Casted (Casted series) (11 page)

“Did you ever stop to consider that it could be just a front? That any second now, he could come back through that door with Enforcers and take you to the Triad?” Dagger was trying his hardest to make me see reason.

I shrugged. “I guess we won’t know if that was his intent until he gets back.” There was something about Edge that made me want to believe he was better than that. Like he wanted to prove himself in his own way, not on someone else’s terms.

“You’re giving him a lot of credit. I hope you’re right,” Dagger said as he walked away.

“Me, too,” I whispered.

I didn’t want Dagger to be mad at me. I wasn’t trying to choose sides in this tug-of-war they were playing. I was just trying to do the right thing.

A part of me wanted to follow Dagger and ask him what he had against Edge, but I knew he wouldn’t talk to me about it. Not right now, anyway. He was probably really frustrated with me and the fact that I’d chosen Edge’s protection over his own. It’s not like I didn’t know how capable Dagger was. I’d trusted him with my life, which is why I knew he’d be the best chance at getting Rainy back.

“Well that was fun,” Jessa said as she rubbed her temples. “Jade, you have them both wound tighter than a spring. I don’t want to be around when they break.”

“Do you think I made the right choice?” I asked.

“Sending Mr. Dark and Dreamy off to find Rainy?” Jessa wiggled her eyebrows.

“Ugh! Forget it.” I turned to walk away.

“Hold on Jade, you know I’m just playing. I think you did the right thing. I would have done the same in your shoes.” Jessa hugged me tight.

I laughed. Not at her emotional outburst. Usually when Jessa got this close, it was to hit you or tell you off. But no, instead I laughed because all I could think of is when we showed up in the forest and Julie had called Edge an overdramatized Batman.

Jessa pushed me back to look at me. “You’ve gone around the bend, haven’t you?” She smirked.

“Probably.” I laughed a little harder.

“I’m gonna go find Julie. She’s been pretty shook up, since what happened to Lark,” Jessa said.

“Okay.” The humor I’d just found got stuck in my throat as Lark’s final moments flashed back at me. I kept my face expressionless. Jessa would never leave if she knew how upset I really was.

I stayed in Edge’s den not really wanting to be anywhere else. Being surrounded by books and masculine furniture brought an odd sort of comfort. Almost like a memory of some place I would go when I was little and my father was still alive.

The time alone gave me a chance to think about everything and pick it apart at my own speed. I had put a lot of faith in Edge. What did I really know about him to begin with? He’d shown compassion and understanding. He’d shown strength and integrity. He’d never really given me a reason to not trust him. Sure he was a jerk at times and at others, a raging smart ass, but never cruel or dishonest.

As first impressions go, it wasn’t the best, but then again all hell was breaking loose and he’d sealed all the other portals. I can’t imagine he was very happy forgetting to close one and then out stumbles the worst trouble he could possibly imagine.

And then there was Dagger. He’d been split off from his Coven in order to protect me and I was all but leaving him in the dust to go off with someone else. Most of his Coven had been murdered off all because of the one he was charged with looking after. It’s like I was tossing all he’d done for me in his face. I would be hurt, too.

There had to be a way to get them to see eye-to-eye. We all needed to swallow our pride a little, in order to survive. I could only hope that Dagger understood that it wasn’t about choosing a better protector. Once he had a chance to think about it, he would probably agree that this was the best option. Once we had Rainy and Matheson back, we might have a better chance at finding the book Lark had told us to find.

Dagger opened the door, sticking only his head in. “Mind if I come in?” he asked.

I gestured to the empty spot beside me on the couch.

“I wanted to apologize,” he started.

“There’s no need. I understand,” I said.

He blew out a pent-up breath. “This is the last place I would have ever brought you. As it turns out, it’s probably the best place we can be right now,” he said.

“Why do you dislike Edge so much?” I asked.

“It’s a long story and one I really don’t want to get into right now. Let’s just say, we have a shared history.” Dagger kept eyeing the spot where Edge had opened the door, as if he were waiting for an attack.

“Do you think he’ll be back soon?” I asked.

