Eternal Hope (The Hope Series) (16 page)

“Well he was wrong, Farley, okay? He’s been locked in that tomb for centuries. He’s going to be weak, and besides, we’re going to be waiting for him. Everything’s going to be alright. Do you believe me?”

Farley untangled herself from his shirt and looked up at him, seeing the determination in his eyes. The cold in the center of her very soul said that it wasn’t going to be alright, not even close, but Kayden’s eyes said otherwise. She didn’t know what to believe. “Why would he think he can turn me into a Reaver?”

A soft light from the alarm clock shone green in Kayden’s eyes, hiding how blue they were. He was serious and intense. “Because of who you are. What you are. You can change just like any of them.”

That was just the best freakin’ news ever. She could become a Reaver? She was more messed up than she could ever have known. Farley’s throat contracted, her mouth sweating like she was going to throw up. “Kayden?” she whispered.

“Mmm?”

She breathed it out in one go, knowing she’d never ask otherwise. It was just too ridiculous. “Are you sort of an angel?”

He pulled her to him and rested his chin on top of her head like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Uh… sort of.”

Skykomish was just like Gun Creek, except it was a seriously long drive from Montana. Daniel’s ability to concentrate above girly chitchat and spontaneously warbled songs had slowly diminished over the past twelve hours. At least Tess and Oliver had the decency to sleep most of the drive from L.A to the cabin. And when they’d been awake, they certainly hadn’t been
singing.

He’d put Cassie in the back with Anna around six hours ago so she wasn’t gossiping directly into his ear, but it hadn’t made much difference. These girls were no respecters of a silent car journey. He suddenly wished he’d brought Farley after all; it was peaceful riding in the car with her. She usually just took in the world out the window, drinking everything in with those big, soulful, grey eyes of hers. The only thing these girls had been looking for was a fast food restaurant. It would have been too risky to bring Farley, though. Beatty had sounded tense on the phone. His tone and clipped words had given Daniel a bad feeling about the whole thing, and it was wiser to keep her as far away as possible.

Daniel briefly closed his eyes, thanking God and whoever else had a hand in the machinations of the universe that they’d arrived at their destination. Just in time, too.

“Why on earth would Beatty come here?” Anna complained as he pulled into the sleepy mountain town. The Viper looked even more out of place than she did in her lacy black shirt. Mud-splattered utility trucks were the order of the day around here, along with plaid shirts and Sorrel boots.

He ignored the petulant whine to her voice and followed the directions Beatty had texted through. “He obviously wanted to lie low. Unsurprising, really. World War III was breaking out in LA and he had a family to take care of.”

Anna snorted. “Beatty’s a Southern man. Men from the third Quarter don’t run from a fight. Maybe he was just sick of the sight of your girlfriend.”

Daniel gripped the steering wheel until his nails cut into his palms. “Now’s a funny time for you to get all nostalgic about the Quarters. Shouldn’t you have been training alongside Otis and Brynn for the past twenty odd years?”

If Anna was troubled by the fact she’d shirked her familial duty in not learning how to fight, she didn’t show it. “I’m a conscientious objector,” she said brightly. He caught her wrinkling her nose in the rear-view.

“I’ll conscientiously object my foot up your ass if you don’t behave yourself. Don’t make me regret bringing you. You have to wait in the car like we discussed.” He wouldn’t have brought her at all if Cassie hadn’t begged, and there was a strong likelihood she’d have been pouring more poison into Farley’s ear if she’d stayed behind at the cabin.

“I’ll do what I want,” she sniped back.

Daniel looked at Cassie, silently pleading with her to reign in her friend. She pretended not to notice, turning to look out of the window as a light rain began to fall. Why were women so damned complicated? He ignored the slight and sped up, determined to reach the address before he said something he’d pay for later.

