Why was Nathaniel making her wait until midnight? It seemed so long. She wanted Rachel out of there.
When Carter sat down next to her, she welcomed the distraction.
‘You ready for this?’ he asked.
She looked at him soberly. ‘I just want to get it over with.’
‘Me too.’
Allie watched his face as he looked out across the room. She thought about how he must feel after everything that had happened today.
‘Carter, I’m so sorry about Jules.’ Her voice was tentative. She wasn’t certain how welcome her sympathy would be. ‘I didn’t know about… about her parents.’
His face darkened. ‘I missed her by minutes. She was supposed to go to one of the hiding rooms but she didn’t make it. By the time I got outside the car was gone. It happened so fast.’
Allie looked at him sadly. ‘I didn’t know her parents were…’
He shook his head. ‘I didn’t want to advertise it. Besides, you two…’
Hated each other.
‘Yeah,’ she said, ashamed. ‘I’m sorry about that, too. All that fighting… it seems so unimportant now.’ She turned to face him. ‘Do you think she’ll get away? Come back? She’s trained.’
He shook his head, a muscle flickering in his jaw. ‘I don’t know. Could we just… talk about something else?’
But what else was there to talk about?
When Raj walked through the door some time later they were all sitting in tense silence, waiting. He looked around the room, his eyes missing nothing.
‘Let’s go,’ he said.
‘All you do is put it in your ear, like headphones.’ Raj put a small silver device on Allie’s fingertip, and she placed it cautiously in her ear.
It felt cold against the sensitive flesh and she shivered. ‘Won’t it just fall out?’
‘Adjust it until it feels snug but don’t force it,’ he said.
She moved it until it seemed to fit. ‘I think it’s in there.’
‘This is your microphone.’ He showed her a tiny piece of what looked like black plastic no larger than the head of a pin. ‘Here. Lean forward.’
She did as he asked, and he stuck it to the fabric of her jacket, just below her jaw. She craned her neck to look for it – it was invisible.
He placed an earpiece in his own ear. ‘Say something.’
His voice rang from the device inside her ear and she flinched. ‘Wow. That is way too loud.’
‘It’s because I’m standing so close to you. The transmission is not strong – as soon as you leave the building my voice will seem faint to you but you should never lose contact at any point.’
Biting her lip, Allie nodded. They were standing at the end of the corridor, by the stairs leading out on to the grounds. She’d been through that door a hundred times in the last few months with the other Night School students. She knew the path she was about to take like the back of her hand. She knew where she was headed and what she was going to do. She was ready.
She’d never been more frightened.
As if he could see it on her face, Raj took her by the shoulders. The others were gathered behind them so he lowered his voice until only she could hear. ‘You’re sure you want to do this?’
Allie thought of Rachel, sitting at her library table bending over her chemistry books, glasses sliding down her nose. Throwing back her head to laugh at one of Allie’s bad jokes. Calmly explaining complex molecules. Running into her room when she had a nightmare.
Terrified, with blood running down her arm and Gabe holding the knife.
Lifting her chin she met Raj’s gaze with fierce eyes. She might be scared but she wasn’t about to back down. This was her chance to get the bastards who killed Jo. Beautiful, happy, crazy Jo. And who now wanted to kill Rachel.
They were all just pawns in Nathaniel’s game.
Allie was sick of being a pawn.
‘I’m ready.’
Her words were simple but her tone was eloquent – Raj didn’t ask her again.
‘OK.’ Stepping back, he looked at them all, pride in his eyes. ‘You know the plan. I know you can do this. Go out there. And bring her back.’
THIRTY-FOUR
A
llie walked along the dark path with quick purposeful steps, her eyes fixed on the path ahead. Her senses were so alert it felt as if her hair stood on end. She tingled with nervous anticipation.
Keep it together, Allie, she told herself. You can do this.
She thought of the way she’d felt when, just before she’d gone, Sylvain had pulled her into a rough hug. He’d whispered something to her in French and she hadn’t known what it meant and yet thought she understood, all at once.
She could do this.
The night was quiet. The only sounds were the thudding of her feet on the soft soil, the rapid pounding of her heart; her breath. The others should be in the woods around her by now, following her steps through the trees. But she didn’t hear a thing.
There was no moon – clouds obscured every star. The air felt heavy with impending rain. It was so dark she could barely see the path at her feet but she hesitated to use the torch that dangled from her hand. If she relied on the torch, its beam would be all she could see. Her eyes would adjust, but the darkness was so complete it was taking time.
Ahead, the path began to ascend, twisting and turning steeply, becoming rockier.
‘I’m at the hill.’ She whispered the words, lowering her head towards the tiny device affixed to her jacket.
‘Clear.’ Raj’s voice was steady and calm in her ear.
For a while she was too busy focusing on it to be frightened. Stones skittered out from under her foot. Once or twice she stumbled, but she always caught herself before she fell.
