Lies Ripped Open (16 page)

“How many more members of your group are there?”

“Those of us who attacked you. Then there’s Daniels, three other SOA agents, and a few others who have probably gone to ground by now. Twenty in all.”

“I want the SOA agents’ names.” I removed a piece of paper and pen from my pocket, and passed them to Bushy.

He wrote down four names, including Daniels, although I didn’t recognize any of them.

“Why now?” I asked.

“I don’t know the answer to that. We’ve been Reavers for years, waiting in the shadows for a chance to strike.”

“Waiting in the shadows? Seriously?”

“What would you call it? We’ve lived our lives as good
Avalon
subjects, and now we’re joined as one to remove those who once tried to destroy us. Why now, I have no idea. But I’m glad to be a part of it.”

He was beginning to sound like the same idiot I’d met when I’d first arrived. Apparently just telling me their plans raised his confidence.

“Why Felix?”

“He betrayed us. He needs to die. After Liz Williams, we couldn’t risk trying another psychic and having them alert the wrong person, or not being powerful enough to track him.
However
, we will find him, no matter how long it takes, or how many bodies have to be piled up. We will find Felix and we will extract our vengeance for his betrayal.”

“What happens once all of your enemies are dead? What’s the plan once you kill Felix?”

“Felix’s death will usher in a new era for the Reavers. He was the one who helped create us, and from his blood and knowledge we will be reborn.”

It sounded like the ranting of someone who’d listened to the spiel so many times he believed it. But then one of his words stuck in my mind.
Knowledge
. “He knows too much, doesn’t he? That’s the problem here. You’re scared that Felix knows who you are. He once had the greatest catalog of Reaver activity; he
monitored
all of you, and you’re scared he’s still doing it. You’re scared he has this massive file of Reavers and he’s going to expose those of you in charge.”

“You don’t know anything,” he stammered far too quickly, the confidence evaporating once again.

“That’s really is it, isn’t it? You need Felix dead because if he’s still alive, he could give away who’s in charge of your little group before you reveal yourself. But you don’t know where he is, and once you killed the Williamses, you somehow got it into your head that maybe I knew where Felix was.”

Bushy turned away from me. “We will be victorious.”

“The Reavers are an antiquated idea, a group whose very existence is an affront to everything Avalon is meant to hold dear. You can throw as many people at me as you like, I’m happy to keep killing you until you finally get the message. Your kind isn
’t wanted.”

Before he could say more, I turned and left him alone in his small room.

“
He’s still alive,” I told Lucie and Remy, who’d waited outside.

“We found the escaped Reavers and SOA agents,” Lucie said. “All dead.”

“Bushy said that there were a few who didn’t take part, I’d keep an eye out for them.” I passed her the paper with the names. “All of these SOA agents are working for the Reavers.”

Lucie scanned the list. “Two of these are dead, including this Daniels person. The other two will be taken before the morning. Anything else?”

“Whoever killed those injured Reavers will come for your guests.”

“I know. That’s the plan,” Lucie told me. “They come for these men and we grab them.”

I should have expected Lucie to have already come up with the idea to use the prisoners as bait. “I’m going to the hospital to see everyone. If you need me . . .” I patted my pocket. “I didn’t bring a phone, I’m sure Olivia has one.”

“I’ve got her number. Be careful, Nate, these guys aren’t the type to stop after only one try.”

“I’m coming with you,” Remy said. “They want me dead too. I’d like to give them a harder time of accomplishing that plan.”

“Like I said before, happy to have you on board,” I said.

“You need anything else?” Lucie asked.

“They won’t know who attacked Fiona. There’s at least one other group of Reavers in Camelot. I’d guess more SOA are involved. I’m going to be leaving the realm soon, take care of yourself.”

“You’re leaving the realm?” Lucie asked, slightly surprised. “You just arrived.”

“These people are after Felix. They thought I might kno
w w
here he is, but there’s only one person on Earth
wh
o kno
ws where Felix is. I think Felix has been looking into the Reavers again. The Reavers certainly believe he has, and from knowing the man, it’s not exactly a difficult leap to assume. At some point, the Reavers are going to go after the man who knows where Felix is. I plan on getting there first. That is if they haven’t already gone after him.”

“And who might that be?” Lucie asked.

I considered not telling her. For a brief moment I wondered, what if she’s involved, what if Lucie has betrayed us all? I immediately felt foolish for thinking it. Lucie was, while not my friend, someone I knew I could trust. “Fiona’s husband, Alan.”

Remy gasped, which is an odd thing to hear from a fox. “She never told me that Alan knew where Felix was.”

