Flic pressed her lips together in a gesture that reminded Evie of Lucas and then she exhaled loudly. Without a word she strode past all of them and into the room at the end of the hallway. Jamieson turned to them and with a shrug of his shoulders gestured for them to follow her.
Evie hesitated, convinced now that they'd be better off leaving, but Lucas's hand was suddenly in hers and he was shooting her a pleading look and she was just too tired to argue. The last of her adrenaline had leached away and she didn't think she would be able to even make it back to the car. So she trudged after Flic into the living room.
Jamieson crossed straight away to a beanbag in the corner of the room and flopped down onto it, his eyes darting from Lucas and his crimson-spattered clothing to Evie in her strapless cocktail attire. She watched his eyebrows rise as he took in the state of the dress and her bare legs and feet streaked with blood and mud. She shuffled uncomfortably, aware of how badly she wanted to shower and change into something clean.
There was a sofa against one wall covered in blankets and a small coffee table in front of it scattered with magazines and empty cans. The room was lit by several floor lamps and some candles sat on the windowsill. Flic moved straight to the window and pulled down the blind. Issa stood quietly in the centre of the room – a marble statue, dressed all in black, her gaze glued to Lucas.
Evie inched closer to Lucas. In the flickering glow of the lights he didn't seem so pale but, standing this side of him, Evie could see the dried trickle of blood running down his neck and the two scabs where Joshua had sunk his fangs in. She shut her eyes trying to erase the image that flashed before her, but it remained there, as though seared with a branding iron onto her retina. She didn't think she'd ever manage to successfully rid herself of that one.
‘You saw us coming?' she heard Lucas ask.
‘Yes,' Issa answered. ‘I'm still connected to you, Lucas.'
Evie's eyes flew open.
‘And you're sure no one followed them?' Flic asked.
Issa frowned briefly before stepping around Flic and taking hold of Lucas's hand. Evie tensed beside him, watching.
Issa's eyes suddenly glazed over, the blue turning milky-white. Lucas stood stock-still, not breathing. After a few seconds Issa's eyes flashed open. ‘You can relax,' she said, turning her back and walking to the sofa. ‘You're safe for the moment.'
‘But they're coming?' Lucas asked, his voice sounding strained. ‘You see them coming for us, don't you?'
‘Yes, they'll come,' Issa answered, dropping down onto a cushion.
Evie stared at her, biting her lip. You didn't need to be a psychic to know that.
Chapter 3
Lucas saw Evie's face pale. Her eyes, the colour of deep ocean, were locked on Issa. For a second his mind flew back to the Mission, remembering another Sybll standing in front of him, clutching his arm. You die because of the choice you make, Grace had told him.
Except he hadn't died. He was still here. Even though he'd made the choice to turn his back on the Brotherhood and on his oath, he was still alive. Which made him wonder whether fate was so set in stone and whether Sybll always got it right.
‘Sybll predictions don't always come true, Evie,' he said to her softly, shooting Issa a warning look.
Evie turned to him. She looked fragile all of a sudden and unsteady on her feet. He fought the urge to pull her towards him. The last thing he needed to do was give Flic any more reason to lash out – she was already simmering dangerously. And he was acutely aware too of Issa, standing there, observing them both silently. He hadn't expected to ever see her again, least of all here. The last time they'd been in each other's company – the time he'd said goodbye – hadn't exactly been one to store in the memory bank.
Evie was still staring up at him, her body tensed and her chin held high. She was trying to show she was unafraid. But he could hear her heart beating as rapidly as it had done back when they were cornered in the alley. The front of her dress was torn at the hem and there was a bloodied handprint stamped across her collarbone. He kept glancing at it, wanting to wipe it away. It was unsettling, as if an invisible demon was trying to strangle her.
‘Tristan told me that Sybll sometimes get it wrong. That things can change according to the choices we make,' he said, trying to reassure her. ‘Think about it,' he added. ‘Wouldn't they have sent more than just the Brotherhood to kill you if they'd been able to foresee what was going to happen? We wouldn't be standing here now if Sybll got it right all the time.'
Evie chewed her lip, contemplating what he'd just said. She didn't look that convinced.
‘It's true,' Issa said.
Lucas looked at her, startled. He hadn't expected Issa to back him up on this one.
