by Holly Hook
But then he bucks me off in a single motion, and I somersault through the air, landing once again. I roll and the whole room spins.
"Screw this," Brett shouts.
I've barely stopped rolling when the Wolf, full of rage, charges me. The monster eyes my throat, opening his jaw wide. My ears ring, blocking out everything else, and I struggle to get up, but my body's stunned and numb. Karina shouts Brett's name, which I barely hear over the storm in my head.
Cayden should be shouting my name, exploding in my mind, but he's not. That's the thought I'm going to die with.
A growl rips over the buzzing, and the big Savage looks to the side just in time for a well-built, dark brown Wolf to ram into him.
The shock throws him back, and both Wolves turn into a ball of hackles and growling as the sound dies and I'm able to get up. Karina still presses against the wall, open-mouthed, but Brett's clothes lie torn just outside the circle.
I bolt towards the fighting Wolves and join the fray. Brett's got his jaws around the bigger Wolf's ear, trying to rip it clean off, and the Savage growls and lifts his head, trying to tear it out of Brett's grasp. His throat's exposed. Brett's giving me a chance.
The bigger Wolf, as if realizing what I'm about to do, swipes my muzzle with his huge paw. Pain flares and I backpedal while he turns his full aggression on Brett. The Savage rams Brett like a bull, shoving him into the wall and turning his back end on me. Nothing vulnerable is exposed. I snap at his tail, biting down so hard that bones crack.
The Savage yelps again and turns to face me, and just behind him, Brett peels himself from the wall. His brown eyes calculate, and I realize what he's about to do.
He lunges at the Wolf's throat and locks his jaws around the soft flesh, biting down.
A disgusting squishing sound fills the air and Karina screams like she's never seen Wolves fight before. Brett bites down harder, as if unleashing all his hurt on this Wolf. I back away, watching as blood flows around Brett's muzzle and drips to the floor to join the chalk circle. The air fills with iron as I watch, transfixed, as the Savage Wolf stills limb by limb. He sucks in a few gurgling breaths as the life flees from his eyes. The redness within dies, leaving just a soft darkness. The monster settles, falling onto his side as Brett continues to bite. The Savage gives one last breath and goes still. I have the strange sense it's a sigh of relief.
Brett lets go.
We stare at each other as blood flows down his lower jaw and onto the floor. Karina takes gasping breaths as she presses further into the wall. The dead Savage Wolf twitches one last time and goes completely still, and I smell the first signs of real decay coming from the body. And like every Wolf who dies in battle, he's starting to revert back to human form. A paw slowly extends into a human hand like a strange flower blooming.
Brett backs away and looks right at me.
There goes that idea, I think. We need to leave.
Now I get to hear you in my head? Brett thinks in shock.
Change back. Now. I don't know how to feel about Brett disobeying me, but if he hadn't, I would have died. But I can't let that responsibility go, and I fear it's going to kill me.
Chapter Twelve
"I don't want to see you naked!" Karina shouts right after Brett changes back. Her disgust fills the room as I pull on my clothes, shaking. There's blood around my mouth still. And even though I'm looking at the wall, I'm sure Brett looks like some kind of scary clown with the blood he must have on his face.
Thankfully, only my shirt has taken damage and my jacket covers the rip in the sleeve once I have it on. I don't watch Brett get his clothes on, but I say, "That's part of this, Karina. You'll care less about nakedness than you did before."
"I still don't want to see my brother naked," she says.
"I'm clothed now, sis," Brett says. "Believe me, I didn't want to give you...or Brie...that display. I'm just too hot for her."
Karina sighs in real disgust.
"I wasn't even looking," I say, checking the still-open door. No one's come to investigate despite the loud noise from this room. And I remember why. The dark magic in this place masks everything. It's how the cult's managed to work here, undetected.
Brett and I finally look at each other. We stand on either side of the body on the floor. His feet have turned back into that of a human. "We can't bury this guy," I say. "I was hoping we could ask him where Cayden is."
