Adelaide touched his arm and he looked over at her. “I think he was joking.”
“Oh.”
I shook my head. Some things seemed to go right over Winston’s head. Theo’s snide comments were usually one of them. I guessed being around Theo required you to ignore a lot of his commentary. Otherwise, the guy would actually be dead by now because someone would’ve strangled him.
Since my place by the window had been taken over by the two lovebirds, I moved to the couch. Being surrounded in such close quarters to everyone was wearing on me. There never seemed to be a moment to yourself. At least at the manor I’d had a private room, whereas here I didn’t even have that luxury. It made thinking difficult and I was the type of person who needed space with my own thoughts to really think things through.
I was grateful for Jee taking us in and giving us a safe place to stay, but after this many months of it, I was tired.
Not to mention, everybody was nosy as all get out. If you frowned surely your whole world must be crumbling around you and you needed to talk about your emotions.
I knew my friends had been worried about me while we all believed Theo to be dead, but sometimes their concern went overboard and I felt smothered. There was already a lot of pressure on my shoulders and with them pressing me to talk about it and my feelings it could be too much.
Eventually, Adelaide and Winston’s quiet giggling became too much for me and I got up. Knowing the gym was occupied by at least Ethan, but more than likely Jee had joined him too, I slid the elevator doors open and stepped inside then quietly closed them behind me. I might manage to get two minutes of peace and quiet in there, but I knew that was probably wishful thinking.
I didn’t need to worry about anyone calling for the elevator since we were the only ones who used this one. Sliding down onto the floor I sat with my back against the wall of the elevator, leaned my head back, and closed my eyes.
Unsettled was the only way I could describe myself. I knew the feeling had to be contributing to my feelings of unrest and my need to be away from everyone.
The quiet of the elevator felt so strange, I’d been surrounded by constant chaos for so long, but it was much needed.
For the first time in a long time I felt clear, like I was breathing fresh mountain air and my eyes were wide open as I stood beneath the warm sun.
Eventually I drifted to sleep inside the elevator, the darkness behind my lids giving way to a dream and then a nightmare.
“So pretty,” Thaddeus crowed, running his fingers through long dark hair.
I stood behind them, watching as he towered over the girl or the woman who I couldn’t see.
A small whimper echoed in the dark room.
I looked around, trying to take stock of my surroundings. It seemed to be a basement—cinderblock walls, concrete walls—everything similar to most of my visions of Thaddeus.
“Youth,” he crooned. “Wasted on the young. That’s an oxymoron I believe, correct me if I’m wrong?”
Another whimper.
He tsked. “It’s rude not to speak to your host. You are a guest in my house, are you not?”
She lifted her head. “I don’t typically tie up my guests,” she spat.
Her voice.
No.
It couldn’t be.
“Oh, Danielle.” He touched her cheek. “I’m thoroughly going to enjoy killing you.”
With a scream, I came awake. Then I screamed again, panicked at my unfamiliar surroundings.
In seconds, the doors were thrust open and I was pulled into Theo’s arms.
“Mara? What is it?”
I grabbed onto his shoulders and buried my head into his neck, sobbing.
“Mara? Talk to me, please,” he begged, stroking my hair and trying to comfort me.
I could barely breathe I was freaking out so much.
My worst nightmare had come true. I’d thought I’d done everything right, but Thaddeus was always one step ahead of us. Always. We would never beat him, how could we when he was so cunning?
“He has her,” I choked out. “He has Dani.”
“Dani?” Theo pulled me back looking into my eyes with concern.
“Dani,” I repeated. “Dani.”
Finally, a look of understanding crossed his features. “Your friend.”
“Yes,” I cried. “He’s going to kill her. Theo, we can’t stay here and do nothing, we can’t. We have to try to save her, and if we can’t we still have to do something. He has to be stopped.”
He looked over his shoulder and it was then I noticed the others gathered behind him. I’m sure they’d come running when he did but I’d only been aware of his presence. It overshadowed everything else.
Theo looked at them and they must’ve agreed because he looked back at me, steel in his eyes.
“Okay.” He nodded to his own word. “Okay, we’ll go.”
In record time we packed everything and by everything I mean all the things we showed up with months ago, plus bags upon bags of weapons. Even Nigel was scooped up in Theo’s arms. At least he wasn’t arguing with me about leaving the cat this time. I think we all knew we wouldn’t be coming back here. As the five us piled in the elevator Jee stood, looking back in fondness at his apartment before stepping on and closing the doors.
“I thought you were staying here,” Ethan breathed in shock.
Jee shrugged. “I couldn’t watch you leave me this time. Not when …”
Not when you might not come back, was what he left unsaid.
Ethan kissed him and whispered something in his ear.
I looked around at the five people gathered. People who had become like family to me and I wondered if it was possible for us to storm wherever it was Thaddeus was hiding out and for all of us to escape unscathed.
The odds didn’t seem likely.
Six people against an army of Iniquitous.
Yeah, we were screwed.
This was stupid, but we had to try. Dani didn’t deserve to die by Thaddeus’s hands. He had to be stopped and no one else was going to do it.
