“I’m sure they’re not,” said Courtney reassuringly. “I mean, they would be foolish to try and gain assistance from a Spy.”
“But still, they could—”
“They won’t!” Courtney said. “The biggest issue right now is that Kat’s not here; we could use that fact against her.”
“No,” said Andre. “Not yet.”
“Why?” inquired Courtney. “We’ve already eliminated one of Henri’s doors to the ICW facility: Mandy. Once we eliminate Kat, there’s no way he can breach us.”
“There is someone else,” Andre said, “besides Kat and Mandy.”
Rebekah knew that Andre was just stating something Ava told them last night.
“Who?”
“I…don’t know,” Andre admitted, “but we need to find out who that is first. Kat’s deviated from Henri. This third person has not.”
Courtney seemed suspicious of this, but she didn’t say anything. As they began to move indoors, Rebekah glanced behind her in order to see Jeffery one last time.
But Jeffery was already gone.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Teri: Munich, Germany
“T
eri,” Jamie said coldly, “are you even listening to me?”
“Yeah,” Teri lied to appease her friend. Standing in the middle of the hallway with Jamie, Teri’s mind was elsewhere. Since the sports portion of the ICW, she had not seen Jeffery, and she purposely tried to avoid him at all costs. But her mind was clouded with thoughts of him—clouded with thoughts as to why her previous strategy didn’t work. It had worked for Jamie, she thought. Did I do something wrong?
“So, like I was saying—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Teri waved the conversation away. “Listen, why did the strategy you used on that one boy at the mall not work on Jeffery?”
“Are you still on that?” Jamie chuckled slightly. “Jeffery’s a different kind of person.”
Teri glared at Jamie. “Did you know your strategy would work on that boy?”
Jamie shrugged. “I guess I got lucky at first because he seemed to really enjoy my presence, but sadly, he never called me.”
Teri was shocked to hear this. After seeing Jamie and the boy hit it off, she was sure a relationship would have bloomed from that passion.
“Jeffery’s just not that kind of guy,” Jamie said reassuringly. “Perhaps if you tried a less personal strategy, he’d consider going out with you.”
“He told me to stay away from him,” Teri said, her eyes landing on the person of interest, who appeared down the hallway.
Jamie followed Teri’s gaze. “I’m sure he didn’t mean what he said,” she said. “Go to him.”
Taking a deep breath, Teri left Jamie and walked over to Jeffery. “Hey,” Teri greeted as light-heartedly as possible.
Jeffery barely glanced at her before he started to walk away.
“Wait,” Teri said as she reached out to grab his arm. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have done…what I did.”
Jeffery pulled his arm away from her. “I told you to stay away from me,” he said monotonously. Then, he walked away from her—leaving Teri just as heartbroken as before.
~~~
Jeffery: Freiburg, Germany
Once again, Jeffery Speirs was not in control of his own mind. He had no desire to leave the facility, but he did anyway, moving on legs that weren’t under his command.
As such, he found himself in Freiburg—a town near enough to the German-French border where he could meet his abductor halfway. His father and mother had no idea he was gone; the only one who knew of his absence was Rebekah, and she trusted him enough to not ask questions. And Teri, who had caught him on his way out, was enough to sour his mood even further.
Jeffery groaned internally. He didn’t want to betray any of them, not even Teri, who at the end of the day was still only human.
Jeffery’s legs silently carried him through the town. It was nighttime, and though there were still people out and about, none paid any attention to him and his unnatural movements. Soon, he found himself in a dark, secluded alleyway, where his abductor’s magic was at its peak. Jeffery took a quick look around, searching for Henri’s familiar, yellow eyes, and yet, he saw nothing. But he could still sense Henri’s presence, feel the essence of dark magic wrap around him in a suffocating embrace.
And then, all of a sudden, he was violently yanked back, hands clawing uselessly at air, until his back made content with the brick behind him. A small squeal escaped his lips as he plummeted to the ground.
And there, merely centimeters from where he had fallen, stood Henri Anderson, and he did not look pleased.
“Rise,” the immortal warlock commanded.
Jeffery pushed himself off the ground as pain stabbed throughout his body from the fall. Henri’s hand snaked out and caught his chin between two fingers, yanking his head so he was forced to stare into those soulless, yellow eyes.
“Some things never really change,” Henri mused, “do they?”
In response, Jeffery let out a low snarl—and was immediately backhanded for it.
“Besides Kat, you have proven to be my only constant,” Henri continued as if nothing had happened. “I suppose that means no one suspects your current state.”
“No,” Jeffery said through gritted teeth, words that were not his own. “They don’t.”
“Good,” Henri said as his magic caressed Jeffery’s mind. “Let’s see what’s happened thus far, shall we?” And then, he clamped down on Jeffery’s mind, eliciting a scream from the mortal prince.
Instantly, memories shot forward, all of them centered on Jeffery’s time at the ICW. There was the first meal, where Jeffery saw Rebekah for the first time, then just an Innocent who peaked his curiosity. Suddenly, Jeffery felt something in his mind shift, and more memories poured out. Mandy losing consciousness during the writing portion, the first sign that alerted the mortals something was wrong with her. Teri’s embarrassing moment as she flung herself at him and then later completely lost it when she attacked the French participant. And then, there was Rebekah again, and more Rebekah, and even more until all he saw was a blurry mesh of scenes as Rebekah’s voice and laughter filtered through his subconscious.
