Margaret, who was sitting behind her, reached forwards and pressed the lock down on Evie's door. Evie let go of the seat belt and twisted in her seat, about to yell something at Margaret, but her words were cut off as Cyrus slammed on the brakes and she was thrown against the dashboard. Evie jumped around in her seat, her hand reaching for the saw blade.
‘Shit,' Cyrus yelled, staring straight ahead at the figure standing right in the middle of the warehouse. ‘Who the hell is she?'
Chapter 40
Evie was first out of the car. She stared at the girl, who had appeared out of nowhere and who was now standing in front of the car, motionless and frozen-faced as one of the mannequins in Victor's boutique.
‘Who are you?' Cyrus asked, jumping out the car a second after Evie, the others quickly following suit.
Evie turned to him, catching a glimpse of something metallic in his hand. She held a hand up to still him. ‘It's Issa,' she said.
‘The Sybll from the Brotherhood?' Cyrus asked, levelling his gun at Issa's head.
‘No,' Evie answered. She thought for one moment about telling Cyrus to drop his weapon, but then changed her mind. ‘It's Lucas's ex.'
Cyrus darted a startled look in her direction. ‘He dated a Sybll?'
Evie didn't answer. She stepped around her door and walked towards Issa. ‘What are you doing here?' she asked. Issa was staring at her with eyes so large they resembled two pale-blue moons floating in an oval of winter-white sky. But more striking than that was the fact they were filled with more fear than Evie knew how to handle. ‘What's happened?' she heard herself asking.
‘Not what has happened,' Issa answered her. ‘That's not why I'm here. It's what's going to happen if you don't listen to me.'
‘Is it Lucas?' Evie asked, feeling her heart hammering wildly. ‘Is that why you're here? Is something going to happen to him?'
‘Yes,' Issa answered.
‘But this was supposed to protect him,' Evie whispered, feeling the panic building inside her. ‘I'm doing this to protect him.' She scanned the warehouse as if she could find an answer or a way out, hidden in one of its dusty corners. ‘Does he know already that I've gone? That it was Jamieson and not me?' she asked, her eyes flying back to Issa.
‘Did you really think that he'd not be able to see through a Shapeshifter?' Issa answered, her tone so snide that it made Evie wince.
‘I tried, OK?' she said, feeling a dull anger start to stir. ‘I didn't know what else to do.'
‘Listen,' Cyrus cut in, suddenly in front of Issa, ‘Are you going to tell us what you came here for because, if not, we need to be on our way. We have a date with destiny we really have to keep.'
‘Your date with destiny is more like a date with death,' Issa shot back.
Cyrus opened and shut his mouth.
‘As it stands,' Issa continued, ‘you're planning to assault from the front of the building. If you do that none of you will make it through the door.'
Cyrus swore loudly.
Issa pointed at Vero who had come to stand just behind Cyrus's shoulder. ‘You get killed by a Thirster,' she told her.
Vero's face paled.
‘A Shadow Warrior is going to kill you,' Issa went on, turning and nodding at Ash, who was standing by the car door. ‘Your mother,' she said, circling back to Cyrus, ‘gets killed before she even gets out of the car.'
Evie heard Margaret gasp behind her.
‘And Lucas?' Evie cut in. ‘What happens to him? Is he going to get hurt?'
Issa didn't answer her. She didn't need to. The look on her face was answer enough.
‘No,' Evie whispered, tears burning the back of her eyes.
‘And it will be pointless,' Issa hissed. 'They'll all die for nothing. You won't close the way through. You won't even get near it.'
‘But I thought it was a done deal?' Ash blurted. ‘She's the White Light. She has to end it. Isn't that what's supposed to happen?'
Issa turned to him. ‘Yes,' she said, ‘but it's never been known for sure when she ends it exactly. It should have happened already.'
‘Well, why hasn't it?' he asked, staring at Evie, confused.
‘Because she fell in love with someone she shouldn't have.'
Evie glared at Issa. You don't get to choose, she thought angrily to herself. She didn't get to choose anything. She never had. Least of all falling in love with Lucas.
‘It has to be tonight,' Margaret said desperately, pushing past Evie to confront Issa.
‘Well, if you want it to be tonight you'd better listen to me,' Issa answered, shooting her a withering look.
‘Why should we trust you?' Cyrus demanded.
‘I thought Sybll stayed out of unhuman affairs?' Ash added.
‘We can trust her. She's doing this to protect Lucas,' Evie said quietly. ‘That's why she's here. To save him.'
