After Vincent made his calls, he told us that the grimoires would be here in twenty minutes. True to his word, twenty minutes later, two women walked into his office-one was young, around my age, and the other was older. They had what I assumed were the grimoires in their hands. They placed them on the desk and left.
“I only count two. Where’s the third?” Freya asks.
“The third one is with me,” he replies. He walks over to his bookshelf, presses a button, and the shelf slides away to reveal a safe. He enters his code, and the safe hisses open. He takes out his own grimoire and places it on the table with the other two.
“There you go, all three grimoires accounted for,” Vincent tells Freya.
“Not necessarily,” Freya says, dragging the oldest-looking of the three toward herself. I think it was the younger lady who had that one.
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” she replies.
We all wait patiently as she flips through the pages. After a few minutes, she stops.
“Just like I thought,” she says, her face showing frustration.
“What is it?” we all ask her at the same time.
She drops the open grimoire onto the table.
“The page with the spell has been torn out, and not only that, another page with a much deadlier spell has been torn out too. So, Vincent, which one of those women was in charge of keeping this particular grimoire safe?” Freya asks him.
“No, it’s not possible. If she was the one behind this, she wouldn’t have come here at all,” he says.
“I never said she was the one behind it, but I need you to get her in here so I can figure out who it is,” Freya tells him, her expression one of anger.
Lena’s POV
Vincent leaves the office to go and get the younger woman. We still don’t know her name.
“Freya, are you okay?” I ask her, as she keeps staring at a point on the wall.
“It’s all my fault,” she whispers, but we can hear her.
“What are you talking about?” Leo asks, looking worried.
“I never should’ve trusted them with the grimoires. I should’ve taken them with the rest, and none of this would’ve happened,” she says, starting to pace up and down the office. Leo gets up and halts her.
“Listen to me, none of this is your fault. Don’t even think it. This was done by someone who wants to hurt me. If they didn’t get their hands on this spell, they would’ve done something else. The only person to blame here is me. And we should see this as something good because they used this particular spell. It led me back to you, and it gives us the upper hand in stopping them. So I don’t want to hear any talk about this being your fault, alright?” he tells her.
“Alright, you’re right. When did you get so smart? I’m usually the one who has to talk you down from a ledge,” she says.
“Well, I learned it from you,” he says with a smile on his face.
The door to the office opens, and Vincent and the younger woman step inside.
“Anna, please take a seat,” Vincent tells her.
Leo squeezes Freya’s hand and then leaves to take his seat. As much as I know he wants to interrogate this girl, he can’t. This isn’t our land; we’re visitors here, and we have to be civil.
The girl, Anna, takes a seat, and Freya comes to stand in front of her. She’s scared- I can smell her fear, and Freya must sense it too.
“There’s no need to be scared, Anna. I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to ask you a few questions, and I need you to be completely honest with me. That’s all,” Freya says.
Anna looks over at Vincent, who nods, then turns back to Freya. “Okay,” she says.
“Good. Now, Vincent tells me that he gave you this grimoire for safekeeping. Do you ever take it out?” Freya asks her.
“No, not unless Vincent tells me to,” Anna replies.
“Where exactly do you keep the book, and does anyone else know about this hiding place?” Freya asks.
“There’s a safe in my room, and I locked it with a spell. I’m the only one who can open it,” she says.
“Does anyone else know about the safe in your room?” Freya asks again.
“No, I live alone. It’s just my brother that crashes on my couch from time to time,” Anna explains.
“Does he know about the grimoire?” Freya asks.
“Yes, he does. But he can’t be the one. He’s never been interested in the faction and magic. He’s like an outsider,” Anna tells Freya.
“Does your brother get into a lot of trouble?” Leo speaks up. Anna looks nervous and glances at Vincent again.
“It’s okay, Anna, you can answer him,” Vincent says, though he doesn’t look happy about the fact that Leo is questioning Anna.
“Yes, he does. But it’s not his fault. He tries his best, but he keeps getting pulled back,” Anna says, and Leo looks at Freya. It’s like they have a silent conversation with their eyes.
“Has your brother gotten into any trouble recently, like in the past, let’s say, six months?” Freya asks. Anna gasps.
“Did you remember something?” I ask her, not even realizing the question has slipped out of my mouth.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize to Vincent.
“It’s fine, Anna. Did you remember something?” he repeats my question to her.
“Well, six months ago, he came home. He was acting really weird-well, weirder than usual. He said he had a plan to turn things around for himself, but he didn’t tell me what it was. A few days later, he came home looking different-he had a haircut, trimmed his beard, and said he got a job. Him and some of his friends invested in a club, and it’s been doing well ever since. That’s the only significant thing that I can remember happening,” she tells us.
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