What should I do? Follow Lizzie, or go after him?
The decision was easy. Lizzie had my protections set up on her. Alexander had told me my higher priority was killing this demon.
I needed to go after him. Hopefully, I’d be able to take care of him quickly. I didn’t want to be late for the ball. So I hopped in my car and sped as quickly as I could, heading north on the freeway.
I was in the middle of dictating a text to Detective Evans to let him know what was going on when something weird happened.
My tattoo stopped tracking the demon. I couldn’t feel him at all anymore. What was going on? I pulled over to the side of the freeway, exited out of my texting application, and called the lady back.
“What just happened?” I asked.
“He only made it to the sidewalk before turning around and going back into the basement wall. Why would he do that?”
“I have no idea.”
I ended the call and rested my hands on the steering wheel, trying to decide what to do. Should I race after Lizzie to Kearns? Head to the woman’s house anyway, in case the demon decided to come out of the wall again? Or would it be better if I went straight to the ball?
I shook my head. I didn’t know where Lizzie was, and I could spend all day waiting for the demon.
Decision made, I headed to the ball. If the demon wanted to come out again, at least I was headed in the right direction.
Moments later, my phone rang. It was Lizzie. I picked up immediately.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Are you at the ball yet?”
“No. On my way there now.”
“Good. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, maybe twenty.” She exhaled. “I shouldn’t have gone. It was a trap.”
I gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead. “Are you okay?”
“I barely made it out—there were tons of hounds—at least fifty of them. One almost got me.”
Why hadn’t my tattoo alerted me? “Did any of them touch you?”
“No. I didn’t get out of my car.”
Thank goodness. Though, my tattoo would have kept her safe even if she had.
I shook my head to myself. Not against fifty hounds. That would have drained me incredibly fast, and once I was unconscious, the tattoo would have failed, and they would’ve been able to destroy her.
“Something is definitely going to happen tonight,” Lizzie said. “For some reason, they wanted everyone who knows me and knows about the hounds to be at the ball.”
She quickly explained to me that Nicole and Eleanora had both been invited, though neither had opted to attend.
“Why are they inviting people I know and not me?”
“They didn’t invite me,” I said. Though . . . if the hounds had hired the demon, and the demon had left the wall only to return to it . . . was that supposed to be a distraction? Did they know I was protecting Lizzie? Were they planning on slaughtering everyone who knew Lizzie or . . . something else occurred to me just then.
The hounds had pulled everyone away from Lizzie, including me, so they could kill her in Kearns.
Relief flooded over me. They hadn’t been successful.
“Why did you decide to stay in your car?” I asked.
“Eleanora called me. She thinks there’s something wrong with the amulet. She told me not to get out if anything appeared to be off.”
Thank goodness for that woman.
“Do we still want to go to the ball?” I asked.
“Yes. Definitely. All my friends are there and need protecting, and besides, the governor probably really is in danger.”
I nodded. Good point. “At least we’ve had a warning.”
“Seriously.”
We ended the call, and I concentrated on keeping my anger and frustration under control while driving.
The moment I got my hands on whoever orchestrated all of these events, though . . . I’d let loose.
40
Lizzie and I arrived at the old mansion at the same time. She hadn’t changed into her gown. I hoped that wouldn’t be a problem. Lizzie strapped her knives to her thighs, obviously not caring that they were visible, and grabbed the mask on a stick she’d bought.
I couldn’t help but stare at her car. The driver’s window was shattered, and broken glass sparkled all over the seat. I swallowed, hating that I hadn’t been there.
Lizzie finished with her weapons, then looked up at me. Her eyes widened as she took me in, and for a moment, I thought it was from fear. When a pink flush crossed her face, I realized she thought I looked good in my tux. Oh. Cool. My insides warmed, and a smile tried to break through.
“You ready?” she asked.
I nodded, put on my mask, and took her by the arm, placing her hand on my elbow. “What about your dress?”
“Don’t have time to change.”
She was still wearing the black yoga pants she’d chosen for our practice session. At least they, and her top, were black. The knife sheaths blended in suitably well.
“I hope that’s okay,” I said.
“It will be.”
Good.
“Let’s just get in there and make sure the governor is protected.”
I agreed, and we presented my name to the person with the list. Several people looked when we pushed through the door, but I was distracted by the magical pulse that flooded the room. I scanned the crowd, trying to spot where it originated. Nothing popped out at me, though.
As I watched the people, a sort of fog entered my brain, creeping up from the base of my skull. It made my vision fuzzy when I looked at Lizzie. In fact, the magical pulse seemed to be pulling my attention away from her. Weird.
Instead of watching her, I studied the room. Tables lined it, kerosene lamps on them. The effect was dim lighting, only brightened a little by the chandeliers overhead that weren’t turned on all the way. If my brain wasn’t feeling foggy, I might have appreciated the mood the lighting created.
“Something’s wrong here,” I said. I frowned, trying to concentrate. “There’s a huge magical pulse flowing through the room. Can you feel it? I can’t tell what it’s supposed to do, but I think it has to do with you.”
