The thing she needed to decide was if she trusted Jennifer enough to tell her everything. Jennifer was a Slayer and was brought up as a Slayer. However, The Society had tried to, at the very least, to paralyze her.
“Why did you choose to get married?” Kelia asked her quickly. She went to Jennifer’s commode, looking for parchment and something to write with. “Instead of remaining a Slayer, you chose to leave this life and get married. Why?”
She managed to find a quill and some ink, then began to scrawl on the parchment, positioning her left hand so the ink would not rub against it. She needed it to be urgent but quick.
“I did not want to kill and hunt Sea Shadows for the rest of my life,” Jennifer said, appearing taken aback by the question. “I did not want to be part of a place that focuses on hunting and killing when I could be part of something I’ve wanted since I was young. I want to fall in love and have a family.”
Kelia placed the quill on the desk, waiting for the ink to dry. Her thoughts raced. Was that a sufficient enough answer for her? Did that make her someone Kelia could trust?
“I also don’t feel entirely comfortable here,” Jennifer said in a voice just above a whisper. “Ever since I’ve gotten sick, no one has researched why. They say my stomach was infected with bad food, but I ate what they served in the kitchens. Why didn’t everyone else get sick? Why was it only me?” From the corner of her eye, Kelia watched as Jennifer shook her head. “I sound like a raving fool, I know. If they heard the dribble that came out of my mouth, they would probably lock me up with the Sightless. You won’t say anything, will you?”
Kelia turned from where she sat and locked eyes with Jennifer. “I will not say anything,” she promised. “Jennifer, I believe you.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened. “What?” she asked in a small whisper.
“I believe you,” Kelia said in the same whisper. “Jennifer, there are so many things I wish I could tell you. So many things I have found out since my father died—”
“He did not kill himself, did he?” Jennifer asked quickly. “I could not believe it when they announced his death. He never seemed like the type to do something like that. And he was crazy about you, Key. You were all he had. There’s no way he would leave you alone to this.”
Kelia rubbed her lips together. Jennifer was saying all the right things, but it was almost too perfect.
Yet, they had tried to poison her. Why would they poison someone who was helping them?
“Jennifer,” Kelia asked in a low voice. “Can I trust you?”
Jennifer’s eyes widened. “So there is more to everything than they’re saying,” she murmured, more to herself than to Kelia. “Of course you can. You have been my closest friend for years. I would never betray you.”
“Even if it means betraying The Society?” Kelia asked, letting the question hang between them. The tension was thick and heavy, like a weight on her chest, preventing her from breathing. She would not look away from Jennifer, trying to read her face, trying to pick up any sort of hesitation, any sort of doubt.
“Betray them, how?” Jennifer asked tentatively.
Kelia turned back to her note. She needed to seal this letter to ensure no one would read it save for its intended audience. She knew Jennifer kept The Society’s seal somewhere in her drawers, considering she sent out a lot of memos to the council. If Jennifer had to ask, she was not the person to trust with this information.
“I’m not good at stealth, covert operations, Kelia,” she murmured, crawling closer to Kelia from her position on the bed so she would not have to speak in her normal voice. “But no one takes me seriously or has issues with speaking freely in front of me. People believe I am flighty, that I am already planning my wedding to Gerard. And perhaps that is true, but that does not mean I do not have ears.” Her gold eyes caught Kelia’s, and Kelia could see the seriousness in them. “I hear things people do not intend for me to hear. I can help you, Key. I want to. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”
Kelia paused in her search for the seal. She had always been good at judging character and forming opinions about others simply by the way they spoke and acted. Reading people was something she believed she was good at, and every instinct in her body said to trust Jennifer.
Her brain, on the other hand, was not entirely convinced. Her brain was the reason she hesitated, even though her body wanted nothing more than to unload this burden with someone she trusted. And she trusted Jennifer.
“The Society is lying to us, Jennifer,” she began in a soft voice. The walls had ears, and she did not need her voice to carry right now.
“I know,” Jennifer said. “There was no way your father—”
“Not just about my father,” Kelia said. She managed to find the seal, then went over to one of the many candles lit in the room to accumulate some wax. “About everything. And I…” She turned back to the letter, tucked into an envelope, and carefully sealed it shut with The Society’s official sigil. “I have found out a lot, Jennifer. And my investigation has ended abruptly because of it. Because they have found me out.”
Jennifer’s face paled. “What does that mean, Key?” she asked in a near whisper. There was worry in her brown eyes, worry Kelia refused to acknowledge lest she drown in it.
“I don’t know,” she replied honestly, in between blowing on the seal to harden the wax. “But it is not good, Jennifer. I know I will certainly be punished, probably endure a public lashing. If they decide not to kill me, I’ll be thrown into the rehabilitation program.”
“Is there nothing you can do to save yourself?”
“Of course I can,” Kelia said. “Even then, I am certain I will still be punished for my actions. I knew it was a risk, but it was one I had to take.”
“There’s something more, though,” Jennifer said, picking at her nailbeds. “You’re not telling me something.”
