‘Look at this one.’
She shone the torch over the worn label and I gasped. Written in bold pen was a single name—Joel Mills.
‘Joel was the name in your mum’s letter. Maybe it’s the same guy.’
I nodded and took the file from her. Flipping open the front page, I found a brief summary sheet. Name, date of birth, family. My heart froze. There was a single name written under the title ‘children’: Cody Mills.
I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I read the words. How could Cody be connected to a man who knew my mother? Knew her and hurt her. It had to be some mistake. Maybe a complete coincidence and not my Cody.
A noise just beyond the next door made me jump. Elizabeth grabbed at my arm and brandished the torch as a weapon. I was starting to wish we’d brought our staffs with us, even if purely for show.
We inched towards the steel door, keeping our backs to the row of filing cabinets. The bright light from the first room splashed long shadows across the floor.
‘Are you going to open it?’ Elizabeth’s voice quivered in terror as I took hold of the handle. ‘We don’t know what’s behind there. It could be a werewolf.’
Part of me wished it was. I’d come face-to-face with quite a few over the past couple of weeks and so far none of them had hurt me.
A rattle of chains and a low moan arose from beyond the door, which quickly reminded me of the screaming. Maybe whoever Felicity had been torturing was still here.
Drawing on all my resolve, I turned the handle and pushed the door wide.
Elizabeth froze next to me and I felt my own limbs lock into place preventing me from fleeing. I couldn’t move or look away. The dark room smelt of blood, wet dog and something else, something I knew and loved. It was the scent of the woods. Earth, leaves, moss and the clean air. But it was tainted. Spoiled by the horror that we faced.
A man lay strapped to a long metal bed secured by two silver chains anchored into the concrete floor. Dried blood caked his upper torso and thin scars littered his skin. He wore tattered jeans but nothing else: no socks, shoes or T-shirt. His brown hair was long and scraggly, matted with blood.
‘Oh my God!’ Elizabeth let out a wracking sob as she pressed her hands to her face.
I took a tentative step forward and then another. Elizabeth whimpered behind me.
The man moaned again, a low keening sound. His head lolled to the right, and he opened his eyes to look straight at me. I gasped and stumbled backwards, bumping into a small silver stand covered with scalpels, needles and vials. They crashed to the floor as I sorted through my jumbled memories. A motorway service station. A mug of hot chocolate. Twinkling eyes full of mischief.
‘Terry?’ I stepped forward, my initial shock dissipating.
‘You know him?’ Elizabeth moved to my side and leant over the now motionless body.
‘I met him on my way to Hood Academy, the night my dad was killed. I think he knows my brother.’
‘What shall we do?’ Elizabeth’s voice had regained some composure, and it helped me calm the thumping sensation that flooded my ears and sucked all the moisture from my mouth.
‘We have to get him out of here.’
‘But how?’
I looked around the dank room. Apart from the metal bed and the tray of grotesque instruments, there was only a small stool. I hooked it up with my toe and flipped it upside down. Using one of the long, thin legs, I slid it inside the loop of Terry’s chains near to where they attached to the floor. I twisted and twisted until the chain and the stool leg were tight, and then I twisted some more. Eventually, the chain link gave and snapped free. I moved to the other side and repeated my action.
With Terry now loose it was going to be up to Elizabeth and me to balance his weight and try to get him back through the rooms and up the stairs. It seemed an impossible task.
‘Where are we going to take him? We can’t exactly hide him in our room?’ I dabbed at a cut on Terry’s lip with my sleeve and he groaned. Elizabeth flinched.
‘We can take him to Adam’s room,’ she suggested. ‘It’s on the ground floor next to the library, and he’s got access to the lawns. Maybe we can hide him until he’s strong enough to make a run for the woods.’
I mulled this plan over, nodding in agreement.
‘We’ll get him upstairs and then you can try and get a message to Adam. We need his help to carry Terry the rest of the way,’ I said. ‘We must get him out of that meeting somehow.’
