Fracture ns-3

by C. J. Daugherty

  ‘We need to talk to you,’ she said. The others gathered around her, supporting her. ‘We have an idea.’

  ‘Isabelle will never agree to it.’ Raj’s words were emphatic.

  ‘We know.’ Nicole shot him a significant look. ‘So we have to decide how to handle it.’

  Raj had sent his guards back into the corridors and stairwells. Emma had been taken to the infirmary to be checked out. Only he and the group remained in the chilly cellar.

  He rubbed his eyes. ‘Let’s go over this again.’

  ‘Nathaniel says I must come without you, Isabelle, or any of the guards or instructors,’ Allie explained patiently. ‘But he doesn’t mention students. I will go to the castle. The others will follow through the woods in case I get into trouble. You and your guards will already be there, hidden. Nathaniel will think I’ve followed his rules so Rachel will be –’ she almost couldn’t bring herself to say the word, she so wanted it to be true – ‘safe.’ She took a steadying breath. ‘I’ll go to him alone – the others will stay near me. You wait until Rachel is free then you come in – he won’t be expecting you.’

  ‘My guards are all over the grounds right now.’ Raj spoke thoughtfully as he studied the sketch they’d made on the dirty floor: a partial circle with space on one side left open, arrows swooping towards it. It was Napoleon’s plan from the Battle of Austerlitz but Allie had thought it best not to mention that part. ‘I could tell them to get into place one at a time. No group movement. They’d be virtually impossible to detect.’ He glanced around the group, and Allie could tell by his expression he’d already made up his mind. ‘It’s a good plan.’

  She kept her face blank but her heart leapt with excitement. They could make this work.

  ‘What about Isabelle?’ Zoe sounded doubtful. ‘She won’t let us do it.’

  Standing, Raj wiped the arrows from the floor with the sole of his boot. In an instant the evidence was gone. ‘She won’t know.’

  They gaped at him surprise.

  ‘How —’ Allie started but Raj held up his hand. He looked tense, his jaw squared as if anticipating a blow.

  ‘I’m in charge of the operation. Isabelle and I have already decided to leave the Night School instructors out of any plan because we don’t know which of them to trust. I have nearly one hundred guards on their way now, and they all report directly to me.’

  The others murmured.

  ‘A hundred?’ Carter looked stunned. ‘Where…?’

  ‘Lucinda.’ Raj held Allie’s gaze. ‘She sent her own personal security team. I’ve called my guards in. By midnight they’ll be here and ready.’

  Allie sent a silent prayer of thanks to her grandmother.

  A hundred guards. We can do this.

  ‘What will you tell Isabelle?’ Sylvain’s practical question brought her back to earth.

  ‘She asked me to keep you all under guard for your own protection in one of the classrooms.’ He shrugged. ‘I’ll tell her that’s where you are.’

  ‘But she’ll…’ Allie faltered. ‘She’ll never forgive you.’

  Raj’s expression told her he knew that already.

  ‘Let me worry about that,’ he said. ‘You worry about staying safe.’ With a glance at his watch, he motioned for them all to stand. ‘I need you all in gear and ready to go. Stay in the training room until I come and get you. My men will take you there now.’ His gaze glanced off Allie’s. ‘I’ve got to go and meet Isabelle now.’

  After Raj left, the guards led them silently through a series of dark underground corridors. Allie, who thought she knew the school well, had never seen some of them. The school’s cellars were a labyrinth – at times they climbed up one level only to descend again moments later.

  She was thoroughly lost by the time a door opened on to the hallway outside the familiar Night School training rooms.

  After changing quickly into their dark Night School gear, they gathered in Training Room One. The square chamber felt hollow and empty without the other Night School members.

  Zoe was the only one who seemed unaffected by the situation. She limbered up on the thick elastic matting as if this were any other training exercise.

  The others exchanged anxious murmurs and tried to stay calm. Allie’s nervousness made her muscles stiff. It was hard to warm up.

  She wasn’t alone. Across the room she saw Sylvain exhale through pursed lips as if trying to force himself to relax. But his shoulder muscles bulged from the tension.

