“It doesn’t make any sense. Unless …” Eve tapped a finger to her lips, and then added, “Of course. How did I not put it all together before now?”
“Put what together?” Addison asked. “And who is he? Who are you talking about?”
Eve shifted her focus to a portrait hanging on the wall opposite her. It was of a young girl, no more than nine years old, Addison guessed. The girl was sitting atop a bright red bike. She had one foot on the pedal and a smirk on her face like she couldn’t wait to soar on down the road as soon as the picture was taken.
Eve folded her hands over her lap and said, “I wasn’t always in a wheelchair. When I was a child, I was strong and healthy, just like you.”
Addison stepped closer to the portrait and took a closer look. “The child in the picture … it’s you, isn’t it?”
Eve nodded.
“What happened?” Addison asked.
“Years ago, one of my uncles lived here with us from time to time at Crawley Manor. One morning I woke to hear him arguing with my mother downstairs. The argument ended with my mother banishing him from the manor, which infuriated him. On his way out, he bestowed a curse to make sure she’d suffer over her decision.”
Looking at Eve now, Addison assumed the worst. “Did the curse have something to do with you? Is your uncle the reason you’re in a wheelchair?”
Eve paused, then nodded. “The same morning they were arguing, after he slammed the door and left, I slid the covers off me and got out of bed. When I tried to stand, my legs buckled beneath me, and I collapsed. It was like my legs had turned to all flesh and no bone. I have not been able to stand, let alone walk again, ever since.”
Addison stared at the wheelchair, then at Eve, stunned. “What kind of person would do that to a child?”
A malicious, wicked one.
That’s who.
“I suppose causing harm to me was the cruelest thing my uncle knew he could do to my mother,” Eve said. “For years, she tried to reverse the curse, but nothing worked.”
“Must have been hard on her, seeing you resigned to a wheelchair and knowing she couldn’t do anything about it.”
“She may not have been able to fix me, but that day she put a protection spell over the manor, one that kept my uncle from ever stepping foot inside these walls again. Well, until now.”
“What do you mean?” Addison asked.
“When my mother died, the protection spell must have lifted. It’s the only thing that explains the vision you had of me and my … well, my death, it would seem.”
“If your mother thought the spell she cast over the manor could be broken, why didn’t she warn you before she died?”
“Her death is the other reason why I wrote to you. It was sudden. No one saw it coming. Not even me.”
“What happened?”
“She was outside, walking the gardens, admiring the flowerbeds as she often did first thing in the morning. I glanced out my bedroom window and saw her facedown on the ground. It looked like she’d collapsed. I got to her as soon as I could, but when I did, she was already dead. The medical examiner said she had a heart attack, and I believed him at first, because I didn’t want to believe anything else. But maybe I accepted it because I was too afraid to face the truth.”
“What truth?”
She paused a moment to steady her shaky breath. “Last night, I had a vision. First, I saw the aurora australis. Then I saw the book of black arts being removed from a cave, a place where it’s been hidden for centuries, locked away from those seeking to use it to destroy mankind.”
“What’s the aurora australis? And what is the book of black arts?”
Eve tipped her head toward Addison’s hand. “The ring you wear on your pinkie finger is the red stone that unlocks the book of enchantments, causing you and the book to become one.”
“The book and I are one now. Everything within it now resides within me.”
“But as with every action, there’s an opposite reaction. A book of good can’t exist without a book of evil.”
It was something Addison had never considered, a book in direct opposition to everything she stood for—and everyone she was trying to protect.
“The aurora australis was formed beneath an old seabed,” Eve continued. “It’s the world’s most valuable black opal. It’s enchanted, but not in a good way. Chisel the right size piece, and it’s a perfect fit for the center of the star on the cover of the book of black arts. Once placed there, the stone brings the book to life.”
“And this book of black arts … what does it contain?”
“Ways to induce suffering on humankind. It creates a world of chaos, one in which sin and debauchery reign supreme. It’s been said the book was stolen from Hell itself. Based on all the stories I’ve heard about the power it possesses, I believe it.”
“If the book has been found, who do you believe is in possession of it now? My father?”
“Your father—”
The door to the manor blew open, smacking against the wall behind it.
Eve locked eyes with Addison. “He’s here, and now I know why. He got to my mother to get to me so he could get to you, Addison. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for inviting you here. Had I known the danger I would put you in, I never would have extended the invitation.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m here now, and we’re out of time. Maybe I’m supposed to be here. Let me help you.”
Eve shook her head. “You must not interfere.”
“Why not?”
“You wear the ring, which means you are the chosen one, Addison, the one our ancestors predicted would rise up when the time was right. You are the only one who can stop what’s to come if the book of black arts has been found and taken. This moment, right here, right now … it isn’t your time to fight. Not yet. That time will come soon enough, and you need to prepare yourself.”
Addison nodded. “Tell me what I need to do.”
“Go to the Crimson Caves in Newburgh. Find the waterfall. The book is hidden beneath it. If it has been taken as I believe it has, you must reunite with your family. Together, you can save this world and everyone in it.”
Eve’s eyes shifted to the hallway, where the sound of footsteps could be heard shuffling toward them. “It’s time for you to go. Remember what I told you. What you saw in your vision must come to pass. No matter what happens, remain under the cloak of invisibility.”
“Wait. You still haven’t told me who he is.”
“Leave this place, Addison. Leave now.”
“At least tell me who the man is after. Who is he looking for, Eve?”
Eve blinked at Addison through tear-filled eyes and said, “He’s looking for you.”