Taken: The Pteron Chronicles

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “What a pretty little story you’re trying to convince yourself of. You’re heartless. Don’t forget that.”

  “So? How does that change anything?” Violet sat down, her long purple dress covering her legs.

  Arabella gasped. Sitting in an Elder’s presence like that in the formal hall went against the rules. “You don’t really want to die.”

  “You don’t know what I want or don’t want.”

  “Sure I do. I was you once.”

  “No.” Violet shook her head. “You were never me. Not all Allures are the same.”

  “I was just like you.” Arabella leaned back in the chair. “I understand what you think and feel. The time of the Dragos is over. You are either with us, or you’re against us.”

  “I already gave you my answer.” Violet lay back on the floor. “Kill me anytime.”

  “You will change your mind.”

  “Don’t count on it.” Violet closed her eyes.

  The projection disappeared, and we were back standing beside the pond.

  “Understand why you needed to see that?” Violet. The present day Violet had a hand on her hip.

  “Is that your way of telling me to be careful, or telling me why you turned?”

  “You think I’d turn?” Violet laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Not willingly.”

  “Not at all.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “I like you a whole lot more than I like her.”

  “So, what then? You are here and breathing.”

  “Because Abe showed up and let me leave. Doesn’t mean I won’t get my reckoning anyway.”

  “Still not understanding what you want me to know.” I felt for her, but we were on a tight time restraint.

  “You are going to have to do this on your own. I’m only going to lead them straight to you.”

  “They are already heading straight for me.”

  “But others are better hidden.”

  “I know what you’re saying.”

  “Don’t tell me anything.” Violet pursed her lips. “Anything.”

  “I might be able to fix things. Reset them. Just give me time,” Galloway’s brows furrowed.

  “I envy your optimism.” Violet’s voice was soft.

  “You aren’t optimistic?” Delilah asked. “You are always optimistic.”

  “The end has to come one day. Why not now?”

  “Man, that’s depressing.” Very depressing.

  Violet shrugged. “What isn’t depressing?”

  “So what now?” Galloway turned to me.

  “I guess we do this without Violet.” The visit wasn’t a complete waste of time. We knew for sure the Elders were after Owen and Daisy because of their baby, and that their vendetta extended to all Dragos.

  “Just because I can’t come with you doesn’t mean I can’t be of some help.” Violet smiled. “Wait here.”

  “If this is a trap, I hate you.” Galloway watched as Violet slipped away.

  “If this is a trap, you’ll be dead,” Violet called over her shoulder.

  Violet rounded the corner holding a small wooden box. “Give this to Hailey when the time comes. She should know what to do.” Violet handed over the box. “Until we meet again.”

  “Thank you.” I held up the box.

  “Don’t thank me. Save her.” Violet turned and headed back in the same direction she’d come.

  “I take it you need to get to Owen and Daisy?” Delilah asked as soon as Violet disappeared.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I can’t.” Delilah lay down. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “What do you mean you can’t?”

  “The Elders did something to this place. Trust me, I’ve tried to leave already.”

  “I have an idea.” Galloway smiled. “We can travel from one projection to another.”

  “That doesn’t sound appealing.”

  “Does saving Owen and Daisy sound appealing?” Galloway narrowed her eyes.

  “Yes. Let’s do this.” I nodded. “What projection are you going to use?”

  “That is entirely up to you.” Galloway pointed directly at me.

  15

  Hailey

  “This?” I stared at the vehicle parked outside. It had to be at least twenty years old—probably more like thirty.

  “What? It’s a van.” Noah unlocked the driver’s side door. “It will fit everyone.”

  “Is it even road legal?” Cade walked around the car. “I mean look at that muffler.”

  “Like I said, I borrowed it. It’s not like I could be driving around in my police cruiser—not that I had the time to drive that all the way out here.”

  “Did you borrow it from your contact?” That was the part of this I didn’t like.

  “Maybe.”

