The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black: Book Four) (53 page)

Daciana led the students in another round of applause, which turned into a standing ovation. Jill and Ryan, in the front row of the chapel, had no choice but to join in, standing with the others to cheer for Nicky’s impending death.

“This isn’t right,” Ryan muttered.

“Of course it isn’t right,” said Jill. “Be cool. We’ll figure out what to do.”

Jill’s mind was already racing with ideas. They’d look at
the Purgatory House in the TPM database. They’d figure out what sort of security would be holding Nicky in place. They’d break her out of there and be on their way.

Having left Sergio untouched.

Standing in the front row of the chapel, listening to the other students cheer, the reality of it all began to sink in for Jill. The mission had failed. Nicky hadn’t won Coronation. Sergio wasn’t coming to the mansion.

“Something’s totally wrong,” Ryan said.

“Can we talk about this later?” said Jill. “I promise you, we’ll get through this. Plans don’t work out sometimes, and you have to adapt.”

“It’s not the plan, it’s me,” Ryan said. “Something’s wrong with me.”

His voice was shaky and weak. Turning to look at him, Jill saw that his face was pale and drenched in sweat.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been programmed, Jill.”

The applause was beginning to die down. Daciana was about to speak again.

“What?”

“It explains everything. From the moment I woke up that morning in the safe house, I…”

Daciana began speaking, silencing Ryan and the rest of the crowd with her words.

“My friends, I will see all of you tomorrow night at prom. For those who wish to say their goodbyes, visiting hours at the Purgatory House begin tomorrow afternoon at two. Nicky, I will now escort you to your new home. The rest of you, please take some time to get to know the next immortal. You are dismissed everyone! Good night!”

As Mary stepped down from the altar to a sea of adoring fans, Daciana took Nicky by the hand and led her out the back door of the chapel.

*****

“It’s over. We lost,” Jill said.

She was riding in Ryan’s Lamborghini. They were going east on the beltway. As Ryan drove, Jill spoke on the phone with Eve.

“The combination we had was wrong,” she said. “Art Tremblay lied to me. Mary Torrance won Coronation.”

“Mary Torrance? Wasn’t she in last place?”

“Nicky’s in last place now, and she’s locked up in the Purgatory House until tomorrow night. We’re going to have to figure out a way to break her loose.”

“Doesn’t seem like that should be terribly difficult,” said Eve. “But then what?”

“Then we all get out of town,” said Jill. “Do me a favor, will you? Find Winnie, and tell her it’s over.”

“Winnie’s on her way to Bethesda with the other assassins,” said Eve. “Is that where you’re headed now?”

“No,” said Jill. “Ryan and I have something we have to do. We won’t be in Bethesda for at least an hour.”

“Expect Winnie to call you then.”

“I will,” Jill said, then thought,
I’ll have a lot to tell her.

She ended the call with Eve just as Ryan was coming up on the exit to Highway 187.

“Keep left,” Jill said. “We’re not going to Bethesda yet.”

“We’re not? Where are we going?”

“If you’ve been programmed we need to deal with that right away. Stay on the beltway. We’re going to Landover.”

“What’s in Landover?”

“Someone who can help us.”

*****

Frankie arrived at the Bloom mansion in the passenger seat of Winnie’s car. They entered through the garage. Helena Fischer greeted them in the kitchen.

He recognized the house right away.

The last time he was here, it was as Renata’s slave. Ten hours he spent in this house, mopping up blood and removing dead bodies. It was during that time that he saw a photo of Nicky on the wall. A photo that made all the difference in the world for him.

“Have we heard from any of our agents yet?” Winnie asked.

“Not yet,” said Helena. “But I expect to receive a phone call from one them within the hour.”

They didn’t have to wait that long. The phone call came a few minutes later. Frankie stood in the living room while Winnie and Helena processed the bad news.

“It’s unacceptable,” Winnie said. “This was our only shot at him and it’s lost!”

“It can’t end this way,” said Helena. “It wasn’t meant to end this way. Nicky was supposed to win Coronation!”

“We’ll never get another shot,” said Winnie. “The entire Network has leveraged all its resources for this mission. We can’t leave it unfinished.”

“There’s been a mistake,” Helena said. “Nicky was meant to win Coronation. That’s why we stayed in town, so Nicky could win!”

“Would you shut up about Coronation already!” Winnie snapped. “It’s over! Nicky lost! Sergio won’t be coming to this house tomorrow.”

“Where will he be going?” asked Frankie.

“I don’t know,” said Winnie. “Where does Mary Torrance live?”

“Northwest Potomac,” said Helena. “Not that far from Jill. What are you thinking?”

“We can’t quit now,” said Winnie. “We only get one chance at this. If Sergio is going to Mary Torrance’s house tomorrow night, so are we.”

“But that’s not the right house,” said Helena. “The whole point of this was to get him into this house! It would be suicide to try it somewhere else!”

“We all have to die sometime,” Winnie said.

*****

It all made sense now.

Sitting in the den of Gordon’s apartment in Landover, watching as Gordon led Ryan deep into his own mind, Jill finally understood why everyone had been so eager to stay in Potomac.

“Say the words again, Ryan,” said Gordon. “Say them aloud and listen to where they came from.”

“Nicky cannot leave,” Ryan said. “It is her destiny to stay at Thorndike and win the Coronation contest.”

“Good. You are in the past, Ryan, listening to someone say those words to you. Where are you?”

“I’m in an old house. Jill and Nicky and others are there with me. I’m in a hallway. I’m on a cot.”

Jill felt like she was sinking, like everything she thought she knew was questionable now. How did Sergio find the safe house?

Then she remembered a trip she and Nicky took to see the ruins of Renata’s mansion.

