by Amy Sparling
“What do we have here?”
Chapter 21
“Just uh…” I blink, cursing myself for suddenly losing my ability to form coherent sentences. “Just feeding some kids,” I say, slapping on a haphazard smile. I mean, that’s a coherent sentence. It may leave more questions than answers, but at least I managed to say something.
Holy crap, what is wrong with me? Obviously, that stupid sentence doesn’t do anything. Henry brushes right past me, Olivia and Nia on his heels. They both toss me scornful looks, and it’s like I’m right back in high school with the popular bitches judgmentally smirking at me as they walk by. I scowl right back at them, then stand tall like I have nothing to hide. What are they even doing here?
“What is this?” Henry asks, his voice sounding more angry than curious each time he speaks.
Theo comes over, the picture of calmness as usual. “Henry, hello.”
“What is this?” he says again. “Who are those children and why do they look like they’ve been pulled from a tornado?”
“If you’ll lower your voice, I’ll be happy to explain,” Theo says. He notices the girls behind Henry and lifts an eyebrow. Nia and Olivia can’t pull the stupid smug looks off their faces. Makes me want to slap it off.
“She’s hiding something,” Nia says, pulling all the attention to herself. She points at me. “I overheard her on the phone with Malina. She was telling her to keep quiet.”
“That’s not—” I begin, but it is true, so I can’t exactly say much. “What the hell is your problem?” I say instead. “We’re in the same clan here. You’re acting like you’re trying to get me in trouble when I’ve done nothing wrong.” That’s also a lie, but it sounds convincing and Nia flinches. Good, maybe she feels bad for ratting me out.
Olivia shrugs. Her black dyed hair and heavily applied eye makeup don’t scare me. Underneath the scary goth look, she’s just a tiny girl who couldn’t beat up a fly. “It sounded like you were up to something bad, so we told Henry.”
“Because obviously jumping to conclusions is the right thing to do,” I snap.
“Ladies, you can go now,” Theo says to Nia and Olivia. They don’t even try arguing with him before they turn around and leave. I breathe a sigh of relief as I watch them go, their metaphorical tails between their legs. I know we weren’t the best of friends or anything, but if I heard them tell Malina to keep quiet, I wouldn’t go tattle on them the very next second.
The children haven’t even noticed this exchange, and I’m happy to see they’ve opened up a little since they started eating. Now some kids are talking to each other, some are even laughing. Ashlee has taken to passing out juice boxes and water bottles to the kids who’ve already drank their first round.
“Let’s talk around the corner,” Theo says to Henry. Then he turns back to Damien, giving him a questioning look that can only mean will you watch the kids? Damien nods. I wonder how many time this centuries old immortal has been asked to babysit.
Theo and I walk Henry around the corner of the gardens and I wait for Theo to talk first. Now that the initial confrontation has worn off, Henry doesn’t look so pissed. Now he’s more contemplative. “Did you kidnap children?” he asks, his voice quiet.
“Yeah, actually,” Theo says with a smirk. “That’s kind of exactly what we did. But as you can tell, they’ve been neglected and abused so we’re taking care of them for the time being. We’d prefer to say we rescued them over kidnapping them.”
“We are not a clan of child rescuers or humanitarians,” Henry says through clenched teeth. “We have to keep a low profile. What you’re doing here—it’s unacceptable. What if the police show up here? If you want to do good, do it somewhere else.”
“Listen,” Theo says. He drags his hand down his mouth, like he’s struggling with whatever he’s thinking. We haven’t exactly thought this plan through very well, and I knew we’d have to do something eventually, but I didn’t think our lunch would be crashed this early by a member of the clan. I still want to get the kids cleaned up and dressed in new clothes. We can’t do that if Henry is going to get pissed about it.
I start mentally thinking up nearby hotels that might not notice if we bring a bunch of dirty kids there, but I come up empty. It’s hard to go unnoticed with a group like that. One or two kids I could hide, but not a whole caravan.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Henry,” Theo says after a moment of contemplation. “You’ve become a close friend to me over the months, and I just can’t do it. You’re a good guy.”
