Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, 1)

That night I found the first clue hidden beneath the floorboards in my room. As with most seemingly insignificant details, I’d overlooked the gambling chip when I’d first seen it. I’d been too preoccupied with the diary and strange grimoire sheets to pay much attention to another trinket my sister had collected. Especially something as small and unimportant as a gambling chip.

I carefully flipped the trinket over and read the Latin etched lightly on the back: AVARITIA. Greed. I set the chip down, and stared at the crowned frog stamped onto the front. A month ago I wouldn’t have thought much of the crown or the Latin. Now I’d had the misfortune of meeting two of the seven deadly princes of Hell, and I couldn’t escape the nagging suspicion that the owner of this gambling chip was another terrifying creature I’d like to avoid.

If he was anything like Envy, I couldn’t fathom seeking him out. There was no telling what kind of horror he might try inflicting on me. But . . . Vittoria must have encountered him if she held on to this chip. Whatever the connection between them, it was important if she left a small piece of him for someone to find. So far, while I hadn’t entirely ruled out the possibility of witch hunters being responsible for the murders, I also hadn’t come across any solid evidence pointing to them.

For now, I needed to concentrate on this clue and set my other suspicions aside.

I glanced toward my window at the stars winking in and out of the darkness as clouds swept past them. I wished my twin had trusted me with her secrets. But wishes wouldn’t get either of us anywhere now—action would. I pulled a piece of parchment out from our shared nightstand and sat with a pen and pot of ink. Writing out things to research more might help reveal another thread for me to pull. The Wicked were a promising lead, but I had a nagging feeling I was missing something.

There had to be a connection tying everything together.

Spelled diary—what magic did Vittoria really use to seal it? how did she find it?

Deal with the devil—why did she agree to become his bride? does it have to do with the curse Claudia mentioned? or did she think she could break it and remain here?

First book of spells—if it belongs to La Prima, how can the Wicked sense it?

Horn of Hades—what is it?a crown? how powerful is it?

Witch hunters—are they involved? if so, are they watching the Wicked, or is there a connection between them and the devil’s bargain?

I scanned the notes, nothing stood out. Except . . . I thought back to when Vittoria first started acting strangely. It had been roughly three weeks before she died. Right around the time of our eighteenth birthday. I’d assumed it had to do with her secret affair with Domenico, but it seemed more likely now that that was when she’d started summoning demons.

One week later, the first murder occurred in Sciacca. Then the first witch in Palermo died a few days after that. Within a week from the second murder, my twin was killed. I didn’t know if Wrath would share any detailed information with me about the bargains, but there was a strong possibility that my sister’s first summoning correlated to the devil’s sudden desire to break the curse.

Maybe her use of demon magic awakened something in the underworld that had long been slumbering. If she’d managed to summon a prince of Hell, anything was possible. Or maybe none of that was true. If she didn’t summon a demon or find the first book of spells, maybe she found the Horn of Hades and its discovery set everything into motion.

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the theory I’d started with. Witch hunters. They were human, but humans used folk magic as part of their religion throughout the Kingdom of Italy. Perhaps they had some way of being alerted to that kind of dark magic.

I sighed. The witch hunter theory still didn’t quite fit, no matter how hard I tried making sense of it. It did, however, look more probable that there was a link between the demons being summoned, the devil’s bargain, and the murders that followed. I’d summoned a prince of Hell, so it was likely Vittoria had accomplished the impossible, too. Which still begged the question of where she’d gotten the summoning spells to begin with. I scribbled another note.

Grimoire sheets—was Vittoria summoning a demon to control, or did one of them give her these summoning spells? if so, who and why?

I stopped writing and carefully considered the last point. What if Vittoria didn’t summon a demon first . . . maybe one was already here, like Wrath. If that demon prince gave my sister the grimoire sheets, did that mean he’d convinced her to help in some wicked scheme? What could a demon prince possibly gain by angering the devil, and slaying his brides? Was it a bid for the dark throne? No matter what secrets my sister kept, I knew with utter certainty that she’d never help someone if they murdered witches.

I picked up the gambling chip, wondering if it wasn’t something Vittoria had taken, but something that was gifted to her. Maybe it was a token of good faith, or . . . I needed to stop speculating and start hunting. I had a new plan for the morning, and it made my stomach twist.

“Have you seen this before?” I flashed the gambling chip at Salvatore. He may have been a mediocre clothing vendor, but he was an extraordinary source of knowledge. I’d gotten up with the sun and rushed out of the house before Nonna interrogated me about the devil again. He might not be chasing me yet, but I was certainly trying to find him and his wretched brothers.

A bead of sweat rolled down my neck after my brisk jog to the market, and I probably looked a little wild with my loose, damp curls. Hopefully Sal wouldn’t scrutinize me too closely when there was something much more interesting to pay attention to. Out of anyone in the city, Salvatore was the most reliable gossip.

And the most likely to share every detail he knew with anyone who asked.

“Is that . . .” He leaned across a pile of folded shirts, squinting. “That’s it! That’s the club everyone’s talking about these days. It’s real mysterious. No name, just the crowned frog stamped onto the door. I hear it changes locations and you need one of those chips to get in.” He rummaged through a pile of clothes, and held up a pretty crimson dress. It was one of the finer garments in his stall. I immediately became suspicious. “Trade? I’ll give you this for that. It’s a real bargain.”

“Grazie. But I’m going to hang on to it for a while.” I stuck the gambling chip down the front of my bodice. “Do you know the last location of the gambling den?”

“Somewhere near the cathedral, but that was days ago. It’s probably long gone by now. If you don’t have any luck there, ask old man Giovanni, who sells granita near the front entrance. He likes to gamble.”

I decided to try my luck with the cathedral first. I spent a good thirty minutes walking down each alley and side street. I stumbled across a man urinating near a palm tree, but the mysterious gambling den remained hidden. I searched for a few more minutes before seeking out old man Giovanni. A sign on his granita stand was flipped to CLOSED.

Of course. He was probably at the gambling den.

I was about to give up and try my luck elsewhere when I felt the sudden urge to clutch my amulet. Maybe the goddess of death and fury was still guiding my path, or maybe, buried some place deep down where I didn’t want to examine too closely, I sensed the slight lure of demon magic.

I could have sworn I heard a faint humming, guiding my path. I didn’t know if I was losing myself to phantoms, or if it was a latent skill that was emerging each time I held my cornicello and concentrated. I didn’t care what the reason was, I only needed to let my instincts guide me.

After a few minutes of wandering down side roads that spiderwebbed away from the cathedral, I stopped in front of a door with a crowned frog burned onto it. I’d done it!

And now I felt a little queasy. I dropped my amulet, and considered my next move. I could turn back, go to Sea & Vine, and forget this nightmare. Leave princes of Hell to someone better equipped with dealing with them. Or I could try to be a little more like Vittoria.

I pulled the gambling chip out from my bodice and held it against the door, praying I wasn’t following a little too closely in my sister’s footsteps.