We were the only ones stupid enough to try. It was funny how stupidity and bravery went hand in hand. You couldn’t have one without the other.
As the elevator went down, Theo reached for my hand and gave it a small squeeze before releasing it. He knew I was scared, and definitely worried, but he also knew just as I did that we had to do this.
The doors opened and we loaded everything into Jee’s two cars. Ethan and Jee decided to take the Corvette, which left the four of us with the Range Rover. Theo, of course, insisted on driving.
Shocker.
I took the passenger seat with Adelaide and Winston in the back. They were quiet, all of us lost in our thoughts. Maybe we were all afraid if one of us spoke then we’d chicken out or something. Theo handed me Nigel and he curled up into my lap and fell asleep in seconds, purring softly.
Theo pulled out onto the street with the others following in the other car since Theo was the only one who knew where we were going. None of us had asked him where Thaddeus was and I doubt he would’ve told us, even me, if we had.
“How long of a drive is it?” I asked softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Not long enough,” he replied cryptically.
I turned to the window watching as rain sluiced against it. The sky was a deep gray, nearly black in places despite the fact it was the afternoon. It seemed to reflect our melancholy back on us like some strange foggy mirror.
My heart ached for my human friend. The one I felt I’d abandoned because I had to. I’d believed I was doing the right thing, but apparently I couldn’t have been more wrong. He was still trying to use her against me.
I wiped away a tear that had escaped and was slowly making its way down my cheek.
I hated feeling so helpless.
Nothing was in my control, but I guess it was a joke to think I had any chance at control at all.
Maybe that was my fatal flaw—wanting to have all the ans
wers, to be the puppeteer of my own life, my own destiny. I hated to think I had no choice in the matter, that everything was already plotted out by someone or something else and I had to let it play out.
It’s okay to cry. It doesn’t make you weak.
I startled at the sound of Theo’s voice echoing through my mind. He hadn’t spoken to me in this way since he’d been back.
It’s not for that reason that I don’t want to cry. I feel like if I cry it means he wins. I don’t want him to have any kind of power over me.
Thaddeus has no power over you, Mara. He never has and he never will. He’s weak. Power doesn’t always equal strength.
I can’t believe he’s my dad. I don’t want him to be. I don’t want any part of him to be a part of me.
Oh, Mara. You are nothing like him. Blood is nothing.
I want to believe you.
You should.
I quiet my mind to him. I don’t want him to know but my biggest fear is becoming like Thaddeus.
He was like me, a Chosen One, and somehow, he turned into what he’s become. If it happened to him, what’s to say it couldn’t happen to me?
***
As the sky darkened into night I could tell Theo grew tenser and tenser. His shoulders were tight and his grip on the wheel was white knuckled. Even his jaw was clenched in a steel vice. I knew there was nothing I could say to comfort him, not when the night was when we were most vulnerable to the Iniquitous and when we were heading back to the place where he’d been tortured for months. Even though Theo claimed he could’ve left at any time and he was gathering information I wasn’t sure I believed him completely. There was more he wasn’t telling and I feared he might never be ready to talk about it. It broke my heart he’d been in the clutches of Thaddeus. The man was pure evil.
And now it’s Dani in his clutches.
At least Theo was an enchanter, a protector at that so he had even more powers at his disposal, but not Dani. She was only a human, and to someone like Thaddeus he could squash her like a bug and not even realize what he’d done until it was too late.
I glanced in the backseat and found the other two sleeping. Adelaide had her head pillowed on Winston’s shoulder while Winston rested his against the window. Behind us the headlights of the Corvette shined brightly as Ethan and Jee followed us.
“Will we be stopping tonight?” I asked Theo.
He shook his head. “No. It’s safer to keep moving.”
“Do you want me to drive some? You’ve already been driving a few hours.”
Again, he shook his head. “I’d rather drive.”
I knew what he wasn’t saying—he’d rather be in control of the situation.
“You should get your rest,” he told me softly, his eyes never straying from the road.
“I’m not sleepy,” I lied.
The car was lulling me to sleep with the steady swish swish swish of the wipers, but I didn’t want to leave Theo without company. If he wanted to talk I wanted to be awake to listen.
He glanced over at me and gave me a small smile. “Seriously, Mara. I’m fine. Get some rest, you’re going to need it.”
I knew he was right, but still I resisted.
Soon, though, it became too much and sleep overtook me.
***
I awoke a few hours later. It was still pitch black outside and our surroundings were completely unfamiliar. “Where are we?” I asked sleepily, looking around at the entirely flat land with nothing to see for miles. Long gone were the bustling city streets.
“Ohio,” Theo answered.
I studied his profile and while he looked weary he also looked determined.
“Thaddeus is hiding out in Ohio?” I remarked dryly.
Of all the places I thought we’d find Thaddeus and his cronies, Ohio was not one of them.
He nodded. “Yeah, shocking I know.”
“Do you know why Ohio?”
He shrugged, his eyes steadfastly on the road. “I’m not sure. Maybe he grew up here or maybe it was convenient. Whatever the reason I’m sure it’s not profound.”
