Sweet Legacy (Sweet Venom) (8 page)

The growling we heard in the staircase becomes louder. Closer. Beneath the crack in the door, amber light seeps in along with a hot puff of air.

The dragon is right outside the door.

I bite my lips to keep from shaking. The warmth of a hand on my back calms me. Even in the dark, I know it’s Thane. I feel something stronger than touch whenever we connect, something there in my core. I reach around and take his hand in mine, squeezing as another burst of light and heat invades our little space.

Then, after an eternity of our not moving and barely breathing, the light is no more. The heat is gone, and the growling and purring are replaced by an eerie silence and the soft drip of water on stone.

Still, we wait. Just in case.

It feels like forever as we sit in darkness, wondering if the dragon is gone yet. The feel of Thane’s palm reassures me. His pulse, surging against mine, gradually returns to normal.

Finally, when I can’t stand it anymore, I ask, “How did it know?”

“Know what?” Gretchen asks, turning on her flashlight.

“That we’re here.”

She and the golden maiden exchange a look.

“What?” I ask.

“Too many,” Sillus says. “Monster notice.”

Thane frowns.

“Should we separate?” the golden maiden suggests.

With Grace back in our realm, we are already divided. Splitting up further can’t be a good idea. I squeeze Thane’s hand again.

“That won’t help,” Gretchen says. “We just have to move faster.”

The door creaks as Gretchen pushes it open and peers out into the dungeon. It must be all clear, because she slips out and gestures at us to follow. On my way, I glance at Thane. He is watching me and scowling.

I start to ask, “What?” but Gretchen notices my hesitation and snaps, “Hurry up.”

Thane shakes his head and nudges me out of the closet. Then I’m running to keep up with Gretchen’s breakneck pace, and I don’t have time to think about anything except not falling behind—not the strange connection between me and Thane, the monsters that keep showing up wherever we go, or the little voices that are whispering in my mind.

CHAPTER 8
G
RACE

I
can’t stop shaking. Across the room from where Nick is holding me, his arm tight around my neck as if he’s going to crush it like a bad guy in a spy movie, is a guy with a dog’s head and flippers for hands.

Clearly Nick knows him.

This must be the boss.

“You need her,” Nick says to the guy. “The Keys can’t open the door if one of them is dead.”

That’s reassuring, I guess.

The guy claps his flippers together in mock applause. “Nice move, Niko. You play the game well.” He jerks his head at the hulking dude with charcoal-coated feet who is hovering just to our right. “Too bad you’re playing for the wrong side.”

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Nick replies.

For a moment—it feels like an eternity—they stare each other down. I can’t see Nick’s face, but I can feel the tension in his body. He’s coiled tight, ready to react. Or act.

My initial panic starts to wear off, and I realize that if Nick wanted me dead, he’d have broken my neck already. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my thinking so I can help him get us out of here alive.

“I’d rather let the door seal forever,” Nick says, his voice low and menacing, “than let you take her.”

The boss studies Nick, maybe trying to judge his commitment to that threat. I know exactly what Nick is threatening. I don’t approve. The door seals if my sisters and I can’t open it in time. We can’t open it at all if I’m dead. As much as I’d like to
not
go with this slobbering guy and his hulking bodyguard, I’d rather not be dead more.

“Nick,” I whisper.

He squeezes tighter, just enough to get his message across without cutting off my air. I’m just not entirely sure if that message is “keep quiet and let me handle this” or “keep quiet or I’ll crush your windpipe.” Either way, I keep quiet.

“You want me to get her, boss?” the charcoal guy asks.

While the boss watches us through squinting eyes, Nick pulls me closer against his chest. His heart is racing almost as fast as mine.

“Nah,” the boss finally says. “Let ’em go.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” He looks away, dismissing us. “Better not risk it. We need the Keys intact.”

I feel Nick release a breath behind me.

“You go out first,” Nick says, nodding at the door. “Make sure none of your goons get the wrong idea about the situation. We’ll follow you.”

The boss smacks his gums. “Whatever you say, Niko.” He grunts at the charcoal guy, who starts for the door. “I’ll enjoy making you pay for this later.”

“I’m sure you will,” Nick replies. Then, too quiet for anyone else to hear, he whispers, “If they try to pull something, run.”

