Released Souls (18 page)

There was a washer and dryer, a hot water tank, and an old freezer on the far wall
. Underneath the staircase was more storage. At first glance it looked like more tinctures and such, but I’d check it out later. Across from where Logan and I stood, I saw a tiny, square door.

“That must be what Trevor’s talking about,” I said, pointing at the
tiny, wooden door.

“Looks like it.” Logan walked over and unlocked and opened the door only to be greeted by another door that needed to be unlocked by someone on the other side of it.

“Well, at least we know they won’t be spying on us.” I laughed.

Logan spun around and his eyes held the familiar sparkle that always rocked my world.

“You are imposs
ible to be close to in dark, confining spaces,” I groaned.

“Is that so?”

We began walking toward the stairs, and I saw another small door.

“That must lead to another house?” I
speculated.

Logan opened it, revealing the same set-up as the other door.

“Guess so.” He closed it, and we took the stairs two at a time.

“Are you okay with staying here?” Trevor asked.

I gave him a friendly smile and nodded my head.

I walked to the kitchen window and looked out at the view I hadn’t noticed before.
This house was situated on a hill. The same hill that my own house was located on, maybe five or so blocks below. Trevor really did change this street up. I began to feel slightly comforted at the thought of being so close to the other house if needed.

“So, we’ll be back in about an hour to go over everything,” Trevor said, walking to the front door.

“First thing on the list is getting Bakula back,” I replied.

“We’ll see about that.” Trevor closed the door behind him, and I turned to Logan.

“He still doesn’t get my style does he?”

“Not many do,
” Logan laughed.

“I think I know where she’s at,” I admitted. “On the car ride over I got another vision
, and this time it was clearer.”

“The sooner we can get her back, the better,” he agreed. “I don’t think you’ll be able to concentrate on anything until we do. Dace and Bakula were smart to
put our families in safekeeping.”

I nodded and l
et out a large sigh. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t say how much I miss my mom and aunt.”

“Me too, babe,” Logan muttered. “But it’s for the best.”

“So, I know where they’re holding Bakula. And the best part is that it’s with Eben,” I said, glancing at Trevor. “And Lara.”

“How do you know?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I just do,” I replied. “I can’t tell you how, but I know.”

“I’m not
fully comfortable with this,” Trevor replied, his fingers grinding into his forehead.

“There’s probably going to be a lot of decisions you’re not comfortable with, but
I have to know I can trust you,” I replied.

Trevor and Logan traded glances
, and I knew I was close to getting what I wanted. I couldn’t tell Trevor about the visions yet. I couldn’t afford to have too many pieces of the puzzle put together about me.

I was flipping the pages in one
of my notebooks, and Trevor turned his attention back to me. I didn’t look up until he was ready to give me his answer. Instead, I concentrated on all the names, places, and possibilities that I had jotted down surrounding the
Praedivinus
order. There had to be something that was similar or a pattern of some sort that I just hadn’t determined yet.

Logan walked
up behind me and slid his hand on my shoulder. I turned and gave him a quick smile and then went back to looking at names of companies. I had added a few more that Trevor had given me. Dace found a few that were loosely connected to the
Praedivinus
order, and I scanned them hoping for a clue. Still nothing jumped out at me.

“Okay. We’re in. We’ll provide the protection for you.” Trevor sat d
own at the table across from me, grinning.

“
Took you long enough. But thank you, and hopefully I won’t need any,” I replied, flashing him a grateful smile.

“So w
here do you think they are?” Trevor asked, glancing over at Logan who was bent over one of the notebooks I had open.

“The
west side of Lake Washington at one of the old estates. It’s one that’s been for sale a long time, so I’m guessing the owners realized leasing it was better than nothing. I printed this off the website that had it listed, so I can at least see the rooms I’m heading into.”

I flipped the page and spun around the notebook, pointing at the address.

Trevor typed it in his iPhone and sat back in the chair. “So when were you thinking of going in?”

“Tonight,” I replied
, and Trevor’s mouth dropped open.

“That’s not enough time to plan anything,” he objected.

“It’s not going to be much longer before they realize that we’re very much alive. Most of the Witch Avenue coven didn’t even hear of the warehouse fire, and they have no idea that we’re even playing dead.”

“True.”
Trevor nodded, interlocking his fingers.

“I
also heard from Jenna this morning. She finally persuaded the Priestess to go into hiding,” I began.

“You didn’t respond, did you?” Logan asked
, his expression worried.

“Nope. But that didn’t stop her from writing again to let us know that the majority of
our coven members aren’t going into hiding. They want to fight and stop the
Praedivinus
order from spreading. Apparently all the stories relayed from my dad’s camp have scared people beyond belief. Every family seems to be dealing with a Released Soul or know of someone who is, and it’s not a pretty process.”

My stomach knotted as my mind drifted to my mom, but I quickly forced myself back to the problem at hand.

“It makes sense. Our world hasn’t experienced this type of dark magic where both witches and non-witches are infiltrated for centuries. There’s even more at stake than the obvious,” Logan said.

“Which isn’t very obvious might I add,” I replied
annoyed, as I sat staring at a notebook full of information that led to nowhere.

“I think we’re on the verge of something bigger
than what Eben is after,” Logan continued. “Think about the Salem witch trials. Think about all of the witch trials around the world.”

