“I’ll be fine by tomorrow. Letting off that little bit really helped and being here will give me time to figure out where to go next. If all goes well, we will meet up with one of the other Coven groups in a few days.” He covered his mouth as a yawn escaped.
I wasn’t ready for him to stop talking. I wanted more answers, but his eyes started closing and just like that, he was fast asleep. I knew the feeling. My body wanted so badly to lie down and give it a break, but my mind was too keyed up to truly relax.
I shifted myself closer to the floor and pulled off my boots. I stood up and placed them in the closet next to Daggers. I couldn’t fight it anymore, my eyes were beginning to blur and water. I grabbed a throw blanket off the small desk chair and carefully slid back on the bed, wrapping my body up and snuggling into the pillow.
The first rays of sunlight crept through the window and snuck across the floor. I can’t remember the last time I had slept so long and so sound. It must have been from all the energy I’d poured out of my body the day before. Perhaps for once, I felt safe enough to let my guard down.
The covers rustled behind me and I turned to find Dagger slowly coming awake. His hair was in complete disarray, which was roguishly cute. “Morning,” he said, stretching. I eyed him for a moment, pursing my lips to form one of the questions rumbling around inside my head.
“What am I to the Triad?” I asked.
Dagger groaned and threw his arm over his face, making his words mumbled. “It’s not just what you are, Jade, it’s who you are.” He moved his arm away and turned to face me. He propped himself up on his elbow and held a finger up to silence my next question.
“It’s unclear as to why Lorenzo wants you. There is no real explanation, beside the fact that you are his granddaughter. It’s possible that he sees your existence as a blemish to his bloodline and wants to make an example of you,” he stated.
“An example?” How confusing.
“Surely you can see? If he’s willing to execute his own flesh and blood, then anyone who acted out against him would receive a death sentence as well.”
“So all of this…this running and hiding is so that he won’t kill me?” Somehow I knew there had to be more to it. A man of such power shouldn’t be so concerned over a granddaughter, who had nothing to do with the magical community. Why try to make an example out of someone who meant nothing to anyone?
“That’s what everyone believes,” he said.
“But you don’t believe that? You think it’s something else?”
He simply nodded as my mind spun with more questions.
A flash back of my younger years was trying to resurface. The barren closet with one light bulb and the man who attacked me began to form before my eyes. I stood up, quickly shaking my head to clear the pictures before they could completely form.
“Why can’t we stand together and fight him?” I couldn’t imagine running for the rest of my life.
“There was talk of it years ago, while you were just a small girl. I remember sneaking in to the council meetings. Everyone was scared. Our Covens were hunted as ruthlessly as you were. The Triad captured and tortured Coven members because they thought we were hiding you. The Covens had no choice but to split in groups of five or less just to remain unnoticed. When the Triad disappeared from our world so suddenly, we thought they’d found you.”
Dagger got up and grabbed a clean pair of clothes out of the closet. I sat in silence, willing him to continue. He grabbed the door handle and started to turn it. With a soft sigh, he leaned his head against the wood. It looked like he was fighting against the words that wanted to be spoken.
“They sent me to you. My Coven did. Our Seer saw you in a vision.” He gripped the clothes tightly as if trying to search for the right words to his story.
“They sent me to you with a vial. I was to make you drink every last drop and make sure your heart didn’t stop beating. I was to wait three hours and no more. It was torture finding you the way you were. Getting that vial of liquid down your throat was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. You were so ready to give up…” He paused to scrub his hand down his face.
“I waited the three hours and then they called me home. One minute, I was kneeling at your side, brushing the blood-caked hair off of your face, and the next I was kneeling in the healers hut. I never knew what happened to you.” Dagger turned the door knob and walked across the hall, closing the bathroom door behind him.
I sat numbly on the bed. He’d seen my battered body when he had come to my aid. His Coven had saved my life, yet left me on my own. I was only a child. How dare the Coven come into my life now and tell me what to do, when they couldn’t be bothered to step in when I needed the protection the most.
I stewed on what he said until he came back from his shower.
“Am I supposed to be grateful now? Your Coven brought me back from the brink of death and then left me alone,” I snapped at him.
Dagger ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. “Listen, things were different back then, not like they are now-” He tried to explain but I cut him off.
“Don’t tell me to listen! I don’t want to hear your excuses for why I was left on my own. I was only a child and your precious Coven left me defenseless against an unknown enemy!” My chest heaved in and out from sobs that tried to break free. I wasn’t going to let the tears come. I wanted to hang on to the anger that lined my soul for all those years spent alone and scared.
“Damn it, Jade, I didn’t want to leave you! I was only a boy myself and the elders forbid us to further assist you.”
“What?”
“Our Covens elders wouldn’t allow us to take you in. They feared everyone would die trying to save you. It was a chance they were not willing to take,” he explained.
Hot tears burned the back of my eyes. Rage coated my throat, making it impossible to speak.
“Not all of us wanted to leave you on your own. My father fought the council at every turn to try and make them see the wrong they were doing. He kept pleading his case, only to be denied. Up until the last of the elders died, he fought for you. Then, and only then, was he able to step in and do the right thing by you.”
