02 Seekers (36 page)

“Well, that sounds like a personal problem,” I said, crossing my arms in the appearance of calm.

Really, I was panicking. Even though she hadn’t been sent by Marcus I knew I was in a tough spot. Was it true she had the kids? I didn’t think Spider would betray me unless she did. He was a lot of things, things most people would have a problem with, but he would never betray a friend without just cause. He was loyal to a fault.

“Does this make it your problem, too?” She looked at Spider again, and he started choking as if she had hands to his throat. His hands clawed at his throat to fight the feeling as he lifted even higher off the roof. His face started to change colors as the air left his body.

“Stop! Stop!” I yelled, as all my calm disappeared in an instant. “I’ll get your damn sword, just leave him alone!”

She released her hold on him and he dropped to the roof. I bent down to check on him and found I could hear his thoughts again. He was disoriented from the lack of oxygen, but he was still Spider. He was still one of the smartest people I had ever met
…can’t go in Eli’s study for some
reason. You’ll be safe…
His thoughts cut off again as Anna realized she had lost control over them.

“He’s right. I can’t go in there. I tried when he told me you had hidden the sword. If you go in there right now and get it, I will let him live.”

“See…I know we just met and all, but I can’t help the feeling you’re used to lying. So, how about he goes inside this magic room you can’t enter, and then I’ll get your sword.”

She flicked her red ponytail in irritation. “I don’t care! Just get my sword!”

“No…” Spider gasped. “The others…”

He tried to resist my hands, but I kept a firm grasp on him. When we got to the glass door, I hesitated, wondering what she meant by not being able to go inside, and why she just didn’t make Spider get the sword if she were coercing him into helping her. But I knew I had to do one thing…I shoved Spider inside the room and slammed the door shut again, my back bracing

against it so he couldn’t get out. I ignored his pounding against the glass and stared Anna down.

“The sword isn’t here. I moved it.” I had forgotten it when I had stormed out of the church. “Let the kids go, and I’ll tell you where it is.”

“Don’t you want some guarantee of safety?” she asked.

“We both know you don’t plan on keeping that sort of promise,” I said.

“You’re right, I don’t. It will be fun to see if they can break you…after I get my sword, of course.”

“They?”

“The Seekers. They offer a standard reward for new blood such as yourself. They also offer a reward for humans they can do experiments on. It’s slightly less, but I’m saving for my

retirement...every penny counts. Humans can be so sentimental about that sort of thing, and I think you are more human than Watcher. So, here is my bargain. You will tell me where the

sword is really hidden, and I will sell you to Damian, instead of those kids Spider begged me not to harm. Don’t tell me, and I will kill you now, and sell them in your place.”

What was up with this week and choices that sucked?

“For the record, I hope you go to hell.”

She gestured toward the stairs with an ironic smile on her lips. “The sword first.”

I bent down and picked up an old board off the littered roof and jammed it against the door so Spider, who was still pounding on the door, couldn’t get out. Then, with my better judgment gone, my heart resolute, and my fear pounding in my chest, I led the way to a church I had promised myself never to go inside again.

Chapter 19

The sword was under the same pew I had left it under while I had waited for Daniel. It was a miracle someone hadn’t stolen it. I kept my head down and my eyes averted, hoping no one

would notice me as I retrieved it. No one did. They were all too busy admiring the décor, or had their eyes closed as they prayed for miracles. Anna had refused to come inside, her eyes full of disdain as she eyed the monument to human faith. I briefly entertained the idea of leaving through the door I had discovered after my argument with Daniel, but I knew I couldn’t leave the kids to her evil. It was my fault they were in this mess.

Anna was waiting on the bench I had sat at while waiting for Serenity.

I hesitated before giving her the sword. “Where are they?” I demanded.

“I will take you to them,” she promised.

She held her hand out for the sword I was clutching. How much trouble would I get for fighting her here? If I won, maybe I could exchange her life for the location of the kids.