When they pulled up outside the location indicated by his phone, Daniel had to triple check they had the right place. The single story wooden clapboard house was more of a shack, set back from the road and practically falling down. Bright green moss grew on the exterior wood, above which crept wet, moldy-looking dark stains. Blistered white paint peeled from the single window frame at the front, which wore a soggy rectangle of cardboard over it. The garden in between the house and the road was a jungle; a dark blue milk crate lay on its side, just visible amongst the overgrown weeds, and beer cans and fast food wrappers littered the yard, their packaging faded from long exposure to the elements.

Daniel inched the Viper up the driveway, worrying. Something felt off about this place. He felt it inside him. The maelstrom of souls tumbled in his chest, hissing their angry whispers over the top of one another until he couldn’t make out a word they were saying. They didn’t like it here either. The girls jumped out of the car before he could stop them.

“Anna, get back in the car!” She flipped him off over her shoulder and hurried after Cassie. He swore and followed suit, turning his keys over anxiously in his hand.

A scruffy, moth eaten cat sat on the porch step, sheltering from the rain. Its scraggly ginger and white fur was already clumped together where the fine mist had saturated it, giving it a quirky looking mohawk. It yowled at them plaintively as they climbed the step and Anna hissed at it. It bolted like a shot into the undergrowth, growling.

“And she’s an animal lover, too,” Daniel muttered, considering if he could get away with shocking her. Just a little. She totally deserved it. He felt the prickle at his fingertips and hesitated, warring with himself over whether it was worth the backlash. Before he got a chance the front door squealed on its hinges, and Beatty stood there in the doorway. Or rather, half of him stood there in the doorway. Daniel barely recognized the man. He had always been a little rotund in a bear-like kind of way. This Beatty was skeletal. His eyes flickered nervously over them, edgy and sharp.

“Beatty,” Daniel said stiffly, studying the haunted way he peered up and down the street. Behind him in the darkened front room of the house, the silhouette of a figure slipped silently through into the kitchen, pulling the door closed.

“Daniel,” Beatty returned. He swallowed, running his huge hand over his grizzled black beard. “Thank you for coming.” He darted back into the shadows beyond, letting them slide by as he continued to survey the street. The dank room smelled of mildew and dirty clothes. The place was a shell; there was nothing in it apart from a pile of crumpled blankets in the corner, and four hard-backed chairs sitting on the bare, splintered floorboards. The door creaked shut, trapping them inside.

“You okay, Beatty?” Cassie whispered. Daniel tensed; he’d forgotten Cassie knew Beatty. He’d taught her to fight once upon a time. The older man hadn’t even looked at her when she’d come in.

“I’m fine, Cassiopeia. Just fine.” He turned sharp eyes on Daniel. “Where is she?”

“Where’s who?”

“The girl. Where’s Farley?”

Daniel looked at him hard. Why was he so twitchy? The souls whispered louder, the sound like a heavy wind blowing through rustling leaves. “She’s somewhere safe. What’s wrong? Where is everyone?”

Beatty narrowed his eyes. “Gone. They’re gone. This is unfortunate. This is very unfortunate…” He started pacing, the floorboards complaining with every step.

A tension settled over Daniel’s muscles. This wasn’t right. Beatty wasn’t right. The fact that he was so troubled by Farley’s absence was an incredibly bad sign. “What’s going on, Beatty?”

The man paused, giving Daniel a pained look. “They thought you’d bring her.”

Cassie and Anna exchanged confused glances. Cassie was wired- he could see it in her eyes.

“We needed to keep her safe,” Daniel said carefully, “Tell us what’s going on and we’ll be able to help you.”

A tired laugh bounced off the low, dimly lit ceiling. “I doubt that, Danny. They have my family. The Immundus caught up with us right after we left the silo. We heard Elliott and the others were dead but there seems to be a new power in charge now. I’ve seen hide nor hair of a Reaver but there’s definitely someone pulling the strings back in the Tower. Whoever it is, they want Farley bad. I had to agree to get you here, otherwise…” His eyes welled. There was no recrimination in his words, but Daniel felt incredibly guilty. Who knew what Beatty had been through over the past month. If Daniel had been there at the silo instead of brooding over his love life, then maybe none of this would have happened.