‘We don't see everything,' she said. Was that a pointed look she threw his way before she turned back to Evie? ‘I only catch glimpses. To see someone's future it helps to be near them or touching them. Or to be connected to them in some way.' Another look in his direction, which made him turn his head and start admiring the cushions strewn along the back of the sofa. ‘And even then,' he heard Issa sigh, ‘Lucas is right, things do change according to the choices that people make.'
That one was definitely aimed at him. He took the hit. He deserved it.
‘OK, enough about Sybll shortcomings,' Flic interrupted. ‘Are you going to tell us what the hell happened?' She was leaning against the wall by the window, her arms still crossed, shooting daggers at him and something altogether more lethal at Evie. It had been a year since Lucas had seen her. She hadn't changed one bit. She was still sharp as a shadow blade. And just as unforgiving. He was only glad that she hadn't answered the door armed with one.
‘Yeah, I'd like to hear what happened, so I know what may or may not be coming,' Jamieson added, winking at Issa.
Lucas studied the boy lounging on the beanbag. He was a Shapeshifter. Easy to tell; the scent of him and the extra-fast heartbeat gave it away. Lucas normally didn't have a problem with Shapeshifters. Neena was a Shapeshifter and the only member of the Brotherhood he actually liked, apart from Grace. He felt a sudden sharp pain in his side as if someone had twisted a knife into his gut. He still didn't know what had happened to either of them – whether he should even be thinking about them in the present tense. He shook his head. He needed to focus. There was nothing he could do for them now. And everyone in the room was looking at him expectantly.
He took a deep breath. ‘I was sent to kill Evie.' No one said a word. He continued, ‘The Brotherhood had been looking for her for a long time. Seventeen years to be precise.'
‘Why?' Flic interrupted, staring Evie up and down, her top lip curling in a sneer.
‘She's the last full-blood Hunter,' he answered. And she's the White Light, he thought to himself. He carried on before Flic could say anything more. ‘We were ordered to kill her before she could gain her full power – before she was fully trained and had made her first kill,' he said, watching the reaction from the others as he spoke.
Jamieson had drawn himself up to a sitting position, and was leaning forwards, resting on his elbows and studying Evie as though she was an exotic beast. Issa was perched ramrod straight on the sofa, as motionless as she was expressionless. Flic, he noted, had finally stopped scowling. Now she was frowning at him.
‘The first time we tried to kill her we failed,' Lucas went on, remembering the attack behind the diner and how Evie, still a stranger to him then, had fought back, surprising them all. He remembered Shula lunging towards Evie and how he'd darted forwards and pushed Evie out of the way. Later he'd tried to kid himself that he had only saved Evie from Shula's acid grasp so that he could kill her himself. Except here she was standing next to him, still alive, and here he was, ready to do whatever it took to keep her that way. Killing her had never been an option. It had just taken him a while to figure that out. He realised he'd stopped talking mid-sentence and that the others were sitting there hanging on his words, waiting for him to finish.
‘Tristan sent me back to Riverview to spy on Evie and the other Hunters who were training her,' he said, leaving out the part where he had convinced Tristan to let him go, arguing that as he was half-human he'd be able to pass undetected. ‘So I did,' he said, glancing at Evie out of the corner of his eye. ‘I spied on her and watched her train.' He paused, swallowing uncomfortably, ‘Until one day Tristan told me time was up and I needed to kill her.'
‘And?' Flic demanded, hands on hips. ‘What stopped you?'
Lucas frowned, not sure how to answer in a way that wouldn't have his sister launch a round of expletives at his head.
‘He couldn't do it,' Issa said softly, before he could open his mouth.
Lucas shrugged. It was an answer. And it was the truth. At least, as much truth as he was prepared to tell them. He didn't expect Flic of all people to understand. And besides, it was something that he himself couldn't even put into words. How could you describe a feeling that made every other feeling and thought fade to nothing? How could he explain the reason he'd chosen to walk this line, even though it would inevitably lead towards his death, when it wasn't reasonable? It was just a need that ran so deep, that owned him so completely, that no other action was conceivable. There was Evie and there was keeping her safe. And there was nothing else in between. If such a notion had come from anyone else he would have told them they were insane and to seek psych treatment. So he could understand Flic's fury. But there was nothing he could do about it.