‘Work-out space,' Cyrus had said, nodding his head up at the ceiling when they walked in.
Lucas hadn't replied. He hadn't said a word yet in fact. Sometime soon he thought he and Cyrus were going to have a falling out, so he was trying to restrain himself until that time came.
Evie's hand was still in his. He kept noticing the three rogue Hunters staring at them and their linked hands, as if something unfathomable, like a unicorn, had appeared in the room and they had to keep checking that it was real. The girl, Risper's sister he'd figured, was the one to watch. Her dark eyes kept tracking to him every time she thought that he wasn't looking. But he saw her. And possibly he was just suspicious but he wasn't about to let his guard down where she was concerned. There was an edge to her that he was sure was lethally sharp and given the slightest provocation she'd strike. The boy Ash looked like a fighter – as in a real fighter – someone who would probably make him break a sweat, even while he was invisible. The boy had instincts, he could tell from the way he moved and the way he listened, his head pricking up at even the slightest sound that the others weren't noticing. He was the quietest, the most contained emotionally too – hard to read. But Lucas didn't sense any immediate threat from him. At least, not yet.
He'd been wary at first of coming back with them, but what choice had they had? Flic and the others had disappeared without even a goodbye, and he knew that door was shut. There was no going back. He felt a momentary twinge of regret and maybe anger that it had ended that way with Flic but there was nothing he could do about it now. He and Evie seemed to have reached a tentative truce with these self-styled rogue Hunters. Not that he had any faith in it holding. Given the choice, he would have preferred to strike out on his own with Evie because now he felt like he was having to watch his back from every direction. But they needed to figure out the prophecy and fulfil it, and the only person who might be able to help them, other than Grace, who seemed to be missing in action, was Cyrus's mother. Scorpio's law, as they said in the realms.
The three rogue Hunters were facing them. There were no invitations to make themselves at home or to take a seat. He waited, Evie brushing up against his side. She did it every so often, as if checking he was still there. His fingers tightened around hers. He was there.
Vero was the first to speak. ‘You know my sister? Risper?'
‘Yes,' Evie answered.
The girl's bottom lip trembled. She tried to hide it. ‘What's happened to her?' she asked.
Evie swallowed audibly beside him.
‘She's dead, isn't she?' Vero asked in a rush.
Neither he nor Evie said anything. Evie made the slightest movement of her head. A nod.
‘How?' Vero asked in a small, broken voice.
Evie took a breath. ‘We were trying to get away from the rest of the Brotherhood. Risper was with us,' she said quietly.
Vero's jaw tensed, her nostrils quivering. ‘What happened? What killed her?' she demanded.
‘A Thirster.'
For a second Vero stood there unblinking and they watched a landslide of emotions rush across her face. Evie's hand started crushing his own. And then Vero turned her back, her shoulders heaving, and Ash stepped forward in the same instant to catch her. She fell against him sobbing, her head buried against his chest. His arms wrapped around her, and Ash half carried her out of the room, murmuring to her softly as they went. Her cries reverberated in the high space long after they'd left.
Cyrus stalked over to the window, pausing to kick the sofa on his way. He rested his head against his fist and leant against the glass.
‘So they're sisters,' Evie finally said.
Cyrus turned to her slowly. ‘Twins.'
It was the first time he wasn't wearing a smirk on his face.
‘Oh, God,' Evie murmured.
‘It wasn't your fault,' Cyrus said quietly, his eyes on Lucas.
Lucas ground his teeth and forced himself to stay silent. Cyrus gave him one last glare and then strode past the sofas towards an open-plan kitchen at the far end of the room.
‘They hadn't seen each other in a while,' he remarked as he opened the fridge. He was waiting for one of them to ask why but Evie didn't say anything and Lucas wasn't about to fill the silence either.
‘They fell out,' Cyrus explained as he walked back over holding two water bottles in his hand. He gave one to Evie, pointedly ignoring Lucas, and then went and dropped onto the nearest sofa, kicking his feet up onto a plastic block that seemed to serve as a coffee table.
‘What did they fall out over?' Evie asked.
‘Over you,' said Cyrus holding up his water bottle as if toasting her.
‘Me?' Evie asked.
