by Lana Melyan
Nate didn’t say a word on our way to Connie’s. This new piece of information shuddered his beliefs, and by the expression on his face, I could tell he was digging into his memory, looking for more details, trying to figure out why Joseph would choose his mother to be the keeper of something so important.
“Are you okay, buddy?” Logan asked Nate when we walked in.
“Yeah. It’s just some . . . flash from the past,” said Nate.
“You look like you could use a drink.”
“I wouldn’t say no to that.”
“Nicky, would you like some?” Logan asked, pulling the bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet.
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
“What’s happening?” Connie whispered, dragging me toward the couch. “You’re not fighting again, are you?”
“Relax.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Oh, okay.” She blinked. “Just checking.”
“So what’s on your mind?” asked Logan as we sat around the fireplace.
Nate took a gulp from his glass.
“Since the sword is nearly ready, Nicky and I were thinking maybe it’s time to put the map together,” he said.
“What do you mean, put it together?” asked Connie.
Nate was still a little spaced out, and he had probably forgotten Connie and Logan didn’t know anything about the map yet.
“The thing is, the map was ripped into four pieces,” I said, “and hidden in four different places. My dad already had one piece, and now we need to recover the rest of them and put them together to find the location of the tomb.”
“The Order is closing in,” said Nate. “We should do it now, before they find us, and we could use your help.”
“Sure.” Logan nodded. “Whatever you need.”
“To get the first piece, we should go to Lynchburg,” said Nate.
“I’m coming too, right?” asked Connie. “There’s no school, and I don’t wanna stay here alone.”
“Sure.” Nate looked at me. “It’s only a couple of hours drive. We could go today.”
“Yeah. But I don’t want Gran to know what we’re up to. I don’t want her to worry, and I’ll need to come up with something.”
“Since we have to do it at night, you could tell her we’re staying at the cabin.”
“At night?” Logan raised a brow. “My favorite time. So, what are we doing?”
“Digging a hole in a grave.” Nate smirked, looking at Connie.
“You’re kidding.” Connie stared back at him.
“Are you still coming?” He tilted his head.
“You bet I am,” Connie scoffed, looking a bit startled and excited at the same time.
“Okay, then. Nicky, you’ll need to put on something warmer,” said Nate eyeing my thin sweater. “I’ll drop you off at home so you can change while I go back to the mansion to get some shovels and flashlights.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s ten past seven. We could take off in an hour.”
12
“It doesn’t seem that Bree is home,” said Nate, stopping the car in the driveway. “The lights are off.”
“No. She and Mr. Lancaster had to pack the rest of the books and take them to the store.”
“So Alan isn’t home either. That’s good. I won’t have to explain the shovels. See you in a bit.”
I got out of the car, and he took off. I headed to the porch and noticed the front door was slightly open.
Maybe Gran just got in. Wait, then where's her car?
“Gran?” I called, stepping over the threshold. “Are you home?”
But it was too quiet. I turned on the kitchen light and went to the living room. When I pressed the button on the big lamp next to the couch, I stopped dead.
The room was a mess. The coffee table was turned over, books from the bookshelves were scattered all over the floor, and the cabinet drawers were pulled open. I stopped, paralyzed for a second, then ran upstairs. First I checked Gran’s bedroom. It had been upturned also, and she wasn’t there.
I rushed to my room. I turned on the light and stopped, staring at the open closet, at my clothes on the floor, the drawers pulled out from my dresser.
I jerked my phone out of my pocket and called Nate.
“Nicky?”
“Come back. Now!” I hung up and stared at my nightstand. The photograph of me with my mom and dad was gone.
I darted to the nightstand and looked behind it, then started searching under the clothes on the floor, in my bed, under it.
“Nicky! Where are you?” I heard Nate running up the stairs.
“I’m here.” I straightened up.
“Are you okay?” He hurried to my side and hugged me.
“I’m fine.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No. But . . .”
“What?” He pulled back. “What is it?”
“My photograph with my mom and dad is gone.”
Nate’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I nodded as my eyes landed on a piece of floor in front of the dresser. I stepped closer and picked up the broken, empty frame. “I am.”
“Dammit.” Nate took the frame out of my hand and put it on the dresser. “Nicky, we need to get out of here. Just in case.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the stairs.
“Do you think we can find them?”
“We will. But first . . . let’s go back to Connie’s.”
“That was quick,” Connie stared at us with wide eyes when she opened the door. But as we threw ourselves in, she frowned. “Did something happen?”
“Nate?” Logan came out from the kitchen. “What is it?”
“Someone trashed Nicky’s place,” said Nate. “And it’s probably the Order.”
“Oh my God,” Connie gasped.
“They took Nicky’s picture with Vincent and Nathalie. It means they know who she is. So we need to find them.”
“Sure,” said Logan. “How?”
Nate started pacing up and down the room.
“I can try a locator spell,” he said, musing.
“On what?” asked Connie. “Do you have something of theirs?”
