Revenant (12 page)

When
I made my way into the house, Wendy was on the piano bench. She seemed to
always sit there now. Dean sat in a chair
close by
.
They were both dressed identically to me—black tops, black
jeans,
and black boots.
I wonder what they’ll think when I tell them this is how all Gage’s
henchmen dress.
A feeling of dread washed over me as I understood this was
all part of Gage’s plan. He was trying to force our hands, trying to draft us
into his twisted army against our will.

My
eyes settled on Wendy.
There was something about
the way she sat—her shoulders slumped and her face paler than
normal—t
hat set alarm bells off in my
head.

I
looked from Wendy to Dean. “What’s wrong?”

Dean
frowned and shrugged his shoulders.

“Tonight…”
Wendy whispered.

I
moved closer to her. “What’s happening tonight?”

“Gage
summoned me,” she answered.

What the heck does that mean?
Gage hadn’t mentioned another
party or group visit to the mummy room.

“I
can’t go through it again,” Wendy said as her shoulders began to shake.

I
sat down on the bench next to her and put my hand over hers.
Again? What did Gage do to her? Why is she
so terrified?

“Colina,
I’ll be back for you and Wendy after midnight,” Caleb’s voice rang out.

I’d
forgotten Caleb was still in the room. Our eyes met, and he gave me a hard
stare. He wanted revenge—the now-familiar look was written all over his
face.

I
wouldn’t let him see I was afraid. “Can’t wait,” I deadpanned, keeping my gaze
on his. I would not be the first one to break eye contact.

Caleb gave me a two-finger
salute and headed out the door.

I
turned and asked Dean, “What happened while I
was
gone
?”

He
was watching Wendy, his face full of concern. “Sonja came in and took Wendy
aside. I have no idea what she said, but Wendy’s been like this ever since.”

I
squeezed Wendy’s hand. “Tell me,” I begged.

Wendy
turned away, her body language closed off—she was clearly unwilling to
answer my question.

Whatever
was going to happen would take place sometime after midnight. Probably during the
witching hour—midnight to three in the morning. A time when the veil
between this world and the next was at its weakest. It was a time when the
spirits roamed the physical world.
When even non-mage
could feel a spirit’s presence.

Foreboding
filled me again. I had no idea what Gage was up to, but whatever it
was clearly terrified
Wendy.

* * *

They delivered food to us. No Sonja this time—just
a girl with a tray piled high. She was young, about eleven or twelve. What was
someone so young doing in the company of Gage? Was she the daughter of one of
his followers? I studied her innocent face while she set up the dishes—she
had a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. There was no fear in her eyes as
she watched us. There was no evil vibe coming from the girl. She gave us a brief,
sweet smile and lowered the emptied tray onto a side table before turning and leaving
the room.

There
was a platter of meats and cheeses, a
basket
full of hard-crusted rolls, and bowls of ripe fruit and chocolate truffles.

While
we ate, Dean asked me questions about my day. I told him about the ride to the
magic shop, but I left out the part where Gage killed more death dealers.

I
looked over at Dean. I knew that he was extremely loyal to the death dealers—he
would have been crushed to find out something had happened to them.

His
eyes met
mine
—they were full of curiosity.
Dean knew I wasn’t telling him the whole story. He kept peppering me with
questions, and I kept changing the subject or ignoring him entirely.

I
ate until I
was so stuffed,
I couldn’t
eat another bite. Wendy picked at her food, staying quiet throughout the meal.
Dean glared at me as he ate a handful of truffles.

What a trio we make,
I thought sarcastically.

I
rang the silver bell Sonja had given me, and not long after, the young, freckle-faced
girl came and collected the trays and empty plates.

I
had no idea what time it was, but I knew Caleb and Jacob would come to take
Dean away eventually.
It must be near
nightfall. Luke will take over soon
.

As
if on cue, the brothers opened the door without knocking, Caleb swaggering in
and Jacob following silently behind.

Gage
was still insistent that Luke and I stay apart. My next goal was getting Gage
to let
us
be together. I had to convince him
that we had no special magic with physical contact. The collar was enough of a
threat to keep me from using my abilities.

I
watched as Caleb and Jacob slowly rounded on Dean.

Dean
had never resisted before. I’d seen him raise his hands up in complete
surrender as they latched on the chains.

But
this time was different.

Dean
took on a defensive stance, his face filled with determination. “Don’t touch
me,” he growled.

Caleb’s
eyes gleamed with something akin to glee at Dean’s resistance.

Why is he doing this? There are
two of them and only one of him.
I started to say something, but before I
could,
Caleb lunged at Dean. Dean scrambled
back.

But
not fast enough.

Caleb
got an arm around Dean and suddenly both of them were on the floor, wrestling.

They
both threw short, vicious punches, rolling over and over across the floor until
Dean was straddling Caleb. Dean’s fist came down hard and connected with
Caleb’s face, and blood gushed from Caleb’s nose.

Jacob
just stood by and watched.

Caleb
grabbed the front of Dean’s shirt and rolled again. Then Caleb let go, pushed
off the ground, and leaped back to his feet. Before Dean could get to his feet,
Caleb kicked
out
and his foot landed hard
against Dean’s rib cage. Dean cried out in pain.

Jacob
finally moved. He made his way forward to grab Dean’s arms, and with the help
of his brother, the two of them forced Dean facedown onto the floor. They
wrenched Dean’s arms behind him
and
put a pair of chains around
his wrists.

