Randall smiled. “Your leader?”
“Jessica,” I said, stepping forward. Hanabell looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. I stared the woman down. The era of helpless Avalin was going to end. This wasn’t going to rule my life, nor was it going to put any of my friends or family in danger.
“It’s you,” she whispered. “The daughter of Abigail Sweeney.”
“Yes, it’s me.” I crossed my arms. “I want to know why Jessica’s after me.”
Lovelock laughed. “Well feisty, how about you slow down there for a minute?” He raised his hand to me. “We have to prepare this lovely lady before you can ask your questions. Xiang, if you please?”
The small Asian woman trotted over to Hanabell, who backed away as far as she could. Xiang held her hands out and touched Hanabell on the temples. A strange humming sound rang out of nowhere as I watched the two women with a curious look. I didn’t know what they were doing, but I assumed that Xiang was a Twined.
“This may take a moment,” the suited man said as he sat down on a chair that Orton brought over to him. “Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves. I’ll let you know when the process is done.”
And like kids dismissed to recess, Albert and I crowded around Vikki and Jaspit in a sort of huddle.
“I don’t recognize those two,” Albert said to Jaspit.
“They’re new to me, too. From the looks of it that woman is a Reader and that big guy is her partner.”
Albert looked to me, “Then when she’s done tenderizing Hanabell’s mind, you’ll be able to ask her anything you want and she’ll answer truthfully… whether she wants to or not.”
I smiled a bit. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“But you have to be quick,” Vikki added. “A Reader’s power doesn’t last long so make every question count.”
“I understand.”
Albert grabbed my shoulder. “Ask her where Jessica is hiding, what she wants from you and see if she knows where the Illusionist is. Ask her those questions in that order and don’t hesitate.”
I nodded to him. As soon as our huddle was done, Randall called us over. He pulled me to the center of the bar right in front of Hanabell. The Reader Twined stepped aside and nodded her head. I thanked her as I prepared my questions. This time I was going to get the answers I wanted, no matter what.
Hanabell opened her eyes wide. She looked at me like nothing was wrong. Empty would be a good way to describe her expression. Like the lights were on but no one was home.
“Why hello Avalin. I have to say… you’re very pretty,” she said simply.
I raised my eyebrows. “Where is your boss Jessica hiding?”
She breathed in for a second and cocked her head. “I don’t know where Jessica is hiding. She always meets us in random locations for planning and briefings.”
I sighed. That lack of info won’t do us any good. I guess Jessica was as paranoid as she was psychotic. I continued with my questions. “Why does Jessica want me?”
“Jessica wants you for many reasons. She… she…” Hanabell seemed to be fighting the Reader’s powers with everything she had.
“Tell me why Jessica wants me!”
“She wants to keep you… from Joining… she wants you alive… for herself…”
She wanted me for herself? Damn it that didn’t make any sense. I was frustrated she wasn’t giving me more information. But I couldn’t waste time; there were other things I needed answers to. “The Illusionist that Jessica sent after me escaped. Who and where is he?”
Harris let out a muffled yell next to me. But he couldn’t speak through the cloth that gagged him. I ignored his outbursts.
“Terrance Everson, age twenty six, was captured by you and your Twined friend Albert after he failed to kill Mr. Huntington and retrieve you from your school. We deemed that attempting to rescue him from Madeline Gray, the famous Twined matchmaker who is currently employed as a nurse at Rowan High, would jeopardize our mission. So we considered him expendable, knowing he would die by his own hand before giving away any information that would compromise our operation. Unfortunately his partner Slade did not agree with our decision and stormed off. He stopped reporting in days ago. However, I did not know that Terrance the Illusionist had recently escaped, and have no idea on his whereabouts or how to contact him from this point.”
Hanabell began making strange faces at me, shaking violently and rattling the chair with tiny bursts from her seizures. I backed away as Lovelock stood to his feet in a dainty manner.