‘Okay, I’ll try.’
Terry coughed and rolled onto his side. His eyes found mine again and I tried to give him a reassuring smile.
‘Terry, it’s me, Mia. This is my friend, Elizabeth. We’re going to help you.’
He nodded and tried to sit up. Whatever drug was pumping around his system clearly affected his coordination as he would have fallen to the ground if I hadn’t stopped him. I hooked my arm around his shoulders and winced at the heat of his body. He was burning up.
We helped him swing his legs off the trolley and stood on either side of him as he tentatively tested the power in his limbs. Although very shaky, he was able to hold his own weight with a little help from us. We threaded our way through the maze of rooms. Elizabeth stopped to scoop up the information on Joel Mills before exiting the files room and closing the door behind us.
The concrete stairs were much harder to navigate. Terry had little strength left by the time we reached them.
He slid down the cold stone wall and sat on the bottom step with a defeated slump to his shoulders.
‘Go get Adam,’ I said to Elizabeth. ‘Be careful and stay hidden.’
Elizabeth gave me a tight smile, shot a glance at Terry and then bolted off up the stairs, her torch light bouncing off the walls.
I knelt on the ground in front of the crumpled boy and stroked his hair away from his face. When I last saw him, he had been so full of life and energy, with a cheeky smile and a confidence that I could only dream of. I felt a heavy weight pressing down on my chest as I looked at him now.
‘What happened to you?’
He lifted his gaze and gave me a weak smile.
‘Captured. Tortured,’ he whispered.
Tears threatened to fall and I blinked them away and carried on stroking his face. He reminded me so much of Zak. I knew now wasn’t the right time to ask, but I couldn’t help myself.
‘Do you know where my brother is?’
Terry dropped his gaze and licked his parched lips. I wished I had a bottle of water I could give him.
‘Yes,’ he said eventually, his voice hoarse. ‘He’s here, in Ravenshood.’
I thought my heart might explode with joy at hearing his words. My breath caught in my throat and a million questions bubbled to the surface, but before I could ask any of them, I heard footsteps above us.
The blood in my veins ran cold as I recognised Felicity’s voice.
‘The beast has been moved to the interrogation lab,’ she said, ‘but it just means we’ve got more knives to play with.’
Her sadistic laugh ricocheted off the stone walls and circled my throat like a noose. I had to move Terry. It would be catastrophic if she made it down the stairs and found us.
‘Can you stand?’ I whispered, urging Terry to his feet.
He grasped my arm for support and leant heavily against the wall. I noticed the smear of blood he left on the stone from his wounds.
My mouth felt like a sandpit, and yet the moisture that trickled down my spine did nothing to offer any refreshment.
I spun around looking for somewhere to hide, then I spotted a darkened alcove beyond the stairwell. It housed a mop and bucket and a janitor’s uniform.
I shoved Terry without any preamble into the shadows and wrapped the grey uniform around his bare shoulders.
Felicity and her three friends reached the store room just as I melted into the alcove, my back to Terry, pushing him into the tiny space.
‘You gonna let me have a go at torturi
ng the monster tonight, Flic?’ said Elena Fields, one of Felicity’s longest-serving squad members, pushing herself to the front of the group.
‘I suppose you deserve to have a go,’ Felicity said, standing by the connecting door to the bright room. ‘Just remember, we can’t kill him. He might be disgusting vermin, but he’s vital to Dr Roberts’s work.’
I flinched at the mention of Sebastian’s involvement. I hadn’t wanted to believe it when I overheard him talking to Felicity’s father. I knew he was doing something, creating some kind of serum, but I hadn’t believed he was capable of torture.
The girls moved off into the other room, the door clicking shut behind them. I let the breath I’d been holding in rush out in one go.
‘Come on, we’ve got to move.’
I supported Terry the best I could as we made slow progress up the stairs. It wouldn’t take Felicity long to discover that Terry was missing.