  After a while, there was nothing to do but wait. Allie leaned back against a wall, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, and rested her chin on her knees. She tried not to think about how Rachel might be feeling right now. What she might be thinking.

  Why was Nathaniel making her wait until midnight? It seemed so long. She wanted Rachel out of there.

  When Carter sat down next to her, she welcomed the distraction.

  ‘You ready for this?’ he asked.

  She looked at him soberly. ‘I just want to get it over with.’

  ‘Me too.’

  Allie watched his face as he looked out across the room. She thought about how he must feel after everything that had happened today.

  ‘Carter, I’m so sorry about Jules.’ Her voice was tentative. She wasn’t certain how welcome her sympathy would be. ‘I didn’t know about… about her parents.’

  His face darkened. ‘I missed her by minutes. She was supposed to go to one of the hiding rooms but she didn’t make it. By the time I got outside the car was gone. It happened so fast.’

  Allie looked at him sadly. ‘I didn’t know her parents were…’

  He shook his head. ‘I didn’t want to advertise it. Besides, you two…’

  Hated each other.

  ‘Yeah,’ she said, ashamed. ‘I’m sorry about that, too. All that fighting… it seems so unimportant now.’ She turned to face him. ‘Do you think she’ll get away? Come back? She’s trained.’

  He shook his head, a muscle flickering in his jaw. ‘I don’t know. Could we just… talk about something else?’

  But what else was there to talk about?

  When Raj walked through the door some time later they were all sitting in tense silence, waiting. He looked around the room, his eyes missing nothing.

  ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

  ‘All you do is put it in your ear, like headphones.’ Raj put a small silver device on Allie’s fingertip, and she placed it cautiously in her ear.

  It felt cold against the sensitive flesh and she shivered. ‘Won’t it just fall out?’

  ‘Adjust it until it feels snug but don’t force it,’ he said.

  She moved it until it seemed to fit. ‘I think it’s in there.’

  ‘This is your microphone.’ He showed her a tiny piece of what looked like black plastic no larger than the head of a pin. ‘Here. Lean forward.’

  She did as he asked, and he stuck it to the fabric of her jacket, just below her jaw. She craned her neck to look for it – it was invisible.

  He placed an earpiece in his own ear. ‘Say something.’

  His voice rang from the device inside her ear and she flinched. ‘Wow. That is way too loud.’

  ‘It’s because I’m standing so close to you. The transmission is not strong – as soon as you leave the building my voice will seem faint to you but you should never lose contact at any point.’

  Biting her lip, Allie nodded. They were standing at the end of the corridor, by the stairs leading out on to the grounds. She’d been through that door a hundred times in the last few months with the other Night School students. She knew the path she was about to take like the back of her hand. She knew where she was headed and what she was going to do. She was ready.

  She’d never been more frightened.

  As if he could see it on her face, Raj took her by the shoulders. The others were gathered behind them so he lowered his voice until only she could hear. ‘You’re sure you want to do this?’

  Allie tho
ught of Rachel, sitting at her library table bending over her chemistry books, glasses sliding down her nose. Throwing back her head to laugh at one of Allie’s bad jokes. Calmly explaining complex molecules. Running into her room when she had a nightmare.

  Terrified, with blood running down her arm and Gabe holding the knife.

  Lifting her chin she met Raj’s gaze with fierce eyes. She might be scared but she wasn’t about to back down. This was her chance to get the bastards who killed Jo. Beautiful, happy, crazy Jo. And who now wanted to kill Rachel.

  They were all just pawns in Nathaniel’s game.

  Allie was sick of being a pawn.

  ‘I’m ready.’

  Her words were simple but her tone was eloquent – Raj didn’t ask her again.

  ‘OK.’ Stepping back, he looked at them all, pride in his eyes. ‘You know the plan. I know you can do this. Go out there. And bring her back.’

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Allie walked along the dark path with quick purposeful steps, her eyes fixed on the path ahead. Her senses were so alert it felt as if her hair stood on end. She tingled with nervous anticipation.

