He wasn’t there.
Isabelle must have been thinking the same thing. ‘What about the boy? Where is Carter West?’
Nathaniel spread his hands. ‘Regrettably, he couldn’t accompany us today. He was… otherwise engaged.’
All the breath seemed to leave Allie’s lungs. She stared at Nathaniel in stunned disbelief. She’d been so certain he’d be here. That she’d see him now.
His amused gaze swept across her face. ‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘You did expect him, didn’t you? How upsetting for you.’
He was mocking her. Enjoying her pain.
Allie’s hands curled into fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms. She wanted to punch Nathaniel’s smug face. To claw her nails across his smooth skin.
Isabelle, too, seemed to have lost her patience.
‘What is the point of this, Nathaniel?’ The headmistress stepped closer to the fence. All the humour was gone from her voice. ‘Lucinda is dead because of your endless vendetta. Isn’t that enough for you? Haven’t you done enough damage? Can’t we stop now?’
‘Lucinda is dead,’ Nathaniel said coldly, ‘because she couldn’t accept the truth. That her time in charge of Orion was over. The future has arrived.’ He held out his arms. ‘I am the future.’
Isabelle fairly crackled with fury.
‘Maybe you are. But Lucinda loathed the future you represented.’ She moved closer to the fence until they were staring at each other. ‘It’s not a future. It’s the past. You would take the power much greater men gave to all people, and keep it for yourself.’ She was within his reach now, but Nathaniel didn’t move. He was watching her, expressionless. ‘She was right to fight you. And now that she’s gone… I’m going to fight you in her place.’
Allie thought of their plan to leave the school – to give up and start over somewhere else – and lowered her gaze. Isabelle didn’t want Nathaniel to know anything until Carter was returned to them – just in case.
Nathaniel’s eyes glittered like broken glass. ‘It’s nice to know where we stand, sister.’
His gaze shifted to Allie. ‘What about you, little one? Will you fight me, too?’
She raised her eyes to meet his, forcing herself not to flinch. ‘To the death.’
She meant it, too. Maybe they would leave. But she would come back some day. And make him pay.
He arched one eyebrow. ‘Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.’ He glanced around, looking into the darkness behind them. ‘By the way, where is that brother of yours, Allie?’
She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Don’t play games, little girl.’ Nathaniel tapped his heel against the ground impatiently. ‘Christopher has been missing since the parley in London. I presumed he came running to you. Is he here?’
So Chris hadn’t been caught. He’d run away.
This was stunning news. Allie fought to keep her expression neutral.
Maybe he was telling the truth – he really did defy Nathaniel.
‘Christopher is none of your business,’ she said.
He ran a hand across the smooth line of his jaw. His gaze was piercing. ‘You have a smart mouth.’
‘So do you.’
For a second he stared at her. Then he threw back his head and laughed. ‘Oh Allie. If you’d chosen the right side, I think I might actually like you.’
‘I did choose the right side,’ she fired back.
His smile faded. ‘You’re wrong about that.’
He rocked back on his heels. In the dark, on a dirt road, surrounded by his guards, he still managed to appear relaxed, in his element. He seemed to enjoy sparring with them.
‘You made a promise to me, in London, Allie. Do you remember?’
At first, she had no idea what he was talking about. Nothing seemed important about that night except Carter and Lucinda.
Then it came to her in a flash of images. Nathaniel and Lucinda, standing together – the lights of London spreading out behind them like a glittering carpet.
‘I will need you to promise, Allie, that you will never seek to take control of the Orion Group while I am still alive.’
Lucinda had tried to stop her from agreeing. But Allie had insisted. She never wanted anything like that anyway.
‘I remember.’
‘Good.’ He made a quick gesture.
She watched with narrow suspicion as one of the guards produced a stack of papers, which he pushed through the bars of the fence.
Allie took a step forward, but Isabelle gestured for her to remain where she was. She took the papers.
As she scanned the first page, her lip curled in disgust.
Nathaniel was still talking. ‘These papers bind you to that promise. I’ll need you to sign them.’
‘Allie will never sign this,’ Isabelle said, contempt in her voice. ‘How dare you even ask her?’
‘Come on Izzy, she’s a big girl,’ Nathaniel replied. ‘Surely she can decide for herself.’
‘She’s a minor,’ Isabelle snapped. ‘No, she can’t.’
Nathaniel waved his hand. ‘There are ways around that and you know it.’
As they argued, Allie tried to decide what to do. In the end, it didn’t matter what they said. The decision was hers.
When she’d agreed to Nathaniel’s demands that night, it had been in direct opposition to what Lucinda wanted her to do. She hoped it would make him leave them alone.
It had been a miscalculation.
She’d never known Lucinda to look at her with such disappointment as she had at that moment. As if she’d failed her.
She wouldn’t fail her now.
Allie stepped forward until she stood close to the gate. Eye-to-eye with Nathaniel. She wanted him to see how unafraid she was.
‘I will sign your papers.’ Her sudden announcement seemed to surprise them both. Isabelle shot her a frustrated look.
‘Excellent.’ Nathaniel reached for his breast pocket, as if to take out a pen.