“If he’s really going to go find out where Rainy and Matheson are, it will take him a little time,” Dagger said.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Some of the Coven members have left, so there are plenty of rooms now. I put together some sandwiches in the kitchen. Hungry?” he asked.

My stomach rumbled at the mention of food, so I let him lead me to the kitchen. Dagger nodded to Jessa and she slipped inside the den and closed the door.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“One of us will stay in the den until Edge comes back. Just in case,” he replied.

I knew what he meant. Someone would be there just in case Edge came back with Enforcers.

I grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen and ate it on the way to one of the vacant rooms. I’d left Dagger talking with someone, mouthing the word ‘shower’ at him as I darted out of the room.

Julie was standing in the hallway propped up along the doorjamb to an empty room. “This one’s yours,” she told me. “There are some clothes the others left behind. I grabbed what I thought would fit you.” She pointed to the stack on the bed.

“Thanks, Julie. I appreciate it.” I watched as she twisted her hands in thought.

“You can trust him. Edge…I mean,” she blurted.

“What’s the deal between Edge and Dagger?” I asked.

“That’s not my story to tell,” she said, turning away.

Pushing her to give me answers would only make her clam up more. Maybe a little more time was needed before someone started spilling the information that was being guarded so tightly. I closed the door, grabbed the stack of clothes, and then headed for the shower.

The hot water did nothing to solve my problems, but I smelled better so that was at least something. The jeans and button up shirt that Julie left for me were a little loose on me, but they were clean.

The day was slipping away. I wandered outside and inhaled the crisp air. The sun was setting, washing everything with hues of soft golden light. The birds were flying back to their homes in the trees. Their wings rustled in the breeze as they twittered and swooped in the last of the warm sunshine.

Jessa was sitting by herself on the porch swing. A steaming cup of coffee was clasped between her hands as she looked out across the yard. I slid onto the swing beside her. Neither of us spoke. We just watched the birds and enjoyed the silence until the sun dropped and the moon began to rise.

A soft shimmer appeared all around the perimeter of the house. The bubble of protection was coated in moonlight. Stars began to appear in the night sky, twinkling brighter as the sky darkened to velvet black.

The screen door bumped closed. Julie sat down on the porch steps and joined in on our stargazing. All three of us found some sort of peace with the night.

That is, until the ground began to shudder.

“What is that?” I asked.

Julie jumped up from the steps. “Get inside…quick!” She shoved Jessa and me through the door and slammed it shut behind her. “Hurry!” She prodded us forward, all but shoving us to Edge’s den.

The door flung open and Dagger pulled us all through.

Edge was hanging onto the desk, bent over trying to catch his breath.

“How much time,” Dagger asked him.

“Not much. It’s worse than you thought. The Triad doesn’t have them. The Nomads do,” Edge said as he took in a deep breath and stood up straight. “The Triad is going crazy. They are tearing apart every member’s library.” He gestured to his books.

Edge looked at Dagger. “Tell the other’s to leave. Wipe their memories of this place before they go.”

Dagger ran out of the room. It had to be bad, if Dagger was taking orders from Edge.

Edge grabbed his keyboard and began typing so fast his hands became a blur. Something popped up under the heavy rug in the middle of the room. He darted around the desk and pulled the carpet back.

“You have to get in,” he said, grabbing my arm. Fear danced in his eyes as he shoved me down the stairs in the opening. “You next,” he said, grabbing Jessa and pushing her in with me. Julie darted past him and came down the stairs pushing us further down into a small hallway. Edge looked down at us. “Do not speak. Do not move. Do nothing until I come and get you,” he said as he began to close the door.

“Wait! What about Dagger?” I called out.

“Right here,” Dagger said as he slid in before the door closed.

I went to speak and Dagger shook his head no as he pointed at the floor above us.

Things started falling on the floor above our heads. Glass was breaking and the ground shook us around. Men were hollering. Edge’s voice was the loudest.

“Get out of my house. What do you think you are doing, ransacking my library!” he shouted.

“We’re under the direct orders from the Council,” a deep voice answered.

