Dressed in Team Jax gear, Addy and Tanner made their way up to the ninth floor of the warehouse where Gage Scattered.
Stubbs and Will were the only ones Jax needed to prepare for the summoning, and the rest of them were left to do their combat training and regular duties. As planned, she and Tanner met up and headed out early.
They wanted to get Tanner in position and check the place for traps before Matt arrived. He found a spot high enough to be protected from melee attacks, and close enough to get to Addy quickly if necessary. He also had an unobstructed shot at virtually anything in the room. He was carrying the bow she saw him talking to Bernard about. It had Akori symbols carved into it, which like her sword, supposedly used to do something special.
The area was dark, except for a small amount of red light that shined from the exit signs above the doorways. The light made the spot on the floor of Kim’s dried blood look eerie—almost like it was still fresh. It was hard to believe that it had only been two weeks.
They heard footsteps echoing from the stairwell.
Addy looked up at Tanner. “He’s not alone.”
Matt entered with Renee by his side. They both looked as they always had, like they could be coming to hang out with her and the rest of their friends. Only now they were former friends, ex-friends who’d betrayed her.
It was hard to tell in the dark, but Matt’s face looked like it had more injuries than what the bottom of Gage’s shoe could’ve possibly done on the day of the attack.
When Renee saw Addy, she touched the scratch marks that were still healing on her face, and made a move to step ahead of Matt.
“Bad idea,” Tanner said.
Addy looked directly at Matt. “He never misses.”
Matt put his hand on Renee’s arm, backing her off. He scanned the dark room top to bottom until he spotted Tanner.
“Kim said you wanted my help.” Addy cut to the chase and took a few steps closer to him. “Explain.”
Matt smirked at her. “I knew you couldn’t resist.”
“Did I have a choice? You knew once—”Addy was getting worked up just looking at him—she paused to get her bearings and started again. “Can you get Gage back or not?”
“We can get them all back,” Matt said, glancing down at the spot of Kim’s blood. “My parents, Josh, and yes—Gage too.”
She shook her head. “How’s that possible?” He sounded so sure of himself.
Matt began pacing back and forth. “Rumors, legend, whatever you want to call them, say there’s a book that tells how to destroy the Overseer’s Stone.”
She looked at Tanner and then to Matt. “My grandfather would’ve known about it if it existed.”
“Not if Eva didn’t want him to know,” Renee said. “It was written by Oren Sanders himself. In it, he supposedly accused Eva of using her powers to compel him to make the oath to her the night of the ball. He didn’t want to obligate his son and his descendants to serve the Akori. He wrote down every last detail of what happened after she took him from the church the night of the ball, including how to undo what she’d done.”
Matt continued where Renee left off. “Eva’s compulsion on Oren didn’t work anymore once she gave him the power to control the Overseer’s Stone—he remembered everything. It became nearly impossible for an Akori to use their powers on the Overseer unless they were incredibly strong. The story says that Eva gave another Akori some of her own power to make him strong enough to change Oren’s memories of what really happened. But by then it was too late—the book was already written and hidden away.”
Addy put her hands on her hips. “That story sounds about as fake as the stories the Akori make up about their artifacts.”
Ignoring her comment, Renee continued. “Mesen leaders already know how Eva was able to share her power with another Akori, they’re confident that the story is true.”
Matt stopped pacing and looked at Addy. “I know you think we’re terrible and we betrayed you, but what we’re doing will bring our people back to the way we’re supposed to live.”
“The things you’ve done Matt—you were my friend. I never thought you’d hurt Gage, he was your best friend. And Kim, she loves—” Addy felt herself beginning to boil over so she stopped talking and looked back at Tanner.
“Gage is still my best friend and I love Kim.” Matt closed his eyes, pressing his thumb to the space between his eyebrows. “Gage will be back, Addy. I wouldn’t have done what I did if I didn’t believe that.”
“Destroying the stone will give us our full power back, which means it’ll bring back every Scattered Akori and Mesen,” Renee said as she sat down on a stack of wooden pallets. “My parents and Uncle Josh are Scattered—I want them back.”
“The book Oren wrote,” Tanner said, “any idea where to start looking?”
“Supposedly it was hidden in a Sanders family heirloom—maybe a statue or something.” Matt threw his hands up. “That’s why we don’t have it yet. After almost 250 years it’s been hard as hell to track down. That’s why we need your help, Addy.”
“So Will Elsegood is back,” Renee said, looking at Addy. “There’s no doubting he’s Gage’s dad.”
Addy ignored her gossipy tone. “You met him?”
“More like his fist met my face,” Matt said and reached up, touching his bruises, “repeatedly.”
“He came to our leaders with Mitchell West to set up the meeting for your brother,” Renee said. “When he realized who Matt was, it took four of our guys to pull him off.”
Addy smiled to herself thinking about Will beating on Matt. “What about the meeting Thursday and the truce?”
