Looking for Lucy Jo (19 page)

Everybody kept their mouths shut, knowing that many of the Mentors were still trying to break Sthenelaus in another location and were probably unaware that Praxos had been infiltrated.

Lana looked around, noticing Aria lying unmoving on the ground, just outside the swimming pool door.

Madge followed her gaze.

‘Stupid girl. She should have stayed by Sthen’s side, and then all of this would never have happened,’ she tutted. ‘Good for me that she didn’t, though.’

‘Is she… is she… dead?’ asked Moira

‘Who cares?’ replied Madge with a cruel smile.

‘What do you want from us?’ Lana yelled.

‘I’d quite like Eleanor, actually. Where is she? Has she run away and left you all to die?’

‘Never!’ shouted Rupert. ‘Eleanor would never do that.’

‘But she’s not here. Very few adults are here, my boy. What does that tell you? That they couldn’t care less about you, that’s what. Perhaps you should come and join the Skulls. I could use the likes of you. I’m quite impressed with your abilities. But of course, you’re not quite as strong as my Skulls.’

‘Maybe not yet. But we will be,’ shouted Rupert.

‘Of course, but I could help make you stronger. Join me if you wish… or face death. The choice is yours, children.’

‘We will never join you, you evil bitch,’ yelled Rupert, who was nursing a huge black eye and swollen lip. ‘We would rather die than join the Skulls.’

The rest of the gang cheered in agreement.

‘Well then, death it is… But not quite yet. I’d rather like Eleanor and her friends to witness your excruciating deaths,’ Madge cackled.

‘I think not, Madge,’ came a familiar voice from the darkness.

‘Eleanor,’ whispered the Watchers.

‘You will not lay another finger on my students and they will most certainly not be joining you.’

‘Eleanor Hayden-Jones, it’s about time you showed up. We’ve been waiting rather a long time, and look at the state of your so-called students. They’re a little beaten up. Oh dear.’

‘That’s enough of your evil, Madge Sophokles. I presume you’re here for your husband?’

Madge responded with the most shocking laughter yet. ‘You must be joking. You Watchers really are very dim, aren’t you?’

Eleanor said nothing.

‘Like I’ve already told these children, I couldn’t care less about what happens to Sthen. He’s a deadweight. I’ve been trying to kill him off for years but that damn poison didn’t quite do the job.’

‘You’ve been poisoning him?’

‘Oh yes,’ she laughed. ‘What do you think causes the cough?’

Eleanor shook her head, carefully checking out her students at the same time, assessing how bad the situation was.

‘How did you find and get into Praxos?’ Eleanor asked.

‘Incredibly easily. I placed a tracking device on Aria, over there. Poor dear, thought it was a genuine gift from her ‘husband’, she did. I’ve been tracking her for years. Oh, and then I placed a wire in the pocket of that girl over there. Emma Jane Morgan, I believe. I always thought Praxos was a closely guarded place, but now I know that it is not. This,’ she pointed around her, ‘was far too easy. You really ought to change your security measures around here, Eleanor. Oh, I guess that won’t be possible, considering you’re going to be dead rather soon.’

‘I don’t think so, Madge. You might think you have the upper hand here, but you are—quite literally—surrounded, you know? There is nowhere for you to go. You should just surrender now and you won’t be harmed.’

Madge’s laughter was beginning to irritate the hell out of Lana, and she winced every time she heard it.

‘Oh dear, Eleanor. You’re quite wrong. You see, that chap over there,’ she pointed to a very tall thin man with pointy ears and unusually long arms. ‘He has rather a unique ability. Found him quite recently, actually. Much to my delight, he wanted to join us, and not you. He can create wormholes with his bare hands, allowing us to simply walk away from this place and you’ll never find us. We are quite clever, us Skulls, you know? No? I think you’re probably well aware of our powers, considering you’ve been killing our kind for hundreds—thousands—of years. But no more. We will rid this world of every last one of you and the Skulls will rule this place,’ she chuckled.

