“But what about the Foreseer? Are we just going to leave her to die?” inquired Tiana.
“There’s a chance she’s already dead!” said Aspyn. “But if there’s a chance they’re keeping her alive, I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring her tomorrow when they try to kill Henri.”
“So, we’re acting according to chance?” Andre demanded, and Rebekah could hear the shock in her voice.
Aspyn met her gaze. “I refuse to risk the life of everyone in this facility for one person who may not be alive.” Then, she left it at that as the meeting disbanded.
Courtney chose to stay awhile in order to discuss more topics with the Royal Guard. All other chaperones, however, chose to leave—and Andre was the first one out the door, evidently angry. Rebekah flashed Jeffery a sympathetic smile before she slid off the couch and chased after Andre.
“Wait!” she called, making Andre stop dead in her tracks. “There’s still a chance. We could search Munich.”
Andre waved off Rebekah’s suggestion. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The others seem on board with what Aspyn suggested we do.”
“But Mandy…” Rebekah let her words trail off.
They both continued to walk towards the Eternal Division room.
“For what it’s worth,” said Andre, “I think your suggestion is correct. Even if that wasn’t what Melissa intended to do, I think she brought her rebels here in order to prepare for the rebellion—and something tells me they took Mandy for a reason. I don’t think they would have taken her just to kill her.”
Rebekah never thought of it like that, but thinking about that possibility gave her hope that Mandy was still alive and would be rescued.
“We’ll just have to wait until the Massacre occurs,” said Andre, “and hope the rebels bring Mandy.”
In minutes, they reached the Eternal Division room, and Rebekah went into the bedroom, wanting to tell Holly the possibility of Mandy’s current condition.
There was a lump in one of the beds where a large brown spot appeared on the covers. Rebekah approached it and pulled the covers back.
The first thing she smelled was blood. The first thing she saw was the blood that coated most of the bed. And in the center of that bed was Holly with cuts that ran up her arms. Next to her was a bloodstained razor—and Rebekah screamed.
Immediately, Andre ran into the room. “Rebekah—” She froze when she noticed Holly’s current condition. “Holly,” she whispered before running to the bedside. “What the hell happened?”
Rebekah was unable to say anything, so instead, she pointed to the razor.
Andre picked up and examined the razor, and then, it finally clicked. Holly had tried to kill herself.
“C-can you bring her back?” asked Rebekah, who also made the same connection.
Andre didn’t answer her right away. Her eyes never left Holly as she began to chant in Portuguese.
Rebekah only hoped it wasn’t too late to save Holly.
~~~
Holly: Munich, Germany
Holly was alone, trapped inside her own body, as darkness surrounded her. In her head, she sensed the presence of dark magic. There was definitely someone here with her, trying to hack into her body. She started to remember Mandy and envision her face, who was gone, as far as she knew.
“She can see the future, I know.
Now, her visions will not show.
She will not be surprised
Of ourselves and our rise.”
Someone was chanting softly inside her head, and it sounded like the spell Henri must have put on Mandy to block her visions. It wasn’t him who was chanting, from what she heard. The chanting was being done by a female. She had no idea who, though.
“Elle peut voir l'avenir, je sais.
Maintenant ses visions ne montreront pas.
Elle ne sera pas surprise
De nous-mêmes et de notre ascension.”
The chanting had switched from English to French—Holly’s language of choice. She was able to understand what was said; however, she soon noticed the French half just recited the English half. And like a mantra, the French half was chanted over and over again.
“In one day, when the moon shines,
The immortals will rule the night.
In one day, when human blood is spilt,
The mortals will die in their flames.”
The chanting started to close in on her, and Holly became frightened. She still had no idea who the chanter even was.
“The Foreseer will surrender,
The Innocent will be desired.
There is no escaping your fate.
The dawn of the Massacre is fast approaching.”
Holly soon realized who it was, and she started to push the foreign presence out of her mind. Rebecca Johnson, she thought, and she’s the one who threatened Rebekah’s life.
Holly began to cut Rebecca from her body, and she forced herself to regain consciousness once again. I can’t die just yet, she thought over and over again. I made a mistake. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t—
Holly’s eyes shot open as air filled her lungs again. The first set of eyes that she came into contact with were Andre’s, and then, she noticed Rebekah by the doorway. Then, the pain hit her at once—excruciating pain that could only come from the cuts that ran up both her arms.
“Rebekah,” Andre commanded, “please find something to bandage her arms.”
Rebekah quickly complied, leaving the bedroom only temporary to find suitable bandages.
Andre took a deep breath. “Why would you do this to yourself?”
Holly knew that Andre was speaking to her, but she was unable to respond at first. She had no idea how to justify her stupidity. “I had a breakdown,” she began after a moment of silence hung in the air. “I mean, both of my parents are dead, and Mandy could be dead. I felt like everything was being taken away from me, and I…didn’t want to give Henri the satisfaction of killing me.” As she said those words, Holly knew she was rambling a little, but she couldn’t help herself. The words just flew out of her mouth as if they had minds of their own.
