Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) (21 page)

“And here, we come to the crux of the matter; I only bailed out twenty three. According to the group, they had originally started out with twenty four. And since the majority of the spellcasters in this city are under
your
supervision, Andrea, I have to assume that you have something of mine. The Lost may not play nice, but we don’t steal. We have a code.

“So, here is my proposal. Ask our lost friend where he calls home, and bring him back to us as soon as you can. For every night that he is not returned, I will send out a score of the Lost’s best warriors. And they will hunt down every Caelestia member they can find, and skin them to the bone. And when you have nothing, no one left, we will lay waste to this city from the inside out, and move on to a home where we won’t have to put up with the likes of you.

“That being said, I hope this message finds you well. And I hope to hear from you soon.” The video cuts out, and the screen fades to white, and at first, not a sound can be heard. Then the shouting begins, and I finally let my gaze drop down to the ground. I knew my actions would have consequences, but because of me… strangers, acquaintances, and friends alike are possibly going to die.

23

             
Krystal tries a few times to make herself heard over the din, but that proves easier said than done. Everyone’s shouting over each other, a few are panicking, and I could swear I hear someone behind me crying. Ultimately, Krystal fires a shower of red and green sparks into the air to grab everyone’s attention. “Everyone, calm down,” she orders, and slowly but surely, the crowd falls silent. She stares out at the congregation grimly for a moment, waiting for the 6 train passing by to glide out of sight to speak. “First things first… if any of you here is the vigilante, or has any idea of the whereabouts of the missing spellcaster, please… speak up now.”

              The hushed crowd begins making noise again, but this time, it’s more mutinous murmurs than outright shouting. Nobody here knows anything about the incident. Nobody but me. And I’m certainly not going to give myself up.

              “Fine,” Krystal announces after a minute or two have passed. “Nobody wants to confess, that’s fine. Just know that our lives are depending on you.”

              “She doesn’t need to confess!,” shouts someone to my left. The people around him start shouting in agreement, and my blood runs cold. I don’t like where this is going.

              “What do you mean?,” Krystal asks.

              “Think about it,” adds someone down in front. “Whoever this person is, they managed to take down
twenty four
of our kind single-handedly. And there are only three people in this city with that kind of freakish power. One of them is you, Krystal. Then there’s the Conduit. And then there’s the She-Hulk.”

              A ripple of agreement passes over the crowd, but I’m the only one who seems to be confused. I have no idea what She-Hulk has to do with anything that’s going on. Not until Alyssa squeezes my hand, and asks, “How come every time something goes wrong around here, it’s automatically my fault?”

              Nobody speaks for a moment; it seems nobody can think of a good enough answer to her outburst. Krystal tries to get everyone back on track by saying, “We’re not accusing anybody right now-“

              “Really? Cuz I’m pretty sure that’s what it sounds like. And I’m sick of it.” Alyssa glares at the people around us, and several of them back away. “Seriously, every goddamn time! ‘The Lost wanna come after us? Alyssa’s a spy. Masked warrior on the loose? Gotta be Alyssa. My nose is bleeding? Alyssa kicked me. I can’t get it up? Alyssa gave me erectile dysfunction.’ I’m starting to wonder if you people are discriminating against me because I’m into girls, or if you’re all just mentally unbalanced.”

              In the hush that follows, I take the opportunity to add, “Allie couldn’t have done something like this. For one thing, she wouldn’t have bothered wearing a ridiculous outfit. And for another, she was in the hospital all night.”

              “Then what about the Conduit?,” someone shouts from the back of the crowd.

              “Nice try,” I shout back, silently thanking Rachel for giving me an alibi. “But I was on a date last night.”

              “This is getting us nowhere!,” Krystal shouts over the response to my claim. “The sooner we stop blaming each other, the sooner we can start working on a solution.”

              “What solution is there?,” someone asks.

              “We split up, and search the entire city. Maybe ask a few people if they’ve seen anything. There are enough of us that odds are, we can find him by tonight.”

