CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Adelaide hung on Father Gabriel’s every word as he recounted how he had managed to disguise himself as an Italian soldier and avoid getting shot in the head by the army. She kept her eyes on him the entire time—which wasn’t good since she was still driving.
“Are you a spy for the Vatican?” I leaned forward and stared at him from the backseat.
I found him intriguing, but at the same time I was wary of him. The Gray Tower and the Church had a long history together, dating back to the Middle Ages. Sometimes they got along well, like old drinking buddies, and then at other times, they’d break out into a brawl. The Gray Tower exposed a few spies from the Church in the past, so I didn’t think my question was far-fetched. I surmised that the only reason the Masters would allow Father Gabriel to step foot on Tower grounds was because he possessed magical abilities and would be an interesting riddle to solve. Who trained him? Why? And were there more like him?
“I’m here to offer spiritual comfort to the Maquisards. I also intend to help strengthen the relationship between the Vatican and the Gray Tower.” He smiled at me from the passenger seat.
“So you don’t consider yourself a wizard?” I tried to keep my expression neutral, but I could barely adjust the look of curiosity I wore.
“I tend to view ‘wizard’ as a term used for those trained by the Gray Tower. Since I am not trained by the Order, I refrain from using that term.”
“Who trained you?”
“My abilities are a gift from God.”
Brande stirred and lightly touched my cheek. “Have you rested?”
“No, I’m not tired. The Circle of Healing helped.”
“Good. Where are we headed?” His hand dropped, and he yawned and sat up.
I glanced at Gabriel as he once again engaged Adelaide in conversation. “I’m going to Renée Apolline’s house. Your priest friend wants to come too.”
Brande sighed. “I promised him that I’d escort him to the Gray Tower, so it seems I must follow.”
As we neared the winding road that would take us up to Renée’s house, the thought of my father’s note came to mind. I wasn’t sure if Brande knew anything about my father, or if he had ever heard anything from other wizards. Though Brande and I were the same age, he had trained in the Gray Tower before me. In fact, when I had accepted my invitation to train with the Order, Brande was one of my first instructors.
The only thing that really bothered me was that if you didn’t fit into one of their pre-determined categories, they would ask you to leave with the status of a lowly Practitioner. It always irritated me how the Order had its designs for everyone’s duties...for everyone’s lives. Brande might have been fine with letting them groom him to one day replace Ovidio, the Head of the Order, or even one of the Master Council Wizards whom we called “The Three,” but I had different plans for my life.
“Can I ask you something?” I slid closer to Brande and lowered my voice. Adelaide and Father Gabriel still spoke with one another.
“What is it?”
“It’s about my father. Did you ever hear anything about him?”
“Only that he was highly esteemed...one of our best Elite Wizards. He was a Philosopher.”
“Anything else?”
I placed my hand over his, feeling for any signs of nervousness or deception. He stiffened a little, but then slowly turned his wrist and caressed the back of my hand with his thumb. He paused when he realized what I was doing.
“Don’t do that.” He withdrew his hand. It was terribly difficult to work body magic on a wizard already adept at it.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” I peered into his eyes.
“I don’t think...”
“I know he’s alive. He left me a note, and a warning.” When he showed no sign of shock, I knew he had been aware of this fact.
“Isabella—”
“You could have at least told me. That’s what a real friend would do.” I glared at him and slid back over to my side.
“There are things that you don’t understand, and it wasn’t my place to say anything.”
“Is that what your damned Masters told you? Can’t you think for yourself?” I didn’t know how, but I was right back in his face. I stared directly into his eyes, daring him to utter a lie or turn away.
“I thought I could protect you.”
“From what?” My heart sank as I recalled my father’s note. He too, spoke of protection.
“Carson was—”
“Stop the car!” Gabriel threw the door open and was out of the car before it even came to a complete stop.
