by Rye Brewer
I had almost gotten used to it, but when it suddenly itched or burned or when I stretched too much, I nearly couldn’t stand it.
I looked over at Allonic. He was looking at my brand intently.
I saw what I thought was recognition in his eyes. He unnerved me, no matter how much Anissa liked him.
And I could tell she did. I was concerned that maybe she was starting to trust him.
He looked away without saying anything about the brand.
I wondered if I was just imagining the look in his eyes. I must’ve been—my imagination was running away in all directions. Chalk it up to the stress I’d been under lately, I suppose.
“All right,” Fane said. “Let’s regroup. If we’re going to find Gage, we should go where he was last seen.”
“Where was that?” Anissa asked.
“League headquarters,” Fane responded.
I definitely did not imagine his voice changing when he spoke to Anissa. It tightened. And he wouldn’t look at her. My other hand, the one which wasn’t holding hers, tightened into a fist. If she weren’t there, I’d rail at him for being such a hypocrite. Then I wondered if it was something else. Maybe his problem with her wasn’t because she was a half-blood. But what else could it be?
“Are we sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, telling myself to ignore the way he treated her. “It’s been a while since Philippa saw him there. He could’ve gone somewhere else by now. We might tip our hand if we all suddenly show up as a group.”
“We don’t have to announce our presence, though you have a point. It’s something to keep in mind.” He turned to Sirene.
I gritted my teeth when I caught the look in his eyes.
How many times had he looked at my mother that way? All that love. What was the point if he could forget my mother just like that? Was it ever real? Was what he felt for Sirene real? It couldn’t be.
Still, there was a glow on her face when she looked back at him that made me think she was sincere.
I wanted to tell her to stop wasting her time and find someone of her own kind—but wouldn’t that make me as much of a hypocrite as my father?
“We could stop back at the penthouse to regroup,” I suggested. “Maybe we shouldn’t go straight from here to headquarters. We might want to check with Philippa to see if her contact has any word of what things are like there. If security’s tight, they’re bound to see you.”
“Also a good point,” Fane conceded. “All right. We’ll stop at the penthouse and see if she’s around, then. We can’t be too careful.”
“Wait a minute.” Sirene dug through her robes.
I tensed all over.
What was she doing?
I wouldn’t put anything past a witch.
When she withdrew her hand and I saw the cell phone she held, I almost laughed.
“What are you doing with that?” I asked.
“What?” She looked down at it. “You think witches don’t need phones sometimes?” Her tone was playful.
I reminded myself—again—we weren’t friends, but she was rather likable. “It just surprised me, was all. Why do you need it?”
“I want to take a picture of the brand. I might be able to find someone who can interpret for us.”
I pulled up my sleeve, bared my arm to her, and she took a picture. I reminded myself she was there to help, even though I wished it were just about anybody but her trying to help me. I didn’t want to feel indebted to her in any way.
“All right. Are you ready?” She looked at all of us, then threw a portal.
It shimmered blue, white, purple, the light twisting and dancing.
“I’ll never get used to this,” Anissa whispered. “No matter how many times I do it, I swear.”
“Just hold my hand.” I took hers and squeezed reassuringly. “You’ll be all right.” She nodded with her jaw set.
I turned just enough to look back at Fane, and when I saw him touch Sirene’s hand as a sort of parting gesture, it turned my stomach.
I clenched my jaw and reminded myself how important it was to find Gage. We could hash everything else out later.
Then I stepped through, bringing Anissa along with me.
12
PHILIPPA
I had to find Fane. But how? Finding Gage had taken a bit of a back seat when compared to finding Fane and letting him know that the League’s Special Ops had put a target on his back.
Every time I remembered the look of determination on Vance’s face and heard him tell me it was his job to kill Fane, it made me sick.
I couldn’t let that happen, and I couldn’t tell Vance who Fane really was. I felt helpless, which was not something I dealt with well.
What could I do? Once again, I was alone. I wasn’t sure I could trust Scott enough to tell him what Vance had told me.
Plus, I didn’t know if Sara would be with him. If she could throw lightning, what else could she do? I hated admitting to myself that she scared me half to death, but there it was. I had underestimated her. I reminded myself not to make that mistake again.
Maybe I could find Fane and Jonah, somehow. They were looking for Gage. I had told them about meeting with him at headquarters. Maybe that’s where they went. Maybe I could find them there. Except, what if they came back to the penthouse and I wasn’t there?
I tried calling Jonah, but the phone just rolled over to voicemail. Where was he that he couldn’t take my call? I couldn’t imagine where Fane might have taken him. Did he not have his phone anymore? Had he gotten rid of it?
My heart ached when I thought of him. My father. What happened to turn him into who he had become? Hunting humans?
The legends surrounding Fane were impossible to keep track of. Some said he wasn’t even real, just a made-up creature that was used to explain the crimes of other creatures. Some said he wasn’t a full vampire, that he had some other magical blood mixed in which allowed him to jump dimensions and even go back and forth in time. It was laughable, the way imagination had taken off.
