Authors: V J Chambers
Trembling (4 page)
Chapter Four
To: Renegade Son
From: Edgar Weem
Subject: Re: Monthly update
Hallam,
I appreciate the update. I know you have a soft spot for Jason, but you must
realize that the boy is not what he appears to be. Please continue to keep an
eye on him. If the situation escalates, especially the violence, it may be
necessary for us to step in. Of course, we'll try to avoid that at all costs.
Edgar
I waited until the last possible second to get to
detention, so I was almost late. Mr. Sutherland met me at the door to his
classroom. He smiled at me. "Hi Azazel," he said. "I was
beginning to think you wouldn't show up."
I looked past him into the classroom. Several other students were sitting
inside at the desks. I didn't recognize any of them. None of them looked
particularly like people I wanted to get to know either. There was a burly guy
with a bandana tied around his head. He was wearing several large gold chains.
One guy was wearing a white tank top which showed off his tattoo-covered arms.
Another guy had greasy hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
There were two girls as well. They both wore large hoop earrings and lots of
makeup. None of them looked at me as I came inside and sat down.
This was stupid. I did not belong in detention. I hadn't done anything wrong. I
was a good kid. I made good grades. I did not belong here with all these
delinquents.
Mr. Sutherland shut the door to his classroom. "Well," he said,
"today in detention, one of you will be alphabetizing my books by
author." He gestured to a large bookshelf which was groaning under the
weight of all the books on it. Mr. Sutherland had to be kidding. "The
others will be scrubbing down my desks."
Ugh. Why did Mr. Sutherland have to make detention into work?
The burly bandana guy raised his hand. "Hey, isn't there some law that you
can't make us do manual labor?"
Mr. Sutherland shrugged. "I'm not really familiar with your American
laws," he said, smiling.
"Bullshit," said the tattooed guy.
"Watch your language," said Mr. Sutherland. "Anymore of that and
I'll have you after school for another day." He smiled. "Now. Would
anyone like to volunteer to alphabetize?"
No one said anything.
"Fine," said Mr. Sutherland, "then, Azazel, I think that's a
good job for you. I'm certain you know the alphabet. I don't know about the
rest of these guys."
Thanks, Mr. Sutherland. Insult the rest of the people in detention at my
expense. That would make this a great, great experience for me. What a jerk!
But I got up and went to the bookshelf. While Mr. Sutherland instructed the
other students in the technique he wanted them to use to wash the desks off, I
began pulling all of the books off the bookshelf. Within a few minutes, I was
surrounded by stacks of books. I sat down Indian style on the ground and began
going through them, looking for authors whose last names were at the beginning
of the alphabet. I was astonished when one of the books I picked up was
Holy
Blood, Holy Grail
, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry
Lincoln. I'd read this book sometime last year, in the wake of my literary love
affair with Dan Brown and
The Da Vinci Code
. It was the book on
which Dan Brown had based his book. The book was extremely intriguing, all
about the Holy Grail, secret societies, and conspiracy theories. That kind of
stuff used to really interest me. Until I met Jason, and I found out that the
Sons were the real thing. Secret societies were interesting when I didn't have
to intimately interact with them. It was weird that Mr. Sutherland had this
book.
I held it my hands, turning it over and staring at it, memories rushing back to
me. It had only been a few years ago that I'd read it, but it seemed like
forever. I'd been so young and silly then. I remembered having passionate
conversations with my dad about the book, trying to convince him that there
really were secret societies behind the scenes, pulling hidden strings. He'd
just laughed at me. Everyone had. In the end, it had turned out that I was
right. I half-wished I hadn't been.
"Would you like to borrow that book?" Mr. Sutherland asked.
He was standing directly over me.
I looked up at him, startled. "Um, no," I said, "that's okay.
I've read it already."
Mr. Sutherland crouched down so that he was on my level. "You have?"
he asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah," I said. "I used to be really into that kind of
thing."
"That kind of thing?"
"Secret societies and stuff," I said.
"Oh," said Mr. Sutherland. "Well, it happens to be one of my
interests as well." He began searching through the stacks of books I'd
made. "I have several books on various similar subjects. A few on the
Knights Templar, some on Freemasonry. I'd be happy to let you borrow
them."
I shook my head. "That's okay, Mr. Sutherland," I said. "It was
just kind of a phase. I'm not into it anymore."
"Really?" he said.
I nodded, going back to the books.
"Is that why you took the bell?" he asked.
"What?" I said, looking back up at him.
"The bell," said Mr. Sutherland. "It has an engraving on it.
Very intriguing. It reminded me of something . . ." He began paging
through the book he was holding. "In here somewhere . . . Yes. Here it
is." He showed me the book. On the page was a picture very similar to the
engraving on the bell. It was a picture of the run rising over water.
My heart started to beat faster. "What is that?" I asked.
