by Holly Hook
"My brother is an idiot," Karina mutters, lifting her head from Cayden's shoulder before letting it fall again. "Lucky piece of crap."
Lucky? That wasn't the word I had for him. "Stop insulting him," I order, putting every ounce of command I can into those words. "He's a good brother and you're lucky to have him."
Karina glares at me and I fear the medication's wearing off, but her eyes fog over again as she loses composure and focus. Shudders still race down my spine. Cayden shifts, but she stays on his shoulder. I don't want her touching him. Flares of anger rise in me, flares of jealousy, even though I have nothing to worry about from her. Cayden wants it this way.
"That wasn't scary at all," Cayden says, backing away. He's trying to pull Karina away from me.
"Brett needs to give her more of that stuff," I say, hating that he didn't leave it with us.
Far away, Brett chants in a low voice, so low I can't make out the words. I hope he hasn't heard Karina from his secret spot, probably an employee bathroom. He draws on the floor as he chants. As I listen, I feel like I'm falling into another state of mind. The voices around me get louder. The smells fade. Colors pop. When I blink, I can almost see the darkness buzzing around Cayden. But a second later, the image fades.
Brett's chanting speeds up far down the hall. A janitor walks past us with a cart, heading to a spill near a trash can, and another crowd of people pours through the front doors and clogs the ticket booth. The air thickens with invisible darkness which pulses under my skin. A baby starts crying as if sensing it. Cayden, as if he thinks Karina is doing it, pulls her even farther from me so that we're standing twenty feet apart.
"It's Brett," I say.
"Lucky Brett," Karina mutters, closing her eyes.
Cayden looks at her funny and raises an eyebrow. But Karina doesn't speak again. Instead, she vanishes into her own world.
The darkness peaks, and just as the crowd reaches the security area. The baby wails at full volume, drawing the stare of two guards. The mother desperately tries to quiet the baby as she unloads her keys and change into a metal tray. Other people pull out their phones. A young teenager puts in earbuds.
But over the noise, someone's stomach gurgles.
The big guard's. He stiffens and raises his eyebrows. Cayden and I look at each other. Cayden deepens his grimace and all at once I realize what Brett's doing.
Yikes.
The poor guard peels himself from the counter and looks in the direction of the main bathrooms. He looks at his three remaining coworkers and motions to the loo. None of them see him grasping his stomach. Darkness dances and the baby continues to cry, drawing stares from the crowd.
And that's when Brett returns out of the hallway, hiking up his leather pack. I hadn't realized he'd stopped chanting.
"He's evil," Cayden says as the poor guard runs to the bathrooms, opens the door, and vanishes inside.
Brett grins, having heard Cayden, and waves us forward. Though he's done casting whatever vile spell he just did, the darkness remains. And the final turnstile is unguarded. I eye the other three guards, but one's busy digging through a huge, messy purse, and the other two are caught up dealing with the crowd.
Brett takes his sister quickly and we walk through the final turnstile. The hallway forks and we bolt to the left, towards the terminal, and no one shouts at us to stop us.
"That was some pro darkness," Cayden tells Brett.
"It wasn't nice," I say, but I can't think of any better ways to have gotten through. I eye Karina, who now leans on Brett again, but she says nothing more about how lucky he is. I don't get it. But I sense there's a lot about the Haydes we still don't know.
Chapter Six
The rest of the trip is pretty uneventful. We wait a lot. The connector flight to the next airport seems to take forever, but Karina stays loopy for the flight and we don't crash into the Midwest or the Appalachians. And when we reach the airport at New York, Brett has to pull Karina into another maintenance hallway to pour some more of the stinky drug into her mouth. In the New York airport (whatever it's called) Cayden and I follow him. Something gnaws at me as I watch Karina groan and slump against her brother again.
"I hate doing this," Brett says.
"She's a Wolf now and able to handle it," Cayden says for me. "I know it sucks, but she'll be fine. It's not as if we're pouring Wolfsbane down her throat."
