Tainted

  “Even though what?”

  “She doesn’t need me anymore. She has Val. They’re always together. And she’s happy. I’m happy for her. But if she wants to pass on her visions, she has you. If she needs help, she has Val. There’s nothing she needs me for anymore. I’m not… not important.”

  “You are important.”

  He pushed at the air as if throwing away my reply. “She got the important stuff. I’m the second twin, you know? The translator, the protector. I did the things she couldn’t, and that’s why I was needed. She has other people for that now.”

  “If it weren’t for you…” I took his hands. “There’s more to your life than being your twin sister’s voice, Lorcan. There’s plenty more you can do.”

  “Yeah, but can I do it here?” He pulled his hands out of my grasp and gave me a weak smile. “I don’t know what I’m thinking. Ignore me.”

  Peter approached, dangling his car keys between his fingers. “Go easy on her,” he warned. “She’s feeling temperamental lately.”

  I smirked. “That’s because you drive too fast.” I took the keys.

  He held my gaze. “You want me to come with you?”

  “Nah, I’ll be fine. Just stay here and keep everyone busy. Make sure Jess and the others train. If Seth is stepping up his game, we need to do the same. But mostly, they could use the distraction.”

  “We’ll be grand.” He patted Lorcan’s shoulder. “Keep an eye on her for us.”

  Lorcan nodded, but his expression had turned grim. I couldn’t read him.

  When Lucia joined us, I drove us to the church where the joint funeral was being held. There would be a ceremony inside, another in the graveyard, and then a cremation. I felt funny about that, considering what had been done to them, but Shay had told me that the families had decided to keep the remains near each other. Close in life, close in death. It was probably kind of beautiful, but the idea turned my stomach nonetheless.

  We were early, but the lot was already packed. The twins and I got out of the car and wandered through the solemn crowd in the front yard, trying to find someone we knew. Lucia waved at somebody. I followed her gaze and saw Phoenix and Callista speaking with a reporter.

  “Tactless,” Lorcan said.

  Willow came over to us. “Ava.” She half-hugged me, her gaze on the twins. “Are you joining us?” she asked breezily. “James and I are on our way in.”

  But she was gone before I could even answer. James followed her, frowning at Lorcan. As countless strangers bustled past us into the church, Lucia stuck close to me, her fingers moving uneasily.

  “You okay?” I whispered.

  She nodded and gave me a fake smile. I watched Phoenix and the siren approach the steps, nodding and smiling at people I didn’t recognise. James and Willow emerged from the doors, arguing again. I wanted to tell them to get a room, but I reminded myself we were at a funeral, something they should have remembered, too.

  “That’s not good enough,” James was saying. “We have to react more quickly next time.”

  “And get more people killed?” Willow snorted. “We still don’t know who that poor woman was or why she was there.”

  “She was one of the news crew,” he replied. “Had to be.”

  “Then someone would have reported her missing. She wasn’t in the building,” Callista said in her low, alluring voice.

  “She’s right,” Phoenix said.

  “This isn’t the place for that kind of conversation,” I said, unable to hold in my irritation any longer.

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps she’s right, too.”

  Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turned away. The mourners had separated into groups, all eyeing each other suspiciously. Some were human, others various types of supernaturals. Nobody was crying, and the tension in the air seemed more angry than sad.

  “This isn’t right,” I whispered, shivering at the sensations around me.

  “What isn’t?”

  I hadn’t even noticed Phoenix move next to me.

  I glanced at him before returning my attention to the crowds. “They aren’t sad. They’re angry. Suspicious, too. But not sad.”

  “This should unite people, not divide them.”

  “What has the media been saying?” I asked.

  “The media can’t all be trusted. And people will listen to their gossiping neighbours before us now. The old government ruined the trust.”

  “But they voted. They all had their say.”

  “Maybe some had more say than others.” He pointed. “Here are the cars.”

