Brie had no idea how she knew.
“Just stay,” she begged.
Sirena pulled Brie toward her in a sloppy, uncomfortable half-hug, releasing her quickly. “Good luck with life, kiddo. I wish this had worked out.”
Brie wiped tears from her eyes.
Sirena took several steps forward and disappeared, transporting away.
Chapter 23 - Pilot
Pilot waited in the No Parking lane of the Honolulu airport, waiting for his sister to emerge. He hadn’t called James yet; he wanted to make sure he had her before doing anything else.
The text that came just a few hours earlier didn’t include any explanation. It only said to meet her at the airport at 5:45 PM. A part of him wanted to send a car—he wasn’t her errand boy—but the responsible part of him kicked in and realized that it would be less conspicuous if he simply picked her up himself.
She rushed out the doors, looking like she’d been through hell. Back-to-back flights could do that to you, he knew, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for her.
Oddly, she didn’t have any luggage. It was as if she have left in a hurry. Still, if she had planned to leave, wouldn’t she have brought more?
His sister breezed into the car like she hadn’t been missing for nearly 20 hours already. She slammed the door shut and turned to him.
“Thanks for picking me up,” she said, sounding defeated and exhausted.
He didn’t care; he was defeated and exhausted too.
“That’s it?” He couldn’t believe the nonchalance with which she spoke. “You’ve been missing for an entire day. You tell me to pick you up at the airport, and that’s all you have to say for yourself?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I was worried sick about you. I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again, or if I was going to hear about something awful happening to you on the news.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“Well, you better start saying more than that.”
Brie was silent.
An attendant waved for them to move out of the way. He shifted his car into gear and took off. They rode in silence for several minutes, when he finally said, “Can you at least tell me if you’re okay?”
“I’m okay.”
“Why did you go to Los Angeles, Brie?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I thought I wanted to see Dad, but I chickened out.”
“There has to be more to it than that,” he said. “Did you ever stop to think about how this would make me feel? You could at least tell me something that would make me understand why I’ve been through hell the last 12 hours, sick to my stomach about you.”
“Can we just go home?” she begged. “Talk about this later?”
He sighed. “I’m so disappointed in you. This is the most selfish thing you’ve ever done. I just… I can’t look at you right now.”
She had tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Pilot. I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t know if her apology was enough. He wanted an explanation for a lot of things in his life—the dreams, his encounter with Kennedy, this bizarre disappearance from Brie.
No one seemed willing to give him answers, but the oddities were overwhelming. Something larger was happening, and he was going to find out what it was.
Chapter 24 - Thessa
Thessa woke in a cold sweat, as she always did when she had her visions.
Her wounds from the trip to Los Angeles had healed, but the part of her soul that Branson had touched still felt damaged. She had almost died. A few days earlier, in Barcelona, death was all she wanted; but in that instant, when death was whispering to her, tempting her to the other side, she could only think of all the conversations she still needed to have with Clara, Cora, Sirena, Brie, others. There were so many people who deserved the truth, and she had kept it from them. To protect them, yes, but still. She could not protect them from the grave. She owed them that, at least.
She felt like their enemies were closing in on them from all sides. After all these years that she had tried to keep the girls safe, tried to survive in peace, her choices were finally catching up with her.
Clara rushed into her plain, puritan bedroom. “I heard you calling out for me. Did you have another vision?”
She nodded. “A dagger encrusted with emeralds, slicing through someone’s wrist. Blood magic.”
“But you don’t know whose?”
“You know how the visions work.”
“I do,” Clara replied.
“You are still angry with me,” she noted.
“You should not have attacked Branson without me. You almost died, Thessa.”
“I have told you, I went alone to keep you and Cora—“
“Safe,” Clara said. “You do not need to tell me twice.”
She nodded, remembering that repeated information was one of Clara’s annoyances. Clara did not need things repeated; she could replay conversations in her mind, word for word, which was both a blessing and a curse.
Clara glanced at her thoughtfully. “How did the meeting with President Vega go?”
“He asked me to find the daughters of Michael,” Thessa admitted. “He knew I had been helping them.”
“What did he threaten you with?” Clara asked.
“President Vega—” she entered a fit of coughs, reminding her that she was an old woman. She patted her chest, clearing her throat. “President Vega is afraid of me. He would not harm me.”
“Did having your soul touched teach you nothing? You are strong, but not invincible.”
“And not afraid,” she added, in a tone that she hoped would end the matter.
“What was it then?” Clara asked.
“You. Your sister.” She sighed, feeling the weight of all the secrets resting heavily on her chest.
“So he’s coming after us,” Clara said.
“He might,” Thessa said, “Unless I can protect you. However, if Vega captures you, he will use you, but he won’t kill you. Your gifts would be too tempting for him.”
“Thessa,” Clara said softly. “In your condition, and with Vega watching us so closely, it might be smart to let Brie go with Sirena. We both know she’ll be safest if she disappears. And Theos knows Sirena can evade her enemies. She’s been doing it for nearly a century.”
