Far Darrig actually laughed, but the sound was chilling and hard. “You left me.” He spat mirthlessly. “You left me with a life that was falling apart. I was alone in every battle, and whenever I bled, I cried for you. When the rebellion fell, not even home was safe. We had to leave everything. Do you know what that did to Mother? The old woman was driven to the brink of insanity when she lost you, her beloved son. Losing her home was the breaking point. You left me with a broken mother and a ruined father. Him and his precious church, his precious patriotism. He constantly told me, ‘all will be well,’ but they were the mutterings of a madman! I had to build us all a new life in France. We starved, Patrick. Mother got sick. Father followed soon after. But were their last words for me? No. They were for you. Always for you. The wonderful brother. The talented brother. The dead brother. The worthless brother that didn't work day and night for them. I worked in factories until my fingers bled, I stole for them, I killed for them. But when I wanted to die, was that allowed? No. Because I had my debts to pay. Their debts to pay. Your debts, Patrick. I worked for the worst kind of filth, but it was never enough for them. Never. And when my death finally came, I learned I couldn't even come after you in the afterlife because I was a living Demon, forever barred from heaven.”
Patrick had grown still long ago. His hands were trembling in the most intense pain, and I wished I could see his face. But I didn't even dare move to wrap my arms around him. I just knelt on the bed, wishing this moment would end.
Far Darrig laughed at the expression on Patrick's face. “You feel sorry for me? You pity your poor brother? I disgust you?”
“Sean…”
“Don't try. I get it. You don't even deserve their love, because you didn't choose them. You didn't choose us. You chose to become a Guardian.” He chuckled, but his eyes were too filled with pain to be considered uncaring. “That was the first time I wanted to kill you myself. When I saw you for the first time. Alive. A Guardian. Maybe you remember—it was 1915. I could hardly believe it when I saw you walking so calmly down the street. Walking around Germany like you were supposed to be there. Why would Patrick—the cherished son—give up heaven? I might have hated Mother and Father by the time I died, but I wasn't beyond feeling. What a horrible arrangement for them—to have heaven, but not precious Patrick?”
“You stupid fool!” Patrick broke in, voice cracked and shaking. “I did it for you. I chose all of this for you!”
“You've done nothing for me. I have the memories to prove it.”
Patrick's words throbbed with emotion, and he took an unconscious step toward his brother. “I became a Guardian for you, Sean. So I could keep you safe. Like I promised.”
Far Darrig laughed again. “You did a great job too…”
“I got you through the war. I got you home—I followed you to France!”
“What does that matter? You didn't do anything.”
“I couldn't—there are rules—”
“Did you watch Mother starve? Did you watch father lose his mind?”
“I watched you forget me!” For the first time, Patrick's voice was sharp, but Far Darrig remained unaffected.
“Did I hurt your feelings?” he asked mockingly.
Patrick's jaw was locked. “If I'd known what you resorted to after I left… I never would have gone.”
“Right. Because you're the perfect one.”
“This isn't you, Sean,” Patrick said desperately. “I know this isn't you. Please…”
Far Darrig finally moved out from his defensive crouch. He gave a full bow to his brother, his grin terrifying me. “I'm glad I could disappoint you. For now, that's enough.” He straightened, turned on his heel, and moved for the door.
“Sean!” Patrick shouted, his body turning and shifting so he could keep an eye on his retreating brother. “Sean, come back here!”
But this time Far Darrig didn't turn. Not even to catch the doors. He pulled them closed without breaking stride, and we heard the solid click of a lock.
Patrick remained standing beside the bed, his shoulders rigid and his eyes on the closed doors. He didn't move for a long time, and I couldn't think of a single thing to say.
It was nearly ten o'clock. We hadn't had any other visitors, but I think that was in our best interest. I was especially glad that Far Darrig hadn't made another appearance. If I'd had doubts before on how my ability could somehow help Sean, I was now pretty sure that I didn't stand a chance.