Through
it all, I stood by, helpless. I couldn’t use any of my magic. If I jumped on
Caleb’s back as they fought, tried to scratch his eyes out as I wanted to,
Gage
would have seen
it
as a form of rebellion. And every time I rebelled, Luke paid the
price. I wouldn’t see Luke beaten again, not for something I did. So I forced
myself to stand by, even though every fiber of my being cried out to help.

“You’ll
pay for
that,
” Caleb said, spitting blood
out of his mouth, though it still trickled down from his nose. He pulled Dean
roughly to his feet. Without warning, Caleb slammed his fist into Dean’s chin.

Dean’s
head jerked back, but he stayed on his feet.

“Don’t
hurt him,” I pleaded.

They
began to shove Dean out of the room.
Dean's
eyes locked onto mine. “Colina, do whatever it takes to protect yourself.”

Caleb
swung a wild hook into the side of Dean’s head.

The
blow was hard enough that Dean fell to his knees. His eyes found mine again. “If
you feel yourself in danger, use your magic.”

“Don’t
hurt him!” I yelled. I started forward, but Wendy’s hand shot
out
and her fingers locked around my arm. I
tried to shake her loose, but she was stronger than she looked.

Jacob
pulled Dean to his feet.

I
watched Dean get dragged out of the room. Had he resisted because of Wendy and
how freaked out she looked? Neither one of us knew what was going to happen
next, but I knew Dean worried that, whatever it was, it would be bad. He didn’t
want me to get hurt. He wanted me to fight.

But
Dean knew as well as I did that if I used my magic, both he and Luke were dead.

* * *

Caleb came at midnight as promised, with Jacob by his side.
To my surprise, Jacob walked over and gently reached for Wendy. She didn’t
flinch as his hand came down on her shoulder. Instead, she rose off the bench
and moved closer to him. She seemed to take comfort in his presence. What was
going on between the two of them?

Jacob
led Wendy out of the room and I began to follow.

Caleb
raised a hand. “No. She goes with
Jacob,
you come with me.”

“I
want to go with Wendy,” I said, starting after them.

Caleb
stepped in my
way,
his arms crossed in
front of him. “Not going to happen.”

“Where’s
he taking her?” I demanded.

Caleb
gave me a slow grin. “Don’t worry, you’ll
be
reunited
soon enough.”

Caleb
reached out to grab
me,
and I quickly moved
out of his reach. “Don’t touch
me,
” I
growled.

Caleb
seemed amused by my outburst. He raised his hands as if in surrender and
pointed toward the door leading outside.

I
froze. The last place I wanted to go was outside with Caleb.

“We’re
going to a building a few doors down.” He moved around me and opened the door. “If
you
come look
, you’ll see we aren’t the
only ones taking a stroll outside tonight.” He stood there with a cold smile on
his face.
He’s enjoying scaring me.
We
stood for a moment, staring each other down, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t
going anywhere.

I
reluctantly went to the door. He was right. People were walking past the house.
I looked into the woods and the darkness beyond it, searching for two pairs of
red eyes.

“The
beasts have been given the night
off,
”
Caleb said, walking away from the door. “We need to get a
move on
. You don’t want to miss tonight’s fun.”
He stopped and looked expectantly at me.

If
I didn’t follow him, I would be physically dragged off like Dean, and I knew
Caleb would take nothing but pleasure from my resistance. I headed out the
door. I wanted to stay silent, but as more people appeared I couldn’t help but
ask, “Another
party?”

“More
of an…event,” Caleb answered.

We
walked past a few structures and then rounded the corner into a small, open
square. I could tell that a small park with a few trees and benches had once decorated
the center, but now it was all overgrown and wild. A
thorny
bramble filled the open spaces between the trees, with paths
roughly hacked
through
. As we passed, the
prickly branches seemed to reach out and slash at me.
I noticed a zombie crew fighting with the thick, old bushes, hacking at
them with axes and hedge trimmers to forge out new paths.
Long slashes
marked all of the exposed skin on their hands and faces. The cuts were mostly
bloodless, but some
oozed
blackened puss.
Snapped branches and limbless thorns hung from the zombies. I noticed the body
of a small old woman laboring on despite a long bramble hanging out of one eye
socket.

After
some time, we finally broke into a clearing. We stood in front of the largest
wooden building I had seen yet in the old town. A row of torches lit it
dramatically. It seemed to
be built
on a
grander scale than the town called for, with tall Gothic columns and a steep
row of stairs leading to a broad porch. I knew from history classes that
during different mining booms,
small towns
sprouted up wherever precious metals or gems
were
found
.

This
building was grand and had the look of a bigger city. The citizens of the
little boomtown must have had hopes of making this place a real city one day.
But it never happened. Now the only sign that they were ever here was this
ghost town.

“The
old courthouse,” Caleb said, following my gaze. “I think
you
’ll enjoy this.”

The
way he said it sent shivers down my spine.
What’s
going on? And where’s Wendy?

We
made our way inside. Rows of wooden benches ran down both sides of the room.
Candelabras filled the space with candlelight. Bodies filled every seat and
more stood in the aisles. The odd thing was that no one was talking. Every
person in the place was silent and staring toward the front.

Caleb
pushed through the crowd, and I followed him.

At
the front of the room was a wooden chair. Surrounding the chair
were
a dozen black unlit candles. To one side
of the candles laid a pile of thick rope.