Evie understood it completely. And a part of her – the part not hating Issa – was actually grateful.
Cyrus whistled through his teeth and shook his head. ‘What is it about him? What is it that makes you females of all the species lose the plot so entirely?'
‘Listen to her. We need to listen to her,' Evie said, ignoring him again.
‘OK, OK, I'm listening,' Cyrus huffed.
‘If you promise that you won't hurt him I'll tell you everything I see,' Issa answered.
‘For God's sake!' Cyrus shouted, his head rolling back and groaning at the ceiling. ‘Not you too. We already swore this.'
‘I know,' Issa answered. ‘Swear it again.'
‘We swear we won't hurt Lucas,' Cyrus said in a bored, singsong voice.
‘Now or in the future,' Issa said, narrowing her eyes. ‘And believe me,' she added, ‘I'll know if you even plan to, and I'll come and find you. And I'll pre-empt your every move.'
‘I didn't think Sybll were violent,' Cyrus said pulling a face at her. ‘You're sure undoing the stereotype, sweetheart.'
‘Issa, please – tell us what we need to do,' Evie interrupted, hating how desperate she sounded, and hating too the way Issa turned to her – her owl-like eyes filled to overflowing with blame. Evie stalled, words dissolving on her lips. Wasn't she doing enough? What more was she supposed to do? Besides kill herself?
‘Can you please start talking before the sun goes down and our problems get a whole load more fanged?' Cyrus asked, glancing at his watch. ‘Do you think that might be possible?
Issa nodded. ‘OK, yes, let's try,' she said.
‘Try?' Evie said, feeling her frustration mounting. ‘What do you mean, try?'
‘I need you all to start rethinking your moves. We need to see how that changes things.'
‘You mean you can't just tell us what to do?' Vero asked, frustration biting at the edge of her voice.
‘Not completely, no. The visions change as you each decide to do things differently.'
‘OK, so start,' Cyrus snapped. ‘Do that weird eye thing that you Sybll do.'
Issa glared at him for a moment before taking a step forward. She gripped Cyrus's arm in one hand and Evie's in the other and closed her eyes. When she opened them a second later the blue irises were filmed with white.
‘Lucas is going to be waiting on the north corner,' Issa said, her pupils starting to move rapidly under their milk-coloured blankets as if she was in a deep sleep.
‘So we come from the south corner? The back entrance?' Ash asked, leaning forwards over the car bonnet.
‘Yes,' Issa said, before pausing and then nodding her head slowly. ‘OK, it's changing. You all make it out of the car alive.'
Evie heard Margaret sighing with relief behind her.
‘Park by the fried-chicken place,' Issa went on, her eyes flickering wildly. ‘But be careful. The two kids in uniform – they're not human. They're Scorpio.'
‘I'll take them down,' Ash said quietly.
Issa nodded, ‘Yes, you do.'
Evie stared at her and then at her long, pale fingers circling her wrist. How was she seeing all this? Was it playing out like a movie in her mind? Could she rewind and replay at will?
‘Evie, stay close to Cyrus,' Issa said next, her head swivelling towards Evie and a frown wrinkling her brow. She hesitated, seeing something that Evie didn't want to imagine, something that caused a deep shudder to run up her body. ‘Stay behind Cyrus,' she said more firmly.
Cyrus looked back over his shoulder at Evie. ‘Are you hearing the lady?' he asked.
‘Yes,' she murmured. ‘Stay behind you. Understood.' She tried not to imagine why she needed to stay behind Cyrus. What the hell was going to be in front of him?
‘OK, Cyrus, there's a Scorpio just inside the door,' Issa went on.
‘Left or right?' Cyrus asked quickly.
‘Your right.'
He nodded. ‘Got it.'
Issa smiled, ‘Yes, you get it.' The smile faded instantly. She flinched. ‘Vero, that's your name isn't it? Watch your back. And take what's in front of you.'
Vero shuffled from foot to foot. ‘OK,' she whispered, shooting Ash a questioning glance.
‘Once you're inside, keep walking. Don't stop. Don't look back.' She paused for a second before continuing. ‘There are three Thirsters in the lobby.' She looked at Vero, her eyes suddenly flashing back to blue, and gave her a bemused smile before her eyes blanked out once more. ‘Stay together,' she said. ‘It's important you all stay together. There are six Thirsters waiting downstairs guarding the door, and two Mixen, a Scorpio and, whoa … ' She broke off, her whole body jolting as though she'd been shot with a charge of electricity.