At once, the memories dispersed, and Jeffery sighed with relief. But now, Henri was grinning, and Jeffery decided right then and there that he hated the immortal warlock’s grin.
“Of course,” Henri said as his eyes lit up with malicious glee. “How’s Rebekah?”
And then, Jeffery truly froze. Of course Henri would figure out there was something going on between him and Rebekah. “Fine,” he said, though once again, it was his enthrallment to the immortal warlock that made him answer the question.
“Perhaps it’s time for a new plan,” Henri said, and then, his grin suddenly vanished. “I want you to get as close to Rebekah as you can. I want to be able to see the love she’ll have for you by the end of this.”
This time, Jeffery was confused. “Why?” he asked before he could stop himself. The last time Jeffery asked a question, Henri made him cut off his own finger.
Yet this time, Henri didn’t care. Wordlessly, he closed the gap between them, trapping Jeffery against the wall with his arms. “So it will hurt that much more when you finally betray her.”
The command slid into place with another click, nearly bringing Jeffery to tears. And then, Henri sent him back to Munich without another word.
~~~
Rosalie: Greenwich, England
Rosalie sat at Henri’s table, poking at the slop disguised as food that had been delivered to her a few minutes ago. An untouched glass of lukewarm water was placed next to her tray, perhaps the most appetizing part of her dinner.
Henri had gone to Freiburg, Germany to meet with someone, or at least that was what Rosalie was told, and when he returned, he would visit her to give her another lesson. Rosalie hated his lessons, which were usually filled with mental pain and mild d
iscomfort as he brought the most gruesome scenes imaginable to her mind. He showed her through imagery every aspect of his Roseway—down to the blood that served as the town’s fuel source.
“Never underestimate the power of blood,” Henri once told her. “The most powerful magic you will ever perform is blood magic. Your transformation in itself will be a form of blood magic.”
Rosalie remembered shivering after he told her that, though he didn’t seem to notice. Afterwards, she remembered him slicing his own palm open and feeding his blood into a small beaker. And then, he made her drink as he chanted in what sounded like French.
Rosalie remembered almost throwing up before the spell threaded through her veins, and soon, she felt unbelievably strong, more so than a human. “What did you do?”
And Henri beamed as he told her. “I gave you a tiny fraction of my power,” he explained. “A taste to how you will feel in your new body.”
The door suddenly creaked open, pulling Rosalie out of her thoughts. Silently, Henri entered, closing the door behind him before taking the seat opposite of her own.
“You should eat,” Henri said, watching Rosalie poke at her food some more. “After all, you’re still human.”
“What is this?” Rosalie asked as she speared some of it with a fork and deposited it on her tongue. The taste was meaty and metallic, and she gulped it down, feeling it slither down her throat.
Henri ignored her question. “I suppose you’ve been told where I was.”
Rosalie forced down another bite before taking a sip of water. “They said you were meeting someone in Freiburg.”
Henri nodded contemplatively as he outstretched a hand towards her. “It’s time for your next lesson.”
Rosalie stilled with a third bite halfway to her mouth. Hesitantly, she put her fork down and gave him her hand. He took it, rubbing his thumb delicately over her palm. And then, he began feeding his magic into her brain, and Rosalie gasped as a scene began to materialize. Within that vision, the ICW facility was in flames, and bodies were strewn everywhere. Rosalie began to feel sick witnessing so much death until she stumbled upon two bodies in particular. Rebekah Jensen and Holly White.
Rosalie screamed, and abruptly, Henri ended the vision.
“What the hell was that?’ Rosalie spat, jerking her hand back. Every time she blinked, she could still see their lifeless eyes staring back at her.
“My vision,” Henri answered as he leaned back in his seat. “One you’re going to help me accomplish.”
Rosalie blinked back the tears that sprang to her eyes. “I’m not a murderer,” she said bitterly.
Henri said nothing at first as he contemplated her words. “I will be testing you soon,” he said finally as he pushed himself off his chair and made his way to the door. “Be prepared.”
And then, he was gone.
~~~
Melissa: Seattle, Washington
Like an owl would do to a small rodent before striking, Melissa stared at the busy streets of Seattle from the comfort of her room. The sky was covered in a blanket of clouds; yet, the rain that had drenched the city earlier that day was nonexistent. She had arrived at Seattle an hour ago with Victoria in order to plan without the threat of Henri finding out.
From behind, Victoria approached Melissa, surprising her. “It’s time,” Victoria said quietly. “Kat’s going to meet us there.”
On any other day, this news would have pleased Melissa. After all, it was her idea to travel to Barcelona with Victoria and meet up with Kat in order to try and get supplies from Cody Robinson—someone who, after careful research, was the name of Andre’s father. But her mind was clouded with the thought of what could happen if Cody refused to help them and instead chose to imprison them. She was sure the promise of his daughter would be enough for him to want to help them, but now, she was having doubts. She never had to converse with a Spy before, and she had also found out through her research that they were going into one of those prisons, and once inside, she would be silenced—meaning she wouldn’t be able to use any kind of magic. “Let’s go,” she finally declared.