“Seems like time is up,” he said to me.
But I had to ask her one more question. “What do you know about my mother?”
It didn’t take though. Hanabell took a huge breath in as the light returned to her eyes. She looked around in a panic, seemingly ashamed at the amount of information she gave away.
Lovelock clapped his hands, letting out a vulgar laugh. “Bravo, ladies. Bravo.” He walked towards me and put a hand on Hanabell’s shoulder, smiling with glee. “I do say that was rather exciting. Very good show, very good show indeed!”
Albert came over to me and whisked me over to him. Lovelock however gravitated over to Harris.
“It seems that your partner has spilled the beans, per say.” Lovelock snapped his fingers. I watched as Xiang brought over a dark red box. She treated it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Lovelock gave his cane to Xiang and then opened the box, taking out a rose brooch. He fingered it lovingly as he looked Harris in the eyes.
“Unfortunately I’m not going to let you leave alive, alright?”
Lovelock pressed the brooch against Harris’ chest and the man screamed through the rag stuffed in his mouth. A sort of light shined violently from his person as Albert and I shielded our eyes. When the shining died down and Harris’ screaming stopped, I saw Lovelock holding a brooch in his one hand and in his other he held a sort of glowing blue orb with an hourglass floating inside it.
Albert seemed horrified. I think he knew what Lovelock was going to do.
“An hourglass is your Marker? Well that’s the definition of irony.” He took the blue orb that housed the hourglass and dropped it to the floor.
“You are most definitely out of time, my friend.”
And then he stomped on it.
Hanabell screamed.
At first nothing happened. I thought that maybe destroying it was going to do something. But it didn’t. Harris was still there, despite looking absolutely terrified.
Jaspit screamed, “Lovelock, wait!”
Randall Lovelock took his cane out of Xiang’s hand. However it came apart as he pulled it, leaving Xiang with the sheathe as he revealed his cane to be a long silver blade in disguise. And with a quick flick of his wrist he stabbed the blade through Harris’ chest, muttering some kind of chant in a foreign language.
“Lovelock!” Jaspit hollered.
Hanabell went into hysterics. She cried and shook her chair, falling over as she watched a pool of blood stain Harris’ suit. The man was stunned, sitting there silently as the life slowly faded from him. I watched in horror, absolute mind-numbing horror, as Harris slowly evaporated into rainbow colored flames. He began to disappear in a terrifying familiar fashion, like an image displayed on a tarp that was slowly catching fire. As I heard those words that Lovelock was muttering, I found that I could follow along with him as he spoke.
Through Hanabell’s screaming, Jaspit and Albert’s cussing and Lovelock’s chanting, strangely enough I found silence. I looked straight into Harris’ lifeless eyes as he burned away. The death of a Twined, something I had seen before. And as I stood there in muted shock, for the first time in years, everything finally made sense. I understood what happened on my eleventh birthday, why my mother was so famous in the Twined community. It all made sense.
My m
other murdered a Twined.
CHAPTER 15: LOVE TRUST SMILE, RECONCILE
“Lovelock what the hell did you do?” Albert hollered against the screams coming from Hanabell.
I’ve never seen someone so destroyed in all my life. Hanabell was crying and screaming at the top of her lungs as she lay on the floor. Her hair covered her face as she sunk her head into the wood flooring. The hysterical weeping was too much to bear and I was too in shock to respond.
“What do you think I did?” Lovelock asked, unfazed by the chaos. “I took care of your problem, just like you asked. The Twined is dead, the bond is broken. And you have nothing to worry about. Thank you Lovelock,” he said in a sing-song voice.
He nodded to Xiang and Orton. The small Asian woman left the bar while the big man picked up Hanabell, chair and all, and took her out with them.
“Fuck you, Lovelock!” Albert hollered, enraged. “You just did the exact thing we were trying to avoid!”
