Page 40 of White Charms and Dark Secrets

“I’m with you.” I glance away from him, not able to look into his eyes while I’m hiding secrets from him. “Don’t ask me how I know, but he’s in a library on the ground floor, and he’s alone in the room right now. So, if we can sneak into the room, maybe I can focus on blocking the door, making sure nobody else gets in while you... you know...” I trail off. I can’t make myself say the words. Elias may be evil, and his death may even be sanctioned, but I’m so uncomfortable with the idea of killing anyone. I swallow, while repeating assurances to myself in my head.I won’t be killing anyone. He will. It’s not the same. This is his job. This is okay. It has to be.

“I won’t ask how you know, but I will ask, are you certain?” Kier presses.

“I am.”

“Hold still. I’m going to cast a shielding charm on us. It’ll hide us from sight, as well as other forms of detection,” he explains, stepping close. He moves his hands in the form of a sigil in the air above us. I watch the movements, curious as I’m not familiar with the spell. He whispers the charm quietly, too low for my ears to pick up the actual words. I feel a tremor run down my spine as a cool rush of air brushes over the both of us. “It’s done,” he announces.

“I can see you just fine,” I tell him sceptically, as I run my eyes over him. Yep, every inch of the sexy, black witch detective is visible. My eyes catch on a small scar just above his collar bone, and I wonder what or who caused it. It must have happened before he was turned, because I’m pretty sure vampires don't scar too easily after.

“And I can see you too. Luckily for us, nobody else can,” he replies. He glances around us. “Which way?”

With a slow blink of my eyes, I take a second to find the silver pathway in my mind. “This way will be quicker,” I instruct, leading him through the trees.

We walk in silence, keeping in perfect pace with each other. I turn my face away from him, closing my eyes to make sure we’re still on track, and that Kier’s father remains in the library. He doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything, just sitting in front of the fireplace.

As I close my eyes for another glimpse, my foot catches on something, sending me stumbling. A hand grabs my wrist, yanking me back up just before I hit the ground.

“Watch where you step, Harlow. You almost got bested by a tree root,” Kier jibes as he releases his grip.

My eyebrows raise at the use of my last name. “Harlow?” I echo.

He smirks at me before answering, “I’ve decided that whoever named you Kayla gave you too sweet a name.”

“My dad. My dad named me.” I feel a stabbing pain in my chest at the thought of him. A sad smile crosses my face at a memory of him telling me why he called me Kayla. The first girl he ever liked as a kid was called Mackayla. He met her at seven years old, but she died in an accident when they were thirteen. He said he’d always thought Mackayla was the name of the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, and when I was born, he decided that was now me. My mum had vetoed Mackayla, so he’d compromised for Kayla instead, although he always wrote Mackayla on his letters to me. I blink furiously, trying to prevent the tears from escaping my eyes.

Although it’s been years since he passed, you don’t just get over the sudden loss of a parent like you sometimes see in books or movies. In real life you can’t gloss over those emotions, and they stick with you forever. Time doesn’t heal all wounds, you only get used to dealing with them.

“Are you okay?” Kier pries, his concern evident as he watches me wipe a few stray tears from my face. “If you want, I can go back to calling you Kayla. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I shake my head. “I like Harlow. My dad picked my first name, and he gave me his last. So, either way, whichever you call me it’s still what he’s given to me.”

“That’s a great way of thinking about it... Harlow,” he teases with a light nudge to my arm. “Although, I’m starting to wonder about your directional skills. Where is this house you were so adamant in leading me to?” he asks, gesturing around. We walk out of the trees and face a grass-covered clearing. Both of us come to a halt at the edge of the tree line.

With a quick blink of my eyes, I check my connection to Elias. Frowning as I reopen them, I look around. “It should be right here,” I announce. I gaze around with my actual eyesight, blinking whenever I think I can get away with it to see the silver rope in my head. “This doesn't make any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense. Of course, he shielded the property. Now we just need to find out if he’s only hidden it from sight, or if there’s something preventing us from getting in without tipping off everyone inside that we’re here.” Kier frowns, stepping closer.

“Careful!” I grab his arm, holding him back. He might not be able to see the house, but when I close my eyes, I can. With how close we are, for all we know, we could have already tripped an alarm of some kind. Snapping my eyes shut, I look through Elias' and see he hasn't moved. Letting out a breath, I turn to Kier. “I don't think they know we're here, but we should be careful and remain alert. There could be any number of boundary spells.”

“I know. I'm checking for them now,” he grumbles, turning back to me. I notice his eyes are pale and realise he's using his second sight to search for enchantments.

“Anything?” I prompt, impatient and ready to know what we're up against.

“Just a cloaking spell by all appearances. A damn good one, though. If you didn't know this place was here, you'd never find it. I think we should be okay to move forward. Once we've crossed the inner boundary, we should be able to see the property,” he informs me, already pulling free of my hold on his arm and walking ahead. Without much choice, I follow after him.

I feel the barrier before I see the house with my own eyes, a wash of cold rushing over me, and then everything that was hidden reveals itself. The house is beautiful, there’s no other way to describe it. A huge manor-style property that looks like it’s been kept in perfect condition, despite the fact it’s easily over a hundred years old.

“It’s gorgeous,” I breathe in a low voice.

“It is,” Kier agrees. “Too bad it’s likely about to get some damages.”

I turn to him, seeing an almost sardonic-looking grin on his face. He clearly isn’t that broken up over the potential damages to the house.

“Come on, it’s this way.” I quietly lead him towards a back-door entryway. A whispered spell breaks the lock, and we’re in. We creep through the kitchen, looking around for signs of people, but lucky for us, the room is deserted. We head for the far door, from there it’s just down the corridor, around the corner, and down another long corridor.We can do this.

Heavy footsteps in the hall make me freeze in the doorway. Kier also comes to a halt; he probably heard the noise before I did. After waiting for the steps to fade, I lean around the doorframe, peeking out. I’m comforted by the fact that even if someone is there, they can’t see me looking out anyway. But invisible or not, it’s best to avoid any possible contact, so I remain cautious.

With no one in sight, I gesture for Kier to follow me as I lead the way to the library where his father is located. He creeps behind with such practiced silence it sends a shiver down my spine. I try to make as little noise as possible, but I’m nowhere near as quiet as he is. I can only hope his spell hiding us from sight will be enough to give us an advantage.

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