              The rest of the clan grudgingly agrees, even though I know it’s pointless to search. Nobody would ever think to look on the docks in Brooklyn. There’s also the fact that we don’t have many people in our clan who can sense others like Alyssa, Krystal, and I can. And even if there were more people capable of tracking like us, the enchanted chains holding Paul restrict his power, making him stick out no more than a normal human. The chances he’ll be found before I bring him back are slim at best.

              Krystal breaks us into two person groups, giving each of us ten block search parameters. Alyssa and I are lumped together, and told to sweep every building along a limited stretch of 5
th
Avenue. We’re told to look for alleyways, garages, warehouses, condemned buildings, any place it would be convenient to store an entire living person. She even suggests some places one would find a body, and I fight back a gasp. In my rush to attend the meeting, I’d completely forgotten to feed Paul. And now that Alyssa’s tagging along, I don’t think I’ll get the chance for a while.

              As soon as everyone knows where they’re heading, the meeting is dismissed, and each of us heads to our designated areas. Alyssa and I walk along the tracks for a stretch, aiming to just get on the subway and ride to our destination. Once we’re well out of earshot, Alyssa announces, “I’m splitting. What are you gonna do all day?”

              “What? Where are you going?”

              “I don’t know. I just know I’m not wasting my time looking for someone when
you
know where they are.”

              I freeze, and grab Alyssa’s arm so that we both come to a stop. “Are you seriously accusing me?,” I ask.

              “These people may be dumb as bricks, but they were right about one thing. There are only a handful of people in this city who could have handled a fight that big. And it wasn’t me or Krystal, so you do the math.”

              “I was out all night! Just ask Rachel, or Nick-“

              “Heather. I know you too well. The whole masked hero deal has you written all over it.”

              I roll my eyes, and start walking further down the tunnel. “Even if I were involved in this guy’s disappearance, what would you do about it?”

              “Go with you when you bring him back.”

              “How did you know I was going to-“

              “Again, Heather, I know you too well.”

              “Either way, my answer is no.” I steady myself against the wall, and immediately wish I hadn’t; I don’t know what substance my hand just came in contact with, but I know I no longer want it on me. “You’re not coming with me.”

              “Why not? We make a good team, and-“

              “Allie, this isn’t just a delivery. I grabbed him so I could get inside information on the Lost. So I could take down the whole clan. It’s going to be dangerous.”

              “I laugh in the face of danger.”

              “Be serious! You could get hurt, or worse.”

              “You’re the one being ridiculous! Heather, if this is going to be so dangerous, then why are you so adamant about going alone?”

              I try to come up with an answer, but to be honest, I can’t think of any good enough reasons to keep Alyssa away. She’s handy in a fight, and we make a good team. Her help could only improve my chances of success. “Fine,” I mutter when I’ve made up my mind. “Meet me at my place before sunset.”

              “What’s the plan?,” Alyssa asks. I might be imagining it, but I could almost swear she sounds genuinely excited.

              “The Lost don’t want anything to do with us. They follow their leader’s orders because they’re all cursed. If we cut off the head, there shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”

              “Got it. Anything else I need to know?”

              I stop, and turn to look at Alyssa before answering. “Yeah. Wear something black.”

***

              I have all day to get ready for what I have planned, so when Nick calls and asks if I’d like to come over, I gladly say yes. I walk over to the condo as soon as I’m showered and wearing brand new clothes. I’m careful to wear another quarter sleeve shirt; the bruises from last night are starting to turn a sickly purple, and Nick will
definitely
ask questions.

              I walk into the lobby of the condo, expecting to ride the elevator up to Nick’s floor, but he’s already waiting for me just out of sight with a bag slung over his shoulder. He kisses me as soon as we’re close enough to touch, then grabs my hand and leads me back out the front door.

              “Where are we going?,” I ask as we step onto the sidewalk.

              Nick grins at me, and says, “To the far away land of… across the street.”