Victoria grabbed her arm, and together, they began to travel to Barcelona. Melissa watched as her room faded from view, being replaced by the faint outline of a city. Right away, she knew it was the city of Barcelona.
The black smoke finally dissipated—and Melissa broke away from Victoria’s grasp, gawking at how vibrant the city looked.
“Stay by me,” Victoria ordered as she led Melissa down the street.
Melissa knew exactly why Victoria said such a thing. The entire country of Spain was crawling with Spies, some of which specialized in handling immortal magic users, and she knew it was better to be with someone than alone.
“Where’s Kat?” Melissa wondered.
“In an alleyway,” Victoria replied. “It’s not too far from here.”
Melissa followed Victoria, weaving her way through crowds of people. Upon entering a dark alleyway, Melissa’s eyes made contact with Kat’s, and she instantly went to her.
“What is this about?” Kat demanded to Melissa.
“You know perfectly well what this is about,” Melissa said. “Building the rebel army.”
“Of course,” said Kat slyly. “The cause I still have doubts about joining.”
“Kat, I know you.” Melissa paused briefly. “Henri may trust you, but you have never been one hundred percent loyal to him.”
Kat barked out a laugh. “If you truly think that, then you’re more naïve than I thought.”
“You wouldn’t have come here if you hadn’t joined me.”
Kat frowned at Melissa before finally giving in. “Where’s this Spy located?”
“In a prison not far from here,” stated Melissa. “I know where.”
The three of them trudged through the city of Barcelona in order to reach the prison Melissa was referring to. When it was in their sight, Melissa walked up to the door and tried the handle
It was locked.
As magic flared to the surface of her skin, Melissa whispered a spell in order to open the door before realizing magic didn’t work on Spy technology. “Help me,” she said as she began to thrust her bodyweight against the door. As Kat and Victoria began to do the same, Melissa was shocked to find out their combined bodyweight did nothing to open the door.
“Melissa?” Kat questioned. “How many Spies are supposed to be running this prison?”
“Only one, from what I read,” said Melissa. “I don’t know how to get in, though.”
As soon as she said that, the door creaked open as if some imaginary force opened it from the inside. Curiously, Melissa pushed her way into the entryway, taking note of how hauntingly-green the interior of the prison looked. “Strange,” she said when she realized no one had opened the door.
As soon as the three of them were inside the prison, the door closed behind them, startling them.
Victoria glanced behind her and tried to open the door. Once again, it was locked. “Melissa, how are we going to get out of here?” she questioned.
“I don’t know, Victoria. I don’t—” Melissa stopped in mid-sentence as she began to smell what appeared to be some sort of gas. As it spread throughout the room, she began to feel light-headed before passing out onto the floor.
The last thing she heard was the thud of Kat and Victoria also hitting the floor before she went completely under.
~~~
Melissa woke up to the sound of footsteps. As she scrambled off the floor, she realized that she was inside a cell, incarcerated with Kat and Victoria, who were still asleep. Quickly, she went to the bars and peered through them, trying to see what was going on.
“You’re awake,” a man said off in the distance. When he approached the cell, Melissa took note of his messy, brown hair and disheveled appearance. And his eyes—they were distinctly Andre’s eyes. “I expected you’d be out for a while.”
Melissa instantly knew who this man was; the faint resembla
nce to Andre was significant enough. “Cody Robinson,” she said suddenly, gaining a curious look from him.
“You know my name,” Cody noted as he stepped closer to the cell. “How?”
Melissa didn’t know how to answer that, so instead, she decided to reveal her plan in the hopes that he would free them. “I know your daughter,” she said.
Cody’s facial expression fell. “Andre?” he questioned. “How is she?”
“I…want to talk to you about her,” said Melissa, doing her best to hide her fear. “You see, we—the three you have imprisoned—are trying to take down one of our own in a staged rebellion. We were hoping you’d be able to help us.”
Cody scoffed at this. “What makes you think I would help a few immortal witches such as yourselves?” he questioned. “You might as well get used to that cell.”
“Because it’s Henri Anderson we’re trying to take down. Surely, you’ve heard of him,” Melissa pleaded. “Please, Cody, if you give us some supplies that can be used to weaken him, I promise we’ll give you your daughter.”
Cody continued to stare at Melissa questioningly. “I haven’t seen her in years,” he said. “How do you propose you’ll be able to bring her here?”
“I’ll…think of something,” said Melissa. “But I give you my word that I will lure her here. After all, she killed someone from my group; the least that I can do is lure her here so that you can kill her.”
Right as Melissa was about to pass this attempt off as hopeless, Cody did the unspeakable. He unlocked the cell door, saying, “Wake up the others. I will show you what you can borrow. However, should you fail to fulfill your promise to me, I will hunt you three down—and I can guarantee that when that happens, I will not be this merciful.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY
Mandy: Munich, Germany
Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Page 24