Although my heart is still thumping up into my throat, relief washes through me. I wasn’t wrong about Nick—Gretchen wasn’t wrong. He’s on our side. And by threatening to take my life, I think he just saved it.

There are two more bad guys waiting in the hall outside my apartment. The boss waves them off, and they warily move to the side and let us pass.

“Head for the elevator,” Nick says, nudging me forward toward the bronze door at the far end of the hall.

For the first time since my near-death experience in the rickety old elevator, I’m looking forward to stepping into the cage of doom. It’s actually the lesser of two evils here.

“Push the down button,” Nick tells the boss.

When he can only smack at the button plate, he shrugs. “Can’t. That’s the trouble with flippers, you know.”

“Grace,” Nick says, ignoring the boss’s attempt at humor, “push the button.”

I reach out, hand shaking, and call the elevator.

I’m not scared that Nick will kill me, not anymore—I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t anyway, but the thought of what Gretchen would do to him if he did would probably give him second thoughts in any case.

Everyone is very tense: the boss, even though he’s acting unconcerned, the uneasy goons watching the boss escort us to the lift, and Nick behind me.

No one wants me dead here, least of all me, but tension can make people do things they otherwise wouldn’t.

As we stand there waiting for the elevator to arrive, I study the people around us, or rather the monsters—the creatures who appear human to the ordinary people in my building. These beastly bodyguards could crush me with their bare hands, never mind the various weapons each one is carrying. Our only protection is my value as part of the Key Generation.

My palms are itching to get us out of this situation.

The elevator arrives with a creak and a sad ding. As the bronze door jerks open, I feel Nick tense up behind me. We’re almost home free—why is he getting more nervous? Something is about to happen, but I’m not sure what.

“Nick, what—”

He releases me, shoves me into the elevator car, and lunges for the boss.

“Get out of here,” he shouts. “Autoport as soon as the doors close. Find your mother and get safe.”

“No,” I scream as I stumble to the back of the car and brace myself against my crash into the mirrored wall. “Nick, wait!”

But as I dive back for the door, it slides closed. I try to shove my hands into its path, to find the sensor that will reverse the motion, but I can’t. It crashes shut, and suddenly I’m in the elevator, alone and afraid.

Before I can push a button—before my brain stops freaking out long enough to tell me to push the button for the floor we’re on so I can go back and help Nick—the car starts moving. Up.

“Shoot.”

I stare at the button panel. There are eight floors, with no way of knowing where the elevator will stop. Maybe it’s just another resident in the building. People must call the death trap all the time, right?

But as the elevator slows to a stop on the floor above mine, I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The door starts lurching open, revealing a tiny sliver of the hallway beyond—just enough for me to see the gang of thugs waiting with their weapons drawn.

Without thinking, I shut my eyes and blink myself out of there.

My thoughts are muddled by the fear and confusion. I’m not thinking clearly as I autoport myself out of the elevator. There isn’t a thought in my brain except for escape.
Get away, get somewhere safe.
That’s the only explanation I can think of for my popping onto the soccer field at Milo’s school.

Milo is doing ball drills a few feet away.

“Grace?” he asks, blinking as he lets the ball hit the ground.

Shoot, shoot,
shoot
.

“M-Milo—” Looking around, I’m relieved—beyond relieved—to see no other soccer players on the field. This is bad, but it could have been
really
bad. “What are you doing here?”

He gives me a look that implies that’s not the most relevant question at the moment. But he answers it anyway.

“Coach wants me to improve my footwork.” He crosses the short distance between us. “What the heck just happened?”

Yep, there’s the relevant question. The one I don’t want to answer.

I shake my head. The reality of the situation rushes in. I don’t have time for this. I can’t afford to have this discussion with Milo right now. I have to get back to the apartment to help Nick.

He just saved my life, and I have to return the favor.

I’ll have to use my hypno-eyes on Milo. It won’t wipe his memory altogether, but it’ll give me a chance to get out of here without answering questions. It’ll give me time to go save Nick.

Maybe when the gorgons are back, one of them can make him forget he ever saw me today. Either that or he’ll act like he never saw me
ever
. Who wants to date the freak girl with magical powers?

“Did you just materialize on the field?” he asks.

“Milo, I—” This is so hard. “I can’t explain right now. My friend is in danger, and I have to find him fast.”