Henry crosses his arms over his chest. “So don’t lie to me. What is going on?”
“We need all the guys here. I’ll explain it to everyone and then we can see where to go from there.”
My eyes widen and Theo just puts a hand on the small of my back. He nods as if he’s just convinced himself that he’s doing the right thing. “Yeah. This is happening. Get all the guys together. Tell them to meet me in the den and I’ll explain it all. I have quite a lot to talk about.”
“We can’t get all the guys together,” Henry says. “Alexo is still gone and he’s not responding to my messages.”
“Yeah, well that can be addressed at the meeting.”
Henry shakes his head. “I won’t have a clandestine meeting of the clan without our leader there. You need to explain yourself, but you can do it to me and then I’ll tell Alexo.”
“That’s not going to work,” Theo says, rocking back on the balls of his feet. “I admire your loyalty to Alexo, but your plan won’t work. We need to gather the guys now and have a crucial meeting. Then you can reassess where your loyalties lie.”
Henry’s brow dips inward. “I don’t like where you’re going with this, Theo. Alexo needs to be at the meeting.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen.” Theo’s shoulders lift, his head tilting to the side.
“And why not?” Henry says.
“Because Alexo is dead.”
Chapter 22
Malina and Damien help me round up the children and bring them into the mansion’s gym while Theo and Henry call a meeting together. The gym has a locker room with plenty of showers and towels, as well as a big area for the kids to play and hang out. The two oldest girls and boys are all fifteen, and they agree to help the younger ones shower and get dressed. Malina brings a bunch of shirts and shorts from the basement. I can tell she’s concerned about the kids, and she promises me she’ll take care of them while we’re in the meeting.
“Everyone?” I call out, waving my hand in the air to get their attention. The kids are standing near the entrance to the locker rooms. Our oldest boys and girls have lined them up like they’re in school. Everyone seems to be doing much better now that they have a belly full of nutritious food and water. They all turn to me at the sound of my voice. I am suddenly brought back to the memories of being in the group home, and how the adults in charge would round us up to yell at us about behavior and manners and rules. I shake away the thought.
“In case you don’t remember, my name is Cara,” I say to the crowd of eager and curious children. I try to smile, but they’re so pitiful looking it breaks my heart. “This is Malina,” I say, gesturing to her. She waves. “She’s here to help you get settled in, okay? I have to go to a meeting but I want you to all shower and get clean and then put on some new clothes. Then you can hang out here in the gym until I come get you. Malina will show you the bathrooms and get some first aid supplies if you have any cuts or scrapes, okay?”
They nod in unison. These kids are nothing like the unruly jerks I used to live with in the group home. Months of fear caused by Lady Em must have turned them into model kids who don’t act out. It makes me sick just to think about.
“You all have to stay in the gym area, okay? I’ll come get you soon and we’ll find a place for you to sleep and stuff. It’s all going to be okay. Just bear with me for now.”
“Thank you!” Ashlee calls out, motioning for the other kids to do the same. Soon,
they’re all shouting thanks to me, and one boy around eight years old runs up and hugs me. It feels really good to be helping someone out for the first time in my life.
I start getting nervous as I make my way through the house and to the den, where everyone is already waiting. Nia, Bethany, and Olivia are the only members of the house who aren’t here. The guys are standing facing Theo. Kyle looks a little confused, but the rest of them seem to know something seriously epic is about to happen. I’m still not sure what Theo has in mind until he starts talking.
“Let me start by saying that I have nothing but respect for every one of you,” Theo begins. “You’re all decent men and make a good immortal, in my opinion.”
There’s an instant shift in the air, a panic caused by Theo saying the I-word in front of me, a lifeblood. He draws in a breath. “Yes, I said it. Immortal. Cara knows what’s going on.”