“Unfortunately, none of that changes the past. I won’t apologize for being angry and jaded for the way I was forced to grow up, Dagger.”
“I don’t expect you to forgive and forget. I wouldn’t. I just wanted you to know that we never stopped trying.”
All those years, I had someone fighting in my corner but never knew. How was I supposed to hold onto the anger that had fueled me this far, when all of those who refused to help me were dead? I had to push the past back to where it belonged. At least now, I had a little bit of an understanding as to who I was. It wasn’t much to go off of, considering I couldn’t remember much about my parents and everything else about my life was a mystery, even to those around me. All I could do was keep moving forward to make sense of it all.
“What now?” I asked.
“Right now, we have a man on the inside of the Triad. He’s been there for a number of years. He’s supposed to be looking into why the Triad is back in full force looking for you. My father expected to hear something from him this week. With any luck, we will get an idea of what the reason is and maybe start formulating a plan to fight back. Until then, we have to be on guard and keep you safe.”
“And you? What do you think they want?” I asked
Dagger blew out a breath and looked up at the ceiling as if it held all the answers. “I think he needs you to complete a spell.” He went to the closet and grabbed his boots. He didn’t look up as he pulled them on. “You see, people such as the Triad, they are never happy with the power they have. They crave more and more until they’ve tapped out all their resources and begin to steal others. I’ve read numerous books and have come across some very old journal entries. They are more like storybook fantasies than anything.”
He shook his head and a small grin lifted the side of his
mouth. “Anyway, these journal entries speak of spells that were once recorded then destroyed because of the power they contained. In the wrong hands, it could make one person more powerful than anything this world has ever seen.” He stood to look at me and then shrugged.
“I would have written the whole thing off as fiction, if I hadn’t continued reading the journal and found one of those spells myself. Mind you, half the page was missing– burnt off, I believe. But if there is one thing I’m sure of, it’s that there is a book and it is very powerful. And I think you are one of the missing pieces to a very dangerous spell that the book contains.”
“If that’s true, then why did that man leave me to die and not take me directly to the Triad?” I asked.
“It’s simple really. I don’t think the Triad knew of the book. They just wanted you dead because you stood for something they did not believe in. There’s always been a rift between the Triad and the Original Coven, or a war as my father would call it. That’s why the Triad has been hell bent on eliminating the Original Coven, ever since the beginning. It got really bad when your father turned his back on his people to be with your mother, the sworn enemy. The Triad followers were probably told to simply destroy you, once they found out you existed,” he said.
“So how does the book come into play?” I wasn’t sure I followed his line of thinking, but really at this point, we had to look at all the angles.
“Honestly? I think that someone pissed the Triad off really bad and bargained the book for their life. Once the Triad knew what was in that book, well, I bet they were freaking out at the thought that you may in fact be dead.” The small smirk turned into a crooked smile. “So for now we-”
Dagger’s sentence was cut off by an explosion. The ceiling rained down on us. Dagger rushed to the closet and tossed my boots at me. “Quick, put those on. I’m going to make sure the hallway is clear.” He dashed out the door as I forced my shaking hands to tie my laces.
The floor shifted heaving me into the air. I landed half on and half off the bed while the bed frame shimmied across the floor. I pulled myself up onto the mattress and tried to ride out the shockwave. Cracks started spider webbing in the paint and ceiling. It was like the room was being ripped in half. The bed kept rattling around on the floor, bumping into the wall and other furniture like it was looking for a way out. I had to get off the bed and get out of the room.
As soon as the bed started shaking away from the door, I jumped off. My exit was only two feet away, but every time I’d take a step the floor would roll and send me back a couple of feet. I waited for the floor to settle. Then leapt to the door. The bed screeched across the room, coming back at me. My hand connected with the doorknob. I pulled furiously at it, but it wouldn’t open.
I could hear Dagger banging on the outside like he was trying to find a way in. I only had seconds to jump out of the way before the bed frame could pin me to the door. I jumped at the last possible second, but I didn’t make it high enough to clear the footboard. Pain exploded in my legs as the metal crushed me against the door. I fell back onto the bed as it began to move to the far wall.
It slammed against the wall only to back up and slam against it again. On and on the bed bucked wildly until the wall crumbled. I forced myself to get ready to move.
The wall began to crumble. Large chunks of brick flew out into the yard, clearing a path big enough for the bed to get through. I had to make my move before it was too late. I jumped. Pain raced up my spine as my body came to a jarring stop.
I grabbed a heavy brass lamp off the floor and began beating the door knob to try and break it off. The bed had gotten caught on the wall and was rattling and banging its way free. The door knob fell off, clanging to the floor.
“Stand back!” Dagger yelled from the hall.
I moved to the side so that I could slip out the door as soon as it was open. One solid kick and the door came flying inward. Dagger grabbed me, pulling me out. The bed slammed into the doorway where I had just stood.
“Let’s go,” he said as he grabbed my hand and ran down the hall and pulled me off to another section of the house.
Julie came careening down the opposite hallway as debris rained down on her and chunks of the wall shot out towards her. “Last room on the left,” she shouted.
