This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink Page B

shuffled through the pages, turning them over as she went.
    Finally, she looked up to meet Claire’s eyes. “These are from Marie the First.”
    Allegra sat up straighter. “What?”
    Sasha looked at her. “Marie the First? Marie Laveau?”
    Allegra rolled her eyes. “I know who Marie the First is. It’s just . . . Let me see those again.”
    Sasha handed her the pages.
    “Is this really her handwriting?” There was awe in Allegra’s voice.
    “I think so,” Claire said.
    “Claire . . . Where did you get these?” Sasha asked
    It took Claire a minute to find the words, but once she did, she couldn’t stop. She began with the fact that Eugenia Comaneci had known her name, something she’d only told the Guild leadership and Xander. Then she told Sasha and Allegra everything else, only leaving out the conversation she and Xander had overheard between Maximilian and Estelle.
    Some secrets weren’t hers to tell.
    By the time she finished recounting their mission to the house on Dauphine, her hands were shaking.
    When she was done, the two girls just sat there, staring at her with something like shock.
    “My picture was there, too?” Sasha asked, her voice just above a whisper.
    Claire nodded. “But yours and Xander’s didn’t have
X
s. We think the ones that are marked are connected to the families that have had break-ins.”
    “So the pictures that had
X
s—including mine—are the ones whose houses have already been broken into?” Allegra asked.
    “Well, we don’t know for sure,” Claire said. “But it kind of makes sense.”
    “And what, Xander and I will be next?” Sasha asked.
    “I don’t know,” Claire admitted. “But these letters could be a clue.”
    Sasha picked up the papers and flipped through them again. “Why not just take them to the Guild?”
    “We’re going to—eventually. It’s . . .” She struggled for a way to explain without exposing Estelle. “It’s complicated.”
    “I think it’s smart to keep this from them,”Allegra announced.
    Sasha looked at her in surprise. “You do?”
    Allegra made a sound of frustration. “Come on. Do you really think our parents have any idea how to handle a threat? A
real
threat?” She continued without waiting for their answer. “They’ve only been in charge for what? Twenty years? And in that time nothing remotely interesting has happened. Everyone’s played by the rules and they’ve just . . . sat back, running their little stores in peace.”
    Sasha frowned. “Not all of the Guild supply houses are small.”
    “You know what I mean. The Guild has become another high society clique. Our mothers are more concerned with headpieces for the ball and which charitable board they’re on than with overseeing the use of the craft. And our fathers are more concerned about keeping peace with our mothers. The Guild could be working to keep voodoo relevant. The timing’s right. People are into all kinds of stuff: homeopathy, eastern religion, meditation, even paganism has made a comeback. But if the Guild has their way, the world of voodoo will stay a secret, just the way they like it.”
    Claire blinked in surprise. She’d never heard Allegra speak so passionately about anything.
    But that didn’t mean she was right.
    Claire thought about her mother, saw her kneeling in front of the altar, her face smooth and calm. Claire didn’t know about anyone else’s parents, but her mother still practiced the craft. Still believed. It was hard to imagine that she didn’t want others to believe, too.
    “Actually,” Sasha said, sounding surprised, “I kind of agree with you.”
    “Right?” Allegra leaned forward, her excitement at finding a sympathetic ear apparent on her face. “Did either of you ask your parents about the panther blood? About what the Guild planned to do about it?”
    “I did,” Claire said.
    “What did they say?” Allegra kept going. “Let me guess; we’ve got it all under control. Don’t worry your