“The boy will be fine,” the half-eared man replied. “He attacked and I had to stop him. That is all.”
Simone’s mother didn’t look pleased with the answer, but she turned her attention to Simone, and her face took on a softer appearance. “Sim, honey, where is it?”
Simone hesitated. She looked down and gnawed at one of her fingernails.
My eyes flew back and forth between Simone and her mother, trying to make sense of what was happening.
“Sim, this is for the best.” Ms. Bimington’s voice dripped with sweetness. “You know that.”
“What’s going on, Simone?” I couldn’t believe what was happening. “Please tell me there’s some misunderstanding,” I begged. “That your mother isn’t Hastati.”
She jerked her head up. “No, no. It’s nothing like that.” She shook her head. “They’re not Hastati and no one will hurt you. Not anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” I reached out and tried to grab her, forgetting that my hands were tied to the handrail. I pulled against the zip-tie until I felt it cut into my skin.
Simone shuffled her feet and stared at the ground. The only noise in the room came from the beeping monitors.
“Your friend is protecting you, Cassandra,” Ms. Bimington answered. “Dante works for me. He explained things to Simone.”
“You knew he was working with your mom and you didn’t tell us? Simone! Look at me!” I demanded.
Still keeping her eyes down, she tried to explain. “Even if the Hastati have the spear, they’ll never let you go. Dante”—she motioned to the half-eared man—“told me my mother’s plan and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.”
“And you believe him, a guy who was trying to kill us?” Anger spilled over each word.
“He wasn’t going to hurt us. He’s not Hastati. We just didn’t know that back then.” She paused and looked me straight in the eye this time. “Cassie, think about it. Even if they have the spear, the Hastati will want you to use it, or they’ll kill you because they’ll think someone might get to it through you. They aren’t going to let you go back to your old life.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “You promised not to tell anyone. I trusted you.”
“I told you I’d never put you or your dad in danger, and I won’t.” She reached out for my hand, but I flicked it away … even with the zip-tie holding me back. “Cassie, this is all to help you. My mother is the only one who can protect you. When she told me this morning that your dad was still in a coma, I knew—”
“This morning! You knew he was like this since this morning and didn’t tell me!”
“I … I … I didn’t know how to tell you. You were so sure that he’d be fine, and I knew you’d be angry that I called my mother.”
“So you thought this way was better?”
“Cassandra, darling, listen to Simone,” Ms. Bimington said with a controlled, patient voice. “When you calm down, you’ll see that this is for the best. I will protect you.” She took a deep breath. “Now, Simone. We don’t have too much time to spare. Go ahead and give me the spear.”
I glanced over at Simone’s mother. “Why do you want it?” I asked. “Why are you willing to do so much for me?”
“You’re Simone’s friend, and I want to help.” Ms. Bimington smiled, but it wasn’t sincere. Her eyes were far too cold. “As for the spear, let’s just say I have other plans that don’t require your involvement. It’s a win-win, my dear.”
I stayed quiet. Maybe she didn’t know how the spear really worked. And since Simone didn’t know I was bound to it, her mother couldn’t know, either.
Simone took a few steps toward her mother. “You’re sure, right? Nothing will happen to Cassie or her dad. Everything will go back to normal for them.”
“Of course I am.” She cupped Simone’s face with her hand. “Dante will take them to Praiano like you wanted once we’ve left. Now tell me, where is the spear?”
“Simone, don’t,” I pleaded. “You can’t trust what she’s saying.”
Simone spun around to face me, her eyes blazing. “She’s my mother; of course I trust her!” She strode over to where Asher had dropped his backpack and pulled out my yellow messenger bag. Without a second thought, she yanked out the spear and, tossing the bag aside, gave it to her mother.
“Finally.” Ms. Bimington could only stare and marvel at the spear resting in her hands. “I’m so proud of you, Simone.” She put the spear in her red leather purse and smiled at me. “You, my dear, are very lucky to have Simone as a friend. I would not offer this kind of protection to just anyone. It will take quite a bit of bargaining and a few concessions on my part. You should be grateful.”
I had nothing to say, but venom was spewing from my eyes, aimed straight at Simone.
“Let’s just go,” Simone whispered to her mother, pulling her arm.
“Fine,” she replied. “Go get the elevator. I’ll be right there.”
Once Simone was out of earshot, Ms. Bimington walked over to where I stood and dropped her voice. “If you make trouble or try to stop me, I will have Dante kill your father, and then he’ll kill you.” Her eyes narrowed. “I can make it look like an accident. Do you understand me?”
I slowly nodded.
“You are no longer relevant, but Simone seems to care about you, so we’re going to let her think I’m protecting you.” She stuffed a roll of cash into my pocket. “Truth is, I don’t really care what happens to you or your father. So I suggest you use this money to go back to Gregorio and take refuge there.” She glanced over at the half-eared man, who had obviously been enjoying the entire scene. “Dante, give her father the serum and meet me downstairs.” She walked to the door.
“Wait! What about cutting us free?” I pulled against the zip-ties.
“Ah, yes.” Simone’s mother smiled. “Cut the boy loose. By the time he wakes up and frees her, we’ll be long gone.” She spun around on her high heels and walked out of the room.
