No, she told herself. That whole thing was off limits. Besides, Pilot would be mad at Rykken if he was somehow competing for her… and they seemed as good of friends as ever.
“Here, I’ll show you,” Emily said, her eyes still on Justin and Rykken wrestling.
“No, that’s okay,” Brie said quickly. “Just point me in the right direction. I’ll figure it out from there.”
Emily gave her a few simple directions to get back to the house of the guy hosting the party. Brie made her way just inside, passing by the first floor bathroom line and instead heading upstairs to the second floor.
She ducked into one of the bedrooms and sat on the bed, closing her eyes for just a minute while she collected her thoughts.
Was there anyone at her new school that wasn’t confusing?
So much for blending in.
She breathed in, breathed out slowly, three times. She knew she had to get back to the party, and she knew it was probably too early to leave. But she could at least find Cora and stay by her side for the rest of the night.
Armed with a battle plan, she stood up to leave the room. She saw a flash of blonde whip across her face, but before she could think, someone had shoved her leg out from under her. She fell on her butt, landing on her bedroom floor with a hard thump. The girl, not much larger than Brie, pushed her head back into the carpet and sat on her. She parted her lips to scream, but the girl’s hand wrapped around her mouth, snuffing out the sound.
“Not a word,” the girl said. She kicked out wildly, struggling to break free, but the girl had both her arms pinned above her head with one of her hands, and both her legs locked in place between her knees.
The girl ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it back. She glared at her with toffee-colored eyes that could have been a carbon-copy of her mother’s eyes. It’s you, Brie thought. She could see now that she hadn’t been mistaken, that the girl looked just like a younger version of her mother. A few days ago, she would have told herself it was impossible, but knowing what she knew now about her mother’s secret identity and powers…
“Here’s how this works,” the girl said. “I speak, you listen. I didn’t want to hurt you, but you are in terrible danger and we have to move quickly. Nod your head if you agree to these terms.”
Brie nodded her head and the girl loosened her grip just enough that she could slip one of her wrists free.
She ripped the girl’s hand from her mouth and asked, “Who are you?”
Like lightning, the girl re-secured her wrist and her hand closed on her mouth again, before she could get out another word. “That was a test and you just failed it.”
The girl sounded like a drill sergeant which for some reason set Brie off. She giggled nervously, her laughter muffled by her hand. Anger flashed across the girl’s face, then embarrassment.
“Ugh.” She let go of her and rolled off her, to the side. She slunk dejectedly against the foot of her bed. “This isn’t working, is it?”
Brie sat up and rubbed her raw wrists. “Depends on your goal. Most people don’t tackle the people they are trying to save.”
The girl narrowed her eyes, examining her. She didn’t move; her mind burned with questions and she knew she needed the girl’s trust to get answers.
After a minute, the girl seemed to come to a decision. “New deal: I won’t beat you up anymore and you won’t scream.”
She exhaled with relief, thankful that the girl was not leaving just yet. “We could have started with that one.”
“I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
“You still don’t.”
The girl bit back a smile. “You seem smart. You’ve probably already guessed who I am.”
She shook her head. “Clara and Cora refused to tell me.”
“Not surprising.” The girl held out her hand to her. “Sirena,” she said. “Your mother’s twin sister.”
She tried not to gape; she had expected that Sirena might be related to her, a distant cousin, maybe. But she had not expected this. “My mother didn’t have a twin sister.”
“No,” Sirena said, “your mother didn’t tell you she had a twin sister. Big difference.”
“You look too young to be her twin.”
Sirena frowned. “Didn’t Clara and Cora teach you anything? Hallows don’t start aging until they have children.” She waved her hand in front of her stomach. “I am not with child, hence I do not look a day over twenty.”
Brie did know all that; still, was having trouble processing everything Sirena was saying.
Secret powers and a supernatural world?
An ancient inheritance and enemies who wiped out an entire royal family?
And now, a secret twin sister who hadn’t aged?
Did I ever know my mother at all? Brie wondered.
Out loud, she asked, “Why are you here?”
Sirena’s eyes darted around the room, like she was afraid someone might overhear her. After a minute, she focused her attention back on Brie. “I’m searching for Milena’s murderer and I need your help.”
“My mom died in a plane crash.”
“Don’t be thick,” Sirena said. “Your mother was a Hallow. More specifically, she was an Innate. She had powers beyond what most Hallows could dream of. Innates don’t die in plane crashes. Someone had their hands in this.”
She thought back to Cora’s earlier warning, to call if she met trouble. She knew the twins would be angry her if they caught her speaking to Sirena alone. She wondered how much danger she could be in right now.
At the same time, she felt drawn to Sirena. She didn’t want Sirena to get scared and disappear into the night, forever. She knew that the twins were hiding things from her, things that Sirena might be more willing to tell her.
She took a deep breath, determined to keep Sirena talking. “The Hallows? I don’t think the Hallows are murderers. They have commandments. They can’t harm earthlies or themselves, something or other.” She looked at Sirena sheepishly. “Clara flew through them pretty quickly.”
