Avenge (24 page)

“
More like covering all my
bases,” he snapped back. “And bring the girl. We need the spy to
take her back.”

I knew it was a long shot, but I made
one more plea. “Could I…could I have a minute with her? With my
real sister before you take her back. I need to know she’s okay.
She’s probably scared out of her mind.”

Alastair huffed, but waved his hands
dismissively. “Fine, two minutes.”

“
Thank you. And I need to
hear from Max before I turn myself over to you. I need to know
you’ve turned him back. Or everything is off.”

“
You’re pushing it, little
girl.” I crossed my arms defiantly until he agreed. “Fine. But
nothing else. And before I do you must give me at least one piece
of information so I know you’re going to hold up your end of the
deal.”

I paused for a moment. I wanted him to
think I was thinking it over, but really I was stalling for time.
“Agreed.”

Ten minutes later, I burst
into tears as my sister walked into the room and stood in front of
me.

Chapter
Twenty-Eight

She was brought in by two goons, who
kept their hands firmly on her shoulders so she couldn’t run up to
me. I could see her struggling to get free and it nearly broke my
heart. I couldn’t take my eyes off her beautiful face, but needed
to be sure. Alastair toyed with my emotions for too long, and he
didn’t play fair. This could all be another trick to let my guard
down, and I couldn’t fall for it until I knew for sure.

“
Is it really
you?”

Jessica stomped on one of the goon’s
feet and slipped out of his grip, running to me at full speed
before she threw her arms around me and hugged me fiercely. “Big
One! I missed you so much!” She nuzzled her face into my neck, her
tiny fingers gripping my arms tightly. She no longer smelled of the
No More Tangles shampoo she always used, but instead she smelled
like a bar the morning after a big party: stale cigarettes and
cheap beer. I fisted my hand in her hair, furious that someone
would subject her to that.

“
Who are these people,
Lucy? Where are Mommy and Daddy? How did I get here?”

I could feel her begin to tremble and
I wanted to pull her to me and protect her from everything around
us. But there were still too many doubts. I pulled her back a few
inches to take a good look at her, cupping her face with my hands.
“I really want this to be you, but I have to be sure.”

Jessica shook her head and furrowed
her brow. “I don’t understand, Lucy. What are you talking about?
Can we go home now?”

“
What’s the last thing you
remember, sweetie?”

“
I remember being in the
hospital, and talking to Mommy about Heaven. Is that where I
am?”

“
You don’t remember
anything else?”

“
It was dark for a really
long time. I was sleepy, and it was dark.”

I bit my lip to keep from crying. “I
need you to tell me something, okay? I need you to tell me the
story about your first day of kindergarten. Tell me why we tease
you about that day.”

Jessica giggled, and it was the
sweetest sound I’d ever heard. “Luc! Do I have to? In front of all
these people? You and Mommy tease me about that all the time. I
don’t want everyone to know.” She rolled her eyes like I asked the
stupidest question ever.

“
I need you to tell me.
Every detail.”

She looked around nervously, and then
cupped her hand to whisper in my ear and began reciting the story
the same way my mom and I told it a hundred times. “I was so
excited to start school and I wanted everyone to think I was a
grand princess, like Belle and Ariel and Jasmine. So I got up real
early and dressed in one of mommy’s silky nightgowns. It was so
soft and pretty, but I cinched it with a gold belt since it was a
little too big. I found my princess high heels from when we went to
Disney and I got to go to the Bippity Bopity Boutique. And I did my
makeup real pretty, ‘cause I wanted to be grown up like
you.”

I released a smile so wide it covered
my entire face. “That was the worst makeup job ever. Your blue
eye-shadow went to your eyebrows, the lipstick almost touched your
nose, and your cheeks were so red from the blush that you made a
clown look subtle.”

We both started laughing again, and I
scooped her up into my arms and cried. I cried all the tears I
wanted to cry for the past six months without her. She was back, my
beautiful baby sister, who had been plagued by the most vile being
and committed the most heinous of crimes. She was perfect again.
Her soul completely untarnished. I squeezed her so tight, not
letting up even when she squirmed against me.

“
I missed you so much, you
don’t even know,” I cried in her hair.

“
I missed you too, Lucy. I
was so afraid, but Mommy kept telling me that you would be right
there for me waiting. And that made me less scared. I was okay
leaving Mommy and Daddy since I knew you’d be there.” Her words
were spoken softly, and I knew that she was missing them. For years
she put on a brave face so my parents wouldn’t break down, and she
was still doing it.

“
It’s okay, you’re allowed
to miss them,” I assured her. That was all the cue she needed.
Within seconds, she was sobbing in my arms, slumped against me. I
sat us both on the floor and I rocked her like I used to when she’d
have a nightmare.

As I held her, I kept my eyes on
Alastair and the goons. I did not put it past them to use this
moment of vulnerability to attack or try to make another move. He
was perched back on his throne-like chair, paying no attention to
us. The goons receded back into the shadows, and even though they
were out of sight for now, I knew they still surrounded me and
could be on me in a matter of seconds.