All many of us needed was the suggestion of a creature different from ourselves and we filled in the rest on our own. Some of us needed a vigilante, someone who would buck League law and live as they wanted to. Some of us needed the idea of something bigger, braver than ourselves.
Some of us needed to believe our father was still in there, somewhere. To believe he only did what he did because he had no other choice. I didn’t want to imagine what happened to drive him to those lengths. It might’ve been the death of my mother. It might’ve snapped him in half. Or, he might’ve been scrambling to survive all those years because he’d seen what happened to her and knew it could happen to him. If only we had the time to talk it over.
I had so many questions, and all my father could do when I hugged him, was pull away from me. I rubbed my knuckles over my eyes to wipe away my tears. I wasn’t a baby. Crying wouldn’t get me anywhere.
I had to try to find my father, and Jonah, too. He had to know the League’s Special Ops team was after him—and Jonah needed to know that traveling around with him was even more dangerous than we could’ve guessed.
But how?
I went to the rooftop in the hopes that they would come back. It was better than nothing. I stood there, wind in my hair, wishing and hoping they would appear. There were still a few hours left until the sun rose, and I walked the perimeter of the roof again and again, waiting, looking in all directions for a flash of light, a swirl of color.
Oh, please, please. Come back. I have to warn you.
What would happen if Fane was killed and I didn’t do anything about it? I would never be able to forgive myself.
Even though I wished with all my might, with enough intensity to make me feel a little weak, I was surprised when I got my wish.
Ahead of me, light started to swirl. A pinpoint at first, but it quickly exploded into a circle of light that touched the surface of the roof and spread up and out.
Fane was the first one to step
through. My heart nearly stopped.
Then came Jonah—and Anissa.
I groaned.
And with them, someone new.
Tall, dark-skinned. He had a strange essence, something that told me he wasn’t human. There was a preternatural sense about him, but I couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. Was he a vampire? No. I would’ve known right off.
Vampires didn’t have golden eyes that seemed to glow like fire. Then again, there was something familiar about him, too. Maybe he was part vampire, part something else? Did he have fangs?
My attention turned to Anissa next. She was the one who started it all, wasn’t she? It was all her fault. If she hadn’t tried to kill my brother, none of it would’ve happened.
We were happy before she came along. We had lives, routines, things to be happy about, things to care about other than struggling to stay alive and keep each other alive. I had liked my life. It was fun, exciting, and there was nothing more important to think about than where we would go to party on any particular night. Jonah took care of the clan and we enjoyed life otherwise.
But then she came along and everything was ruined. She pulled us into Marcus’s web.
And there she stood, next to my father, as she stepped out of the portal.
I should’ve been there. I should’ve been standing at his side, leading with him, traveling and fighting alongside him. Not her. She should not have been next to him.
No—he didn’t trust me enough, didn’t think I was worthy of that.
But she was? She was worthy? He trusted her? The little half-blood?
All of this went through my head in the blink of an eye—in the time it took the portal to close, in fact.
By the time it did, I exploded with rage.
All four heads turned in my direction as I flew at her, claws out, fangs bared.
Jonah tried to jump between us, but he was too late.
I took her throat in my hands and squeezed.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” I screamed.
“Philippa! No!” Jonah pulled at me, while the tall, dark-skinned creature pulled at Anissa.
She clawed at my hands, but I had a strong grip.
“Why won’t you go away already?” I asked, struggling to maintain my hold even with Jonah fighting me. “You and your electric sister! You’re the reason this is happening! Gage was here with us before you came around! He left because of you, because of what you did to our clan and our family! Damn you both!”
“Philippa, stop this!” Jonah managed to separated us.
I lunged again.
This time, his arms were around my waist, holding me back. “Have you gone crazy?”
“If I have, it’s because of her!”
Everything that had happened since the beginning flashed through my head.
Taking her prisoner. Watching while Jonah and Scott planned to rescue her. Seeing the rage all over Gage’s face when he realized his twin would jeopardize the clan for a stranger.
Begging Gage not to go, not to split us up like that—things had never been easy between him and Jonah, but they were always better when we were together, acting as a team. How my heart had broken when he left, how I had just about worried myself to death over him since then.
It was her, all her—her and Sara. Why did they have to come into our lives?
I threw myself at her again and managed to catch Jonah off-guard—I slipped out of his arms and clawed at her face, but she held up her arms in time.
“What right do you have to be here?” I roared. “What right do you have to be with my father, standing with him, working with him? You don’t have that right! You’re not his daughter! I am!”
It was like the whole world stopped.
Anissa’s arms dropped from in front of her face, and her jaw hung slack. She looked at Jonah. “Your father?”
Fane was standing just behind her, and from the corner of my eye, I noticed him shaking his head.
I was still on the attack, my blood still boiling, and I took advantage of her surprise by swinging my fist and making contact with her jaw.