Dante pulled out a syringe with a long needle.
“What are you doing?” I asked in a panic as he got closer to my father. “What is that?” I pulled against the railing, but the zip-ties wouldn’t let me move.
He didn’t say a word, but instead tapped the syringe and injected the serum into the IV tube.
“Stop!” I pointlessly ordered. “You’re going to kill him.”
He pulled out the needle and shook his head. “No. I’m waking him up. Now you be quiet or I’ll have her come back.” He stepped over Asher and walked to the door.
“No, wait. You’re supposed to let him go,” I said.
“Am I?” He laughed and walked out of the room.
I stared at my father, but nothing happened. He wasn’t miraculously waking up. He wasn’t even moving.
“Asher.” I stretched, trying to nudge him with my feet, but he was a few inches too far. “Asher!”
I sank to the floor.
This was not how the morning was supposed to end. The spear was gone. Brother Gregorio was dead. My father wasn’t waking up.
It felt like I’d lost everything.
Raindrops pelted the window next to me, creating a cadence with the beeps from the machines monitoring my dad’s heartbeat. It had been a while since Simone and her mother had left, but I was still afraid of who might show up if I called for help. It was obvious I couldn’t trust anyone.
“Ugh,” Asher groaned on the floor.
“Asher,” I said. “Wake up!”
He squirmed and tried to move his hands, but found that he couldn’t.
“What the … ?” Asher was now fully awake and rattling the bed as he struggled against the zip-ties. He turned his head and saw that I was tied up, too. “Are you okay?” he asked, a touch of panic in his voice. “Where’s Simone? Did that guy take her?”
“No.” It hurt to tell him what happened, but I did it. I said exactly how my best friend had betrayed the two of us and given the spear to her mother,
who’d been working all along with the half-eared guy.
“I knew not to trust that girl!” Asher exclaimed. “I should’ve trusted my gut. We have to get you out of here before they realize that you’re bound to it!” He grabbed one of his sneakers and pulled off the shoelace.
“Not without my dad.” I glanced over at him. He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping. “I’m not leaving him here.” It was almost noon, but I held out hope that somehow my vision would still be true.
Asher was sitting up and, for some strange reason, he was busily tying a loop on either side of the shoelace. “Fine. But where do we take him? Do you even know if he’s in any condition to travel?”
I stayed quiet. I didn’t have answers to any of those questions.
Asher draped the shoelace over the zip-tie and put a foot in each loop. He glanced over at me. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.” He started pedaling like he was on a bicycle.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Getting free.” The zip-tie popped off. “My shoelaces are made of parachute cord. The friction saws the plastic in half.” He slid across the floor and slipped the shoelace over my zip-tie. “Here. Now you do it.”
I slipped my feet into the loops of the shoelace and pedaled until the zip-tie snapped. Asher was standing next to me, trying to make sense of my father’s medical chart.
“According to all of this, your dad suffered some blood loss, but he doesn’t look to be too bad. The bullet missed all his organs and he was recovering. He shouldn’t be unconscious.”
I jumped up and ran to my father’s side. Rubbing his hand, trying to get a reaction out of him. “All I know is that I saw him die, and then he was alive again. I don’t know why he’s unconscious.” I glanced at the clock. It was 11:56.
Asher whipped through the pages again. “And there’s nothing in here about him dying or being revived.”
“Papi, come on.” I combed back his hair with my fingers. “We need to get out of here.”
“In fact, he was able to communicate this morning. Says he asked to call his daughter.”
I stopped what I was doing. “But Simone said her mother told her he was still in a coma this morning. He wasn’t responsive.”
“Well, we already know that Simone is a liar and can’t be trusted. Does it surprise you that she lied about that, too?”
I bit my bottom lip, a part of me still refusing to accept that Simone would betray me completely. “But she really seemed to believe it. Like it was part of the reason she did everything.”
“Maybe that’s what she wanted you to think.” Asher shook his head. “What I still don’t get is why her mother only wanted the spear and not you.”
I shrugged. “She said she had other plans. I don’t think she understands how the spear works. But you should know something else.”
“What?” He could tell by the tone in my voice that it was bad.
“When I used the spear, I saw some things in the future … besides saving my dad. Really bad things. I didn’t tell you before because I thought I could just change it once my dad was safe, but now I don’t know.”
Asher straightened up and seemed to brace himself for whatever I was about to say. “Tell me.”
“It was like a flash-forward with pictures flying by me really fast, and every once in a while a short scene would play out.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I saw someone being shot, and then there were people in hazmat suits with dead bodies in the street.” I could feel the bile rising in my throat. “Are people going to die because of what I’ve done?”
Asher didn’t answer me. He didn’t have to. Of course I had done this.
“We’re just going to have to figure out a way to get the spear back. Not only to change what you saw, but because Simone’s mother will eventually figure things out, and when she does, she’ll come after you. No one can resist that much power, so she’ll—”
A loud boom shook the whole building as thunder drowned out whatever else Asher said. The clock on the wall showed 11:58. Just like in my vision.