He studies me for a second.

“Okay,” he says, grabbing the soccer ball off the ground and tucking it under his arm. “I’ll help. I have my dad’s car.”

“You—you’ll what?”

“I’ll help.” He nods toward the street. “Whatever you need.”

I can’t help grinning. “Seriously?”

“Just promise me answers later,” he says.

I can’t believe he’s being so understanding. Maybe he’s in shock. He did just see his—what am I exactly? A girlfriend? A friend? A friend’s sister? Whatever I am—appear out of thin air on a soccer field. He’s entitled to some post-traumatic recovery time.

I follow him to his dad’s car, a little brown thing covered in dirt and rust. He walks around to the passenger side, unlocks the door, and holds it open for me. As I start to move past him to get in, he blocks my path with his forearm.

“But I will want answers, Grace,” he says. “Eventually.”

His dark curls are damp with sweat and his cheeks are flushed pink from his workout. He’s cute and tall and he smells good, even now. He almost makes me wish I were still a normal, ordinary girl.

I duck under his arm and climb into the car without replying.

Either I’ll be able to give him answers or I won’t. As I sink into the ripped plastic seat, I wonder what he would do if I blurted out the truth, right here, right now, every last detail. Probably run as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He’s an amazing athlete—he can run pretty fast. He’d dismiss me as the crazy girl who believes in ancient mythology, and he’d be out of my life. Forever.

That thought makes me ridiculously sad. We barely know each other, but I’ve learned enough to really like him. He’s sweet and kind and—apparently—not entirely freaked out by something completely insane. Maybe there’s hope. Maybe I won’t have to get someone with stronger powers to wash the memory right out of his brain.

Maybe I can have the best of both worlds—for once.

He drops into the driver’s seat next to me, jams the key in the ignition, and asks, “Where to?”

Right. Girl on a mission, not girl on a date.

“My apartment,” I say, refocusing my thoughts on Nick and my biological mother. Time is precious. “As fast as you can.”

He shifts into gear, pulls out of his parking spot, and floors the accelerator. I wonder what I’ll find when we get there.

“Can I borrow your phone?” I ask.

He grabs it from the dash console and hands it to me.

I left mine at home when we went into the abyss—no signal in the monster realm—but I need to check on Mom and Dad. I try home first, and I’m not sure if I should be relieved or afraid when there’s no answer.

I hang up and dial my mom’s cell. She picks up on the first ring.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Grace?” she gasps. “Gracie, are you okay?”

“Are you with Dad?” I ask.

“Yes, he’s right here.”

My entire body sighs in relief. They’re safe. For now.

There are sounds, and then my dad is asking, “Grace, where are you?”

“I’m fine, Dad,” I say.

“Are you—” He hesitates, trying to find the words. “Are you back?”

“No, it’s not over yet,” I say, avoiding the direct question.

Silence. “But you’re okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, Dad,” I say. “I’m okay.”

“And your brother?”

I glance at Milo, as if he’d have the answer. “He’s fine, too.” As far as I know. Nick, on the other hand . . . “Look, Dad, you guys can’t go home.”

“What happened?”

How can I tell them without freaking them out? I can’t tell them the truth. “They know where we live,” I say simply, hoping they won’t ask too many questions. “Just find a hotel and wait for my call.”

“Gracie, this is—”

“Dad, please!” I shout, my fear making me more assertive than usual. “Please,” I say again, softer. “I need to know you’re safe. Promise me you won’t go home until I call.”

He hesitates, and I can practically hear him thinking. In the end, though, he trusts me.

“Okay,” he says. “We promise.”

“Promise what?” Mom asks in the background, and I can hear the worry in her voice. I don’t have time to reassure them.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You take care of yourselves,” he says.

“I love you, Grace,” Mom shouts, almost desperate. “Come home soon.”

I bite my lip as I hang up.

They’re safe, and I feel some of the fear leave my body. With a sigh, I drop Milo’s phone back into place. He doesn’t say a word. His hand is on the gearshift between the seats, and I have the almost irresistible urge to lay my hand over his. Almost irresistible.

Until Nick and my biological mother are safe, my sisters are back with the gorgons, and the looming war is over, I have to stay focused on the mission. Lives are at stake. My love life can come later.