“Maybe I’m more knowledgeable than you realize,” Holly said in response.
Kat gave a little smile. “Considering how poorly you did in the beginning, I somehow doubt that,” she said as she reached for another card. “As you probably know already, this next question is about France.”
“Great,” Holly said, knowing she wouldn’t have to cheat on the next one because she already knew a substantial amount of information about France.
After a few minutes had passed, Kat asked the question: “Who and what number is the current president of France?”
“Another president question?” Holly said mainly to herself.
Kat nodded slowly.
“Nicolas Sarkozy. He is the twenty-third president of France,” said Holly.
After it was declared Holly got another one right, Kat put away the card and grabbed another one. “You know a lot about France, I take it.”
“I’m currently learning French,” Holly spat. “Yes, I know a lot about France.”
Kat let the comment slide as she peeked at the next question. “The next one is a Russian one,” she said. “The last time you were given a Russian question, you had gotten it wrong.”
Holly sighed, knowing the next question would be one she would have to cheat on. She couldn’t afford any wrong answers at this point.
“How many federal districts does Russia have?” asked Kat a few minutes later.
“Eight,” Holly declared after seeing through the card, and the correct bell rang once again. “How many points do I have so far?”
Kat ignored Holly’s question. Instead, she leaned in closer once they were no longer live and said, “You’re using your magic to cheat.”
“W-what makes you say that?” questioned Holly.
“There’s no way you would have known most of the questions you are getting right,” Kat pointed out. “ And the look on your face! I can tell you’re using your magic to cheat!”
“I am not!” Holly said, trying to sound as flabbergasted as possible.
“What if Jason were to find out about this, Holly?” Kat taunted. “Your clique would shun you.”
“They’re not my clique,” Holly growled.
“Oh, really? Then, why are you here, helping them?”
“Because…” Holly started to say before realizing she didn’t have a logical answer.
“Holly, you and I both know the only reason you’re here is for Jason’s protection,” Kat said. “If you really don’t care much for the clique you’re supposedly helping, then why must you cheat?”
“Because….I need to score more points than the French clique or else Jamie might hurt me,” Holly admitted. Why the hell did I just reveal that to her?
“I won’t tell Jason about this, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Kat said. “However, you need to cooperate with me.”
Holly raised an eyebrow, but Kat put the conversation on hold when she picked up and read aloud another question card. “Name the original thirteen colonies of the United States.”
“Delaware, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, and Rhode Island,” Holly answered effortlessly, soon hearing the correct bell.
“You know, you never did directly answer my question,” Kat said, continuing the same conversation from before.
“What question?” Holly inquired, realizing only too late that it was the one about Andre and her father.
“You know which one.”
“Are you blackmailing me?” Holly asked.
“Perhaps I am,” said Kat. “After all, you refused to answer my questions before. I suppose that now would give you the opportunity to be cooperative.”
Don’t reveal anything too personal, Holly warned herself as she took a deep breath. “Yes, she still feels malice towards her father.”
“Does she, now?” Kat paused briefly. “And I suppose she still has a desire to kill her father, does she not?”
“Why are you asking about this?” Holly asked.
“Curiosity mostly,” said Kat. “Now, answer my question.”
“Yes, she does, but not alone,” Holly said. “She plans on killing him when she’s with the Royal Guard.” Andre, please don’t kill me for this.
“I see,” Kat mused. “That’s all I wanted to know.”
With only three more questions remaining—a Spanish one, a German one, and an Italian one—Holly answered them the same way she answered the previous ones: through cheating. Kat let such a thing slide and didn’t ask any further personal question as she continued to ask the trivia ones.
In the end, Holly had scored a six overall, the highest score that had been received that day, since she had answered a total of twelve questions correctly.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Rebekah: Munich, Germany
“H
olly’s butchering this competition!” Jamie complained as she and the rest of her clique were gathered around the TV set. “I mean, seriously! I’m starting to regret letting her compete with us.”
Sitting next to Jamie, Rebekah watched the competition as well, taking note of how the questions were not that easy. She also noted how Holly was getting the most questions right, someone who had seen how Jamie had hurt Rebekah and therefore had every reason to sabotage Eternal Division’s score by doing poorly on this competition. Yet, Holly was sincerely trying, and Rebekah knew this portion was especially hard for Holly, since she was being questioned by Kat.
“I should have went with someone else,” Jamie commented. “Hannah Jones is insanely smart; I should have went with—”
“Jamie,” Rebekah said coldly without taking her eyes off the TV, “shut the hell up.”
Jamie’s eyes narrowed at Rebekah. “Says the person who stole Jeffery from Teri.”
“You mean like what you did to me with Jake?” Rebekah fired back.
Jamie flashed Rebekah a phony smile. “It’s not my fault he prefers those who are privileged enough to have money,” she said. “Just like Jeffery. How long will it be until he realizes that you live in an apartment because the bank foreclosed on your house?”
