Burning in a Memory (30 page)

“What did Adam say to you? Why is he convinced we’re on a suicide mission and is still going? Does he even have a plan?” Adelaide asked.

Angie shrugged.

“He might be making a plan, but I doubt it can be a good one. I think the only thing that he has in his head is finding his brother. Adam blamed Leon’s first
capture on himself. He thought that he should have been there to stop it. He thought he should have been able to make Leon well again. I just don’t know.”

The redhead sounded convinced
which led Adelaide to her next point.

“So how did he convince you to go with him?”

Angie stopped her packing to look up.

“Because I care about him. As I’m sure you do too.”

Adelaide opened her mouth, but the woman broke eye contact. She talked to the floorboards.

“You wanted to save your cousin Mistel, but you failed to learn Leon’s secrets. And now you believe running into a shade nest will do it for you?”

Adelaide shut her mouth with an audible click. The front door opened and Adelaide maneuvered away from the hall. But instead of Adam, Tony and Priya stormed the room.

“Oh
, you have no idea how happy I am to see you two!” Angie squealed.

Angie barreled past Adelaide and nearly tackled the two in the hall. Even Tony held his arms up expectantly, and firmly embraced Angie. Adelaide turned quickly and sized them up. Tony’s
had purple bruising on his face but no other visible injuries. Priya limped lightly.

Adelaide gave them a wide berth and space for the
ir frantic, mindless chatter. Another thump at the door and Adam surfaced. He stood on the opposite side of the group. The group finished the pleasantries and went quiet. Tony strode into the kitchen and sized up the place. The energy clearly drained from his body, he turned on Adam slowly.

             
“What are you doing, Adam?” he asked. “Tell me that you’re not going after your brother.”

             
“I am,” Adam said. Adelaide couldn’t see his face from her vantage point, but she didn’t need to. The steel in his voice said it all.

             
“So you’re going to chase a coven of shades that are powerful enough to hold your brother and assume you’re going to make a difference?” Tony followed up.

             
“Tony, I’m going with or without you. I don’t care if I’m out of the coven. I fucking refuse to let this happen again. If the shades get Leon, then it’s not far from an all-out war!”

             
“It’s already a war!” Tony shot back.

             
Adam answered quietly. “We can’t win the war if we don’t fight.”

             
The room felt hot and Adelaide felt dizzy. Somewhere in the whispers, she picked up on their unspoken fears. She knew Adam was angry for failing his brother for a second time, but it appeared there was more than one dimension to it. If the Hawthorns turned him into a shade successfully, there would be no stopping them.

Tony paced away. Finally, upon his third circle in the living room, he came back.

              “Fine. Our coven is broken anyway. I’m not going with you,” he said.

             
Priya squeaked. Adam’s face remained stone.

             
“That’s fine. I’m going one way or another,” Adam said.

             
“I’m going with him,” Angie spoke in support.

             
Tony growled.

             
“You better be careful, you idiots,” he said at last. Adam’s face lit up with the hint of a morbid smile.

             
Priya’s voice piped up next, but it sounded shrill and broken.

             
“Adam, if you find my sister there…”

             
“Of course,” Adam said, beating her to it. No one in the room dared voice the thought that Preeti might not have even made it alive this long. Tony maneuvered by the others and stopped short. He caught sight of Adelaide again, but gave her little more than a sweeping glance.

             
“Tell me that you’re not taking your girlfriend. She’ll be killed,” he exclaimed.

             
“She’s not my girlfriend!” Adam suddenly snapped.

             
Adelaide flinched. Despite Adam’s quick outburst, it had little effect on the room. Tony’s thoughts wandered quickly.

             
“Where is this place? How do you know where you’re going?”

             
Angie tossed him her iPhone, but Tony clearly didn’t recognize what was on the screen. He scrolled out to the bigger map and maneuvered it easily with his thumb. With a final shake of his head, he returned it.

             
“We have an estimate, but it’ll be easier to see on ground level.”

             
“You could still find it through state property records if you wanted too. Especially if the house is as grand as I suspect it to be,” Tony pointed out.

             
Adam gave him the already-ahead-of-you gesture. Tony continued listing his concerns.

             
“So if you find it, what exactly are you going to do? Kick down the door and take on half a dozen shades in their home environment? They weren’t even stupid enough to do that to us.” His point was harsh but Adelaide agreed. This was suicide without a plan, but this was finally Adam’s turn to shine.

             
“I believe that, but if they separated us, then we can separate them. They’ll be too busy to realize what’s going on when it happens and they won’t expect us there. We’re going to free Leon and then they’ll have something to worry about.”

             
Angie made a silent gesture to her watch and the message was received. Tony walked through the kitchen, reviewing the last few supplies on the counter. He made a few comments here and there, jostled a few bags, and inspected the details. Adelaide ignored him. In the other room, she could hear the hint of Priya’s broken voice.

             
“It’s so weird not to be going together. I feel bad about it. We’re a coven…” she cried quietly.

             
“It’s all right. It’s not your fault, you know. It has to be done,” Adam whispered—or at least something to that effect. His words made Priya cry more, and the sounds of her mourning finally drew Tony’s attention. Walking passed Angie he reached his wife and held her. She turned and leaned into him.

             
“You should take her home,” Adam said to Tony. “We’re leaving shortly anyway.”

