“Well,” I continue, “which is it gonna be?”
Gage blows out a big breath and begins, “They took Rae because she possesses a unique set of skills.”
“Yeah, so? I know there’s more to it than that.” I hold my ground, my strength and determination unwavering.
Gage, unable to meet my eyes, puts his hands on his hips and talks to the floor as he says, “Rae is our medic, our chemist. She’s in charge of extractions.”
Rae is the one who can pull a soul from a body. A shiver ripples up my spine.
“Was there a Breacher in this room?” Nathaniel asks, his face lit up with accusation. He’s enjoying every second that Gage squirms.
“Yes,” Gage answers tersely.
“And that’s who they came for, am I right?” Nathaniel asks, though he clearly knows the answer.
“Yes,” Gage says.
“I still don’t get it. Who were you keeping here?” I ask.
Gage bites the inside of his lip, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.
“You’ve made quite the mess, haven’t you, brother?” Nathaniel’s tone is less gleeful and more rueful, as though for the first time he pities Gage.
I charge up to Gage and force him to look at me, to lock eyes with me before I ask again. “Who were you keeping here?”
“You.”
This time I don’t faint. The world doesn’t fall out from under me. Instead, everything is very, very still.
Gage and I continue to stare at each other for several moments. I wait for him to blink or take it back or something, but instead he holds my glare.
After a few more beats I say, “You had my body here?” Then I remember. “Fucking Christ! Is that why the morgue thinks they misplaced my body, because you took it?”
“Yes.”
“But I thought I was dead.”
His gaze reverts to the floor. “Not exactly.”
“I think I need to sit down.” My knees are locked into position and if I don’t bend soon I might stay frozen forever.
Gage stole my body from the hospital. I’m not dead, so what does this mean? Am I in a coma? It doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do such a thing? And why didn’t he tell me?
It’s Nathaniel who takes me by the elbow and lowers me in a nearby chair. With my head between my knees I hug my legs and try to keep steady.
Nathaniel says to me in a loving voice that I didn’t know he was capable of, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I don’t realize I’m crying until he wipes a tear from my cheek.
“Do you know where they might have taken her?” Gage directs his question at Nathaniel.
“I have a guess,” Nathaniel replies.
The fact that my body had been here, in this damp and dark warehouse, right under my nose infuriates me to no end. But at the same time it gives me hope that maybe Nathaniel is wrong and that Gage wasn’t planning on destroying me once he completed his mission. Maybe, just maybe, he meant to send me back, to my home, to my dad.
My dad! We left him at the hospital, alone. Anything could’ve happened to him by now and he will certainly be wondering what happened to me. Moreover, he’ll be concerned when Jay and Kate never show up. I wonder if maybe I should try telling him the truth. But even if I convince him that I’m inside Lyla’s body, I don’t know how I can ever tell him about my mother.
My dad loves my mother wholeheartedly. To this day, when he mentions her, the edges of his mouth curl into a comfortable smile. He talks about her freely, often with tears, but also with laughter, telling me story after story. He doesn’t want me to forget her and so he keeps her memory close.
How can I ever tell him who she really is?
With the meeting of the minds complete, Gage and Nathaniel return their attention to me.
“We should get out of here,” Gage says. “It won’t be long before the fire department arrives.”
“Where are we going to go?” I ask.
“You are going to go home,” Gage says to me. “It’s safer for you there.”
“It’s safer for her with us,” Nathaniel disagrees.
“I’m still not convinced of that,” Gage argues.
“You can wait for the writing on the wall if you want, but that would be a waste of time. Face, it Gage,” Nathaniel says, “Ariana is alive and well despite your best efforts. Not only is she here, but she’s after Mercy and she’s not going to stop until she gets what she wants.”
And there it is, plain and simple, exactly what we’re up against. My mother. Someday I’ll force Gage to tell me the story of how he could’ve killed her and not killed her at the same time. But Nathaniel is right, we don’t have time for stories right now.
We need a plan to get my friends back and to save Rae. And if my mother is even half of what I fear she might be, we’re running out of time.
“I’m coming with you,” I tell Gage. “I don’t care if it’s too dangerous and I don’t care if it’s not what you want. Jay and Kate are my friends and I’m going to help them and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.” It’s nearly word for word what Lyla would’ve said if she were here instead of me.
Gage doesn’t put up a fight. The three of us set off. Our first priority is to check on my dad and Mrs. Sheller at the hospital. Her condition is improving and though it takes some serious lying on my part, I manage to convince my father that Jay is having car trouble and that he’ll be there as soon as he can.
My story has more holes than a golf course, but car trouble is all I can come up with on the spur of the moment. As for Kate, I explain that she’s still dealing with the investigators who are trolling all over Wally’s and that she, too, will arrive at the hospital when she can.
Leaving my father again is more than difficult. I know it surprises him when I hug him and when I won’t let go, but I can’t help myself. His arms wrapped around me are what I need before I head off into battle.
And into battle is exactly where we’re headed. Nathaniel isn’t sure where Ariana is hiding, but he knows her well enough to point us in the right direction. Ariana likes the good life, he tells me, fine furnishings and people to cater to her, which is why he leads us to one of the finest hotels in town, The Sheraton Grand.