Suddenly, there was a huge clap of thunder and the walls began to shake.

Madge looked around with a smile.

‘Your games don’t scare me.’

‘Well they should, Mother.’

‘Archie?’ she asked, looking, for the first time, a little confused.

He stepped forward out of the darkness, a little out of breath.

‘That’s right, Mother. It’s me. And I’m a Watcher now.’

Madge gasped and took a little step backwards. ‘A Watcher? But that’s impossible. Not my son.’

‘No, Mother. It isn’t.’

‘But why? You’re my son, my own flesh and blood. Why would you do such a thing?’

‘Growing up, I tried and tried to be the son you always wanted, but I’m not evil, Mother. I never will be, and I cannot allow you, Father, or Stan, to continue this ridiculous escapade. You must stop now.’

Madge’s chuckles made the hairs on the back of Emma’s neck stand on end, it was unnatural. ‘Well, well, well. I guess I only have one son left, now. That’s a shame. I was rather looking forward to a future with Stan, you and Kimberly, oh and the little girl I recently acquired.’

‘The little girl you acquired but lost,’ Archie replied. ‘Don’t you realise that she is now safe and sound, back with her family. Where she belongs?’

‘Oh Archie. I’m not talking about, what was her name? Lucy something or other. I’m talking about the baby girl we took from the hospital this morning. She’s a newborn, so she won’t ever know the truth. We haven’t got to worry about memory spells, or anything like that,’ she laughed. ‘But I guess it’ll just be me, her and Stan, in our new home—far, far away from here.’

‘Mother you are despicable. Where is the baby?’

Madge just shook her head. ‘I’ve just about had enough of talking. I think it’s time we finished this. Stan, you know what to do.’

But before Stan could move a muscle, Declan rushed forward with about thirty Watchers, ready to fight. Unfortunately, though, Madge was prepared. A single nod to the tall skinny guy and he lifted his arms, creating a large circular hole in the ground. Most of the Skulls jumped in and were sucked through what looked like swirling water. Madge had managed to grab hold of Lana whilst Stan had his grip firmly on Emma. Both were holding daggers to the girls’ throats and all four of them were hanging precariously over the edge of the wormhole.

‘One more step and they both die,’ she sniggered.

‘No,’ Eleanor said. ‘Please. Take me instead.’

Madge glanced at her youngest son and smirked. ‘I told you it would work.’

She nodded to Eleanor who stepped forward.

‘No, Eleanor,’ the girls cried. ‘You can’t!’

But she continued to walk forward.

‘No sudden movements, you lot,’ Madge said to Declan and the other Watchers, who could do nothing but watch helplessly.

‘It’s alright, Declan. This is the right thing to do. Just let me go.’

When Eleanor was close enough, Stan loosened his grip on Emma, but not before slicing her arm with his knife.

‘No,’ Eleanor yelled as Stan took hold of her and pushed Emma away. Emma stumbled, shocked at what was happening.

Now holding Eleanor in his grip, Stan sniggered. Madge laughed and let go of Lana, who fell forward towards her bleeding sister.

At the same time, Madge turned to look at Declan. Her eyebrows rose before she turned back and plunged the dagger into Eleanor’s chest. And then, a split second later, all three of them had disappeared into the wormhole.

‘Nooo!’ Declan yelled as he ran forward, preparing to follow the group into the strange hole in the ground, but the second Madge had jumped in, it had vanished.

He landed on the ground and punched it as hard as possible, splitting his knuckles and making his fist bleed.

The only sounds were the quiet sobs of the remaining Watchers and Mentors, who stood helplessly around their students.

‘I just don’t understand how this could have happened,’ Declan said later. ‘We have strict security measures throughout Praxos. How did they get in?’

‘The wormhole. It’s the only way,’ Wilbur said, placing his hand on Declan’s back.

‘I can’t believe she’s gone,’ Lana whispered as she wept into Barber’s shoulder. He rubbed her back gently.

‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here, my angel. I should have been here.’

‘You weren’t to know. Praxos is supposed to be safe,’ Lana said.

Emma opened the door and walked in with a bandage around her arm.

‘Hey,’ Lana said, walking up to her and hugging her. ‘How are you doing?’

‘Okay,’ she murmured, sitting next to Declan, who put his arm around her and pulled her in close.

‘You sure?’ he asked.

Emma shook her head and broke down in tears again.

‘I’ll go and make some more sweet tea,’ Wilbur suggested, and slowly walked out of the room.

‘How is everyone else doing?’ Declan whispered to Emma.

‘Some okay, some not so okay. Aria’s in a pretty bad way. They’re preparing to fly her over to Praxos hospital, along with a couple of others. What about you, Declan? Are you alright?’

He hung his head low and nodded.

‘I’m sorry we couldn’t save her.’ Emma looked at the ground.

‘We don’t know that she’s dead, Emma,’ he replied.

‘She stabbed her in the heart. There’s no way she could live through that.’

‘Yes, usually – but this is Eleanor we’re talking about. Eleanor Hayden-Jones, who has lived for centuries.’

‘Yes, but I bet she’s never been stabbed through the heart with a Skull’s dagger,’ Lana interrupted, as she sat down on the floor in front of the roaring fire. A fire that would normally have warmed her, but she still shivered.

‘How will we ever know? How will we find them? They could be anywhere on Earth right now?’ Emma cried.

‘We’ll find them. If it’s the last thing I ever do, we will find them,’ Declan answered.

The girls smiled. They’d always loved his unbending dedication to Praxos, and especially to Eleanor.

The door was pushed open and a face they hadn’t seen for a while appeared. She was so pale, in shock. ‘Declan. Oh My God, Declan,’ Saleena said, rushing to his side.

He stood and opened his arms wide. ‘Sal, I’m so glad you’re here.’

‘I had to come. The moment I heard what had happened, I got the very next plane. Are you okay?’ she asked, and they hugged for the longest time before she turned to look at the girls.

‘Emma, Lana. Oh God, I’m so sorry, I’m so very sorry. Are you alright?’ she asked as Declan stepped back and allowed her to hug them.

‘Saleena, it was horrendous, horrendous,’ Lana muttered. ‘She’s dead. She killed her.’

‘Now, now. We don’t know that. Let’s not focus on that yet. She might be alive – Eleanor is an amazingly strong woman, you remember that?’

The girls nodded before letting go and returning to the sofa to sit down.

Wilbur returned with hot sweet tea for everyone before he stood up and said, ‘Look, this has been a terribly long, horribly tough day for us all. Why don’t we call it a night and try and get some sleep?’

Declan nodded and stood up, ‘I think you’re right, Wilbur, mate. Come on, folks. Let’s get to bed. If you want to visit your friends in the infirmary first, that’s fine, but please don’t stay for too long. They need their rest too. And if you hear a lot of noise shortly, don’t worry, it’s just the helicopter arriving to take some of them to Praxos hospital,’ he added sadly.

Lana and Emma both nodded, giving Declan and Saleena a long hug before they stepped out of the room with Barber and Diarmuid.

‘Look, I’ll leave you to say goodnight to your friends. Try and get some sleep, okay?’ said Barber as he kissed his girlfriend gently on the lips.

‘Where are you going?’ she asked, as she held on to one of his hands, not letting go for a moment.

‘I’m going to walk around the grounds with Wilbur and a few of the others and make sure everything is safely locked up.’

‘Okay, be careful,’ she added, as he squeezed her hand before turning to walk away.

Diarmuid pulled Emma close, wincing as he brushed his injured arm against her body.

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ she whispered.

He nodded. ‘I’ll be fine. Get some rest, try and sleep.’

‘I’ll try. See you in the morning.’

Diarmuid ran to catch up with Barber. He wasn’t quite ready to call it a night either. Emma watched him and sighed and Lana rested her hand on her sister’s shoulder. ‘Come on, let’s go and see the others, first.’