  “Just tell us who it is already. You’ve learned plenty of our secrets.” And he had told us so little. It was time to even the playing field.

  “Fine.” Noah reached in to unlock the back door from the inside. “He’s actually waiting for us nearby.”

  “I hope all this suspense is worth it.” Cade gestured for me to get in first. “Ladies first.”

  “I’ll sit in the front.” Eloise walked around to the passenger door.

  I got in, and Cade slipped in next to me. Sol moved to the far back after closing the door.

  Noah got in and started the engine. “Everyone buckled?”

  Cade snorted. “Seriously? You really asked that?”

  “What?” Noah glanced over his shoulder. “Is it wrong to want my passengers safe?”

  “Is this the police officer side of you talking?” Eloise tugged on her seatbelt, presumably checking to make sure it was tight.

  “No, it’s just me.” He pulled away from the curb. “I don’t see why making sure you guys are buckled has you all bent out of shape.”

  “It’s not that. This whole thing is crazy.” Sol leaned forward and rested his hands on the back of my seat. Evidently, his lap belt left lots of room for him to move around. “Here we are, some of the most powerful supernatural creatures out there, and we’re riding in a van back to New Orleans.”

  “If you wanted to transport us you could have.” Not that I really minded the drive aside from my worry that we were going to get ambushed—but I doubted that was going to happen. If someone had wanted to abduct us they could have very easily done it from Jim’s house when we were zoned in on the book.

  “No,” Sol huffed. “I already explained it was impossible for me to do. But the same can’t be said for you.”

  Eloise turned around from the front. “Let’s not go down that road again.”

  “Agreed.” I had enough on my plate. The thought of getting us stuck in a light tunnel—or worse sending everyone else somewhere awful while I was stuck in a light tunnel—seized me with panic. “This van is perfect.”

  “Glad I could help.” Noah turned after waiting for someone to cross at a crosswalk. He slowed to a stop next to a wooded area.

  “What are we doing here?” Sol leaned forward again.

  “Meeting my contact.” Noah looked toward the woods.

  “Oh.” Cade crossed one leg over the other. “You weren’t making up that part. He was really waiting a few blocks away.”

  “What kind of contact is willing to wait in the woods for you?” I asked warily. I hoped we weren’t heading into trouble.

  “That one.” Noah nodded to where a man dressed in a pair of jeans with an unbuttoned flannel shirt walked toward us. His long unruly hair reached his shoulders.

  “Wait. I think I know him.” I pressed up against the window to get a better look.

  The man disappeared and then reappeared as the rear door slid open. “Hey, everyone. Looks like I’m a little late for the party.”

  “I know you.” Full recognition clicked. “You’re a Dire.”

  “I’ve been accused of worse things.” He stepped up inside the van and closed the door behind him. He slid to
the back to sit beside Sol.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Meaning I’m right. You’re in Hunter’s pack. Right?”

  “Yes. I’m Denny. You’re Hailey, right?”

  I nodded. “In the flesh.”

  “By the way, do you know where Hunter is?” Denny asked. “He’s been gone, and for way longer than the others who were at the headquarters.”

  Cade and I exchanged looks as Noah started the car up again. Neither of us said anything until Noah had pulled away from the curb.

  After accepting that no one else was going to offer an answer, I turned in my seat so I was looking directly at Denny. “Unfortunately I do know.”

  Denny’s forehead wrinkled. “Why unfortunately?”

  “Because he’s stuck in a maze belonging to an evil Scarber.”

  “Is he alone?” Denny’s demeanor didn’t change in the slightest.

  “No. He has a Mer with him.” And hopefully no one else. At least no other monsters. Truthfully I was relying on Glendale’s account of his current situation, and even that was now outdated. But I wasn’t going to mention any of that to Denny.

  “Oh. Well. That’s good. I’m glad he’s not alone.” Denny began to button up his shirt.

  “Glad you are so concerned about your friend,” Cade mumbled.