              As it turns out, he isn’t joking. Nick and I cross to the other side of 5
th
Avenue, and through one of the many entrances to Central Park. He leads me along the winding paths, ever deeper into the park, past picnics and softball games and people lounging in the sun. Surprisingly, I refrain from asking where we’re going. Part of me is excited to see what Nick has planned; he hasn’t surprised me like this in such a long time, I can hardly even remember when the last time was.

              We finally stop at an unclaimed patch of grass by the lake, and Nick kneels on the ground to dig in his bag. He pulls out a blanket, and hands me one corner to help unfold it. We find some rocks nearby, and use them to hold down the corners before Nick takes a seat near the middle. I plop down ungracefully on the blanket next to him, and gladly accept the sandwich he offers. “What’s all this for?,” I ask before taking my first bite.

              “I don’t know. It just felt like a good day for a picnic.” Nick lies down beside me, just watching me carefully. “I guess I just want to make the most of these kinds of days while we still can.”

              “While we still can? What, are we dying or something?”

              “No, it’s just… things are gonna change soon. You’re gonna start getting noticeably bigger, people are going to find out, you’re eventually going to have the baby, and we’re both gonna be busy.”

              “Yeah, you’re right.” I grab a drink from out of Nick’s bag, and try to imagine our future together. The baby’s going to make things challenging, but I’d like to think that if we both get jobs, and ask friends to help us out, things will work out fine. I’m not worried in the slightest about what lies ahead for us. As long as Nick and I are together, I’m sure we can handle anything life throws at us.

              For a while, neither of us says anything. We just eat the food Nick made for us, and stare out at the water in companionable silence, occasionally people watching when something interesting enough catches our attention. I lie back on the blanket, and scoot over towards Nick until he wraps his arm around me, and pulls me closer. I’m nearly calm enough to fall asleep when Nick disrupts the tranquil air. “Can I ask you something?”

              “Anything.”

              “How would you feel if I went back to school?”

              I open an eye, and stare up at Nick’s face. “Back to school?”

              “I was in my second year of college when Eve turned me. I wanted to go back, but the bloodlust was so intense at first, I couldn’t handle being surrounded by humans in an enclosed space. And after that, I just got busy with other things, and forgot all about finishing my degree.”

              “What were you studying?”

              “Medicine, at first, but then I lost interest and couldn’t decide on a new path. Now I think I know what I want to do.”

              “Do tell.”

              “I want to be a teacher.” I grin at the thought of Nick as a teacher, and he takes it as me laughing at his new goal. “No, really! I think I’d be pretty good at it. And I don’t know, if we’re bringing a child into the world, I want to be able to say I did more with my life than ask ‘Would you like whipped cream on that?’ a hundred times a day.”

              “I can see it,” I tell him. “The kids will all be huge fans of Mr. Brandt when you make it.”

              “You think so?”

              “Yeah.”

              “What about Mrs. Brandt? What will she be up to?”

              My heart nearly stops. I look up at Nick, and try to bury the panic swelling in my chest. I don’t know why I’m reacting so violently to the idea of marrying him; I’m carrying his child, that’s about as intimate as we can be. But at the same time, I can’t imagine myself marrying him. I don’t think I can see myself marrying anyone. It just seems like a dated ritual to me. I don’t want to ruin the moment, though, so I whisper back, “She doesn’t know yet. But I’m sure she’s going to be very proud of what her husband has done for them both.”

              “Are you alright?” Nick pulls back a little to examine me more closely. He must have noticed that something is off.

              “I’m fine.”

              “Are you sure?”

              “Yeah… actually, I’m gonna go. I’m hanging out with the girls tonight, and I wanna be sure everything’s ready.”

              “Okay…”

              I plant a gentle kiss on Nick’s cheek, then push myself up, brushing myself off as I stand. Nick watches me with a wounded expression, and I want to make it better, but I don’t know what to say. I just lower my head and walk back the way we came, fully aware of the sad eyes burning holes into my back.