Avenge (22 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Five

- Cassie -

I was madder than a wet hen. Oh, that
girl was trying my last nerve by running off like that. And Adam,
oh he would be getting a piece of my mind later on. I resumed my
pacing, huffing and puffing every time Adam looked at me with those
sweet, apologetic eyes.

“
Tell me something good,
James. Tell me she’s at least all right.”

James was furiously typing into his
keyboard since he got here. When I got back with the food, Lucy’s
door was closed and I stupidly assumed she was taking a nap. With
Adam on the couch asleep too, I put the food in the microwave to
keep warm and snuggled up beside him. We hadn’t been alone in
weeks, and I was craving some time with him. But then I fell asleep
too. When we each woke up about a half hour later, neither of us
thought anything was wrong until I checked Lucy’s room.

And then the bathroom.

And then the guest room.

I flew down the hallway cursin’ so bad
my momma would have soaped my mouth for sure.

Adam immediately called James, who
called Elizabeth and within a few minutes the whole team gathered
into the small living room. We’d known for weeks she was going
downhill and hated when we had to resort to basically keeping her
prisoner in her own apartment. But we needed to find a solution to
whatever was plaguing her before we did anything else. And she was
safest here on this realm—or at least I thought she was before
today.

“
James, you’ve gotta tell
us something. I’m dyin’ over here.” I resumed my pacing and made a
pointed effort not to look at Adam. I’d forgive the dumb jock once
this was all behind us and we had her back safe and sound, but
those puppy dog eyes did it to me every time and I couldn’t break
my anger at him yet.

“
She’s still on the realm.
She left the pool house and is heading into the woods.”

I stopped and let out a huge sigh. “Oh
thank goodness. Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get
her!”

“
Not yet. We know she’ll
fight us if we tell her she’s gotta come back here. And I’ve just
been informed that there was an—incident—at the pool house where a
Patronus scared several souls by screaming at them and growling if
they didn’t leave immediately. It had to be Lucy. And that means
that something’s changed and she’s worse. We need her to trust us,
and knowing she won’t come willingly, what else can we do? Tie her
up and make her a prisoner? She’s already been tortured for weeks.
We can’t have her think we’re the enemy too.” He stopped for a
second and scrubbed his hands over his face. He hadn’t shaved in
days and his thick stubble was quickly turning into a messy beard.
“I think the best plan of action right now is to wait. Maybe she’ll
come back on her own once she’s calmed down.”

“
Can I at least call her?
Tell her that she’s not in any trouble, but we’d like her
back?”

James started to shake his head no,
but Elizabeth put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “I
think it’s a good idea. We need more information, so who better to
get it from than the source herself? I’ve already sent Lola and
Zander to flank the perimeter of the woods where she’s holed up,
and Marco is on his way to read her thoughts. If they’re darker or
she’s about to do something she shouldn’t, we’ll know and be able
to take action immediately. But for now, let’s see what she has to
say. We need as much information as possible to formulate a
plan.”

“
You’re right. If she’s
afraid to come back, we can at least tell her she shouldn’t be. But
I don’t want you to call her, Cassie. You’re voice will give away
how scared you are right now and the last thing we need is to
frighten her more. We all care about her, and this is not her
fault. The fact of the matter is, she’s had a terrible introduction
into being a Patronus and I’m to blame for that. I’ve done a
terrible job as your leader.”

“
You hush right now, you
hear me?” I put a hand on my hip and wagged a finger at him. “That
girl has been through the wringer, but you are not to blame for
that. And if I hear any more of that bullhocky coming from you,
I’ll personally give you a butt kickin, you hear me?”

James kept his head down, but I could
see the corner of his mouth turned up to a smile.

“
And not a word from any of
you about how Southern I’m becoming. Now I’m gonna text her, but
I’ll make sure it transmits to you all too.” I pulled up the
correct screen and texted.

Me
:
Where ya at, sweets? Dinner’s
getting cold
.

Lucy
:
Sorry, Cas. I need some time to
myself
.

Me
:
You comin back
soon
?

Lucy
:
IDK

Me
:
I’m starting to miss you. Adam
won’t let me paint his toenails like you will
.

Lucy
:
:) I need… time
.

Me
:
Anything I can do to
help?

Lucy
:
I wish.

Me
:
Talk to me, sugar. You know I’m a
great listener.

Lucy
:
Alright. But you gotta promise to
keep it to yourself for now. K?

I looked up excitedly at Adam and
James. This was a very good sign. Elizabeth motioned for me to keep
going and I quickly began typing again.

Me
:
Cross my heart.

I winced at the lie but knew she’d do
the same if our roles were reversed.