  “It’s Hunter we’re talking about. He’s more than capable. He is an Alpha for a reason.” Denny hesitated on the top button, as if deciding whether he wanted it buttoned. He left it undone.

  “Yeah, but we’re also talking about a Scarber. They don’t go down easily.” Cade remained facing forward.

  “He’s Hunter. Trust me, he’s capable.” Denny shrugged. Considering I hadn’t known that a Scarber existed until relatively recently, I had a feeling Denny had no clue what Hunter was really up against.

  I wondered if anyone was ever that confident about me. Knowing what a Scarber was or not, Denny knew Hunter was in a bad situation. “He’s strong. There is no question about that.”

  Denny nodded. “But I hope you have a backup rescue plan.”

  “Of course we do,” I quickly assured him. “Absolutely.”

  “We do?” Cade narrowed his eyes. I elbowed him. “Ow.”

  “We have one. We just haven’t worked out all the little details yet.” I glared at Cade. “Could he make things any harder?

  “In other words, you plan to go but have no idea how you’re going to pull it off.” Denny put his arm behind him on the seat, startling Sol who must have been in some sort of trance.

  “Exactly.” At least he seemed to get it.

  Denny nodded. “I feel you.”

  We fell back into silence, and I was grateful for it. As much as I didn’t want to sit around and worry, making conversation was taking entirely too much energy. The drive wouldn’t take long. Before I knew it I’d have my chance. My chance to face the man who’d tried to kill me and had admitted to killing my great aunt. He was also more likely than not responsible for the fact that everyone was missing. So why was I nervous? Normally my anger would have overridden my nerves, but instead, the pit in my stomach grew to nearly epic proportions.

  “You okay?” Cade turned toward me.

  I responded automatically. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine.” He leaned back and stretched out his legs.

  I looked out the window. “Gee, thanks.”

  “You know exactly what I mean.”

  I watched the blur of trees go by. Steady rain started to fall out of nowhere. It was the kind of weather you get used to when you grow up in Louisiana. “I do, whether I should or not. When this is all over you can kick me to the curb in your life.”

  “You know that’s never going to happen whether you like it or not.” He put a hand on my arm.

  I pulled my attention from the window. “You have strange ways of showing you care.”

  “And you are just strange. Not sure what’s worse.”

  I swatted at him. “Watch it.”

  “Do you remember when we first met?”

  “Yes.” I definitely did. “It was back when Allie and Levi were just getting together.”

  “Doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago?”

  “Yes. I was such a kid back then.” Realistically not that many years had gone by, but it sure felt like they had.

  “You’re practically a kid still,” Noah called over the increasingly heavy rain. “At least you look like you are.”

  “And how old are you? Can’t be much older than I am.”

  “Never said I was. I am just saying, go easy on yourself. No matter who you are, and clearly you are powerful and important, you are still young. You have a lifetime to prove yourself.”

  “I like you.” Eloise pointed at Noah.

  Noah laughed. “Uh, like you too.”

  “So I have to ask you something else.” Denny tapped my shoulder.

  “Sure. Ask away.” Hopefully this time I wouldn’t have to give him such a depressing answer.

  “Where did they go?”

  “Who?” I wanted to make sure I really knew what he was talking about. I knew he wasn’t asking about Hunter again.

  “Your little society group.”

  “Little society group?” I didn’t think I’d ever heard someone refer to The Society that way. The Society was revered or hated depending on who you talked to, but no one ever belittled it.

  “There’s some bad blood there. Quite the history.” Noah yelled now. The rain had turned torrential.

  “Who hasn’t had blood with The Society?” Cade tapped his fingers on the window pane.

  Even I couldn’t deny that. “I know who you are. I was around with the whole Dire fiasco. But I’m friends with Hunter, and you know that’s all under the bridge.”

  “Yes. I know.” Denny leaned back against the seat. “Hunter has some flaws, but holding grudges isn’t one of them.”

