The conversation ceases in the car, which works for me. I stare out the window, trying to get lost in the landscape rushing by. There’s no escaping thinking about Andy though. She’s imprinted in my mind, in my body, in my soul. My head tells me I have to forget her, but every fiber of my being rebels against the idea. It’s not like we even had anything concrete. We slept together once, kissed a few times. That’s it. So why am I having a hard time letting her go?
The drive to our headquarters takes half an hour with traffic, too long to be stuck inside a car with nothing to do but agonize about failed relationships. Next to me, Xavier remains utterly still, and when we’re about to cross the gates into the secluded property, I can’t even sense him anymore. If I couldn’t see him with my eyes, I’d believe he was gone.
I refrain from speaking to him or even looking in his direction until Dad parks the car close to the forest that surrounds the mansion. When I do face him, I’m staring at a completely different person.
“What the hell?”
“When did you change into William’s butler?” Soren asks.
“Five minutes before we crossed the gates. Your father gave me a picture of the man.”
“Where is the real Mason Smith?” I ask.
“In the house,” Dad replies. “Soren and I will go first. While Soren keeps William busy, I’ll take care of Mason.”
“What about us?” Xavier asks.
“Stephan will step out of the car and pretend to take a call. That’s just for extra precaution. I don’t want anyone finding you here alone. I’ll text you when the coast is clear. You’ll go in through the back door and act like you belong.”
This is going to be tight, but I trust Dad to pull it off. We’re the first ones here on purpose.
“This could turn out really bad for me,” Xavier mutters.
“You’ll be fine,” I say.
“It’s going to be great.” Soren gives him two thumbs-up.
I get out, then pull my cell phone out to begin the phone conversation with no one.
Dad and Soren have been gone for exactly four minutes when another car pulls in. Shit. It’s Britney. That’s exactly what we don’t need. If I don’t walk away from the car, she’ll come over. I can’t risk her sensing Xavier is inside.
Grinding my teeth, I put the phone away and walk in her direction instead.
“Britney, you’re here early,” I say.
“So are you. What do you think of all this?” She puts her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest to emphasize her cleavage.
I haven’t seen her in a month, and she’s still trying to make something happen between us. I’d say she’s pathetic, but who am I to judge? Didn’t I just make a fool of myself last night?
“You have to be more specific than that,” I reply.
“We’ve found Magia’s descendant. The Unmaker? That’s huge. I didn’t even believe the legend was true. I can’t wait to meet her.” Britney gets a strange glint in her eyes, something almost fanatical that makes the small hair on my neck stand on end. Could she possibly be the Morph?
Fuck, if she is, did I fuck the real Britney or the impostor? Bile pools in my mouth just thinking of the possibility.
“Stephan?” She moves closer. “You were making a face. What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I check it quickly. It’s a message from Dad saying the plan is a go.
Crap. I have to get Britney out of here.
“Actually, I think I’m hungry. Let’s find some food inside.” I place my hand on the small of her back to get her going. My skin crawls as I touch her. She could be a Neo God rat. I can tell she’s enjoying the proximity though. Even if she turns out to be innocent, my actions today will come back to haunt me.
Once inside, I immediately step away from her. Soren is engaged in a lively conversation with William, and Dad is sitting calmly on the couch. My brother glances at me briefly before his attention diverts to Britney. By a miracle, he keeps his expression neutral.
“Come on, Stephan. I don’t think Mason served any food yet. Let’s go scavenge in the kitchen.”
Instantly, Soren and Dad tense. Xavier is supposed to come in through the kitchen door. We can’t let Britney catch him in the act or she might suspect something.
“Uh, you know what, Britney? I think I’m okay. I can wait.”
She cocks her head to the side and watches me intensely. “Are sure? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of receiving a tongue-lashing from the butler.”
“You shouldn’t joke around, Britney. Mason is a sweet old man, but he can be vicious if someone messes with his domain. I’d wait,” William chimes in.
Thank fuck for his intervention. It sounds more convincing coming from him.
A few minutes later, the rest of the members begin to pour into the house, and we take the meeting to the basement. The atmosphere is tense, and no one is too keen on sharing much of what they’ve been up to in the last month.
After fake pleasantries are exchanged, Alberta Salazar, one of the best field agents we have, gets right to the point. “We’re all here, Silverstone. You lured us with news about The Unmaker. Don’t let us hang now. Who is she?”
“Hold on a second. Is it safe to disclose this information when we could have a spy among us?” Markus Capala, Dad’s second-in-command, pipes up.
“Very true. Don’t tell me this is another one of your ruses to get us all here,” Korvak, a surly Idol who only goes by his last name, retorts.
At that precise moment, Xavier disguised as the butler walks in pushing a tray with hot beverage and snacks. He keeps his head down until he reaches the end of the room. I ignore him so as to not draw attention, but I’m itching to look in his direction to see what he’s doing. Maybe his facial expression will show when he discovers the mole.
“It’s not a ruse, Korvak. She’s been found, but—”
Dad’s phone pings, drawing his attention away from the giant man. I take that opportunity to glance furtively in Xavier’s direction. He’s glowering at Korvak. Fuck. He’s the rat.