“I will win,” she said, perhaps sensing the adrenaline surging through my body. “But I wouldn’t mind the exercise,” she added calmly. I sighed and handed her the sword. “Good choice,” she said. “Now, for your friends…follow me.”

When we got to the cemetery Daniel had rescued me from, I knew she had lied, not that I had honestly expected her to keep her word. Anna felt my suspicion before I voiced it. “Catching on, are we?” She laughed. “You didn’t think the sword would earn those kids’ freedom, did you?”

“I had to try,” I said.

“How noble,” she mocked me.

I sucked in a deep breath, knowing she had brought me to this cemetery to either kill me or turn me over to Damian. Neither would help the kids. I spun and started running away from the

cemetery. I ran faster than I had ever run in my entire life. I took turn after turn, my knowledge of the streets, and Spider’s innumerable shortcuts, helping me out. It wasn’t enough. Anna was obviously very skilled at tracking people down. I rounded a corner to find her waiting for me.

Before I could back away and start running again, she punched me in the face.

Clutching at my face, the pain extreme – something was definitely broken – I fell to the ground.

Anna didn’t give me time to recuperate. She came forward and kicked me hard in the stomach.

When a Watcher decides to hit you hard, it’s enough to make anyone cry…or die. I did neither –

I threw up. Violently. All over the litter filled street.

Anna waited for me to finish then she grabbed me by the back of the shirt. Holding me tight against her body, she walked me back in the direction of the cemetery. Half delirious, my body urging me to pass out from the pain, I didn’t fight back. Around the pain, I was aware of her entering the cemetery, and us stopping in front of a huge white crypt. The crypt was secured by a rusted, metal door. It was decorated with macabre symbols of death. At the right of the door, she pushed in a skull with two cross bones, and the door opened with a hiss. Beyond the door was a dark tunnel.

She kept me pressed against her body, my feet stumbling often over the uneven terrain. Hers were certain and steady, and were the only thing that kept me from pitching over in the dark. We walked for a couple of minutes, before the feeling in the tunnel changed. It went from dirt to modern, though the dripping water kept its relentless pace. Flickering florescent lights

highlighted the metal tunnels. Doors started to appear along the walls. Even in my confused state, I sensed the terror within the rooms. I was back in Damian’s dungeon. I couldn’t make heads or tails of our direction, but when Anna stopped I knew we weren’t at our final destination.

“Stop!” a male voice called as we walked.

Anna sighed. “This won’t take long,” she assured me.

“What are you doing down here?” the same man asked in a superior tone of voice. Through the haze of pain I saw two men blocking the hall. They both wore black robes with red stitching along the border.

“That is between Damian and me. While I’m thinking about it, do be a dear and tell him Anna has arrived. I would hate to arrive unannounced. It’s so…tacky.”

“I’m not going to bother him with some floozy looking to make a trade for his favor,” the man said. His companion snickered at his words.

“No?” Anna asked dangerously.

“Absolutely not,” the man said.

“Hm.”

I wasn’t sure how she managed while keeping such a firm grip on me, but suddenly her sword was out of her back sheath and was piercing his body. He clutched at the sword impaling his heart, his fingers turning bloody. Anna removed the sword from the man’s heart – causing the man to fall to the ground – and pointed it at the second man.

“Tell Damian you’ve arrived…got it,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Where can I stick this one until I’ve talked with him?” she asked, stroking the side of my face.

The man was backing away in fear, but he stopped at her question. “Um…I think we have some spare rooms down here. Follow me.”

She wiped her bloody sword off on the dead man’s body then, her grip tightening on me, she followed the man down the hall. Our guide got a second man, a man with more keys than I could count, to unlock one of the heavy metal doors.

“Is it lined with silver?” Anna asked.

“She’s a Watcher?” the man with the keys asked.

“I think…yes, yes she is,” Anna said uncertainly.

“This should work, then. It’s for…conversations,” the man supplied.

“Ah. Make sure you don’t have any ‘conversations’ with her until I’ve talked with Damian. I want my money before you start torturing her, or whatever you do down here.”

“Of course…no problem…” he agreed nervously.