Lizzie glanced at me. “How do you know?”
My frown deepened, my eyes unfocusing when they landed on her face. “I’m having . . . a hard time . . . concentrating on you. Something magical is here. My guess. Trying to stop me . . . from remembering.”
I looked away from her, and immediately, my breathing came easier. Whoa. I hadn’t felt something so powerful in a long time.
“They’re going to try to kill everyone,” Lizzie said. “Anyone I’ve told about them.”
I frowned, my eyes bouncing away the moment they were on her face. “They? They who?”
We hadn’t descended the stairs into the huge front room yet. No one stood near us, but she still seemed to hesitate to say anything.
“I don’t know—I need to see if I recognize anyone who might be a hound.”
We descended the stairs slowly. My pulse thudded against my neck when I spotted the man Lizzie had been making out with the other night. He was a hound. He deserved to die. He would—just as soon as . . . as . . .
What was going on? Why was I there?
Lizzie grabbed me, giving me a little shake. “Concentrate. There’s no way I can do this on my own.”
The moment I stopped thinking about her directly, my thoughts cleared up again. “I’ve got to stop that magical device,” I said. “I’ll follow the pulses—only a few people here are even aware of them. I’ll figure out where the thing is and shut it down. What are you going to do?”
“Keep the governor safe and protect my friends.”
I nodded, not looking at her.
Lizzie gave me a quick hug, wished me luck, then headed over toward the man she’d made out with.
Rather than watching what happened—knowing I wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway, and trusting she could take ca
re of herself—I stepped in the direction of the magical pulse.
It led me down a side hallway, past an elevator, and around the corner, where I ran into a guard.
Before he could react, I punched him in the throat and slammed his head onto my knee. Using the hard part of my fist, I hit him in the back of the head. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.
The pulse led me past a couple more guards who were harder to take out than the first. I ended up having to use my knife.
I didn’t relish the thought of killing anyone, especially not people who had no idea who they worked for. It was necessary in this circumstance, though.
The pulse led me into the kitchen. There, on the counter, was a small glass ball that I assumed had created the memory block. The pulses flooded outward from it, making it impossible even to remember who it was making me forget.
Before I could reach it, I heard the crackling of a radio behind me. I whirled. A guard stood in the doorway, pulling his gun out, an irritated expression on his face.
The static had alerted me to his presence, and he knew it.
I dove behind the counter, unholstering my primary gun just as he pulled the trigger several times. Ears ringing, I released a few of my own rounds.
I ran out of bullets before he did. Cursing, I popped the magazine out and plunged in a new one, but before I could fire again, a man grabbed me from behind.
The room had no other doors in it. He must have been hiding behind the ficus trees in the corner. Wimp.
Staying behind the counter, ears ringing from the continued shooting, I wrestled him to the floor, slamming his head into the tile until he slackened his hold on me.
Silence pounded on my ears. The gunner had finally run out of bullets. I jumped to my feet and lunged for the device before he could reload. I threw it down as hard as I could, and the glass shattered. I crushed the rest of it—a metal bit that had been inside—with my shoe.
The mental fog dissipated, the brain block lifting. I remembered exactly what I was there for.
Protect Lizzie.
Right at that moment, I felt it when someone touched her. Someone dangerous. Someone who wanted to kill her. I jumped to my feet, storming the gunner, knocking him down. But I didn’t get far before a large group of guards rushed around the corner, barreling into me.
It didn’t take them long to overcome me.
At least I’d succeeded in stopping the device.
41
After kicking and punching me until they were sure I wasn’t going to put up a fight, two of them dragged me back to the main room, tossing me down the stairs to the feet of a man I recognized as the governor.
“We found him in the kitchen,” one of the men said. “He dismantled the device.”
Wait, what? Was he in on the ploy to destroy Lizzie? I glanced at her for confirmation and was dismayed to find her surrounded by hounds.
The governor glared at me. “You’ll pay for that.”
Rage flooded my system. I’d gotten there just in time, especially if the person practically in charge of the state was involved with the hounds. “As will you,” I said. “For all of this.”
Knowing I’d fall unconscious from doing it, I closed my eyes and released the magic that constantly surrounded me.
The walls started shaking violently, and I opened my eyes to see what was happening. Mortar and plaster broke off in huge chunks, slamming into hounds, pinning them down. The walls lifted from the foundation, more sections falling off them, and the marble flooring underfoot started rippling. A piece of stone smashed into the governor’s forehead, knocking him over. He didn’t move again. Several of the kerosene lamps fell, shattering, their lights drowning in the oil that spread out from them.
Only a second after they started, the violent tremors stopped, and I fell unconscious.
42
I woke up in the back of Lizzie’s car, where someone had laid me. I jerked to a sitting position. Lizzie was behind the wheel with Alexander in the front seat.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We’re taking you to the hospital,” Lizzie said.
“No, we’re not. There’s far too much to discuss. Like the fact that the highest person in local government is a hound.”
“Yeah, that definitely came as a surprise,” Lizzie said.