“So, you chose to take your own life,” Andre concluded. “After everything I’ve done for you, you chose to take your own life.”
“I know,” said Holly, “and I’m sorry.” She tried to sit up, but Andre pushed her back down.
“Did it ever occur to you that you’re still needed?” said Andre. “You are the only decent family member I have left!”
“I’m sorry,” repeated Holly. “I just thought—”
Just then, Rebekah came back into the room, carrying what appeared to be a giant wad of toilet paper.
Andre glanced at Rebekah briefly before turning back towards Holly. “You didn’t think at all, Holly,” she said. “Sound familiar?”
And that line did sound familiar to Holly. Andre had said it to Holly once before when she found out that Holly had given her phone number to Mandy without her permission.
“I couldn’t find any bandages,” said Rebekah to Andre. “All I found was this.”
Andre took one look at the wad of toilet paper. “This will suffice,” she declared as she took it and began to bandage Holly’s arms.
Holly no longer had any more suicidal urges as she thought about the situation. There was a high chance Mandy was being kept alive somewhere.
After Holly’s arms were bandaged, Courtney found them in the bedroom. Holly could see the questioning look in her eyes when she saw the bandages, but she didn’t say anything about it.
“Andre,” she said calmly, “I’ve been thinking, and I actually convinced Aspyn to let me do this. We’re going to search Munich. Right now. I’m going, and so are Reilly and Aaron. Olivia from your old group volunteered to come with us, which surprised me, so she’s coming too. The rest are staying here, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us.”
“Now? With such late notice?”
Courtney nodded. “Tha
t way, we can guarantee we’ll be back before the Massacre.”
Andre glanced at Holly. “Don’t pull any more stunts while I’m gone,” she said. To Courtney, she added, “Okay, I’ll go.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
Andre: Munich, Germany
W
hen the five of them finally left the facility with Jason’s consent, it was seven in the evening. Deeming it would be more beneficial to travel by car instead of teleporting to random places, they chose the same car Andre had used previously both times she took Rebekah out of the facility. This time, Courtney took the driver’s seat, and Andre slid into the seat next to her. The other three each filed into the backseat.
Then, they took off down the road towards Downtown Munich.
“We will be back by tomorrow, right?” Olivia asked from the back. “So we’ll have a chance to prepare for the Massacre?”
“Yes, we should be,” stated Courtney.
The car ride was spent in silence as each of the magic users, with the exception of Courtney, who put all her concentration into driving, attempted to sense the cold auras of the immortals but were instead met with warm, human ones.
As they continued to drive around Munich, the hours passed by. Seven soon became eight, and then nine. Before they knew it, it was midnight, and nothing had turned up.
“I don’t think the rebels are here,” Aaron said.
Courtney pulled into the parking lot of a nearby hotel. “But they have to be,” she said. “It wouldn’t make sense for them not to be here.”
Andre took one look at the hotel. “Why are we here, Courtney?” she demanded.
“We’re going to spend the night,” she said. “See what we can find.”
As she watched Courtney kill the engine, Andre couldn’t help but admire Courtney’s dedication to this task. A task that most of the magic users at the facility were unwilling to take on. She knew it was in Courtney’s character to take on the most challenging and dangerous tasks, but she never expected that Courtney would take them to a hotel instead of back to the facility after hours of searching and not finding anything.
The five of them climbed out of the car and made their way inside the hotel. As they approached the front desk, Andre attempted to sense the auras of those who were in the hotel, expecting to be met with more human auras. Yet when she did so, she sensed more than human auras. The presence of dark magic also lingered in the air.
“They’re here,” she said quietly. “Or at least, some immortal being is here.”
Aaron nodded in agreement. “I feel it, too.”
After Courtney retrieved their room keys, the five of them piled into an elevator and waited for the doors to close before conversing with each other.
“They’re here,” said Aaron to the rest of the group.
“I know,” Courtney replied. “I sensed them, too.”
Getting off on the last floor, they quickly found and entered their room.
Then, the door closed behind them—something neither of them caused.
Then, the room began to fill up with green-tinted gas.
And the five of them unconsciously fell to the floor.
~~~
Melissa: Munich, Germany
During the evening before the Massacre, Melissa found herself staring outside her hotel window at the parking lot below. Studying the humans that emerged from their vehicles or exited the hotel amused her to a certain degree, and she imagined how each of them would react when she became the immortal ruler.
“Melissa,” Kat said from behind, tapping her lightly on the shoulder.
Melissa glared at her, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. “What is it?”
“I’m beginning to question what the point was for rescuing the Foreseer,” Kat explained. “She hasn’t told us about any of her visions.”
Melissa turned back to the window. “Then, perhaps she hasn’t experienced any. It’s only been about six days.”
“Don’t you think she should’ve had at least one?” inquired Kat. “I mean, the Massacre is tomorrow. Shouldn’t she have at least had a vision about that?”