Then Allie finished her thought: ‘As soon as Carter West is safely back at Cimmeria Academy – and after you agree to leave us in peace – you will have your signature. Until then, I won’t sign anything.’
Nathaniel’s expression darkened. He’d gone very still. Colour rose in his cheeks.
Suddenly, one of the guards arrayed behind him – a muscular man with a baby face and a brush of stubble on his cheeks – caught Allie’s gaze and made a subtle gesture with his hand.
Get back, it said.
Allie took a hasty, stumbling step away, just as Nathaniel reached through the bars and swung for her.
He missed her by inches.
Then he lost it.
‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ He kicked the metal gate over and over again. The fence shuddered from the force of the attack.
Behind him, the guards stood stoic, as if what he was doing was perfectly normal.
Her heart pounding, Allie scanned their faces until she found the one with the baby face. Like the others, he gazed steadily over her head, as if she wasn’t there.
Why had he warned her?
What if that’s Nine?
It had to be him.
She made up her mind. She would find a way to meet him. To explain.
Allie cast a sideways glance at the headmistress. She was watching Nathaniel’s tantrum with a strange mixture of sympathy and revulsion.
Panting, Nathaniel stepped back from the fence. The night seemed quieter after that burst of violence.
She and Isabelle watched him warily.
‘Listen to me, little girl.’ His voice was a snarl. ‘If you ever want to see your boyfriend alive again, I suggest you sign that document now…’
‘Enough.’ Isabelle held up her hand. ‘You wouldn’t dare. If you hurt Carter West, you lose all your leverage. You need him like you need her signature. You have your answer, Nathaniel. Give us Carter. And you can have everything you want.’
Nathaniel could have no idea h
ow true that was.
Holding the document he’d given her up, Isabelle tore it in half. The pieces fluttered to the ground, scattering around her like flower petals.
Nathaniel’s face was red with rage.
‘You should be careful, Nathaniel.’ Isabelle’s tone was taunting. ‘I hear everyone in Westminster is talking about how Lucinda died. Nobody believes the cover story. A heart attack. Really?’ She shook her head. ‘Rumours spread fast in Parliament. How long do you think you’re going to last?’
Allie expected Nathaniel to lose it again. But his response was chilling.
‘You are sailing,’ he said, ‘too close to the wind, little sister.’
Isabelle just smiled. ‘That is right where I like to be. Big brother.’
For a long moment the two stood, locked in a silent battle. Then Nathaniel held up one hand.
‘Let’s go.’
As one, his guards turned back to their vehicles. Allie searched the crowd but she couldn’t see the baby-faced guard anymore – he’d disappeared into the shadows.
The headlights switched on in a blinding display. Isabelle stood at the gate, unafraid, staring right into the bright light.
Backlit like that, her hair golden and waving around her face, she looked like a goddess. Or like a warrior queen.
The SUVs lumbered around and, one after another, roared away.
When they were gone, the night fell silent. Allie heard birds – disturbed by the engines – grumbling in the trees. Wind rushed softly through the branches of the pines.
The only people left on the other side of the fence were the two returned hostages. They stood helpless, blindfolded, their hands still tied behind their backs.
They lifted their faces, in a curiously animalistic way, trying to see through the fabric that covered their eyes.
Allie knew they were bait.
This was classic Nathaniel. He could have stopped the cars a short distance down the road. He could have left men hidden in the woods, waiting to signal him as soon as the gate opened.
There’d been no reason for him to bring these men back at all.
The whole situation screamed trap.
She couldn’t imagine what would happen now. It was too dangerous to open the gates. But they couldn’t just leave the hostages standing there.
Like her, the headmistress was staring at the two men. She might have kept her cool throughout the evening, but now she was pale with fury.
‘Are they really gone?’ Allie asked hesitantly. ‘Is it safe?’
‘I don’t care.’ Isabelle pulled a phone from her pocket and pushed a button. Every muscle in her body was tense as she spoke into the phone.
‘Open the bloody gate.’
15
With a jarring screech of metal, the gate began to roll open.
Allie stared at the headmistress in utter disbelief. Opening the gates now was insane.
This kind of recklessness was utterly out of character for cautious, protocol-obsessed Isabelle.
The headmistress stood in the middle of the drive, inches from the moving metal.
It was almost, Allie thought, almost like she wanted Nathaniel to come back.
This was scarier than anything that had happened all night. The teachers at Cimmeria had been pushed to the brink by Nathaniel over the last few months.
Maybe this had been a step too far. Pushing the headmistress over the edge.
‘Isabelle…’ she began hesitantly.
Before she could finish the sentence, Isabelle lifted her phone again.
‘Now, Raj.’
As if by magic, security guards in black fighting gear poured from the woods behind them. There must have been fifty of them. They moved without a sound.
In the inky darkness, they were like night in motion.
Allie had known they must be nearby – the guards were never going to leave the two of them out here alone – but she hadn’t seen any sign of them until now.
With silent swiftness, they streamed around the two women and rushed towards the gates.
Raj was in the lead, his face set and focused. He didn’t glance at them as he sped by.
