03 Saints

by Lynnie Purcell

  “Alright,” she said, still staring at me.

  I wasn’t sure if Anna heard his words as he went over the plain; I knew I didn’t. The only thing that kept me from burning the building down was the fact that I needed her. She was my key to Lorian. I wasn’t sure what would happen after I faced him…I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  Finally, Reaper stopped talking. She had been listening. Her superior brain had multi-tasked staring at me and taking in his words. She had changes to the plan, but she seemed to agree with the plan as a whole. She didn’t object to being bait, at least. Her main concern seemed to be the sword I had taken from her in New Orleans.

  “You have the sword here?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Daniel said. “Hidden.”

  “It will buy us passage. You still have my sword, I trust?” she asked Reaper.

  “Yes,” Reaper said.

  “Well, then, there is nothing left to say,” Anna said.

  She stepped out of the box, her bare feet innocent-looking against the hard floor. It made her seem exposed; less of a threat. No one visually moved, but I sensed a subtle sense of awareness. They were all waiting for her to attack. I knew better. I knew a woman on a mission when I saw one, and attacking us wasn’t part of that mission. Her eyes had told me getting to Lorian was important; we had that in common.

  “I’ll need some better clothes, the swords, and you,” Anna said, pointing at River.

  “Right…Of course. I think we all have some things to finalize,” Reaper said. “I’ve got to give a speech…I guess we’ll find out who is serious about the Saints and who was just taking advantage of our good hospitality…”

  He smiled, though I sensed a real fear. He had never laid out the Saints mission to so many before. He was taking a gamble asking them to fight…many would leave; I hoped more would stay.

  The others filed out at his words. Their faces were full of purpose. The only people who didn’t leave were Moira and Anna. Moira sat in a chair and picked up a book, to stand guard over Anna. Anna went to the window and looked out. I stared at the side of Anna’s face. I wanted to let her know the pain she had caused me, the hatred I had for her, but the words wouldn’t come.

  Daniel knew my pain. “Come on,” he urged me. He tugged on my hand to get me moving. “Come on, Clare.”

  I let him pull me from the room. Anna didn’t move. She simply stood and stared out the window.

  Alex joined us in the hall, and we walked downstairs to get out of the way of people swirling around the school like hungry bees.

  “That went better than I thought,” Daniel said.

  “Really?” I asked.

  “I’ve got some planning to do,” he added. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Yeah. Course. I’m the epitome of self-control.”

  “It’s better than being the epitome of hotdogs,” Alex said.

  “What does mean?” I asked.

  “I’m hungry.”

  Daniel kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll be in the common area if you need me.”

  “Okay.”

  Alex hooked her arm through mine as he walked away. “Are we going to talk about that ring on your finger?” she asked pointedly.

  “Nope. We can find you food, though,” I said.

  She shook her head and changed the subject. It wasn’t the sort of subject change I enjoyed. “Clare…whatever you’re thinking about doing, you need to think about it twice,” she said as we walked.

  I wasn’t surprised she knew I was planning something. “I have,” I said.

  “I somehow doubt that.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said.

  She looked at me in irritation but didn’t press the issue. I wasn’t sure if it was because she thought it would just make things worse, or because she could see how determined I was to do what I was planning. I just knew that her concern didn’t make me want to stop.

  Reaper’s speech was impressive enough to maintain his following. I didn’t go to it. It wasn’t that I didn’t care – I had too much on my mind to focus on someone else’s words. Instead, I spent the time in my room, thinking and hoping. A part of my heart that had felt incomplete – despite my family being near me – was yearning to put the adventures in prison to rest. It felt as if that journey could only come to an end if I killed Lorian. It would be closure; I could start moving forward.

  Finally, it was time.

  In between the chaos of people being taken to the house by Sara and Shawn and people boarding the barge Reaper kept to approach the mansion from the sea, Daniel and I said a brief goodbye. It was sweet and simple – we would be seeing each other soon enough. And neither of us was supposedly facing anything we hadn’t already faced; it was just another mission, another fight. A fight Daniel felt confident about. He was excited, but far from worried.