Anna shoved me into the room. I stumbled and pitched forward, my injuries unbalancing me, but my fall was stopped by a heavy metal chair in the center of the room. Holding on to it, I glared back at her and saw her smirk. The jailer shut the door with a heavy ‘clank’ and the keys rattled in the lock. I took a deep breath to keep from throwing up again.

I touched my nose tentatively, cringing at the pain. I brought away the hand and looked at the blood. My blood. It was so red, so different than the others of my kind. It was a sign of

weakness. It would spell my death.

I pushed away from the sturdy chair, urging my brain to stop being so morose; it wouldn’t help anything. I wiped away what blood I could from my face and focused on what the room gave me.

The room was lit with only a small light bulb, which flickered, – why did everything have to flicker down here! – but gave me enough light to see by. I inspected the chair first for a weapon.

It was solid steel and welded into the floor. Arm and leg straps were the only ornamentation; they were welded down as well. It was obviously a chair meant to contain exceptionally strong people as they were tortured.

The door, though it was thick metal, had a small grate at eye level, so that the jailers could look in. I moved to it and peeked out. My ears listened to every booted step of my jailer as he walked away with the others. Other sounds were just as obvious – the water that dripped constantly, scuffling, shifting sounds of people and screams of inhuman pain from a long way off. Around me, overwhelming me, I heard the scared thoughts of others as they, too, listened to the heavy boots of my retreating guard. The thoughts were too much to handle on top of my own worry, but I couldn’t block them out.

Why are they doing this?! Let me die now!

So hungry…food…I need food.

I’m going to die here…oh, God I’m going to die here!

Becca! I need to see Becca! Where is my daughter! I’ll do any research they want, just give me
Becca!

Visuals of dark rooms and unfamiliar places and faces as the people searched for comfort circled around in a dizzying haze. One voice searching for comfort around the fear overrode the others.

I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain - and back in rain. I have
out walked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane.

I clutched the small bars again, and looked around with more intensity. I couldn’t see much beyond the white lights and the dark floor, but I knew that voice – or rather, I knew that thought.

“Twitch!” I hissed through the tunnels. “It’s Clare. Where are you? Are the others here?”

“Clare?” A different voice asked.

“Ethan!” I said. “Are you okay? Are the others okay?”

“We’re all here. A crazy redhead took Spider before she sold us. We don’t know where they

went,” Ethan said.

“She said she was going to kill him,” Cora added.

“He’s safe,” I replied. “He’s at Eli’s hideout.”

“But she caught you instead?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah. Listen. I don’t have much time. That crazy chick is trying to sell me to Damian like she did you...When she gets back, I don’t know where they’ll take me. Can you guys get out?” I asked.

“Sure we can, we’ve just been hanging around for fun.” Sprint’s voice echoed down the hall.

“We like creepy dungeons.”

“Ethan knows how to pick locks, but he doesn’t have anything to pick it with,” Cora added.

“Shut up!” a strange voice hissed. “They’ll hear you.”

“They already know we’re here,” I said. “It’s not like they’re gonna be shocked we know how to speak. And I’m not afraid of them.” It was weird, but true. I had lost everything in the past two days. I suddenly no longer feared what they would do to me...but I feared what they would do to my friends. My hands tightened on the tiny bars. “I’m going to try and get you out, okay? Let me think about it for a moment.”

“They’re going to kill me aren’t they?” A different, unfamiliar voice asked.

“Only if I can’t get you out of here,” I replied.

“Becca! I need Becca!” a man said. “Becca!”’

“Papa!” another voice cried. “They said if I cried out they would kill you!”

The man started crying. “Becca! I didn’t mean to help them…I didn’t mean to…you’re safe!”

“Help them?” I asked over his crying.

“I’m a chemist. They’ve been forcing me to establish different interactions with a silver

substance I’ve never encountered before. It’s highly volatile. I think they’re making a weapon of some kind with it. They take my results and force new samples on me every week. I haven’t seen my daughter in weeks…Becca! Daddy’s here…I’ll get you out.”