The man’s eyes iced over. “What, you’re angry at me for having the balls to finish what you kids started? I’ll have you know that despite your precious little Marsh girl being under radar, when you asked for our help you involved the Misfits. Now this is our problem just as much as yours, or did you so conveniently forget how the Misfit family works, Jaspit?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten. And we did ask for your help. But my bar, my rules. That was the deal,” Jaspit replied. “And again, you’ve broken every single promise you made when we agreed to this.”
“You can’t teach the same fancy asshole new tricks, I suppose,” Al snapped.
He laughed. “Oh boys. When will you finally understand that there’s nothing governing the Twined? What were you going to do, let them go? They’d come back. Twined always come back until they’re dead. Then they’re no longer a problem. There are no magic rules or human laws that will save you. It was you or them, and I fulfilled my end of the bargain. You, your bar, and your little girl are safe.”
“Is it really that simple for you?” I caught myself asking.
The whole room looked at me in silence. Especially Lovelock.
“To kill someone. To take away their life. Twined or not, have you really made it that simple?” I asked.
“Love, love, love, I am but a simple human being. I took the easiest way out and got the fastest results. To have my ethics or morals questioned is nothing new, sweet thing. But you can’t argue with the results.” He simply shrugged. “They’re not people, my dear. You can’t treat them like people or else they get cocky. They become entitled. And before you know it, a Twined will take advantage of you or try to kill you. It’s just their nature.” I briefly looked at Xiang and Orton as Lovelock talked. But they didn’t even flinch at his statements. They just stood there loyally, like they were agreeing with him. I couldn’t believe it.
“What about the woman? She’s still alive. You going to remedy that in the same way you did her partner?” I scoffed. “You may not be a Twined, but you’re anything but human.”
He looked at me with what seemed like respect and that caught me off guard considering I was aiming for insulting. I didn’t know what I was gaining from saying this stuff. I mean all the people who’ve come after me so far have been Twined. But the way Hanabell was crying, how Lovelock ripped her partner away from her just to keep me safe… suddenly I got a horrible pang of guilt lodged in my stomach. I felt like utter scum.
To see a human woman so destroyed after losing her partner… I saw myself in her position. I remembered how Albert made me feel when he was around me; I imagined how crushed I’d be if something happened to him. Losing him would destroy me and we barely even get along. The pain Hanabell must be feeling… I don’t think I could bear to think about it.
In reality I shouldn’t give a damn. Hell these people would have dragged me away to Jessica without batting an eyelash. I was being so naïve, I should hate them. I should curse them and enjoy the misery that Hanabell’s enduring. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even feel relief that Harris was gone.
For some reason all I felt was the same emotion that coursed through my mind on my eleventh birthday. Sorrow, confusion, uncertainty, despair.
Regret.
“Well I spy with my little eye, a hypocrite.” Lovelock walked towards me as he scraped his bloody cane across the floor. “You think that your mother did anything different than I myself did? Can you honestly say that you’ll do anything different when you finally confront this Jessica woman?”
My fists balled. “Shut up.”
“Oh but it’s true, love. You ever wonder why your mother is so well known in the Twined world? It’s because she was two sides of the same coin.” He grinned. “She was benevolence and malevolence… all in one.”
I didn’t want to hear it.
“She helped the Twined. She even helped a few Twined you know… and several that you don’t.”
“Lovelock I swear to God!” Jaspit said as he walked forward. But Lovelock held his long blade out towards him, stopping him in his tracks.
“She did everything she could for these creatures. Helped them, nurtured them, pampered them. No matter how dangerous they were or how ungrateful, she risked her life to bring them peace. But when someone finally opposed the good natured Abigail Marsh, what did she do? She killed them.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that. She’s made powerful enemies for you, that’s for certain. Friends and foes stop coming around when ruthlessness shows its’ teeth.”
I stiffened as he walked near me. He was fast for someone who walked with such a dainty sway. Before I knew it he was in my face and I felt his breath on my skin. He wrapped his hand around my neck.
