The Lost Heir

by Allison Whitmore

  Isabella shook her head of her to clear her thoughts. “It’s nothing.”

  Colin clasped his hands together and he looked straight ahead. “I don’t know anything about what happened to them that night. Your grandmother, our grandmother, told me it was horrific. I just wish I could have been there to stop it.”

  “It’s not your fault.” Isabella’s mind drifted back to Jack. She’d thought he’d been the man who pulled her from the fire that night, but maybe it had been someone else. Maybe it had been Joseph Gaut or someone else entirely. It was obvious that Jack wanted her dead. There was no reason for him to try to save her, was there? Isabella cleared her throat and asked something that had been plaguing her since Jack had attacked them. “How can he take my soul? Why does he want it at all?”

  Colin looked at for a moment then turned away again as he spoke. “You're the last diadem to be born. It threatens him. If he gets your soul, then his power grows. He would control everyone even more if the Fire dies. He could stamp out empathy, create an army of freakish apaths, and the icing on top would be getting revenge against the Foxworthy family. He killed your Aunt Beatrice, but for some reason he blames the Foxworthys for it. I don’t know the details.”

  “All right, but what the heck is an apath?” Isabella asked. “That’s not a word, is it?”

  “You might not find it in a sky-side dictionary, but down here it means soulless, cold—pretty much the opposite of empaths.”

  “So that means they can’t do what empaths do then?”

  “No, they can’t. But they can do other things, especially with Jack running the show.”

  “Jack was in love with her, wasn't he? My Aunt Beatrice, I mean. I heard my Uncle Robert talking to Theophilus about it,” she admitted, noticing that he called Beatrice her aunt, rather than theirs.

  “More like obsessed with her,” Colin continued. “He's a sick man, and it doesn't help that you look just like her.”

  “No, I don't. My eyes are like pea soup compared to hers.”

  “Regardless, you have the same face. It doesn't help.”

  Isabella grew quiet. She wasn't sure what that even meant still, but she knew hard times lay ahead. “Well, if he's looking for the Fire, I guess we need to find it first.”

  Colin smiled. “We will.”

  “What do we do next?” asked Isabella.

  “I can't say, but when the time's right, I'll make sure you know.”

  “Are you guys like the CIA of the Empath Society?” she joked.

  “Not exactly. The Council Knights operate more like your CIA.”

  Isabella thought for a moment. The Light Council and the Council Knights and the Shadow Watch and the Midnight Brotherhood? There were a lot clandestine groups in the Underground. She wondered if it had to do with the environment: below ground, hidden things. Maybe it made people want to be creepy. “What do you know about the Violet Fire, though?”

  Colin sighed and looked at her, his expression softening. “Renee created it with the help of someone we never see. Part of it was placed to keep your hotel and your family safe, but what it really does is bring a collective power of wellbeing.”

  “Like empathy?” asked Isabella.

  “Yes. Saving the Fire will protect humanity from not just Jack but from themselves,” said Colin.

  “Then I guess we better make that happen.” Maybe Pythian had been wrong about The Brotherhood. She felt safe with Colin and his friends. She had to learn to trust. It wasn’t something she was terribly good at it with good reason, but she needed a family, too. “Let’s go train some more.”

  “You got it, kiddo.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Home for the Holidays

  “Blindfolds! This is ridiculous,” complained Cleo as they gathered in front of an elevator they'd accessed through a tunnel off the main hub of the Brotherhood's lair. Neeta and Colin looked on patiently.

  “You should be used it, with all those eye masks you wear,” Xander joked. Isabella could feel his excitement, along with Seth's trepidation, Micah's anxiety, and Cleo's full-on irritation. That had been happening a lot lately—empathizing simultaneously with the four of them—but she found feeling their feelings to be more harmonious than burdensome. The most interesting thing was that Seth seemed to have let down the emotional blocks she'd encountered in the past. Or perhaps it was because their cohort bond had grown more solid over the past few days. Whatever the reason, things were making more sense to her.