  Keep it together, Allie, she told herself. You can do this.

  She thought of the way she’d felt when, just before she’d gone, Sylvain had pulled her into a rough hug. He’d whispered something to her in French and she hadn’t known what it meant and yet thought she understood, all at once.

  She could do this.

  The night was quiet. The only sounds were the thudding of her feet on the soft soil, the rapid pounding of her heart; her breath. The others should be in the woods around her by now, following her steps through the trees. But she didn’t hear a thing.

  There was no moon – clouds obscured every star. The air felt heavy with impending rain. It was so dark she could barely see the path at her feet but she hesitated to use the torch that dangled from her hand. If she relied on the torch, its beam would be all she could see. Her eyes would adjust, but the darkness was so complete it was taking time.

  Ahead, the path began to ascend, twisting and turning steeply, becoming rockier.

  ‘I’m at the hill.’ She whispered the words, lowering her head towards the tiny device affixed to her jacket.

  ‘Clear.’ Raj’s voice was steady and calm in her ear.

  For a while she was too busy focusing on it to be frightened. Stones skittered out from under her foot. Once or twice she stumbled, but she always caught herself before she fell.

  She was nearly at the top when she heard a sound in the woods. It was faint but clear – a snapping branch, then… silence.

  Allie’s mouth went dry and she peered into the darkness around her. But the night revealed nothing. She turned back to the footpath and took one step forward.

  ‘Hello, Allie.’

  She froze. Nathaniel’s chillingly familiar voice seemed to come from her earpiece, but that wasn’t possible.

  Her hands shaking, she fumbled with her torch. Suddenly her fingers were so numb everything felt like nothing at all. Finally, she managed to press the button and a bright beam sprang out. She held the torch above her head, pointing it straight ahead.

  The path was empty.

  Her breath came out in a choked sob.

  Where is he?

  Panicked, she swung in a circle, the torch beam swinging drunkenly.

  Nothing.

  ‘I need you to walk to the top of the hill, and into the castle.’ In her ear Nathaniel’s voice was calm.

  That only made Allie more frightened.

  He hacked the comms system.

  ‘Once you’re there, I’ll tell you where to go. Do as I say and Rachel will be fine.’

  He can hear everything we say.

  Allie’s heart hammered against the walls of her chest so loudly it was hard to hear his voice.

  ‘It was naughty of you to try to subvert my demands by using these earpieces,’ Nathaniel chided her. ‘I know my letter did not strictly forbid this. Still, I’m instituting a new rule. Alert Raj that I am talking to you and Rachel dies like Jo. I hope you understand how serious I am.’

  For a second Allie was immobilised by fear. He’d said she shouldn’t alert Raj – did that mean she could hear Nathaniel but Raj could not? Should she say something back? If she did, Raj would hear.

  She thought longingly about running back down the hill and warning Raj. He needed to know.

  But then she thought of Rachel – alone and held prisoner by that monster. She couldn’t go back. She had to try.

  ‘Allie, check in.’ At that moment, Raj’s steady voice came through her earpiece. He didn’t sound at all rattled. He had no idea what Nathaniel had done.

  ‘Allie?’ Raj called again. This time he sounded concerned – she had to reply.

  ‘Clear,’ she whispered, her voice tight.

  There was nothing to be done. She couldn’t warn Raj without risking Rachel’s life. She had to go on, but she was so frightened her feet seemed frozen to the earth, her hands glued to her sides.

  Come on, Allie, she urged herself. Rachel would do this for you.

  Gritting her teeth she took one step. Then another. In that fashion she stumbled up the hill, clutching her torch in a death grip. Its beam unsteadily illuminated the emptiness ahead, making shadows of tree branches that reached out for her like long fingers.

  The crest of the hill lay just ahead. Beyond it, she could make out the jagged rocks of the castle tower.

  Lowering her head she walked on, her footsteps uneven but determined.

  When she reached the remains of the castle’s once formidable stone wall, her heart pounded so quickly she felt dizzy.