My muscles tense as I prepare to jump on the guy when a cold metal cuff clicks shut around my wrist. Britney just cuffed me to the chair using one of our lightning glass weapons. Son of a bitch.
“They’re lying.” She stands up.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“You made a terrible mistake, Stephan. You forgot who you’re dealing with. Remember, you can’t lie to me.”
Fuck. She’s right. I totally blew it.
“Britney, sit down. You don’t understand.” Dad begins to rise, but she presses a cold blade against my neck.
“I’d think carefully about what you’re doing, Gunther. You too, Soren. You’re fast, but you can’t knock me down before I slice Stephan’s neck open.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I blurt out. It’s been Britney this whole time? So why did Xavier glare at Korvak?
None of the other members seem inclined to intervene. Instead, they turn against Dad.
“Why are we here, Gunther?” Korvak asks, not masking his annoyance.
I try to catch William’s stare, but he purposely refuses to look at me. Damn. I thought we were friends.
“You know very well, Korvak,” Dad growls. “How long have you been disguised as one of us?”
Wait? Is Korvak the mole or is Britney? Or maybe we have two spies.
He stands up, doubling in size before our very eyes. The real Korvak could change his size at will, but could the Morph posing as him possess the same ability?
“You’re calling me a rat?” he yells.
Britney’s hand begins to shake, and the blade’s pressure on my neck decreases by a fraction.
Soren doesn’t miss the opportunity. Becoming a blur, he shoves Britney away from me, knocking the blade from her hand in the process. Still attached to the chair, I dive for the weapon at the same time William does.
It would be a com
ical moment if William’s reason had been the same as mine. He punches my jaw and then, dagger in hand, pulls his arm back to deliver the final blow. His facial features are morphing already.
Fuck. William is the mole.
“No!” Britney and Soren yell at the same time.
Suddenly, William’s torso explodes in a shower of blood, bones, and meat. I catch the glow of a golden spear for a second, protruding from the hole in his body, before it disappears.
What the fuck!
That was one of Andy’s chains. But that’s impossible. We’re underground, and there aren’t any windows in this room. Plus, I don’t sense her anywhere.
Soren runs to me, dropping to my side.
“Did you see that?” I ask.
“William turning into a minced meat explosion? Yeah, we all saw it.”
I grab Soren’s jacket. “No. The golden chain. Andy’s chain.”
“What are you talking about, bro? Did you hit your head?”
Did I?
“I don’t know. Maybe. But who saved my ass, then?”
We turn to Dad. He’s the only one here who can blow shit up with his mind. But killing the fake William means we can’t interrogate them. That’s a huge loss for us.
Korvak is back to normal, looking a little pale. “Damn, Silverstone. I almost turned you into pâté. Why did you accuse me like that?”
My father sighs. “We weren’t 100 percent sure William was the mole. We needed to make him act.”
“Why would William betray us like that?” Markus shakes his head.
“It wasn’t William but a Morph disguised as him,” Dad explains.
“It’s a pity you had to blow him up like that.” Alberta stares at what’s left of the impostor’s body.
“Yeah, unfortunate indeed.” Dad turns to me.
We lock gazes, and immediately I know the truth. He didn’t blow up fake William, which means I didn’t imagine things.
Andy saved me.
But how?
35
Andromeda
“Stephan!” I sit up in my bed, suddenly awake from a disturbing dream. My heart is thundering in my chest, my pulse pounding in my ears.
After breakfast, I came back to my apartment, feeling drained. I ended up passing out in bed as I tried to listen to a movie to distract me from my depressing life. Then the dream came. Stephan was in a meeting with other people. Out of nowhere, that Britney girl cuffed him to a chair, and then all hell broke loose. Stephan ended up in a mortal situation. One of his friends was going to stab him in the chest. Suddenly, my chains were there, skewering the son of a bitch with a powerful thrust.
Did that really happen? Did my chains sense Stephan was in danger and act on their own?
“Fuck!” I toss the sheets to the side and get out of bed.
In the living room, I begin to pace nonstop. If that happened, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve lost control. They’ve gone rogue before, especially when Stephan was around.
Why is this happening?
My phone rings loudly on the kitchen counter, making me jump. Stephan’s name is announced by the device.
Double crap. Why is he calling me now? I can’t answer that, not when I’m about to freak out.
The call goes to voice mail, and a moment later, a beep tells me I have a new voice message.
Okay, I can listen to that at least.
“Andy, it’s Stephan. Listen, I know we’re not on the best terms now, but something happened today, and… hell, I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I did save him from certain death. The people I saw were probably Knights. So why were they attacking one another? If I don’t call him back, he’ll most likely come over. It’s not like he has any reservations about home invasion. But I can’t talk to him right now, not before I get my head in order.
Moving quickly, I shove my feet in the first pair of shoes I find, grab my purse, and head out without a destination in mind. It’s my luck that I sense Leroy approaching the building as soon as I cross the gates of Paragon Academy.
“Hey, Leroy.”
“Andromeda,” he replies coolly.