  The families were arriving with the bodies, along with Shay who had organised a police escort to honour the fallen. He was taking it all to heart. Not even the rescue of the teenage girls had made him feel better for long. When Shay stepped out of his car, he looked as if he had aged five years overnight.

  “He sat up with the remains all night,” Phoenix murmured. “It’s an old tradition.”

  “He really is perfect,” I blurted.

  Phoenix gave me a funny look. I shook my head, embarrassed. Anto’s father and brothers carried Layne in first, then Anto. As the coffins passed us, my heart cracked a little. Layne’s family still looked shell-shocked, except for her little boy. Too young to understand, he giggled and squirmed in a woman’s arms, trying to break free and explore.

  I wasn’t exactly a churchgoer, and the place was full of unpleasant reminders from my past. But when Shay hesitated beside me with a pleading look, I couldn’t turn my back on him.

  “Want us to sit with you?” I asked.

  He nodded gratefully. I took his hand and walked inside with him. The twins followed closely. The pallbearers had placed the coffins side by side in the front of the church. People went up and laid mass cards on the lids. We sat away from the families but close enough to the front for everyone to see that representatives of the Senate cared.

  A few minutes later, Layne’s father suffered some kind of panic attack and had to be escorted outside. Shay’s fingers tightened around mine. Lucia sat on the other side of me, her breathing hitching occasionally. Lorcan and Phoenix were staring at the coffins. The twins had only just met their mother before she died. Phoenix hadn’t even learned of his wife until after her death. Death was at the fore of all of our lives, but none of us had truly learned how to deal with it.

  The cameras and reporters were held at bay outside. When the mass began, I stared at the stained-glass images of horror that had always terrified me as a kid. I closed my eyes to the huge crucifix at the front of the church and thought about the people we had lost. If I made sure to always remember them, maybe their deaths would stop feeling so meaningless.

  At one point, Anto’s mother burst into loud sobs. The men and her daughter all sat up straight, the pride in their expressions hiding their grief. Layne’s son had stopped giggling, perhaps influenced by the atmosphere. Shay’s hand crushed mine as the priest spoke, and I realised he was angry. He was mad that those people he had trained had already lost their lives. He was mad that Seth was still running around, killing people and tormenting us. He was probably mad that the supernatural world was full of dark secrets and mysteries.

  I was angry, too. The world was full of horrors, and we danced with them, whether we liked it or not.

  The ceremony was brief. Afterward, maybe half of the crowd left for the graveyard. Moses waved at us. Most of the people in his community had attended, including the brethni. Layne and Anto were obviously loved and respected, and I liked that. They had left good memories in their wake.

  The drive to the graveyard was silent. Lucia had grown antsy, and Lorcan morose.

  It started to rain, and there wasn’t enough room for most of us to shelter after we arrived. So we stood in the downpour, shivering. Lucia wandered amongst the graves while I huddled next to Lorcan, wondering if the chill came from the weather or the location.

  “I wonder where they are right now,” Lorcan whispered. “The dead.
Emmett can see souls, but not all of them. Why?”

  “Maybe he sees them when they’re on their way to… wherever we end up. I’m not sure I want to know.”

  After the ceremony, something nagged at me all of a sudden. I couldn’t figure out what. I stepped away from the others and spun around in a circle, almost slipping on the wet gravel.

  “What is it?” Lorcan asked.

  I closed my eyes and reached out, trying to figure out what was wrong. There were more people in the graveyard than before, despite the fact that people were leaving. Maybe there was another funeral.

  No! I gasped and opened my eyes.

  “Watch out!” I shouted, running in the direction of the new energies.

  “What’s going on?” Lorcan called after me.

  “Lucia!” I roared over my shoulder. “Get back in the crowd.”

  Hooded figures stepped out from behind the trees surrounding the area. Seth couldn’t come for us, not during the day, but half-humans and supernaturals with magically infused tattoos definitely could. And they actually dared, even with the crowd of fighters who were bound to be attending. I had my dagger hidden in the back of my trousers, but I doubted many others were armed. I heard shouts behind me as Shay took charge, ushering the weaker people toward their cars.

