Asher #2
He’s gone before I can confirm that I heard him.
Within moments, a torrential downpour starts, and I turn around to find students rushing for cover.
Some dash to the student center, but most duck into the nearest lecture halls.
There was no rain in the forecast so no one came equipped with their umbrellas.
A too-thick fog billows up from the ground, and I take that as an indication that Mads and Fox are on their way over.
Thorne starts the engine, and I hop into the passenger seat.
It seems trivial, but I pull the black nylon belt across my chest and fasten it.
The interior of Thorne’s vehicle is dark thanks to the heavy clouds outside and the barely legal tint he had done after he got the thing last year.
His voyeuristic tendencies saw a use for it, but I doubt this scenario ever crossed his mind.
Of all the ways this should have gone, sending out Maddox and Fox for retrieval was not my favorite.
It left the possibility of too many witnesses, but between the two of them, they were the less likely to cause her alarm right away.
Thorne wouldn’t be on our side of campus, and a stalking allegation on top of kidnapping was where he drew the line.
Though she and Fox talked yesterday at the gym, he and Mads are the two she’s seen the least. Elemental magic has many perks, but having the ability to shape-shift or manipulate reality would have been more helpful today.
A crack of lighting lights the sky, clearly another distraction.
“There.” I point to one figure running toward us being followed by a bulkier form.
Thorne pulls out of the parking spot and up to the curb where Maddox flings the door open to scramble inside.
A racing heartbeat later, Fox hoists Elsbeth into the back before slamming the door shut.
My body is thrown into my own door as Thorn peels out.
“Go, go, go!” Fox strains, holding a wiggling Elsbeth in his lap.
“What the fuck?” Elsbeth’s muffled voice sounds weak and shaky. “Let me go, you assholes!”
“Shouldn’t she be unconscious?” Maddox asks, holding her feet across his lap.
She seems more than disoriented, but Maddox is right. Fox has used his magic over water to manipulate the human body before. It’s still experimental but was effective on a guy who was bullying Maddox and me back in high school.
“I don’t want to hurt her,” Fox admits, avoiding a stray limb that’s aiming for anything in reach. “If I amp it up too much, there won’t be a Elsbeth to question.”
“Well, do something.” Maddox grunts as Elsbeth’s boot connects with his chest. “Fuck!”
“Hold her still,” Thorne snaps, reaching a hand in the back to lift the beanie that was being used to shield Elsbeth’s eyes. “Take a deep breath, sweetheart.”
Smoke and flame fill his hand and steal the oxygen from her lungs. The beanie falls to the floor and her head lulls on Fox’s shoulder as her body goes limp. The SUV sways as Thorne pulls his arm back and corrects the wheel.
“Don’t kill her.” Maddox is starting to panic.
His face turns red and his breaths become short but heavy. “I need . . . out.” He pants harder, until he’s pale.
“He’s going to vomit,” I tell Thorne. “If you don’t want to have this oversized SUV deep cleaned, I suggest you pull over.”
“What a fucking shit show,” Thorne mumbles under his breath but rotates the steering wheel down a back alley a mile away from campus.
We haven’t made a full stop when Maddox opens the door and falls out to the street, his stomach emptying. I open my door and round the front of the car to his side. “Breathe. It’ll be over soon.”
I rub his back as another wave of sick splashes onto the pavement. It dawns on me that this could a physical reaction he’s having to Elsbeth. “I’ll get in the back with her and Fox. You take shotgun.”
He nods weakly and braces himself on the polished car panel.
I look into the back seat at Fox and an unconscious Elsbeth.
Her chest is rising and falling softly, so at least Thorne hasn’t killed her yet.
But it’s Fox’s expression that makes me pause.
He’s gathered her up into him, holding the side of her face to his chest and smoothing down the auburn waves that were angered by the rain.
Maddox shutting the passenger side door forces me to move, leaving me no other reason to put off clamoring into the back seat.
Fox has his back resting on the door and Elsbeth’s torso nestled between his legs.
I buckle myself in and bring her feet onto my lap as Thorne turns back onto the street.
With her out cold, Thorne can take main roads to the manor without worrying about drawing too much attention.
“You alright?” Fox asks just loud enough for me to hear him.
I nod because how am I supposed to admit that none of this feels right mid felony? Not that a quick charm and call to the right father would save us from any repercussions. Perhaps we should be more concerned whether Mariana or one of our mother’s will get to us first.
“Mads?” This time Fox reaches his free hand over the seat in front of him to touch Maddox’s arm.
“Yeah. I just can’t touch her. Something about her . . .” He takes a deep breath, still reeling from whatever overtook him before. Whether it was anxiety or whatever magic they’re all convinced she possesses, he will have to keep his distance.
A long moment of silence passes through the cabin of the vehicle.
Familiar trees, buildings, and landscapes pass by the windows and the knots plaguing my intestines tighten.
The manor comes into view at last, and Thorne parks in the main driveway outside the front door.
He cuts the engine off then turns back to Fox and me. “Time for our guest to settle in.”
“I’ll take her up,” I tell Fox, who nods in agreement and takes her school bag off the floor.
She’s light. I hardly pull at my ability to take her into my arms and walk up the stone steps.
Thorne opens the door for me, not taking his eyes off her until I pass him and step into the main sitting room.
I need to be sure that Maddox has recovered before locking Elsbeth up in the room between his and Fox’s.
We should have prepared one of the rooms on the third floor, but there is a risk of not being able to get to her fast enough if she tries to escape.
Maddox comes through the door behind Fox, his face still pale, but the pink of his cheeks is coming back. “I’m fine.” He answers my silent question and collapses onto the couch nearest him.
“Yeah, you look it,” Thorne snarks then looks between Fox and me. “I’ll get Mads some water, then I’ll come up and help you seal her room.”
Fox leads the way up the stairs and down the hall of the second floor. The passages are narrow, one of the qualities of older homes that needs to be updated, but then again, how often have I had to worry about someone’s head banging into the wall as I carried them to their room?
I turn into the open door and into the spare. It was used as storage for the last eighty years. The last legacy to claim this room was Alric’s father. It should have been Alric’s for a time before passing to Thorne’s.
The bed is smaller than mine or Fox’s, but it welcomes her sleeping form with sinking relief.
Fox reaches down to move a loose lock of hair from her face, and the soft touch seems to rouse her to semiconsciousness.
Her eyes flutter but don’t fully open. I look over to Fox, who’s watching her intently.
“I think we should go before she wakes up fully.”
“How has she survived you and Thorne’s power over her?”
“I guess we’ll find out,” he says, turning toward the door and waiting just outside the threshold for me to follow.
I take one more long look at our captive and study the rhythm of her breathing. Her steady inhales confirm that we won’t have to bury a body tonight. The collar of her sweater gaps to show more fair skin and a glint of gold. A necklace, I assume, but don’t dare investigate.
“Ready?” Thorne’s voice at the door pulls me out of the whirling thoughts. He has a grimoire in one hand and a black candle in the other, ready to complete the incantation that will essentially make this room and house her prison.