She nodded meekly.
“Then go. And hurry. I don’t know what the Mayor has planned for her, but it can’t be good. And I cannot be late,” he said, turning away from her. “I’ll try to take care of her until help arrives.”
As he turned away, I felt Tabitha’s fear begin to fade. You know him, she accused.
Kind of.
Is he another one of those pathetic friends of yours?
Well, I wouldn’t call him a friend or anything. He actually hurt me once while interrogating me. But we’ve come to an understanding of sorts.
You sure about that? she asked snidely. He did just take us hostage. And now he’s delivering us to that Mayor who wants you dead. He can’t be too much of a friend, now can he?
He said he’d try to take care of me until Finn arrives.
Yeah, but Finn’s kind of imprisoned right now, so he won’t be coming to your rescue anytime soon.
Fear shot through me at her words. She was right. Finn was in trouble himself, and he wasn’t going to be able to rescue me any time soon, if at all. I had gotten so used to always having him by my side that I wasn’t even sure if I could take care of myself anymore. How was I going to get us out of this mess without Finn to help me? I didn’t even have control over my own body at the moment, and there was no telling what Tabitha might risk to get away.
The sorcerer brought us to the roadside, where an old, rusty white car was waiting with the trunk already popped open. He dropped us unceremoniously into the trunk before slamming the lid shut. It latched into place and cast us into near total darkness. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear the sorcerer’s footsteps crunching on the roadside dirt as he made his way up to the driver’s side door and started the car.
Tabitha twisted around until she was on her back and tried kicking the trunk. She couldn’t get a good enough angle to get any real power behind her kick, so it did little other than make a small thud. For the next few minutes, she did nothing but kick the trunk and work up a sweat. By the time she finally gave up and settled down in the darkness, she was breathing raggedly, and I could hear the panic in her harsh breaths.
Any bright ideas for keeping us alive?
You’re asking me for advice? I spat. We wouldn’t even be in this mess right now if it weren’t for you.
How do you figure? she snarled.
I almost laughed. If you hadn’t taken over my body, my friends would have been right here with me during the lesson. Tanya and Holly wouldn’t be lying in the infirmary, and Finn would have been by my side and he would have protected me. But you got him locked up like an animal in a cage, and because of that, we’re in serious danger right now!
I’ll bet that if that beast of yours had been here, he would have torn this sorcerer to pieces for even looking at you the wrong way. Have you ever been scared of him or what he might do if you made him angry? Has he ever hurt you?
That doesn’t even deserve an answer, I thought. Now be quiet and start thinking of a way to get us out of this mess that you got us into.
Thankfully she fell silent, and the only sound was the engine as the car roared down the road. Every little bump jostled us in the dark, and Tabitha even hit her head at one point. She let out a tiny whimper but remained silent otherwise. She was probably busy planning our escape, and I almost offered to help her, but I figured she wouldn’t accept any help if it came from me. And part of me was too angry to help her, even if it hurt me in the long run as well. So, the two of us just sat together in the darkness, waiting for him to get wherever he was taking us.
*****
The car jerked to a stop sometime later, jostling us so violently that Tabitha’s shoulder slammed into the side of the trunk with a loud crack that sounded even more painful in the deafening silence. She grunted in pain but otherwise remained silent. The sound of footsteps ended at the trunk, and I could hear voices nearby. I strained my ears to hear what was being said, and instantly recognized the sorcerer’s voice.
“He said to take her and keep her quiet, which I’ve done. I followed his orders, and now I want my daughter.”
“You’ll get your daughter back when the mayor no longer has need of you, not one minute sooner. Understand? Now, pop the trunk and let’s get this pain in the ass into the shed before someone sees.”
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” the sorcerer said as he slowly lifted the lid. “I’ve cast a shielding spell—nobody is going to see her unless I want them to. Even that nosy neighbor with the prying eyes will be blind to our movements. Rise and shine sweetheart,” he said as light flooded the dark trunk.
Tabitha winced and tried to shrink away from the light, but the sorcerer and his partner reached out and grabbed a hold of her. She struggled with everything she had—kicking, clawing, even biting—but it was no use. She was stuck with my weak body that was smaller than the average person, and she was no match for these far older and larger supernatural beings. After a brief moment of struggle, she went limp, and the sorcerer’s partner threw her roughly and carelessly over his shoulder.
I couldn’t see where they were taking us, but the ground beneath us changed from the gray gravel of the driveway to lush green grass. I caught a hint of purple out of the corner of my eyes that turned out to be a flowerbed with a beautiful white wooden fence around it. Abruptly, the beautiful garden scene changed, and we crossed over into a spot of dead, patchy grass. A small white shed had been erected just beyond the flowers, and the door was already open and waiting for us.
The wooden floor space was open except for the small metal chair that had been bolted to the floor. The sorcerer’s partner dropped Tabitha into the chair. She tried to make a run for it, but his hand slammed into her chest, shoving her back down into the chair and knocking the air from her lungs. As she sat there wheezing and gasping for air, he secured her wrists to the chair with leather straps.
