Page 47 of The 13th Daughter
"Who would have stolen the book?" Mr. Corey asked.
"Who indeed," Mr. Martin murmured. "We need to call a meeting immediately. Mark, have Gretta start contacting everyone. The rest of you help her. I want everyone at the Hall within the hour."
"Gregg, a moment please," Mr. Martin stopped Jeff's dad. "Will you check in with Roger?"
"Surely you don't think he would have stolen the book?"
"He has more reason than anyone," Mr. Martin shook his head. "After Emily's...accident, he's going to do what he can to hinder us. And he's the only other besides myself who has the power to break those wards."
"Still, Jonas, I don't think Roger would have done this. That book is the most important asset we have. It's invaluable to the Coven and if nothing else, he's still loyal to this Coven."
"Is he?" Mr. Martin asked angrily. "Where has he been the last three years? He stepped down as our leader and left us to grieve alone. Does his loyalty still lie with our Coven? Will he do what must be done? Or will he try and stop us?"
"What do you expect, Jonas? His daughter died. If it had been Jeff or Meg, I might have done the same thing. We all deal with grief in different ways. It doesn't mean we forget where our loyalties lie. He'll do what needs to be done."
What needs to be done? I wanted to shout.
"I'm not so sure," Mr. Martin disagreed.
"And you, Jonas, are you willing to sacrifice..."
"You know that I am, Gregg. If it's what needs to be done, then I will do it. We cannot know the truth until Samhain."
Mr. Parker let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll talk to him."
"Thank you, Gregg."
"I'll just stop by the library and let Jeff know to be here for the meeting first." Mr. Parker turned to leave.
"Jeff is at the library this early?" Mr. Martin asked, surprised.
"Yes, he and CJ went over there this morning."
"CJ?" Mr. Martin asked sharply. "He's with CJ?"
Mr. Parker nodded. "She's helping him with Calculus."
Mr. Martin's lips pursed. "That's a good idea, Gregg. I'll see you when you get back."
I held onto Jeff's hand and edged to the door. We needed to get out before it closed it.
"So, CJ was up and about this morning was she?" Mr. Martin mused to himself as he turned back to the empty pedestal.
We didn't wait for him to finish. We ran. Jeff and I flew through the kitchen and out the back door, only stopping when we got to the back entrance of the library.
"Hurry," Jeff urged and pulled open the service door. We climbed the back stairs and settled into one of the study areas upstairs. Jeff pulled out his Calculus book and handed a bunch of papers to me. He opened his book to a random page and then we both took a minute to catch our breath.
"CJ, are we still hidden?"
Now how was I supposed to know? I shrugged. He rolled his eyes. "Dad needs to be able to see us."
Oh. "Air and Earth, I thank you for the help and release you from my service."It didn't sound right, but it was the best I could come up with.
Again I felt a jolt of electricity as the Elements left us.
"Who the hell are you?" he growled. "You shouldn't be able to do any of that. Not even Kay can do a concealment spell."
What could I say? I didn't have an answer anymore than he did.