  The old wall had crumbled over time but still stood more than six feet tall in places. She picked her way through the fallen rocks to a spot where the wall was at its lowest. Here, battered stones had been piled into makeshift stairs, and she climbed to the top.

  The winds had picked up and her hair blew around her face as she stood on top of the wall looking out over the old stone tower, gloomy and ruined. Tonight, with storm clouds swirling overhead, it looked every bit as haunted as its reputation held it to be.

  Next to it, a scorched circle marked the spot where the students had held a bonfire in the autumn term. It felt like a hundred years ago.

  She could see no sign of Nathaniel but she knew he was there, somewhere. Waiting for her.

  Steeling herself, she climbed down and headed across the uneven ground.

  ‘I’m at the castle,’ she said into her microphone.

  ‘Clear,’ Raj said. ‘You have ten minutes.’

  Ten minutes until he came with his guards to get her. Ten minutes to free Rachel. Ten minutes to survive.

  A light mist began to fall; tiny raindrops clung to her eyelashes.

  Raj’s plan required her to stand in the middle of the castle yard and call Nathaniel out. ‘Whatever you do,’ he’d said, ‘do not go into the castle tower. Understood?’

  But now when she reached the centre of what had once been the castle keep, Nathaniel’s voice, so low and preternaturally calm it sent goosebumps cascading down her spine, spoke in her ear.

  ‘Walk into the castle tower.’

  Horrified, Allie replied aloud: ‘No.’

  ‘Allie?’ Raj’s voice in her ear.

  She bit her lip. ‘Clear,’ she said.

  Clenching her hands into fists at her sides, Allie tried to stay focused. She needed to think.

  Nathaniel had said if she refused any of his commands, Rachel would die. But would he really do that? Once Rachel was gone he’d have no hold over Allie. There’d be no reason for her to speak to him.

  A sudden adrenaline-burst of confidence in her own logic made her feel dangerously brave. She could do this.

  Taking a deep breath, she stood amid the ruins, her arms flung out at her sides.

  ‘Nathaniel! You said you’d find me if I came looking for you. Well? Here I am. Show yourself.’

  Her voice se
emed to disappear into the glowering clouds. Turning in a slow circle, she looked for any sign of him. Her eyes darting into the shadowed corners and rocky ledges of the hilltop castle.

  Rain had begun to fall harder now. Her hair clung to her scalp and snaked over her shoulders in dripping strands.

  Raj had told her not to attempt to provoke Nathaniel, but she was angry now, and she couldn’t stop herself. ‘Come on, Nathaniel. You didn’t lie to me, did you? You wouldn’t do a thing like that, would you?’

  ‘Don’t push me, little girl.’

  The calm voice emanated from the base of the tower and Allie’s earpiece at the same moment. She whirled in time to see Nathaniel step out of the darkness.

  Frantically she looked around for any sign of Rachel. But he was alone.

  As she had the first time she saw him in the heat of last summer, Allie marvelled at his sheer ordinariness. His neat dark hair and average build would not have been out of place among Cimmeria’s teachers. His face was pleasantly but not spectacularly designed – his nose slightly too big, his eyes a little too small to be perfect, but he did not look like a monster.

  His expensive suit looked out of place here, though. He was dressed like a banker. His cufflinks caught the light from her torch and sparkled coldly.

  ‘You disappoint me,’ he said. ‘I thought you cared enough about your friend to do as you were told.’

  ‘I care enough about my friend not to believe a single word you say,’ Allie replied, her shoulders squared although her hands trembled. ‘Where is she, Nathaniel? Where is Rachel? Show her to me or I will walk away right now.’

  To show she meant it, she took two steps away from him. He held up his hand.

  ‘Christopher’s right about you – you’re always in such a rush,’ he said with a chilly smile. ‘You never take the time to think things through.’

  His casual mention of Christopher made Allie draw in her breath sharply but she wouldn’t let him see how much it hurt to think about the brother who’d abandoned her.

  He needed to think she didn’t care.

  ‘Don’t talk about Christopher or I might have some sort of a crying fit.’ Her voice dripped sarcasm. ‘Now I want my friend back. Where is she?’