“I’m not pushing Daisy to do anything.” But she needed to stay safe.
“And what is your plan for the Elders? You do know their role in this.”
“I don’t.” It was time to tread very carefully. I wouldn’t give up any information I didn’t have to. “But I assume you do.”
“You assume right.”
I let her words set in. Maybe she wasn’t going to deny it. “Are you going to tell me?”
“That depends on whether Galloway is willing to help.”
“What do you need help with exactly?” Galloway asked warily.
“You can project memories, can’t you? As long as someone from the memory is with you?”
“Of course.” Galloway pulled off her hat again.
“Then I need you to take us somewhere in particular.”
“Where?”
“The Elders’ palace. One week ago.”
“Wait. What?” I hadn’t seen that coming. I was expecting something further in the past “A week ago?”
“Trust me on this, Wyatt. You need to see this.”
“Will I want to see it?”
“Well, that’s an entirely different question, isn’t it?”
13
Hailey
The burning had stopped. My head still ached a little, but it was nothing major. The rest of the group looked worse for the wear and guilt seared me. I never should have asked them to read the book with me. It had been a decision made out of fear and weakness. I wouldn’t let that happen again.
“Stop beating yourself up.” Cade put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s getting annoying.”
“I’m not beating myself up.” I hated that he could see through me so easily.
“Yes, you are.” He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.
“I’m not.” I looked down at the table.
“Hailey. Really. Stop pretending I don’t know you. I’m sure Eloise knows it too.”
“I do.” Eloise walked into the kitchen. “You are blaming yourself.”
“Gee thanks. You two finally get along and it’s over my doing something I’m definitely not doing.”
“You are doing it.” Eloise sat on the edge of the table. “There’s no sense denying it.”
“You guys are still hurting.” I looked between them.
“It’s not bad.” Cade shrugged it off. “Stop worrying.”
“Now who’s lying?”
“It’s really not that bad.” Eloise crossed her legs at the ankles and swung them.
“Not that bad? I’m almost completely back to normal. It should have only been me reading it. I’m an idiot. A selfish idiot for letting you guys do it with me.”
“Okay. You messed up. Is that what you need to hear?” Noah spoke from the doorway.
“No,” I admitted.
“Then what is it? Because I want to find my brother, and according to you that means you have to figure things out. Otherwise, I’m back to the drawing board.”
“You’re right.” His words snapped me out of my pity fest. “I’m acting like those people I can’t stand. The ‘woe is me, let’s sit around and complain’ type. I’m done.”
“Great.” Cade slapped the table. “Glad you have your positive attitude back, but what now?”
“I didn’t say I knew what to do, just that I was done with the pity party.”
“Then make something up. We can’t just sit here anymore.”
“I’ll read more.” I tapped the blank page of the book. I’d been afraid to close it. Or turn the page. Doing nothing with it had seemed like the best possible option.
“Are you sure you are up for that?” Eloise looked at me through her long eyelashes.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Are you just saying that?” she pressed.
“Ugh!” I wrung my hands. “First I’m told to stop just sitting here and now I’m not ready to do something. Which is it?”
“Only you know the answer to that.” Eloise’s legs stilled.
“Only you can save the world.” Cade used a low, dramatic voice.
I laughed for a few seconds before turning serious. “Okay. Get out. All of you. I’m doing this.”
“Out out? Or out of the room?” Noah asked.
“Out of the room. I don’t want to worry about anyone accidentally reading and hurting themselves.”
“Because we’re going to accidentally do that.” Cade rolled his eyes. “Right.”
“Out. Now.” I pointed to the doorway.
“If you need me, just call.” Eloise stood up.
“Shouldn’t you know if she needs you?” Cade pushed back his chair. “You are her Guardian Pixie. Correct me if I’m wrong?”
“Cade. Out.” Maybe I liked his joking, but even I had my limit.
“I’m going. I’m going.” He stood and headed to the door.
I waited for them all to disappear through the door before I turned my attention back to the book.
I really didn’t want to turn another page, but I had no choice.
“You think it’s going to turn itself?” A voice spoke from behind me.
I startled and glanced over my shoulder. “Sol?” I jumped out of my chair. “What are you doing here? What’s going on?” My thoughts immediately went to Wyatt. Was he okay?
“Hey, sorry to show up unannounced but I need to borrow the pixie.”
“Borrow me?” Eloise walked in. “Sorry to interrupt you, Hailey. But I heard the commotion.”
“It’s fine. I’m obviously not reading.” I hadn’t even attempted to turn the page.
“Yes. I need to borrow you. You understand souls?” Sol moved his sunglasses slightly down his nose. “At least Wyatt seems to think you do.”
Eloise shrugged. “Not any more than others of my kind.”
“Well, more than the rest of us. We need you.” Sol pushed his sunglasses back up. “Immediately.”
Eloise shook her head. “I can’t leave Hailey.”
“Then Hailey should come too. I don’t know how long we can keep him contained.”
“Keep who contained?” Cade walked in with Noah on his tail.