"So where is our next destination?" I ask.
"Italy," Brett says without hesitation. "Duh, alpha. It's going to be on our tickets, so I can't really hold that back from you anymore, can I? And no, that doesn't mean you can just abandon Karina here in New York."
"She might blend in," Cayden says.
"That's not funny," I say. The last thing I want to do is set either of them off.
"All Noble again?" Brett asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Shut up. And Brett, you're getting better at not being a black hole. I have to commend you." We're even now. I check the end of the hallway to make sure no one's coming. People chatter out in the main airport. "Where exactly in Italy are we going? I figured we'd be going somewhere around there, but tell me the exact location in case we get separated or something."
Brett scowls at me. "You're fine because I'm fine, alpha. If you want to stay that way, let me be the guide and we'll get there. You need me to keep the curse off you, Cayden. And Brie, you also need my help."
I know I do. I want to ask what Karina meant when she said Brett was lucky, but opening any cans of worms right now isn't a good idea. All it will take is for Brett to drain me and Cayden too badly on the plane and it's possible Romulus could come through, right among all those innocent passengers. While I don't think he's dumb enough to come through and crash a plane, I'm not sure he understands what a plane is. Unless the cult's been educating him?
But Karina wanted us in this position. The thought makes me feel like that security guy Brett did the curse on.
"Brie." Cayden offers his arm.
I take it and lean on him. He kisses me on the temple. "I hope this is over soon. And that the others are on the next flight."
"I've been updating them," Cayden says. "Me and Leonora have been talking."
I pull out my phone, but no text from Aunt May has showed up. I hope it's because she doesn't want to distract me. What did I expect? I've been pushing her to let me be the alpha and take over. I've always begged her to let me take care of things. This is what I get.
"We'll be over an ocean before too long," I say, pocketing my phone. We walk out of the hallway, with Brett and Karina trailing us, and I look at the flight schedule. We board in another hour and I'm starting to feel tired. But at least Brett seems to have stopped drawing energy from us. He's had plenty of practice to shut that ability off.
For now. All it will take is another emotional attack from his sister for him to go back to what he was.
"I know." Cayden kisses me on the cheek this time. "I'll make sure Karina doesn't hurt you. You're sleepy."
Brett says nothing, so we wait for the next flight. Cayden offers to sit with the Haydes while I grab us some food, so I do. The afternoon drags on and we board the next flight after Brett buys our tickets once again. I fear Karina will come through full force on the plane, but when we sit down, she lets her head rest on Brett's shoulder again. Brett says nothing as if he's lost in thought.
Brett was the lucky one. It doesn't make sense. Maybe the drugs were talking but I can't let that go.
"Looks like the second group is on their way to New York right now," Cayden says, checking his phone.
At last it's time to board, so we do for the longest flight of the journey. This plane is bigger than the others, with more people than the last one. My stomach turns and my head starts to pound. I sit at the window seat and Cayden takes the aisle. Brett and Karina sit opposite us.
"Oh." I jar out of my trance.
The plane takes off, but Karina remains out of it. I can't help but look at the other passengers. M
ostly older people, probably heading for a fun vacation, but that doesn't make me feel better. Around me, people tilt their seats back to sleep, including Brett and Karina, though Brett has to tilt her seat back for her.
"Should we stay awake?" Cayden asks.
"I think so," I say, stifling a yawn.
"I'll stay awake for you," Cayden says.
I should be the one to stay awake. I'm alpha. But Cayden has that need in his eyes again, that need to be useful, and even though Brett's not feeding off us right now, that desire is still there.
"That would be great," I say, leaning back into my seat. And it's one of the hardest things I've ever done.
* * * * *
The twins fight as wolves.
Two dark creatures, hackles raised, twist and snap around each other. The air reeks of blood while Allia screams Remus's name. Her voice screeches over the field, where the waiting Savages snarl and wait for their master's word to jump into the fight. Remus, the dark wolf, snaps at his brother's ear and tears it off with a disgusting ripping sound. Blood runs down the side of the Savage King's face as he growls and backs over his fallen armor. Remus steps back, shaking his head, and trembles as confusion fills his bright blue eyes--
"We're almost there."