Lucy
:
I felt him. I think I can save him,
but I gotta figure some stuff out first.

Me
:
OMGawd. RU serious?
Details!!

Lucy
:
Not yet. I need time. Just know
that U all R some of the most important ppl in the world 2 me. I
never want to hurt U.

My heart broke seeing her words. Oh, I
wish there was something I could do for her. Something more than
this.

Me
:
You never could,
sweetie.

Lucy
:
I gotta go. Talk more soon. <3
you.

Me
:
<3 you too sugar. You let me
know if you need anything. ANYTHING. I got your back
girl.

Lucy
:
I know U do. And I <3 U 4
it.

“
Well,” I turned to the
gang who were listening in. “Now what? She said she felt Max. Does
that mean he’s not a vampire anymore? Do you think that she’s going
to try to go find him? ”

Elizabeth snorted. “Knowing that girl,
yes. I’m surprised she’s not halfway to wherever by
now.”

“
You need to hush your
mouth before I hush it for you,” I told her, which took the huff
right out of her puff. I was not having any of her foolishness
today. “James, what are you thinking?”

“
I think this is a good
thing. We can use this. No matter where she goes we can track her,
and if she leads us to Max or the other vampires, then we’ll be
ready for them. Elizabeth, call the New Orleans team and tell them
to be ready. We may need them as back up. I’m not about to lose
this fight. And I certainly won’t be losing any more of my
people.”

Chapter
Twenty-Six

This was the hardest decision I’d ever
been forced to make, but it needed to be done. It was the only way.
I thought for hours, but nothing else made sense. The vampires
would see through any tricks or deceit. After all, they were the
experts on such matters. And they certainly wouldn’t release Max or
Jessica without a huge price being paid. It sucked, but I saw no
other way. I hoped my team could forgive me.

I returned to the pool house and
grabbed a spare pair of black track pants and a maroon and yellow
fitted tee shirt from the locker room storage area and slipped them
on over my now dry swimsuit. I traded my flip flops for a conjured
pair of steel-toed boots and silver-tipped gloves that I kept in my
pocket for now before I made my way back to my hiding
spot.

A few hours passed. I sat on the floor
of the storage shed until most of the souls retired to the movie
room or to other indoor areas for the night. While I sat there, I
put phase one of my plan in action and began hastily scribbling on
the dirt floor. I knew I still ran a huge risk of running into
another Patronus, but I hadn’t heard a ping announcing an alert to
be on the lookout for me, so I shouldn’t have too much trouble.
Unless my access was cut off. That could be a problem. I pulled up
my screen and flipped through a few apps, but nothing looked out of
the ordinary. I sighed in relief. I needed my bracelet to help me
more than ever.

I shook off the doubt. Standing up, I
tiptoed out of the storage area, careful to step over my handiwork
and not scuff or smear it—it wouldn’t help me much then. I made my
way to one of the many realm transfer doors. I stood frozen for a
few minutes, hand on the knob as I talked myself into making the
jump I hated most. This decision was scary as hell without adding
in dreaded realm transfers, but I couldn’t see any other way. I
needed to believe that this plan, no matter how crazy, would work.
Both Max and Jessica were worth it—they were worth more than I
could ever give, and I believed that this would be enough. I hoped
I had enough of me still inside somewhere.

I took a deep breath, opened the door,
and plunged myself inside before any other doubts crept in. The
impact hit me, and I immediately knew what I’d done wrong. I’d not
let go of any of my anxiety, so when I jumped my chest was already
tight and my muscles were already strained. This was not the best
way to transfer realms. I was only adding pressure to strain, and I
knew I’d be in for it when I got to my destination. Luckily, the
destination was not too far.

I was there before I could think any
more of it, and when I opened the door to St. Augustine, I fell to
my knees and vomited. Twice.

After spending a few
minutes taking slow, deep breaths and regaining my composure, I
stood up and looked around. I’d been to St. Augustine several times
with my family and on school trips, but looking at it now I was
seeing it in a whole new light. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact
that Max and other vampires were here somewhere or if it was
because it was the oldest city in America (and therefore had a very
long history), but I could
feel
the city. It was almost as if it were alive, like
it had a pulse. It hummed through me, making me want to gravitate
toward it.

My feet wandered through the
cobblestone streets. I breathed deeply, feeling the thick, moist
air around me. I didn’t have a destination; I knew I was getting
closer to everything—I was like a magnet being drawn to it. My body
was beginning to feel more alive, like when I was human. I wanted
to hold on to that feeling forever. It was intoxicating. After what
seemed like weeks of my body being tense and nervous, this feeling
of being alive was almost overwhelming. I wanted to bathe in
it.