“Milena didn’t approve of Sirena’s wild paranoia. She didn’t want that life for her children.”
“But you don’t owe Milena anything. Haven’t you done enough for that family? You were just a servant to them, so many years ago. Yet, a hundred years later, you still feel loyal to them.”
“Yes, I have helped Milena and Sirena for nearly a century now, but never only of my own kindness. They are the last daughters of Michael, and the New Order is weak. If the Nephilim attacked, they would likely demolish the Hallows… especially with the stones missing. But if Sirena and Brie can find the stones and take back control from the New Order, we might stand a chance.”
“Is that why we’ve followed Brie all the way here? Another war with the Nephilim that never changes anything? We win, they win, we all coexist.”
“I believe Brie will play a critical role in the upcoming war with the Nephilim,” Thessa admitted. “She may even be a the catalyst.”
“Did you see this in your visions?” Clara asked.
She sighed. “No, it is just a hunch.”
“We have never lived our lives based on hunches,” Clara said quietly. “You don’t know that there will be a war, you don’t know what Sirena and Brie are needed for, or if they could really win.”
“Your father Bes cared about little else restoring the Natural Crown,” she said. “He sacrificed his life for it.”
“And you?”
“I believe in the cause and want to see the Natural Crown restored. But more importantly, I’m trying to protect you and your sister,” Thessa said. “Vega wanted your father’s and mother’s powers. He couldn’t have them, so he would like yours. You will ne
ver be safe until he’s overthrown.”
“But why help the daughters of Michael? They have no supporters. Why not back a more promising leader? Or wait it out until after another war with the Nephilim?”
“There is something else—something besides this new daughter of Michael.” She took a deep breath, fully aware of how difficult this information would be for Clara to hear. “When I first helped Milena and Sirena escape, their mother put a protective charm on them and all who protected them from the New Order. That charm kept us safe for years, until Milena had her last child.”
“Brie,” Clara said.
“Yes. I’m not sure if you remember that we had to move several times during this period.”
“I do,” Clara said. “Though you never told me why.”
“We had no idea this would break the charm, or that the charm was even in place. Milena figured it out, then she found the solution her mother had used to put the charm in place. She made the very same elixir again for herself and her family. It allowed her to evade the New Order for fifteen more years without detection.”
“And then she died,” Clara said slowly.
“She made that elixir for us as well, and Sirena,” Thessa said quickly, before Clara could put the pieces together on her own. “That is how we all stayed safe.”
“So for the last fifteen years, the main reason we’ve been able to evade the New Order is something Milena gave us?”
She nodded. “We owe Milena our lives. But it came with a price.”
Clara looked suspicious. “What?”
“She bound the elixir to her life. And she promised me the recipe for this elixir in exchange for my loyalty in the event of her death. She wanted me to watch over Pilot and Brie and keep her away from the New Order.
“I had almost forgotten about the elixir, but when Vega summoned me to the capital, I knew it’s powers had been broken again. I remembered the clues Milena had given me about the elixir, and several of the ingredients. So I went to Barcelona not just to meet him, but also to retrieve the recipe we needed.”
“If we have this recipe, we’re safe, right? We can make another elixir?”
Thessa frowned. “You know how Milena was. Persuasive, without giving the ones around her any real choice. She was a strategist who masterfully moved the pieces around the board. I found the recipe easily, but I’m missing one of the ingredients—one that is incredibly challenging to procure. I stayed in Barcelona longer still in an attempt to find it.”
“What is the ingredient?” Clara asked.
She paused for a long moment, debating whether to confide in Clara. I cannot protect them from the grave, she reminded herself. “Blood.”
Clara’s face paled. “Is that what your vision meant? ‘A dagger encrusted with emeralds, slicing through someone’s wrist.’ Does this elixir require blood magic?”
She swallowed, nervous of what Clara was thinking. “The darkest of kinds,” she whispered.
“What kind of blood?” Clara asked. She said nothing. With more urgency, she said, “What kind, Thessa?”
She looked down at her hands. “Blood of Luci.”
“Blood of Luci,” Clara repeated. “You should not have kept this from me. All these years, I’ve been protected through blood magic? It’s against our laws.”
“I know. I had no choice.”
“It was not your choice to begin with!” Clara stood up, pacing the bedroom floor.
“I did not know what Milena was giving me until she died, and granted, I could have asked more questions, but I was so relieved to have reprieve from the New Order for some time. You must understand, I promised your mother and father that I would protect you and your sister.”
Clara scoffed. “You and your promises. You’ve promised Milena that you will protect her children and sister in one breath, and promised President Vega that you will turn them over in another. You’ve promised my parents that you will protect us, and dragged Cora and I into the middle of a war that is not ours to fight.”
“I do not pretend I have chosen correctly. When you reach my age, you will understand that life is not as black and white as—”
“Shut up,” Clara said sharply. “Your age is worth nothing if it has not brought you wisdom.”