“She probably didn’t know. No one does. Not unless Alan’s started opening his big mouth again.”

“If you’re off to see Alan Daly, you’re going to need Olivia’s help,” Lucie pointed out. “And I spoke to the warden there a few hours ago. Alan is fine.”

“You trust this warden?”

Lucie shook her head. “Elaine does though. She gave him the job.”

That would have to do for now. Even so, Alan was in danger, if not immediately then in due time. The Reavers might not control the prison, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get to Alan.

Alan Daly, Fiona’s husband of over seventy years, was being held in The Hole. It was one of several high-security prisons
dotted
around the globe. The Hole was on an island in the North Atlantic, with a permanent no-fly zone above it for anyone who wasn’t pre-cleared by Avalon. The building on top of the island was unofficially a research station, and anyone actually landing there required a helicopter, so for the most part the island was ignored by the masses.

Beneath the exterior buildings lay several miles of underground prison, making a total of ten floors; the higher the number, the deeper underground, and the more dangerous th
e prisoners
. Floors eight to ten don’t even have any guards; they’re ruled by the prisoners themselves. These floors are a bad place, full of bad people. Alan was on the first floor, where most of the
prisoners
are political in nature, or are there to serve years or decades rather than centuries. They’re still pretty dangerous people, but not so dangerous that you might not make it out before someone tried to eat your face.

Lucie got another call before I could say anything else and waved as she walked off to answer it.

“You know, I might have some issues leaving this realm,” Remy said as one of the cars pulled up and we climbed inside.

“I know,” I said. “You may have to stay here.”

“I want to help, Nate,” Remy said. “If I stay here, what am I going to do? I’m a target; whoever is around me is going to be a target too.”

“We’ll figure something out.”

Remy didn’t speak again for a few minutes. “This is going to get worse isn’t it?”

“Someone is behind the resurgence of the Reavers. Someone has placed people inside the SOA, and who knows how many other organizations. Right now, I’m not in the mind to trust anyone I don’t already know. But someone has to be in charge. Until we figure out who it is, yeah, it could get worse.”

I got the impression that was what Remy had expected me to say, but that it definitely wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Him and me both.

CHAPTER
17

T
he hospital was teeming with LOA agents; trying to kill one of their families tended to have a pretty immediate response, and trying to kill the family of a director of the LOA was normally a reason to increase the DEFCON level of everyone.

Remy and I were let into the hospital foyer, mostly because people recognized Remy. One of them told him that Olivia was up on the sixth floor, so we walked through the hallways until we reached the lifts, where I spotted Tommy at the far end of the hall. He was standing up against a door, looking through the glass to the gardens at the rear of the hospital.

“I’ll catch you up,” I told Remy, who noticed Tommy and nodded.

“Tommy,” I called out as I walked toward him.

He turned back to me and waved. He looked tired.

“You okay?” I asked.

Tommy nodded. “We’re all good.”

“Hey, I’m sorry I got you in involved in this. Those Reavers were after me. I’d hoped that by coming here, I could warn you in case they tried to get to me through you. Turns out you were only in danger when I turned up.”

“Knock it off, I’m glad you came. You’d be dead if you hadn’t. I’m not worried about people getting to you through my family and me, and neither is Olivia. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re quite capable of taking care of ourselves. You should speak to Elaine; she might be able to help. You know I can’t go with you if you leave Camelot, though. I can’t leave my family.”

I knew. “I’d never ask.”

Tommy patted me on the shoulder. “How are you? I heard from Ellie about the venom. Has your nightmare come calling yet? I imagine your constant use of magic to keep the venom away will make it easier for it to say hi.”

A year ago, my nightmare—the living embodiment of magic that’s inside every sorcerer, one that wants to be freed to take over the body of its host—decided to help me fight a man who was making me relive the worst moments of my life. My nightmare had decided to call itself Erberus, but since then it had been mostly quiet. I hadn’t told Tommy about what happened, nor anyone else for that matter, because allowing the nightmare to take over your body was a death sentence for the host. Even if you survived the transformation, Avalon hunted down sorcerers who had allowed it to happen. So I kept it to myself. I didn’t want to have to explain that I was in control. They wouldn’t have believed me.

I looked outside and saw Kasey, her back toward us, sitting on a bench. I spotted four agents all watching her in the least discreet way possible. “Why are you watching Kasey as if she’s about to burst into flame?”

“She changed today. Went full werebeast, I’m worried abou
t her.”

“Was that her first time?”