I made soothing noises and stroked her
hair, happy that she knew she didn’t need to be strong anymore. I
would be strong for her. She cried for all the pain she’d gone
through, and all the life she missed out on. She cried for the
guilt of leaving my parents, and for missing them terribly. I let
her cry, her tears soaking my shirt.

As weary as I was about this
situation, I was so happy to spend this time with her. When her
sobs quieted, she hiccupped loudly. I took her mind off of her own
grief by recalling stories about our time together. We told
stories, and it warmed my heart to see her smiling
again.

It hit me then that whatever the fog
had disappeared. I didn’t feel angry or frustrated or disgusted
like the last few weeks. I knew it could come back at any moment,
but I hoped that meant that they released Max from the prison they
kept him in.

“
Lucy?” Jessica whispered
to me, not lifting her head from my chest.

“
Yeah, Little
One?”

“
What happens now? Do I get
to stay with you? I really want to stay with you.”

I couldn’t seem to swallow the
baseball that was now lodged in my throat. “No, sweetie, you can’t
stay with me. I have to go somewhere else. My job isn’t done
yet.”

Jessica’s tiny fingers gripped my
shirt harder. “Please. I’ll be good, I promise. I’ll stay real
quiet and I won’t bother you at all. Let me stay with
you.”

I sat up a little straighter and
Jessica looked up at me. “Where you’re going, you’ll have so much
fun, and be so loved that you won’t even have time to miss me, I
promise. And then, before you know it, you’ll be back with Grandma
and Grandpa, and then Mommy and Daddy.”

“
But what about you?” Her
eyes were so wide with innocence and wonder, I shut my own to keep
going.

“
I love you, squirt. And
I’ll always love you. But I can’t go with you.” I held her close to
me, wanting to savor these last, few precious moments. I could see
Alastair out of the corner of my eye, tapping his wrist as the
universal sign for “time’s up.”

Pushing up, I made Jessica stand as I
knelt next to her. “It’s time for you to go, sweetie. Remember
while you’re there that I love you very much, okay?”

She nodded and bit her lip to keep
from crying. “Are you going to take me?”

I shook my head. “No, you’re going to
go with…” My voice trailed off, because I still had no idea who she
was going to go with. The spy hadn’t come yet to receive the prize.
I looked at Alastair, silently asking “now what?”

He didn’t respond, instead he waved
two fingers for someone to step forward. The next thing I knew,
someone shuffled out of the shadows and into the light.

I gasped, clutching my
sister closer to me to keep her away. Of all the people who I would
have guessed to be the spy, this person was not among them. I
blinked repeatedly, trying to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I
couldn’t believe my eyes
.

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

“
No. It can’t be. You can’t
be the spy.”

Amelia sneered at me, the hatred
plastered on her face. “Maybe if you didn’t have your head so far
up Elizabeth’s ass, you might have seen this, you stupid cow. I
honestly don’t know what she sees in you. You’re not half as bright
or talented as everyone thinks you are.”

I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t even put
together questions. None of this made sense to me. “But…how…why
would you…what were you thinking?”

“
What was I thinking?” she
scoffed, like I asked the stupidest question ever. “Maybe I was
thinking that I could go somewhere where I wasn’t forced to work
myself ragged. Or somewhere that loyalty was rewarded instead of
spat upon. Maybe I wanted to work with some people who appreciated
my talents and abilities rather than tossing me aside for the
newest shiny toy on the shelf.”

I knew my mouth was opening and
closing, but I simply couldn’t seem to form words. I had no idea
what she was talking about, and nothing she said seemed worth the
price she was paying.

“
Everyone acts like you’re
some prodigy, but I can see you for what you really are. You’re
nothing but a whiny, self-absorbed bitch who cries when she doesn’t
get her way. Everyone seems to bend the rules for you like you’re
special. You’re not special, you’re nothing. You’re less than
nothing.”

Amelia started walking toward me, and
I protectively placed Jessica behind me. I could feel her tiny
fingers gripping my shirt, and I squeezed her wrist once to
reassure her.

“
It should have been me on
that team, not you. You’re pathetic.”

“
Amelia, I don’t care what
you think of me, but how could you do this to everyone else? Do you
know how many souls you risked? How many innocents that have been
lost because of you? If you want to hate me, fine. But why
them?”

I thought a flash of remorse crossed
her face, but it was quickly replaced by her mask of contempt. “I
have my reasons. Besides, no one is innocent. There are only those
who are better at hiding their guilt.”

“
I guess you would know a
thing or two about that, huh?” I knew antagonizing her was a stupid
move, but I couldn’t seem to keep my mouth from spewing the words
out. I was so angry that she would do this to us.

Amelia turned to Alastair,
who leaned back in his seat like he was enjoying the greatest show.
“Please let me be the one to kill her. I’d
really
like that.”