"The cult did a number on him. If he went against them, a curse would probably have killed him," Brett says. Yes, he has a bloody mouth like a horror movie zombie. As if realizing I'm staring at it, he reaches up and rubs his sleeve across the drying blood. "I can't believe I did that. But why did you tell us to stand aside when we should have been helping you fight? Do you have a death wish?"
"I don't want to see pack members die," I say. "And that's final." Had we lost Brett, the whole plan would have ended. But he's being such a jerk I don't want to admit that.
"I can't take this. I'm leaving," Karina says, diverting her gaze from the body and crossing the room.
I grab her arm, stopping her. "Your brother defended you," I say. "We don't like killing people. Trust me."
She slugs me on the arm, and it really does hurt. "That's not what I saw. Even you Nobles are no better than the cult or--" She coughs.
"Or what?" Brett asks, full of suspicion.
"Shut up," she tells him.
"Look, I wasn't going to let that monster touch you," Brett says. "That's all. And that's why I didn't listen to alpha's stupid command."
We don't have time for this. "We need to go up to the manager's apartment and shower," I say. "We'll smell the way there. Let's close the door behind us and hope we don't run into anybody." The decay in this room is getting to me. I hate to leave this guy lying here, but the cult can deal with cleaning this up. They deserve it.
So we leave the room and I close the door behind me once sure no one's about to emerge from any apartments. Instantly, the rot vanishes from my nostrils like there's literally nothing on the other side of the door. Pure silence falls on the other side of it. It's as if we've crossed a portal.
"Nobody's going to find that guy for a while," Brett says.
Down the hall, a television drones. Every muscle tenses. We have to get the blood off, and thankfully the Savage's scent trail lingers in the hallway, so I follow it and lead the way. It leads right back through the lobby and to an apartment on the first floor. Not surprising. Also, there's a plaque on the door that reads something in Italian, probably manager. And I hear no one on the opposite side, so I bust the lock and enter.
The apartment smells of meat stocked in the fridge and is dirty, as if this man's final months were spent falling apart. Garbage lies everywhere. Old clothes. Even papers lie all over the kitchen table. Brett finds the shower and washes off, leaving me to hold Karina's arm. At least she's not shaking anymore. But she looks at the closed bathroom door with a gaze I can't read.
Brett emerges later and I use the guy's shower to clean off, not wasting time. I doubt we'll find leads on Cayden here, because when I leave the bathroom, I smell the fact that the manager slept here all night, when the cult member would have come here and grabbed the silver chains. I shake my head at Brett and Karina, knowing I'm going to hear it. "This was a bad lead."
"Well, it was the best one," Brett says. "I hope I don't have to fight like that again."
"It happens." I turn away, not wanting to deal with either one of them anymore. I hate that Brett might have been right about what a dumb idea I had fighting alone. Sure, I could handle that giant Savage Wolf by myself.
I just want to get out of here and away from his stench.
And out there, somewhere, Cayden's in chains. And I still have to meet the others at the airport. I can hear Cayden yelling at me now to turn back.
* * * * *
When Brett suggests we go to the airport and gather the rest of the group, I don't have the strength or the pride to protest. He's won this bat
tle. Fine. I'll let him.
"We can take a tram there," he explains, looking at his phone. "These travel guides are amazing. Cool city."
"I suppose it's not bad except for all the killing," Karina says. "The rest of the world is just as bad as I expected."
"That Wolf would have destroyed you," Brett tells her.
I let him lead us to the tram, which we take to the airport as the sun finishes rising. I can still smell traces of that Savage's blood on me. What would Aunt May think about my dumb move? She's still at home, being that Plan B while I'm risking my life. I'll never get over the betrayal even if I understand why she has to do it. Maybe we're both broken, hurting the ones we love because we're responsible.
And so is Cayden. Wow, we're a mess.
