Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
Our controlled glide carried us all the way to the water, and to the soft, lapping banks of freedom. At least, that’s how I felt when I landed. Lucien had been careful to explain how I was supposed to land so I didn’t accidentally twist something on the way down. Lucky for me, I had enough coordination to pull it off without getting hurt.
We had landed on a quiet section of a warehouse district just shy of Logan International. There wasn’t anyone here, the cranes were all silent, and most of the lights were out. As soon as I hit the ground, I shrugged out of the parachute backpack and let it fall to the ground.
Lucien was only a second or two behind me, touching down in a cloud of crimson that vanished as soon as his feet met the ground. He took his backpack off and set down the box he had been carrying since we left the Recondite temple.
“I just base jumped,” I said. “Right? Isn’t that what jumping off a building with a parachute is called?”
“It is,” Lucien said.
“I can’t believe I just did that.”
“I have to admit, I’m surprised we didn’t die.”
“You really thought we could?”
“There was a moment…” he trailed off. The serious look on his face deflated my excitement.
I walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
I glanced at the box, then looked up at him again. “Is it that?”
He shook his head. The Recondites aren’t going to forget what just happened. They will retaliate.”
“I know.”
“Bee… I may have just restarted the Shadow War.”
I moved my hand up to his cheek. “Hey, none of this was your fault, okay?”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
I shook my head. “You didn’t restart the Shadow War; your father did the day he…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “You didn’t do this, okay?”
Lucien placed his hand against mine. “I’m already wracked with guilt over my part in all of this, and now I’ve gone and made things worse.”
“You only feel that way because you’ve been used. Used for your smarts, for your gifts, for your courage.”
“Courage,” he shook his head. “Courage would’ve been turning my magic on my father the moment it looked like he was going to… do what he did. Instead, I did what he told me to, just like I’ve done again today.”
“You didn’t have a choice. Neither of us did.”
“Didn’t I?” he picked the box up off the ground. “Don’t I?”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t have to give this to him. I could break the seals and use it myself.”
“You don’t even know what it does.”
“I don’t, but if he wants it, it must have some kind of power. Maybe enough that it’ll even the odds in a confrontation against him.”
“And if it doesn’t? What if it makes you weaker, somehow? You’ll regret having done something so reckless.” I paused. “I like to think I know a thing or two about acting without thinking, and you aren’t thinking now… right now, you’re just feeling.”
“I feel like I should do something.”
“And we will. Like you said, we’ll take this thing back to him, it’ll put his guard down, and when his guard is down, we’ll plan our next move. Besides, now that we’ve done this, he may give me a little more freedom around the house. I’m looking forward to not getting locked in a bedroom again.”
He stared at me, his expression tight, and serious. “How can you be so upbeat and positive?”
I shrugged. “Weirdly, when someone else is in a crisis, it often makes the other person calmer. Whenever my brother freaks out about something, I’m there to bring him down. And when I’m up the walls, he’s the sane one. It just works.”
Lucien took a deep breath. “We’re going to find him,” he said, “And we’re going to put an end to all of this.”
For the first time, I truly believed him. I believed his intentions, believed his heart. I knew he wanted to do the right thing by me, by Max, and by my parents. Lucien Diaboli was no longer his father’s puppet, and that meant I had gained a powerful ally.
I wanted to kiss him, then. I wanted to show him I was on his side, and that no matter what was going to come of tonight, I was with him. A pair of headlights broke the darkness and stole our attention, though; a car was pulling up to pick us up. Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumbass had arrived, and they looked pretty eager to get us back to the Diaboli mansion.
I retreated from Lucien, though I was sure I had been spotted standing near him, at least. When the men arrived, they opened the back door of the sedan. Lucien offered that I should go in first. It wasn’t until I saw the black ski-mask they were holding that I realized why my anxiety was as high as it was.
“Put this on,” he said.
“Is that really necessary?” Lucien asked.
“Your father’s orders,” came the curt reply. “Put it on… now.”
I sighed, snatched the mask out of his hand, and put it on—backwards, of course. I had to guide myself into the back of the car at that point, and when I was in, I had the door slammed on me. A few seconds later, Lucien entered the car, or at least, I thought it was him. I was about to speak to him when I realized, it wasn’t Lucien sitting next to me.
The feeling I got from the man who had slid in beside me was totally different. He left far too big an impression on the seat, and he smelled differently. It was a good thing I hadn’t opened my mouth, otherwise I could’ve been in for a world of trouble.
That Lucien was sitting in the front seat made for a tedious trip back to the mansion. It wasn’t exactly situated centrally; the drive was at least an hour long. It gave me a lot to think about, but it also kept my anxiety level at a ten. I couldn’t exactly relax knowing one of Mason Diaboli’s goons was sitting next to me. All I could do was keep quiet, keep milling thoughts about in my head, and try to ignore the sinking pit of dread opening up in my stomach.
The starting and stopping of nighttime city traffic gave way to the smoother ride of a highway. When the slow, winding curves started to hit, I knew, we were close, so I sat upright and did my best to keep my composure.
The car stopped once on the way into the mansion, presumably at the main gate. It then stopped again after a short bend, at the front of the house. I heard the parking brake go on, and my heartrate started to pick up the pace, nausea rising along with it. I had to wait until I was told to get out, so I did, sitting patiently while doors opened and slammed shut.