Cayden wakes me from my sleep and I open my eyes to the humming of the airplane engines. He leans out of his seat and hovers over me, blocking my view of the front of the plane.
"Why do you keep doing that?" I ask.
"Doing what?" Cayden lifts an eyebrow. Bags hang under his eyes like he hasn't slept in forever, but he's still as gorgeous as he's ever been.
"Waking me up when I'm just about to see how the fight between the twins went down." I sound like I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome, but I'm not. At the same time, being around Leonora and other magic users has taught me that maybe some visions are important. I saw Cayden's curse, after all, as the dark insects clinging to his life force.
"Sorry," Cayden says. "But we're almost there. I let you sleep as long as I could. Are you sure it's not just a dream?"
"It feels real when I'm there. I mean, I know it's a vision because I'm just sort of floating there, watching things, but the whole fight feels real and looks real down to every blade of grass. Why wouldn't I have a link with Remus? I'm a Royal." I keep my voice down, even though the other occupants of the plane, including Brett and Karina, are sleeping. Darkness covers the world outside. And I don't want to say the rest. I have a link with the other guy, too.
Cayden sits back down. "They just announced we'll be landing."
I look outside to get my bearings. Lights shine far below. I sniff, trying to pick up anything I can about my surroundings, but nothing comes to me from this high in the air.
Then it hits me and I grab my armrest. We're over another continent. Maybe we're over Italy already. The thought makes my heart race and I pull out my phone, but there's nothing from Aunt May. Callie's texted me, though.
We're behind you by six hours, cuz. Well, she's not hiding our relation anymore. It's not as if anyone still doesn't know, and the thought fills me with warmth.
I text her back a smiley face. Then I eye Karina, who's sleeping next to her brother, who's also out. Brett's got his mouth open in a way I could make fun of later. My joints are stiff and I stretch. We must have been on this plane for half a day. Everyone on board smells musty and my time as a Wolf have told me that smell means fatigue. A man up front snores as he leans back in his seat.
"I know, I know," Cayden whispers in my ear. "That jet lag is horrible. Never been on a plane for this long before, but I've heard about it. We need to eat as soon as we're off the plane. They haven't served any good food here."
My stomach rumbles. Despite my nerves, I'm hungry. But I turn my attention to Karina again. Her breathing tells me she's actually asleep, though her chemical smell has faded. Yikes. But at least we're away from the cult and the flight is almost over. Our pilot comes on the intercom, telling us to buckle up. People jar awake and do so.
We land several minutes later at the unknown airport. I look to Brett as he grunts awake, and he nods like he's ready to give us the information we need to find this graveyard place. He mouths, we're in Rome.
Finally, some information. Of course, I could have looked at the ticket, but was so worried about everything else that I didn't. I nod back as he nudges his sister. She groans and twitches back to consciousness. Karina glares at Brett in a way that tells me the drug is almost worn off.
"Not good," Cayden whispers.
The plane pulls around the terminal and we sit for another few minutes. At last we can get off, and I rise. "Aunt May still hasn't contacted me."
"She doesn't want to distract you." Cayden wraps his tired arm around me. His normal forest scent smells musty, too, and I know he's stayed awake for the entire flight.
"You didn't have to do that," I say to him.
"It was my choice."
We grab our bags and disembark. The airport isn't that busy at this time of night--it must be super late or super early in the morning--and I can see some distant, old buildings out the window. People gather at the luggage pick-up and we do the same. I take my backpack--I packed very light--and put it over my back. The others do the same. Karina grudgingly puts hers on as the air thickens. But she doesn't run. Where does she have to go?"
"I can't believe you," Karina tells Brett in a tone that says yes, she can.
He ignores her. "You need me again," Brett says right behind me.