“No. But as I said, they have Nicky’s picture.” He stopped. “I can work with it.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Thinking that it might be Gran, I pulled it out.
“It’s Jess,” I said, staring at it. “He never calls . . . It’s okay, I'll call him back later.” But the phone kept vibrating.
“Answer it,” said Nate, suddenly looking wary.
I put the phone to my ear. “Jess?”
“Nicky, hi,” came Jess’s low voice. “Listen, I’m at the Grill, and there’s something weird going on here.”
“What is it, Jess?”
“There is a guy here. He has your picture.”
I turned my astonished expression to Nate.
“You don’t need a locator spell. They’re at the Grill,” I said, putting the phone on speaker.
“I was getting some water when I saw him showing your picture to the bartender, asking if she knew you.”
“Jess, is he alone?” asked Nate.
“No. There are two others.”
“Did you hear what the bartender said to him?” I asked.
“She said your name.”
“She knows my name?”
“Yeah, she said that you’re Nathan’s girlfriend.”
“Oh God, Nate, it’s that girl. The one who has a crush on you.”
Nate clenched his jaw. “She knows my name?”
“Oh, if she has a crush on you, I’m sure she knows much more than that,” said Connie.
“Jess, did she say anything else?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I had to walk away so I could call you.”
“Jess, listen, they are very dangerous to Nicky, and we need to catch them,” said Nate. He took the phone out of my hand and headed to the door. “I need you to keep an eye on them until we g
et there.”
Logan, Connie, and I followed him outside.
“Okay,” said Jess. “Don’t worry, I will.”
“Nicky, isn’t it better if you stay here?” said Logan as we reached the cars. “I mean, with Connie.”
“I’m coming. It’s three of them, you could use my help.”
“We can’t leave them here alone,” said Nate.
My head throbbed from my thoughts. Thank God Gran wasn’t home. How did they find the house? Was it a coincidence that they got in during the hour Nate and I were at Connie’s, or had they been watching us, waiting for me and Nate to leave? I glanced at Nate. I could feel his brain buzzing and decided to leave the questions for later.
The moment the four of us walked into the Grill, I spotted Leia, sitting alone and frantically texting.
“I don’t see Jess,” said Nate. “And there’s no one suspicious at the counter.”
“We’ll go look around the pool table,” said Logan, and he and Connie moved forward.
“Wait here,” I said to Nate and dashed toward Leia. Still staring at her phone, she didn’t notice my appearance. “Leia, hi.” I dropped down next to her.
“Nicky?” She finally tore her eyes from the screen.
“Leia, where’s Jess?”
“Why?” She stared at me.
Why? What kind of question is that.
“You came here with Jess, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why are you alone? Where did he go?”
“Why are you asking?”
“For God’s sake, Leia, can you just answer the question? It’s urgent.”
“I don’t know!” she suddenly exploded. “He told me to wait here and disappeared, and he isn’t answering my messages.”
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out.
“Jess? Where did you go?” I glanced at Nate, and he hurried toward us.
Leia gaped at me. “Why is he calling you?”
But I raised my hand, shushing her.
“Sorry, I couldn’t call earlier,” said Jess. “They left and I followed them.”
“Followed how? Are you driving?”
“Yes. And right now they are crossing the town square.”
“What the hell is going on?” Leia snapped.
“We have to go,” I said to Nate, handing him the phone. While he talked to Jess, I turned to Leia, looked her in the eyes and said, “Forget you saw us.”
We kept Jess on speaker and drove, following his instructions. But after a few minutes, he stopped.
“Guys, I can’t go closer. They drove onto Walnut street.”
“Oh God, Nate,” I gasped.
“Yeah, they’re going to the manson,” said Nate. “Jess, stay where you are. We’re almost there.” He hung up.
“Nate, why would they do that?”
“Probably just to check the place out. Make sure it’s the right one. I think they’re trying to collect more facts before calling the others.”
“What if Gran and Mr. Lancaster are there?”
Nate pulled out his phone. He called Mr.Lancaster, and I called Gran.
“Alan is not answering,” he said.
“Neither is Gran. Maybe they’re still in the store.”
I looked back. Connie and Logan were right behind us, and as both our cars turned to Walnut street, a third car followed. It was Jess.
When we got closer to the mansion, we saw a black Jeep parked in front of it.
There were two men standing next to the front door, and when our three cars drove into the front yard in full speed and hit the brakes, the men spun around.
We all got out.
“Looking for me?” said Nate, moving toward them.
I ran my eyes all over the place and sighed with relief when I saw that Mr. Lancaster’s car wasn’t there.
“Sorry, do you live here?” asked one of the men, putting an innocent look on his face.
“Really? You’re gonna play games with me?”
“We were just looking for the owner of this place. This is an old mansion, and we’re historians—”
“Cut the crap,” Nate barked. “What? Scared to admit who you are?”
The second guy’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. Then he frowned.
“Look at her like that again and you’ll lose your head,” said Nate. “And I mean literally. Where’s the third one?”