When Patrick finally broke his stare and turned to look at me, I knew he didn't want to discuss what had just happened. He asked me listlessly, distractedly, about my stinging cheek, but I just shook my head, assuring him that I was fine.
I really wasn't. I was worried about Patrick. He wasn't handling this well, and I knew that Sean was ripping a hole in his chest. A hole that I wouldn't be able to fix.
He joined me on the bed, and I showed him the Oreos and shared my theory that Maddy was an ally. He wordlessly nodded—agreeing with me—and then I relayed the rest I'd figured out.
“She wants us to call before ten—but close to it. That's when they're going to try breaking us out. I know it.”
“Good,” he'd said, voice hollow despite his best efforts. “We need to get you back to your family.”
And so we waited for time to pass, with me eating roughly the entire feast Maddy had brought. She was right—I was literally starving. Patrick nibbled a little. Not that he needed the food, but he wanted the distraction. When we finished, we sat holding each other on the bed. We waited for the clock to finally reach the glowing numbers we needed.
At 9:46 p.m., I couldn't wait anymore. With a nod from Patrick, I reached for the bedside phone. I'd already figured out that it was pretty useless as phones go. It was a direct line to room service—it wasn't able to call outside the hotel, which made me pretty confident that this room had been used as a prison before.
By the time the phone was against my ear, a happy voice was answering. “Miss Bennett, what can I get for you?”
I was more than unsettled by the unexpected use of my name, but I hurried to speak. “I'd like some vanilla ice cream, with some Oreos on the side. A lot of Oreos.”
“Will that be all?” the cheerful voice asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Your order should be up in about five minutes.”
“Thank you.” I hung up and met Patrick's eyes. “Five minutes,” I told him.
He nodded again, leaned in impulsively, and kissed me deeply. Before I could effectively melt into the kiss, he pulled his lips away from mine, setting our foreheads lightly together. “I'm sorry I've been so quiet. I know you need me. I just…”
I set my hands against his face, pulled his mouth back to mine. When I finally released his lips, we were both breathing hard. “It's going to be okay,” I told him in a comforting whisper. “Your father told me that everything's going to be okay. He felt it. And I trust him.” I decided not to add the part that I was supposed to be the one to make all this happy ending stuff possible. It seemed a lot more believable if fate were in charge of things, and not me.
Patrick didn't answer, but he didn't have to. I knew he trusted his father too.
Five minutes passed. Maddy's voice was energetic, even through the thick doors; we could hear her as she addressed whoever was guarding us, and a second later, one of the doors was unlocked and pushed open.
Maddy smiled brightly at us as she rolled the cart inside, and she parked it next to the first. She winked at me, then pushed the first cart over, spilling the dirty dishes and remains all over the carpet.
“Oh crap!” she cried.
The guard was already running inside at the loud sound—it was the big black guy who'd been guarding this floor with Mei Li when we'd first arrived. When he saw that it was only a clumsy mess and not an attack, he ordered her to clean it up. He gave Patrick a warning look before he moved back into the hall, pulling the door closed as he went.
As soon as the
door clicked shut, Maddy's voice dropped to a whisper. “Howdy. Y'all okay?”
“Toni and Lee—where are they?” I asked, instead of answering.
Maddy raised an assuring palm. “They're safe. Lee's actually posing as my good friend. She's filling in for someone who didn't show up tonight. Trust me. You don't want the details.”
“Lee's a maid?” I griped. “She can't be here!”
“I don't make the plans, honey. I just follow the orders.”
“You know Terence?” Patrick interjected.
“Sure do. He put my Guardian in charge of infiltrating the Illusion months ago. I've been pretending to work for the Demon Lord ever since. I'm not a Special Seer, but he still likes having a few of us normal Seers around. Security, you know, so Guardians can't slip in.” She threw me a nod. “Call room service—ask for Kellee to come help with this cleanup.”
“I can't bring my best friend up here,” I argued. “There's a huge hit man outside!”
Maddy gave me a stern look. Even if she was barely sixteen, she had a good one. “Look, hon, she's got the cleaning cart—which has a rather irritated Toni cramped inside. You want out of here or not?”
