by Tara Brown
She snapped out of it in a panic. “Sam, they have Ophelia. Her magic just went out. They're going to be here any minute. This is a trap.”
My stomach sunk. “I still feel the bond to O. She isn’t dead.”
Aimee's nostrils flared. “Screw this!” She kicked the door open to the lab.
I winced and pointed at my mom. “Don’t lose her.”
Hanna growled back, “Piss off, Sam.”
I flashed into the room behind Aimee. A man fired a gun, which normally I wouldn’t have bothered avoiding, but with the possibility of hellfire, I was uncertain of our reaction to the bullets.
Aimee leapt across the room and flashed Ari behind the man with the gun.
The lab was huge. I was disoriented for half a second until I saw a pasty, angry-looking guy hunched over a microscope with headphones on. I had to bet that was Blake.
Brandon and Lucas phased midair and began attacking the other men and women in lab coats. Ari didn’t use her gift. They all appeared human. I glanced back at the door, unable to shake my sudden uneasiness.
Lydia made eye contact with me. “Seconds.”
Aimee held the dark-haired guy in the air, shaking him. “Just tell me where Alise is!”
The incredibly tall guy didn’t react, even when he noticed Giselle draining the blood from a smaller guy in the corner. I barked, “He's compelled, Aimes! Giselle, get him!”
Giselle hissed at me.
“DO IT NOW!” I screamed.
Lydia shrieked, “GISELLE, STOP BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS.”
Giselle dropped the bleeding man and skulked over to Aimee. “Okay, nerd, look into Mommy's eyes.” She scoffed at him like he was nothing. “Listen to me, Blake. You don’t have any more glamour on you. No compulsion. You are just you again.”
“Ha! You really believe one of Lorri's pets can remove my compulsion?”
We turned as Daniel walked into the lab from the back, holding an iPad.
Blake snapped out of it, his head veering around. He frowned. “Aimes?”
Aimee leapt at him and wrapped her arms around his chest. “Blake.”
Giselle stepped toward Daniel. “Bow, bitch.”
His legs buckled slightly. “Impossible.”
“BOW BEFORE YOUR QUEEN, DOUCHE CANOE!”
His knees dropped to the hard cement lab floor. His face trembled. “You are of Marcus?”
“Duh!” She licked the bloodstains from her face. “And I'm pretty sure you remember me being your little party favor not so long ago too, don’t you? Well, guess what, asshole? Now it's time for payback.”
I put a hand out. “No. Lorri made a deal with the wolves. They get to kill him and we get Aleks' dad.”
“Sam, I don’t negotiate with stinky wolves. I’m the queen.” Giselle wrinkled her nose.
“Please,” I begged and hoped my siren’s call was enough to convince her.
“Oh fine.” She thought for a moment. “But I take him to the wolves now. No waiting around for Jonathan and the other dicks to show.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “Aimes, take Giselle and Blake and Daniel, and I’ll go get your sister.”
“She’s in the back room. Where the vampires feed.” Aimee pointed.
I felt sick. I knew her sister would either be dead or worse, and worse was something no one wanted to see or be.
Lorri ran into the room. “They’ve got Ophelia. We need to get the her out of here and come back,” Lorri barked. “That bastard Oliver. I knew it. I knew he was still Jonathan’s.”
“We need Alise’s and Ophelia’s sisters,” Aimee pleaded.
“WE NEED TO GO NOW,” Lorri snapped, her eyes turning bright red.
Blake seemed startled. “What is going on?” He paled. “Are you guys like them?”
Lorri snarled, “Worse. Now move some asses!”
Giselle dragged Daniel to Lorri. “Look who we found.”
“Daniel,” she seethed the word.
He trembled. “Lorri, I didn’t mean to. You know I always believed in your way. They forced me.”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. “You son of a bitch.” She spoke like she was still badass Lorri, but there was a hint of vulnerability and betrayal. “Giselle, can you hold him?”
Giselle laughed. “Yup. I'm going to stick one of my heels up his—”
“Good.” Lorri scanned around. “I'm going to take Giselle and Danny Boy here, to Maine.” She tilted her head. “You owe a blood debt, you piece of shit.”