“One would think so,” Melissa said as she watched a white car turn into the parking lot and search for an open parking space. “I’m not going to worry about it.”
“Whatever,” said Kat as she turned away from Melissa.
“Wait.” Melissa reached out and grabbed Kat’s arm, still watching the white car.
“What is it?” asked Kat.
“Do you see who’s in that car?” inquired Melissa.
Kat’s eyes landed on the white car, and she squinted. “Three of them are chaperones for the ICW,” she said, “and one of them is Andre.”
Melissa glanced at Kat. “The one we need alive for Cody?”
Kat nodded. “They’re probably looking for the Foreseer,” she noted. “I have a way to catch them.”
Smiling, Melissa followed Kat out of their room and down to the front lobby. By that time, the mortals were already at the reception desk, getting a room. Then, the person at the front counter gave them their room number, and Melissa realized it was on the same floor as her suite.
Kat tugged on her arm, and they went back up to their floor. Then, she led her to the room that was reserved for the mortals. “We’re going to drug them,” she explained as she whispered a spell. After she was finished, she turned to Melissa and completed her thought: “With emerald.”
Melissa’s eyes widened. “Where are we going to incarcerate them?”
“To the walls of their own room,” explained Kat. Then, she pulled Melissa into hiding as the mortals approached and entered their room. For ten seconds, Melissa waited there with Kat before approaching the room. After whispering a spell to make the emerald gas dissipate quickly, Kat entered the room first, using more of her magic to lift the five mortals off the ground and pin them against the wall. “Shackle them,” she said to Melissa, who did just that. “We will keep them busy until it is time for us to go to the Massacre. They will remain here until the Massacre is over…and then, we kill all except for Andre.”
~~~
Andre: Munich, Germany
In what felt like hours, Andre woke up to light streaming through the windows. At first, her vision was hazy, and she couldn’t make out where she was. When it finally cleared, she was able to make out that she was in a hotel room. What happened last night? she questioned, whose pounding headache resembled the aftereffects of drug usage.
Next to her, the others were still unconscious, and from the moment she laid eyes on them, she realized that each of them were shackled to one of the hotel room walls.
“Solvite prohibere quit, quod his impedimentis,” she whispered in Latin, willing for the shackles to unlock and for her to be free. Yet, nothing happened.
“It won’t work,” said a female voice, and its owner emerged from a dark corner of the room. Melissa Young.
Andre didn’t say anything. Knowing the shackles might have been immune to mortal magic, she knew she was not silenced and could very easily attack Melissa. But she refrained from doing so, for she needed to be free first.
“I assume you all are here for the Foreseer,” Melissa continued, “but can’t you see I’ve saved her life? I’m the one who’s keeping her alive when Henri planned to kill her along with the others in the Massacre. In return, she tells me her visions.”
“You did not save her life,” Andre growled. “You kidnapped her. Imprisoned her as if she was your chattel.”
“That’s a serious accusation.” Melissa laughed when the others started to wake up. “One that cannot be proven.”
“Where the hell is she?!” shrieked someone who was next to Andre, and it took her a second to realize the voice belonged to Olivia. Olivia, who was usually quiet and reserved, looked frazzled as she struggled frantically against the shackles that bounded her to the wall.
Melissa smiled wickedly as her words, venomous and icy, sliced through Olivia.
“Why, she’s obviously not here.”
Don’t do anything stupid, Andre thought when she noticed how much Olivia was losing her mind. To her, it was apparent that Olivia had never been around or dealt with immortal magic users before. Just…remain calm…and think of a logical way to get out of this predicament.
But Olivia did just the opposite. Since they were not silenced, she used her magic to send Melissa flying into the closed hotel room door. Melissa broke through and landed supine in the hallway as splinters from the door dug into her skin.
“You bitch!” she spat as she lunged at Olivia, keeping her gaze level and her concentration at a maximum. Then, Olivia couldn’t speak as her airways were slowly being cut off. Frantically, she tried to bring her hands to her throat so she could try and grasp the intangible matter that was choking her—but her hands weren’t free from the shackles. As Melissa kept the spell at its maximum strength, Olivia’s movements slowed before she slumped over in a never-ending sleep.
At that point, Andre knew Olivia was dead—and she wanted nothing more than to make Melissa face the consequences for her murder. But before she could think of what to do that would guarantee both her freedom and her revenge, Melissa exited the hotel room, allowing the door to repair and seal itself.
By that time, everyone was fully awake.
“Did she just…?” Courtney never bothered to finish her question.
Kill Olivia? Andre finished in her head, nodding. “Yes.”
There was a pause before Courtney spoke again. “We need to get out of here. I doubt Melissa will willingly let us go before the Massacre starts.”
“Really,” Reilly scoffed. “I doubt she’ll let us go at all!”
“She’ll probably kill us sometime,” Aaron commented. Then, he attempted to use magic to free himself.
Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Page 38