“She was here. Told us to leave our mark at Butchart Gardens, so the world would know her glory. Cool too, since you know, it’s a powerful place and all. No wonder it’s having such far-reaching effects.”

“Powerful place . . .” My fist closed around all the threads. “Evan, listen to me. Are you familiar with other places of power around you?” I’d always dismissed this group’s arcane knowledge, never considering they might know a few things about the unseen world.

“Of course.”

Roman’s eyes were fixed on me so hard, I thought they’d shoot lasers right through me. He could tell I was on to something. I took a deep breath. “Do you know of any place up there that’s by a beach—on the ocean—that has white rocks or gravel or sand or anything like that? That’s infused with power?”

“White rocks?” he asked. There was a few second’s silence. “Well . . . there’s White Rock.”

“What?”

“It’s this town that has, well, a giant white rock. Some kind of glacial thing, but the Indians thought it came from the gods or something. Always been a holy place.”

“White Rock,” I repeated flatly.

“Yup.”

No, no. It could not be that obvious. Balancing the phone with one hand, I opened the atlas with the other and flipped to the section on British Columbia. There it was, on the coast, just barely north of the American border.

White Rock.

“Son of a bitch,” I said.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Once I’d assured Evan I wasn’t calling him a son of a bitch, I got off the phone and turned to Roman.

“The vessel’s not anywhere around here. It’s up in BC.”

Roman’s eyes had followed my finger to White Rock on the map. “Okay, you get points for the compelling name, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

“Yes! It means everything. The Army’s been a distraction from the beginning, when the seal was created, when Ephraim talked to Cedric . . . and when Jerome was summoned. They staged their event on the Space Needle—here, but they didn’t actually do anything until Jerome was taken. As soon as he was, they acted out to draw Cedric’s attention here, away from his own territory.”

Realization lit Roman’s features. Sociopath or not, he’d always been smart. “Because Grace then hid the vessel in Cedric’s territory.”

I nodded. “That’s where it’s at. She needed Cedric gone, in case he noticed its presence before it was hidden. I think he’s down here for the thing with Ephraim, but if I call now and tell him—”

“No,” said Roman quickly. “We can’t tell anyone.”

“What is up with you?” I exclaimed, standing up. “The clock’s ticking. We may not have time for a leisurely drive before the stasis ends.”