Matt sat down next to Renee on the stack of pallets. “They’re gonna agree to it short term to give us more time to locate the book, but it won’t last long. We want our powers and our Scattered friends and family back.”
Renee frowned and shook her head. “They tried to deal with Eva and Andrew for hundreds of years before breaking off and becoming the Mesen. The attack on the ball was a last resort. She refused to compromise.”
“It’s nothing personal against your family—they’re just tired of being a fraction of what we should be,” Matt said.
“Something’s been bothering me,” Tanner said, dropping to the floor from where he was perched. “Why take the Overseer’s Stone and bring it back so quickly—it seemed like a waste of time.”
“We needed a good look at the symbols on it.” Renee laid her hands in her lap. “We also needed to delay Jax claiming the stone—we weren’t ready to try to take him out.”
“But it’s nothing personal against Addy’s family.” Tanner rolled an empty wooden reel from some type of wire over near Addy, laying it down on its side. They sat down on it across from Matt and Renee.
“There’s a lot of panic at the moment. Everyone has a theory about how to get the power back.” Matt shrugged his shoulders. “Attacking Tremain like that wasn’t smart. We lost a lot of good people.”
“What happens if we find the book? Even if it exists I’m not gonna just hand it over.” Addy didn’t trust them and wanted them to be perfectly clear about that.
“Once you have the book, if it details how to destroy the stone and bring Gage back, I trust you to do what’s necessary,” Matt said.
Addy didn’t know what to think anymore. She’d been convinced they were completely evil, but what they were saying made her question that. If Gage could really be brought back, then she was going to work with them regardless of how she felt.
Addy pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around her legs. “What do you guys know about Ashford Worthington?”
Renee and Matt exchanged glances.
“He’s big trouble,” Renee said. “Why?”
“Last night he approached me at a club. I was lucky Tanner was there.” She told them glancing at him. “It wasn’t the first time Ash tried to get me alone.”
Renee leaned over to Matt. “I can’t believe they sent Ash afte
r her.”
Matt’s face paled as he looked at Renee and he shifted his eyes to Addy. “Does your brother know?”
“Yeah, he’s concerned.”
“He should be.” Matt looked over at Tanner. “Keep her away from Ash—do whatever it takes.”
Renee nodded as Matt spoke. “He’s got extremely strong compulsion abilities—so strong he can even compel other Akori. He and his father presented some ideas to our leaders about how to get our powers back. Most of them just boiled down to picking your brother apart to see what makes him so special.” Renee looked at her brother. “I wonder if they know about the book, Matt.”
“I’m sure Preston and Ash know about it.” He reached over and squeezed his sister’s hand. “Don’t worry, they’ll find it first,” he said, gesturing toward Tanner and Addy.
Sitting with Matt and Renee after everything they’d put them through was probably one of the strangest things she’d ever done. They told her and Tanner that their family had been a part of the Mesen since they broke off from the rest of the Akori. Matt explained that he and Renee were sent to live at the estate with Josh intentionally because of their ages. It was an attempt to get spies inside Tremain. The Mesen hoped Renee and Addy would become friends or she and Matt would eventually date.
Matt dropped his hands in his lap and shook his head. “It’s strange to think about you out at some club without me, Addy.”
“Matt, don’t.” Addy put the palms of her hands against her eyes. She couldn’t deal with thinking about that.
Tanner put his hand on Addy’s back at the same time Renee put her hand on her brother’s shoulder.
Matt turned his eyes toward Addy. “I just miss—”
Renee cleared her throat. “Anyway, everyone at Tremain just became our family, when it was time to make our move it was so hard for us—we didn’t want to. We never wanted to hurt you.”
“I’m not gonna lie to you Addy, I was trying to Scatter Gage the day we attacked the estate. I knew if he Scattered I could get you to help me,” Matt said. “But Renee was only fighting with you because I told her to. We didn’t want one of the others hurting you.”
“How is it that you even have abilities, Renee?” Addy had always been told that like Molly, she didn’t have any power.
“I didn’t—not until Uncle Josh gave me some of his power and unlocked mine,” she said. “We all have abilities but some of us—”
Matt’s phone rang and after a brief conversation he was on his feet grabbing Renee by the arm. “We gotta hit it, your brother and his crew just rolled up in the parking lot.”
Tanner and Addy jumped up and looked at each other.
Addy put her hand on her forehead and turned to Tanner. “Do you think he knows we’re here?”
“It’s Jax—of course he knows.”
Matt moved to hug Addy but Tanner quickly got in the way, making him step back. He and Renee headed for the stairs, saying they’d be in touch through Kim.
Tanner raised his eyebrows at her. “Well girlie, what now?”
Addy decided she didn’t care if Jax was outside, and she didn’t care if he didn’t like her being with Tanner. “Now we go back to your bike and get out of here.”
Chapter 32