“We need to make a choice,” I said when everyone returned to my living room. “Either stay and defend the cul-de-sac, or go and take back the Headquarters and everything with it.”
“We have police, we have criminals, and we probably have half of the Guardians,” Esther said. “But the only people we can trust are the family.” She didn’t mean blood.
“Esther, get in touch with your Circle,” I said. “Aiden, try to round up your shifters. See if you can figure out who our biggest threat is. Carl, contact Shay and tell him to get his people and Moses on board. Phoenix, what happens if someone opens the cages?”
“They die,” he said confidently.
“Well… great. Everyone knows we’re here. We’re sitting ducks. Where is safe?”
“We could go back to the sanctuary,” Lorcan said. “My, um, father might be the key to keeping it safe.”
“But we don’t know that for sure,” I said. “Gabe, did you send any Guardians to the children?”
“A few I trust,” he said. “But they can’t get in, so I don’t know how much use they’ll be.”
“At least the kids are safe from the mayhem,” I said. “Phoenix, would it be safe if the werewolves were around the children? Not inside the building, but outside. Could they be like…”
“Guard dogs?” Carl offered.
Phoenix shrugged. “Only if I’m there.”
“The children are from the slave markets,” Lorcan said. “They’re important enough for that.”
Phoenix nodded. Lucia stumbled, and I rushed over to catch her. When I touched her, dark images started flashing before my eyes: death, blood, destruction; the children murdered in their beds, only a couple of them ever getting the chance to fight back; me in the sanctuary, dying slowly, unable to protect my friends; the streets full of bodies as the wildest creatures took over. In the last, a book opened, filling the world with a shroud of darkness as nightmarish monsters wandered the earth.
When I blinked the images away, everyone was standing over me, staring at me in horror, and I realised I was lying on the floor, my face wet. I sat up and wiped my face, trying to smile at Emmett, who looked terrified.
I glanced at Lorcan. “Did you get that?”
He nodded grimly. “I take it you did, too.”
“What’s wrong with Ava?” Phoenix asked, sounding concerned.
“Lucia can send her the visions. Ava’s a conduit for power,” Lorcan explained.
“But it always comes with a price,” Carl said, carefully helping me to my feet. “I think you ripped your stitches.”
“Shit,” I muttered, seeing blood soaking through my top. Again.
“So that’s what happened back at the Headquarters when my mother touched you,” Phoenix said, looking thoughtful.
“That was some vision,” Lorcan said, and his voice shook.
“Tell me about it.” I sat on the sofa to catch my breath. “Think it’s literal?”
“Most likely.”
“Will somebody explain to the rest of us what happened in the vision?” Gabe asked in a harsh voice.
“People died,” I said sharply. “Eddie used the book, and the world changed. The…” I shook my head, unable to go on. What I had seen couldn’t be explained. It would suck all hope out of the world. And then I wondered. Was that why I was saved? Why all of us were somehow led to each other? To stop Eddie and his bloody book? “Yvonne, find out if Daimhín is going to come back anytime soon. Gabe, outside for a minute.”
“I don’t answer to you,” Yvonne snapped.
I rubbed my temples and counted to fourteen in an effort to stop myself from smacking some sense into her.
“Just do it,” Peter ordered, leading Emmett out of the room. The kid had already heard way more than I wanted.
Gabe followed me outside, and I looked at him sternly. “I need the truth from you,” I said. “You know something about the book, right?”
“I am aware that things are going wrong,” he said. “The world is off-balance, and the book is important. Anything can happen with the right knowledge, but nobody should be allowed to use that book.”
“Is this… was I hidden for this? Has this always been about Eddie fucking Brogan?”
He licked his lower lip and led me further from the house, stopping right outside the cul-de-sac. “It’s complicated. I don’t get to hear the plans. I was told to watch for my chance at redemption. When you came along, I just knew it had to be you. They don’t interfere, Ava. Not with the actions of the first.”
“The first?”
“The first vampire. I told you the story about Seth, the first evil Lucifer created from the humans. He’s practically a religion to many vampires. The more he was fought against, the larger a symbol he became. Some even believe he’ll be the one to restore vampires to their former glory.” His laugh was harsh. “Free will is supposed to be important. The most deserving save themselves. But sometimes… sometimes we need some help. Sometimes, one side gains an unfair advantage. Sometimes, the balance needs to be equalised. And the balance ended when Baba Yaga was murdered.” His expression softened. “At your trial, in front of everyone, I said you were the balance.”
I stared at him in horror. “When Mrs. Yaga was dying, she asked me to protect everyone. I said yes, but I didn’t know what I was saying yes to!”
He gazed back at me, his face unreadable. “What did you say yes to, Ava?”
“Her solicitor said I’m supposed to replace her now. That bad things could happen if I don’t. But I walked away because he said I had to stop taking sides. I told him no, Gabe. Have I done this?”
“If you were protected, and I believe you were, then it was for a reason. An important long-reaching one. Maybe this is why. Right place, right time.” He shook his head. “But surely there were easier ways.”