Before he could step away, Tabitha’s foot lashed out. Her kick caught him directly between his legs. His knees buckled and all of the color drained from his face until it was a ghostly pale. He turned away to retch, and I could feel Tabitha’s satisfaction at causing him pain.
The door opened again, letting in harsh light from the outside, and the Mayor stepped in. He was wearing an ill-fitting navy suit that had probably belonged to him years ago—when he was forty pounds lighter. He leaned against the door frame and withdrew a handkerchief from his front pocket and used it to wipe sweat from his heavy brow. “I hate this heat,” he muttered.
If he hates the heat so much, he’s really going to hate burning in hell for all eternity, I thought.
Tabitha laughed, sounding oddly girlish and young for the briefest of seconds. It was enough to catch everyone in the room—including myself—off guard.
The Mayor slowly raised a bushy eyebrow, as if he couldn’t believe anyone would dare laugh at him. “Do you find that amusing?”
“If you hate the heat so much, you’re really going to hate burning in hell for all eternity,” she echoed. The sorcerer snorted and tried to hide it in a cough, but I could tell from the annoyed look that flickered across the Mayor’s face that he’d heard it. “And that makes me very happy,” she said with a light laugh. Thanks for that one, she thought gleefully. I’m gonna enjoy pissing him off.
Just be careful and don’t get us killed, I answered. He’ll do it if you push him too far. And if you think you can finish your plans without my body, you’re sorely mistaken. Maybe if you had come up with a better plan—
My plans are just fine, she interrupted.
Are you sure about that? I’m pretty sure none of them have exactly worked out so far. All of my friends are still alive, and the second Annie returns, your time is up. She’ll see right through you—literally—and she’ll help me escape from this prison you’ve locked me in.
I’ll be done long before your precious Annie returns. And besides, she’s not half the necromancer you think she is. You and I both know we’re far stronger than she
is. Nobody holds a candle to the two of us.
Being the strongest isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Just think of what we could have accomplished together, Ronnie. We could have made the entire world bow before us. We would have ruled together, as queens! We could have been an unstoppable force to reckon with. We would finally give them all something to really fear. Imagine the payback for all the mistreatment at the hands of that damn Council…
Her words stirred something deep inside of me, a deep sense of longing that I had never felt before. My stomach tightened with unease, but my heart raced at the thought of taking Kevin’s will and forcing him to bow down to me. He would never again be able to threaten me or make me feel inferior just because I was born when I shouldn’t have been.
I hadn’t asked to be born of darkness anymore than he had asked to become a vampire, and yet he still thought he was better than me. He thought that I was the one who couldn’t be trusted when he was the one trying to force Holly into being with him. He was the one bending the rules he was supposed to enforce, and I had no doubts that he would kill me if given the opportunity to get away with it. And he would still scream about how evil I was, even with his dying breath.
“Miss Parker!”
Tabitha and I both managed to drag ourselves away from our silent thoughts. “Yes?” she asked obediently.
One look at the Mayor and I could tell he had called my name more than once during my conversation with Tabitha. The knuckles on his hands were white from clenching so tightly, and his left eye had begun to twitch. I hoped that Tabitha would be smarter than to poke at him, but I knew she would pick up on his weaknesses and break them down until he cracked.
It wouldn’t be all that hard to accomplish. Anyone could just by looking at him that the Mayor was a weak man. He relied on bribery or hostages to influence people into doing what he wanted. He inspired no loyalty among any of his people, and if he lost the leverage he had on them, any one of them would turn on him in an instance. The only thing that kept him safe was the fact that his own people didn’t know how weak he was without them.
As soon as they figured out that he held no real power, they’d find a way to rebel. And without all of these powerful people backing him, the Mayor would be an easy target for anyone that held a grudge against him. I knew that the Council would be the first in line to get a piece of him, and I only hoped I could be present when they dealt with him. After all the damage he had done, it was only fitting that I be there to watch him die.
A shiver ran up my spine as that morbid thought crossed through my mind, but I would have to wait until later to analyze it. For now, I had to focus on the Mayor and what he wanted. There was no telling what he might ask, and even worse, there was no telling what Tabitha might say. I had to make sure she didn’t give away any information the Mayor didn’t already have. How I was going to do that was beyond me, but if I didn’t at least try, I would be letting down the High Council. But more importantly, I would be letting down myself and everyone who cared about me.
“Miss Parker, I assure you, this will go much better for everyone involved if you cooperate.”
“Well I’ll try my best,” Tabitha said lightly. “But I can’t promise you anything.”
“Without the attitude,” he said, eyes narrowing as he took her in slowly. “You’re not in a position to make this a joke. I have no patience for this, or for you.”
“Then I guess you should have picked a better hostage,” Tabitha replied.
The Mayor sighed, and glanced at someone hanging in the back of the shed. Tabitha braced herself as the blow came from nowhere. An open hand collided with the side of Tabitha’s face with a loud smack. Her head snapped violently to the side, but she refused to make a sound. Her defiance flowed into me, and I knew she would never give the Mayor the satisfaction of enjoying her pain and suffering.
“You took that well.”
“I’m stronger than you think.”
