Laughter fills the air again, and then she’s gone as if she were never really there, leaving all the magic and bullets to strike the concrete where her feet once stood.
I spin on Katie, already knowing why she had gasped. “She’s your—”
“Aunt,” Katie finishes for me. “Yes.”
“And I know where she’s headed,” Weldon throws in, sounding like he’s millenniums away from ever being okay again.
We all look to him.
“To my old pad. The abandoned Lyon Theater.”
PANDEMONIUM ERUPTS WITHIN THE CITY square after the Darkyn disappeared just as easily as she had appeared.
All we can do is watch from the TV as witches and hunters move in panicky, jarring motions, aimlessly pushing and shoving against one another for an escape they’ll never truly find.
Our walls are no longer as secure as Mack and Seamus had promised. The sacred magic that kept our enemies at bay was breached once again because the scales tipped when the seals were broken and the veil dropped.
By my hands, no less.
I glance over at the television in a numbed state, watching as Seamus, Mack, and the other remaining High Priests, surrounded by a team of armed Elites, advance to the small, raised patch of concrete used for public announcements. The High Priests are in Night Watchmen uniforms, just like the rest of us. They’re no longer wearing red robes. No longer pretending to be a part of a system we have all in some way or another abandoned.
They’re part of us now.
And they’re behind the podium, trying to address the thousands of questions and screams being thrown at them from the citizens remaining in Ethryeal City, but Seamus and Mack can’t get a single word in. Not until Seamus finally yells, “Silence!”
You can hear your own heart beating—that’s how quiet it gets.
“I understand your concerns,” he says diplomatically. His tired eyes take up the small screen on the TV in Weldon’s room. “And I’m just as upset by this breach as you are but, as we speak, High Priest Maddock is tightening the barriers using a new technology he invent—”
“Technology?” someone shouts from the middle of the crowd. “How is technology going to stop the Darkyns?”
“Yeah! If one can breach, then so can the rest. We need to fight back,” someone else shouts as the camera pans around the crowd.
Opinions erupt like bees in a disturbed hive, buzzing and stinging. Attacking Seamus and all he’s trying to explain.
“Idiots,” Weldon murmurs under his breath, walking away from the TV and toward the liquor stash he’s kept by the door. I can almost see his heart ripping in half, second by second as the reality of what just happened sinks in.
“Make me one too,” Jezi calls from her spot on the floor in front of the TV, watching the back of Weldon with the roundest, saddest eyes I think I’ve ever seen.
“Anyone else?” Weldon turns and asks.
Several shakes of the head, and he’s filling two glasses and walking back to us, handing a half-full glass to Jezi.
As the verbal assault continues, the crowd’s anger steadily rising, Maddock, standing a few steps behind Seamus with his hands tucked neatly behind his back, shifts uncomfortably before stepping next to Seamus. He looks over at him for a brief moment, and then Seamus nods and steps aside.
Mack leans into the mic, clears his throat, and says something that quiets everyone. “Do you want to die?”
One question. One proposition that has everyone’s blood running dry.
“Then I suggest you pull yourselves together, because this, what you see around you… this is all we have left of our Coven. The rest have either ran, are out there fighting to keep you safe, or have deserted us to join the Darkyns.”
No one contests what he said because it’s the cold, hard truth.
Weldon snorts under his breath. “My brother, ever the tactful speaker.”
“He’s right though,” I say, eyes locked on Mack as he continues to speak.
“If there was ever a time to reach down deep and find your inner strength… for unfailing loyalty and bravery, it would be right now,” Mack continues, his hands firmly gripping the podium and his eyes cast over the crowd with determination. “Yes, we were breached only moments ago. And yes, we are using technology temporarily to protect what’s left of our precious city until we can defeat the Darkyns. Like the earth we inhabit, change is inevitable. We are entering a new age. One where lines will be drawn in the sand and you will have to choose which side you stand on.
“We are making every effort to fight back against the Darkyns. Now that the veil has been dropped, they’re just as easily infiltrated as we are, but fighting a war as big as the one we are about to find ourselves in is not something we should be rushing into. There are measures to be taken, training to be had, and a significant amount of planning that is in the process of happening right now.
“We will bring them down. Soon. But I ask in return that you wake up to what’s happening around you. I ask that you appreciate the change happening within this Coven. Secrets are no longer kept. Information is no longer withheld to keep the masses from freaking out because we believe you can handle the news. We believe you are strong enough to remain informed, so that you can properly protect yourself should the need ever arise.
“We are entering a new period in this Coven. A time when your neighbor isn’t as easily trusted as before. Where you must stick close to the ones you love and fight with every able bone in your body. Without you, this Coven will fall—make no doubt about that. But together, as a unit, we can grow stronger. We can rise above the trials set before us.
“Now, I ask that you return to your homes, lock your doors, and wait for further instruction. You will be informed when the barrier is in place and it’s once again safe to walk the sacred streets of our city.”
He nods to General Tillman, who then barks out orders to the Elites who have formed a steel barrier between the crowd and the podium. They begin ushering the citizens out of city square, directing them toward the living quarters part of the city. Mack, Seamus, and the other Priests and Priestess’ are escorted off the stage, whispering to each other, and then the screen goes black.