We reached the stock room just as I heard raised voices coming from the bottom of the stairs. I pushed Terry out of the door, and we crashed straight into a large man blocking the exit.
I recoiled before noticing the kind eyes peering down at me.
‘Oh, thank goodness. Adam, we’ve got to move. Felicity is right behind us.’
Adam wrapped his arm around Terry’s back and manoeuvred him across the foyer and out of sight. I followed, hearing the stock room door burst open just as I escaped from view.
We hurried down the dark corridor until we arrived at a brown door with a number seven painted on it. Adam knocked once, then twice in sharp succession. The door opened and Elizabeth peeked out. She moved out of the way to allow Adam room to carry Terry through.
‘Are you okay?’ Elizabeth grabbed my hand and squeezed it as I entered Adam’s bedroom.
‘That was too close. Felicity turned up with her rent-a-torturer crew. I didn’t think we’d make it.’
I flopped into a chair by the patio doors and stared out at the inky blackness. My heart was still pumping like crazy and I shoved my hands under my legs to stop them shaking.
‘Is he going to be okay?’ I asked Adam, who was settling Terry into the bed.
‘Most of the surface wounds are already healing, but the drugs he’s been given may take a while longer to come out of his system.’
Terry mumbled something and I moved over to the bed, sitting next to him and taking his hand.
‘You’re safe now, Terry.’
‘The pack,’ he said. ‘He wants the pack, your uncle. It’s my pack he wants.’
With that he slipped into a deep sleep. Gentle snores filled the room as Adam, Elizabeth and I looked on in shock.
‘What if Felicity raises the alarm?’ Elizabeth asked, her voice nothing more than a faint quiver.
I shook my head. ‘She won’t want to risk exposing herself and what she’s been doing. She might be working on my uncle’s behalf, but I’m not sure he knows about her cruel extracurricular activity. Terry should be safe here until the morning, and hopefully he’ll have regained his strength by then.’
‘I’ll replace the key first thing tomorrow,’ Adam said, moving to Elizabeth’s side and wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder. ‘You two need to act as casual as possible.’
‘Casual? You mean not own up to breaking into a secret lab, stealing confidential files and rescuing a werewolf?’
That’s right—a werewolf. Terry was a werewolf.
Adam grinned. ‘Precisely.’
‘I’ve never seen a werewolf in its human form.’ Elizabeth’s soft voice floated across the room.
‘Cody told me they are as human as you or me, but I guess I wasn’t expecting them to be people we know.’
‘What are you going to do now?’ Adam asked.
It was a simple enough question, but if I was being honest with myself, I had no clue what to do next.
‘All we can do is wait for Terry to recover and see if he can give us any answers. He’s a werewolf, with a pack that’s clearly in danger, but he also knows where my brother is.’
‘And what about the fact that Cody’s dad might have had something to do with your mum’s death?’ Elizabeth whispered.
I rested my elbows on my knees and allowed my head to drop. Where the hell should I start?
‘I promised Cody that I’d meet him and keep him up to date on any news.’
‘Well, you’ve certainly got news to share with him. Do you think he knows Terry too?’
I couldn’t think about that because if Cody did know Terry, that meant he probably knew Zak. I didn’t think I could face it if anyone else was lying to me.
‘What do you think Dr Roberts is going to do when he finds out Terry is gone?’
I stared at the silhouettes of leaves dancing across the floor. Sebastian was going to flip out when he discovered the werewolf was gone, but I wouldn’t like to guess at what he would do if he knew it was me who helped it escape.
‘I don’t know,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.’
I TAPPED LIGHTLY on the office door as I pushed it open. My books were pressed into my chest as I hugged them close, using them as a shield against any impending danger. Sebastian sat behind his desk staring into a coffee cup. He didn’t acknowledge my entrance.
I dropped into the chair at my table by the window and began unloading my pens and paper. The rustling of pages roused Sebastian from his stupor and he glanced around the room, noticing me for the first time. There were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and stubble dusted his square jaw.