I hate getting off at the airport and following Brett and Karina inside so we can wait. But I feel no wave of despair that tells me Cayden's about to die. That, I'm sure, the Savage King wouldn't block. That's the only reason I can force myself to sit in the lobby and wait.
We wait for an hour once back at the airport. Brett and I sit in silence. We don't even confront Karina about her calling the cult to ambush us. There's no need. Her punishment was enough.
Finally, a parade that consists of Leonora, her parents, Everly, Remo, Callie, and Alex enters the lobby. Their familiar scents wash over me and bring me back home for a moment. I get up and hug everyone in turn, except for Alex, who balks at the idea of affection.
Then I look to Brett, silently demanding he stay shut up and let me explain what happened.
"Callie, how are you feeling?" I ask. Like me, she's partially possessed, too, and it'll just take one awful thing to tip her into that vulnerable state.
She forces a smile. "I was fine on the plane. We'll see what Rome does to me."
"How'd you get through security?" I ask, looking to the Russells.
"Well, my parents and I did a spell before we got on the plane to get us here safety and without any problems, and do you know what?" Leonora asks. "We got to security, and this guy proposed to his girlfriend right there. The guards got distracted and we were able to sneak through. It was amazing."
I glare at Brett. He shrugs. He didn't have to cause the other two guards distress.
"Why don't you sit down?" Leonora asks me.
"Cayden's still missing. I can't just sit down." I only came here because the fight took so much out of me. And to escape my stupidity.
"Brie, you have bags under your eyes," Everly tells me. "You need to sit and rest for a minute or you're going to make some bad decisions."
Great. "Haven't I already?"
Everly puts her hands on my shoulders and pushes me towards a table. Though she's pushing me in a friendly manner, I find I don't have the strength to resist. I really am exhausted from running across Rome all night, and that's despite getting plenty of sleep on the plane. I let her push me down into a chair, and once she seems confident I'm not going to get up and run out of the airport without everyone, she lets go.
"See? Now doesn't that feel good?" Leonora asks.
"But Cayden's still missing."
Everly rolls her eyes and looks at Leonora and then her parents, who have followed us over to the table. "I'm worried about him, too. But he's told me about the bond you two have. And that if one of you died, the other would feel it."
"Don't remind me," I say. "All the cult has to do is kill Cayden and I'll go dark. Why haven't they done it yet? Have they just not realized it?" I look to Brett for help. Yeah, Brett. He stands behind the others with Karina.
"Because maybe losing Cayden isn't what would make you go dark?" Brett asks. "I haven't heard anyone muttering about making you go dark that way. But I wasn't the top star, either. Karina?" He turns to her.
She speaks quietly, like she's just some low-key shy girl, but even with the chatter and noise of the airport around us, I can hear her fine so long as I focus. "I never heard anything about it, either," she says, tapping her fingers on the table. "Artemis didn't reveal everything to me."
"You can't be serious. Didn't Artemis keep you close?" I study her for any signs of lying. Cayden's life could depend on me figuring Karina out. She eyes me with that same glare she had in the basement, just not as intense. And there's a glimmer of confusion like she's not sure what to do. If anyone would know the cult's real intent, it's Karina. But forcing the answer out of her won't do anything but make her close up even more. She's a shell that I don't know how to pry open.
"Karina, you have to know how the cult plans on winning," Brett whispers. "You were around them more than I was. Don't you want revenge? There's a reason they wanted to kill you."
"Exactly," I add, but Brett's words are more powerful than mine could ever be.
She sighs and glares at Brett. "Look, I don't know where their other apartments are, but if they have Cayden and I think they do, then they'll probably want to do whatever they're going to do at the victory site. Artemis said something about making Brie fight there, and making it hurt more than she could imagine."
"I don't like you guys calling it a victory site," I say.
Brett steps up beside his sister. "That's what it is. It's where Romulus destroyed his brother and buried him. Sure, it's the best place to contact Remus, but it's also the best place to contact the other guy, too."
"Artemis says she's felt both of them there, even though the Savage King is stronger," Karina adds. She picks at her fingernail.