“So don’t criticize me, little girl… when someday you’re going to do the exact same thing.”
And suddenly his hand was ripped away from my neck. I just saw Albert hurl Lovelock across the bar like a ragdoll. The suited man slid along the hardwood floor and crashed into a few tables, spilling chairs and glasses all over the place. Al stood in front of me as I gripped his back. It was stunning how fast everything moved.
Orton and Xiang rushed back into the bar. They both charged at Albert, who braced himself. I felt the muscles in his back flex as he prepared himself. I dashed out in front of him thanks to reckless thinking. All I saw in my mind was Hanabell when I thought of Albert getting hurt. That’s all I saw. And I couldn’t bear it.
I glanced to the side, seeing Vikki and Jaspit about to rush to our aid. But before we could all tear each other apart, Lovelock hollered at the top of his lungs for us to stop.
Orton and Xiang skidded to a halt, which was impressive considering Orton’s size. Jaspit, Vikki, Albert and I did the same.
“Now, now. There’s no need for such hostilities,” he said as he brushed himself off. “Our deal is done. Mr. Huntington apparently does not wish for my services any longer, so I shall take my leave.”
We all eyed each other as a deathly silent cloud hung over us all. That silence was broken when I suddenly heard a car engine start. All of us looked out the windows to see some kind of van rev to life out in the bar’s parking lot.
“Shit, she has the car!” Orton screamed.
We all rushed outside to see the van pull out of the driveway. It skidded into a turn and shot down the main road. However before it zoomed out of sight, I saw a tear stained Hanabell look at me. She peered me straight in my eyes. It wasn’t a look of malice. It was one of sorrow, of regret.
“Well, well. Fine work gentlemen,” Lovelock said in suppressed rage. “Can anyone tell me why she wasn’t properly bound like I had asked? Orton? Xiang?”
The two Misfits bowed their heads awkwardly. All Lovelock could do was huff and straighten his suit.
“No matter. Thanks to your little distraction Mr. Huntington, your problems just drove away in my van. Unfortunately for you my se
rvices end here and exactly at this moment.” He snapped his fingers as Orton and Xiang walked after him. “I suppose I’ll need to have someone drop off a vehicle for us. Goodbye, Jaspit. By the way, my debt to you has been repaid… in full.”
****
Albert and I drove back from the bar while it was still dark. I don’t know where we were going and I didn’t feel like asking. I was just drained from all the chaos from earlier. Seeing Harris die right in front of my eyes… it revealed things to me that I wasn’t ready for. And on top of that, what Lovelock said to me was just suffocating. I hated that I let him get to me, the snide little bastard. And now Hanabell was on the run. I didn’t have the strength to deal with all this tonight. I don’t know if I had the strength to deal with it ever.
I didn’t recognize where we were because we’d left Rowan County forever ago. I lived on the edge of the county so passing over the line wasn’t that far of a trip. Now I think we were coming up near Royal Oak or something maybe? It was hard to be sure. My mind started wandering towards what Lovelock said about my mother, but I pushed it out of my head. I was too tired. I just wanted to sleep.
And that’s what I did after the first five minutes. I took a peaceful nap that seemed to just revitalize me. That is until a nudge woke me up and I saw Albert shaking me awake. I rubbed my eyes as I looked behind me. A long driveway, illuminated with many streetlights and plenty of trees stretched as far as the eye could see. The road was the division between a small cliff and a lake on one side and a forest on the other.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“We’re at my house.”
I jumped at that. “Your house?” I guess I had been wondering where Albert went when he wasn’t with me.
“Yeah, come on.” He raised a McDonald’s bag. “I got you something to eat.”
I grinned. “You’re such a lamb.”
We got out of the car and went to his massive castle of a home. It was gated but unlocked, so we waltzed right into his garden of a front yard that was illuminated by lamps along the walkways. I rotated in circles as I walked, like a kid seeing Disney World for the first time.
TWINED Page 17