Red River Song

  Chapter Seventeen

  Training to fight, maim, and kill enemies was exhilarating. It kept my mind and body focused without panicking about why I was learning this. There was something about learning to wield the blade given to me that moved me. Jo and Aidan took care of the physical training and conditioning. A week was nothing, so Aidan taught me basic knife fighting skills while Jo worked on hand-to-hand combat.

  When I wasn’t with them at the estate, I was with Theo, Anabel, or Heath, or a combination, depending on who was working. With Theo, I focused on my control. With Anabel, I worked on potions and spells, and with Heath, I worked on fighting with my power. It was thrilling and exhausting. For once, I felt like I had a purpose. But then I would remember my friends, Greta and Nicole, and all joy would vanish. All those people at the hospital, Bast. This was my fault.

  Any spare moment I had was spent staring at Detective Ash’s card. I wanted to call him desperately. Somehow I knew I needed his help, but how would I explain him to everyone? A stranger with powers no one knew about. I couldn’t risk it. Even though I knew he had saved Bast and I from Thea that night. If he was a sorcerer, there was only one Queen he could be descended from, Lilith. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that despite the fact that he saved me, told me what I was, and was more honest than most people I knew. But, did I want to trust someone related to Lilith? Every myth or reference in popular culture depicted her as the cruelest of all demons. She was always a soulless villainess.

  Coming up with a plan turned out to be the most difficult part. Everyone wanted to go and rush in. We all had vague ideas until the day of the meeting, when a text came in from Thea with a time and place. Working together, we set up a two-front assault. I’d go straight in, alone, assess the situation, and communicate straight to Anabel mentally. Jo, Anabel, and Heath would move in, surrounding the building as soon as I communicated Thea was there. I’d send a signal when ready, and they’d come in to help, being the next strongest of the group. If anything went wrong, or Thea had reinforcements inside, I’d be able to tell Anabel directly for her to relay to the others. Aidan and Theo would stand guard on opposite ends of the block, moving in if needed, blocking anyone or anything from coming to Thea’s rescue. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best we could come up with in the timeframe.

  I bounced on the balls of my feet, counting to three, three times. Nine was such a good number. Calming. When my tics got out of control and I spent an hour straightening, checking doors and locks, touching doorknobs, I would take the number three and multiply it times three as many times as possible to focus my brain elsewhere. At the moment, I was focusing on square roots, in particular the square root of 27.

  I’d said my goodbyes and good lucks and was now sitting in my car a block from the warehouse Thea had texted me. Almost time. Almost midnight. Time to die.