I hear an abrupt wheezing sound, turning to find Weldon trying his best to suppress a smile.
A part of me knows this is an act. This is Weldon trying to seem like he’s okay. As if he didn’t just hear from a Darkyn… a traitor… that his affinity partner has a message for him. That he might have a chance in finding and saving her. But I don’t call him out on it because this is how he deals with his pain—by not dealing with it.
He holds his hand up in apology, waving us off as a small snort of laughter slips through his fingers.
“Just spit it out already,” Jaxen says, arms crossed, looking just as confused by Weldon as the rest of us.
“I just… I feel like we should have had a bag of popcorn while watching that cluster unravel. And what about that speech? We can rise above this… We will bring them down… blah blah,” Weldon mocks, and then downs the last of his drink. He grabs the bottle sitting next to him and refills his glass before taking another healthy sip.
Jezi looks like she’s going to unravel at any moment, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her. Sorry for the paradox of her situation. To lose her affinity partner to me, and then to lose Weldon to his affinity partner.
I try to tune out the scattered, frantic thoughts fluttering around her head like disturbed butterflies.
She stands and begins pacing. “Don’t make jokes, Weldon. We all know what this means for you.” She almost sounds sorry to say it, and even more so, scared to hear him confirm it.
He looks up at her, one arm resting against his hiked-up knee. Two lakes of sorrow shadow his golden gaze like clouds rolling in on a sunny day. “What else can I do, love?” he says, seriously this time. “This is seven levels of fucked up. There’s a Darkyn hiding in my home, declaring she knows where Claire is. I’m still try
ing to process this myself.”
Jezi stops as we all look over at Weldon, our throats gone dry with words.
I grab his hand.
He smiles half-heartedly at me.
“What do you want to do?” I ask him. Only him.
He looks right at me, and I know. I know because it’s exactly what I’d want if it had been Jaxen in the Underground and a Darkyn telling me they knew how I could save him.
“We can’t tell Seamus and Mack,” I say to him, feeling the tension from Jaxen’s hard gaze beating on my back.
“You’re not seriously thinking about going to her, are you?” Katie says, horror in her tone.
I turn on her. “She’s no less trustworthy than anyone else.”
Katie rolls her eyes and looks away.
The monitor on the wall rings. We all turn as Mack’s face appears. He doesn’t look happy.
“I want to speak with Katie Coccia. Now!”
Katie timidly makes her way toward the screen. “Sir?”
“Do not think I don’t know who the Fellwoods are.”
“Sir, I promise. Though we’re related, I don’t really know anything about Meredi—”
“And we’re supposed to just take your word for it? First the letter, and now this? A Darkyn showing up in Ethryeal City! That’s it! That’s the final straw, Miss Coccia. Your time is done—”
I take a step toward the screen, ready to protect, but Jaxen beats me to it.
“She’s telling the truth, Mack,” he says, moving in front of Katie like an armed protector.
Mack’s face furrows. “And just how do you know this? The evidence is incriminating.”
“What evidence?” Weldon throws over Jaxen’s shoulder. “I think you’ve been watching too many of those damn conspiracy crime shows. You don’t have shit on her. Just circumstantial bull hockey.”
A pause. “Thank you for that,” Mack says dryly. He turns his attention back to Jaxen. “You have two seconds to explain before I have her escorted.”
I make my way to the screen. “Katie’s innocent. I know without a doubt. To prove it to you, she volunteered to be corrected so we could discover what was happening.”
“And was your mission successful?” he asks, seeming to simmer down at that.
“Evelyn was brainwashing them. Anyone who’s been corrected needs to be apprehended,” I say firmly.
Mack looks away for a moment. Curses under his breath. Looks back to the screen and leans in. “That’s damn near a quarter of our Coven, Faye,” he says on a whisper. “With all that’s just happened, apprehending that amount of people will not only stir up a new batch of problems, but it’s also damn near impossible. We don’t have the room for it.”
“But we have this,” I say, stepping aside so he can see Nefarum.
“And this,” Weldon says, holding up the flash drive. “The trigger and all the data behind it is on this drive. We just need him,” he says, pointing to Nefarum, “to decipher and explain it.”
Mack’s eyes go grim. “If he’s loyal to Clara, that may never happen.”
Weldon’s lips go thin as he shrugs. “It’s all we have, brother.”
“Fine,” Mack says. “Bring him here.”
“I have a question,” Katie says, her eyes on her feet.
I’m watching her as Mack waits for her to ask, wondering what it could be.
“In the video… Evelyn said the affinity bond is fake. That the elders assign our partners to us.” She looks up, her gaze clearer than it has been in a while. “Is this true?”
Mack does a good job trying to hide his shock at the question. “That’s not something I will discuss with any of you. Not when we have more urgent matters to deal with.” He looks to Weldon, eyebrows raised as our stomachs drop to the floor.
“I’ll be right over,” Weldon says, turning to Nefarum.
