Page 101 of Lost to Thievery
I gagged, quickly looking away.
No one said anything. Just stared at it.
“You know what it means,” Owen stated.
I nodded.
“Tell us.”
I looked back at the box. On a bed of Vervain flowers was a black velvet cushion, holding a beautiful gold necklace, with three moons. Intricately carved into the moons were vines covered in thorns.
On each side of the velvet cushion, laid two human hearts.
My mind dragged me back to Rainbow Falls. To the feel of Grayson’s fingers gently tracing the tattoo behind my ear, his breath tickling the hairs on my neck.
“I have a necklace of the triple moons, that once belonged to a High Priestess, if you’d like it. This particular Priestess enjoyed luring bad men into the forest, making them believe they were the predator, before cutting their hearts out.”
I swallowed down the memory, refusing to remember any more. Instead, I read the little notecard above the cushion, written in Grayson’s elegant handwriting.
Oh, serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!
“What does it mean, Ava?” Emerie pressed impatiently.
“Oh, I can go on for hours about every little message each of these items hold.” I laughed bitterly. Apart they had their own meanings, combining any element in the box created different meanings, and as a whole?
I snorted, shaking my head.
“Who do the hearts belong to?” Marshall asked.
“One is Anderson’s. The other belongs to the Russian man who died in the park. The men I had helped kill. If you count the vervain flowers, there will be one for each of Anderson’s men that I helped kill with my tranquiliser.”
I shuddered, the flash of red, sticky floors, body bags everywhere, making me want to double over and puke my guts out.
Syntax scrunched her nose in disgust as she came closer, reading the card. “So Varon is saying that you have a beautiful face but inside you are a snake?”
“Pretty much. But don’t get it twisted. This is very much a compliment. His highest fucking praises. He’s saying I’m just. Like. Him.”
Syntax lowered to her haunches, angling her head to the side. “There’s something underneath the card.” She lifted it, revealinga small black remote with only one button. She looked up at me. “And what do you suppose this is?”
I chewed on my cheek. I had no idea.
“Fuck it.” I quickly pressed the button.
There was another loud clicking sound and the lights went off. Slowly, a square of light became brighter on the wall that the rows of chairs were facing.
A projection.
“Why the hell not?” Owen clapped sarcastically. “Let’s all watch a fucking movie!” He roughly swiped the box from his chair and plopped down onto it.
He was losing it. We were all close to snapping.
An image popped onto the wall. A video. The camera was shaking, pointing at someone’s shoes.
“Damn this tiny thing! I can’t… There,” Liam’s voice echoed off the cold stone walls as the camera righted.
My heart panged, seeing his grinning face. He was looking at us from a bathroom mirror, wearing a tux. He finished pinning the camera to his lapel that looked like a cancer awareness pin.
“Look, I know you guys are totally flipping out about missing the auction, and I’m sorry, okay? But trust me. It had to be done this way.” His grin turned mischievous. “To make it up to you, I’ll take you along with me. Show you what you’ve missed.” He straightened his tie. “Let’s go,” he sang.