Ari glanced at Lorri. “I could push Alise when we get her. Change things.”
I suspected that had been Aimee and Ari’s plan along.
“Last resort, Ari. You know what happens when you mess with your own circle. Christ only knows what we'll end up with. Aimee, take Brandon, Sam, Ari, and Luke with you. Hanna, you come with us and bring Sam's mom.”
Hanna lifted her into the air.
Lorri smirked at Daniel. “Hanna’s going to rip one of your rotten legs off and shove it where you won’t recover from, if you try anything funny.”
Hanna grinned at Daniel as she carried my mom who appeared to weigh nothing. Lorri touched Giselle who had a tight grip on Daniel. Hanna put a hand on Lorri's shoulder.
“Be safe.” Lorri sounded worried. “Aimes, you and Sam flash if you have to. No matter what. Leave the sisters if you have to.”
I noted the command in the words. It wasn’t a suggestion.
Lydia hurried to Lorri. “I'll come with you. I've spelled the room. They can't come in here. We need to get out of here now.”
Lorri was gone as Lydia's hand touched her shoulder.
Aimee hugged Blake again.
He sobbed. “Oh God, oh God, Aimee. I've done so many bad things.” He slumped onto the floor at her feet and covered his face in shame.
A loud bang on the door interrupted.
I gave Aimee a look. She nodded and pointed to the back door Daniel had come through. “Does this lead to Alise?”
Blake blubbered into his hands, speaking inaudible bits.
Aimee grabbed his arms. “Blake, we can cry when we get home. I need you to focus now.”
“Yeah.” He wiped his eyes and repositioned his glasses. “That way.” He pointed at the back door.
“I need your help. Can you help me?” She was desperate, I could see it.
Blake offered, “I'm so sorry, Aimes. I shoulda believed you. It was real. It was all real.”
Aimee sighed. “We can do this at home, Blake. I need to get my sister.”
He sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.
Ari had the door open and both wolves were in the hall. She peeked back. “Hey, Dorian’s in the hall waiting for us.”
I was last into the hallway. I couldn’t believe we finally had Daniel. Lorri could finally cross it off her to-do list.
Dorian looked pissed as I came around the corner. “Your mom’s in on it.”
“I think she's compelled.”
“Not even close.” Dorian shook his head. “It’s a match.”
“What?”
Dorian ran his hands in his dark hair. “Damned sirens. Have you seen Oliver?”
“No,” Ari whispered, “but we need to keep moving.”
Dorian glared at her. “This was a setup. Notice how they don’t have any security here?”
“Jonathan was willing to trade it all for Ophelia?”
“Ding, ding, ding. The prize for the most common sense goes to Sam!” Dorian mocked us all. “They must have sent the vision to Annabelle, which I don't even know how that's possible.” Dorian sneered at Aimee and then Ari, his face softening. “I'm going to find Ophelia. If I don’t come back, I'm sorry and I love you.”
Ari blushed. “Sorry?”
He sighed solemnly. “That I never knew. I would have tried if I'd known.”
“Stop being a weirdo. You're like a cockroach. Nothing can kill you.” Ari grinned, her eyes watering.
His eyes flashed at Ari for a moment as a slow
smile crept across his lips. “Nothing but love.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, but his eyes darted to me. “You get them out.”
I nodded and Dorian was gone.
Blake stopped outside a door. “This one.” His thin pale fingers trembled. He looked sick.
Aimee shoved him to the side and kicked the door open.
I clutched my nose instantly. The smell was unbearable. Aimee stepped in with a horrified expression. The dark room was a cell. It reminded me of Marcus’ dungeon.
There was a small cot, a shower, and a toilet. The dark concrete room had no one in it, but from the stink, whoever had been in there was dead when they were removed.
Old dark-brown blood stains covered the mattress.
Aimee glanced at Blake like she wanted to strangle him.
“She was here. They both were.” He sounded distraught.
Aimee stormed from the room and started kicking in every door in the hallway.
“You have a very bad temper—has anyone ever told you that?”
We all turned to see Oliver with a grin pasted on his face.