  I smiled before looking back out the window. I was starting to wish the drive would take a whole lot longer.

  ***

  I hadn’t expected to have to walk through a party to get to the fedora man. Sol had failed to mention where we were going until we stepped inside and some random guy started dancing next to me. I slipped away from him and followed Sol down a hallway. He knocked on the door, and it was pulled open.

  “And you must be, Hailey.” A large, round-faced man greeted us. “Wyatt is a lucky man.”

  “Uh, thanks.” I held out my hand. “And I’m sorry, Sol didn’t tell me your name.”

  “Franklin.” He accepted the hand. “Nice to meet you. Who are these others?”

  “I’m Cade.” Cade held out his hand. “You may know me as the King of California.”

  Franklin chuckled. “Ah, yes. I do know of you.”

  Cade bumped his shoulder into mine. “See, some people respect my position.”

  “If that’s what you want to call it.” Franklin grinned. “And the rest of you? Are you kings as well?”

  “Nah. I’m a Dire. Name's Denny.” Denny didn’t hold out his hand. “This is Noah. He’s a Grizzly from out in Montana. I’m trying to help him track down his brother. It seems he got pulled into the disappearing mess.”

  “Got it. Well, the man of the hour is right back there.” He pointed to the far corner. “He hasn’t as much as opened his eyes since Sol left, but maybe you’ll have more luck than I did.”

  I took a deep breath and marched right toward the corner. I stopped beside the seemingly sleeping figure.

  He opened his eyes and grinned. “I knew you would show up.”

  To my credit, I didn’t flinch. “Who are you?” I got right to the point. I saw little reason to put off the inevitable questioning even though I wasn’t expecting him to willingly share much.

  “You and your Dragon both seem pretty fixated on that detail.”

  “Because it’s a very, very important detail.”

  He shrugged. “If you really think so. My name is Xander.”
<
br />   “He claims to have the soul of the Xander inside.” Franklin came to stand beside me. “As in the most powerful Alter-Warlock.”

  “I take it you don’t buy that’s who he is.”

  “I already explained to your colleagues that I am more than Xander. I have multiple souls.”

  “That’s why we needed Eloise,” Sol explained.

  Eloise took slow steps toward us. “I hope I can help.”

  “Hello, Pixie.” Xander grinned. “What a fun addition to this little club.”

  “If you hurt her I’ll kill you.” Eloise glared at Xander. “I mean it.”

  “Why all the hostility?”

  “I feel the evil in you.” Eloise visibly shook.

  “You feel it, huh?” He seemed to contemplate her words. “Do you also feel the good?”

  “Yes. Yes, I do,” Eloise said after a few moments pause. “But the evil part is what worries me.”

  “I have no interest in hurting Hailey. My very existence is to help her.”

  “Huh?” I spat out. “What are you talking about?”

  “I was confused at first too when we met. I hadn’t been clued in yet. But now I know.”

  “Could you say something that makes sense?” Between the words in the book and the words coming out of Xander’s mouth I’d had enough of confusing, cryptic explanations.

  “Do you know what an Alter-Warlock is, Hailey?” Xander seemed strangely relaxed. I could almost picture him in a recliner instead of being tied to a pole.

  “A dark warlock.”

  Xander coughed. “Really? What kind of education are kids these days getting?”

  “You’re preaching to the choir.” Cade draped an arm over my shoulder. “We’re told this time and time again. Our parents decided to keep us in the dark.”

  “Oh, Cade. Cade Daly. At last we meet.”

  “Uh, hi?” Cade appeared to be as puzzled as I was.

  By the smile on Xander’s face, he was enjoying our confusion. “Your great-great Grandfather and I were good friends.”

  “Sorry, never met the man.”

  “I would think not. He died well before your time.”

  “Okay…” Cade rolled his eyes.

  “But that doesn’t mean I haven’t followed your family. You’ve had a few rough patches, but you managed to redeem the family name a little.”