Mine was eventually opened, allowing me to get outside. Once I was out, I was told to remove my mask… and there was Mason Diaboli, standing tall and looking smug in a grey suit. He had a glass of something in one hand, probably whiskey, and he was swirling it as I had my mask removed.
“Well, well,” he said, “You made it in one piece.”
“Were you hoping I wouldn’t come back?” I asked.
“Why would I want that? You’re my ticket back into power, one of the last Ethera. I need you safe and sound, that’s why I put you in Lucien’s good care.” He turned his eyes onto his son, who was just leaving the car with the box in his hands. “Speak of the devil.”
Lucien looked up at his father. I wasn’t given so much as a glance. “As promised,” he said, offering the box up.
Mason gave his glass to one of his cronies, came up to Lucien, and inspected the box. He then signaled to one of his men to take the box inside the house. Finally, he gave his red eyes to his son… but if he was proud, or pleased, his face certainly didn’t show it.
“Well done,” he said, slapping Lucien on the shoulder. He patted him another few times for good measure. “Well fucking done.”
Lucien took a deep breath in and bowed his head. “You asked, we delivered.”
“We?” Mason asked, raising an eyebrow in my direction.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without her.”
“I knew I could bring out that raw magical talent in you, Ethera.” He took back his glass of whisky and necked the rest of it, “Were they pissed as all fuck?”
Not as pissed as you’re getting, clearly.
“I think it’s safe to say the treaty is now null and void.” I replied.
A wide grin spread across his face. “Let them come! We have the crown, all we need is the engine, and the Recondites don’t stand a chance. Soon as we get that amulet back, we can all be one, big, happy family.”
Bastard.
“Whatever you say,” I said through my teeth.
Mason turned to his son. “Get her upstairs and locked up. I need to go over a couple of things with you.”
“Locked up?” Lucien asked.
His father’s eyebrow arched once more. “You have your instructions.”
“She hasn’t tried to escape, and she’s proven her loyalty to the family. It’s thanks to her magic that we even have the crown—I will not lock her up.”
“If you are unable to perform the appointed task, son, then I’ll get one of our associates to tuck her in tonight, instead?”
I took a step toward Mason, and one of the men at my back grabbed hold of my shoulder and dug his fingers into my skin. I didn’t flinch. “You said I would earn my place if I did this,” I said, “I’ve done it, now give me the respect you promised.”
“I promised no such thing, child. I told you it would start you on the path toward earning your place.” Mason sauntered over to me, malice in his red eyes. “I suggest you go quietly to your room and stay there… otherwise you and I are going to have a private conversation about how to be a good house guest.”
I didn’t want to look at Lucien. I didn’t want to give anything away, but I already had a sinking feeling that too much had been given away. Maybe we hadn’t been careful enough, or maybe Mason Diaboli already knew what me and his son had gotten up to in the dead of night; what had passed between us.
About the connection we had.
If he did, then I knew I would be dead as soon as this whole thing was over. There was going to be no place for me in the Diaboli family, and there would definitely be no place for Max. Lucien’s loyalty was supposed to lie only with his father and his name, not with some random Ethera he met in a club one night.
Mason would not tolerate that.
I nodded. “I understand,” I said.
“Lucien,” said Mason, making his way back into the house. “See her upstairs, then join me in the study, would you?”
We both waited a moment for Mason to disappear, then we headed into the house. We were followed all the way to the base of the stairs, but we were then left alone. Not that it mattered, in here. There were demons everywhere. Already I could feel them crowding me, making the mansion’s already tight hallways feel even more constricting and claustrophobic.
When I reached the bedroom, I realized instantly, the windows had been barred.
“Of course,” I said to myself. “Why would I have more freedom for my troubles?”
The bars were symbolic more than anything else. I knew that. I’d had to phase through way more complicated barriers than this on my way toward getting the crown, but Mason had wanted to hammer home the one indisputable fact about my stay in his house.
I was a prisoner here.
I turned around to Lucien. “Thanks for the escort,” I said.
Lucien nodded. “Don’t mention it.”
There was a look in his eyes like he was burning to speak, to say something, but he couldn’t. So, he did the only other thing he could, and caught me entirely by surprise.
The sudden rush of magic hit me like a wave of anxiety. I felt like someone had just run their nails along my back, the hairs on the nape of my neck went up, my eyes widened. I wanted to resist, but I also knew it was Lucien… he wasn’t going to hurt me.
“Don’t speak,” came an echoed voice seemingly from somewhere in the back of my mind. “We leave tonight.”
Just as soon as he had grabbed me with his magic, he let me go. I felt my entire body deflate, as if I had been holding in a breath. Lucien quickly turned around and left, shutting the bedroom door and locking it.
For a couple of moments, I stood where I was, rooted to the spot, unable to move or even think. Lucien was gone, but his message had been clear. Tonight. As in, tonight, tonight. How in the world was he going to orchestrate that? Maybe he was going to wait until everyone was asleep and then deal with the demons… silence them, or stop them from seeing us, somehow.
I was left alone, with a thousand questions rattling around in my brain, and the strange feeling that jumping out of a building with a parachute wasn’t going to be the wildest thing that happened to me today.