In the back the other two were still sleeping and I knew I should try to get some more rest, but I wasn’t sleepy anymore.
“When are we stopping?” I asked, looking at the clock. The sun would be rising in less than two hours.
“Soon,” he replied. “We’ll stop at a hotel and get some rest.”
“Is that safe?” I inquired softly.
He didn’t answer.
***
Theo slept soundly in the queen-sized bed with Nigel curled on the pillow beside him while I sat in the chair by the window. The other bed was occupied by a sleeping Ethan and Jee while Adelaide and Winston went to pick up food from the hotel restaurant. Theo had made Winston vow with his life to protect Adelaide if anything happened.
I felt nervous, my body vibrating with a restless energy. Out there somewhere nearby Dani might be dead or she might be fighting for her life. I hated feeling stuck here, but I knew the others needed to sleep before we did anything, and even once we did act it might be too late or…
Or it could be pointless.
At the end of the day we were practically kids.
The door squeaked open and Adelaide tiptoed in first with food. The three of us sat on the floor eating as quietly as possible to not disturb the others. They’d picked up cheeseburgers and fries, and I wasn’t sure if it was actually amazing or I was just starving but I was certain it was the best thing I’d ever eaten. It was probably a weird time to be eating a cheeseburger, but we needed more than eggs and toast.
A few hours later the others woke up and ate, then it was time to leave.
Once again we found ourselves piling into the car.
This time my heart raced a mile a minute, knowing each second brought us nearer to Thaddeus. I was afraid, I wouldn’t lie or pretend I wasn’t scared, but I wasn’t backing down, either. This had to be done, not only for Dani, but for Theo who I’d believed had been killed, for all the other innocents he’d murdered in cold blood, and … and for my mother. The woman I never got to know because he took her away from me. My father too, the only man I’d ever known as a father, who I’d never see again and all he’d ever done was try to keep me safe. Thaddeus was sadistic. He got off on killing others for no good reason. He might’ve been Iniquitous, but he was also a plain cold-blooded killer.
Adelaide and Winston were subdued in the back, and Theo was stone-faced beside me. None of us seemed to want to speak. Eventually, Theo pulled down a gravel road and parked.
“We walk from here,” he announced, shutting off the engine and stuffing the keys in his pocket.
We filed out of the car and loaded up with weapons.
Nigel meowed from the backseat.
“Sorry, man, but you have to stay here,” Theo told him. He’d made sure to leave all the windows down halfway so he could get air, or get out if he had to, but since it was cool out we didn’t have to worry about him getting too hot.
I loaded weapons onto my pants, thankful for the built in straps on the leather pants. Jee looked over at me and chuckled. “Let’s hope you’re as badass as you look.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, which wasn’t very badass of me, but whatever.
Once we were all loaded up with weapons we began the trek through the woods. Theo led the way with the rest of us trailing behind.
We all walked as silently as we could, afraid if we made any single small little noise someone might jump out from behind a tree and get us.
After several miles the trees began to thin and opened up into a valley below with one of the largest houses I’d ever seen. It was very clearly a mansion, with two levels above ground spreading far and wide. I’d never seen a home so wide before, not even the manor. The six of us stood side-by-side staring down at the home. If you didn’t know the evil living behind those walls you’d think it was the beautiful home of someone famous. The lawn was immaculate and there were even flowers plant
ed around the house. I was surprised there wasn’t a fence or gate of some sort, but I guessed when you were the king of all evil and lived in the middle of nowhere you weren’t too concerned about people finding you or being bold enough to attack.
I couldn’t decide if we were crazy or stupid, but it was probably a mix of both.
“We’ll go around the side,” Theo directed. “I know a spot to get in. They patrol the outside at night, but during the day they can’t. They have humans working for them,” he admitted with a bite of his lip. “They’re terrified, so don’t harm them, just knock them out so they can’t raise the alarm.”
“Humans? Why?” I asked.
Theo looked at me and heaved out a heavy sigh. “He views humans as beneath all paranormal creatures. They’re slaves to him.”
I felt like gagging. “He needs to be stopped,” I growled, anger bubbling inside me. I couldn’t believe I shared DNA with this being. I scrubbed at my arms like I could scrub what parts of me were Thaddeus from my body.
Theo grabbed my hands and held them in his so I’d stop.
Looking into my eyes he said, “You’re nothing like him, Mara. Nothing. Never forget that.”
I crashed my lips to his and he kissed me back.
I rested my forehead against his. “I love you.”
“Don’t you say goodbye to me,” he warned, steel in his voice.
I cracked a small smile. “It’s not goodbye if it’s true.”
He kissed me again. “This is not the end, Mara.”
“I know.”
I didn’t know, but it felt better to say it.
Jee faked a yawn. “All these endearments are cute and all, but don’t we have a bad guy to kill and a damsel in distress to save?”
His sarcasm managed to break the bubble of seriousness that had formed around us.
“It’s time,” Theo said, reaching for my hand.
Then we began the descent down to the mansion.
We circled around the side and slowly made our way to a window low on the back of the house. Theo held up a finger, shushing us even though we hadn’t made a peep, and with a swish of his fingers the window began to rise.
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