Kyle’s eyes go wide, his cheeks turning pink. Russell and Henry stare at me like I’ve grown an extra head, but I try to remain impassive.
“I figured it out on my own,” I say, just in case they’re about to attack my boyfriend. “Theo didn’t tell me.”
“She knows,” Theo says. “So does Riley.”
Now Kyle’s cheeks are extra pink, and he looks like he might throw up. The other two guys are handling it well, all things considered.
Henry clears his throat, giving Theo a look. “Ah, yeah, the other thing,” Theo says. “Alexo is dead.”
Russell shifts on his feet. “What in the hell?”
Theo holds up a hand. “Please, brother. Allow me to explain.”
The next several minutes are the most awkward of my life. Theo starts from the beginning—which I worried would be the worst place to start. Luckily, the guys listen as he tells them about his true clan and how Embrook sent him to discover who was really the brain behind the new clan of Rosewater. Theo stays calm and explains how there’s no way Alexo could have been running the show, and that’s why he had his mission.
He fudges the story a little bit, leaving out the part of me removing my bracelet being the reason I discovered immortality. Instead, he tells them I discovered the book in the library and put two and two together, and that Theo confirmed my suspicions. It’s better this way, because if they know how weak he was with me, a lifeblood, then it’ll look bad on him as an immortal. The true reason I’m alive today is because Theo put my bracelet back on before I died. He shouldn’t have done it, but his love for me overpowered what clans consider to be the right thing to do.
He then explains about how Jayla left behind the video, and we then spied on Alexo on the balcony. Theo really lets it all out—he holds no secrets back from the guys, despite how we’ve been lying and going behind their backs for weeks now.
When he explains the exact way Alexo died, I worry the backlash will finally come. But something else happens.
“Cara.” Henry says my name. “What you did was a selfless act of bravery.”
I don’t know what to say, so I just watch him. He turns to Russell. “I will not stand behind a man who lied to us about the very origins of our clan. Alexo is a traitor.”
“I agree,” Russell says, his jaw clenched. “He led us to believe he was in charge, that he was the sire of this entire clan. But he never truly let us know the reasoning behind all the business transactions we did for him.”
“He was keeping secrets for Lady Em,” Theo says. “He was being pushed around and controlled by her, and she’s proven to be manipulative and evil.”
“Our entire clan is a lie,” Kyle says, speaking for the first time since Theo began this long story. His forehead is wrinkled and he looks about ten years older from the stress of hearing all this.
“I want to meet this woman.” Henry’s lips press into a thin line.
“Wait,” Kyle says, holding up a hand. “Where did the kids come from?”
“They are Lady Em’s lifebloods. She kept them imprisoned in a filthy attic room above her house. Cara took them home with us.”
“Probably a good move,” Kyle says.
“I want to meet this woman,” Henry says again. “She will explain herself.”
“I haven’t even gotten to the best part,” Theo says, running his hands down his jeans. He then explains about the missing stones and the murdered Embrook and Dover clan members. It’s pretty obvious that Alexo has never informed the guys of the other clans and their very long history of order and honor. It’s now that Theo explains the way things work in the immortal world, and the understanding between the Dover clan and Embrook. All three of the men look petrified, and I can’t say I blame them. They’re finding out for the first time that their clan is rule-breaking and immoral, and hated by the other two.
“She was building her own clan for her own selfish reasons,” Theo says. “And now she’s murdering other immortals to obtain new stones since she can’t get them from Dover’s secure location. If we don’t kill her first, the Dover clan will.”
“Then let’s be first,” Kyle says, his eyebrows lifting in excitement. “Let’s throw her in a hot attic with no food or water, see how she likes it.”
“I’m loving the way you think,” I say. “But she has to die as soon as possible. It’s the only way those kids will be free. Who knows how long they’ve been trapped in there. They might not have much time left.”
“Do you plan to care for them?” Henry asks me. I see admiration in his eyes, though his tone was a little judgmental.
