurances that the disabled security wards showed themselves.
Luna sighs from the other guest chair. “The clue is clearly Elemental in nature and breath a component in the element of life, though Morgana is a Death witch, and therefore it’s quite perplexing from a historical standpoint.”
The Blackgate girls simply nod along, not adding anything.
“Not justaDeath witch,” Infinity amends, their eyes slipping away from the two silent Blackgates in our midst, “theDeath witch. The originator of the line.”
“Which is why this is… suspect,” Hector cuts in. “Merlin is theoriginator of the Elemental Line; why is an Elemental relic tied to his Death Line counterpart?” Hector’s eyes are glassy with exhaustion invading the corners, yet he sparks with an idea, his whole body tensing beneath today’s Cerise family uniform—a navy tracksuit with their individual initials monogrammed at the breast. Yeah, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. Especially given the context. But they are always aggressively coordinated. “Could it be mislabeled? Or perhaps it’s not a master relic at all?”
Evander frowns at Hector’s insinuation of mishandling and I decide to save both of them—and all of us—from yet another time-killing dick-measuring contest.
“Though I can assure you the three of us all saw the security wards fire and fizzle at the removal of the master relic from its hidden location, there is one way to answer that final question indefinitely. If it’s a true master, Ursula’s will should confirm it by providing the second clue.” I pointedly gesture to the clock atop the mantle—9:07A.M.Twelve hours since Ursula’s death. Approximately thirty-nine hours left. “Now, if you please.”
Thankfully, Hector dutifully returns to his chair, tracksuit nylon swishing the whole way.
I line my thumb up with my bloody print, gaze lingering on Ursula’s signature, forever part of this document. It holds the last of the secrets she’d planned to share with us, and maybe it’s simply the residual shock speaking, but I don’t think the secrets she plans on sharing are the only ones she’s left here.
The initial clue shimmers, fading out. Then, in ink as dark as night, comes the next clue. There’s a collective inhale—we have our confirmation that we have collected the first master. I can nearly feel Evander’s shoulders soften and his grasp tighten. I read.
“Our blood is in the stars,
Streaming down from the Great Bear’s paw,
Magic bathing magic as the moon smiles
With the sun, its reason, its heart, the gaping center
Body and soul.”
No one has to say it. The clue is for the Celestial Line.
Luna holds fast to her coffee cup as all attention turns to our remaining matriarch. Infinity kneels at her elbow, their face tipped up to their grandmother. “Grandmama, where do we start?”
After rearranging the drape of the voluminous ivory fabric across her shoulders and taking another sip of coffee so heavily sugared I can smell it from ten feet away, Luna swallows and finally addresses the matter at hand.
“If I knew I’d tell you.”
Infinity’s brows knit. “You… you don’t have any ideas? Nothing rings a bell?”
“Oh, plenty rings my bell about the language, but what it might be or where it might be? No.” The matriarch turns her attention to me. “If these are hints—as you surmised last night, Auden—these are hints you Hegemonys recognize better than the rest of us. It would behoove all of us to learn everything we can from your successful hunt this morning.”
Luna aims her wizened gaze at Evander, who’s white-knuckling the master’s chain. “As we’ve said, it was nothing more than the three of us keying in on the final line of the clue—‘We worship’—and deciding to search the only place ever used for worship on these grounds and climbing Mercy’s Point. We zeroed in on man-made objects first, not knowing what we were looking for. But when we saw this piece”—he opens his palm to reveal it to the light—“we knew it was put there for us to find, even if the inscription was unexpected.”
Luna sucks her teeth. “Your success was completely based on your understanding of the grounds and what they contain. I have visited Hegemony Manor more times than I have years, yet even my knowledge is no rival for what is inherent to you as nearly lifelong residents.”
“Is there a map?” Ada asks. “Maybe we can start with that, make some educated guesses like the one you made to get to the outdoor chapel, and go from there?”
I nod. “We can do that.”
Winter is already on it, retrieving the maps from their careful storage on Ursula’s office bookshelves. The desk drawers and storage may have been swept clean of paperwork by either the spell or her killer, but her bookshelves remained untouched—as far as we can tell.
Winter unfurls one on the desk so that it faces the guests. Hector and Sanguine immediately crowd in for a look. Lavinia and Kaysa edge forward. Luna and Infinity stay put.
“This would’ve been good to have last night,” Sanguine muses.
“I didn’t want you going on the grounds after dark,” Evander reminds her.