  “Do everything King tells you to do,” he commanded me, as we lingered in the hall on the second floor.

  “I’ll try,” I promised.

  He pulled me in close and gave me a kiss. It was fierce.

  “I’ll see you on the other side,” he said when he released me.

  I put a hand on his face, loving the way his green eyes sparkled with the setting sun. “I love you.”

  He smiled, surprised but pleased. “Back at ya.”

  The second he had disappeared with Sara, I ran to the front door.

  A car especially picked out for Anna was waiting in the front drive. It was old, nondescript and perfect for her return to her former house. It wouldn’t draw attention and would make it look as if Anna had stolen the most convenient vehicle she could find after capturing River.

  I hurried to the car, double checking my surroundings for anyone curious enough to notice me. Spider was in the drive talking to his shady-looking friends, but he was so involved in the conversation he barely recognized where he was. He was working out payment with his ‘friends’ for the weapons he had gotten for Reaper, and I knew he would notice little else. Fairly confident I wasn’t being watched I slipped in to the back of the car and pulled a musty blanket over my body to wait. I didn’t have to wait long.

  The car shook twice as Anna and River opened their respective doors. Anna had her sword and the sword I had taken from her in New Orleans – Daniel had gotten it for her out of Jackson’s secret hiding place. Anna placed both swords in the backseat, without looking down at me. I did my best to hold my breath, hoping the noise from the others around the school would distract River and Anna from the sound of my beating heart and ragged breathing. Anna adjusted the seat, so her long legs could stretch out then started the car.

  As I waited for the car to pull away from the school, I pulled my knife out of my boot as quietly as I could. I felt every bump in the road, every jarring moment – they were amplified in my heightened state. Anna and River didn’t talk as Anna drove; there was nothing to say. Neither woman cared for the other – they were allies only in this moment, not beyond.

  When we were safely away from the school, but no so close to the interstate to cause curious onlooker to wonder, I made my move. Still in stealth mode, I sat up behind River. She was looking forward and was oblivious to me. I didn’t give her time to catch on. I hit her just behind the ear with the butt of my silver knife. Her response was immediate – she crumpled forward and hit the dashboard. She didn’t move again, and I knew she was unconscious.

  Feeling cold and detached, I moved my knife to Anna’s throat. She didn’t slam on the breaks – she didn’t even react. She just kept driving.

  “I was wondering when you were going to get around to it,” she said calmly. “You were back there about two minutes longer than I would have been.”

  “I’m just a cautious person,” I said, thrown off by her calm, but no so much that I lost focus. “Tell me why you are really helping the Saints. If you lie, I’ll slit you from ear to ear.”

  “My, my, the little girl has grown a set of fangs,” she teased.

  “Prison does that. You
have five seconds. Five…four…three…two…” I said.

  She sighed. “Lorian took from me someone I care for deeply. I want to punish him by returning the favor. And since Lorian is the only person Lorian cares about, that means going to the source.”

  “Define ‘took away,’” I said.

  “Forced my friend to kill, until he changed in to one of those beasts,” she spat. “Then he put my friend in the prison to rot in that demon form…When I came to see you, I was actually getting a look at him. I had to see him, to be sure.”

  “Your friend turned into a Nightstalker?” I asked.

  She looked as if she couldn’t bear to even think the name. “Yes. It was while I was gone. A reminder that my first loyalty should be to Lorian and Lorian alone – he did not approve of our romance.”

  I gave a skeptical laugh. “You’re trying to tell me you’re revolting against Lorian, your master and commander, because of love?” I asked.

  “Believe what you will, but I am capable of love. Not the idealistic, nonsensical crap you probably believe in, but a passionate love, no-less,” she said.

  I laughed again. “I don’t know if I should believe you, or just kill you now.”

  “Why would I lie?” she asked.