  I caught a glimpse of the past, the way the hooded assassins had come for us and hurt Mrs. Yaga, disturbing the very balance of the world. I had restored that balance, but if they killed me, it would start all over again. For my friends’ sake, for everyone’s sake, I couldn’t let myself get hurt.

  One of Anto’s brothers caught up to me, his face a mask of rage. “These fuckers best not think they’re going to stress my ma out anymore today,” he snarled, rolling up his sleeves.

  “Careful,” I said. “They’re geared up. We aren’t.”

  He let out a harsh laugh. “My brother just died. There’s nothing more dangerous than my family right now.”

  His brothers, his father, and even his young sister joined us, all of them eagerly striding forward to meet the assassins. The fight began in a blast of fists and blood. We tripled their number, so I had no idea what the assassins were thinking by attacking right then. Even with their weapons, they were vastly outnumbered.

  One assassin swung, and I dodged, barely avoiding his sword. The blade grazed Moses’s arm. Anto’s father pounced on the attacker, knocking him down.

  I ducked as another assassin tried to behead me. I punched his crotch, spun away from his second, more half-hearted swing, and pulled him into a chokehold. Lorcan came over and twisted the guy’s wrist until the assassin dropped his sword. Lorcan picked up the weapon and stabbed the assassin in the gut. I dropped the man and moved on. I used my dagger to slit the throat of an assassin about to bash Anto’s sister’s head.

  A shifter ran past, almost tripping me as she changed forms. A stray fist caught me in the nose. A glass kylie whistled through the air. It cut halfway through someone’s arm. He howled in pain and dropped to his knees. Moses kneed the wounded assassin in the face and broke his nose.

  Suddenly, the large group of assassins retreated. Anto’s brothers jeered. Some of the shifters followed but gave up halfway. I stood there, watching them flee, still confused.

  “Everyone okay?” Shay asked, running through the crowd.

  I ran the back of my hand across my nose—bloody but not broken. I walked away from the crowd, feeling as though there was something I was missing. Phoenix rushed past me, anxiety rolling off him in waves.

  My stomach dropped when I heard Lorcan shouting for Lucia. I ran after him, half-expecting to find her body, but she was gone. She was nowhere to be seen.

  Lorcan knelt and picked up a broken bracelet. “This is hers.” His voice broke. “She’s gone. She’s gone. Where is she?”

  He looked at me with accusing eyes. I took a couple of steps back. I hadn’t watched over her. I had let her run off. And when the assassins came, I hadn’t even thought about her. I shook my head, my stomach turning as I realised Seth’s game. He had distracted us so he could take Lucia—pure, innocent Lucia, who had seen Jessica willingly walk away with Seth.

  Phoenix gripped my shoulders, his fingers sinking into my flesh. I barely felt the pain. I couldn’t take my gaze away from the horror on Lorcan’s face.

  “Where is she?” Phoenix demanded. He shook me hard. “You lost my daughter!”

  He shoved me, and I fell to the ground. I sat there, staring at him in shock.

  “If she dies… if she dies…” He was shaking so hard, he couldn’t finish the sentence, but I knew exactly what he was thinking.

  It was my fault. People kept dying, and Lucia could be next. And if so, the fae would do much worse to me.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Phoenix pulled me to my feet by my collar.

  Shay was there, suddenly, before I could even think about what to do next. “What are you, crazy?” He pulled us apart, but Phoenix kept that murderous gaze on me.

  I staggered a few steps away, wanting to throw up. After everything we had been through, I had allowed Lucia to be taken from right under my nose. How could I have been so stupid?

  “My daughter is gone,” Phoenix said. He jabbed a finger at me. “And this one held back. We all saw her retreat. This one led them to my daughter, made her a target, and then let them take her.”

  “So we follow who took her.” Shay snapped his fingers in front of Phoenix’s face in a vain attempt to get his attention off me. “I’m talking to you! You can’t make a fool of everything we’ve worked for by attacking a woman in front of the people who’ll keep you in power.”