She was nearly at the top when she heard a sound in the woods. It was faint but clear – a snapping branch, then… silence.
Allie’s mouth went dry and she peered into the darkness around her. But the night revealed nothing. She turned back to the footpath and took one step forward.
‘Hello, Allie.’
She froze. Nathaniel’s chillingly familiar voice seemed to come from her earpiece, but that wasn’t possible.
Her hands shaking, she fumbled with her torch. Suddenly her fingers were so numb everything felt like nothing at all. Finally, she managed to press the button and a bright beam sprang out. She held the torch above her head, pointing it straight ahead.
The path was empty.
Her breath came out in a choked sob.
Where is he?
Panicked, she swung in a circle, the torch beam swinging drunkenly.
Nothing.
‘I need you to walk to the top of the hill, and into the castle.’ In her ear Nathaniel’s voice was calm.
That only made Allie more frightened.
He hacked the comms system.
‘Once you’re there, I’ll tell you where to go. Do as I say and Rachel will be fine.’
He can hear everything we say.
Allie’s heart hammered against the walls of her chest so loudly it was hard to hear his voice.
‘It was naughty of you to try to subvert my demands by using these earpieces,’ Nathaniel chided her. ‘I know my letter did not strictly forbid this. Still, I’m instituting a new rule. Alert Raj that I am talking to you and Rachel dies like Jo. I hope you understand how serious I am.’
For a second Allie was immobilised by fear. He’d said she shouldn’t alert Raj – did that mean she could hear Nathaniel but Raj could not? Should she say something back? If she did, Raj would hear.
She thought longingly about running back down the hill and warning Raj. He needed to know.
But then she thought of Rachel – alone and held prisoner by that monster. She couldn’t go back. She had to try.
‘Allie, check in.’ At that moment, Raj’s steady voice came through her earpiece. He didn’t sound at all rattled. He had no idea what Nathaniel had done.
‘Allie
?’ Raj called again. This time he sounded concerned – she had to reply.
‘Clear,’ she whispered, her voice tight.
There was nothing to be done. She couldn’t warn Raj without risking Rachel’s life. She had to go on, but she was so frightened her feet seemed frozen to the earth, her hands glued to her sides.
Come on, Allie, she urged herself. Rachel would do this for you.
Gritting her teeth she took one step. Then another. In that fashion she stumbled up the hill, clutching her torch in a death grip. Its beam unsteadily illuminated the emptiness ahead, making shadows of tree branches that reached out for her like long fingers.
The crest of the hill lay just ahead. Beyond it, she could make out the jagged rocks of the castle tower.
Lowering her head she walked on, her footsteps uneven but determined.
When she reached the remains of the castle’s once formidable stone wall, her heart pounded so quickly she felt dizzy.
The old wall had crumbled over time but still stood more than six feet tall in places. She picked her way through the fallen rocks to a spot where the wall was at its lowest. Here, battered stones had been piled into makeshift stairs, and she climbed to the top.
The winds had picked up and her hair blew around her face as she stood on top of the wall looking out over the old stone tower, gloomy and ruined. Tonight, with storm clouds swirling overhead, it looked every bit as haunted as its reputation held it to be.
Next to it, a scorched circle marked the spot where the students had held a bonfire in the autumn term. It felt like a hundred years ago.
She could see no sign of Nathaniel but she knew he was there, somewhere. Waiting for her.
Steeling herself, she climbed down and headed across the uneven ground.
‘I’m at the castle,’ she said into her microphone.
‘Clear,’ Raj said. ‘You have ten minutes.’
Ten minutes until he came with his guards to get her. Ten minutes to free Rachel. Ten minutes to survive.
A light mist began to fall; tiny raindrops clung to her eyelashes.
Raj’s plan required her to stand in the middle of the castle yard and call Nathaniel out. ‘Whatever you do,’ he’d said, ‘do not go into the castle tower. Understood?’
But now when she reached the centre of what had once been the castle keep, Nathaniel’s voice, so low and preternaturally calm it sent goosebumps cascading down her spine, spoke in her ear.
‘Walk into the castle tower.’
Horrified, Allie replied aloud: ‘No.’
‘Allie?’ Raj’s voice in her ear.
She bit her lip. ‘Clear,’ she said.
Clenching her hands into fists at her sides, Allie tried to stay focused. She needed to think.
Nathaniel had said if she refused any of his commands, Rachel would die. But would he really do that? Once Rachel was gone he’d have no hold over Allie. There’d be no reason for her to speak to him.
A sudden adrenaline-burst of confidence in her own logic made her feel dangerously brave. She could do this.
Taking a deep breath, she stood amid the ruins, her arms flung out at her sides.
‘Nathaniel! You said you’d find me if I came looking for you. Well? Here I am. Show yourself.’