The two of them turned and headed down towards the lift, stepping in and then waiting for it to reach the lowest level. Lana shivered as they passed the spot where Eleanor had been stabbed and pushed into the wormhole.

Emma noticed but said nothing.

Gingerly opening the door to the infirmary, both girls gasped at the sight of so many injured people. Several nurses walked around each bed, tending to their patients quietly. One of them noticed them and beckoned them over.

‘Hello, girls,’ she smiled in an effort to look less upset. ‘Can I help you?’

‘We just wanted to see how our friends are doing before we go to bed. Is that alright?’ Emma asked.

The nurse nodded. ‘You’re Diarmuid’s girlfriend, aren’t you?’

Emma nodded.

‘Sorry,’ the nurse said. ‘We haven’t had the chance to meet before, I usually work up at the hospital. I’m only drafted in when there’s an emergency. I’m Agnes,’ she held out her hand.

‘How do you know Diarmuid?’ Emma replied, shaking her hand as Lana wandered off.

Agnes smiled. ‘He came in earlier to try to heal the wounded. He’s got quite a talent, that boy.’

Smiling, Emma nodded. ‘I know.’

‘He told me about you while he was healing some of them.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes, he believes you share the same talent, you know?’

‘I wish,’ Emma said.

The nurse put her hand on Emma’s arm. ‘You do. I can tell. Perhaps you’d like to volunteer for a little while. We could always use soothing hands.’

‘I… I’d like that Agnes, but first do you mind if I go and see my classmates?’

‘Of course, go ahead.’

Emma followed Lana to the nearest bed, where Ava sat propped up by pillows, drinking something that clearly tasted horrible.

‘Hey, Ava, how are you feeling?’ asked Lana.

‘Lost, confused, in pain,’ she whispered, lowering the cup from her lips. ‘Sorry, I just feel terrible about all this.’

‘I know.’

‘I just don’t understand. How were they able to subdue us the way they did? It was horrible. I was trying so hard to put thoughts into your mind to tell you what was happening out of the water, but I couldn’t get through to anyone. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life,’ she cried. ‘And then to be choked half to death… It was so horrible,’ she cried, carefully rubbing her neck. ‘They were so evil, I’ve never felt such evil before.’

The sisters just nodded, not knowing what to say. When Ava yawned and coughed, she shook her head and handed Lana the cup. ‘Sorry, I’m so tired.’

‘That’s okay, Ava. Lie down,’ Emma whispered, helping her move the pillows before tucking her in. ‘Try and get some sleep.’

Ava nodded and closed her eyes.

Waiting a moment until Ava’s breathing had slowed, the girls stepped away and walked over to the next bed, where Liam lay staring into space.

‘Liam?’ asked Lana. ‘You okay?’

‘Huh? Sorry, I didn’t see you.’

‘You okay?’ she repeated.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his nostrils flaring, and shook his head. A tear rolled down his cheek and he turned away from them, rubbing it away. ‘I’m… I’m fine.’

‘No, you’re not. None of us are. It’s been absolute hell, Liam. You’re allowed to be upset,’ Emma reassured him.

‘I thought I was stronger than that,’ he murmured.

‘Oh, Liam,’ Lana said, sitting down on his bed. ‘You’re one of the strongest people here. We were taken by surprise. You can’t win every fight.’

‘I couldn’
t
d
o
anything. Ava was being strangled—strangled, right across from me—and I couldn’t do a single thing. They had this power like nothing I’ve ever seen.’ He gulped.

‘It’s okay, Li. Really. We were ill-prepared, that’s all,’ Lana replied. ‘We never expected they’d be able to come into our home, our place of safety. We were caught off-guard. We’ll get them. We will. Just you wait.’

‘She’s right, you know,’ said a voice from a bed across the room.

‘Nisha, I didn’t know you were injured too,’ Emma said, walking to her bedside and then gasping at the sight of her bandaged head. ‘What happened?’