“I didn’t know. I-”

“It’s okay. You would have come for us, and that wouldn’t have ended well.”

“Where did Agatha go?”

Beatty’s jaw ticked. He stared at Daniel, his expression troubled. “Where no man could follow.”

What did that mean? A high-pitched humming started ringing in Daniel’s left ear. It felt like his head was filled with cotton wool. Beatty rushed forwards, heading for the door. “We don’t have time for that, though. They’re not going to be happy you didn’t bring Farley. You should go. Forgive me for calling. They threatened my son. I had to. They would have-”

Before any of them could move, the door to the kitchen burst open and two men in black coats snaked into the room. They held sleek-looking guns in their hands. They pointed them at the girls. Daniel leapt forward instinctively, just as one of them pulled off a warning shot, missing Anna’s face by less than an inch. She screamed, staggering back into the wall.

“Don’t move,” the first man snarled. He stalked past Daniel and shoved Beatty so hard he fell to the floor. “Where is she?”

“They don’t have her,” he groaned.

The man turned, pinning Daniel in his gaze. A fine thread of silver encircled his iris, the embodiment of malice shining in the dark. It was incredibly pale compared to most of the eyes Daniel had seen like that before, but there was no denying it: this guy was Immundus. A surge of power built inside Daniel, begging to be released.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the Immundus hissed.

Daniel gave him a slow, calculated smile. “And why not?”

The man, still pointing his gun at Anna, formed a smug smile of his own. “Because if we don’t return, our master will kill this one’s blood.” He knocked Beatty’s foot with his boot and cocked his head to one side. White teeth flashed in the dimly lit room. “And we’re expected home real soon.”

The hair prickled on the back of Daniel’s neck. There was something different about this Immundus, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The others had always been a little stiff- vacant, like puppets. This guy seemed fully compos mentis and had a real bad attitude to boot.

“I’m assuming you’re Daniel. I’m Clay. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. There’s someone else I was hoping to meet today, too. Where’s the girl?” he asked, his voice a little too playful. He was a cocky bastard. Daniel scowled.

“Nothing in this world will make me tell you where she is.”

“And what about… her?” Clay stabbed the gun towards Anna. “Do you think there’s anything in this world that could make
her
tell me where she is?”

Daniel looked over at Anna; her eyes were wide with fear, her chest rising and falling way too fast. Trembling, she held her hands above her head in surrender. Clay’s smile grew wider. “No, I don’t think it would take much to get this one to tell me where you’re keeping her.”

He took a step towards Anna, his leather boots creaking loudly. He didn’t make it very far. In a black and white flash, his body flew back through the air and landed with a cracking sound as the rotten floorboards shattered beneath him. Cassie crouched low, pointing his gun at him with a look of single-minded hatred on her face. At least
she
hadn’t dropped out on her training.

“Stay away from her,” she growled.

Clay laughed, holding his hands up. “Now, now… play nice, kitty cat. I was only going to ask her a question.”

Cassie straightened and did the unimaginable: she kicked him in the balls. The effect was dramatic. He crumpled in on himself like a snapping elastic band. The Immundus at the back of the room, the one who hadn’t breathed a single word, turned out to be the silent but deadly type. The crack of the gun seemed to come way after the muzzle flash. Cassie’s body flew back, her arms and legs trailing through the air, her hair swirling about her face like she was being pulled backwards through water. The smell of burning and gunpowder instantly filled the room.

“
NO!!!
” Daniel didn’t recognize the voice as his own until he felt the painful sting at the back of his throat. He was moving before he could think, but it wasn’t to pick up Cassie. It was towards the Immundus with the gun. He had to kill him. Hurt him. Tear him limb from limb.