Sirena’s expression softened. “You must use your powers for the greater good, to protect the lives and souls of earthlies and the Hallow race. You cannot use your powers in the presence of an earthlie, unless it’s for the greater good. You cannot use your powers to harm yourself or anyone else, unless it is in sacrifice for the greater good.”
“Yep, those are the ones,” she said. “Should I, like, memorize those for a future test?”
Sirena rubbed the back of her neck. “The commandments prove nothing. Hallows have free will that allows them to forsake the commandments if they choose. But even if the Hallows did follow their own commandments, the key words are ‘the greater good.’ The New Order claimed that they killed our entire family for ‘the greater good.’ My parents, your grandparents. All of my cousins. And if they could find us, they’d kill us too.”
Brie felt her heart skip several beats. Her skin felt clammy. “Do you think the New Order murdered my mother?”
Sirena frowned. “Your entire family would be dead by now if it were them. No, it’s someone else. The daughters of Michael have many enemies.” She stood up. “Which is why you shouldn’t be here anymore.” She pulled a black backpack from an inside pocket in her jacket and held it out to her. “Pack as much as you can into this tonight. You have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
She took the bag. “Go where?”
“I know this is a lot to absorb,” Sirena said, scratching her jaw, “but let’s review the events of the last few months. Your extremely powerful mother who is the descendant of humans and archangels is caught up in a plane crash which shouldn’t kill her, but does. A few days ago, you started developing powers; which, by the way, you should not be using to change your physique. Being a Hallow is serious business; there are laws and rules and we have a purpose and—“ Sirena took a deep breath, composing herself. “Moving on. Two girls you know nothing about and whom you should absolutely stay away from�
�“
“Clara and Cora told me to stay away from you,” she interrupted.
“Exactly,” Sirena said, though Brie didn’t quite follow what she meant. “I’m your aunt, though. Why would you stay away from me?”
“Because you’re dangerous?”
“Clara and Cora might work for the New Order.”
“Oh,” she said. “If they did, wouldn’t they have told the New Order where I am, though?”
“Maybe they’re spies. Maybe they have other motives for keeping you alive for time being.” Sirena’s eyes lit up with passion, but Brie thought it sounded too conspiracy theory to have much merit.
She bit back her skepticism. “I can’t just leave, though. I have school, friends—“ Sirena’s lips tightened. “Okay, well, I have school. I also have a brother who will go nuts if I leave him.”
“Brie, if the New Order figures out who you are, they will kill your entire family. Whoever murdered Milena is a threat to us.” Sirena’s eyes glistened, though she couldn’t tell if they were watery or if it was something else. “Plus, don’t you want to know what really happened to your mother?”
“Hang on a second,” she said. She did want to know, but a nagging voice at the back of her head told her that Sirena did not operate on half a tank. She was more the full speed ahead, let’s-do-this-now type. And Brie wasn’t sure if she was prepared to dive in headfirst.
“I’m sorry,” Sirena said. “I know this is overwhelming. Let’s start with your questions.”
Brie opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She had so much spinning through her mind. For one, she had to figure out how to tell Pilot that she was leaving, and he would never understand. She felt boxed in, with every single option looking just as bad as the next and multiple people trying to gain her trust by making her distrust the others… she had no idea who to believe. She needed her mom now, more than she ever had—but the one person she always turned to for guidance was gone. Forever. The irony was that it was her mother’s decisions that had gotten her into this situation in the first place, and she couldn’t even ask why.
She desperately needed to know why—why her mother hadn’t told her the truth all those years, why her brother wasn’t a Hallow, and most of all, why her mother had wound up dead. It all lead back to that question. If anyone would know what her mother had been up to in those last years, it would be the person who killed her. That was the starting point, and everything would unravel from there.
“Where will we go?” she asked hesitantly.
“New York City,” Sirena said. “We can start looking for the threat there.”
New York City—going back there had been all she had wanted for the past several weeks, but now that there was actually a chance of it happening, she felt an unsettling stir in her stomach. They wouldn’t be going back to start fresh, they’d be going back to dig into the past. Now that she knew her mother might have been murdered, would she be able to handle the truth?
“Why do you need me?”
“You can’t be serious.” Sirena looked confused. “I’ve tried looking on my own, obviously, but I wasn’t there with my sister day-to-day. You know Milena better than anyone—better than me, better than Thessa. You know the little details—where she went, who she spoke to. You went with her on all those trips.”
“Sirena,” she said, feeling deflated. If Sirena was relying on her to figure it out, they were definitely screwed. “My mom didn’t tell me anything. I didn’t even know I was a Hallow until a few days ago.”
“You know more than you think,” Sirena insisted. “Your mother—well, she’s hard to explain. She was clever. She planned things out, gave people small bits of information in rhymes and riddles for them to solve, and made it so only they could solve it.” Sirena’s eyes lit up again. “I know you have the puzzle pieces we need to find out what happened to her. And you and your brother won’t be safe until we handle it.”
Brie shook her head as if the action could help her focus on the decision Sirena was asking her to make. She couldn’t imagine what she’d really have to offer; it seemed impossible that she would know anything about the murderer.