I sigh. After I lost at the pit to Stephan, I completely ignored Leroy and Ezekiel. It was a shitty thing to do. No wonder everyone at school thinks I’m a heartless bitch—and that’s something considering the other gems at Paragon.
“What are you up to today?” I step in front of him.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing. I mean, not nothing. I was wondering if you want to hang out.”
He laughs. “Are you serious? After you ditched us and ignored all of our calls, you want to hang out like you haven’t been blowing us off for a whole month?”
Jeez, I didn’t realize I’d pissed him off that badly.
“I’m sorry, okay? I had a lot going on.”
“Well, Andy, too bad. We all have shit to deal with. You’re not the exception. I’d tell you to open your eyes and look around, but that would be a mean thing to say.”
He enters the school building, leaving a trail of bad juju in his wake. Leroy isn’t a saint. When I met him for the first time, he was rude as fuck. So what gives him the right to lecture me on my bitchiness?
A slow clap near me makes me turn.
Nathaniel. Of course. When it rains, it pours.
“What the hell. You don’t call anymore?”
“Nah. I was in the mood for a walk. It paid off. That was quite the turndown, Andy. Ouchie.”
“Go suck on a lemon, Satan. I’m not in the mood for your antics today.”
I walk around him, but the jackass follows. “Come on. You look like you need some cheering up.”
“Why are you talking to me in broad daylight? Aren’t you afraid people will see us together?”
“No. You can always tell them I’m your sugar daddy.”
Bile rises in my throat. “Gross. I just barfed in my mouth.”
“Hey, I’m not that old. And I’ve been told I’m a catch.”
“Aren’t you also married?”
“Oh, Andy. Sometimes I forget how naïve you are. But anyway, as much as I enjoy our banter, I’m not really here to shoot the shit. I have a mission for you, something juicier than the work you’ve been doing for me so far.”
My heart skips a beat. That’s the break I’ve been waiting for.
“Awesome sauce,” I say.
“Try to sound more enthusiastic. This is a good one. The word on the street is that those pesky Knights have acquired a new weapon. The Unmaker.”
“The Unmaker? What the hell is that?”
“Take a wild guess.”
“Don’t want to.”
“You’re no fun today. Fine. The Unmaker is an Idol with the power to turn another Idol into a Norm.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Nope.”
Wow. That’s huge. If I could find that person, I could sic them on Nathaniel. Then I’d be free.
“So what’s the mission?” I ask.
“Find that person and bring them to me.”
“Why? Are you going to kill them?”
“Kill them? Don’t you know me by now? I don’t kill rare, powerful Idols. I bring them to my team.”
“And what makes you think the Unmaker would want to join you? I’m betting whoever this person is, they’re not a naïve twelve-year-old.”
Like I was.
“Don’t worry about that. Just find them before my associates do. They don’t share my fascination with collecting amazing individuals. They want the Unmaker gone.”
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Nathaniel’s mission. Doesn’t he suspect I could find the Unmaker and turn them around on him? He’s not a stupid man, and he’s had the upper hand every step of the way. He must have a trick up his sleeve. Still, I can’t help getting excited about the prospect of turning them on him.
He believes the Unmaker is in Hawk City, but unfortun
ately, the identity of that remarkable Idol is unknown. I, however, have a suspect: Daisy, the student from Gifted Academy who Stephan and Soren were babysitting. They would protect their newest weapon, right? And she’s pretending to be a Norm. What other reason would she have for doing that?
I can’t jump the gun though. I might be wrong.
When I returned to school, I couldn’t sense her anywhere nearby. She was out, and when she returned, she spent the rest of the day with one of her boyfriends in his room. It was easy to zero in on her aura using my chains, but I drew the line at voyeurism.
The new mission even made me forget about Stephan, and it’s not until the next day that I realize he never called again or stopped by. Maybe he thinks whatever happened was a figment of his imagination. Let’s hope so.
It’s Monday morning, and the stupid Annual Interschool Academic Tournament starts, which I assume will keep the girl occupied until the afternoon. I’m not really paying attention to her movements, so it’s only thanks to sheer luck that I’m at the school administration building collecting a care package from Fatima when I sense Daisy make a dash for the restroom on that floor.
I latch on to her signature and sense when she jumps out of the window. Why are you sneaking out, Daisy? What are you hiding?
I follow her to an upscale office building downtown. She seems to hesitate as she stands in front of it. Her heart rate is higher than normal, and her aura is twitching nonstop. She’s nervous about going in. Finally, she makes the decision to go ahead. I wait outside, suddenly wishing I didn’t have such noticeable hair.
She exchanges a few words with the person manning the reception desk, then veers toward the elevators. I have a good lock on her location, so I’m not worried about not knowing which floor she’s going to. I walk around the building until I find the service entrance. The coast is clear as far as I can sense it; it’s hard to scan my surroundings while keeping my focus on Daisy.
Oh well. If I missed any potential witness nearby, too bad.
Daisy stops going upward and leaves the elevator. Judging by how far up she is, she must be on the twenty-fifth floor.
Reckless Times: A Paranormal Romance (Paragon Society Book 1) Page 20