‘Sorry, Mia, I didn’t hear you come in.’
I smiled and flipped open one of my textbooks. ‘That’s okay, you looked…busy.’
His attention slid back to the coffee cup and he resumed his staring. My stomach churned as I wondered about the reason for his apparent lack of energy. By now, he must know that the werewolf was gone, but instead of the explosion of anger that I had expected, he looked defeated, broken and lost. I felt a sudden pang of sorrow for my uncle.
‘Are you okay?’ I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know.
He lifted his head and looked across at me, his gaze drifting over my head and settling beyond the window and on the distant woods.
‘All my work, those long years of hard study, all for nothing.’
‘What do you mean?’
He stood up and scratched at his unshaven chin, carrying on as if I hadn’t spoken.
‘Take the day off, Mia. Go do teenage girl stuff with your friends.’
He pushed a small button on a control panel built into his desk and a speaker system crackled to life.
‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, all classes will be cancelled today. All students have the day off.’
Through the heavy wooden door, I could hear the cheers and cries from the rest of the students and a thunderous clatter of feet as everyone dashed for their rooms or escaped out of the front doors hoping that the head of the academy wouldn’t change his mind.
I collected my things, keeping a wary eye on Sebastian as he braced his hands against the edge of his desk, his head hung low.
‘Can I get you anything?’
Sebastian shook his head and turned to face the bookshelves and the many photo frames that held images of my mother. I scooped up my books as quickly as I could and edged towards the door.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
He didn’t answer.
I RAN UPSTAIRS, dodging the masses of excited students who didn’t know what to make of their impromptu day off. Elizabeth arrived back at our room just after me and we both dumped our books, changed into jeans and jumpers and darted back down the stairs.
‘What have you decided to do with your day, girls?’ Miss Ross blocked the head of the corridor leading to Adam’s room. She wore a light turquoise running top and stretchy black joggers. ‘Fancy joining me for a run?’
I screwed my face up as I thought about the last run I’d gone on. The only pleasant part of i
t was meeting Cody.
Elizabeth was faster with a reply. ‘Sorry, miss, we’re heading to the library. I want to show Mia the mythology section.’
‘Excellent idea, Elizabeth. There’s plenty to keep you busy in there.’ With that, she jogged off across the foyer and out into the bright sunshine.
‘That was quick thinking, Lizzie.’
She grinned at me and nodded at the sign hanging from the ceiling. The painted wood was starting to peel but the word ‘Library’ was still very clear.
We rushed along the corridor until we reached the nondescript brown door with the number seven painted on it in wobbly lettering.
The door opened a crack when we knocked but was swung wide when Adam saw it was us. Elizabeth darted forward to fling her arms around his neck and I nodded my hello as I squeezed past my friends.
Terry was sitting up in Adam’s bed looking much better than he had last night. He had showered and was wearing one of Adam’s navy T-shirts, which highlighted the twinkle in his eyes. He grinned as I approached.
‘Mia!’
‘Hello, Terry. How are you feeling?’
I perched on the edge of the bed and folded my hands in my lap. He watched my every movement.
‘I’m doing okay, thanks. Your friend will make a fine doctor if he ever gets bored of gardening.’ He laughed and it rumbled from deep inside his chest.
I couldn’t help but smile up at him. When I’d met him on the night my dad was brutally murdered, I never thought our paths would cross again, even though he had left me with cryptic clues and warnings. Yet here he was, a werewolf in human form, lounging in my friend’s bedroom.
‘You want to know about Zak, don’t you?’ He lowered his voice and lay a big calloused hand over mine. ‘It’s okay to ask me about him.’
I couldn’t hold back the tears as they tumbled down my cheeks, hot and sticky. Terry pulled me closer and I nestled in the crook of his arm like he was my big brother and could protect me from the world.
Oath Breaker Page 10