“Oh? And did they say as to why they want my library torn apart?” Edge growled.

I wouldn’t want to be the ones that voice was directed at.

“We don’t question the Council, and neither should you,” the voice boomed.

“I don’t follow your rules, Anton. You better start talking, or I’ll kill you where you stand,” Edge threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare,” the man replied.

Something big slammed into the floor. “You’re killin’ him…let him go, you’re killin’ him!” a voice above shrieked.

“And I
will
kill him unless you start talking. Why are you in my library and what are you looking for?” Edge growled.

“Th…th…the book… We were sent to find the book,” the man stammered.

“What book?” Edge shouted.

“The spell book,” the sniveling voice replied.

“What? That book has been missing for years!” Edge yelled.

“I…I know, but the Council said…” the man’s words choked off.

“You tell the Council that I don’t have the book they seek, and if they send anyone else to my home and trash it, then I will come to theirs and do the same.” The sentence ended with another body hitting the floor.

“Get out of my house before I change my mind and kill the both of you!” he roared.

“We’re sorry, Edge…we didn’t mean…the Council…” The man’s words were cut off with a loud bang. Dagger blew out a loud breath, causing me to jump.

“Sorry…that was a little crazy,” Dagger said, shaking his head.

Above us, I could hear things sliding across the floor. Items bumped and slid while we waited to be let out of the hole we’d been shoved into.

The trap door creaked open, revealing Edge’s face.

“Follow the tunnel to the end. I’ll meet you there,” he said before closing us back in.

We made our way through the tunnel until the ground under our feet started to slope uphill. A rickety stair case brought us up through an old stump just inside of the protective bubble surrounding Edge’s house.

“Looks like we’re being evicted,” Jessa said as she pointed towards the house.

Edge was coming and he had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Edge handed the backpack off to Julie. “We need to get moving before the Triad sends more competent people to check in on me.”

Dagger frowned. “You know they’re going to run back to the Council and tell them what happened.”

Edge shrugged. “I’ve said worse to their faces. They expect it from me.”

“We need to get a move on. If the Nomads have Rainy and Matheson, we’ll need time to find them without getting caught in the process,” Dagger said.

“Finding them won’t be a problem,” Edge said as he approached the protective barrier and stepped through.

“This is gonna suck,” Jessa said as she took a deep breath and walked through.

A smile split her face as turned to look at Julie. “It didn’t make me sick!”

Edge rolled his eyes at her. “The Nomads have become stationary, so they won’t be hard to find.”

“Stationary? That’s a little odd,” Dagger replied.

“I agree. However odd it may be, at least it’s a chance to get Matheson and Rainy back.” Edge’s eyes were no longer on us. He scanned the forest around us, as if expecting someone to jump out from behind a tree.

“I don’t suppose you know where they are?” Dagger asked.

Edge turned to face Dagger. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Good. Let’s go.” Dagger gestured for Edge to lead the way.

Edge didn’t move. “You can’t take Jade with you where you’re going,” he said.

“She’s going with us,” Dagger growled.

“Jade made an agreement to come with me,” Edge replied.

“Yes, but only if we had to go to the Triad and we’re not going to the Triad, so your agreement isn’t necessary now,” Dagger said, stepping closer to Edge.

The two men squared off.

Julie stepped in between them. “Dagger, you know we can’t take her with us. The Nomads are far worse than the Triad. They won’t just lock her up…they’ll kill her on sight,” she pleaded.

“Who are they and why would they kill me on sight?” I asked.

“Because you and I are everything they hate. Light and Dark. Good versus evil. They spend their life handing out Original Coven justice, or their form of it, to all they think have unbalanced the ways of magic,” Edge explained.

“Their way?” Oh great, now there was more than just Light and Dark. Now we had to contend with a whole other batch of crazies.

“They don’t like outsiders very much,” Jessa said, chiming in.

“It doesn’t really matter as to the why, only that there is no way you’re going to step foot in their compound,” Edge said it to me, but looked at Dagger in challenge.

Dagger’s hands clenched into fists as he stood his ground. “If you think I’d let anything happen to her, you’re wrong.”