“Yes, that one was created for the sole purpose of helping her forget about Charlie’s kidnapping and staged death by the Stiltskin. She needs to keep some of the Grimm memories so she can do her duty in protecting her children, but she doesn’t need to hold on to the worrisome ones.”
“So now you’re playing God and getting to choose what memories my own mother gets to keep. You’re getting as bad as Teague,” Mina argued.
“Now that’s a little harsh. We’re doing what we need to do to protect ourselves.”
“Well, I want you to create more of these protection charms.”
“They do nothing against physical attacks. They are only strong enough to protect the mind.”
“Exactly. Right now, my mind is my greatest weapon, and I need my friends’ minds too.”
Constance closed her eyes and sighed loudly. “I’ll see what I can do about getting the Guild to allow a protection charm for your friends.”
Mina nodded. At least Mrs. Colbert was going to try instead of saying no. “Oh, um, there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“This morning, my brother was playing with items in a suitcase, and I swear he disappeared right before my eyes for a split second. Does this have anything to do with what happened to him on the Fae plane? I have to admit, I thought maybe it was something he touched but I’m not sure. Can you ask around as see if there are any after-affects to staying over on the Fae plane for too long?”
Constance looked worried and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll have the Guild look into it. We will try and find you answers.”
“Thank you.” Mina felt relieved. Hopefully, she was wrong about her brother and what she saw. Maybe she could write it off as her being overly stressed and plagued by nightmares.
Chapter 4
Once she was home, Mina began tearing the house apart, looking for the dagger. In desperation, she pulled all of the old books off the bookshelf and felt along the back for hidden compartments. Nothing.
Seeing Teague had been no fluke. He would certainly be sending a quest after her and soon. Especially if she didn’t find the item he was asking for.
Life was so unfair.
The rain that started this afternoon at school still hadn’t let up, and now and again lightning lit up the sky followed by thunder. The pelting of water on the roof and windows was unnerving, especially when she was all alone.
Leaving the piles and piles of books on the floor in the library, she turned her attention to the walls and picture frames. Wasn’t that how it was in the movies? Pull on a sconce and a hidden room opened up? Or a safe appeared behind some old portrait of an aged, overweight smiling millionaire? Of course it couldn’t be that easy either.
Mina wasn’t worried about the mess upsetting her mother or Charlie since they had gone out to see the new animated Disney movie. She’d politely excused herself with a ruse of a headache and too much homework. That was partially true. She did have lots of homework—sort of. If you counted that it took work to tear their home apart.
She glanced at the clock and counted down the minutes in her head before her mom and brother came home. It took twenty minutes to get to the theater, wait in line, order popcorn, fifteen minutes of previews, an hour and a half movie, and the return trip. She’d been banking on two and half hours, and she was down to an hour and a half left.
Mina was underneath the study desk when a loud knock at the front door startled her, causing her to bump her head on the bottom of the desk. Funny, she hadn’t heard a car pull up. And no one other than Nan came to visit her old creepy house. Crawling out from underneath, she grabbed a fireplace poker and slid to the window, being careful to not pull the curtain too far. Nothing. The library window didn’t give a clear view of the front porch without her leaning farther out. She heard gravel crunch and ducked back behind the safety of the dark drapes, right as someone else pressed their face to the same window and looked in to the room.
Mina gasped, her heart pounding, and debated her options. She could open the door screaming like a banshee, and chase the intruder away with the fire poker. Or she could cower on the floor and call the police. Her imagination running wild, she didn’t stop to think whether she’d locked the front door. And then she couldn’t remember. She kept low and crawled to the door of the library. Just on the other side were the foyer and the front door. Four more steps and she could turn the deadbolt. She was about to make a run for the lock when she heard it.