Don’t say my name. Don’t say my name.

I kept saying it over and over, willing him to move on with whatever he was going to be talking about. After a few long seconds that seemed like minutes, he continued on.

I let out the breath I’d been holding.

He spoke about some of the good deeds the church had done for the community. One of the things had been some restoration work on the clock tower. I wondered what the ghost that was down by the clock the other day would think of their handiwork. Would he approve?

Jericho went on to talk about some guy named Victor who often used his power and money and influence to help the town. He spoke of him with such reverence, like he was some kind of celebrity or god. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

It just seemed wrong to have the local priest fan-girling over some rich dude. Okay, fake priest, but it was still weird.

Then the subject turned to the fatal car accident. Apparently, the guy that died was a Descendant.

Jericho put on his serious face. “I just want to remind you all to be careful. You all know we can withstand more injuries than a Normal. We are harder injure. Harder to kill. And we heal a lot faster. But that doesn’t mean we are invincible. We can still be killed in a car accident or any other similar injuries. Poor Stan got himself a little too drunk and got a little too careless. He pulled out in front of that truck and paid the price. Please be more careful and look after yourselves and your loved-ones.”

There were a few teary eyes around the room. A lot of people would have known him. Small town and all that.

Nancy approached Jericho and handed him a note.

He read it quickly. “Okay. If anyone wants to attend Stan’s funeral, Betty will let us all know the details when they are finalized.”

Kellie was whispering to a girl who was sitting in front of us and I caught the words Sophie and missing. The girl’s mother scalded her for talking and she turned back to the front. My curiosity was eating at me. I’d have to ask Kellie what that was about after we got out of here.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

There were a few more whispers in the crowd and I wondered if they were talking about Sophie too.

Jericho must have opened the meeting up for questions while we weren’t paying attention. A man near us stood up and Jericho nodded. “Yes, Malcolm?”

“I was wondering about the rumours about how some Descendants have been displaying more power recently – like, a lot of power. More than we’ve seen in a century. Is it true?”

Jericho cleared his throat. “It is true that we’ve had some powerful Descendants being discovered over the last year or two, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying they’re more powerful than we’ve seen in a hundred years.” He let that sink in. “We shouldn’t be worried about this. We should be celebrating. We’ve been worried about our levels of power receding with each generation. Maybe this is proof that our magic isn’t fading into the ether.”

There were a lot of murmurs and hushed conversations in the crowd. It was strange to be in the middle of this discussion when two weeks ago I would have heard this and said to lock these people up in Mirrabooka with me and throw away the key.

“I assure you that we are looking into why this is happening. It is a good thing and we need to know what’s going on so we can possibly increase the occurrences. We also need to make sure that whoever displays a high level of power be properly trained immediately so they are not a danger to us or to themselves. And, above all, we need to make sure our secret is kept.”

They were basically talking about me. I’m one of the people who need to be trained asap. I’m trying.

Last night’s magic lesson flashed into my mind. It ended up being more meditation instead. I was hopeless.

Someone in the crowd said that maybe the portal had been reopened and the more powerful people were actually full-blooded fae that had come through.

More murmurs went through the crowd.

A few people disagreed. Jericho said he didn’t think is was possible. “They haven’t been able to open the portal since it was sealed over a hundred years ago.”

Nancy walked over with another note. Everyone fell silent.

Jericho read it and his eyebrows drew together. “I have an announcement. We have received word that young Sophie Vella is missing. She was due home Friday afternoon, but she didn’t arrive. If anyone has seen her since about four o’clock Friday, please let us know.”

Everyone started talking at once, but no one piped up to say they’d seen her. I felt a weight settle on my chest. That wasn’t good. If she hadn’t been seen by anyone here, the chances of finding her alive had gone way down.

Kellie turned to us. “Emily was just telling me that Sophie went shopping and never came home. Her mum is going out of her mind.”

Tracy looked like she was ready to run out of the room any second. “That’s terrible. Do they know anything more? Has anyone seen her or her car?”

“No. Everyone is freaking out. It’s so much like what happened with Piper — and the others,” she added with a shudder.