Even so, she couldn’t let Sirena leave her, not yet. She needed her and needed answers. They had only just met, and even in that short time, Sirena had given her a sense of comfort that she hadn’t felt in awhile. Her gut was telling her that if she had Sirena, she wouldn’t be alone anymore. She wouldn’t have to go through all the difficulties by herself. Sirena could give her so many answers, and they could find the rest together.
“I have conditions,” she said finally.
Sirena put her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth, but before she could get a word out, Brie blurted out, “I want you to answer all my questions truthfully.”
Sirena looked bemused, but she continued. “My brother, Clara and Cora—everyone treats me like a child, editing themselves as they speak. If I go with you, I want you to treat me like an adult. I can handle it.”
“Done,” Sirena said. “I’ll tell you as much as I know.”
She nodded her head in acknowledgement, trying not to buckle under the weight of what she had just agreed to. She was running away from home, maybe forever.
“I need time,” Brie said next.
“That I don’t know that we have,” Sirena said.
“Clara and Cora think we do,” Brie said quietly. “They think we need to be smart and prepare, especially because the paparazzi follow me everywhere right now. They think I should train and prepare. And Thessa—”
“You can’t trust Thessa,” Sirena said. “Did they tell you where she is? She’s in Barcelona right now, trying to keep a low profile, but it’s all over the underdark.”
“The underdark?” Brie said.
“It’s like the supernatural underground… I don’t know how you would call it… a black market of information, maybe? It’s hard to explain.” Sirena spoke quickly, like someone with no time for explanations. “Thessa is said to have a meeting with President Vega himself, who basically murdered our entire family.”
Brie felt herself panicking at Sirena’s words. It was obvious that she intended to leave now, and Brie wasn’t ready for that, nor did she know that it was the smart thing to do. Sirena’s intensity reminded her of her mother, though her mother’s force of nature energy was very controlled; Sirena’s was like a loose cannon, ready to explode on the tiniest whim.
“Oh, no,” Sirena said, breaking through Brie’s thoughts. She was peeking through the curtains, out the back window toward the party. “The twins are coming.”
“Maybe we can talk to them?” Brie asked. “I think if we could all just sit down together—”
“No,” Sirena said. “Listen very carefully to me, because I’ll never get you out of here without them chasing us tonight.” She grabbed Brie at the sides, locking eyes with her. “Pack that bag with anything you need, emphasis on the word need. No photo albums, nothing identifying. Functional stuff, like clothing, toothbrushes. Say goodbye to your brother, because we won’t get him out, but he’ll probably be safe here for now. We’ll have to come back for him someday. Meet me at this beach in three days at 7pm. Just come to the beach, and I’ll find you, and we can get out of here.”
Brie opened her mouth to protest, but Sirena was already ducking out the door. “And don’t tell Clara or Cora about this. I’ll know.”
She heard another whipping noise, ran into the hallway, and realized that Sirena was already gone.
“Huh.” Brie let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in. She was completely overwhelmed by what had just happened. She was still stuck on the “twin sister” part; she couldn’t even start to process the idea that her mom was murdered, that the murderer was still out there, or that Sirena wanted her to leave immediately to chase after him.
“Brie?” The soft, soothing sound of Rykken’s voice floated behind her.
“Brie,” he said again as she turned around. “I’m so g
lad I—” he stopped, looking at her face. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly, trying to relax her expression.
He stared at her. “If something happened, or someone said something—”
“Nothing happened,” she reassured him. “I’m fine. I’m good.” She searched her mind for something to deflect him. “You look like you came out of your fight unscathed.”
“Oh,” he said, a little startled. “You saw that. Ugh, Justin’s a dick.” He cupped the side of his face and twisted his head, cracking his neck.
“Emily mentioned you guys get competitive sometimes.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Sometimes.” His eyebrows furled together, forming a line across his face. “Listen, Brie, if Emily said anything to you about me—”
“No,” Brie lied. “Just that.”
“Okay,” he said. “Good.” He exhaled.
“I should get back to Cora,” Brie said, sidestepping him and squeezing past.
“Of course,” he said.
She ran downstairs, putting Justin and Rykken and Emily and whatever was going on between them all out of her mind. She refused to get involved, not when she was leaving anyway… not when she had much, much bigger problems to handle.
Before she could get out of the house, she ran into Cora and Clara, who were obviously looking for her.
“Where have you been?” Cora asked.
“I—” Brie started, about to tell them about everything that had happened with Emily and Sirena. “I had to pee, and the line was too long downstairs, so I went upstairs to look for another bathroom.”
“Is that all?” Cora asked, concerned.
“Yeah, of course,” Brie said. She frowned, wondering where Sirena had disappeared to. “Do you mind if we just go home?”
“Why?” Cora asked. “Aren’t you having fun?”
Brie shrugged. “I’m just not very good at this whole… blending thing.”
Clara scoffed. “From what I hear, all the boys like you and all the girls want to be you. I think you blended in just fine.”
“It felt like… everyone had different motives. There are things happening under the surface.”
Instruments of the Angels (Hallows & Nephilim: Waters Dark and Deep #1) Page 10