‘Yes. Risper and Vero were both part of the original Hunters. They were only kids when Victor found them – fifteen or so – hanging out at a skate park in Baltimore.'
‘Victor? You know Victor?'
‘I don't know him. I know of him.'
‘Risper and Vero – what happened?' Lucas asked suddenly. ‘How did they fall out over Evie?'
Cyrus glanced up at him. ‘They fell out over the White Light. Victor expected them both to protect you,' he said, his eyes lingering on Evie. ‘To train you. But Vero didn't think they should risk their lives protecting something – someone – who she didn't believe in.'
Evie's head flew up.
‘What evidence was there that it was you?' Cyrus shrugged, taking a swig from his water bottle. ‘Vero thought it was a suicide mission. But Risper wanted it to be true. She wanted it to be true badly – she'd had enough – she wanted out and thought that if they'd found the White Light the end was in sight. So Vero walked away alone. She found us – joined us.' He put the bottle down on the table. ‘For the last three years we've banded together in LA, trying to keep an eye on the way through, trying to limit the numbers of unhumans coming through. Waiting, I guess.'
‘Hold up,' Evie said. ‘Vero walked away? She left? Just like that? And Victor didn't come after her?'
‘No.' Cyrus shook his head.
‘But Victor said no one ever left. He said no one ever got away.' Her fingers were gripping the sides of the sofa. ‘People … people were killed trying to leave. He told me.' She was talking about her parents but Cyrus didn't need to know that.
Cyrus shrugged again. ‘Well, Vero got away. She was one of the lucky ones. My mum too. He never managed to find her either – not for want of trying.'
Evie's voice was a hoarse whisper. ‘Your mum? She was a Hunter too?'
‘Yes.'
‘Who is she?' Lucas asked.
Cyrus looked up at him, an annoyed expression on his face as if he'd only just remembered that Lucas was in the room. ‘Her name's Margaret,' he answered.
‘Margaret?' Evie said, her head flying up.
Cyrus nodded.
Evie turned to Lucas with a stricken look on her face and he dropped to her side, kneeling in front of the sofa.
‘I know her. I know the name,' she said, reaching for him. ‘She was in the book. The book Victor gave me with the family tree in it. She was scratched out. He told me she was dead. He made out that he'd killed her.'
‘Well, she's alive,' Cyrus shrugged. ‘Last time I checked anyway.'
Lucas turned instantly to Cyrus, ‘Who's your father?'
‘What's it to you?' Cyrus shot back, jumping abruptly to his feet so he was looming over Lucas.
Lucas stood slowly so he was standing taller than Cyrus. ‘Nothing,' he said.
Cyrus turned away and started heading towards the door that Vero and Ash had disappeared through.
‘Are we going to see your mum?' Evie called after him.
‘In the morning. First I think your boyfriend needs some beauty sleep. There's a guest room you can use.' He turned to Evie smirking, ‘Or you can bunk with me.'
Lucas lowered his head and fought the overwhelming urge to fade and reappear right in front of Cyrus brandishing the sword that Vero had dropped by the door on her way in. It was tempting. Seriously tempting. But Evie had a tight hold of his hand as though she'd guessed what he was thinking, and she was looking up at him wide-eyed and pleading – or maybe she was warning him not to react, so he ignored Cyrus and, leaning down, kissed Evie on the lips.
Chapter 18
Evie stared at the bunk beds. The phrase who's on top? was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't bring herself to utter it. She stood there in silence instead. The whole night had been so surreal and now it was ending with them standing here in a room with kids' bunk beds shoved against one wall and a Space Invaders arcade game pushed against the other, while Vero's cries seeped through the thinly partitioned walls.
‘Do you ever have times when you just don't want to deal with what's in front of you?' Evie whispered as they stood there, hand in hand, in the centre of the room.
‘Yes,' Lucas answered, laughing softly.
She looked up at him, shaking her head slowly. ‘You're so lucky. You can just disappear.' She moved to face him. ‘I'm always scared that you're never going to come back.'
He smiled sadly at her, tracing the back of his hand along her cheekbone. ‘I'm always going to come back,' he said, before he kissed her, sending a shiver all the way through her body that almost lifted her off the ground.