I was crossing the foyer to the front door when I stopped. The doors to the study were closed, but I knew they would not be locked. I don't know how I knew this, but I moved toward them automatically and pushed them open.

Maybe it was the lingering influence of Dahlia's blood in mine, maybe it was my own memory, maybe it was just instinct, but when I opened the doors, the first thing my gaze rested on was the spot where I'd killed Cyrus. The pain and sorrow of that night rushed through me, as fresh as the moment it had happened. I'd kissed him and plunged a knife through his heart. How could I have done such a thing? It was the blood tie between us now that caused me pain. Then, I'd understood what had to be done; now I was horrified by it.

I tore my gaze away and there it was. Lying on the leather sofa, beside a Cosmopolitan magazine, of all things, was the leather-bound book I'd seen Dahlia reading on the night she'd given Max the mysterious elixir.

I looked over my shoulder. Clarence must have still been upstairs. I clutched the book to my chest, gave one last scan of the room, and tore into the foyer and out the door. I didn't stop running until I reached the street, then doubled over, panting. I slipped the book beneath my shirt and hugged it tight all the way back to the apartment, certain at any moment I'd turn and Clarence would be there, ready to kill me for stealing from his mistress.

But I was equally certain that whatever was in the book was the missing piece that would make all the others fit.

Chapter Fifteen
The Cause

Nathan wasted no time at all delving into Dahlia's handwritten notes.

"This is amazing," he murmured, his dark head bent over the pages as he sat at the kitchen table. Cyrus and I stood in the doorway, watching in tense silence. Sometimes, when lovers fight, the guilty party will bring flowers home. To appease Nathan, all I had to bring home was the notebook of a notorious witch. I wondered how I'd top it the next time he nearly kicked me out.

"Just amazing," he repeated, turning a page.

Cyrus was the first to snap. Thank God, because I'd been on pins and needles, but I hadn't wanted to be the one to break Nathan's reverie. Cyrus, however, had no problem doing so, "Well, what is it?"

Nathan looked up and gave a weary sigh. "It's a grimoire. A spell book. Haven't you seen this before?"

"No," Cyrus sniffed. "I didn't really take much of an interest in what Dahlia did."

"You should have," Nathan said, a little smugly, as he looked back to the book, "There are things in here that would interest you."

Now Cyrus looked at the pages. "Like what?"