A stone would get us in. Maybe Nimeyah would let us use hers, but I’m betting not.
Interestingly, while Rainey is a whiz at the books, Myles hits the internet for his research, and he apparently goes down deep into the dark web—the place seen on Dateline where people can hire contract killers and such.
Apparently, there’s also an online black market for mystical objects, and there are some stones for sale that purport to have “extraordinary magical properties”. They could be from the meteor, so that’s a possible avenue. Of course, I’m terrified Myles is now on some type of FBI watchlist or something, but that’s just something we’ll have to worry about if and when they come busting down our doors.
“You seem distracted,” Rainey mulls, and I lift my gaze to find her watching me over the edge of her coffee cup as she takes a sip.
No sense in lying. “I’m having a hard time concentrating on the prophecy.”
“Boy problems?” she asks, grinning knowingly.
“Girl problems,” I correct softly, and her expression hardens just a little because Rainey is not all that keen on me finding my long-lost sister. She thinks my twin is more sinister than not.
“You can’t get sidetracked by her,” Rainey points out almost primly.
“You can’t expect me to just put her out of my mind, Rainey. She was a baby—then a child—raised in Hell while surrounded by Dark Fae and daemons. She was abused when they funneled magic into her, she never knew an ounce of kindness, and she sure as hell wasn’t shown love. I don’t get how you can’t understand that she’s more important to me than the prophecy right now.”
Immediately, Rainey’s face gentles and she puts her cup down. “You’re absolutely right. I’m scared by the fact that she filled you with dark power, and, yes, I assumed the worst, and, yes, she probably did try to kill you but only because she’s scared. Of course, you want to save her, and she should be the most important thing to you right now.”
The sigh that comes out of me is so loud and exits from such a deep place that I realize I didn’t know how much I needed Rainey to understand this. How much I wanted someone to champion my deep-seated need to help Zora.
“You could try to reach out to her,” Rainey suggests, and I physically jerk in my chair before bolting up straight.
“You mean like… with a Ouija board or something?” I ask.
Rainey rolls her eyes. “Not unless she’s a ghost. But think about it, you two have a connection. You’ve successfully contacted her once, and she has you once, too—or so we think. We do still have to consider she may have been trying to kill rather than help you, and it’s entirely possible she wasn’t reaching out at all, but that you pulled on her powers. Regardless, I think it might be worth trying to see if you can establish a connection to communicate.”
Frowning, I ask, “How?”
“I don’t know,” Rainey replies in exasperation. “But you’re the one with angel powers in you. Figure out how to fire ’em up and bridge the divide.”
A thrill of excitement races up my spine, bolstered more by the fact this is actually Rainey’s idea and not mine, which means it’s not as harebrained as most.
“Let’s do it,” I exclaim, slapping my hand on the table.
“We need Zaid,” Rainey says confidently as she whips her phone out.
I become alarmed because it seems like what we’re doing is a little shady. I mean, we should be focused on the prophecy, not holding seances or whatever it is we’re going to do.
And Zaid?
“Not Zaid,” I say with an adamant shake of my head. “No way.”
“Yes way. He’ll be able to give you some direction. He’s the most supernatural being we have here,” Rainey replies as she actually sends a text that I presume goes straight to Zaid.
My eyes are wide with astonishment. “Did you just… text Zaid?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You actually have his phone number?”
Rainey smiles. “Yes, I have his phone number. Had it for a while now. We also play Words with Friends.”
I sink back into my chair and put my hand to my forehead, sure I’m in the middle of an aneurysm. My eyes pin on Rainey. “You’re actually like… friends with him?”
“He’s a sweetie,” Rainey chirps, and I know I’m in the Twilight Zone now.
It’s not long before Zaid trots down the spiral staircase. He actually smiles at Rainey before scowling my way as he comes to the table. “So, you want to try to make contact with your sister in the Underworld?”
His words aren’t exactly warm to the idea, but he’s not shutting me down. I decide to take a confident role. Straightening, I say, “Yes. I do. I want to see if I can communicate with her. If I’m successful, she could have information that could be crucial to our quest.”