Entropy (The Countenance Trilogy 3) (15 page)

I shake my head, trying to keep the smile from popping back on my face, but I can’t hide it. “It’s Laken. We’re finally hitting our stride, dude.”

“Good, I’m glad. Keep her happy, that’s the key. Make sure she knows she’s the number one person in your life because once she thinks otherwise, you’re in for a rude awakening. Trust me, I know. I’ve been in the doghouse with Jen, and she still has me begging on all fours just to let me stick around.”

“Got it.” I watch as he trots off in his thick wool coat, his shoulders padded up like a football player. I’d hate to break it to him, but I’d never even look at another girl, let alone want one with Laken in my life. Laken will always be number one. The math is easy.

I put a quick call into Jones, and he picks up on the first ring.

“Where’ve you been?” He gruffs.

“I’ve got this little thing called school. Had my phone off. What do you want? You have any other family member of mine you’d like to abduct? Maybe kill a few off for kicks?”

“Shut up and listen.”

My stomach bottoms out as if I’m going to hear some serious shit news because for as long as I have known Jones, he has never spoken to me that way.

“There’s been a rash of kidnappings around Trinity County. Three young men and two women.”

“That’s terrible. What’s happening?”

“The news is going on about a guy dressed as a ‘zombie’ in one case. They think it’s some cult or gang misfiring their aggression on society.”

“Spectators.”

“Exactly. Get your guy on this. I need complete containment as soon as possible.”

“No offense, but why would the Counts wait until those creatures got out of hand? They should have been dealt with decades ago if you ask me.”

“Nobody’s asking you. I’m telling you to stop this hole up with whatever means possible. They’ve gone too far. And if you must know, there is a reason this wasn’t dealt with earlier. The Counts have had a mild treaty with the Spectators. We’ve looked the other way as long as they don’t go after society—and now they’ve done exactly that.”

“It’s going to be an all-out war to get them herded back where they belong. Is the Transfer big enough to hold them?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. They won’t be staying long. We’ve plans for a mass extermination once they’re rounded up. You might want to leave that little detail out in the event Mr. Flanders decides to become a bleeding heart.”

“And that he is.” Fucking Coop. I wish his heart would bleed somewhere other than Laken’s feet. “Hey, Jones? I meant to ask you, before we were interrupted yesterday, does Edinger have any children?”

The line goes quiet. The even pattern of his breathing has been replaced with a morbid silence.

“Jones?”

“I’m here.” He lets out a breath into the receiver. “To answer your question, yes, he does.”

“Great. Where are they? I need to find his son.”

“What for?”

“Demetri says he’s the key to getting Laken’s friends and family out of those tunnels.”

“Is that so?” He huffs a laugh into the line. “And now we have a Fem who thinks he’s in charge of the Counts. I’d like to see that happen.”

“He’s letting them out,” I insist. “Laken will never be happy until her family is free. And what the fuck are Counts doing down there to begin with?”

“Who said they were Counts?” And with that the line goes dead.

Rain drives down hard and violent as it falls over the cathedral-like windows of the Ephemeral library. Laken helps as we check out a steady stream of students and their towers of books. But I keep stealing glances at her, watching as her golden hair falls over her shoulder, the way her chest bounces when she laughs, the innocent way her teeth graze over her bottom lip, and it’s all I can do not to get a hard-on while looking at her. As soon as the crowd dies down, I nod her over.

“Hey, good looking.” She wraps her arms around my waist and presses a kiss over my chest. “You called?” She bats her lashes at me.

I love these spontaneous displays of affection. I love that Laken isn’t hiding me away like I’m afraid she might be Coop. I push the thought out of my head. I asked him to meet Laken and me here once our shift is up. I figured I’d fill them both in on the Spectator trouble at the same time. I don’t mind spooking Laken if I know it’ll help keep her out of the woods. I just want her safe. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.

“I want to talk to you about Sunday night.”

“The meeting.” She nods, giving a brief look around. The library is dead so she doesn’t have to worry about anyone listening in.

“It’s going to be our first time,” I whisper. “Are you okay with that?”

Laken swallows hard like maybe she’s not. Her eyes shift around the vicinity as if she’s looking for the answer on the walls. “Wes, don’t you think it’s kind of weird we have to consummate anything at a
meeting
of all places? It borders on sick, don’t you think?”

“I promise it’ll be a private event—just you and me.”

“Then maybe we could, you know, play it off—we could do it somewhere else, all by our lonesome and take the entire night to do it.”

My stomach turns. “I’m not trying to spook you, or sway you in any way, but they will know. I’m not sure what will happen if we try to pull one over on them. A six month suspension probably.” Most likely a year, but I don’t bother with details at this point. “Laken, if this isn’t for you—if I’m not the one…” I shake my head. “ I don’t want you to regret this.”

Laken gazes over my shoulder as if she were weighing the balance of her future right here in this room.

“Of course, I won’t regret this. I guess we’re going to start our future together this Sunday night.” She breaks out in a tragically sad smile. “And then, after, we’ll head to the tunnels to free those we love. Can we take everybody?”

“No, they’d try us for treason. But for you”—I touch my fingers to her cheek—“for
us
they have to honor our first request. They won’t deny us our loved ones, Laken. I promise you this.”