             
Tony nodded.

             
“I’ll help you pack the car before we go,” he offered. Adam silently accepted and the two men walked to the door. This marked the first time Adelaide had seen them engage in any act of consolidation. A big dynamic was shifting in the coven and Adelaide was just there to witness it.

             
Once the door slammed shut behind them, Priya suddenly called Adelaide out.

             
“I need to talk to you,” she said, a new strength in her voice. Despite the comment clearly having been directed to her, Adelaide still frantically looked around the room. Angie blatantly busied herself with the fridge as Priya crossed the room.

             
“Uh, okay,” Adelaide agreed.

Since Tony’s arrival, she’d only assumed they didn’t know anything about her mage status. She’d expect Tony would have blown her to pieces on sight if he did.

              “Out back,” Priya added with a small gesture.

             
“Okay,” Adelaide repeated but reluctantly moved. The sliding glass door gave way and she stepped out onto the hot deck. Sun blinded her only momentarily, but she slipped into the shade. Priya shut the door behind them.

             
“I don’t want to hear this repeated, but I owe you an apology for all the crap we gave you before.”

             
Adelaide remembered being pressed up against the wall with the twins and a barrage of overly rude questions. She had to admit the incident jaded her view of them, but the gossip seemed unimportant now.

             
“It’s cool. It doesn’t matter,” Adelaide said honestly.

             
“No, it does. I heard that you saved Adam’s life back there and I had to apologize. I have to thank you.”

             
“Oh no, you really don’t,” Adelaide pointed out quickly. Priya’s cheeks reddened and her eyes seemed glassy again. Certain the woman was one step away from bursting into tears again, Adelaide held her hands out in a pleading gesture. “It’s fine, we’re fine, and I promise you, if I can help him this time around, I will.”

             
Her speech only hurried the tears. Priya wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands, but still managed a brilliant smile. “I’d like to see you two together. I think that’d be nice. Adam needs something like this is in his life for a change.”

             
Adelaide’s reservation must have shown in her face because Priya spoke quickly.

             
“This fear for his brother has just consumed his mind and he’s being stubborn. Try to look beyond that for awhile, would you?”

             
Adelaide nodded and then they walked back inside. Once in the kitchen, the mage family made their final goodbyes. Angie whimpered when the front door closed behind Priya and Tony. The three of them stood alone again and Adam addressed them.

             
“The car’s packed. Let’s go while we still have daylight. Angie, take the first trip driving. Adelaide, you’re welcome to shotgun. I’ll sit in the back behind you,” he said the last thing with particular emphasis. Adelaide refused to look at his expression, because she already knew what to expect. Adam would be keeping his eyes on her the entire way—or at least until he didn’t need her anymore.

Twenty-six

Adelaide couldn’t watch any longer. Her
temple throbbed and her eyes burned even after she closed them. Head in her hands, she attempted to restore warmth and stillness to her world.

“Are you
all right?” Angie suddenly asked. It was the first time there was noise in the car other than the steady hum of wind or rubber tires on road. Adelaide stirred and wondered how long her head had been down.

“Mm…fine…”

She heard Adam shift to life in the back, but refused to catch a glimpse of him in the rearview mirror. He said nothing. Angie took to regularly drumming her fingers on the wheel.

“Even to get to the state line, we’re half an hour out. The sun is setting. Adelaide, won’t this be harder to find in the dark?”

This got Adam to speak up.

“The dark also gives us an advantage to sneak in.”

Angie drummed the wheel harder until the obnoxious thumping overpowered the rumble of the engine.

“We can’t drive without our headlights on or we risk wrecking. And the headlights will tip everyone off.”

Traffic had thinned and virtually ended a few hours outside of the last city. Angie employed the unrestricted use of high beams to navigate them down the roads. They’d been driving for six hours. They should have been cruising in around seven.

“So what, you want to stop and wait till morning?” Adam asked pointedly.

“I’m saying that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a micro-nap in. We’re all exhausted. Plus, we can time our arrival until a few hours before dawn and the shades are tired too—they’ll be up all night tonight, waiting for us.”

“Because
they won’t expect us after tonight because it will be too late,” he pointed out.

Angie hunched over the wheel. Fatigue showed more than ever in her face. Adelaide refused to admit she was just as tired, but the whole expedition had
made for a long day. If they fought like this, tired, one exhausted misstep could lead to their demise.

“Not for Leon…” Angie answered quietly. The car su
ddenly slowed and the red brake lights illuminated. Angie pulled off the road, onto an abandoned access lane, until she could throw it in park. After its long-winded journey, the car gave a guttural moan. Angie put her head in her hands, much like Adelaide had done.

“I don’t know about Preeti,” she finished the other half of her morbid thought. No one had an answer for her. Adam did lean up from the back and place
d a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll drive from here,” he finally offered quietly.

“We need gas too. And rest. Adam, I can hardly keep my eyes open like I thought I could, and who knows how long it’ll actually take us to get there,” Angie wept.  The female mage was officially checking out.

“How about we get a trucker’s motel for tonight and scope out the area. I think it’ll be easier to find with a little local help. And then we can go in the hours of dawn, park the car with its headlights, and walk. That’ll give us an advantage, but I admit, it’ll make it harder for us to get away,” Adelaide
submitted.