“Yes,” I say. “After Dover frees me from being a lifeblood. I will take care of them for as long as they need.”
“What makes you think you’ll be freed from being a lifeblood?” Russell says. He’s the only member of the group who seems the most gob smacked by the revelation that Alexo was lying to them.
I explain about stealing the stones back from Lady Em, and how if anyone can fix me, it’ll be Dover. They’re the oldest immortals and they’ll know all the innerworkings of how immortality works.
“What about Theo’s lifeblood?” Russell asks. “What will he do if you’re freed from the bracelet?”
“He’ll find a replacement and we’ll swap places.” Just saying the words makes me feel sick to my stomach, but I have to trust that the terminally ill lifebloods Theo chooses are happy with their decision.
“And Riley?” Kyle says. There’s a look in his eyes that says he knows more than he lets on.
“She’ll do the same, I guess. We’re not staying lifebloods anymore. I refuse.” I fix a look on the three men in front of me. “And you should all reconsider your lifestyle, by the way. Just because your lifebloods are treated well doesn’t mean it’s okay. They should know what they’re getting into. You should give the girls here the opportunity to free themselves instead of slowly killing them.”
Kyle looks ashamed, and for a brief second, so does Russell and Henry.
“Alexo said we had no other choice,” Henry says after a moment. “But if there is another way, I will happily take it.”
Damien had been silent this whole time, standing in the corner of the room, but now he speaks up. “She knows not what she says.” He glances at me, and I scowl. “She only hopes for freedom from the Dover clan, but I don’t think giving them back the stones that are rightfully theirs will make them feel favorable to her at all. She’ll be lucky if they even entertain the request before they kick her out.”
“Well, I have to try,” I say, standing my ground. “There has to be a way out of these bracelets without killing me or Theo. Once I discover how, I will share it with the other girls.”
“I think that’s about all there is,” Theo says, breaking up the tiff that was starting to form between me and Damien, Theo’s oldest friend. “You now know everything I know. If you choose to remain a clan, I will try to vouch for you, but Damien is right. Dover clan is brutal and ruthless when they’re betrayed, and I fear they will demand your stones back. They will most likely want you dead before they’d recognize Rosewater a
s a real clan.”
“Then what do we do?” Henry says, his voice level even though there’s fear in his eyes.
Theo exhales. “You can leave now and live a life of secrecy, staying one step ahead of your enemies. Or you can stay with me, and I’ll do what I can to make Dover recognize you.”
“With your cooperation, the Embrook clan will back your legitimacy,” Damien says. “You all seem like decent men, and Embrook doesn’t care where you get your lifebloods.”
“I care,” I say in a huff, but no one notices.
Theo’s Adam’s apple bobs. “You are with me, or you are not. Make the choice now.”
I listen to my own rabid heartbeat in the silence that follows. But it doesn’t take long. The former men who were loyal to Alexo all decide to take Theo’s side.
“We will fight with you to take down Lady Em,” Henry says. “And then you will fight with us to prove our legitimacy as a clan. The Rosewater Clan deserves to stay. I’m not a coward, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Agreed,” Russell says. “We’re not running and hiding. We will stay together and fight.”
Chapter 23
“I’m not sure it’s such a good idea,” Riley says. She fixes me with a serious look that is so unlike my best friend. We’re in the gym surrounded by twelve clean kids, all wearing brand new T-shirts and pants, some of which are a little too baggy on the smaller kids.
“Look, they’re going to be here a while,” I explain in a low voice. “The guys in the house have agreed to it, and so it’s not like we can keep them a secret from the other girls. We should just ask her.”
Riley lets out a huff of air, but then she agrees. She calls Bethany on her cell phone. “Can you come down to the gym real fast? I need your help.”
She puts the phone back in her pocket and looks at me. “Bethany is on her way.”
“Cool,” I say, turning to the kids. “Okay guys, we’re about to get a tour of this big house. Does that sound fun?”