I spun around to look out the window. Outside, through the pelting rain, a white sedan was pulling away. I looked closer and saw Simone sitting in the backseat.
My feelings of despair morphed into anger, then fury. This was all Simone’s fault. Because of her we’d lost the spear, and any chance of my fixing things was gone with it. I hated her!
“We need to get out of here. We’ve been here way too long.” Asher poked his head out into the hallway.
I went back to my father and shook him a little by the shoulders. “Papi, please open your eyes. We have to get out of here. Please.” I rubbed his arm and then his leg—anything to get his circulation going. “We need you to help us. Figure out where to go.”
He didn’t react.
It was going to be up to us. We had to find somewhere safe, maybe a remote place out in the countryside. I glanced down at my dad. He was in no condition to go very far. It was going to be hard just getting him to the car. But Asher was right—it would be only a matter of time before someone found us. The monastery wouldn’t offer us protection anymore, and we needed an ally. Someone we could trust.
The solution popped into my head. My grandmother! She was connected with powerful people, and the Knights of Malta had never tried to harm me or any of the marked ones. Plus, she’d already offered me protection and saved my life. At least for a day or two, we could find shelter there.
“I know where we can go,” I announced. “Back to the Knights of Malta. My grandmother will help … I’m sure of it.”
Asher made a face. “They really don’t like the Hastati.”
“Exactly!”
“But I’m—”
“No, your uncle was once Hastati,” I said. “You’re not.”
“I don’t know. There are so many unanswered questions. Can we really trust her?”
“Maybe not completely, but it’s our best choice. Blood is thicker than water.”
“Blood …” Asher’s eyes widened. “That’s what’s been bothering me.” He opened my dad’s hospital chart again.
“Ughhh.” A soft moan came from my dad.
I frantically rubbed his arm, then grabbed his hand. “Papi, I’m here. It’s me, Cassie.” I stroked his forehead, willing him to open his eyes. “Can you hear me? I love you, Papi. To the moon and back.”
I felt a slight twitch in his fingers.
“Asher, he’s waking up!” The excitement in my voice was unmistakable. This was what mattered. It was worth everything to make sure he was okay. “Whatever they put in his IV is finally working! He’s starting to move.”
“Um.” Asher’s demeanor was the exact opposite of mine. “Cassie, I think I may have figured out what happened, but I don’t know how to say this.”
I peeled my eyes away from my dad’s face for a moment to look at Asher. “Just say it.”
“Your dad has Type AB blood.” Asher pointed to the medical chart.
I rubbed my father’s hand, hoping to get some more movement. “So? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Marked descendants have the birthmark in the shape of the spear and Type O blood. You have both of those, right?”
“Yeah. So?” I didn’t understand where he was going with all this.
“Someone with Type AB blood can’t be the parent of someone with Type O blood. It’s basic biology.” He paused. “Cassie, this isn’t your father.”
The beeps from the monitor filled the momentary silence.
What he was saying was ludicrous. “Of course it’s him.” I glanced down at my father’s familiar face. This was the man who had read me bedtime stories, who taught me all about art; he was the only family I’d ever known. “I know what my own father looks like.”
“No. I mean he’s not your biological father.”
“What are you saying? You think I’m adopted?” I threw aside the ridiculous notion. “No, you’re wrong.
That’s crazy. I’ve seen pictures of my mom pregnant with me and the two of them holding me as a baby. That chart is wrong.” I went back to coaxing my dad to wake up. “Vamos, Papi. Despiértate.”
My dad gave my hand a small squeeze. He could hear me!
“Cassie,” Asher continued. “Think about it. It would explain what happened with the spear. The person you connected with and saved was your real father. Your dad, the one in this bed, was never in jeopardy. The chart says he was recovering.”
My dad’s eyes fluttered open.
“Papi!” I threw my arms around his neck. He was back!
My father slowly reached up for my hands. He gave each one a small kiss. His eyes were watery.
“M’ija,” he said in low, hoarse voice. “He’s right. I’m not your father.”
“Papi, you don’t know what you’re saying.” I took a few steps back, refusing to believe him. “You’re still groggy. Asher is wrong.”
“No, Cassie.” His voice quivered, and he took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. “I love you more than anything, but I should’ve told you a long time ago. I should’ve told you everything.”
I closed my eyes as my head spun wildly out of control. There was no way it could be true, because if it was, then my entire life was a lie. And if I wasn’t Cassie Arroyo, who was I?
I felt dizzy.
“Cassie, are you okay?” Papi asked. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this.”
Asher helped me over to a chair.
“It explains a lot, Cassie,” Asher said softly. “You have to see that. Your vision makes sense.”
I couldn’t think about the vision. All I could focus on was that I’d been betrayed and lied to by the one person I thought I could trust completely.
“Vision?” My father lifted his head a little, and the beeps from the heart monitor picked up speed. “What kind of vision?”
Neither Asher nor I said anything.
“Cassie, did you find the spear?” Papi’s voice was a little stronger, but there was more fear in it. “Tell me.”
“Sir, I think we should get out of here and talk about things later,” Asher suggested, glancing out the window.
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