Patrick reached for my hand and squeezed. “She's the only one who can do this. We're all in danger if we don't get out now.”
Maddy nodded, agreeing with that. “The Demon Lord is planning to take you away tomorrow, to Belgium, for training. As soon as you're gone, they're going to reinject your Guardian with a different strain of the virus. They only cured him in the first place so you'd trust them when they promise to let him go in return for your full cooperation.”
I didn't like the corner I was in, but I was backed in pretty good. I sighed with frustration and reached for the phone.
When I was assured Kellee was on her way up, I put the phone down and turned back to regard Maddy. “How did Toni get in contact with you?”
“Through Terence. I guess they got smart and decided to ask if there was any additional help in the area. When Terence learned you were here… well, you can't stay undercover forever, I guess. Still, my Guardian isn't entirely happy with you. She doesn't want to rush things, but we need to move before you're lost forever, so I guess the Demon Lord's getting assassinated tonight.”
“So Terence knew that the Demon Lord is a Seer?” Patrick asked, looking hurt. I understood what he was feeling, because I felt pretty much the same.
Maddy's eyes grew solemn. “Yes. But it's a secret worth keeping. If every Guardian and Seer learned of his abilities… there would be panic. That's why we infiltrated this hotel in the first place. So that when he came visiting, we might have a chance to assassinate him and end this twisted, Seer-Demon rebellion.”
She threw a look over her shoulder, toward the door. Then she focused back on us. “I couldn't sneak any weapons in here. Toni's got some, though.”
“What's the plan?” I asked. “Even with Lee and Toni, what are we supposed to be able to do?”
“Your grandfather and the Seer Jason are on the floor below us, making a scene. It's protocol for the nearest Seer to tend to things, to make sure that the trouble is created by mere humans. The closest Seer is a man called Martin, here on this floor. He'll leave his post after Lee's slipped past, and then my Guardian—Claire—will come up with the Guardian Jack. We'll be out of the hotel before anyone realizes you're gone.”
It sounded too good to be true, but I tried to believe it was possible.
The wait for Lee wasn't a long one. Her voice through the door wasn't as bouncy and loud as Maddy's had been, but I knew it was her. I moved to get off the bed, but Patrick held me back. I realized why, when the door opened and the black guy stepped in as well, holding the door for Lee's large cart. She pushed it inside, keeping her eyes away from me as she moved toward the mess.
“Hurry,” the Demon ordered gruffly. As soon as he'd closed the door, I jumped off the bed to embrace my best friend.
Lee caught me fiercely, near the end corner of the bed. We squeezed the breath out of each other until Lee gasped in my ear, “I know what you're thinking. But don't say a word about the outfit.”
A breathless laugh escaped me, and I pulled back so I could look her over. She was pale, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Her maid uniform was very un-Lee-like, and the white and gray montage looked anything but Rainbow Days worthy. But I wasn't interested in teasing her at the moment. “You were completely insane to come after me. What on earth have you told your mom?”
“Yeah, well, I haven't actually told her anything yet.”
Before I could reprimand her, we heard Toni's low grunt. We turned to face the cleaning cart, where Patrick was struggling to lever Toni out from the built-in garbage can. It was big, as garbage cans go, but Toni was wedged in pretty tight.
“Oh, for the love of—” Toni pulled free, nearly collapsing in Patrick's steady arms. Maddy grabbed the cart, keeping it from sailing into the wall and creating unnecessary noise.
Patrick let go of Toni's shoulders, but only so he could flip him around and pull him into a quick hug. “Thank you, Toni,” he said fervently.
Toni patted Patrick's back. “Sure, man. And now, for my next trick…” He leaned back so he could pull out a slew of hidden knives from around his legs, his arms, even one in his shoe. By the time he straightened, his hands held almost more knives than fingers.
Patrick took three immediately, tucking one carefully into his waistband, keeping the other two out. I scowled at Lee when she took one. I couldn't really reprimand her, since I took one as well. Maddy also helped herself, and Toni stashed away the rest, looking confident that he'd use them later.