As Nathaniel is about to go charging into the lobby, Gage clasps his arm. “We can’t just storm the place. We have to have a plan,” he says.
“Because those have been working out really well for you,” Nathaniel mocks.
A very stupid, possibly life-threatening, and certainly crazy thought comes to me. “I have an idea,” I pipe in. “Let me go. Alone.”
In unison they shout, “No!”
“Think about it,” I say to them. “I’m who she wants. So why not offer a trade, me for them.”
Again they yell, “No!”
“I don’t see that we have much of a choice. We need a way to get inside and I’m it.”
“It’s suicide,” Nathaniel barks.
Unexpectedly, Gage says, “It might work.”
“Oh, good. You’re both crazy.” Nathaniel throws up his hands.
“It’ll work if you take her in,” Gage says to Nathaniel.
Nathanial guffaws at the idea. “Ariana and I aren’t exactly on good terms these days.”
“Use Mercy to get back in her good graces,” Gage suggests.
Nathaniel considers the idea. While he does it gives me time to consider as well. What the hell am I thinking? Am I really ready to be reunited with my mother? The last time I saw her I was ten years old. I waved good-bye to her as she dropped me off at school. We arrived late after having spent the morning shopping together. The temperature outside was unbearable. Even with my hair pulled into a ponytail, sweat trickled down my neck. A damp ring accumulated on the back of my shirt where my book-laden backpack pressed into me.
She rolled down the window and called out to me, “Bye, Mercy. Love you!”
I can still picture her so clearly. Her red lipstick made the perfect frame for her beautiful smile. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. When she waved the bangles on her arm clanked together like wind chimes. Unfortunately, even after all these years, those are the only details of that moment I can remember. What happened after she pulled away from the curb remains a mystery.
The police never found her body. It was two years after she disappeared that they found her car at the bottom of the reservoir. She was presumed dead.
Clearly, we were wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gage
Ariana is supposed to be dead. She deceived me, and I don’t know how. I have no alternative but to send Mercy in to gather information. But the ache gnawing at my stomach is making me apprehensive about the plan.
Nathaniel ushers me away from Mercy and whispers so that only I can hear. “I won’t let anything happen to her,” he tells me.
Going nearly nose-to-nose with Nathaniel, I say in my most authoritative voice, “Nothing about this is right. Putting my trust in you?”
“I don’t see that you have any other choice,” Nathaniel reminds me.
“If you cross me or if harm comes to her in any way, I swear … ”
Nathaniel narrows his eyes and chuckles, “You’ve really got it bad, don’t you? That thing you feel, that drive at the pit of your stomach to stop at nothing. That pulsating in your chest when you look at her, or worse, when she’s gone … ”
“Shut up. Don’t say anymore.”
Mercy’s cheeks redden and she turns away.
“Well, well, isn’t this fun?” He claps my shoulders. “A Hunter in love with a human. I wonder what The Assembled will say about that.”
I attempt to regain control of my emotions. “We don’t have time for this, Nathaniel.”
“Do you know how I know all of this, brother?” He says brother like it repulses him. “I know all of this because we are connected. You’ve chased me all over this world and yet, you’ve never been able to pull the trigger. Ever asked yourself why?”
“Shut up.”
“Because your precious Assembled designed it that way. You blindly take orders and carry out their missions, but still you wonder why, don’t you? Why would they connect you to me, link us in such a way?”
“I said, shut up!” I roar.
“Could it possibly be so that when I die, you die? Two birds. One stone.”
No! It can’t be true. I won’t accept that.
Nathaniel presses on, saying, “It’s why you let me live, why you pretend to study me, question my motives. You’re delaying the inevitable. Self-preservation, just like the rest of us.”
Nathaniel’s words slice through me like shrapnel. Exposed, raw, every nerve in my body ignites and throbs. He’s accusing me of being no better than him. But I’m nothing like him. I would never kill another for my own gain, for my own selfish reasons. The mere idea is in direct contradiction to everything I know about myself.
Before I have time to argue, before I have time to think, two men step out of the shadows.
“Mercy! Run!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mercy
No matter how fast I run, they gain. Fear turns to terror as a hand grabs the back of my neck. With a sure grip my pursuer tackles me to the hard ground. I yelp as the weight of him comes crashing down on top of me. He flips me over easily and mounts me, his knees pinning my arms to the ground. From his pocket he withdraws a long, gold-sheathed knife. I open my mouth to scream as he raises the blade, preparing to strike, but the pressure on my chest muffles any sound.
Suddenly he slumps forward. The knife flies out of his hand. I roll free and spring to my feet as Nathaniel pounces on him. With expertise, Nathaniel kicks him square in the chin. Blood and teeth spurt from his mouth.
Gage takes care of the partner. He slides up behind him, lassoes a chokehold around him and in one swift motion snaps his neck.
Nathaniel, however, likes to take his time. Much like my attacker did to me, Nathaniel mounts him and delivers punch after punch until the thug’s face resembles ground beef.
“Nathaniel!” Gage barks.