“So why me?”
“I have no idea. I swear to you, I don’t have the details.” He hesitated.
“But you know something.”
“I know that what you’ve told me about Peter is important. I wasn’t there, but I’m certain an angel was. I’m certain an angel saved Peter and took the memory from him. I would guess that it was Cam.”
“But why? Why would Cam involve himself in anything like that?”
“I’m not sure of anything, but I would assume it has something to do with Eddie Brogan.”
“Is Kate safe with Cam?”
He nodded, but I couldn’t read his expression. “He seems protective of her. I’m not sure why because he never does anything without a reward.”
His confirmation of my suspicions had my mind racing. “Don’t tell Peter,” I said. “Don’t tell him any of this until we know more.”
“I don’t particularly care to tell him anything,” he said.
“Explain to me what this has to do with my landlady? Make me understand what it all means.”
He licked his lower lip. “She was one of the Eleven. The Eleven were formed to protect this place. They were forgotten, as they wanted, but they maintained the veil. I’m talking about the natural balance, the veil between this world and others, life and death. To use the book, Brogan needs more power. The book was once said to protect us from what was within, and the power of a god is not enough to break the lock. He needs the power of many—stolen power, dark magic, and tainted blood—but all of that is nothing if the veil is maintained. When Baba Yaga—the Matriarch—died, the Eleven were no longer complete. Until she’s replaced, the veil is drawn back. Beings that don’t belong here can be called to this world. Darkness will bring the end of days. If we can stop him… we have to try.”
“What do I do? Should I agree to Mrs. Yaga’s requests?”
“There’s no time,” he said. “The true balance could take months to be restored. Eddie could already have begun, and the Eleven refuse to interfere. What’s started won’t be stopped by them.”
“I’m needed for this then. What is he trying to do?”
“I’m a
fraid to even guess,” he said solemnly. I blew out a shaky breath, and he rested his hand on my shoulder. “What did you see, Ava?”
“I’m probably going to die,” I said quietly. “So I need you to watch over them for me.”
“I’m not you.”
“You could have just lied to me to make me feel better. I’m dying, you know.”
The corner of his mouth curved upward. “I will protect them for the rest of my life.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you need to say goodbye to your grandmother?”
I squirmed under his stare. “Phoenix took her memories of me.”
His mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“She was stressed out from guilt and the memories of the past. And Wesley couldn’t move on. So I made a deal with Phoenix and had him take their memories of me away. They don’t remember knowing me, and he did something to make Wesley avoid conversations about me.”
“You did what?” Carl’s voice felt like a shot in the back.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Oh, crap.”
“You took their memories of you? What the hell is wrong with you? If you even think about doing that to me, I’ll—”
“That’s enough,” Gabe said. “You heard her. You heard what she said. You have your explanation. We make hard choices to survive.” He glanced at me. “I’ll leave you two alone for a moment.”
I folded my arms and avoided Carl’s eyes. “I wasn’t going to do it to you,” I muttered.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth? You can’t just wipe yourself from everyone’s minds. You have no right.”
“I had to help them while they still had a chance! Wes is my past, and the person he knew is gone. So what’s the difference? And Nancy? Her memories of me drove her mad. I took away her suffering. She’s happier now. Content. And I feel bad enough as it is! I don’t need you piling on the guilt as well, okay?”
“I just…” He paced in front of me. “You didn’t have the right to make that choice for them. For him.”
“I’m making a lot of choices, Carl. I don’t want to be the one who makes the choices, but everyone’s expecting me to be that person. I just want it to be over. I’m happy for the end to come.”
He stopped and stared at me, his eyes widening. “You saw yourself die, didn’t you? That’s what was so bad about Lucia’s vision. You died.”
“I’m okay with it,” I said.
“Well, I’m not. Stop giving up.”
“I won’t. I promise I won’t give up. But if my death could mean something, then…”
He shook his head. “We won’t let you die.”
“And maybe I won’t. Lucia saw lots of possibilities, and Gabe said I’ve been protected for a reason.” I shrugged. “You can’t tell them. You can’t let anyone get hurt for me. You know how I feel about having to be rescued.” I grinned, hoping to lighten his mood a bit.
He tried to return the smile, but I could see how much it hurt him. For me, the news hadn’t really sunk in yet. I knew there had to be a way I could save everyone. If I was going to die, there was nothing anybody could do to stop it. But I could make it mean something. That was the other part of Lucia’s visions. I had died in several different ways, and not all of them counted.
“If something bad happens, you have to help them,” I said. “Anka and Dita especially. If anything happens to Val, then you’re stuck with Leah, too. I mean it.”
“You’re an awful eejit,” he said. “Do you think we’re all going to run if you’re not here to make us stay?”
“I dunno. You’re kind of flaky.”
He ruffled my hair in answer.
“Come back inside. We have a lot to do,” I said, linking arms with him and walking back toward the house. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“This is the real war, isn’t it?” he asked in a low voice, and all I could do was nod.
Inside, everyone had been gathering information.
“How did you know Daimhín would be back?” Yvonne asked me.