  “To get the sword back…didn’t you say it was your redemption?” I asked.

  “I faced my punishment for my failure in New Orleans. There is no redemption now…though Lorian will think that I think so.”

  I thought over her story. “Chances are you are lying,” I said.

  “I never cared for chance,” she said.

  “But I have to trust you, because I want Lorain, too. It will be the beginning of the end for this war our kind carries with us,” I said.

  “You mean, it will be a step closer to Marcus,” she said, surprising me. I hadn’t thought she had made the connection between Marcus and me. “I never could figure out why Damian and Nguyen would take the time to kidnap you and not the others. Then, I realized that Marcus must want you for his collection.”

  “Collection?”

  “He collects powerful Watchers. It’s a hobby of his. Are you going to sit? The humans driving might misinterpret this scene you’ve created.”

  I hesitated, but decided I had already committed to my choice. I wouldn’t have knocked River unconscious if I hadn’t. I just hoped she wouldn’t hold a grudge. I took the knife away from Anna’s throat. She glanced over at River.

  “We must hide her,” she said.

  She grabbed the back of River’s shirt with one hand and lifted her over the back of the seat with little effort. The car didn’t swerve an inch. I laid River out on the floorboard and covered her with the blanket, hoping no one would look any closer. Then, I crawled over the seat and sat again.

  “No chains this time?” I asked.

  “Oh, those we’re because I was angry with you. I wanted to increase your dread. I don’t need chains to keep a person in place,” she said.

  “Can we skip the bragging about how deadly you are?” I asked her. “It just makes me want to hurt you.”

  She looked toward the road and didn’t say another word. I found the silence oppressive, but I wasn’t interested in breaking it. I didn’t want to talk to her – I didn’t want any more of my opinions tested. The idea that she could love someone enough to betray her boss was profound enough…if it wasn’t just a big, fat lie designed to make me believe her. For some reason, though I did trust her. More than I was willing to admit.

  Despite her reputation and her prowess in fighting, Anna drove like an old woman. She barely went the speed limit and, as such, it took us close to an hour to reach the drive leading up to the house. At the base of the hill, she had a warning for me.

  “Do not hesitate to kill…they will not hesitate. You must do what you can. Your friends won’t be far behind us, but it is up to you to survive. I am not your keeper.”

  “The day I trust you with my life is the day hell freezes over and demons go bobsledding,” I said.

  “Mmmhhhh,” she said noncommittally.

  I played with the ring Daniel had given me as we rounded a bend in the road and the house appeared. The jewel alternated between warm and cool as if Daniel was at my side chastising me for my stupidity and warning me to be careful in the same breath. The necklace I wore at my neck had a different reaction. It was cold, a stone – a strong sense of…anger radiated from the gem. Could it sense Lorian nearby?

  We passed plenty of guards on our way around the drive, many of whom turned to stare as we passed. Some even tightened their grips on their weapons, though none attacked us. Anna’s face was impossible to read. She was cool, the same as when she had brought me to the house the first time. I hoped with all my might that history wasn’t trying to repeat itself. I wished that, for once, things were as they appeared.

  She stopped the car directly in front of the large stairs. A couple of the guards at the stairs came forward to open my door, but she urged them to stay back with a negligent wave of her hand.

  “This one is for Lorian.”

  “Is that the girl who escaped on the Nightstalker?” one guard asked.

  “Yes. The one who killed Mama Dot,” Anna agreed.

  They stared.

  “Boogety-boogety-boo!” I said. They looked surprised at my words. “Staring is rude,” I added.

  Anna had claimed the swords. “Leave the car alone. I have need for it again,” she said as she grabbed my arm and marched me toward the stairs.

  “Of course,” the first guard said, still staring.

  Anna’s touch was not gentle. I felt my bones ache from her fingers clasped around my arm. She didn’t give me time to stand on my own two feet – she let her strength carry me up the stairs and through the front door. She paused just inside the door. I thought it might have been to give the Saints, who were hopefully watching, time to catch up to her arrival. It also gave the people inside time to realize who was at their door and what she had with her.