"It's a picture associated with an ancient secret society from the
Renaissance," said Mr. Sutherland. "They've long since died out.
There were called the Rising Suns or something like that."
I swallowed. "Really?" I managed.
"Did you see the resemblance as well?" he asked. "Quite
remarkable, really. I wonder where Mr. Dingle acquired that bell."
"I didn't . . ." I trailed off, shaking my head.
Mr. Sutherland smiled. "Oh, of course. You told Mr. Dingle you didn't take
the bell, didn't you?"
"I didn't take the bell," I said. I felt like I was strangling. I could
hardly breathe, let alone speak.
"Of course you didn't," said Mr. Sutherland. "Would you like to
borrow this book?"
I nodded.
He offered it to me. "Anytime that you'd like to talk conspiracy theories,
just let me know," said Mr. Sutherland. "You're a very intriguing
young lady, Azazel. Very intelligent."
I snatched the book out of his hands. "Thank you," I said, my voice
shaking.
Mr. Sutherland's lips curved into a deep smile. "Certainly," he said.
He stood up and went back to supervising the other students.
I looked down at the book he'd given me, my hands trembling. Oh my God. Why
hadn't I seen it before? I was so stupid. Mr. Sutherland. He was from
found the bell in his class. And he was interested in secret societies?
Mr. Sutherland was a member of the Sons. It was so obvious to me now. He was
after me. And now I had to spend every day this week in his classroom for
detention. Surely he wouldn't hurt me in front of these other students. Would
he?
It made sense. He was here to watch both Jason and me. That was why we both had
him as a teacher. And he had planted that bell in my purse himself. He'd wanted
to get me into detention somehow. He was planning something. What was he
planning? Why had he done it? What were the Sons going to do to me?
He'd even mentioned the Sons. He'd gotten the name slightly wrong, of course,
but that hardly mattered. He'd sent me the message loud and clear. I knew what
was going on. He must know that I knew. I stared at the books I was supposed to
be alphabetizing, too terrified to move. At any second, I expected Mr.
Sutherland to whip out a gun and shoot us all. Any second.
But detention just dragged on. Mr. Sutherland didn't do anything else
suspicious. And eventually, I even went back to alphabetizing. By the time it
was time for me to leave, I had even gotten all of them back on the shelf, in
alphabetical order.
Mr. Sutherland dismissed us from detention, but as I was heading for the door,
he said, "Azazel, would you stay a second?"
No. I wouldn't. I couldn’t. This was it. If I stayed, he would take out his
gun. Calmly shoot me between the eyes. Step over my body. Leave the school. No
one would ever hear from him again. "Okay," I said.
Mr. Sutherland handed me a slip of paper. "This is my address," he
said. "I wouldn't give it to just anyone, but I feel like we have a little
bit of a connection. You're a special girl. I have more books like the one I
lent you at home. Stop by sometime. I can let you borrow them."
Go to his house? Was he crazy? Did he think I was stupid? If I went there, he'd
kill me for sure. I wasn't going anywhere near his house. He should realize
that. Luckily, at that second, my cell phone rang. That was probably Jude, who
was waiting to take me to work. "I have to go, Mr. Sutherland," I
said. "Someone's waiting for me."
"Okay," said Mr. Sutherland, smiling easily. "Just hang onto my
address though. Drop by anytime."
It took all my will not to run out of the room. Instead, I walked. I took very
large steps, and I got out of there as soon as I could. I got into Jude's car,
still clutching the slip of paper that Mr. Sutherland had given me.
"Hey," said Jude. "You look freaked. What happened?"
I shook my head. I couldn't talk about this with Jude. I wanted to beg off work
and go see Jason immediately. Jason would have to believe me now. And he'd know
what to do. "Nothing," I said.
I'd be safe at work, though. It was a public place. There were lots of people
there. The Sons wouldn't risk trying to kill me in such a populated building. I
could go to work. I would. If I didn't, it would look weird. Jude might get
suspicious. I couldn't put Jude in danger.
"What are you holding?" Jude asked. "Looks like you've got a
death grip on it."
"Mr. Sutherland's address," I said. "He asked me to go to his
house."
Jude made a face. "Eew," he said. "Why'd he do that?"
I shrugged. "He wanted to give me some books."
"Oh," said Jude, looking disappointed. "I thought maybe he was
like a pedophile or something. It would have been fun to get him fired."
If I thought getting Mr. Sutherland fired would have made any difference, I
would have been all for it. "Let's just go to work," I said. "I
hate detention."
* * *
When I got home from work, it was after midnight, so I
knew that both Jason and Hallam would be asleep. I was planning on waking Jason
up anyway, though. What I'd found out was too important. He needed to know.
After I'd told him, he'd probably want to wake up Hallam as well, but for now,
I'd just tell Jason. I didn't know what was going to happen. Were we going to
have to go on the run again? I didn't want to. I'd been happy here in
settled. Still, it clearly wasn't safe here. We'd have to do what we had to do.