Rebekah got up suddenly. “At least I’m not a snob,” she said, sighing and not wanting to spend another second near Jamie. Getting up, she proceeded to leave the room, fighting the urge to strangle Jamie.
With it being near Christmastime, the ICW halls were decked out in Christmas decorations along with advertisements detailing an optional holiday dinner. Everything was so packed together that Rebekah could barely see any wall. She sighed heavily. Last year on Christmas, she, Holly, Jake, and Mandy had their own mini Christmas celebration the day before she was due to leave for Roseway. Rebekah remembered the celebration clearly, also recalling that was the last time any of them were together before being launched into a dangerous magical feud. For just a moment, Rebekah wished she could go back to that time, before she knew about magic users and spirits and the unknown. She wished she could go back to being the carefree Rebekah whose only worries revolved around whether or not she’d be able to get her homework in on time.
She didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she was heading away from the Eternal Division room. No one was out and about, for they were either watching the competition from their assigned rooms or at the competition itself. Rebekah knew Jeffery would be at the competition, and so was everyone else she would regularly talk to.
After walking for a few moments, Rebekah found herself in the hallway where the infirmary was located. Mandy, she thought suddenly. That’s right; Mandy wouldn’t be at the competition.
Rebekah had no idea if Mandy would be awake by now, and since the entire area was relatively silent, she found herself questioning whether or not she should visit Mandy. Cautiously, she opened the door to the infirmary and peeked into the room.
Much to her surprise, Mandy was sitting upright in her bed.
“You’re
awake,” Rebekah noted as she opened the door fully before stepping inside the room and closing it again.
Seeming startled by Rebekah’s entrance, Mandy met her gaze. “Jason visited a while ago,” she said. “Or at least it seemed like a while ago. I can’t really tell anymore.”
“Did he?”
Mandy nodded. “He said Henri’s intention wasn’t to kill me but to scare me into revealing information about you—about all of us. He also said that Henri…desires my ability.”
“He corrupted your mind,” Rebekah said. “While you were under his spell, you weren’t yourself.”
“Henri had me believe the mortals were evil,” Mandy continued, conflicted. “But what if he’s right? What if they’re just as bad?”
Rebekah nearly went ballistic. “What makes you say that?”
“I mean, they’re just as…unnatural,” Mandy continued. “Jason swears we’re here for protective reasons, but why? Why would he go so far as to host a human competition?”
“He’s protecting us from Henri!” said Rebekah. “He’s trying to temporarily keep tabs on us, at least until everything about Roseway dies down!”
“But that’s what I don’t get. Why couldn’t he let us live in Marywood under minor surveillance?”
“Because…” Rebekah couldn’t think of a logical answer that wouldn’t end up frightening Mandy. After all, Mandy’s views had already been disproven when Henri had invaded her mind.
“Exactly,” Mandy said as if Rebekah didn’t have a rebuttal. Then, she flipped onto her side with her back turned towards Rebekah.
Rebekah took that as her cue to leave, and she left rather silently. By the time she had gotten back to her room, the competition was over.
Overall, Holly had scored six points.
~~~
Holly: Munich, Germany
On her way back from the competition, Holly decided to visit Mandy with the intent of seeing if she had woken up yet. Alone, she made the journey to the infirmary and peeked into the room. Much to her bewilderment, Mandy was awake, staring at her with frightened eyes.
“Mandy, it’s me,” said Holly as she closed the door behind her.
“I know,” Mandy replied, but the look she gave Holly never went away.
Holly felt confused. “Then, why—”
“Why am I here?” Mandy questioned.
“Because Henri tried to—”
“No, why am I here? At the ICW?”
“Oh.” Holly’s facial expression fell. “Because we need to stay together.”
“But why couldn’t Jason keep an eye on us in Marywood?” continued Mandy. “Why did he feel the need to host a human competition?”
Holly felt lost when she realized that she didn’t have a logical answer for that.
“I mean, perhaps you all are just as unnatural as the immortals.” Mandy turned away from Holly.
“No, we’re not!” Holly went ballistic. “Mandy, immortality either drives people insane, turns them into sociopaths, or both. Since when has mortality done that?”
Mandy shrugged.
“Look, Henri can no longer reach you,” Holly pointed out, “and the mortals are the ones protecting you. We’re not unnatural beings.”
Before Mandy could rebut, Holly stormed out of the infirmary, consumed by rage. Not only did she have to deal with Kat’s crap during the trivia portion of the ICW, but she was also told that she was unnatural by the last person she expected to do so.
When she finally returned to her temporary bedroom, she only hoped that her day couldn’t possibly get any worse.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Henri: Greenwich, England
T
he familiar invisible barrier slammed into Henri as he attempted to reach the mind of the Foreseer once again—a barrier that could only be created by Jason. Once before, he had encountered the same barrier, and that was when he was trying to reach the mind of the Innocent with no success. Yet, not being able to visit the Foreseer in the dream world shocked Henri, since he was able to do so before, which previously meant the mortals didn’t know he had been communicating with her.