“The fedora guy.”
“What?” Shock ran through me. I’d all but given up on finding the mystery Pteron. “You found him?”
“We did.” Sol nodded.
“Who’s we?” He’d mentioned Wyatt already once. Was Wyatt with the fedora guy? “Do you mean Wyatt?”
“Yes...” Sol trailed off. “But before you get too excited, he left.”
“Oh. To find Violet?”
“Yes. Okay. I’m glad you knew that already.”
“I understand she’s helpful.” And I understood it was what he needed to do. That didn’t mean I was happy about it, or that I wasn’t disappointed going back with Sol wouldn’t involve seeing Wyatt.
“And you hate her,” Sol spoke in a nonchalant way.
“I don’t hate her. She did the right thing for Daisy.”
“But you don’t like her.”
“What do my feelings about her matter? If we need her to protect Owen and Daisy, then we need her.” I left off the mention of the unborn child. I wasn’t sure how much we were telling Noah.
“Who are you?” Sol frowned at Noah.
“Noah Grizzly. I’m looking for my brother.”
“Oh.” Sol seemed to consider Noah’s words. If he thought that explanation was lacking he didn’t show it.
“He was at the Crescent City Hotel at the time, well, you know. At least I think he was,” Noah continued.
“Is your last name really Grizzly?” Sol ask.
“Sol, really? That matters right now?” There were so many bigger issues going on.
“I was just asking.”
“We can continue reading this wherever.” I closed the book and tucked it back into my bag. “It’s not like it’s helping anyway.”
“I see you found the key.” Sol pointed to the bag. “The book was open.”
; “Yes, but the parts I’ve managed to read don’t mean anything.”
“Maybe you need an interpreter. Can I see?” He held out his hand.
“It’s too late. The words disappeared.” I hoped my description of the events didn’t sound too entirely crazy.
“And it’s all mumbo-jumbo anyway. Contradictions,” Cade added.
Sol seemed unmoved by our words. “Still tell me.”
“Didn’t you say we were in a rush?” Eloise asked.
“We are in one, but if you don’t understand the book we have real problems.”
“Newsflash. We already have big problems. Huge problems.” There was no reason to pretend otherwise.
“Yes, but we thought we had a solution.”
“You weren’t even with us when we found the book,” I pointed out. “Don’t act like this has been the plan all along.”
“It has been the plan all along. We just didn’t know it.” Sol leaned back against the counter top.
“Anyone else tired of all this?” Cade yawned. “The idea that everything is supposedly pre-determined? It’s a bunch of crap if you ask me.”
“Yet you spent all that time looking for the key and trying to figure out the book?” Eloise gave him a knowing look. “I’m not saying I agree with you or don’t agree with you.”
“Now you sound like the book.” I couldn’t help it. It was too easy.
She smiled. “Okay. That’s the old Hailey. But like I was saying, I’m not saying Cade is wrong or anything, but right now we’re going to at least try this route. That is unless someone has a better idea.”
“I have a better idea.” Noah uncrossed his arms.
“Oh?” I looked directly at him. I was the one who encouraged him to speak up. “And it’s the plan we were about to do. We go with this guy—we figure out why he needs to understand souls. While we do that Hailey takes time to try to make sense of the book. Work for everyone?”
“Yes.” He was saying exactly what the rest of us had already, but somehow having someone outside of our usual group say it made all the difference. “Let’s do that.”
“Anything else you need here?” Sol asked.
“I’m sure there is. Jim has everything here it seems, but as I don’t know what we’re looking for, I guess we’ll go.” Then I stopped. “By the way, where are we going?”
“You are going to take us to New Orleans.”
“Me?” I put a hand to my chest.
“Yes. We can’t be spotted. There are too many eyes around here.”
“So they already know where we are. It’s not like we can keep things secret.”
“They won’t see us if you use a light portal.”
“A light portal? As in what I got stuck in for hours last time?”
“But this time you are going to make one that’s perfect.” He said it like it was the simplest thing ever.
“Why?” I adjusted the bag on my shoulder. “Why would it be any different now?”
“Because you have to push yourself or you’ll never get used to your abilities.”
“He’s right you know.” Eloise gave a reassuring smile. “You do need to stretch those Lightness muscles so to speak.”
“This is ridiculous. Sol, you can transport. Don’t pretend you can’t.” They weren’t pinning all the responsibility on me. My shoulders already felt heavy.
Sol groaned. “Not all of you. I’m not Glendale. Stop wasting time. Make a light portal.”
“Are we really arguing about getting to a place a few hours away? And can’t half of you fly?” Noah gave each of us a puzzled look. “Does this not strike the rest of you as ridiculous?”
“We have to get there without being seen.”
“Yeah, well, if we can’t do that through a light portal, we still need to go. My car is parked around back. Well, not exactly my car. A borrowed one. It’s untraceable and no one’s going to know unless they are watching us this second. And if they are, they are. I’ll drive. Hailey can work on whatever it is she needs to work on as we drive.”