Her voice seemed to disappear into the glowering clouds. Turning in a slow circle, she looked for any sign of him. Her eyes darting into the shadowed corners and rocky ledges of the hilltop castle.
Rain had begun to fall harder now. Her hair clung to her scalp and snaked over her shoulders in dripping strands.
Raj had told her not to attempt to provoke Nathaniel, but she was angry now, and she couldn’t stop herself. ‘Come on, Nathaniel. You didn’t lie to me, did you? You wouldn’t do a thing like that, would you?’
‘Don’t push me, little girl.’
The calm voice emanated from the base of the tower and Allie’s earpiece at the same moment. She whirled in time to see Nathaniel step out of the darkness.
Frantically she looked around for any sign of Rachel. But he was alone.
As she had the first time she saw him in the heat of last summer, Allie marvelled at his sheer ordinariness. His neat dark hair and average build would not have been out of place among Cimmeria’s teachers. His face was pleasantly but not spectacularly designed – his nose slightly too big, his eyes a little too small to be perfect, but he did not look like a monster.
His expensive suit looked out of place here, though. He was dressed like a banker. His cufflinks caught the light from her torch and sparkled coldly.
‘You disappoint me,’ he said. ‘I thought you cared enough about your friend to do as you were told.’
‘I care enough about my friend not to believe a single word you say,’ Allie replied, her shoulders squared although her hands trembled. ‘Where is she, Nathaniel? Where is Rachel? Show her to me or I will walk away right now.’
To show she meant it, she took two steps away from him. He held up his hand.
‘Christopher’s right about you – you’re always in such a rush,’ he said with a chilly smile. ‘You never take the time to think things through.’
His casual mention of Christopher made Allie draw in her breath sharply but she wouldn’t let him see how much it hurt to think about the brother who’d abandoned her.
He needed to think she didn’t care.
‘Don’t talk about Christopher or I might have some sort of a crying fit.’ Her voice dripped sarcasm. ‘Now I want my friend back. Where is she?’
‘You’re spectacularly stubborn. Has anyone ever told you that?’
Allie fixed him with a challenging stare. ‘Yes. Where is she?’
Sighing dramatically, Nathaniel raised his right hand. ‘Gabriel. Show her the girl. She won’t talk sense until she’s seen her.’
Gabe.
Allie’s heart seemed to shrink to the size of an ice cube.
Jo’s killer stepped out from the shadows, dragging Rachel like prey. One of his thick arms crossed her chest, holding her immobile. The other held a knife pointed at her throat.
Pale and terrified, Rachel trembled in his grip. One eye was swollen shut. Blood had dried under her nose. Her arms were wrapped in bloody bandages.
They’d beaten her.
Despite all her efforts to stay calm, anger coursed through Allie’s blood like flames.
‘Gabe!’ she screamed, her voice breaking into a sob. ‘You psycho bastard, you let her go.’
But he only grinned and brought the knife closer to Rachel’s fragile neck, pressing the tip into her skin.
Something about his smile caught Allie’s attention and she focused her torch beam on his face. Gabe had always been Cimmeria’s golden boy – handsome and athletic, with perfect features. In those days, he only had to smile for a girl to fall for him.
His thick, dark blond hair had been shaved close to the scalp. An angry, red scar crossed his face from the outer corner of his left eye to his upper lip.
Realising he must have received that scar in the kidnapping attempt last year, Allie felt a rush of bitter pleasure.
Then Nathaniel flipped his hand back in a dismissive gesture and Gabe stepped back into the shadows. Rachel gave a terrified, animal cry.
‘Rachel!’ Allie shouted desperately.
But she was gone.
‘Oh God.’ Allie trembled with such violence the torch beam shook.
She had to stay calm or she wasn’t going to be any help to anyone, so she took a deep breath and, although it turned her stomach, she walked closer to Nathaniel, stopping about fifteen feet away from him.
‘I did what you wanted.’ She was surprised by how calm her voice was. ‘I came to you. Now let her go.’
His smile was easy, as if they were having a pleasant chat about the weather. ‘I will let her go when I know for certain I can trust you, Allie. And I will know that when I hear your response to my offer.’
Allie held her gaze steady. ‘What offer?’
&nbs
p; ‘As I said in my note, I want you to come with me, willingly, as Christopher did. I want you as part of my team. I will bring you back to Cimmeria once I take over running the school – you will complete your education here, I promise. Christopher wants his sister back and I want to see your family reunited. With me you will have all that you deserve based on your impressive bloodline – your life will have purpose. You will be an important part of Orion and I will make certain you get the training you need to prepare you for the role you will some day have in the organisation. You will have wealth and power you can only dream of now.’ He held out his hands, palms facing upward. ‘So that is my offer, Allie. Give me your answer and Rachel can walk out of here alive.’