  “Fine,” Cleo grumbled as Neeta secured a black bandana around her eyes. “It's too tight.”

  “Precaution is necessary,” said Colin.

  “You think we're gonna hurl our Christmas bear claws and turn you in to those psycho Greens if we find out your secrets?” asked Seth.

  “It's Council Code that those without clearance shall be blindfolded and not have visual contact with any cypher numbers or channel passes.”

  “A cypher?” asked Isabella. “Like the one I… um… saw at Theophilus' shop?”

  “No. Those are used to break old codes and such and help in challenges of will. But the codes or cyphers we use here are deeply coded encryption of antiquated objects.”

  “But it's important for future cypher experts to work with decoding of all kind from any age. Your great-grandmother was top in her field, did you know that?” asked Neeta.

  “Yeah, I kinda heard,” said Isabella.

  “Okay everybody, get in carefully,” Colin instructed. Neeta guided them inside one by one. Then Isabella heard someone punching what sounded like electronic buttons. The elevator lurched to the right before shooting upward.

  “I think I really am gonna lose my Christmas bear claws,” said Seth.

  “Ditto,” his brother concurred.

  When their elevator halted, Neeta and Colin led them down what seemed like a short corridor; the floor echoed beneath their feet. Then Isabella heard what sounded like a key opening a door.

  “Next elevator,” said Colin. “Happy cohort inside.”

  “You never explained to me what exactly a cohort is or why I even have one at all.”

  “You can take your blindfolds off now,” said Colin.

  They were inside an elevator that looked just like the one she and Micah had ridden up to her apartment, only wider. Was it the same elevator? How had they gotten there? “Diadems have cohorts,” Colin explained. “All of them.”

  “So does that make you a diadem, Colin?” asked Isabella.

  He laughed. “Just know that you have a cohort because you're a diadem. And, because you're the last diadem child born ever, that might mean something to some people. Particularly Jack.”

  “But what's the purpose of a cohort?” asked Cleo.

  “It's like the Wonder Twins,” said Xander.

  “What?” asked Isabella. Xander shrugged.

  “You're connected. Your power grows with one another. You’re destined to be together,” Colin said.

  “But why?” Isabella asked.

  “Why do we have families? Why do we fall in love with certain people? Sometimes bonds are not to be questioned. Just know that you're bound together.”

  “Forever?” Seth swallowed visibly, catching Isabella's eyes. She couldn't look away until Neeta spoke.

  “Until death or blood betrayal,” said Neeta. “Namely, killing another member of the cohort.”

  Isabella and her friends looked at each other. Then finally all eyes rested on Isabella before looking away, a little green.

  “I kind of knew that already,” Seth whispered. “Not the killing thing, but the other stuff.” He wasn't looking at anyone. Just up at the elevator ceiling, as Colin finally punched the button to move up.

  “Floor one.” A warm voice spoke, filling Isabella's body with relief, in spite of what she'd just learned officially. Like Seth, she’d known, too. The elevator moved up. “Floor two.”

  “Thank God we took off those blindfolds. My eyes were starting to burn,” quipped Cleo as t
hey found themselves behind the cupboard in Isabella's apartment. They moved from the kitchen to the living room.

  “How'd you get a key to my apartment elevator?” Isabella asked.

  Colin simply held the key out to her and shrugged. “Sorry about that.”

  “Welcome home,” said Elyse. The room was decorated with holly, and strung up with lights and mistletoe. A Christmas tree stood by the piano, glimmering with red, green, and gold. Everything looked absolutely amazing.

  “Oh my God!” Isabella's jaw dropped.

  Elyse stood there, grinning, not wearing her usual hotel staff uniform, but rather in a casual white dress, laced black boots, and a pair of Jack Skellington earrings. Her manicured nails alternated between dark red and green, and her makeup was thick, like she preferred on her days off.

  “Merry Christmas, kids!”

  “Oh my God!” Isabella repeated, not truly realizing how much she'd missed home.