“I partnered with a Sea Shadow to prove my father did not kill himself,” Kelia said bluntly. “While I have found information that has convinced me, it is still circumstantial at best and can be explained in other ways.
“However, through my investigation in my father’s death, I have discovered many more things pertaining to the truth of the Sea Shadows, The Society. There’s much more to figure out, of course. I feel as though I have opened Pandora’s Box, as it were. And I have been caught.”
Jennifer’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice shaky.
“Rycroft figured out who I was meeting with,” Kelia said, turning around in her seat, the envelope in her hand. “At least he thinks he did, and he’s sure enough it doesn’t matter that he has no evidence. He gave me the option of redeeming myself, so to speak. I will still be punished for my trespasses against The Society, but they will not kill me and they will not throw me out.”
“What must you do to redeem yourself?” The skin around her index finger was bright pink, and she hastily moved onto her middle finger.
“I must tell them where Drew Knight is,” she stated simply. “And that is where I must ask you a favor, Jennifer. If you truly wish to help me, I need you to take this letter into town.”
“Wait, Key,” Jennifer said. “You are speaking too quickly. How would you know where Drew Knight is? And why do you want me to take a note into town?”
“Drew Knight is the Shadow I’ve been meeting with, working with,” Kelia said. “I know where he is. Rycroft wants me to tell him where that is, so they can send a team to capture him.”
“And this letter?” Jennifer gestured at the piece of paper, but Kelia could tell from her tone that she did not need further explanation.
“Drew Knight has a reputation as a wicked, despicable Sea Shadow,” Kelia said. “But he has been a righteous ally. And I trust him. He has told me things, true things about The Society that completely contradicts everything we’ve been told our entire lives.”
“You believe him?” Jennifer sounded surprised, and her fingers w
ent back to her nailbeds.
“I do,” she said with a nod. “I have discovered their truths on my own. He has not manipulated it, nor used it to his advantage.” She took a breath. “It is my belief that they tried to kill you, to make you ill, over an extended period so your death appeared natural. I believe they do it to everyone who opts to marry rather than to stay a Slayer.”
“Why would they do that?” Jennifer asked. She dropped her hands in her lap and buried her fingers in her skirts, as though she were trying to refrain from continuing to pick at her skin. At least she hadn’t denied Kelia’s statement. That was promising.
“Because you know too much,” Kelia answered. “Too much about what Slayers do, even if they don’t think you know the truth. They aren’t going to risk you spilling their secrets. Might as well kill you rather than trust you.”
Kelia kept her eyes focused firmly on Jennifer, trying to read her face, trying to decipher if there was anything there that indicated she chose to trust the wrong person.
Instead, Jennifer reached her hand out and took the letter.
“Where shall I take this?” she asked.
--
Kelia let out a shaky breath, trying to slow down her racing heart. Jennifer had left with the letter. At least she could warn Drew. At least he might be able to get out before the Slayers came for him.
Someone knocked on the door, and Kelia had a feeling she knew who it was. When she opened the door to find Rycroft staring down at her over his spectacles, she could not help but inwardly roll her eyes.
“Ms. Starling,” he said. “So glad to see you’re still in your room. Have you come to a decision?”
Chapter 21
When Emma delivered him the sealed envelope, Drew knew something had happened to Kelia.
He tried to keep himself restrained as he slid his finger under the crimson wax that kept the lip of the envelope sealed shut. He tore at it, nearly ripped it in half. Sea Shadows did have a better sense of smell than their human counterparts, and Drew could pick up the soft hint of jasmine radiating from the envelope, the seal, even the slip of paper he tugged out of the envelope.
He dropped the envelope on the deck. It would be picked up in minutes, he knew. He could not keep it balled in his fist; the tension from his body was ready to explode, much like a volcano.
* * *
Drew,
They are coming.
Run.
-K
* * *
Six words. Two sentences. That was all she could write. No explanation was given. None was necessary. Drew knew Kelia well enough to know she would never turn him over. As much as it went against his nature to do so, he trusted her. Regardless of her quick temper and her clumsy footwork, she was fierce and determined, and he respected that.
More than that, he found he respected her. Kelia could be silly, stubborn, and narrow-minded, but her redeeming qualities were the love she had for her father, even if she did not know his secret yet—which overrode her loyalty to The Society—and her openness to learn new things, even if she did not always want to.
“Where did you get this?” Drew asked after reading the letter twice more. He did not have a special bond with Kelia. They had not exchanged blood, which meant he did not have the ability to use that bond to see how she was or possibly track her down to where she was.
“She found me,” Emma said. “I saw her walking throughout town, frantic. She demanded I give this to you the minute I saw you.” Her eyes were unreadable, but he saw the worry in them. “What does it say?”
“They are coming for us,” Drew replied. “She’s warning us.”
“Why would she do that?” Emma murmured. It almost sounded as though she was speaking to herself, but she turned to face Drew with an inquisitive look on her face.
“So we have the time to flee,” Drew explained softly. “I do not know how she was able to acquire that time, but she put a lot at risk by doing so.”
