Thirty-Two

“Was that my imagination or did you just say we’re dead?” Iris asked, her eyes wide with fear. She worked hard to compose herself but she wanted to scream. Helmer had given her a lifetime’s worth of information in a matter of minutes and she wasn’t sure how to process it at all.

“That’s not the worst part. Millions will be killed, starting with the women of Los Angeles.”

Awesome, she thought cynically. This day is insane.

So Arlo was a Lixi. Helmer was his father. Some witch doctor, who was also a Lixi, was Arlo’s mother. Iris’s father was a total liar who was going to use Arlo to kill Belinda. And now apparently all of L.A. was in danger too. Pass the tequila.

Helmer stood up from the kitchen table and motioned his head to the right. “Come on, dear. There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to,” the warlock said. “A witch. Princesse Evelyna de Monaco,” he said in his best French accent. “She’s the reason I can see the future.”

Iris threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes. “What is this, a freaking Disney movie?” she said snidely.

“I wish.” He snickered. “She was a princess many years ago but goes by Evelyn now. She’s a very skilled Protas. Comes in handy.” He held out his hand. “Shall we?”

Iris stood and followed Helmer toward the back of his home. “Where are we going?” she asked hesitantly.

“You’ll see.”

“What about Silos?”

“I will call him and tell him where to join us in a moment.”

They came to a stop at the end of the hall and turned into an empty room. There was no furniture and the windowless walls were as white as a hospital’s. Helmer knocked on the far wall and it rumbled in response, opening to reveal a door to a secret underground hideaway.

“What is this?” Iris asked as the ground shook.

He said nothing but instead motioned Iris to follow him down the stairs. She stood tall and followed, crushing her fear before it destroyed her.

It was cold and dark and Iris could barely make out her feet. The sound of dripping water echoed in the distance. Flickering candles lined the stone stairway and notes of musk and mildew overcame her senses.

She took her final step and marveled in the beauty of the small underground den. The walls were made of polished marble with specks of amber that sparkled even in the dim light. A well-stoked fire burned behind a pair of red velvet chairs sitting across from an oak table topped with a spread of wine and cheese.

“Hello,” said a ravishing young woman with long butterscotch hair, eyes as clear as crystal, and shimmery vanilla skin. She was seated in one of the chairs and holding a glass of white wine. She stood upon Iris’s arrival and held herself perfectly poised with an upright posture, which complemented her long, flowing pale-pink dress. “I’m Evelyn,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Iris,” she replied, shaking it. “So you’re a witch who used to be a princess?”

“You never learned about me in The Witch Hunting Book of Stories?” Evelyn raised her brow.

“No. But I’m starting to think my version was missing a few chapters.”

Evelyn and Iris took a seat in the velvet chairs. “Would you like some wine?” Evelyn offered.

“No, thank you,” Iris quickly replied.

What’s with these people and drinks?

“Well.” Evelyn took a sip of her wine. “Iris. I’m not like other witches. I don't sacrifice humans to stay young.”

“What? How?” Iris remembered the Ethas witch on the beach who said the same thing—she was not under Belinda’s curse.

“I found a way to access an ancient spell to live apart from The Curse. Soon I hope to share this spell to bring peace,” she said with a serious face. “But all this is for another time. Right now, you need to focus on stopping Belinda before she goes to Wava’s.” Evelyn moved closer, raising her hand toward Iris’s head.

“Okay, what are you doing?” Iris asked, pulling away.

“Just stay still. I’m going to show you what will happen if Belinda is killed. I’m going to show you the future.”

Evelyn gently pressed her palms against Iris’s temples. Her mind electrified and her eyes turned black. Suddenly, she saw the Hollywood Cemetery. It was her vision, but this time it was a little different.

It was night. There were women. Lots of women. They walked to the cemetery in a zombie-like state. One by one the women stabbed themselves with a silver object. It was a massacre.

Blood splashed everywhere and bodies fell to the ground, piling on top of one another. The women were resurrected into powerful flesh-eating creatures unable to be killed or stopped. Humans, Hunters, witches, and warlocks were running for their lives. It was complete mayhem.

Iris gasped for air as the vision receded. She stared at Evelyn in utter horror.

“What the hell was that?” Iris shouted, trying to control herself.

“It was a glimpse of what will happen after Belinda is killed by your father. When she originally cast her curse she put a plague on it as a safeguard. If she dies, so does her curse. However, she attached The Curse to a rare plague only accessed by her death. If she dies, so do a lot of people.”

The wind left Iris’s lungs. She was baffled by the mess her father had started. All for power. All for more control.

“And you were giving me this vision the entire time so I could find you?”

“Yes,” Evelyn said with poise. “And so you would believe once I finally showed you the truth.”

“Does my dad know?” She turned to Helmer, staring at him in disbelief.

“I’ve told him what the future could hold but he doesn’t seem to care. My theory is he thinks I’m lying and trying to protect one of my kind, which I’m not.”

Iris jumped up. She was going around in circles, trying to play through all possible options. Maybe this glimpse into the future was wrong. Maybe they could stop the plague before it started. Maybe her dad would let her back on the Hunter team. But no matter how many times she ran the numbers in her head, there was only one option that could keep Arlo safe.

“I have to stop my dad from killing Belinda,” she mumbled, mostly to herself.

“That’s right,” Evelyn said in a soft voice.

“We can’t let this happen,” Iris said, still catching her breath. “I can’t let him do this.”

“Bloody hell,” Silos said, walking down to the underground hideaway. Iris perked up, flashing a smile without even trying.

“How did you get here?” he said, shifting his focus to the retired princess.

“Silos. So happy to see you too,” Evelyn said with a smirk.

“I’m sorry,” Helmer interjected. “But I had to call her. I needed to see far into the future and no one does that better than Princess—”

“Princess? You really still carry that title?” Silos said with a sneer.

“Not really. Still bitter because you never got knighted, I see. Some things never change.”

“What's going on with you two?” Iris chimed in. Silos and Evelyn obviously shared some sort of history, and by the look of it, things didn’t end well.

“We used to go out,” Silos quickly said. He wouldn’t look at Iris; instead he was staring at the floor.

“Oh. Boy.” Iris crossed her arms uncomfortably, backing even farther away from the ex-lovers.

“Go out?” Evelyn shot back. “So being engaged is just going out?”

Engaged? Iris’s face soured. For some reason, she didn’t like the idea of Silos being engaged. Frankly, she didn’t even like the idea of him dating anyone.

“All right. Let's get back to the point,” Iris said, ignoring the uncomfortable twinge creeping up her spine.

“You need to stop Belinda from going to Wava’s,” Helmer explained. “I know what you’re capable of. I’ve seen it. I know that you can do it.”

“But how? She hates me!”

“Iris.” Helmer placed his hand on her shoulder. “You are capable of so much more than you know.”

Iris was stunned. This warlock standing in front of her had more faith in her than her own father. She knew she shouldn’t really trust him but for some reason, she sort of did.

“Find Belinda. Get Arlo away from her. Let her go back to her lair. The witches, Levana, Renpa, and Anaka have a plan to overthrow her. That will fail, but ultimately, they will need our help.”

Iris stared at Silos, then Evelyn and then Helmer, her eyes flicking nervously back and forth.

“Iris,” Helmer said, moving closer. “You’re the only move we’ve got.”