CHAPTER SEVEN

Wendy

Because it seems like the best place to go when you need information, we head for the local library. After an hour of looking through archived news articles, we shift to the computers and try online searches.

"No Igor Rhodes anywhere in Maine." Sighing, I sit back in the chair and stare at the library's computer screen.

Next to me, Alec's face bunches. He's been on his own computer, looking for leads.

"I guess he's someone who doesn't want to be found," he says.

I scrub my face. The internet should be our best bet for locating someone, and yet it's taken us to a dead end.

"We just need to ask around some more," I say.

He nods, but there's no spirit in it. We've already tried asking around. If only we knew where to start, maybe we'd have a chance. Instead, it feels like we're randomly bouncing around this city.

A bell rings, and a voice comes over the speakers announcing that the library will close in ten minutes.

"Anyway, we can't stay here." I reluctantly close my browser on the computer.

So, we can't stay at the library. Where do we go?

We've been so preoccupied with finding Igor Rhodes that we haven't given any thought to where we're sleeping tonight. The money in Alec's pocket is limited, and not for the first time, I curse myself for losing my wallet, which has the credit cards my dad's lawyer set up for me and that get paid off through my dad's estate.

Technically, those cards are for emergencies only, and I'd say getting chased away from your school by murderers is an emergency.

We head outside, where the night air slices through our clothes. Alec isn't even wearing a jacket. He tossed it after using it to try and stop Professor Trowles's bleeding.

Arms wrapped around myself for warmth, I walk down the library's front steps. The cold slices through my clothes.

"Let's head back to the bus station," Alec suggests.

I look up at him, surprised. We haven't been there since this afternoon when he started acting so strangely.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

He nods. "It's as good a place as any to start asking around. Someone must have seen something."

We make our way back to the station, and I can feel Alec tense up the closer we get. The humans at the station seem to make him uncomfortable, which is why it's so strange that he wants to come back here.

I don't ask him about it. He's been so closed off the last few hours that I'm afraid he'll just shut down completely if I push him.

We sit on one of the benches and survey the people walking around. It's mostly late-night travelers and a few homeless people, but no one who looks like they have information.

Then again, we won't know until we try.

"Excuse me." I stop a woman, but she shakes her head at me.

"I don't have any cash," she says, then hurries away.

"No, I wasn't ... panhandling." I catch sight of my reflection in the station's glass. I look absolutely awful, like I've spent weeks sleeping on the street. My hair is a mess, and there's a rip in my jeans.

No wonder no one wants to talk to me.

Alec approaches a couple more people, and it's the same result. No one wants to give us the time of day.

From the bus station corner, a homeless man in a sleeping bag chuckles. "Green, aren't ya?"

I purse my lips. "Let's keep going," I tell Alec.

We stalk down the street, heads down against the growing wind. The cold is becoming bitter. We only go a few blocks before I start to wonder if we should have stayed at the bus station. Most of it is open, but at least there are a few walls to block the wind.

Maybe we can head to a homeless shelter for the night. Rest and start again tomorrow.

I start to mention it to Alec, but then something across the street catches my eye. It's a tiny bookshop, built into what looks like an old alley.

A light glows in the front windows, and the area inside is empty. I don't know why, but I feel intensely drawn to it.

"Come on." I cross the street without waiting for him.

"Come on, where?" Alec jogs to catch up.

A swinging sign above the door says "Alley-Bat Books," and the door handle is worn wood. Yanking it open, I embrace the heat that billows out and step into the bookstore.

The walls are lined with bookshelves, and the musty smell of paper and ink fills my nose. A chair and small desk sit in one corner, and a few lamps cast a warm glow.

Alec and I step onto a worn, red carpet. The shop is so silent it feels like we're in a tomb.

"Can I help you?"

I jump at the voice, and Alec steps in front of me. An old woman stands in the shadows, her face hidden by the darkness.

I clear my throat. "Yeah. We're looking for someone."

The old woman comes forward, and for the first time, I see that she's using a cane. "Do you want to tell me their name?"

Alec and I exchange a look. I don't know why, but this woman is making tingles go up and down by back. From the way Alec is frowning, I can tell that he's on guard.

A black cat jumps onto one of the velvet chairs. Arching its back, it studies me. I can't help but feel there's something abnormally intelligent about its eyes. I almost can't look straight at it.

"Igor Rhodes," I tell the old woman.

She cackles. "Igor Rhodes, huh? Hm." She strokes her chin, studying us.

"Yes," Alec's voice is laced with irritation, "do you know him?"

"Depends. If you're having to ask where he is, then you're outsiders."

"We're not outsiders," I snap. "We're from Hawthorn."

Her eyes flash. "Hawthorn?"

"Yes." Alec steps closer to me. "Maybe you've heard of it?"

She narrows her eyes at him, and I nudge him in the side with my elbow, silently begging him to shut up. If we get on this woman's bad side, then we'll be out on the doorstep in no time, and it's not like we have any leads to turn to.

"I know Igor Rhodes." Her cane clumps against the rug as she takes a seat next to her cat.

I can't help but bounce on my tiptoes. Finally! We're getting somewhere!

"Awesome," I say. "Do you know where we can find him?"

She blinks at me, blinks at Alec. "I do, but nothing comes for free."

My heart sinks. Is she being serious?

"We don't have anything," I say.

"Are you sure?" She eyes the both of us, disbelieving.

Alec huffs and pulls out his wallet. "Forty dollars." He displays the two twenties.

She wrinkles her nose. "What do you take me for, a pauper?"

"I take you for a person without scruples." He shoves the cash back into his wallet. "Come on, Wendy. She's faking us out. She doesn't know where Igor is."

As much as I want to get away from this woman now, I also don't want to leave the bookshop. It's cozy and warm, and I'm so tired. I just want to curl up on a chair like the cat.

Alec is probably right, though. She's just yanking us around. I turn, following him to the door.

"Wait," the old woman says.

We turn back around. "What?" I ask.

She points at me. "What's that on your hand?"

I lift my arm, and for a second, I expect to see Dad's bracelet there. I forgot all about how I threw it at that Silver Hunter, how it glowed and took on a power that I had no clue it possessed.

Evidently, that wasn't an ordinary bracelet. It was something special. Magical.

Maybe my dad used it for protection years ago.

My heart sinks a little bit. I'm glad the bracelet saved our butts, but now I'm sad to not have it.

"I don't have anything," I tell the woman, but she's still pointing.

"Your ring," she says.

I look down and see my great-grandmother's ring. It's silver, with a black stone set in the center.

I blink. How could I have forgotten about it?

The old woman smiles. "That's what I want."

Alec shakes his head. "Wendy ..."

"It's fine." I work the ring off my finger. "It's not important."

At least, it's not important anymore. It used to be, but a lot more has taken center stage since then. There's very little I wouldn't give up to make sure the Golden Coin comes to my hands and not the Silver Hunters’.

"Here." I hand the ring over. "Now, we heard that Igor Rhodes is at the Dyad Marketplace. Where is that?"

She studies the ring. "I can give you an address. But first, you must swear on your most precious possession that you will not tell anyone I gave you this information."

I hesitate. What is more precious to me than the Golden Coin? Nothing, I decide.

"I swear," I say.

"I swear," Alec chimes in.

She scribbles something down on a scrap of paper and hands it to me. "Remember, nothing comes for free."

I take the paper, my heart pounding. She's right. Nothing does come for free.

But I'm willing to pay the price.