“Fourth. Two in the space of a week though. That’s a lot of strain on her body.”

“So, you’re standing here so you can give her space, but be close enough if she wants to chat?”

“I’ve already spoken to her, she’s scared. Her werebeast just took over. Emotions are high in young people as it is; those emotions make it easier for the beast to take over. The other changes were calm, controlled. This one wasn’t. She doesn’t know how to handle it. I told her it’s fine, told her not to worry. I’m just
giving
her some space to work it through. The agents were always there. Apparently an attack involving Olivia has sparked the LOA’s parental side.”

“Can I go talk to her?”

“Sure, you’re not a wolf though. Not sure how much good you’ll be.”

“I’m going to offer to be her sentinel.”

Tommy stared at me, and then enveloped me in a hug that was pretty close to breaking bones.

“Thanks for that,” I wheezed when he finally released me.

“Kasey will be over the moon. Hell, I’m over the moon. She didn’t want to ask you because . . .”

“Yeah, Ellie told me. Sorry for not even considering she might want me there. Where is Ellie anyway?”

“She’s with Olivia. She’s pretty angry she wasn’t there earlier. I don’t think she’ll be letting us out of her sight for the rest of the time we’re here. You really think they’ll try again?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it, not now that the LOA are out in force. Unless the LOA are involved.”

“Olivia and I thought that too. We don’t think they are though. No LOA agents have been involved up to now, and Olivia knows the main members in Camelot pretty well. Even so, they have psychics and sorcerers with mind magic going around checking things out. If anyone in the LOA is involved, we’ll know. At least anyone in Camelot.”

That was probably the most reassuring thing I’d been told since this whole thing started. “They seem to want to attack weaker targets; people alone or out of their element. Going after someone who has an army of heavily armed agents is probably not on their to-do list. Even so, you’re best to keep an eye out. There are members of the SOA involved in this. I can’t say that the disease of the Reavers hasn’t spread to other groups with
in Avalon.”

“Olivia isn’t exactly the most trusting person on the planet when it comes to other Avalon agencies, so I can’t say that knowing the SOA are compromised will change her perception.”

I pushed open the door. “I’ll be back in a few,” I told Tommy and walked out into the splendid garden.

The flowers, the names of which escaped me, were stunning. It was a cascade of color that swept across the garden, and probably took longer to maintain than I’d have thought possible.

“Hi,” I said as I sat beside Kasey on the wooden bench.

She turned to look at me. “Hi. I guess you’re here to tell me everything is okay. That I shouldn’t worry about the werebeast. Dad already tried that. It didn’t make me feel better.”

“Oh, you should totally be concerned about the werebeast form. It’s dangerous. You lose control and you could kill
someone
.”

Kasey’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously? How the hell is that comforting?”

“I’m not trying to comfort you. My job is to be honest; I thought we’d agreed on that several years back.”

“You can be a little comforting.”

“Oh okay. Let’s try this. The werebeast isn’t anything to be scared of; it’s really just a big teddy bear that needs a hug. Or teddy wolf as it were. Feel better?”

“Not even slightly.”

“Sucks to be you then.”

Kasey glared at me and then laughed. “You know fifteen-year-old girls are full of hormones, you say the wrong thing and we just go up like kindling.”

“Not literally I hope. I’d like to think spontaneous combustion is outside the realm of abilities for most teenagers.”

“Did you just come here to mock me?”

“Well, I’d mock your dad, but he’s tired and liable to punch me. I’ve had enough people try to punch me for one day.”

“I could punch you.”

“True, but you’re smaller than him. I’ll take the risk.”

Kasey laughed again and glanced behind us. “Those agents will not go away. I tried.”

“They’re here to keep everyone safe. There’s some weird shit going on in Avalon. Your mum’s people are probably best placed to make sure it doesn’t get worse.”

“I’m really sorry about losing control.” Kasey’s voice was soft, barely above a whisper. She turned away, ashamed at what sh
e’d done.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked back at me. “Don’t be daft. Do you know what happened the first time I met your dad and he turned?”

“He ate a boar.”

“He did. But a few times after that, he lost his cool and changed into his werebeast form to attack a nightmare. Almost got killed for his trouble. He let his emotions get the better of him, as everyone does on occasion. You’re no different. You lost your cool and tried to disembowel a werelion. You probably stopped me from taking any more hits, and you certainly stopped me from having to turn him into werelion jerky.”

“But I’ve known for years not to lose my cool when I finally change. And I ignored all of that.”