She gives a hurried nod. “I’m going to hold my sister, my mother, again in just a few short days.” Laken latches onto me with a fierce embrace, burying her face in my chest.

The bell goes off three times in a row, and we turn to find Coop standing at the counter, dripping wet and pissed as a junkyard dog. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes.” I pull Laken back and look into her tear-filled eyes. “Hope you don’t mind, there was something I wanted to talk to the both of you about. Let’s hit a spot in the back.” I get one of the girls stocking shelves to take over the front and lead Coop and Laken toward a table as far away from the nearest student as possible.

“What’s up?” Coop nods over at me before reverting his attention to Laken. “Everything okay?” He pulls his gaze over her features torturously slow as if he wanted far more explanation than she could ever give him—at least around me.

“Everything’s fine.” She reassures. “I’m fine.”

Coop takes a breath before knocking on the table to get my attention. “My little sister is home alone. I need to split, so this better be quick.”

“Jones called today.” I glance over at Laken. “There’s been a rash of kidnappings in downtown Trinity. He’s pretty certain the Spectators are behind it.”

“Oh my, God.” Laken touches her hand to her chest in horror. “What do you think has them riled up enough to resort to something like that?”

“We don’t know,” I say. “Orders are to herd them up. They’ve got to go before they do anymore damage. The Counts are through playing nice.”

“That’s funny”—Laken averts her eyes—“the Counts have done a lot of things, and playing nice isn’t one of them.”

A moment of silence strokes by, and I don’t bother telling Laken she’s right, that the Counts have set a timer to the questionable lives of the Spectators.

“I think the Counts are out of luck.” Coop raises his brows like he really doesn’t give a damn. “I don’t have a big enough net. The Spectators are far too sophisticated—far too spread out, for me to land every single one back in the Transfer. There has to be another way.”

“Coop.” I close my eyes a moment. Jones was right. He’s way too much of a bleeding heart. “Get them to the Transfer. They don’t belong in this world.” All we need is to start Napalming them before they realize it’s fucking on. Coop’s our safest bet. The last thing we need is a war on our hands.

“They don’t belong in that world, either.” His phone goes off, and he checks the text. “Marky’s getting spooked. I’d better make tracks.” He gets up and slips his backpack over his shoulder. He nods over at me before glancing back at Laken. “See you when I see you.”

Laken gives the hint of a smile, doesn’t say a word, doesn’t say goodbye.

See you when I see you.

Why do I get the feeling they’re talking in code?

But what I really want to know is why in the hell do I suddenly feel like I’m not enough for Laken?

Laken

The night sky above Austen House is a pressing black. I don’t ever remember the sky looking so bleak, so dismal—altogether without hope. It’s as if it were trying to tell us something—to predicate something so fierce and terrible the only way it knew how.

I run in through a break in the rain to find Jen sitting behind the den mother’s desk up front. She has her Yankee Candle collection lining the expanse of the mahogany with her plug in waterfall constructed from mid-eastern stones, and the whole thing feels rather Zen.

“Good, you’re here.” She pulls a nail file out of the drawer without looking up. “I have some paperwork for you to sign regarding that Hattie girl. Just a disclaimer that says you know nothing about her whereabouts. I’ll bring it to your room before I take off.”

“Sounds good.” I wish I did know about Hattie’s whereabouts. I trot up the stairs two by two. Something about seeing Coop tonight made my heart skip, made my whole person feel as if I’m filling with helium.

“Goodnight, Laken!” Two friendly voices sing in unison from the common room. It’s probably Kresley and Grayson giving me the middle finger salute or Jax and Fallon doing the same, well, Jax anyway. I glance down ready to wave in the event it’s actually someone I like and freeze with a scream locked in my throat.

“Shit!” It pops from my lungs without permission from my vocal cords.

The Tobias sisters stare up at me in their disintegrated states—balding, emaciated, skin over bone, and I take a breath, nearly tumbling over the railing in the process.

“Laken?” Jen steps around to where they’re standing, clearly missing the show. “Everything okay?”

“I just—”

The Tobias sisters evaporate to a vellum state and float up the stairs beside me.

They scream, angry and fierce, as if they were being violated in a fate worse than death. Leaving my ears ringing from the horrific howls. And, then, just like that, they’re gone.

“Laken?” Jen’s eyes round out with irritation.

“I’m sorry. I must have tripped and turned my ankle. I’m fine now.” I run the rest of the way to my room, slam the door, and lock myself inside.

“You always make such a grand entrance?” Carter looks up from her book.

“Just on days that end in Y.” I sling my bag to the floor and flop on the bed. “Why the hell is this place so creepy, anyway?”

“What do you mean?” She sits up Indian style with her hair pale as sugar cookies.

“You know, Casper, Hattie… things have been known to get weird fast.”

She sucks in a breath. “You know what I just realized?”

“You’ve been sucking face with my brother these past few weeks, and now you wish life had a rewind button?”

“Very funny.” She tosses her book at me and misses. “No, the fact Casper and Hattie were both your roommates. It sounds to me like you have a bad track record with your new roomies, and guess what part
I
get to play in this horror flick?”

I glance over at her and weigh the odds of anything remotely rotten happening to poor, sweet Carter. “It’s doubtful you’ll go missing.”

“God”—she leaps off her bed and onto mine in a single bound—“it’s like that bed is cursed. You think I should have the mattress burned?”