She reeled backward, saved from falling off the roof only by the arms of the dark-skinned one.
Then, it hit me.
She was surprised. She didn’t know.
I told.
I told her.
I looked at Fane in horror, but he looked away.
No! I had pushed him even further away.
No wonder he didn’t trust me. He would never trust me again.
Anissa steadied herself. There was a cut on her lip, slowly oozing blood. She didn’t seem to notice.
“Is it true?” she asked Jonah, who stood there looking like he’d just been hit by a train.
No, no! It wasn’t supposed to be that way. My father wasn’t supposed to be disappointed in me. None of them were. I was just as good as any of them, just as valuable to the clan and my family. They could trust me.
She turned to me. “What did you mean about my sister? You called her electric. What did that mean?”
I ignored her. I didn’t even remember what I’d said, anyway. It all came out in a rush, like my mouth took over for my brain.
I stood in front of Fane, willing him to look at me. “I didn’t mean it. I swear. I’m sorry. Please, listen to me. Look at me. Please!”
A sudden creaking noise stopped me.
We all turned toward it. My heart was in my throat, desperation running through me.
What next?
What could possibly happen?
The rooftop access door opened slowly, its hinges screaming in the silence.
There was a light on inside, and a figure stood there, cast in silhouette.
13
ANISSA
I searched Jonah’s face, confusion and fury fighting for control of my brain. Just when I thought I had things under control and we were on the same page, something else happened.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for what came out of Philippa’s mouth.
Fane was their father?
When did Jonah think it would be a good time to tell me that? When would he ever trust me enough to share the truth? The full truth, not just what he felt I could handle?
Never, that was when.
I would never know if he was being completely honest, or if he didn’t trust me, or if he was sheltering me out of some misplaced chauvinistic impulse.
I felt foolish. He hurt my pride when he lied to me that way. I felt stupid for making it so easy for him to fool me.
I touched my mouth, noticing the blood for the first time. And that bitch, Philippa. How dare she touch me, much less hit me? What did I ever do to her?
What, because I was standing next to her father? No, she had always hated me—she was just looking for a reason to hit me. She had been looking for one all along, and she finally had it.
I seethed—they were both the same, the two of them, Jonah and Philippa. Both of them had secrets up their sleeves. Except with Philippa, I knew what I was up against. I could handle a punch to the face. I could even handle strange, cryptic claims—what did she mean about Sara being electric? She had obviously lost her mind to jealousy.
What I couldn’t handle were Jonah’s lies and omissions.
Philippa was begging Fane to forgive her.
Fat chance of that happening. He wouldn’t look at her and I could see his side of it, and I didn’t blame him.
I was still furious with Jonah and with Philippa, my blood boiling until it boiled over.
I dropped to one knee and slid a silver blade from inside my boot while no one was looking.
In a flash, I jumped to my feet and laid the blade against Philippa’s smooth, perfect cheek.
She screamed, a howl of excruciating pain as her skin sizzled with the silver blade’s kiss. Her flesh corroded under the shiny metal, as though I had thrown acid on her.
She jerked away, holding a hand over the spot.
“Hit me again!” I
screamed, lunging at her with the blade. “Come on! I dare you!”
“Stop! She’s crazy!” Philippa was doubled over in pain, eyes wide and darting back and forth as she backed away from me.
I noticed then, for the first time, the open door and the figure standing in the doorway. I held the blade at the ready, waiting for whoever it was to come forward.
I even forgot about Philippa then.
The individual stepped forward—stumbled, actually, almost falling to the ground.
“Father?” Gage’s voice was barely a whisper, almost carried away with the wind.
I gasped.
We all did.
He looked like a shadow of himself—there were scars all over his chest and arms. He was pale, weak, panting for breath. His eyes looked glazed over, but I thought it was emotion more than exhaustion. He couldn’t pry them from the sight of Fane—his father, I reminded myself.
“Anissa.” Jonah pulled at my arm, trying to get me away from Philippa.
I shook him off.
He didn’t have any right to touch me. Besides, I wasn’t touching her, I was looking at Gage.
“Father?” Gage whispered again, staring at Fane.
Finally, Fane nodded.
Gage stumbled to him and almost collapsed before Fane caught him.
“Is this a dream?” he whispered.
“No, son. It’s not a dream.” He helped Gage steady himself. “It’s real. I’m real.”
Gage looked around like he was sure he would wake up from his dream at any second, like he was afraid of waking up and finding out none of it was real after all.
“What happened to you?” Jonah went to him, looking him over. “Who did this?”
“I—I don’t know,” Gage breathed. “I coursed here. A long way. I’m so tired, and I can hardly remember anything.”
“Come on. Let’s go inside. You need to rest.” Jonah took him by the arm.
“What about Scott? What if he sees…” Fane asked.
“If he does, he does. But we have to talk to Gage, and we can’t do it out here on the roof. He can barely stand. We’ll go to my rooms, more likely to have privacy there,” Jonah said.