  “This is my little sister Pat, my brother Oliver. My mom and dad,” said Elyse.

  Isabella saw Colin pull Elyse aside and whisper harshly, “Do you think it was a good idea to bring them?”

  “It was my way of spending time with them on the holiday and still help you. Besides, my mom is a mean cook,” Elyse said brightly.

  “May I see you privately?” Colin insisted. He looked at Isabella, and she knew right away what he wanted.

  “You can talk in the den,” she said, pointing toward the set of double doors to the left.

  Colin marched toward the room with Elyse in tow and then turned around. “All of you in here, now.”

  Elyse smiled at her family. “We're just going to, uh—”

  “Rehearse for our show!” Micah ad-libbed.

  Elyse's mother frowned. “Right now?” Her Swedish accent was thick. “But it is Christmas Day.”

  “We just need to go over a few logistics. We'll be right back,” Micah answered just before Colin pulled him inside and shut the door. Isabella, Cleo, and Xander sat on the leather sofa while Seth and Micah pulled up ottomans across from each other. The adults remained standing.

  “All right,” Colin began. “Pay attention. Neeta and I will be back for you well before the portal closes. The reason we brought you sky-side is because of Jack's attack. He won't think to look for you guys up here, thinking you can’t use your powers.” Isabella and her cohort felt dejected, but Colin smiled. “Of course, you guys can still practice them while you are together. We will gather information and figure out our next move. It will also allow you to celebrate the holiday and take a break from the craziness. So.” He turned to Elyse. “Make sure these people you've brought stay quiet, please.” His nostrils flared, but he maintained his composure.

  “You mean my parents? They will,” Elyse said through gritted teeth.

  “Okay,” Colin said with a sigh. “Please stay out of trouble, and wait for Neeta and me to return for you in a couple of days.”

  “Are you sure we can't help you plan out your secret mission or something?” asked Seth.

  Colin shook his head. “No. Just enjoy Wintertide, and we'll be back before you know it. Anyway, stay inside and lie low.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Xander and Micah in jovial unison, saluting him.

  Colin glared at them. “We're going to put a mind-wipe on your family, Elyse,” he continued. “It's not something I like to do, but we need to make sure these kids are safe. Anything that they overhear or see could be detrimental to all of us.”

  “I don't know if I like the sound of that.”

  “I can do it in such a way that benefits everyone. The kids are still listed as missing by the police, so even a mention of them having been here is dangerous.”

  “Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Elyse agreed. “How can you do it in a way that benefits my family, though?”

  “Basically, we can let them remember the holiday but forget that the Foxworthy heir and her friends are missing until we resolve all this.”

  "That works, I guess," said Elyse. “Yes. It's definitely better than the alternative.”

  “I trust my family either way.”

  “There's also the chance that Jack or his followers could go after them, if it was known that they spent time with these kids right now,” added Colin. “I don't want them tortured by anyone for information, if it comes to that.”

  “Tortured?” Elyse looked like she'd swallowed a cup of suicide-hot buffalo sauce.

  “We can mind-wipe you, too, if you're afraid,” said Colin, eyebrow cocked.

  “No, that's okay. I can handle it.”

  “Here, kid,” Colin said to Isabella. “Merry Christmas.” He handed her the cypher that she thought she'd lost in Wish Valley. “It'll keep you safe.”

  Isabella glanced up at Colin and smiled. He nodded and walked out of the room. She thought about everything that had happened, and, for the first time in a long time, she felt comfortable. Everything felt right... except Theophilus and the absentee parents. She had finally found the lost heir, but now she needed to do the rest of it. Theophilus could help. She knew he could. What if Colin didn't really have a plan and was just trying to be protective?

  “Okay! Who wants to open presents?” Elyse's enthusiasm interrupted Isabella's thoughts.

  Xander looked anxious, as did Cleo. A smile broke out on Seth's face, though. Micah and Isabella followed suit. Isabella sighed, saying, “Can't hurt to take a little break.”

  “Especially after that horrible news,” said Micah.