“In the heat of battle, emotions aren’t so easy to control. Even those of us used to fighting, used to that feeling of life or death, we can still lose it, still snap as the red mist descends across our vision. The trick isn’t stopping it from happening, it’s recognizing when it happens so you can control it. You’re not exactly trained in combat, Kase.”

“I need to be. I’m a werewolf, at some point I’ll have to fight. I need to be ready for that.”

“And that’s why Ellie is going to be one of your sentinels.”

“You know about that?”

I nodded. “She told me. She also told me that you want me to be your second sentinel. That true?”

Kasey nodded. “But I understand if you don’t want to. Dad says your history with Avalon is complicated. Actually he used more swear words than that, but I’m cleaning it up.”

I laughed. “Complicated is a good way to describe it. The problem is between me and Merlin, and a few others. Not Avalon as a whole. If you want me to be your sentinel, I’d be honored. I’ll need to figure out what the hell I’m meant to say though. I think Ellie has the wolf part of your life well and truly covered.”

“I don’t mind what you say. I just want the people I love to be at the ceremony.”

“That’s a good trick,” I said with a smile.

“What?”

“Saying the exact right thing at the exact right moment. You didn’t get that from your dad.”

Kasey laughed, glanced over at Tommy, and waved. Tommy smiled and waved back. “He’s worried about me.”

“You’re his daughter. He has every right to. In fact I’m pretty sure it’s almost his entire job when it comes to a teenage
daughter
.”

“I went on a date the other day. With a boy. Dad wanted to greet the door in wolfbeast form. He was going to threaten to e
at him.”

An image rushed to the front of my head and made me laugh. “You’ll have to give your dad some leeway on boys. He doesn’t trust them. He was one, so he knows the mindset.”

“We just went to the cinema. Nothing scandalous occurred. Chloe took her boyfriend too. We’ve been hanging out a lot since what happened in Tartarus. I don’t even think her mum notices.”

“She’s lucky to have a friend like you. And you like her. It’s good to see.”

“Will dad ever be okay with me and boys?”

“He’ll get used to the idea. Or your mum will make him live in the shed. Either way, you win.”

We sat next to one another in silence for a while, listening to the wind as it rustled the leaves on the nearby trees.

Eventually, Kasey broke the silence, “Can you teach me?”

I was confused for a moment. “About boys? Yeah, sure, they’re all idiots. If you use that as a baseline, you can’t go far wrong.”

Kasey laughed again. “I meant about how to fight. Can you teach me how to fight?”

“Don’t you want your mum, or dad, to teach you that? Or Ellie for that matter?”

“You were Hellequin. I’ve seen you fight, I want to be able to do that.”

I shook my head. “You really don’t. No one should want to be able to do what I do. I go to a dark place where I don’t care about what I have to do to win. I can switch off that place in my head that makes me feel anything for removing someone in my way. You don’t want that.”

“No, you’re right, but I do want to be trained by the best. That’s you. Dad and Mum both said in a straight fight, you’re probably better than them. Having werewolf strength is great, but if someone can use that against me, what’s the point?”

I stared at her for what felt like hours. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She looked deflated, but not hugely upset, she’d probably already figured out what my answer was going to be. “Sorry, but I had to ask. Even if you say no, at least I know I’ve asked.”

I stood up and stretched my back. “I need to go talk to your mum.”

“Thanks, Nate. I’m glad you’re here. I hope you find these Reavers before they hurt anyone else.”

“So do I, Kase, so do I.”

Olivia and Ellie were both in an office on the fourth floor. As I walked in, alongside Kasey and Tommy, and gaining glances from the agents posted outside, Ellie rushed over to hug me, while Olivia was on the phone. Remy was sitting in the corner; he
nodded
in my direction when I saw him, and I returned the gesture.

“You okay?” Ellie asked.

I nodded. “All good. You missed all the fun.”

She rolled her eyes. “You say it’s fun now, but I doubt it was much fun at the time.”

She had a good point. “I’ve arranged with Kasey to become her second sentinel,” I said.

Ellie hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. “I told you she’d be happy.”

“That you did.” I looked over at Olivia as she hung up the phone. “It’s one of the things I need to talk to you about, Olivia.”

Tommy entered the room, walking over to Olivia and giving her a kiss.

“Talk away,” Olivia said to me.

“How long before the naming ceremony takes place?”

“A few days,” Olivia said. “With all of this, I want to be assured that we’re safe before we go ahead. Thanks for deciding to be involved, by the way; I’m sure Kasey is thrilled.”

“Well, all of this happiness is about to take a nose dive,” I said. “I need access to The Hole. To Alan Daly in particular.”