Dagger pulled me forward, his hold the only thing keeping my feet under me. The door swung open and we staggered to a stop. Julie barreled through the open doorway, barely missing me.
A large tapestry hung from the wall. Dagger grabbed a corner and pulled it away as Julie placed her hand on a worn block and chanted softly. A door sized cutout appeared and Julie pulled me inside a small paneled closet. Dagger was right behind us as the wall shimmered back into place behind him.
All three of us were breathing rapidly, sucking all the available oxygen out of the confined space. I couldn’t help but worry that we’d die from asphyxiation, instead of crazy bad guys.
Julie’s words were catching in between her labored breathing. “Where…is…the…next…best…safe house?” she asked.
Dagger shook his head in frustration. “I was planning on taking her to Lighthouse Manor, but that’s out of the question. They are finding Jade in no time at all. I think all the safe houses are corrupt at this point.” He scowled.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me! You brought Lorenzo’s granddaughter to my house!” Julie shouted.
Dagger got in Julie’s face. “Unless you want to die, I would suggest you get us to the closest exit,” he growled.
“We have two minutes tops before they blow this whole place up around us. If the safe houses are as you say, then we have no choice…we need to take her to Edge.” Julie turned to the wall and pulled a small piece of paneling away to reveal an intricate design. It began to glow a faint purple light when she placed her fingers against it.
“No.” Dagger pulled her hand away. “He’s the last person I would have Jade near.”
“We don’t have any other option! You can’t take her to another safe house and you can’t put her out with the Mick’s. Think about it…they would never guess you took her there,” Julie said.
“I don’t like it. He’s…” Dagger didn’t finish his sentence.
“You don’t have to like it, Dagger. You just have to get her to safety and Edge’s place is protected!” Julie yelled above the groaning coming from the house. It was a matter of seconds before we would be crushed under all the rubble.
“It’s protected by dark magic! How do you figure that benefits us?” Dagger yelled.
“We can fight about it after we get there,” Julie snapped back at him. The purple light started glowing until the small space hummed with energy. The wall blew out, sucking us through. The purple light flickered as we were spit out on the ground.
I turned back and the wall was gone. All I could make out were trees. Hundreds of them towered around us in the darkness. The limbs looked like long fingers ready to pluck us off the ground. The forest we were in was quiet, almost too quiet.
Dagger grabbed me and pulled me close as he quickly scanned the darkened forest. He pulled me closer when a twig snapped in the eerie silence.
“Show yourself,” Dagger growled.
A faint chuckle carried across the gentle breeze.
Julie huffed out a muted comment at Dagger, before stepping forward to speak. “Geez, Edge, what’s with all the drama?”
At once, night turned into day. I blinked from the sudden shift. I figured Dagger would let go of me so that I could breathe, but it only made him hold on a little tighter. I began to fidget, but he wouldn’t release me.
I blinked a few more times, chasing the white dots from my vision. Before me stood a dark cloaked figure, the hood pulled low to cover his face.
“My apologies, it’s not often I have visitors coming unannounced.” His sarcasm really needed a paper towel- it was dripping everywhere.
“It was a last minute decision, trust me,” Julie replied.
“Ah, Dagger, how good it is to see you. How long has it been?” Edge pulled the cloak off and let it fall to the ground.
“Not long enough, Aldrige,” Dagger growled.
“Can’t even call me by my first name? You’re still holding a grudge I see,” Edge replied.
Edge fit his name well. His lithe body was encased in all black. His face was finely chiseled, like a statue come to life. His onyx black hair was straight with a gleam of blue from the sunlight. Silky strands swept down over his brow to almost cover his steel grey eyes.
“Who do we have here?” He took a step towards me.
Dagger pulled me back a step.
“You’re hurting me,” I gasped. Dagger seemed to realize how tight he was holding on and relaxed his arms enough for me to take a deep breath.
Julie scowled at us. “We need a place to stay,” she told him.
“I’m booked, sorry.” His lips lifted in a smirk. His eyes darted to Julie and came back to rest on me.
“Listen, you over dramatized Batman, we have no other choice. We barely escaped from West End House and we have to figure out where the next best place to hide her is.” Julie’s thumb jerked towards me in emphasis.
“Mmhmm, and you thought you’d just use my location to figure all this out? Unless I’ve been told otherwise, my house is not a ‘safe house’ for your kind,” he sneered.
“Our kind?” I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. If he wasn’t of ‘our kind’, what was he?
“He’s a Triad plant,” Dagger said.
“Oh, yes do tell…please. Everyone knows how you like to play the hero, while I play the bad guy,” Edge laughed.
“Can you two set aside your differences for now? Dagger, in case you haven’t noticed, we barely got away from the Triad that just blew my damn house to smithereens and frankly, I’m not real comfortable standing out here in the open. She’s like a frigging beacon for the bastards.” Julie walked over to where Edge was standing and glared at him. “And as for you, well, just because you’re ‘off’ the list, doesn’t mean you can’t help us. I know you don’t want to have to explain to the council why you refused us sanctuary. I’m sure that’s all they will need, to kick you out once and for all.”
Casted (Casted series) Page 6