“I like that idea.” I especially liked not being asked to make a light portal when I was already woefully overwhelmed.
Sol narrowed his eyes. “Of course you do. It involves you avoiding what you are.”
“Sol…” Eloise warned.
“Is he another ‘not a brother but like a brother figure’?” Noah pointed at Sol.
“No. He’s like this with everyone.”
“Who else is like her brother but not?” Sol’s forehead furrowed.
“Cade,” I answered automatically.
“And Jared and Levi. Don’t forget them.” Cade listed my brother’s best friends.
“But neither are here right now,” Noah pointed out. “I can’t weigh in on them.”
“Car?” There was no reason to allow this conversation to continue.
“Oh yes.” Noah headed back through the doorway. “Follow me.”
14
Wyatt
The past projection felt completely real, the way they always do when the Twisters project for you. There is no haziness, no sense of something being off like in a dream. There is no hint at all, except no one there notices you. No matter what you do you can’t influence what you are seeing because the events have already occurred. You are completely helpless, which wasn’t a feeling I enjoyed or could get used to. It was why, no matter how many projections I’d been inside, they never grew comfortable.
We were in a large hall—the white marble floors were the same color as the walls. The ceilings were tall, and even when you craned your neck the roof seemed far away.
“Pay attention, Violet.” A blond I immediately recognized as the Elder Arabella snapped her fingers. She stood on a raised platform. “I’m not going to say it again.”
“I’d pay attention if I thought this meeting was worthwhile.” Violet looked at her nails. “Are we done yet?”
“Oh, it is worthwhile.” Arabella scowled.
Violet dropped her hand to the side. “Fine. Speak. You have my complete and utter attention.”
“Very well. Thank you.” Arabella smiled, her bright red lips a sharp contrast to her white teeth. “I’ve done many things since becoming an Elder that one might call wrong.”
“You think?” Violet watched with a bored expression.
“No. I don’t think. I know.”
“Continue.” Violet gestured with her hand.
“I can’t help it. It’s fun to play with those less powerful than myself. It’s only natural. You should understand after all these years of being an Allure.”
“What’s your point, Arabella?”
“We’ve given you many chances. Haven’t we?” Arabella’s voice turned sugary sweet. It was deceptive: there was nothing sweet about her.
“Is this about Daisy again?” Violet yawned. “Because if it is, I don’t need to be here.”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Then what is it?” Violet snapped to attention. “Contrary to what you think, I do have better things to do with my time.”
“It’s about making sure certain things don’t come to fruition.”
“Meaning?” Violet crossed her arms over her chest. “Just spit it out.”
“You’ve always been close with the Dragos.”
“Some of them. Yes. But we have a love-hate relationship most of the time.” She made a flippant motion with her hand.
“We,” Arabella stepped off the stage. “And I’m speaking for all the Elders, think their time has come.”
“Their time has come for what?” Violet let her arms fall to the side.
“Their time is up. Is that part more clear?”
Violet narrowed her eyes. “You cannot be serious.”
“Of course we are. Completely. They are amassing too much power. We took what we needed from Troy. Now they are expendable.”
“And you want me to help expend them? Is that what this summoning is?”
“Would you prefer to co
ntinue living in the nether? Were the months you spent there not enough?”
“They were plenty.” Violet frowned. “But that’s not what this is about.”
“So what will it be? Can we expect your complete and full cooperation?” Arabella walked toward Violet, her high heels clicking on the marble floor.
“You don’t need my help.”
“We don’t need anything from anyone. But we want your help.” Arabella stopped right in front of Violet.
Violet shrugged. “I can offer you nothing you can’t do yourself.”
“They will turn to you when everything falls apart. They will seek your help because you sacrificed so much for her the first time.”
“If you are going to wipe out the Dragos, then why does it matter?”
“It matters because that child will hold power we can’t take. It needs to be destroyed before birth.”
“Once again I ask, why get me involved when you can easily handle this yourself?” Violet seemed completely unmoved by a discussion about destroying Daisy. But I knew that might not be true. Deep inside, Violet could sometimes feel.
“They will go to any length to protect her and that child.”
“Who is the they we are talking about? I’m lost.”
Arabella scowled. “Don’t play stupid with us.”
“You keep saying us. Yet I only see you.”
“I represent the others.” Arabella stalked away back toward the stage. She took the steps quickly.
“Since when?” Violet asked.
“Watch yourself, Violet.” Arabella sat down in the center chair. The chair that most certainly wasn’t hers the last I was in the palace.
“Or what? What else do you hope to take from me?”
“I can take your very life.”
“Then take it.” Violet stood unmoving. “Take it right now. I don’t care.”
“Oh. As if you mean that.”
“It would be better than being pulled into your plans. I’m as good as dead anyway because I won’t help. And it doesn’t only have to do with Daisy. Or Troy. Or Wyatt. Or any of them in particular. It has to do with respecting a creature. Respecting life.”
Taken: The Pteron Chronicles Page 11