The young Indian girl sat up slightly. Her eyes were completely covered. ‘They put something in my eyes. I can’t see, Emma. Nothing. Everything is black.’

Emma put her hand to her mouth, trying not to cry but a loud sob escaped. ‘I’m sorry,’ she cried.

Nisha held out her hand. Emma walked forward and held it tight.

‘I wish… I wish… Imran was okay. If he was, then maybe he could turn back time and we could prepare for this properly.’

‘What happened to Imran?’ Emma choked.

‘Didn’t you hear?’

Emma shook her head, before realising Nisha couldn’t see her. ‘No, is he… okay?’

Nisha shook her head. ‘He was the first one they grabbed. He tried to fight, God did he try to fight. I saw, Emma. I saw him trying to go back in time, but they did something to him. They bound him, somehow. He was paralysed. He’s in a coma.’

Lana gasped behind Emma. ‘A coma. Is he here?’

‘I think they took him out just before you came. He’s going to the hospital with Aria and a couple of the Mentors.’

‘Oh God,’ Lana sobbed, trying hard not to be sick. Her breathing became more rapid and she felt like she was getting hotter and hotter.

‘Now, now,’ said Agnes, as she approached and rubbed her back gently. ‘Breathe deeply through your nose. It’s just a little panic attack, that’s all. There, there. Come and sit down for a moment.’

As Agnes led Lana away to a nearby seat, Emma took off her jumper and walked closer to Nisha.

‘Nisha, would you mind if I tried to, erm, heal you?’

Nisha smiled. ‘Go ahead. Diarmuid tried earlier, too. He made me feel a whole lot better, but my eyesight didn’t return. Maybe you could change that,’ she said.

Placing her hands over the bandages, careful not to exert too much pressure, Emma concentrated on her inner light, focussing the warmth on her friend’s eyes.

‘I can feel it,’ Nisha whispered. ‘It’s very soothing. Just like Diarmuid.’

Emma smiled, but after five minutes, nothing more had happened. She dropped her hands down and let out a sigh. ‘I can’t do it.’

‘Don’t worry, Emma. I’m sure I’ll be able to see soon enough. Maybe you’re too tired. You’ve—we’ve—all been through so much today.’

Emma nodded. ‘Have you, erm…’

‘What?’

‘Have you spoken to any ghosts since the attack?’

Nisha waited for a moment. ‘Are you asking me if I’ve seen Eleanor?’

Emma bit her top lip and nodded. ‘Yeah, I guess I am.’

Nisha shook her head. ‘She might not be dead.’

‘I hope not.’

‘I’m going to try and sleep now. Maybe you should too?’

‘No, I want to try healing again, with some of the others.’

Nisha nodded. ‘Good luck.’

‘Thanks. Night.’

Nisha muttered goodnight, leaving Emma to try to heal someone else. She looked around and focussed on Liam again.

‘Liam?’

He nodded. ‘You can try,’ he said as he carefully pulled back the sheet to reveal both legs covered from thighs to ankles in thick white bandages.

‘Werewolves?’ she asked.

He nodded, wincing as he tried to move them.

‘Don’t try to move,’ she said. ‘Couldn’t Diarmuid help?’

‘Yeah, he eased the pain but it came back about an hour ago.’

‘Haven’t you been given any painkillers?’

‘Yeah, but apparently werewolf injuries are tough to treat.’

‘Oh, maybe I shouldn’t…’

‘Please, Emma. Please try,’ he said.

So she stepped forward and hovered her hands over his legs.

He smiled when the warmth seemed to seep into his bones.

‘It feels just like when Diarmuid did it. You obviously share the same healing power.’

‘I don’t think so, he’s so much stronger and more capable than I am.’

‘Don’t sell yourself short. You’re just as good, maybe even better,’ he said, trying to smile even through the heartache he was feeling.

‘Thanks, Liam,’ she whispered. ‘That means a lot. How does that feel?’