But they knew now, as evident by Jason appearing in the dungeon-like room that Henri had brought the Foreseer’s dream self into. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised he was unable to visit her again, but for some reason, this angered him.
Henri knew he needed to act. He knew where the ICW facility was located within Munich; he had known that for a while. But what he didn’t know was the best possible time to lead a full-fledged invasion. Jeffery’s mind hadn’t revealed much to him, and even Kat went radio-silent, which was unusual for her. But he wasn’t about to question her; she had never failed him before.
The only part of his plan that was working was the Bewitched. With two clique participants already dead, Henri anticipated that fear was running rampant in the facility. Yet, he needed to do more. He needed the mortals to tremble in his presence before he slaughtered each and every one of them.
In that moment, Henri knew what he had to do. He remembered telling Rosalie her first test was coming soon, and it was about time he administered it. Without wasting another moment, Henri turned and began walking to his chambers.
~~~
Rosalie: Greenwich, England
When Henri came for her next, Rosalie had been asleep in his bed, dreaming of bloodied corpses and uncontrollable fire. She felt him gently shake her, and then, she was pulled out of sleep and met his eyes.
“It’s time,” Henri said once she had woken completely.
Sitting up in bed, Rosalie rubbed the rest of sleep from her eyes. “Time for what?”
But he didn’t answer her. Instead, he turned his back on her and beckoned her to follow him. She did just that, padding out of bed and into the hallway. She wasn’t entirely sure what time it was, but she assumed it was rather late, considering the castle seemed darker than it usually did.
At some point, Henri ended up behind her, continually guiding her forward to whatever he wished to show her. Rosalie kept padding forward with the only guide being Henri’s hand as he pushed her towards an open room not far from his chambers. At last, Henri gave her one final push, and she ended up in a mostly-bare, medium-size room.
Rosalie froze. In front of her, weighed down to two metal gurneys by long, encompassing chains, were two figures, one male and the other female. The male was deathly silent, but the female was wailing—and for a moment, all Rosalie could hear were those pained wails, fraught with fearful tears.
The same hand stilled on her back, guiding her forward. It was Henri’s hand, the coldness of his skin seeping into hers through the thin material of her rags, and she tensed. “What is this?” she asked, though she didn’t know if she was asking Henri or herself.
Henri took a moment before he responded to her. “A test.”
Goose bumps prickled Rosalie’s flesh. “What kind of test?”
Henri didn’t answer as he passed her, stopping in front of the woman. Both figures had their heads encased in a cloth bag, and as Henri yanked the bag off the woman, Rosalie gasped at the fiery orange hair that tumbled out of the bag and framed the woman’s pale face in messy ringlets. Rosalie recognized the woman instantly from her school’s open houses and parent-teacher conferences. It was Holly’s mother.
The woman’s wails soon turned into faint whimpers as her eyes met the immortal warlock’s. And then, a faint word passed her lips, one Rosalie barely heard. “Please.”
Henri struck her across the face, and the sound made Rosalie flinch. The woman cried out in shock and agony, and the man—one Rosalie was sure must be Holly’s father—suddenly broke his silence as he started flinging curse words at their captor.
“Rosalie.” Henri’s voice boomed, reverberating throughout the entire room. “Come.”
At first, Rosalie didn’t move, not even when Henri brandished a knife and poised it over the woman’s face. His eyes were on her, waiting for her to do as he
commanded, and yet she still didn’t move. She couldn’t move, not when the tip of the knife kissed Holly’s mother’s cheek. She was frozen, even as the knife bit into the tender flesh, cutting a jagged line across the right side of Holly’s mother’s face.
Rosalie lost it. She screamed.
Within what felt like a second, Henri was in front of her, his hand clamping over her mouth in order to stifle the noise. Her body started trembling as fear kept her frozen in place, and tears began cascading down her cheeks.
Henri removed his hand from her mouth once her screams turned to fearful whimpers, and he twirled the knife until it was facing Rosalie hilt-first. Hesitantly, Rosalie took it. “Y-you want me to…”
Henri said nothing as he rested a hand at the base of her shoulder blades and gently guided her forward. Her knees shook with each step, and the hand holding the knife trembled. After all, she was meant to heal wounds, not create them.
She was soon parked next to Holly’s mother, and from there, she could see the cut up close. She could see the details of the torn flesh and mangled tissue and even a hint of bone, and she shuddered. “I can’t,” she rasped, her hand trembling so badly she nearly dropped the knife.
“They wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you if the roles were reversed,” Henri said, moving from behind her to her side.
“No,” Rosalie said adamantly. “I know their daughter! Holly would never—”
Rosalie heard the slap before she felt the sting, which sent her reeling backwards. With her free hand, she clutched her reddened cheek as a new wave of fresh tears pooled in her eyes.
“They are not your friends!” Henri scolded.
“No, but they were—”
Henri grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her forward. “They used and betrayed you.”
Rosalie knew Henri wasn’t just referring to Holly’s family anymore but Rebekah and Mandy as well. “You know nothing,” she spat.
Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Page 26
