Forrest stared through the doorway that led down to the tracks for several more moments. He held the heavy metal door and almost hated to hide the opening. He wondered if Penelope was somehow concealed by the spell and with him shutting the door, he wondered if she’d think he had given up his pursuit of finding her.
“You okay?” Ian asked.
“Shh,” Gunner shushed. “Let him be.”
Without a reply, Forrest set the heavy door in place and turned to walk away. Gunner and Ian began placing odd and end junk items against the door as well as large dead tree limbs and broken pallets.
Forrest placed the goggles into his pocket. He looked at the gray overcast sky but he didn’t see the clouds. His mind focused on everything else. The witches had discovered what he had believed to be true. Okay, so they hadn’t determined exactly what was hidden, but they all agreed something had been shrouded from public view. If it had taken magic to conceal it, whatever was there had to hold some significance.
He closed his eyes for a moment. The swirling mists coated his face and clung to his beard. In the tunnel he had finally admitted something that he had never told anyone except his father. He believed Penelope might have been his true soul mate, but he had never said it aloud even though his heart ached for her. But had she really been … the one? Was it conceivable that since he had lost communication with her and blamed himself for her possible demise that his mind had somehow placed her upon a pedestal, making all other women he had met unable to measure up? Had he pushed all other women away simply because it had been convenient? Perhaps his guilt had prevented him from moving on, which seemed most likely because why else would he continue lingering in Seattle? Instead of simply slaying Flora and her siblings, he had sought information about Penelope and that had brought him to the underground tracks. If, by some miracle, she were still alive, he’d be overjoyed. But he had accepted that she most likely was not living. Once he knew for certain, the inevitable confrontation would occur. He was going after all of Flora’s immediate family and the five true demon founders, but not Jinn unless he got in the way.
Forrest understood that he might not survive, but he was confident he’d take out a few of them before he breathed his last.
“Forrest?” Gunner said softly.
Forrest opened his eyes. “Yeah, Gunner?”
“Are you okay?”
“Just thinking,” he replied.
“About her?”
Ian frowned at Gunner. “Need you ask?”
Gunner looked down. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. At least I should have an answer before tomorrow morning.”
“Provided we can find Eva,” Ian said.
Gunner gave Ian a mean glance.
Ian shook his head. “I’m not being negative, brother. I intend to look everywhere possible.”
“She was banished,” Gunner said. “Where do you plan to look? The world is huge.”
“Perhaps we should catch up with the witches?” Forrest said.
Ian and Gunner glanced down the sidewalk and nodded.
Forrest walked at a rapid pace. Because of his long legs, it was difficult for the brothers to keep up without partially jogging. Within a few minutes, Forrest was walking behind the witch trio. “Jaclyn?”
She paused and looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Wait for me. You still have the Grimoire?”
Jaclyn stopped walking as did her two companions. “Of course.”
“How thoroughly have you studied it?” he asked.
“I’ve read through it several times,” she replied.
“That wasn’t what I asked. How extensively have you studied it?”
Jaclyn frowned. “Enough to know the history of Nocturnal Trinity and what things my mother had participated in. Why?”
“Was there anything written in it about what was hidden in the tunnel back there?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“But a bloodbath occurred in the tunnel, right?” Forrest asked. “That’s what you sensed?”
The witches nodded.
“Yes,” Gillian replied. “We told you.”
“So why wouldn’t she have recorded that in her journal? That had to hold some importance.”
“Perhaps,” Jaclyn said. “But it’s also possible that she had not begun using this particular Grimoire yet.”
“Would she have written it elsewhere?”
Jaclyn shrugged. “It’s possible. She was an avid note taker.”
“What are the chances you can find your mother?”
She sighed. “It’s difficult to say, Forrest. But we will work to locate her.”
“Today?”
“We’re returning to Nocturnal Trinity to talk to Micah and then we can work on a location spell in our VIP quarters,” Jaclyn said. “What are your plans?”
She and the other two witches returned to walking alongside one another. Forrest and the brothers followed them. The mist danced with the variable flow of the wind.
“We can accompany you to the nightclub, too.”
“But not for the incantation.”
Forrest shook his head. “No, not at all. I have some things I need to discuss with Micah, too.”
Jaclyn smiled. “The best part of being at the nightclub this early in the day is the quiet.”
“I agree.”
“The downside of Seattle is all the rain. The overcast skies never bother me, but the constant drenching … that gets old after a while.”
“I’ve been in worse places,” Forrest said. “Rain, fog, and cold mists are the least of my troubles.”
“So your new friend, Lydia, will she be at the club?” Raine asked.
Forrest shrugged. “We have different agendas.”
“Different auras, too,” Gillian said.
“I don’t doubt that,” he replied.
Jaclyn smiled. “You’re difficult to read, but she’s obscured. That’s why she makes me uneasy. There’s no way to guess or predict what she might do.”
“And how is that any different than Flora and Raven?”
“It’s not, but—”
“I may not know Lydia that well, but what I do know is she’s here to repay a debt to me, even though I had never asked for anything in return. She’s on our side. The determination set in her eyes when she vowed to help is the same as mine. If I give someone my word that I will do something, I don’t look for excuses to back out. Several times, my devotion has almost cost me my life, and on a few occasions, I’ve lost those precious to me. So let’s worry less about Lydia and more about finding Eva.”
Bitterness oozed on her words. “Do you actually think finding my mother is more important than pursuing Flora and Raven first?” Jaclyn asked with a glare.
“You need to set aside your contempt for your mother. While I’d rather find Flora and Raven first, I believe we need whatever is in that tunnel in order to defeat the demons. My gut tells me that these behemoths aren’t going to allow another one of the founding vampires to die.”
Jaclyn cocked a brow. “Your gut again?”
“Yeah,” Forrest said with a stern frown. “It didn’t fail me last time, did it?”
“No.”
“Then let’s quit arguing over minor details. It only delays the inevitable confrontation with the council members. We need to attack them before they’ve prepared a strategy of their own.”
“And what makes you believe they haven’t?” Raine asked.
Forrest grinned. “Because they’re still in hiding.”