“Clara,” Thessa said firmly. “We have no path to safety without this elixir. Vega will come for us in the next several months.”
“So you want to do more illegal blood magic,” Clara said. “Wonderful.”
“It feels like the only choice to me.”
Clara appeared to be mulling it over. “How do we get this blood of Luci?”
Thessa shrugged. “I can’t be certain, but Milena plays her games well. I would guess that the only way to get the blood of Luci will require us to do one of two things: train Brie to use her powers, or make amends with Sirena.”
Clara smirked. “I might rather work for President Vega than play Milena’s games. I’m tired of being your soldier in her war.”
Thessa frowned. “The war between the daughters of Michael and the New Order is rapidly approaching. We will all have to choose sides. I will not force you to help the daughters of Michael if you don’t want to.”
“And lose you? Lose my sister? What kind of choice is that?”
She coughed again, this time tasting blood in her mouth. The healing process was getting more difficult the older she got. “My death is coming. Not today, not this week. But soon. For the first time in my life, I can feel how close it is. Please, Clara, let me get this elixir for you and Cora. Let me at least give you the option to say no to Vega, to live your own lives in peace.”
Clara sighed. “Fine. A few more months, and then we send the daughters of Michael off on their own.”
Chapter 25 - Brie
Brie stared out the window at Thessa’s house, watching butterflies flit across the yard from flower to flower.
She hadn’t eaten, hadn’t slept, and hadn’t gone back to school in several days.
She hadn’t been able to talk to Pilot at all, and she couldn’t stand to be at their house alone while he was at school.
The twins had done everything they could to re-secure the various areas she spent the most time in—her house, her school, and their house—and so far no one else had attacked. Thessa said it was a freak incident, that Branson had only been able to grab her because he was a trained Hunter, and that a regular supernatural would have never gotten past the twins and Sirena. She also didn’t think he had told anyone what he knew about her identity, and that killing him had ended the chain of information getting passed on. She still felt that staying on the island and training was Brie’s safest bet, especially since there were few supernaturals and they could control the areas where she frequented easily.
But Brie still felt unsafe. There were moments when she remembered being paralyzed and helpless, at the mercy of a psychopath. She hadn’t been able to save herself. Others had almost died trying to save her. And for what? Would the attacks keep coming for the rest of her life? What about her brother and father? How would she protect them if she couldn’t protect herself?
Losing Sirena had been a blow as well. She couldn’t believe that her mother’s own sister could so easily abandon her. She didn’t know Sirena very well, and she couldn’t say she would even like her if they weren’t related. But for some reason—possibly because they looked so much alike—it felt like losing her mother all over again.
Cora had tried to help Brie with the trauma of being kidnapped and witnessing what she did. She taught her how to shake her body out every morning to ground her energy. She talked to her every day about the experience, helping her identify any blame or shame she felt around what had happened.
Brie knew she could heal, but she also knew it wouldn’t happen right away.
She had asked at least twenty times if she should tell Pilot what happened, and every time all three Hallows said she shouldn’t. She understood their reasoning, but she also knew it was tearing apar
t her family. Pilot hadn’t accepted her flimsy excuses for traveling to Los Angeles, and now he wasn’t speaking to her. She knew he had called their father, and James was planning to come home in the coming days, which would only make it harder to hide her secret.
The only good thing that had come out of all of it was that at least the media hadn’t found out. The only people who knew besides the Hallows were Pilot, Annie, Rykken, and her father. Clara had cleaned up all her absences with the school, and also the messy scene at the airport. There were only a few earthlie witnesses, luckily, and Clara was able to easily modify their memories.
Cora poked her head through the door, knocking at the same time. “Brie, you have a visitor.”
Without waiting for a response, her aunt Sirena plowed through the door, hands on hips.
Brie stood up. “What are you doing here? I thought I wouldn’t see you again.”
Sirena pursed her lips. “I heard you’re having a tough time with recent events. I tried to walk away but I can’t.”
“What does that mean?” Brie asked. “Are you going to help me?”
Sirena walked toward her, wrapping her arms around her. Brie felt tears spill from her eyes again, though she tried to bite them back.
Sirena stepped back, looking at her. “You look so much like my sister, Brie. But I wasn’t very fair to you. When I met Milena, we were both in our seventies, both strong and independent. Milena was the type of woman that couldn’t be stopped. If she wanted it, she could have it. If she decided it, it was final. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that you are a 15-year old girl. You’re a baby in Hallow years. And you’re dealing with things that no one your age should deal with.”
“You called me weak,” Brie said. “And you’re right. I know I need to be stronger. I’m really, really scared.”
“I’m going to toughen you up, Brie.”
“We’ve come to an agreement,” Thessa said from behind them. Brie hadn’t noticed, but Cora, Clara, and Thessa had all entered the room and were standing in a line against the back wall.
Instruments of the Angels (Hallows & Nephilim: Waters Dark and Deep #1) Page 15