“She needs to consolidate her power before Reuben tries to take over her position. If he doesn’t, somebody else will. The vampires have always fought for power, and she’s been comfortable because of the Council. Now she has to fight for her place. The vampires still need a leader, someone who can control them. She’s smart enough to keep them calm, but she hasn’t been any fairer than the Council were. There are a lot of lesser vampires who will welcome change. They’re going to be the problem for her.”
She grunted in response, but she appeared dissatisfied.
“Should we move to the sanctuary?” Val asked.
“No!” Lorcan and I shouted as one.
I faced everyone. “Right now, there’s death there for us. The safest place for most of you is right here. Phoenix, can you spare us some werewolves?”
He nodded, but some of the others protested.
I held up my hand to quiet them. “They have the biggest reputation right now. Nobody is going to face them and win, not without a real plan.”
“What do we do now?” Carl asked.
“We’re going to travel to the Headquarters, get the werewolves, and take back our city for good. We need numbers, we need coverage, and we need people to watch their televisions and know that someone is out there fighting for them. We need to give them hope. And we need to wipe out Fionnuala’s assassins while we’re at it. We’re going to be murderers. But when the dust settles, we’ll make a better place for everyone. We’ll deal with Eddie and televise any meetings we have at Headquarters so that everyone feels involved.” I ran upstairs to get ready.
“Are you sure about this?” Peter asked me, and I looked around to see him leaning in the doorway of my bedroom.
“Not sure of anything. No point trying to be. But I’m not going to sit around and wait for something to happen.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What happened to being the father Emmett needs?” I snapped, turning back to gather my stuff.
He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Don’t do that,” he murmured, his breath tickling the back of my neck. He turned me to face him, running his hands through my hair. He pulled me toward him, but I panicked and stepped out of his grasp.
“I have to go,” I said, and I locked myself in the bathroom until I heard him go downstairs. I wasn’t ready to deal with how I felt about Peter and Emmett.
I got ready, the same old preparation: silver crucifix, silver chain belt, and the dagger. Eddie had given me two of the three things I was rarely seen without, and that gave me an awful feeling in my stomach.
I found the photograph I had stolen from my grandmother’s house—the only picture I had of my parents. I stared at those strangers, wondering what the hell they would think of their only child.
“Hey,” Emmett said from the doorway. “What’s that?”
I crossed the room and showed him the photo. “My parents.”
He traced his finger across my mother’s face. “Her hair is like yours.”
I sat on the edge of the bed. “Wanna tell me why you didn’t send Maeve away?”
He handed back the photo. “You said it was wrong to make them do what I wanted.”
“Emmett…”
“I wanted to come home. It’s fine over there, but this is where I live. I missed you, Ava.”
“I missed you, too. But this is dangerous.”
“Maeve scared me. I thought you were going to die.”
I felt a pang of guilt. He had already lost so much. “Did Maeve tell you anything else about this book? What it’s for? What it can do?”
“She said it holds the power of the gods. He’s going to sacrifice people to use that power.”
“I’ll stop him. I’ll find him and stop him. Don’t you worry.”
“Maeve looks different.”
“What do you mean?”
He heaved out a sigh. “I don’t know.”
I hugge
d him. “You’ll be okay here for a while, right?”
“Be careful,” he whispered as I left the room.
Plans were still being made when I went downstairs. Esther practically vibrated with nerves, so I gestured for her to follow me outside.
“You doing okay?” I asked.
“I should be asking you that,” she said as we strolled to the mouth of the cul-de-sac. “I didn’t expect Peter to come back. Not with Emmett.”
“Me, either,” I admitted.
“How are you feeling about that?”
“I don’t know.” I felt numb, mostly.
“I kind of wish Aiden would go away.” She lifted her shoulders into a shrug. “I feel all kinds of pressure when he’s around.”
“Can’t choose your family.”
“You can choose to let them influence you. Or not.” She exhaled loudly. “All of these people, and the happy-go-lucky human is the most reliable one of all.”
“Carl? He’s had his moments, too.”
She grinned. “Probably. So is Peter back for good?”
“We haven’t exactly chatted. I’m not… he left, Esther. I’m glad to see him, but I don’t know what to do about him.”
“This is why I loved my Circle—no men complicating things. People expected us to turn on each other, you know. Said women couldn’t work together. That probably made us work harder.”
“Just be glad they underestimated you all. Are you going to keep it a secret? About Aiden’s tattoos.”
“Nope.” Her voice was harder than I expected. “I’m going to make sure everyone knows the truth about him. He can earn his status the hard way. Just like everyone else.”
“They thought you were the weak one. They were so wrong.” I patted her shoulder and went back inside.
Within an hour, I was ready to go, along with Gabe, Phoenix, Esther, Aiden, Val, Peter, and Lorcan. Elathan was already on the streets with loyal Guardians. Moses and the brethni had taken charge of their neighbourhood, and Shay had every Garda he could trust out doing their jobs. It didn’t matter that the world had turned to crap; we all still did what was needed.