“I’ll go check,” said Logan and flashed away.
“Hey, look, a man moves with such speed, and you’re not even surprised,” Nate scoffed. “What? You forgot to act? Or maybe it’s because you’ve seen vampires before?”
The front door opened. What the hell? I thought it could be Logan. But the silhouette in the dim light of the hallway looked unfamiliar. The two guys on the porch darted in and locked the door.
Nate pulled his keys out of his pocket and dashed forward. The rest of us ran after him. When Nate unlocked the door and we got inside, the men were gone, and Logan popped out from the library door.
“He got in through the library window,” he said.
“You three stay here in the living room, and watch each other's backs,” said Nate. “Logan, you take the west wing. I’ll check the rest. Remember, we need at least one of them alive.”
The two of them ran upstairs.
“Are they vampires?” asked Jess.
“If they were vampires, how did they get inside?” said Connie. “No. They must be witches.”
“Yeah,'' I sighed. “I wish we had the sword with us.”
Jess stared at me.
“Oh, no.” Now he’ll think I’m a killer. “Not to kill someone. It’s a different kind . . . It’s complicated.”
I heard a dull thud. It came from outside, through the open front door, like something heavy fell to the ground.
“Did someone just jump out of the window?” I stormed outside.
“Nicky, don’t,” called Connie.
She and Jess hurried after me.
“No, you don’t,” I muttered as I saw one of the men run to their car. I aimed my hand at his leg and turned my palm. The man moaned, doubled over, and grabbed his leg with both hands.
I looked up at the window. It was pretty high, and I wondered how he jumped down without hurting himself. I rushed toward him and held my hand over his head. He let go of his leg, tipped over, and screamed, pressing his hands to his temples.
“Connie, this is weird. Why are they trying to run away? Why aren’t they using magic?”
“Maybe they’re not that strong and they know we can take them? Besides, there are five of us and only three of them.”
“Nicky?” called Nate. Pushing the second man in front of him, he came outside. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine.”
“Where’s Logan?” asked Connie.
“I’m here,” said Logan, coming out the side of the house.
“Did you get him?” asked Nate.
“Yeah, I dealt with him,” said Logan.
“What do you mean?” I stared at Logan. “You didn’t . . . did you?”
“Sorry, Nicky, it had to be done.” He turned to Nate. “Can I have a word with you?”
“You don’t need to,” said Nate through clenched teeth. “I figured it out.” He pushed the man he was holding against the wall. “How did you find us?”
The man glared back at Nate, and his face changed.
My jaw dropped. “He’s a vampire.”
“Answer me!” shouted Nate.
He was panting from fury. It wasn’t like Nate. No one was hurt, and we caught all three of them. I couldn’t understand his rage.
“How do you think?” said the vampire, now gloating. “We asked around. There were only two Callahans in this small town, and the parents of the young one just died in a gas explosion.” He sneered. “No one Connor sent before us has returned. He knew something wasn’t right. So if you kill me too—”
Nate punched him in the face, then again, and
again. Then he snapped the vampire’s neck. He stormed to the one next to the car, still trying to crawl away. Nate pulled him up and started beating him furiously.
“Nate, stop!” I shouted. “Logan, what’s going on?”
Holding a piece of wood in his hand, Logan stepped to Nate, dragged him aside, and staked the bleeding vampire.
“Nate,” he said, “Calm down, buddy. We can’t be sure yet.”
“Oh, my God.” Connie’s hand flew to her mouth.
“What?” I stared at her. But she turned her eyes away from me and gaped at Logan. Logan looked down.
Jess stood quietly, his eyes darting from one to another.
“Finish the other one and get the bodies inside,” Nate said to Logan, “We’ll deal with the mess later. Nicky, we need to go.”
“Nate,” called Logan. “Maybe she should wait here.”
“I’m not letting her away from my side.” He grabbed my hand, and led me to his car.
“Where are we going?” My body shaking, I looked at his dark face. I didn’t understand what exactly was happening, but I knew that something was seriously wrong.
We got into his car, and he took off.
“Nate, what’s going on?”
“I . . .” he shook his head. “We need to check something.”
We drove in silence for a few minutes, and I tried to wrap my mind around everything that had just happened.
We had thought those men were witches, and we were wrong. But then, why we were so sure at the first place? “Someone trashed Nicky’s place,” Nate had said when we got to Connie’s. “And it’s probably the Order.” Why the Order?
Of course. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? Because vampires can’t get in the house without an invitation. Then how did they get into the mansion? Did Mr. Lancaster invite them in? My heart hammered, and I didn’t understand why. No. He couldn’t. His car wasn’t there, which meant he wasn’t home.
I remembered the conversation with Sam on Christmas Eve, when he called to tell us that vampires were lurking around the New Orleans house. When I asked why would vampires look for the keys, Nate said, “If the vampires could get in, it would mean the house doesn’t belong to anyone.”
So if the vampires could get into the mansion did it mean that Mr. Lancaster . . .