“Otto!” My shout was a mixture of a scream and a groan. My chest tightened with dread as I got out of the car and rushed toward the old man. He lay sprawled on the ground in front of his house, blood streaming from his mouth and nose. A young man knelt over him, convulsing with sobs.
“What happened?” Adelaide ran over and knelt beside the young man.
“They killed him...they killed him.” He steadied his breathing as Gabriel laid his hands on Otto and began praying. My heart sank when I recognized the young man as his son, Lucien.
“Wait...Renée...” My legs moved in the direction of her house before I could even complete my thought.
Another young man came heading toward us from the opposite direction. At first I thought he was injured, but when he lurched to the side and doubled over and heaved, I froze, and a cold empty feeling took over my mind, as if this were a bizarre dream.
“What’s going on? Who are you?” Brande approached the man and grabbed hold of him, making sure he didn’t keel over or run.
“I’m...Ernest. I’m a friend of Lucien’s. I went to check on that lady and...you don’t want to go up there.”
“Renée!” I suddenly had the will to move again. I dashed toward her house, already feeling as sick as Ernest was. I called her name again, not caring if my screeches alerted the entire neighborhood. I just knew I had to find her, even if I wouldn’t like what I found.
“Stop! Don’t you see those lights down there? Trekkers are on their way, and it’s almost past curfew.” Brande threw his muscular arms around me, but I pivoted just in time to push him away. I continued running.
“Renée!” Why was I rushing toward despair and horror?
“Isabella, stop!” Brande was on me again, but this time I felt his magic at work. My muscles involuntarily relaxed, and my limbs went limp. I slumped to the ground, weeping out of anger and helplessness. My worst fear had come true...I failed her.
“I have to go to her.” My pleas went unheeded.
Brande scooped me up in his arms and brought me back to the car. The darkness in the sky began to recede as dawn broke. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s because someone’s betrayed us.” How else would they have known? There were too many secrets, and too many of them in the open for the enemy to see.
“Then we’ll find them.” He set me down.
Lucien and Ernest were already in the backseat of the car, and Ernest had to restrain his friend from jumping out and running toward Otto’s lifeless body. Father Gabriel urged us to split the group and meet elsewhere. Adelaide sat in the car, trembling and raking a hand through her shoulder length hair. In a high-pitched voice she kept asking us where we should go, and I thought of the only other place Ken would go if he weren’t able to reach Renée.
“We’ll all meet at the Red Lady’s house, Adelaide.”
“But I thought she doesn’t...”
“Just do it. Take Lucien and his friend. You’ll have to go around the long way so they don’t catch you.”
She raked her hand through her hair again. A few strands snapped and got caught in her fingers. “Okay. We’ll meet you there.”
As she sped off down the road, I gestured for Brande and Gabriel to follow me. “We’ll have to...go through Renée’s backyard. She has a tool shed that connects with an underground tunnel. We can come out through the chapel once the
road is clear.”
We picked up our pace when we heard the trekkers come up the road. When we made it to Renée’s, I noticed that her front door was ajar and not a single light flickered inside.
But she shouldn’t be left alone in the dark...
Fresh tears welled up and I felt sick to my stomach. We ran down the walkway that led to the backyard and then went into the tool shed. As we went through the underground tunnel, all I could think about was how I could’ve helped Renée and Otto if I had arrived earlier.
When we reached the end of the tunnel, Father Gabriel asked, “How long do you think we should wait before going up into the chapel?”
“I’ll let you know. I’ve done this before.” I glanced at Brande, who produced a small flame that seemed to hover above his open palm. He stood silent yet attentive, and eyed me with a somber expression.
A part of me wished that Father Gabriel would’ve accompanied Adelaide and the others in the car. I didn’t feel comfortable talking about certain things with Brande in front of Gabriel. I still didn’t know what the priest’s intentions were, or if I could trust him as an ally. All I knew was that two people I cared about had been murdered, that there was very little information to lead me to Heilwig and the laboratory—and I was running out of will power, and time.