Afraid to let go of the lever, she nudged the tile with her foot and it came loose. Beneath it was a metal strongbox with the initials HB on the top.
“Ronan, I found it!”
He burst into the bathroom.
“It’s there, beneath the floor.”
He snatched it up. She was just about to release the lever when she noticed something attached to it inside the niche where it had resided. A small chain with … a key at the end of it!
“And I bet this is the key,” she said, removing it and showing it to him. “Are we supposed to open it or are we supposed to hand it over to Voz first?”
“Our agreement didn’t say anything about revealing a treasure,” Ronan said. “Just the key.”
“Maybe we should ask him first. I don’t want to screw anything up for you.”
And just like that Voz stood on the threshold to the tiny bathroom. “A wise woman,” he said.
“I thought this was a secure site,” she said.
“Secure against ghosts.” Voz studied her for a second. “Ah, I sense the vampire bond between you and Ronan has been broken. A pity. I would have enjoyed adding you to my collection.”
“You’re not adding anyone,” Ronan said, standing before Sierra protectively. “Take the damn key!”
“No,” Voz said.
“No?” Sierra repeated in confusion.
“No, I won’t take that key because it’s not the right one. It’s not in that strongbox either,” Voz said. “Tough tinsel.”
His mocking reference to Sierra’s book infuriated and scared her. Both emotions kept her from speaking up.
“How will we know if we find the right key?” Ronan demanded.
“She’ll know.” Voz pointed to Sierra. “When she sees it, she’ll know. You’ve got two hours left.” With those words, he disappeared as fast he’d appeared.
“Right,” she muttered. “I’ll know it when I see it? Like that’s a lot of help. No pressure there.”
“We might as well see what’s in this box,” Ronan said. “Maybe opening it will make Hal disappear.”
Sierra handed him the key.
A horrible howl from upstairs made her blood chill.
“Quick, before he breaks more furniture,” she said.
“This better not be empty like his damn coffin,” Ronan said.
It wasn’t.
“Are those…?” she whispered.
“Diamonds?” Ronan said. “They sure look like they are.”
“Maybe they’re fake.”
“Sierra!” Ruby screamed.
“I have to make sure she’s okay,” Sierra said.
“Stay close to me,” he said.
They reached the top of the stairs in time for Sierra to see Hal, his face contorted with fury. “What’s going on?” he yelled.
Dark spirits came spilling out of the wall, grabbed him, and hauled him away. It was over very fast.
“That was freaky,” Sierra said. “I am definitely getting new wallpaper.” Had those dark spirits been living in her wall all the time? She sure hoped not. She decided they must have merely used the wall as a portal. Still, who wanted a portal to hell in their front foyer?
“What about me?” Ruby peered around the doorway from the living room. “Are those dark things going to come for me too?” Ruby’s voice trembled.
“No,” Sierra reassured her. “You didn’t murder anyone. Did you?”
“I wanted to.”
“That’s not the same.”
“Then where is the white light for me?” Ruby looked around. “I’m not seeing it anywhere. That can’t be a good sign. What does it mean?”
“I don’t know,” Sierra admitted. “This is all new territory for me. I’ll get back to you.”
“Where are you going?” Ruby demanded.
“To find a solution.”
Sierra had to admit that despite the freaky occurrence she’d just witnessed with those dark spirits hauling Hal’s ass to hell, her mind felt clearer without his presence in the house.
Twenty minutes ticked by. She felt every second of every one of them to the depths of her soul. They had to figure this out. The fates couldn’t be so cruel as to take Ronan from her now that she’d fallen in love with him.
The thing was that Sierra already knew Fate could be a bitch.
Some people believed bad things happened for a reason. Sierra had a hard time buying into that philosophy. She’d always leaned more toward the Shit Happens school of thought.
But that was before she met Ronan. Before she knew about witches and vampires.
She’d always known there was an afterlife, which was more than many did. But that knowledge wasn’t helping her figure out this freaking map.