  “What's that?” asked Isabella.

  “That we're stuck together for life.”

  “Har-har,” replied Isabella. “Let's open our presents!”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Visiting Day

  December twenty-ninth. A little break had turned into a penthouse prison sentence for nearly a week. Fortunately, they had a chance to practice their powers a bit when Elyse wasn't around. After the attack at Empath Hall, they wanted to make sure they were ready.

  Xander seemed to have the best hold over his. Micah kept complaining about having a whip granted to him as his weapon back at the Brotherhood lair. He knew there was something more to his ability, some reason why he was so mechanical, so he focused on trying to create a robot with only his mind out of some old toys in Isabella's long-forgotten toy chest. Cleo, believing in Micah's theory that their power went far beyond any weapons bestowed upon them, realized that she'd been given the ability to change her appearance. She wasn't quite good at it yet, only being able to change her shade of lipstick at will for the time being, but she did not feel deterred by the simplicity of the ability. Instead, she looked at it as a starting-off point for bigger and better things.

  They all seemed to be able to force objects to move with sheer will, but it seemed like it worked better when they were all in the room together. Seth was a master at stopping things from falling and creating shields. Isabella just seemed stronger than the rest of them when it came to the blasts of energy she shot from her hands and the connections she felt to all of them. She knew there was a lot more to learn, but it made her feel good that they had figured out something more about themselves.

  Of course, despite all the fun they were having practicing, Isabella couldn't stand waiting around for Colin to return. She hadn't found a way to get in touch with Theophilus. The problems she’d had on that front were getting away from the hotel unnoticed and the fact that Theophilus was still really in jail.

  Fortunately, that morning, a large party swarmed the hotel, and the staff, including their watchdog, Elyse, had been kept occupied. Of course, Isabella still had to worry about Seth and the others finding out. They probably wouldn't stop her, but they would definitely want to tag along. Thank goodness for Mimi. It hadn't been hard to contact her, as she'd taken to sailing past the apartment window every morning to check on them.

  Before her friends woke up, Isabella slipped into the back of the black car in front of the hotel. The driver was sleeping. "Archie," s
he stage-whispered. He did not budge. "Archie!" The gray-faced driver continued to snooze. "Archie, come on. I don't have all day." She poked the back of his head, startling him awake.

  "Wh-what's that?"

  "It's me."

  "Isabella! Everyone is looking for you."

  "I know. I'm just glad you're working today."

  "Yeah, well, I don't have anybody to celebrate the holidays with. This place is my only family."

  Isabella felt badly. "Well, I brought you something," she lied, pulling the muffin she'd taken for herself from her bag and unwrapping it for him.

  "Thanks so much."

  "And here," she said, handing him the CD Elyse's mother had given her. She'd stuffed it in her backpack along with a few other things she thought Theophilus might like. "Merry Christmas. I know it's tough not having your family around this time of year, so I want you to know you'll always have us. You're an honorary Foxworthy for life." She smiled.

  Archie's eyes looked as though tears were about to burst from them. "This is the first Christmas gift I've gotten since my wife died."

  Now she really felt sympathetic. A frown overtook her smile.

  "Don't frown, kiddo. At least I still have someone who cares. I'm happy to see you, and I definitely appreciate the gifts. Have they found your grandmother yet?"

  "Sort of. I mean, she's okay, I think. I just need to go see Theophilus. He probably knows more than I do."

  "Honey, you probably don't know this yet, but he's been arrested."

  "That's why I want to go to the..." She stopped and cleared her throat as she read what she'd written on the scrap of paper. "The Central Los Angeles Jail."

  "You'll need an appointment, I think, honey."

  "I got one."

  "How?"

  "A friend. She's good at hiding in plain sight, and she can travel quickly." Archie looked back at her, confused. "I'll explain after this is all over, but I can't say anything else right now."

  "Don't you need a parent or guardian accompanying you?"

  "Theophilus is expecting me, so they might waive that rule. If not, can you pretend to be my father?"

  "Uh..."