He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, I wrapped my arms around him, embracing him gratefully. “Thanks, Toni. You're the best.”
He squeezed me briefly. “Yeah, I am. Now if you'll allow me to perform my next amazing feat…” I released him, and he motioned for Lee to join Maddy, who was starting to clean the mess on the floor. Patrick followed Toni to the doors, and they each stood behind one. I was unsure of my role at the moment, so I just stood by the cleaning cart.
Maddy let out a sudden yell, and the doors pushed open.
“What now?” The dark man demanded angrily, striding into the room. My Guardians slammed the doors closed, and by the time the Demon was wheeling around, Patrick was lunging for him. They slammed onto the floor, and Toni followed right behind them. Patrick rolled off the Demon, and Toni moved in—their motions so synchronized that this tactic must have been used many times before. The guard had Toni's blade buried in his heart before he could call out an alarm.
My Guardians stood, each offering a hand to the girls on the floor.
After Toni pulled Lee up, she let out an admiring “Wow.”
Maddy looked similarly awed.
Toni grinned—very un-humbly—and turned to Patrick. “The others should be here at any time now. Once we get the word, we'll slip out while they continue on to the Demon Lord's room. They're pretty sure some alarm is going to be tripped, so we'll have to move fast once things are clear.”
Patrick nodded, understanding.
I moved to stand by Lee, and we wordlessly joined hands while we waited with growing tension for the word to move out.
Just before I thought something must have gone wrong, one of the doors pushed open.
My Guardians tensed for a fight, but I could see right away that this newcomer was a Guardian. It was also one we all recognized. It was Jack Williams, the Australian hero himself.
He gave us a salute as he strode in, a blade spinning around his other fingers lazily. “G'day, mates. Just another corker day in the figurative Outback, eh?”
More people were filing in behind him: a few humans—Seers, I assumed—and a handful of Guardians. At first I couldn't focus on any of them. They were coming in too fast, too many faces. Then I saw her. The silver aura was somehow brighter on her than on any other Guardian I'd ever seen, and I was completely spellbound
by her appearance.
She was beautiful. That was the first word that came to mind. Her skin was white and flawless. She was small—probably barely five feet, if that—and all of her features were miniature. Her nose, her chin, her mouth. Her face seemed so tiny. Pixie-like. She had golden-blonde hair gathered into a large messy bun on the back of her head, but it was easy to imagine that it was long. She was wearing a white dress that ended just above the knee, leaving her legs free but making a good disguise. It was a simple dress, but obviously expensive. She definitely looked like she belonged at the Illusion.
The only thing out of character was the huge knife she held in one hand and the ready handgun in the other.
She was the last to come into the room, but she stepped right up to us while the others hurried to close the doors.
She glanced at Patrick and the others, and then at me. “So. You are Kate, the Special Seer.” Her French accent was thick but flowing.
I nodded, but decided not to extend a hand. Both of hers were already occupied with a mini arsenal. “Yes. And you are…?”
“I am Claire,” she said, her voice slightly aloof. She glanced to Maddy. “I want you to leave with them. I will find you after this is over.”
Maddy wanted to argue, it was obvious. But she didn't. She merely nodded. “Yes, Claire.”
Toni stared at the beautiful Guardian, a small smile playing one his lips.
Lee rolled her eyes beside me, but Claire was now turning to Patrick. “I cannot promise you a lot of time. Your other friends—Henry and Jason—they are to meet you outside. Maddy knows the place.”
Patrick's head bowed appreciatively. “Thank you for your assistance, Claire. I don't know how to thank you.”
“Pray that we succeed in killing the Demon Lord,” she suggested. Then she turned on her heel and marched to the closed doors, her small army behind her.
Jack hesitated between the two groups, but in the end he remained with us. I know it was a hard decision for him, but I was thankful. I just wanted us to get out of here. All of us.
The Australian Guardian tossed a hand toward the door. “Shall we?” he asked expansively.
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