Sergio must have been there. He must have followed them back.

“Who is saying the words, Ryan?”

“Sergio Alonzo.”

“They are just words, aren’t they?”

“Just words,” Ryan repeated.

“Listen to me,” said Gordon, “and allow these words to become true in your mind. Allow them to overtake the words that Sergio said to you. Nicky can leave whenever she wants.”

“Nicky can leave whenever she wants.”

“Nicky gets to choose her own destiny. So do you.”

“Yes,” Ryan said. “We all get to choose our own destiny.”

“Sergio has no power over you.”

Ryan nodded his head, slowly.

“You are in control of your own thoughts and emotions, aren’t you Ryan?”

“I am now. I wasn’t before.”

*****

Winnie parked on the street half a block down from the Torrance estate. She, Frankie, and Helena found a hiding place in the woods across from the house.

“Mary’s bedroom is on the south side,” Winnie said. “Second floor.”

Frankie saw it. A four-poster bed, a collection of porcelain dolls on the shelves, photos of wild animals on the walls—the bedroom was easily visible from the road through huge windows on the south corner of the house.

“Those windows are a problem,” said Helena.

“I know,” said Winnie. “We’ll have to work quickly. Look at the wall facing the back yard. There’s a deck out there, with a door leading to Mary’s bedroom. That’s where Sergio will enter. Mary will leave that door unlocked for him.”

“This is madness,” Helena said. “Maybe there’s still time to find another way. A petition. I’ve heard of petitions holding up the Coronation results before. We petition the school, saying Mary broke the rules.”

“Please stop talking about Coronation,” Winnie said. “That ship has sailed.”

“But Nicky was supposed to win! We stayed in town so she could win the Coronation contest.”

Frankie was surprised at the desperation in Helena’s voice. Winnie had told him that Helena was one of the best hunters in the Network. Tonight she seemed weak and unstable.

“Two agents go in through the bedroom,” Winnie said, ignoring Helena. “We hit Mary with a dart and knock her out. Then we clear the house. Anyone inside gets put to sleep. We leave Mary in the
bed, make it look like she’s resting while she waits. Sergio will want to see her before he comes inside. If only we didn’t have to deal with those blasted windows. There are a hundred ways for Sergio to get out of there before we’ve even taken a shot.”

“It’s got to be in Bethesda,” said Helena. “We had it all worked out.”

“Yes, we did,” said Winnie. “Doing it in this house will be a long shot at best. But a long shot is better than no shot at all. Somehow, Frankie, we’ve got to get you behind Sergio after he enters the bedroom.”

Winnie’s phone buzzed. She looked at the screen.

“It’s Jill,” she said.

*****

Jill and Ryan were back on the highway, driving to Bethesda. Gordon was in the car behind them. Jill had her phone to her ear and her tablet up and running in her lap.

“Sergio found the safe house,” Jill said. “Ryan, Helena, and Phillip have all been compromised.”

“What?” said Winnie. “I’m standing here with Helena right now.”

“Where are you?” said Jill.

“We’re in your neighborhood. We’re scoping out Mary Torrance’s house.”

“You need to get everyone back to Bethesda,” Jill said. “Gordon’s on his way. He’s just deprogrammed Ryan. Don’t tell Helena another word until we’re certain her head is clear.”

“What happened? What has she been programmed to do?”

“Sergio found us at the safe house. He commanded Ryan to stay in Potomac and help Nicky win the Coronation contest. I expect Phillip and Helena’s programming is similar.”

“But why would he do that?”

“I don’t know,” Jill said. “It’s about Nicky. Sergio didn’t want her to leave.”

“Well this complicates things,” said Winnie. “Helena was going to be on the team that hunted Sergio. We’re coming to Mary’s house tomorrow night.”

“I don’t think Sergio should be our primary focus anymore,” said Jill. “Nicky is trapped in the Purgatory House. We’ve got to get her out.”

“Yes, I suppose we do,” said Winnie.

“And there’s still time to salvage this operation,” Jill said. She was flipping through the screens on her tablet, looking at blueprints of Daciana’s mansion. “Maybe we can revisit my idea of breaking into Daciana’s house during prom.”

Helena laughed. “I admire your spunk, Jill. Yes, now that the original mission is in shambles, I will admit, your idea sounds more appealing. We’ll talk about it when you get to the house.”

“See you there.”

After escorting Nicky to the Purgatory House, Daciana went to the senior parking lot and retrieved her new car.

A ’66 Vicenza.
Boy, did this car ever take her back. For Daciana, the 1960’s were the time when the clan went from a regional entity to a national one. It was in those years that Daciana got her first look at the Western United States, after decades on the eastern seaboard. She put new immortals in Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Seattle, and San Francisco, and drove the new interstate highway system to visit them all.

Long nights on the open road with stops in small towns where she fed on unsuspecting locals who had never seen an immortal before, and she did it all in her ’66 Vicenza. What a great car that had been for her.

How truly wonderful it was to have it back in her life.

She revved the engine a few times, allowing the sound to fill her with nostalgia, then she tore out of the parking lot, quickly taking the speedometer over a hundred. She cruised to the Huntington Heights neighborhood in Northwest Potomac, where she visited the family of Mary Torrance.

Congratulations to you, yes this changes everything, Mary will be young and beautiful forever more, make sure she is in her bedroom by ten o’clock tomorrow night, she has to be in her prom outfit which I’m sure you know requires three articles of clothing that honor the clan
…it was a speech Daciana used to give every year before she farmed it out to Renata. It felt good to be back in the saddle. It had been a good semester. This year’s contest had been one for the ages, and Daciana had a feeling she’d always have a special place for Mary Torrance in her heart.