They hurtled through the gate to the two blindfolded men. There they divided in a movement of silent precision. Most headed off to search the surrounding area. The others searched the bound men before hustling them on to the school grounds.
As quickly as it had begun, it was over. The guards raced back towards the fence, stealth forgotten now. Zelazny shouted orders as he ran. The gates shuddered and began to close.
Once safely inside, the guards arrayed themselves in a long, black line in front of the slowly closing gate. They stood poised, ready to spring.
Raj was the last one back, slipping through the bars like a shadow, just before the gate closed with a clang.
Zelazny headed straight to Isabelle, disapproval in his pale, blue eyes.
‘That was risky,’ he said, sotto voce.
Isabelle kept her gaze on the two bound men. Someone produced a knife and sliced the plastic cuffs from their wrists.
‘It is time,’ she said after a moment, ‘for risk taking.’
She strode away to talk to Raj. Zelazny glowered, but didn’t pursue her.
Allie watched the guards dealing with the returned hostages, a hollow, helpless misery growing inside her.
No Carter. It was all a trick.
She didn’t know what to do.
Everything felt so pointless. No matter what they did, they lost. Nathaniel read them like a book. They couldn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to. He was just toying with them now.
They were the mouse. He was the cat.
She couldn’t see that ever changing. Especially now that Lucinda was gone. He’d play with them until he was bored. Whenever he was ready, he would take everything. Game over.
‘Don’t worry.’
Allie glanced up in surprise to find Zelazny watching her, a rare hint of sympathy in his expression.
‘Nathaniel will pay for this,’ he said.
If she hadn’t been so dazed by the speed with which events had transpired, she might have been surprised that he’d noticed her pain. Or that he cared.
But that would only occur to her later. Now she just nodded her thanks.
‘Everyone back inside.’ Raj’s voice sliced through the night.
Zelazny whirled, the momentary kindness disappearing.
‘Let’s go,’ he bellowed. ‘Everybody move! Now!’
With one last longing look through the gate to the empty darkness beyond, Allie did as she told.
As soon as they reached the main school building, Isabelle took the two released prisoners to be debriefed.
‘August, Eloise – with me.’ Her tone was so clipped and cold, Allie knew better than to ask if she could come, too.
The small group disappeared into the office underneath the stairs. The door slammed behind them.
Quiet fell.
For a while, Allie waited outside Isabelle’s door, hoping for news. Maybe the guards knew something about Carter. Maybe they could give them some clues as to where he was being kept.
But the ornate carved door stayed stubbornly shut.
She leaned against a wall, trying to remain cool and composed, but her right foot tapped nervously against the polished wood floor. She couldn’t seem to make it be still.
‘Allie.’
Sylvain had walked up behind her soundlessly; she’d never heard him coming.
No chance of escape.
‘We need to talk,’ he said.
He was still in his black Night School gear; his expression was thunderous.
Allie’s heart sank.
She tried to affect nonchalance, but tension crept into her voice. ‘Sure. What’s up?’
‘Not here.’ He pointed at the sweeping staircase behind them. ‘Up there.’
He climbed the stairs with a cat’s smooth stride. Allie followed as slowly as possible, gripping
the banister.
She had a bad feeling about this.
On the landing, he stopped in front of the towering windows. Resting one hand on the plinth for a marble statue he drummed his fingers briefly – the only sign that he was nervous, too.
She wanted him to say something. But he just stood there.
‘I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier,’ she said. Because someone had to say something. ‘That wasn’t on.’
‘This isn’t about that,’ he said.
He was avoiding her gaze.
‘Oh.’ Her stomach flip-flopped. ‘What is this about?’
His eyes met hers for just a second then skittered away. ‘Don’t you know?’
‘No,’ she said, but it came out as an unconvincing whisper.
His expression told her she wasn’t fooling anyone.
‘Something happened while I was gone. I can tell. I know there’s a lot going on but… Everything’s different now. With us.’
Panic left a fine sheen of perspiration on Allie’s skin. Her heart beat out an erratic rhythm.
He knows, she thought with wild certainty. How does he know? And then: Katie.
The redhead had betrayed her after all. She should have guessed that would happen. Bloody Katie. Always looking for an angle. Always trying to get ahead.
Well, it was too late to fix it now. She had to think. Fast.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she lied.
He smiled at her sadly. ‘Yes, you do.’
At that moment, Allie hated Katie with a white hot rage. She hated her more than Nathaniel.
She couldn’t pretend any longer.
‘What did Katie tell you?’ she asked heatedly. ‘You shouldn’t believe anything she says.’
‘Katie?’ Sylvain’s brow creased. ‘I haven’t spoken to her today.’ He stared at her then, a sudden realisation in his eyes. ‘What should she have told me?’
Allie froze. Now she really had blown it.
She couldn’t think of any more lies to tell.
When she didn’t reply, he waved his hand. ‘Never mind. I can guess. So I was right. About everything.’
This was so awful. So spectacularly amazingly awful.
She’d caused all this with her indecision. And then, at the end, made it even worse by making up her mind.