"Destroyed?" I ask. My stomach turns over and my palms break into a sweat.
"Well, that's what she called it," Brett said. "I did hear that much. Artemis gets fancy sometimes and I never knew what she was talking about. I was a bit too...consumed to care." He doesn't want to say it out loud, that I killed his father. He knows what the thought will do to me. But why isn't he glaring at me anymore? He should still hate me despite turning. Lawrence and Abigail did.
I turn my attention to a coffee vendor on the side of the room to avoid the thoughts. "Totally understandable," I force, tensing. Karina should be trying to claw out my eyes, too. Something's still not adding up with the Hayde siblings.
"Look, we need a way to find Cayden safely without the cult getting to us," Everly says. "He's my twin so I agree with Brie about getting him back as soon as possible. Leonora showed me the texts she got from Brie. Cayden will be in silver chains."
"What else would they use?" Callie asks. She and Alex exchange a glance.
"And helpless," I blurt. He'll never recover from being the damsel in distress. It might even rip our relationship apart if I have to rescue him, at least for a while. And that won't help the possession thing.
"And helpless," Everly repeats, giving me a sympathetic look. She bites her lip. "He'll be waiting for us."
That thought's been lurking in the back of my mind since the apartment. "Then what? They'll have the upper hand and I'm sure they've done lots of magic to the area."
"Maybe those dreams you've had will tell us something?" Leonora asks. She turns her freckles up in a hopeful smile.
I forgot I'd told her about them during a past text. It's been a crazy night. "Maybe," I say. "I keep waking up before I see the outcome of the fight. The dreams seem real. It could be vital or it could be not."
"You should try to sleep again," Leonora says.
"Our daughter might be right," Mr. Russell tells me, pushing around her to stand at the round table. "You should try to sleep somewhere. Cayden should be safe so long as you don't go to him yet. The cult obviously needs him alive for something."
I want to believe them, and at the same time, I don't want to believe them. "Well, where do I sleep?"
"We need a hotel room where the cult won't try to destroy us," Brett says. He looks to Karina as she winces at his words. She's still not over it. First her brother switched sides and now her lone mother figure tried to kill her. I almost feel sorry for the girl.
"Sleep while Cayden's captive," I say. "Well, the cult knows I'm impulsive. Like him.
Maybe they won't expect this?"
Everly leans over the table, motioning for Remo and Everly to do the same. They do, and the three lean at me as she speaks. "This is what Cayden would have wanted. For you to take your time."
I gulp. How can I argue? This is what Cayden would have wanted, next to me turning around and getting out of Rome.
Chapter Thirteen
Brett uses his GPS to take us to a hotel on the opposite side of Rome as the one where the cult attacked us. "I won't take us anywhere remotely close to where the cult might have stayed in the past," he says once we're on a tram together. "They stayed in a lot of different places in past years, probably dodging the authorities."
At least I have familiar faces other than Brett and Karina with me now. My tension decreases and somehow, I don't feel as ganged-up on. Even if the others don't want to go right to Cayden, either. But the more I think about it, the more I see the Haydes' point about waiting and I feel like a jerk for arguing with Brett about it in the first place. The cult does want me to go to Cayden and into a trap.
Brett stands next to me in the tram, and though he's getting better and better at not draining others, I still feel weakness creeping into my legs. Ad thoughts. Horrible, intrusive thoughts. If I take too long, the cult might say screw it and kill Cayden. I bite my lip as the buildings, now lit under the sun, crawl by. We stop to pick up more passengers, mostly tourists coming out of a museum. When we get moving again, Everly shocks me by patting my shoulder. Our gazes meet. I'm not the only one worried about Cayden. Her chin quivers and she grips the pole so hard her knuckles pale.
A faint feeling of dread fills my limbs and crawls up the back of my throat when I think about the next vision I'll have. Each one gets more complete, piecing another bit of the twins' story together, but at least the cult doesn't know I'm getting these. Right?