  Lorcan walked closer to us. “It’s not Ava’s fault. It’s my fault. She’s my… I should have been there, watching her. I should have—”

  “No,” I whispered. “It’s not your fault, Lorcan.”

  Shay looked from one of us to the other. “I’ll organise the troops to follow. There’s a chance we’ll catch up.” He gripped Phoenix’s elbow. “Let’s go. You need to look for your daughter.”

  Phoenix gave me one last withering glare before letting Shay lead him away.

  “Lorcan, I’m so sorry.” I held out my hands pleadingly, but there was nothing I could say to make any of it better.

  “Why didn’t she come to me? I don’t understand. I could have helped her hide. We could have been safe together. Why didn’t she hide?” He shook his head. “I have to look for her. I have to do something.”

  “We can go back to the cul-de-sac and try to track down where Seth might be hiding. We’ll just be in the way here. They have a tactical team. They won’t want us to… Jesus, I’m sorry.”

  He hugged me then, holding me tightly as a sob wracked his body. I suspected he felt the same way about me as Emmett did. I was the person who had brought them home to their families, even if it had been tough for them to adjust. Lorcan was like a child sometimes, and I had managed to lose the one person who had been through everything with him.

  “Listen to me.” I pulled back and held his face in my hands. “We’re going to get her back. Seth did this to force me out of the cul-de-sac. He won’t hurt her because then he won’t have a reason to call me out. He’s trying to fuck with us, and he’s not… he’s not going to get away with it. I promise you.”

  “What’s he going to do?” he whispered, his eyes glistening with tears.

  “If I were him, I’d take Lucia home and keep her out of our reach for now. Maybe he’ll force us to go to him. He won’t want to fight in case Jess gets hurt. He’s going to want to make an exchange.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “I’ll think of something. Come on. I’ll drive you back.”

  We headed back to the car, narrowly avoiding another confrontation with Phoenix. Jesus, he was scary. Nobody had ever had the means to terrify me with a look until him. And damn it if I didn’t want to please him.

  Peter and Carl were waiting outside at the cul-de-sac.

  “S
hay called us,” Peter explained. “We haven’t told Val.” He and Carl exchanged sheepish glances. “We didn’t know how she would react.”

  I sighed. “Probably the same way as Phoenix. I’ll tell her. Don’t worry.”

  “No,” Lorcan said. “Lucia cared about her. I should be the one.”

  “Cares,” I said firmly. “Lucia cares about her. You get cleaned up. I’ll deal with Val. We have a busy few hours ahead of us, right?”

  He nodded but still stood there, looking lost. I caught sight of Margie standing at her doorway and waved her over. She took one look at Lorcan and bundled him under her wing.

  “She’s good at that,” Carl said as they walked away from us. “Taking care of people.” Then he pulled me into a hug. “I know how much you care about Lucia. You doing okay?”

  I nodded, unable to speak. I stepped out of his arms and turned away to dry my eyes. I couldn’t afford to fall apart.

  “What happened?” Peter asked when I recovered.

  “What happened is that I fucked up,” I said. “They attacked us in the graveyard, and I ran into the fight instead of sticking with Lucia. It was just a distraction to take her. Phoenix wants me dead, Lorcan’s falling apart, and Val will probably do the job for Phoenix. Seth will be laughing by nightfall.”

  “Were you the only one there?” Peter asked.

  I frowned, confused. “No.”

  “Did you call Seth and tell him to come and take Lucia?”

  “No, but—”

  “Then anyone who thinks it’s your fault is a fucking moron. Lucia’s an adult. It’s time people realised she can think for herself. You’re not to blame for this, Ava.”

  I gave Peter a pained look. It didn’t matter what he said. Lucia was the fragile, innocent one. Everyone would need someone to blame if anything happened to her.

  Carl squeezed my shoulder. “What can we do?”

  “We try to track down Seth,” I said. “But I’m pretty sure we’ll see him again. He can’t keep away.”