He looked to his men, who had gathered along his ship, waiting for further instruction. Drew could not think of Kelia now, not when he was responsible for his crew’s safety and well-being. He gave them a small nod, and they dispersed in different directions with the intent to ready the ship for sailing.
Though he did not need it, he took a breath and turned his gaze to Emma, who was staring out at the horizon.
“Did she look well?” he asked, almost hesitating in doing so. Drew was not one to show emotion, not one to admit that he cared about someone or something outside himself. That would mean he had a weakness, and if Drew Knight had a weakness, that meant he was stoppable. He refused to have a weakness. And yet, the more he thought about what Kelia had endured to send him this warning, the more his stomach churned with dread. He had to know if she were okay, even if he had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question.
“She did not deliver the note to me,” Emma said. “It was a woman who claimed to be her friend.”
Drew crossed the deck, coming to stand beside Emma by the ship’s rail. “A trap?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she replied. “At least, that was not the sense I got when she approached me.”
“How did she know to look for you?” Drew asked. He tightened his grip around the railing, glaring down at the dark waters below. “Why did Kelia not come see you herself?”
Emma shot him a look that was tainted with exasperation. “You’re a brilliant Shadow,” she said. “Why do you think she did not come herself?”
“Your sarcasm is not appreciated,” he muttered.
“She was my friend, too,” Emma said, turning to look at Drew with hard, dark eyes.
Drew released the railing and whirled toward Emma, biting words on the tip of his tongue. But he held back. Just because they were close, just because she was one of his most trusted advisors and friends, did not mean she had the right to talk to him that way, especially in the presence of his crew. The only reason he had not reprimanded her was because she had a bit of an idea of what happened to Kelia and seemed to care for her in her own way.
Drew’s blood ran cold. He made a conscious effort to keep his fangs retracted even though, in his ferocious anger, he wanted nothing more than to snap them out and rip something up with them. He clenched his fingers into fists, digging his nails in the palms of his hands so tightly he felt the sharp pierce of pain.
“What would you like us to do?” Emma asked, glancing at Drew. “We are so close to retrieving the girl. If we flee, everything we’ve worked toward will be delayed.”
“And if we stay, we will be captured by a group of Slayers,” Drew said. A couple of his men returned to the dock and waited for further instruction, their duty finished. “She has been waiting for months. She’s stronger than all of us. She can wait longer, if she needs to. Right now, we need to focus our attention on our immediate survival. If something happens to us, she will never be free. Sacrifices we’ve made, and others, will have been in vain.”
“And Kelia?” Emma asked. She placed a hand on her jutted hip. Despite the impassive look on her face, Drew remembered the burst of emotion she had shown recently concerning the Slayer. He knew she cared about Kelia almost as much as he did.
“What about Kelia?” he asked, snapping his head in her direction.
Her eyes widened slightly. He did not know if it was because of his tone or his words. In the end, it didn’t matter.
“So we just leave her there?” she asked. “To fend for herself? She will be killed. Drew, it could even be worse than death.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” he growled, raising his voice. He felt more like a monster than a man in that moment, and he could not bring himself to care. “Do you think that, after reading this note, my mind has not conjured up all the things she could potentially be going through this very moment? What it cost her to even get us this warning in the first place?” He took a step back from Emma. He needed space. He needed the salty sea air to help him think. “W
hat would you have me do, Emma?” His voice was quiet and soft. He hated to admit it, but he almost sounded desperate.
“We cannot abandon her to such a fate,” she urged. Her voice was more controlled, as if she realized what she was asking and knew better than to push it. “After what she’s done for us. She’s been an asset to us. And I know you care for her, Drew. At the very least, you respect her. The Society will rip her to shreds. We cannot let her suffer like that.”
“I know that,” Drew said tightly. Another man arrived. It was almost time. “Of course I know that. But if we do not leave now, her message will be for nothing. All that she’s risked will be for nothing. We cannot let her sacrifices be for naught. She made this choice for herself.”
“She’s been detained,” Emma said, her fingers coiling into tight fists. “The Slayer who came in place of her looked frightened. Kelia must trust her, because she knew me and she knew to ask me to get this note to you. I’m not sure if she was frightened for Kelia or if it was because she was frightened she was sent to meet with me, an ally of you.”
“Did this friend say anything?” Drew asked. “Anything regarding what happened to Kelia?”
Emma shook her head. “The only thing she said was that Kelia figured out how her father was paralyzed. That Rycroft discovered she was meeting with us and now was being watched. Which was why she sent her friend in her stead.”
“If Rycroft knows she was meeting with us…”
“It was actually brilliant of her to do such a thing,” Emma said. It sounded as though she were speaking more to herself than to Drew. “Foolish, but brilliant.”
“How often those two words complement each other rather than contradict, aye?” He grinned. “If Rycroft knows, we should come back for her. I will not allow Rycroft to lay a hand on her if I can help it, especially considering our history.”
Sea of Darkness: Book 1 in The Vampire Pirate Saga Page 17