I nodded.

“Over the centuries, every time the witch trials began anywhere in the world, we had the same exact scenario as now,” Logan said, pulling out a chair and sitting next to me.

“How so?” Trevor asked.

That’s right! We hadn’t filled him on my ancestors’ odd timing.

“In some
of the records from the Witch Avenue library, we were able to piece together that Triss’ relatives were always very close in proximity to the witch hunts that took place.” Logan stopped so I could take over.

“However, they were
never
part of them. Never once were they afraid for their lives or pinned as witches. It looked like my family pointed their fingers, and cried witch to keep the heat off of them. The uproar would begin in towns and villages and the rest is history,” I said.

“That’s brutal,” Trevor replied. “All th
e innocent witches that were persecuted or worse were actually set up by their own kind.”

“Seems to be the case. Which kind of makes sense considering how discreet I’m sure the witches were. It would’ve taken their own kind to force them out in the open.”
I shook my head and closed the notebook.

“One of the few patterns we’ve been able to identify surrounding the Witch hunts, Witch trials, and the
movement of Triss’s family across Europe and eventually here had to do with the fairies’ migration. The dark sorcerers would cause hysteria among the townspeople, use up all the resources, and then follow the fairies to the next town or country only to start the process up again,” Logan said.

“And I think it’s safe to say that’s what
is happening now. Everything’s pointing to that. We’ve got the fairies on the move. Then we have the constant communication between the
Praedivinus
order and the ‘outside world’, non-believers for the most part. It’s like he’s setting the stage to out the covens of the world.” I looked at Trevor whose mouth was gaping. “Only this time it’s on a much larger scale. We’ve got names of politicians, world leaders, and pretty big corporations,” I finished.

“This is bad.
”

“Yeah. It is. There are so many things we need to do
that I don’t even know where to begin, which is why I feel like getting the simplest task out of the way first is best. Once Bakula is back with Dace we can concentrate on figuring out motive, taking out Lara and Eben, and maneuvering our covens to stop the spread of the
Praedivinus
order. And I’d like to be done by Saturday,” I teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

Logan look
ed over at me smiling, and I wondered why Trevor wasn’t saying anything. Maybe he was in shock.

“Does this sound like a good path to follow until a new one presents itself?” I asked Trevor, hoping my prompt would bring him back to us. Finally after a few more seconds
, he responded.

“What I find pretty phenomenal is that you think going in to get Bakula is the easy part.”
His lip curled up. “I like your determination. Always have.” He nervously shot Logan a look and then his eyes fell to the table.

“Unfortunately, I think with everything we’re facing
, it is the easy part. On that note, would you begin contacting Jenna and everyone else that I’ve listed here to fill them in on where we think the
Praedivinus
order is headed. I’m hoping if they understand that our community is going to be used as a scapegoat in the public forum, we’ll find more people willing to fight and less who will want to remain in hiding.” I tore a piece of paper from the notebook with the list of names on one side, and then the dates of all the Witch Trials and hunts that seemed to involve my family just in case he needed some extra persuasion.

It was one thing to have
witch-hunts from one town to the next, but it was quite another on a global scale, and I was sure that’s what we were up against.

Trevor stood up from the table
, grabbing the piece of paper and walked toward the basement.

“What time should we meet you at Eben’s?” he asked, spinning around to face me.

“Be there at ten o’clock tonight. Logan and I will be in constant communication once I go inside, so he’ll take the lead in case anything goes wrong.” I didn’t like the idea of anything going wrong and forced the thought out of my head.

“Thanks for understanding, Trevor,” I said, as he walked down the steps to the basement.

I flipped my notebook to some printouts of Eben’s home from the real estate website and stared at them. There was the living room that looked to be off the entry hall. The kitchen was massive, and it looked like there was a door to the outside there. There were seven bedrooms, an office, media room, wine cellar, and a library. I couldn’t really tell by the pictures how many exterior doors there were, but I knew of three from these pictures.

“I think I should go in near the kitchen. It looks like it’s in the back of the house and cl
osed off from the living areas.”

Logan sighed deeply and grabbed my hand. I adjusted in my seat so that I could see him better without getting a kink in my neck.

“I’m not really sure I like the idea of you going in there,” he said.

“I don’t think you have that much choice about it.”

“Believe me. I know that. I’m just hoping you’ll take my opinion into account,” he murmured.

“I do. I always do. It will make me extra careful,” I promised and winked at him.

“Not quite what I was hoping for.”

“Listen. If I can’t go into Eben’s house to snatch a fairy, then I have no business leading a fight against the
Praedivinus
order. It’s kind of a test for me.”

He was about to say something but instead clamped down hard on his jaw.

“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t scared to death. I am. If I get captured then we’ll know I wasn’t ready to lead.”

“I think that’s one of the most absurd forms of logic I’ve ever heard. You
’re meant to lead the covens, regardless of whether or not your game of cat and mouse works in your favor.” He shook his head. “You have more powers in that little body of yours then the entire Witch Avenue coven. That’s what should be telling you that you’re ready to lead the covens.”

“Regardless, I want to get Bakula out of there.”

“I get that.” He nodded. “But if things don’t go as planned you can’t think you’re doomed to failure on the rest of our plans.”