Aimee and I flashed at him, but he was already down the far side of the other hall. We flashed there but he was on the ceiling, looking down from the grate. “We can play this all day, or we can just trade.”
Aimee scowled up at him. “What could you possibly want from us?”
Oliver tilted his head. “You, Aimee.”
“Fine, done. Everyone else walks free.”
Oliver flashed to the far side of the hall, opposite me. “Walk out the door behind you, into the snow. There is a courtyard. Stay there. We will meet you outside.” And he was gone.
I turned to Aimee. “No. No, this is a bad idea. Why do they want you so badly?”
“I don’t know.” She sounded defeated. “At this point, what does it matter? Aleks is dead. Shane is heartbroken. My sister is most likely dead.” She turned to me and smiled. “You know where I want my body to go.”
“I don’t know what can kill you, Aimes. They may want you alive.”
Ari put a hand on Aimee. “This is a bad idea. Let me push him.” She glanced at Blake. Blake looked nervous.
“You know what Lydia says.” Aimee turned and walked to the door. She put a hand up to it and gazed back at Blake. He rushed to her, sobbing. “What’s happening?” They whispered into each other's necks. Aimee quivered from the sobbing. She pushed herself away from him and turned to face the door. Her eyes met mine as the cold arctic air blasted her.
I gave Blake the least hateful face I could. “Stay in the hallway.”
He nodded and stepped back. Ari grabbed him by the arm. “No. This is my insurance.” She dragged him out into the cold. He was as white as the snow.
Luke lowered and growled as Oliver walked toward us. In each hand he had a thin girl.
I knew they must be Alise and Abbey. I could pick out Alise. She was sickly skinny and covered in sores. She wore baggy jeans and a pale-pink tee shirt. Her dark hair was around her like a filthy cape and matted with things. Abbey too was covered in sores. I assumed they were bite marks. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, like bedhead. Her jeans were ripped and torn and her light-blue tee shirt was bloody.
Both appeared to be on death’s door. Or in death’s hands.
Another man walked out into the courtyard with Oliver. He was almost identical to O and straightaway I knew it was her father. He beamed smugly and held his hands out, “Roses Academy. It's wonderful to meet you all. Sorry for being such a poor host. I'm sure you understand the time constraints placed upon me, what with Ophelia and Tristan turning eighteen and all.”
Aimee stepped forward. “Look, you want me to stay. I want them all to go free. Cut the shit and niceties.”
His lip curled. “I like your style, Aimee. It's a shame we have to kill you.”
He pulled a gun from behind his back, raised it, and fired before I could register what was happening.
I screamed, “No!” and flashed at Aimee. She stumbled forward in the snow. Blake screamed but Ari held him tight. I held Aimee in my arms.
Her sister shrieked and tried to pull from Oliver's hands, but he held her tight to his side.
Black blood dripped onto the white snow. I rolled her onto her back, revealing something I never thought I would see. Aimee's skin was singed where the bullet had made a huge hole.
She cried out from the fiery wound spreading up her pale stomach.
“You see, Aimee, Dorian made you for one reason. Each of us makes something different. I create vampires. Not cursed ones like Marcus but real ones. We don’t know what Lorri creates. She has a rule about not making things. Oliver here creates succubi and incubi, emotional vampires if you will. Sam, your dad made what the natives called a wendigo. Very horrid creature. He only made a few. Terrible plague on the Earth. He refused to make any more. But Dorian makes something very special. He makes the cure. He makes the one thing that can kill us. And I can’t have that. He made the one that took Anthony.” Jonathan smirked and pointed to the sky. “Father needed a back-up plan, in case we decided to have fun, instead of being Lorri's lapdogs. Dorian makes the back-up plan. You are it, my dear, and I can't run the risk of you ruining any of my plans.”
Aimee writhed and leaned forward as the bullet wound spread. Ash fell to the ground where she leaned.
“It’s gonna be okay.” I gripped her, rocking her. Her fingers bit into my arms. Screams filled the courtyard.
Aimee began to tremble, shaking in a way I’d never seen before.
I nodded at Ari and her dark eyes sparkled as she pushed the screaming Blake. The air sparkled around him, freezing all of us in shock.
