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too,” Malini said under her breath.

Chapter 3
    The Council
    T he next day, Malini arrived in Eden alone with two things on her mind: Harrington Enterprises and Cheveyo. She needed to ask Abigail and Gideon for help researching where the infected Harrington water was produced and distributed. Until she understood the connection between Senator Bakewell and Harrington, she was putting out a fire with an eyedropper.
    Cheveyo was another story entirely. He’d been missing far too long. With two experienced Helpers on the case, finding him should have been easy, but every lead came up empty. She’d even visited the In Between and searched for his thread. Maybe he’d been taken by the Watchers? She hoped not. They needed every Soulkeeper left alive to stand any chance of keeping Lucifer at bay.
    Abigail met her at the door. “No Jacob today?”
    “Laudner family brunch.”
    “Ah yes. How is Aunt Veronica doing?”
    “Ninety-six and still gripping to life with both crotchety hands.” Malini laughed.
    “Same as I remember then.” Abigail led the way through the jeweled foyer of The Eden School for Soulkeepers.
    “How are things with you and Gideon?” Malini asked.
    “Oh…Uh…Good, I suppose. Settling in.”
    “You don’t sound thrilled exactly. Is married life not what you expected?” Immediately, Malini regretted the all too personal question.
    She dipped her head. “Oh, marriage is fine…perfect actually. Eden, on the other hand…”
    “What about Eden?”
    “Honestly, sometimes this place feels like a prison. Both Gideon and I would rather be working alongside the other Soulkeepers.”
    First Grace and the twins, now Abigail. Didn’t anyone appreciate the safety of Eden? Malini paused outside the hallway. “I’m sorry, Dr. Silva. It’s just too dangerous for you right now.”
    “Yes, of course. After Lucifer’s threat at our wedding, we should be thankful for Eden.” She didn’t sound thankful.
    Malini nodded and let it drop.
    “How long do you have today?” Abigail asked.
    “A few hours. My family thinks I’m studying at the library. I should be, of course. Senior year, you know.”
    “That’s right! Have you applied anywhere?”
    “Your alma mater.”
    “University of Illinois? They’d be fools not to admit you. What will you study?”
    “Journalism.”
    Abigail turned away but not before Malini caught a flash of skepticism. Everyone assumed she’d study medicine because she was a Healer, but the idea of having to allow people to die on a regular basis when she had the capability to heal them didn’t appeal to her. Life and death were a delicate balance, so easily thrown off by the most benevolent of actions. No, she would be an observer, ferreting out evil and bringing it to light.
    At the stairwell, Malini noticed the halls had been conspicuously empty. “Where is everyone, anyway?”
    “The rest of the council is waiting for us in the conference room, and the students are studying in the dining hall. We haven’t made the curriculum easy.”
    With a snort, Malini declared her support. “Better hard now than hard later when they’re fighting for their lives.”
    “My sentiments exactly.” Abigail hooked right at the top of the stairwell.
    “Are Grace and Lee back from Sedona?”
    “Not exactly.” Abigail flashed a knowing smile and opened the door to the room next to her office.
    The conference room consisted of a long wooden table in front of an arched window overlooking the jungle. When Malini walked in, Lillian and Gideon tilted their faces up to greet her. So did Grace and Master Lee, although Malini could see right through their bodies to the chairs they sat in.
    “Wha—” she said as her mouth dropped open.
    “Warwick’s stones,” Abigail explained. “We figured out how they worked. They project the image of the person calling to the other stones in the set.” She motioned toward the rough, blue gemstone on the table. “Ancient cell phones.”
    “Handy,”