I was shocked when Jude dropped me off, and I saw that the lights were still on
in our apartment. When I walked in the door, I heard the sounds of laughter.
Jason and Lilith were sitting next to each other on the couch. Lilith was
laughing so hard that she was resting her forehead on Jason's shoulder.
I couldn't believe it. Why were they still awake? Jason knew we had school in
the morning. I cleared my throat.
Jason and Lilith both looked up at me.
"Hey Zaza," said Lilith, her voice still full of laughter.
God. Why couldn't she stop calling me that? I glared at her.
"You two look like you're having fun," I said.
"What time is it?" said Jason.
"It's after midnight," I said.
"Really?" said Jason. "Wow. Lilith and I have been talking. I
guess we lost track of time." He smiled at her. "I should probably go
to bed."
She grinned back. "I didn't mean to keep you up."
"It's okay," said Jason.
"Actually," I said. "I have something to tell you, Jason."
"Okay," he said. "What's up?"
"I don't want to tell you in front of Lilith," I said.
"How come?" asked Jason.
"It's about the Sons," I said.
"Oh, that's cool," said Jason. "I told her all about that
stuff."
"You did?"
"She wanted to know what happened after we left Bramford. I filled her
in," said Jason.
Lilith shook her head, horror all over her face. "Wow, Zaza. That shit was
crazy. I can't believe Jason's mother is such a bitch."
He told her about Michaela Weem? He'd been talking to her all night? They'd
been laughing together? I remembered what Jude had asked me the day before in
Mr. Sutherland's class. Was I worried that Lilith would sleep with Jason? I
hadn't been. I wasn't. I trusted Jason. But I didn't trust Lilith. Not at all.
"Yeah," I said. "I can't believe it either."
"So, it's cool," said Jason. "Sit down. Tell me what you need to
tell me."
I really didn't want to tell Lilith about this. It was none of her business.
And if we did go on the run, Lilith was
not
coming
with us. The Sons would leave her alone. She would only slow us down.
I started at the beginning, telling Jason everything that had happened in
detention. I showed him the picture in the book that Mr. Sutherland had given
me. When I was finished, I sat down on the couch. "So, you think we should
wake up Hallam?" I asked.
Jason didn't say anything.
"Zaza, you're paranoid," said Lilith.
I was not paranoid! I didn't respond, however, waiting for Jason to defend me.
He'd see the seriousness of the situation. Lilith couldn't understand.
"That's not how I'd put it," said Jason. He turned to Lilith.
"She's been through hell, Lilith. She saw her parents murdered right in
front of her face."
Wait. Why didn't this sound entirely like he was defending me?
"Azazel," said Jason, "I don't think Mr. Sutherland is a member
of the Sons."
"But the book," I protested. "And the bell. And I found it in
his classroom."
"So, he's into secret societies," said Jason.
"And he's British," I said.
"That doesn't mean he's a member of the Sons," Jason said.
"You don't believe me?" I said. I was incredulous.
"It doesn't make sense," said Jason. "It's not how the Sons
work. If they wanted me back, they wouldn't have some guy pose as a teacher to
watch me. They'd just come for me. They're not subtle when it comes to me. You
must remember that, don't you?"
"He knows things," I said. "He smiled at me in the creepiest
way."
"He sounds like he was just trying to be nice," said Lilith. "He
probably thinks you're a gifted student. He wants to help you."
I turned on Lilith. "You don't know what you're talking about."
She shrugged. "Sorry," she said. "But Jason told me about the
deal you made. Edgar Weem would have to be stupid to go back on that."
"Don't you see?" I said. "Edgar Weem is trying to find some way
of getting Jason back. He's not going to do it in the normal ways. He knows
that we'd make his secret public. He's being stealthy."
"The Sons would not plant a bell in your bag, Azazel," said Jason.
"Why would they want you in detention?"
"So that Mr. Sutherland could watch me," I said.
"Oh come on," said Jason, "that's really farfetched. You can't
really think this."
I shook my head. Why didn't he believe me? It was obvious that we were in
danger, and Jason didn't see it. What was I going to do? No one was taking me
seriously. "Maybe if you weren't so busy making jokes with Lilith, you'd
actually listen to what I'm saying," I said.
"Lilith doesn't have anything to do with this," said Jason.
"Now, I know you're mad at her about what happened in Bramford, but
honestly, Azazel, she was just as much a victim as you were. Why can't you let
it go? She's trying to make amends here."
"You're right," I said. "Lilith doesn't have anything to do with
this. So let's just leave her out of it."
"You're so stubborn," said Jason.
I stood up. "You used to like that about me," I murmured.
"Azazel—" said Jason.
"No," I said. "Don't." And I walked back to my room,
feeling defeated, frightened, and confused. What was going on here?
