WICCAPHOBIA – FEAR OF WITCHCRAFT

"What the fuck is she!?"

Damien Tate landed in the snow in an explosion of black feathers and thick, black suede. He had all but fallen over as they sat atop the mountains, watching dawn break.

Erebus and Ridley laughed.

"No, guys, I'm serious," Damien said, flustered. "I was literally just hissed at. By a girl—she hissed at me like a demon. How does a noise like that even come outta someone?"

Ridley said, "She's obviously a Seer, Damien."

Mason nodded. "That's just something they do. Kind of like how lionfish flare their fins when threatened."

Ridley grabbed a palmful of snow. "So, getting back to what you actually went there to find out: Does she have it in the house or did she leave it at the academy?"

Damien shook his head. "It's there. She had it out. They were talking about it, I think."

Erebus looked at him. "They were talking about it? That doesn't sound good."

"If they're talking about it, they're more than likely talking about you," Mason said.

"Her detector knew, straight up, that there was something wrong. I could tell she was confused," Erebus said.

Damien sat down. "Do you think she'd tell people?"

"No idea. I know nothing about her—I don't know what she's going to do."

Mason stood. "Well, we obviously need to get that necklace back ASAP."

"Where you going?" Ridley asked.

"I'm going to go talk to Max, see what the protocols are about being around Upsiders. See what we can do to get it back." Mason crouched in the snow, jumped, and his coat spun a flurry of fabric and blue-black feathers from which emerged a raven who disappeared into the clouds.

The other three sat, staring quietly across the range as the lilac of dawn broke across the snow-capped tops. Somewhere beyond the forest at their backs, Nyx Lahey slept, Erebus's necklace in her grasp.