“Wait!” Mack says. His eyes shift left, and then right. “It would stir rumors. This needs to be dealt with using the upmost discretion. He needs to be moved… in a way that no one will see him.”
Weldon spins on his heel, smirking at the screen. “Does that mean you want me to use my shadow-walking skills? Are you admitting they’re actually a blessing?”
“Do it,” Mack says, and then the screen goes blank.
Weldon turns back to us. “Do it,” he mocks, his face scrunched in disgust. “Everybody loves to hate the only man in the room who can actually get shit done.” He puts his hand on the back of Nefarum’s chair and drags it across the room to a shadow, the sound scraping at my ears.
“What about Meredith?” I ask him before he steps into it.
“I need some time to think,” Weldon finally says, looking to me. His eyes shift over my shoulder to Jaxen, and then to Katie and Jezi.
“Take all the time you need,” I say, heading to the door.
Jaxen follows behind.
“Where are you going?” Katie asks, looking somewhat desperate.
“I’m going to follow Mack’s instructions. Lock myself behind my door. Take a minute to breathe and collect myself. You should do the same,” I say, looking to everyone. “Like he said, there’s no going back, and we have a big decision to make. One we shouldn’t take lightly. I say we sleep on it, meet back up tomorrow before we meet with Seamus about what we discovered today, and vote on the issue of Meredith Fellwood.”
“I’m down for that,” Jezi says.
“What about Chett?” Katie asks, walking over to me. “He’s still in the correctional facility. Who will I go home to?”
“You can come back with us,” Jaxen offers. “There’s nothing we can do for Chett as of right now.”
Tears are in her eyes, but I feel numb.
I head out the door, Jaxen and Katie following behind, and make my way back to the house we occupy.
Things are about to forever change. I feel it in my bones. Feel myself pulling away, breaking off into pieces, and building into a new me. A person with an agenda. A woman with a purpose.
A machine ready to kill.
WHEN I WAS LITTLE, I climbed the tree in our backyard just to see how high I could get.
I ascended, further and further, the bark digging into the flesh of my hands. The limbs growing thinner and thinner, until they bent under my weight, threatening to snap in half.
I remember looking through the opening of crisp, fall leaves, staring at the roof of our house. Imagining I was a princess locked high in a tower, waiting for her prince to come save her. Waiting for change… possibilities… dreams to come true.
On my way back down, my foot slipped on one of the branches and I fell, plummeting through the limbs stuck out like weak hands trying to catch me. My back slammed into the ground, and it wasn’t until I caught my first good, solid breath that I realized I was bleeding.
I didn’t even have to call out for my mother. She was already by my side, telling me I was okay. Telling me to lie still while she tapped into her magic.
Being the rock she had always been for me.
I remember wanting to cry. Not because I was hurting, but because it had scared me. It was my first real accident. My first time discovering just how frail our bodies really are. But I also remember I didn’t cry. I didn’t cry because of my mother. Because I knew, in her soft gaze, that I would be okay. That she would heal me. She would hold me. She would shield me from all the horrors the world tries to teach us when we’re little.
After she finished, she walked me inside to help me clean up. Across my shin was a light pink scar left from where her magic had healed the wound. A reminder that dangers lurked around every corner. I remember my mother running her soft fingers over the scar as I sat on the edge of the tub. Remember looking into her eyes as she kissed it and told me we endure scars so we can teach others. That every scar is a story to share. A lesson to learn. A way to prevent someone else from making that same mistake.
And I hate her for being so right.
Hate that she’s gone.
Hat
e I can’t ask her to kiss the pain away from this scar on my heart that formed the moment she died.
I turn in the bed, staring out the window and up at the full moon as silent tears trail down my cheeks.
Jaxen follows my movements, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me against him. His fingers move against my cheek, brushing my hair back from my ear as his chin finds the dip in my neck.
“Talk to me,” he whispers, nudging his nose against my ear.
I close my eyes for a moment. Tuck away the memories of my mother. “What are your thoughts on Meredith?”
He sighs, and then rolls away from me, putting his hands behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling. After a moment, he says, “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I think we should see what she knows,” I continue, refusing to acknowledge his attempts to open me up.
Silence ticks between us.
“You can’t keep avoiding this.”
I turn so I can see him, keeping a brave face. “I definitely think we shouldn’t mention it to Seamus or Mack. They would never allow it.”
He rolls, his face creased in pain. “You have to deal with it,” he says immovably.
I tell him everything he needs to know in one look.
“Faye,” he says, softer this time. “I’m worried about you.”
My heart cracks. “Don’t be. I’m fine.”
He runs his hand down my face. “This isn’t something you have to be strong about.”
I try to swallow, wishing he would stop pushing me to talk. “I hope we can get what we need from Nefarum.”
Wishes are about as real as being able to bring her back from the dead.
“You need to see your dad,” he continues, despite knowing I don’t want to talk about it anymore.
I try to keep the conversation moving in the opposite direction, hoping he’ll catch on. “One way or another, we have to get him to talk.”
“Faye. It wasn’t your fault.”
Anger rises up like a well overflowing within me.
Everdeep (The Night Watchmen Series Book 4) Page 5