His lips slowly spread until I could see his teeth glinting in the dim light of the shed. “We’ll see about that.” He gestured to the guards around him, and they filed out through the shed door without missing a beat, leaving us alone with the Mayor. “I’m going to give you some time to think about how you’d like this to go. It doesn’t have to be hard, Veronica. We can do this the easy way.”
“No, we can’t,” Tabitha said defiantly.
“I hope for your sake you’re wrong, because in the end, you’ll wish we had done this the easy way.”
Chapter Twelve
Once the shed door was closed securely behind the Mayor, Tabitha let out an audible sigh of relief. Her thin shoulders drooped, and she slumped forward as all the fight went right out of her. She took a few deep breaths, as if she was trying to mentally prepare herself for when the Mayor returned.
How does your face feel?
It’s your face, she reminded me, as if I had forgotten.
But you’re the one feeling the pain. Are you okay?
I could feel her hesitation and confusion. Why do you care how I feel?
Because you’re my sister, I said immediately. And I care about you.
It was very weird to admit it to myself—let alone to her—but it was the truth. No matter what she did, she was still my sister, and there would always be a connection between us. Nothing she did would be able to kill that bond, even if I wanted so desperately to be free of her and her influence.
It really stings, she finally admitted. I was expecting something, but not that.
The Mayor doesn’t mess around, Tabitha. You’ll have to be smart to get out of this unscathed. He will do whatever it takes to break you, trust me. I’ve been on the receiving end of his wrath before.
So how do I make it out of here?
Be smart. Whatever you do, don’t lie to him if you can help it. He’ll figure you out, and he’ll punish you for it. His sorcerer bodyguard can tell if you’re lying, so stick to the truth as much as possible. Tell him shades of the truth mixed in with the fake, and hopefully the sorcerer will help us as much as possible.
You’re relying on him too much. He kidnapped us. You can’t trust him.
He’s on our side. At least, he’s on his daughter’s side. He’ll do anything to keep her safe, including keep us safe. He knows that if the Mayor gets too much of the truth, his daughter will be in danger. He won’t risk that, no matter how much he may or may not dislike me.
I need to do whatever it takes to survive. If I have to throw that sorcerer under the bus, don’t think I won’t.
You can’t!
Why not? You got a thing for him?
No! His daughter is being held captive to force his compliance, and if the Mayor finds out the sorcerer is working with us, his daughter becomes a liability. He’ll get rid of her, and I can’t have that on my conscience, Tabitha. Can you?
His daughter means nothing to me, she thought coldly. Why would I care about a magical brat?
She’s a little girl who didn’t ask to be a part of this. Her father is trying to keep her safe and do what’s best for her. I just thought you of all people would know what that was like.
You need to stop doing that.
Stop doing what? Forcing you to think about the pain you’re causing to everyone around you? You’re a destructive force, Tabitha. Somebody has to keep you in check, and it seems like I’m the only one you care enough about to listen to.
I don’t care about you or what you think of me, she replied stubbornly.
You and I both know that you do. You love me, and I love you. We’re stuck with each other, and this whole thing would be much easier if neither of us loved each other.
I know, she said. If I could just hate you, my plans would go more smoothly, but every time I try to do something, a small part of me always stops to think of how it’ll affect you. I don’t want to care, but I just can’t stop myself. Even after everything you’ve done to me and our family, I still can’t hate you.
I
know how you feel. Despite all the pain that you’ve caused me and the people I care about, I still want to believe there’s good in you, and I still want us to have a relationship. But I’ve realized it’ll never happen; it’s nothing more than a dream, and a stupid one at that.
Ronnie? If we…
If we what?
If we had met under different circumstances, do you think we could have been a family? Like, an actual family? Living together and doing things with each other? Or are we just too different for that to ever happen? She sounded lonely and very unsure. It was like she was trying to imagine what that would be like but couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
And I could understand why. We were two vastly different people. Not just in the way that we had been brought up by our parents and circumstances, but our core characters differed as well. Tabitha was a revenge driven girl who would stop at nothing to exact her vengeance. And I was mostly sure that I didn’t have that in me, not even way down hidden beneath everything.
No, I finally said. You and I are incompatible. If you hadn’t been raised by Andrew and I hadn’t been raised by my mother, then maybe it would have worked. Maybe we would have gravitated together and become family, but the way we are now…it’s a fool’s dream.
Her anger flared, and I realized I had just inadvertently called Andrew a bad father. Even though the rest of the world reviled him as a monster, to Tabitha he was just her loving father.
He wasn’t a bad father, she said, sounding oddly hollow, like she no longer believed it but couldn’t stop saying it.
All you saw was the good, Tabitha. You never saw the bad, the evil that was inside of him. I did.
I saw it, she snarled. More than you ever did. You think he only saved his temper and madness for you? I grew up with him, Ronnie. I saw the sadistic, vicious side of him. Even more than you.
You never said. I was shocked to be hearing this now. You always made it seem like he was this wonderful guy.
Of course I did. If I had told you that he used to punish me in cruel, unusual ways every time I did something wrong, it would have just given you more ammunition to use against me. I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me. That would have been worse than you being angry at me.
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