“The hounds will avoid you for a day or so,” Alexander said to Lizzie. “They now know the amulet really does work—even if not as well as it should.” He glanced at Lizzie. “Remember, though, that they’re starting to recognize something. They know now that attacking you directly is foolish. You’re going to have to hunt them.”
Lizzie nodded, and I struggled to fill in the blanks. The hounds had obviously thought Lizzie’s amulet was broken—not surprising, given the fact that one of them had made out with her while she wore it. She must have used it to destroy someone at the ball. Good—they needed to be afraid of her.
Half an hour later, we pulled up at Lizzie’s house, and I was surprised when both Detective Cole and Lizzie’s chief pulled up behind us. Before I could ask about it, a woman I didn’t know parked my car behind Detective Cole’s unmarked vehicle. She got out, gave me my keys, and went to stand next to Chief.
Once inside, Lizzie ordered pizza. The moment I got the chance, I called Eleanora to fill her in on the fact that the governor was a hound. Then we sat in Lizzie’s living room and talked things through.
“We need to hunt,” I said right away.
I was surprised when Detective Cole nodded. “Agreed. And use subterfuge and cunning to draw them out. They shouldn’t be the only ones playing dirty.”
“What do we do about the governor?” Chief’s wife, Alice—the one who’d driven my car—asked. “He’s really on their side, isn’t he?”
Lizzie nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Chief said. “Not until we know just how deep the corruption goes.” He glanced at Alexander. “You weren’t even aware the governor of the state was a hound. If they were able to hide it from you, who knows how difficult it’ll be for us to convince the general populace.”
Lizzie shook her head. “We don’t need to convince anyone. I’ll just take him out the first chance I get.”
Detective Cole snorted. “No offense, Lizzie, but after tonight, there’s no way you’ll be getting near him anytime soon.”
I folded my arms. “I’ll concentrate on him. It’s safe to assume he’s the ringleader, correct?”
We all nodded.
“You shouldn’t do anything where he’s concerned,” Detective Cole said. “He’d recognize you immediately—everyone would, after you ended up on the news from your Restart a couple of weeks ago.” He rested an arm across a shelf. “I’m a detective. I was at the event. I can start gathering preliminary information on everyone who attended, and no one will bat an eye. We need to find out how those attendees are connected to the governor, who he has in his back pocket, and just how many of them are really hounds.”
“And you, Lizzie, need to focus on getting the amulet fixed,” Alexander said.
I agreed with that. How could she do her job when her most powerful weapon wasn’t fully functional?
“If Detective Cole will be working the governor angle,” I said, “I’ll go with Lizzie. Until the amulet is working for her, she shouldn’t be left unprotected.”
“We’ll set up guards around the clock,” Chief said.
Alice chimed in. “And invite her over more often.”
Lizzie shook her head. “No, I’ll have you over here again. The safest place for me is still my house. Alexander’s protections are here. They keep the hounds from reaching me.”
“She’s right,” Alexander said. “I haven’t turned them off, though I may need to recharge them.”
I set down my pizza slice. “And if you’ve got extras, we should put them around the Russells’ property. They know about the hounds, and with how many times the dogs use their house to tra
vel, it would be wise to make sure it’s protected as well.”
Lizzie nodded. “It’s up to us to keep them safe.”
I wouldn’t go that far—they could fend for themselves—but that wasn’t my secret to share.
Alexander agreed. “I’ll see what I can find.”
We continued discussing plans until well past midnight. Finally, once we’d talked ourselves hoarse and felt like we knew what needed to happen, everyone said goodbye. I insisted on sleeping on Lizzie’s couch, and Detective Cole made sure to tell us over and over again to call if anything came up.
Like that would be necessary—the man might be good with a gun, but that was only one of my skills.
Still, I wouldn’t turn down help, regardless of where it came from, and I promised him we would let him know the minute we needed assistance.
43
About three in the morning, my phone buzzed from where it was tucked under me on Lizzie’s couch. I pulled it out, blinking several times so I could focus on the screen. It was Eleanora.
“I think I know what the demon is,” she said as soon as I answered.
I’d almost forgotten we were supposed to be researching him. I rolled to a sitting position, rubbing my eyes. “What is he?”
“A Galvo. An energy being, powered by electricity. They hibernate underground, pulling energy through dirt, only accessing aboveground occasionally.”
“How do we stop it?”
“We have to draw it to us.”
Great. “And how do we do that?” I had a feeling I knew what she would say, but I wanted to hear it first.
“Were you asleep?”
It took me a moment to follow her topic change. “Yes.”
“And are you still at her place?”
“Yes. I didn’t feel okay leaving her. Especially not after finding out that the amulet isn’t working correctly.”
“Good. I’ll be there in thirty or forty minutes.”
Really? I thought she didn’t have a way to get around. Whatever.
She continued. “We have to create a storm near her. It’ll bring the Galvo, and since he’s already hunting Lizzie, he’ll come even faster.”
Evening Storm (Midnight Chronicles Book 2) Page 14
