“When Silas isn’t throwing his weight around, he likes to lay low,” Sampson said. “So he probably runs his operation from somewhere off the grid.”
“That is about as low as things get,” Necro said, turning to Nox. “You know Silas better than the rest of us. If he’s got Ridley, where would he take her?”
“I don’t know him as well as you think.” Nox looked annoyed. “I’m not on his payroll. Silas comes around and causes trouble, then disappears. If he’s using the Tunnels to get around, which I would, he could be anywhere.” The Caster Tunnels ran below the Mortal world, and time and distance didn’t follow the same rules down there.
Floyd looked at Nox. “And Abraham never mentioned anything back when”—she hesitated—“you knew him.”
Nox rolled up the sleeves of what looked to Link like another one of his overpriced hipster shirts. “Like I said, I didn’t spend a lot of time with him. Considering he pretty much kidnapped my mom. He only let me visit her a few times when I was young.” Nox stopped talking and looked up at the ceiling. “The rest of the time he was in his labs.”
I guess Fancy Pants has feelings, too, Link thought. Funny how it didn’t make him want to punch the guy any less.
“Okay. At least that’s something to go on. Did you ever hear him talk about the labs?” Sampson asked.
“Sure. Abraham was obsessed with them and his projects—that’s what he called them. But he never invited me on a tour. They were somewhere behind his house.”
“You know that for sure?” Link was suspicious.
“Like I said, I spent some time at his house. So did Silas. He even had his own room. I made the mistake of going in there by accident once.” Nox shook his head, remembering. “I noticed this old record player in one of the bedrooms, and I wanted to see how the thing worked. Abraham was standing in the hall when I came back out. I’ll never forget what he said. I tolerate the way you sneak around my house, boy. But if Silas catches you near his room, he might think you’re a thief and cut off your hand.”
“Thanks for sharin’ your creepy childhood memories,” Link said. “That’ll really help me sleep.”
Nox frowned. “All I know is, Silas never stayed away from the labs for long, like his old man. If we find the labs, I bet we’ll find him.”
“So where’s the house?” Sampson asked.
Nox shook his head. “I don’t know. Abraham’s men blindfolded me whenever they took me through the Tunnels to visit my mom. And the place is under some kind of Cloaking Cast, so Mortals can’t see it.”
Another dead end, Link thought. Great.
He considered calling Ethan, who was a thousand times smarter than him. But Ethan messing with Silas Ravenwood was a suicide mission. Link couldn’t let anything happen to his best friend, not after Ethan had already died twice.
“There’s gotta be someone who knows how to find those labs,” Sampson said.
A thought formed in Link’s mind slowly, like syrup pouring out of a bottle. “There is. The guy who grew up in them.” He looked up. “John Breed.”
“Who?” Sampson sounded suspicious, which seemed like part of his Darkborn nature.
“He’s one a the good guys,” Link said. “But he was a bad dude for a long time before that. So he’s kind of my Dark Caster Wikipedia.”
Nox crossed his arms. “I’m not sure a good guy is gonna cut it in this situation.”
“He’ll cut it and then some. Trust me.”
Nox didn’t respond.
“How can you be so sure?” Necro asked.
“Abraham Ravenwood engineered him in one of his creepy science labs.” Link grinned. “And John’s the one who helped me kill him.”
“Are you saying one of Abraham’s science experiments went rogue?” Sampson asked.
“We’re talkin’ Frankenstein meets RoboCop,” Link said proudly.
Link skimmed over the details, like how John Breed was the hybrid Incubus who had bitten him, transforming him into the quarter Incubus he was today. It felt weird talking about it, like he was standing in front of everyone in his underwear. It was a hard thing to forgive, but it wasn’t John’s fault; Abraham had really screwed him up. Besides, John came through for him and his friends when it counted—and he and John killed Abraham together. It was the kind of bond you couldn’t break.
Instead, Link told them how Abraham Ravenwood had handpicked John’s parents, a Blood Incubus and an Evo—an Evo being a powerful Caster who can borrow the powers of any Caster they touch. Abraham used the two to create the perfect hybrid—with all the power of an Incubus and none of the weaknesses.
John could Travel and possessed the superstrength of a traditional Incubus, but he also had the powers of an Evo. And he could do the one thing no other Incubus could, except Link: John could walk in the sunlight.
If anyone could find the labs, it was John.
“So what are we waiting for?” Floyd asked. “Call him.”
Link sighed. “He’s not in Gatlin. He’s at Oxford with his girlfriend, Liv.”
“Again, it’s called a phone.” Floyd wasn’t helping.
“You don’t get it. Liv’s this crazy genius who spends all her time in the library. She never carried a cell phone back in Gatlin, and John isn’t any better now. I tried the number he gave me a buncha times, but it went straight to voice mail.”