Dorian was behind Ari in a flash. “Ahhh yes, Jonathan, you have yet to meet my daughter.”
Jonathan's mouth dropped. He glanced back at Oliver with daggers.
I watched the show as everything froze for a second.
Blake was talking and pacing around his house. Aimee lay on a bed sleeping. Shane stood in front of her with his arms crossed, seeming angry. All of a sudden, Blake was standing in a room talking to Aimee. She was clearly devastated. She ran from the house.
Everything sparkled around us and suddenly Aimee was asleep on the bed again. Blake paced watching her. He was upset, but instead of leaving, he went to his computer. He sat there looking exhausted. When Aimee woke up, she went to Blake’s side. He showed her websites and chats. Everything around them started to change. Jonathan screamed and leaped at Aimee, but everything went dark.
Chapter 28
What in Sam hell?
Ophelia
I stood in the kitchen at Lydia's, holding a glass of water. The world had been ending for me and then I was there. Ari shivered as she sat down. “What was that?” I remembered pouring myself the glass of water just as I remembered being tied up in my father's cell. “What was that?” I asked louder.
Lydia stormed in. “That was Ari at her best.” She didn't sound excited.
A tall, handsome man walked into the kitchen. “Lydia, where is she?”
Lydia and Ari both jumped up and ran at the huge man. “Oh my God, Aleks! Oh my God.”
Aimee flashed into the kitchen and jumped at him.
I was lost.
Hadn’t a guy named Aleks died?
Old memories that still sat in my mind were distant, as new memories of him at my window instead of Sam crept in.
Aleks was the one, not Sam. I hadn’t even met Sam.
They all cried as Aimee kissed his cheek repeatedly.
His face was flushed and confused. “What’s going on? I'm tired of the head games, Aimee. Just tell me what the hell is going on?”
Aimee shook her head. “I love you.”
A slow grin spread over his face. “So you want to be with me?”
“Aleks, what do you remember?” Lydia asked.
He frowned. “From when?”
Lydia stared at Ari, her mouth agape. “Oh no.”
/>
Ari took a second and then she looked the same. Aimee dropped to her knees.
Lucas ran inside.
His face was soaked.
Tears poured from his eyes.
The memories sank in slowly.
The memories matched in our minds but nothing was the same.
Sam was not in a single new memory I had.
I started to panic.
A new face, one my brain instantly recognized as Ben, looked perplexed. He frowned with Aleks as Lydia, Ari, Aimee, and Lucas sobbed.
My stomach twisted into a knot. My heartstrings tugged as I stared at Ben, confused on what I felt. He smiled and took a step toward me. I took a step back. My body knew him as did my mind, but my reality was different.
It was as if two people's lives lived inside me. I bolted to the kitchen sink and retched over it. A meal I didn’t recognize eating shot into the sink.
“He's not dead. He's not.” Aimee rocked back and forth.
Lydia held her hand over her heart. “They all are. Little Sarah. Dawn. Danny.”
I threw up again and sank against the counter.
“I take it Ben and I missed out on a party?” Aleks stood like a massive statue in the middle of the kitchen with the sobbing people draping off him. Ari let go of him and grabbed Ben. She and Lucas held him tight against them.
“What happened? How did it happen?” I was so lost. “Where’s Sam?”
Aleks raised a brow. “You never even met him.”
“I loved him.” My heart broke. “Sam.” My hands covered my mouth.
Hanna came bursting through the door. Her eyes flashed on Ari. “You bring him back. You bring him back. You bring him back.” She grabbed her by the throat and held Ari in the air. Hanna's skin shivered as she lost total control and threw Ari through the wall of the house with her landing on the back lawn.
Lucas changed and lunged at Hanna. Hanna swiped and tossed the wolf across the grass.
Lydia ran out through the huge hole and stepped between them. “This solves nothing.”
Ari’s body trembled, she cried so hard. Hanna dropped to her knees and screamed into the sky. It was the worst noise I’d ever heard.
Hanna glanced at me and started to sob again.
I rushed her and wrapped my arms around her. “He loved you. He loved you, Hanna.”