Mack is about to defend me, but I raise my palm at him and move away, causing his arm to slip free. “Johnny was my ex-boyfriend. For years, he tortured me. Physically and emotionally. He made my life a living hell.”
Annalise draws in a tight breath. “I’m sorry for what you went through,” she says, “but the fact remains, you were caught on camera using magick to take his life. So, I’m not sure it matters whether you’re human, or a witch, or an alien. You broke the pact.”
A lead weight settles in my stomach. Clearly, this woman has no interest in helping us. “Mack, we’re wasting our time.” I tug his arm. “We should get out of here. Luther was right.”
“Luther?” Annalise chuckles a little. “Well, the two of us never did see eye-to-eye.”
“Annalise, please.” Mack puts his hand on her elbow. “You know me. You know I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need your help.”
“I do know that,” she says tightly. “But I honestly don’t know how Icanhelp.” She puts her smooth palm on Mack’s shoulder and adds, “You know I’d do anything to help you, Mack, if I could. But—”
“Annalise, you believe in the prophecy. I know you do.” Frustration laces Mack’s voice; he’s losing his patience. I can sense it in the way the air around him changes. It’s vibrating. “This isn’t just about saving Nova from jail; it’s about saving the world from what’s about to happen.” He starts to pace up and down. “Youcanhelp us. You can get the Bureau off our backs, so we can concentrate on stopping the League from unleashing hell on Earth.”
Annalise screws her eyes shut. “Mack, that’s a little dramatic—”
“No,” he tells her, “it isn’t.” He dips his head to catch her eyes. “What’s going on here, Annalise? Did you tell Tom to stab me in the back, or was that his own idea?”
For a moment, Annalise simply stares at Mack. Then she stalks over to the couch and sits down. “Would you pour us a drink?” she asks, gesturing to the drink cabinet in the corner of the room.
Mack obliges, pouring us each a whiskey. I simply cradle mine while Annalise takes a large drink from hers. “Mack? Nova? Sit down, please.” Her voice is tight and a little shaky.
We perch in armchairs opposite her.
She taps her long fingernails on her glass. “I’ve long suspected that the Bureau was infiltrated by members of H.E.L. There is a lot going on behind the scenes. Things I can’t explain to you right now.” She exhales slowly but forcefully. “But I promise you, if I could have stopped Tom and his agents from attacking The Hollow, I would have.”
Mack studies her face, clearly not quite sure how to react to what she’s saying. “Annalise, you’re about as high up as it gets. Are you telling me you have no power? There’s nothing you can do to help us?”
Annalise wraps her arms around her stomach. She nods at Mack’s phone then takes her own from a small table beside the couch. “Bluetooth me those test results. I’ll see what I can do.”
For a moment, there’s a quivering silence. Then Mack shakes his head. “I’m sorry, that’s not good enough. We’re talking about the end of the world here, Annalise. Not just one person.” He glances at me. “Not just one girl.”
“But thisgirlis the real reason you’re here, though, isn’t she?” Annalise fires back. An unmistakable hint of jealousy laces her tone. “You’re here because you’re trying to protect her?”
Mack’s jaw twitches.
Before he can answer her, I interrupt. “Mack brought me here because he trusts you.” I stand up and walk over to the window. Staring down at the twinkling city lights, I shake my head. “I didn’t ask for this. Mack didn’t either. But somehow, we’ve been thrown together. He believes in the prophecy. At first, I didn’t know what to believe. But now, having seen what I’ve seen?” A cold shiver runs through me. I push it away and blink some fire into my palm. “I feel the power inside me growing. Every minute. Every hour. There’s a heat in my soul that won’t subside.” I look at Annalise, meeting her eyes through the dancing flames. “The League wants me dead. The reason they want me dead is because they believe I can stop them from raising the underworld. Those are facts. Cold, hard facts.”
Annalise is watching me carefully. I move the flames from one palm to the other, then separate them into tiny balls of fire and send them spinning in a circle.
“If the Bureau won’t help us fight the League, the least they can do is leave us alone.” I snuff out the flames and lean back against the window ledge. “The least they can do is give us the chance to win.”
Mack’s eyes soften as he watches me. His approving gaze brings a flutter of butterflies to my stomach.
“We can’t help you fight the League,” Annalise says stiffly. She pauses, sucking in her breath as she turns to me. “Your fireworks are very lovely, Nova. But if you’re going to win this fight, like you say you are, you’ll need more.Muchmore.” She puts down her glass. “I believe there is someone who can help you with that.”
I glance at Mack. He takes a long, slow sip of his drink.
“The original prophecy was cast by a seer from the Foresight Commune.” Annalise stands, walks to the small console table near the minibar, and scribbles something on a complimentary notepad. “I believe she knows more than she shared with us.” She passes Mack the piece of paper. His eyes narrow as he reads it.
When he looks up, he asks, “This is the name of the seer? The seer who was first sent the prophecy?”
“Yes,” Annalise replies. Something passes between them that I can’t catch hold of or name. A shared moment. A shared… something.
Mack scrunches the paper in his fist and puts it into his pocket. “You think she can help us stop the League?”
“I think she can help you tap into Nova’s power.” Annalise presses her lips together into a thin line. “In the meantime,” she says, standing up and moving toward the door, “I will do what I can to keep my agents away from Nova.” She puts her hand on the doorknob. “But I can’t make you any promises, Mack. Like I said, the situation here is fragile.”
Taking my arm, Mack ushers me to the door.