  There were two more guards on the stairs and around twenty people spread throughout the large, open rooms the bottom floor of the house consisted of. The rooms were a study in large; it was large times two. White tile was everywhere and tall columns separated the spaces, creating the illusion of separation. The stairs the guards were in front of, arched around to a second level that crossed the large rooms and disappeared down a long hall to the left of where I was standing. If it hadn’t been for the armed Watchers, the deadly stares, and the feeling of terror in my gut I would have thought I was in a Disney castle.

  “Anna?” a guard with short brown hair and a large beard asked incredulously.

  “Yes?” she asked back.

  “We thought you were dead,” he said.

  “You were wrong. I have a couple of gifts for Lorian,” she said. She lifted the swords and me as proof.

  Neither of the guards moved. “We have orders to not let anyone up.”

  “Oh, that’s fine,” she said. “I know how much Lorian loves to wait.”

  The guards looked at each other uneasily. The second guard nodded at the first, and they stepped to the side. Anna smirked at them and pulled me up the stairs. As soon as we passed the guards, I sensed a change in her. Her calm and cool slipped a bit and her anger started to well to the surface. It made me realize she hadn’t been lying about her anger toward Lorian.

  At the end of the second floor corridor, there was another set of stairs. These were made of hard stone as well and had two guards at the bottom. The guards were different than the first set. They were sitting in chairs and held massive swords across their laps. They didn’t appear to have moved since the first Ice Age. One was a man, the other was a woman. Anna stopped in front of them without a word. She waited. I fidgeted. They stared.

  I was wondering if we were going to stand in front of them forever, lost in a strange staring contest that could possibly go on forever, when the woman finally looked to her partner. He nodded and the woman gesture
d us up.

  At the top of the stairs was a door. It was simple, unadorned. It was intimidating. I couldn’t help but wonder what was beyond it. The wonder left butterflies in my stomach. Anna opened the door without hesitation and pulled me in after her.

  My first impression left me second-guessing long held opinions. For a room that housed one of the most notorious of our kind, it was almost…peaceful. With dark wood, large windows, and simple furniture, it was a room I could have spent hours simply being. The largest piece of furniture was an antique desk the color of the wooden floor.

  Behind the desk was the tallest Watcher I had ever seen. He was sitting calmly in his chair, his hands on top of an old book as we entered. He didn’t look up when we unceremoniously opened his door, but he did hold his hand up, a gesture for us to give him a minute.

  Anna patiently obliged, seemingly in no hurry to begin. He finished reading the sentence he had been on, tucked a ribbon between the pages and shut the book. He looked up at us. Again, my reaction was not the one I would have thought I would have at meeting Lorian. There was a familiarity; a striking sense of me knowing the shape of his face and the warm, chocolately brown of his eyes. His short hair was a warm auburn and his skin was tanned, almost Middle Eastern.

  His brown eyes were the oldest looking eyes I had ever seen. Even Beatrice and Han, who both held wisdom beyond their youthful appearances, couldn’t hold up to the simple measure of time in Lorian’s eyes. His face was smooth and unlined, his features beautiful and soft, yet, there was hardness – a hint of purpose in the shape of his mouth and the glittering light in his eyes. He was not to be messed with – and yet, here we were, ready to kill him.

  Anna did not seem nearly as impressed by his appearance or struck by the same familiarity his features left in the pit of my stomach. Her eyes burned with cold fire.

  “You’ve come to try and kill me,” Lorian said to Anna.

  It wasn’t question, more like he wanted her to understand that her actions would have repercussions. His voice struck another chord. It was like I had heard it in a dream…or another life.

  “Yes,” Anna agreed.

  “Very clever, walking through the front door as you did. Bold. Very much like you. No one has ever gotten this close. No one beyond my brother, Darian, and that was a very long time ago.”