I jump, having not noticed him. Like us, Brett now walks quietly.
"Don't sneak up on Brie," Cayden says.
"Security will want our nonexistent passports and it's going to suck for another guard or two."
I sigh, but we need to get Karina somewhere and give her another dose of that medicine. It's only a matter of time before she explodes the airport. "Good point. Brett, just do what you need to do and don't kill anybody."
Brett vanishes into another bathroom as Cayden takes Karina again, holding her arm. The discomfort level climbs as she turns her mostly-clear gaze on him and then me. The hatred is back. It's dulled down, but it's still there.
Karina waits until the other passengers have progressed to security to speak to Cayden. "Don't touch me."
"Trust me, I'm not enjoying it," he says to her. "And you're safe."
"Bull." The muscles on her arm bulge as if she could repel him with her will alone. But Karina goes silent as the room clears. I listen as one of the security guys grasps his stomach around the corner and says something in Italian to his coworkers. I'm guessing he's excusing himself to the bathroom. Footfalls thud and Cayden nods at me. That's our chance.
We bolt through security before Brett even gets back--it helps that another one of the guards is on his cell phone and arguing with someone--while darkness dances at the border of my awareness. I might not like the dark spirits, but they've sure been helpful at the airports. Once through security, the scents of coffee overtake us as we progress through a big lobby with lots of little restaurants. Brett meets us there and shakes his head as his magical gear shifts together in his leather pack. "I'll take my sister," he says to Cayden, and not without a hint of jealousy.
"Gladly," he says, shoving Karina towards her.
"Men," she snaps.
Brett rolls his eyes. "She'll find any reason she can to hate someone. Guess she has to move on to what's between a person's legs."
Cayden snorts. Are they starting to get along?
"We need to get out of here," I say. There must be a reason Karina wanted us with her.
"Agree." With a glare that says we're not going to discuss where we're going in front of his sister, Brett leads us out of the airport and checks his phone for information. Karina doesn't speak again--she doesn't seem to talk much now with her brother here--and hangs her head as Brett guides her to a bus that's parked near the edge of the sidewalk. Brett seems to know where he's going and I'm not sure I like that.
<
br /> The outside night air smells like exotic coffee, ancient stone, and even a hint of the ocean, though that's probably fairly far away. It's definitely different than Breck. I'm in another world here. Where Breck was made of wood, wilderness, and sometimes snow, this place is made of ancient history and marble. A city of ancient buildings stretches out before me with some lights still on even at this late hour. I check my phone. Two in the morning. "Are hotels even open this late?" I ask Brett.
"For tourists, yes. And by the way, we're tourists," Brett says. "We'll find one. My phone's recommending a good one to me right now."
I get the sense he's leading this expedition. We board the bus (and I'm getting sick of being a passenger on buses and planes) and I can't manage to say a word. Taking charge means trying to find this graveyard myself which I won't be able to do. My stomach turns over. Something's bothering me and I don't know what it is.
The driver takes off without a word, and we find ourselves riding past some dark buildings, ancient restaurants, and narrow streets that were not originally built for cars. At last, our bus pulls up beside a fancy hotel and Brett motions for us to get out. He's picked us a good one, too. Marble pillars and purple awnings wait for us and warm lights glow inside. It's worthy of an emperor.
And he's let go of Karina.
She doesn't attempt to flee. Of course, we're in a foreign country and where does she have to go? Instead, she stands and lets her brother move ahead of her. I expect her to kick him, but she doesn't despite her glare.
That should make me feel better, but it doesn't. My throat's dry and my teeth hurt with stress. I eye Cayden, sure he can read the tension I'm carrying, and he responds by staring out the windows and flaring his nostrils. He's trying to sniff out the area even though my sense of smell is better than his. All I pick up are some late night drunk tourists who inhabit the surrounding bars. Alcohol doesn't make for the best smell and it's also overpowering.
"Pleasant, huh?" Cayden asks.
"Lots of partying here," Brett says. "You'd think they'd have more respect."