Disappointed that Gage interrupted him, Nathaniel rises to his feet. With the heel of his shoe he stamps the life from the motionless man. The crack of his neck echoes with a sickening crunch.
I expect to start shaking, to feel the heat intensify as my body prepares to breach. But I feel nothing. And that scares me even more. The idea that I am becoming accustomed to violence and death is unsettling.
“We need to get rid of the bodies,” Nathaniel says matter-of-factly.
I scan the street. “There’s a dumpster in the alley.” I point.
Nathaniel grins, his left eyebrow dancing. “You catch on quick.”
A sickening shiver ripples my spine. I swallow hard to force down what I’m feeling.
Gage steps between us. “Help me.” He grunts as he lifts the heavier of the two.
Running ahead of them I prop open the dumpster lid. Together, Gage and Nathaniel heave the body into the trash.
“One down, one to go,” Nathaniel remarks.
“Human life really means that little to you, doesn’t it?” I snap.
“I just saved your ass,” he points out. “Save the lecture.”
Shut down, frustrated, and tired, I wait by the dumpster as Gage and Nathaniel retrieve the other body.
The night air creeps in and shivers work their way across my skin. Rubbing my arms to keep warm, I move away from the stench of the dumpster when a hand reaches out and covers my mouth.
No chance to scream, no chance to run, the last thing I see before the syringe pierces my skin is the clear, night sky.
My eyelids fight against sleep and lose. In my dreams I see Lyla, sitting on her porch, painting her toenails a ridiculous shade of red. She waves me over.
“You have that look on your face,” she says coolly.
“What look?”
“That stick-up-your-butt look.”
“What? I do not!”
She brushes the polish onto her toes, not looking up at me. “You never want to have any fun.”
“That’s not true,” I protest.
“Sure it is,” she says, still not looking up at me. “That’s why no one wants to date you and you don’t have any friends besides me.”
Taken aback and unable to hide the look of hurt on my face, I say, rather snidely, “Gee, Lyla, why don’t you tell me how you really feel.”
She looks up at me, her head cocked oddly, almost demon-like. “You hate me, don’t you?” Methodically, she rises from the porch, the nail polish tipping over and spilling a thick river of red down the steps. “You’re going to kill me.” Suddenly she has a knife in her hand and she waves it at me. “Go ahead.”
Backing away from the blade I retreat across the lawn. “Lyla, put the knife down. I don’t want to kill you.”
With the knife in her right hand, Lyla holds out her left forearm. The tip of the blade edges along her skin, slicing just deep enough for trickles of blood to leak.
“Lyla! Stop!”
“You know this is what you want. You want me dead. Then you’ll be free.” She slices another line in her skin.
“Stop!” I yell.
“Come on, Mercy.” She wields the knife, skillfully, purposefully, as she digs into her shoulder. More blood, so much more blood escapes, wetting her shirt.
“Please.” I stumble and hit the ground. She towers over me, holding the knife to her throat. “Lyla! Don’t!”
I lunge for the knife, but not in time. Lyla drags the blade across her throat. Thick sprays of crimson spew forth covering my face.
I wake to the sound of my own screaming.
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes and dribble down my cheeks. It’s useless to wipe them because they relentlessly keep on coming.
Lyla. Lyla. Lyla.
What have I done?
She’s gone and it’s entirely my fault. She was my friend. Is my friend! She is my friend and I did this to her. I took away her life and for that I will never forgive myself.
Gage says this isn’t my fault. Nathaniel says this isn’t my fault. But I know the truth. I am a Breacher. I am a lowlife, soul-sucking Breacher who doesn’t deserve to live, just like Rae said.
I should end this. It’s wrong to go on living in Lyla’s body. It’s selfish. I keep telling myself that I can’t kill her, that I’m not the kind of person who kills my friend, but Nathaniel is right. I already did.
The minute I took her body I killed her. I’m deluding myself that the only reason I haven’t left her body yet is because I can’t bring myself to end her life. Her life is already over. She’s gone and I’m tired of being selfish.
It’s time to set Lyla free. But first I have to figure out where the hell I am.
The cot I woke up on is pushed against a dingy, paint-chipped wall in a room the size of a cell. In the corner there’s a hole in the floor. Silently, I pray that I won’t have to use it.
The locked door at the end of the room has the tiniest of windows. I strain to see right or left, but can make out only darkness. Returning to the cot, I sit back down. There’s nothing left to do but wait.
When the door finally opens, the face that greets me is not the one I’d been expecting.
“Rae?”
“Not exactly.”
“I don’t understand. What’s going on?” I press myself against the wall as she comes further into the room. “Where’s Gage?”
Her eyes flicker with recognition, but there’s no love in her expression. Something is different. This is not the Rae I know.
“Such a delicious choice, isn’t it? Gage? Nathaniel?” She strums her fingertips together. “Whomever will you choose?”
Everything pulls into focus and my heart sinks. This isn’t Rae. Yes, she looks just like her, but it isn’t her. And then I understand. She’s a replica, a sister, a copy of the original, only evil.
“Son of a bitch!” I yell.
Into the Dark Page 11
