If there was an order to the opening of the portal regarding the various tunnels, Brandon wasn’t seeing it. After the last opening had been at fourteen, which made absolutely no sense to anyone, Brandon had given up on that being their method of concocting a way out of here. Heather insisted there was never any rhyme or reason to it, but the three older, wiser Guardians were still hashing it out. Not that his dad was much help; he wasn’t quite as clever as the other two when it came to situations like that. He had his merits, though, and Brandon would’ve rather been trapped in here with Elliott than just about anyone when it came to finding a way home. He had managed to cheat death once already, after all.
Heather was sitting against the tunnel wall studying the weapon she’d inherited from Alex. She had a solemn expression on her face, and Brandon couldn’t tell if that meant he should leave her alone or if she just always looked like sour grapes.
Heather sat up and turned her head again, her eyes wide with wonder as she stared at Brandon through the darkness. “You know Mina?”“I did. I’m pretty sure I told you earlier that we met someone who mentioned you to my girlfriend, right? She said her name was Mina, and Cass got the impression she was related to you somehow. Was she?”Heather didn’t say anything for a long time, but when she did, her voice broke slightly. “She was my sister.”He nodded. Cass had gotten the impression they were related one way or another, though she wasn’t exactly sure how.“I’d seen ’em in the woods, a few weeks earlier. Told my folks. They didn’t believe me. You see, my pa said he never believed in none of that mumbo jumbo. He got mad at my ma for even talkin’ to anyone about it. Back when we lived in Virginia, even before I was born, up until we moved west, my ma had sidled up to a neighb
Cadence had set her alarm for a few minutes before noon, but when it went off, she was already staring at the ceiling, trying to piece things together in her mind. She’d been asleep long enough to have a dream—not a pleasant one either. But then, most of her dreams had been unpleasant since she’d killed Jack. With time, visions of him chasing her had dissipated some. Now, he wasn’t the one in pursuit in her mind when she fell asleep. It was someone else, something else. She couldn’t see its face, but she knew it was to be feared.She’d awoken with beads of sweat on her forehead and the idea that she probably shouldn’t sleep again until everything was right with the world, though what she’d said to Cassidy before was true. They needed to get some sleep if they were going to be of any use to anyone. Still, not sleeping meant not dreaming, and that was a positive as well.Her phone buzzed and she reached for it, flipping the
“Well, we began by using the lat/long of the sites we thought we could identify to try to determine if this list was in a specific order. Turns out it is. These points on the map are in order from west to east around the globe.” Ward pointed to a translated list of names Hannah had written down from the book“Okay—so the portal opens in directional order?” Cadence asked.“No,” Ward said, shaking his head. “At first we thought so. But then clever Christian here thought of something remarkable that never entered my mind at all until he suggested it.”Cadence wasn’t surprised to hear Christian had come up with something, though the fact that he’d told other people was a new development. “What is it?”“I pulled the cell phone records from Dax’s phone and pinpointed the initial contact between his texts and a cell tower, and I think we can trace a general idea of where th
Brandon spent a good five minutes trying everything he could to get his phone to cooperate, but after turning it off and back on several times, pressing every button he could think of, handing it over to Dax who did the same thing, and even shaking it up and down for several seconds, they had to accept the fact that their message hadn’t gone through, and they hadn’t received any new ones.“That really sucks,” Elliott muttered, pacing back and forth in front of where the rest of the group was huddled near the entrance to the tunnel they’d occupied for at least six hours, or so it seemed by the way the portal was opening. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit.”“There’s likely a logical explanation,” Aaron said, his voice calmer than anyone else’s but still starting to crinkle around the edges. “I’m shocked it’s worked at all.”“We must be out of ran
Dr. Hamish Stewart looked almost exactly like Cadence expected him to. Disproportionately large nose, thick glasses (which made no sense since he was a Vampire, but then Hines wore them...), messy salt and pepper hair, button down shirt unbuttoned one button too far, slacks, loafers, and a smirk on his face that told her he wasn’t planning on saying much of anything.She’d figure out how to change that.“You sure you don’t want me in there with you?” Cale had asked in the hallway right before she’d gone in alone. “If he does anything....”“He’s tied to a chair. What can he do?” she’d countered. Cale had been standing a step too close to her, breathing a breadth too deeply. She’d been completely oblivious to Christian’s feelings, but Cale was much easier to read, and especially now that he was single, Cadence was aware of every subtle look, every lingering glance, every word that
Cadence shot across campus to Christian’s lab where her sister was sitting with Lucy and Tara. They were patiently waiting to see if Holland’s other plane left or if anything unusual happened at any of the airports near where Holland was last spotted. The girls also kept an eye on any private planes moving in and out of the area, particularly chartered flights. It had crossed Cadence’s mind that Holland’s plane moving could all be a bluff, but she’d have to know that LIGHTS was watching her. It seemed like an awfully big coincidence that her plane just happened to be going to the location where they thought the portal would open soon, later that same evening.“I think I’ve got a name.”Cadence hadn’t even entered the room before her sister shot the information at her. “Great,” Cadence said, dropping into a chair on the other side of Tara. The girls didn’t even have to scrunch together to sit in fro
“How far are you willing to fall?” Brandon asked Dax as they stood in one of the tunnels Jamie thought might be closest to where the portal would open next. The last time the portal had opened, they’d made it in time, but it had displayed nothing but a field of stars, so they’d all stayed put. They hoped the next time would be different. Once they heard the popping sound, if they didn’t actually see the opening at the far end of the tunnel they were standing in, all three of the lucky escapees would run back to the center and take a look down adjoining portals until one of them saw it. Then, they’d run like hell.“I’ll jump pretty damn far, though not from outer space,” Dax admitted. “I know we won’t have a Healer on the other side waiting for us, but I’d just as soon be out and miserable than trapped in here.”“What if there are Vampires on the other side?” Brandon countered. &ld
Cadence was on a plane. They didn’t know for sure where they were going, but they did know they needed to get across the ocean. When she discovered it would take about fourteen hours to get to Rome and not much less than that to get to England, she decided it was time to head that direction.She had finally eaten something, taken a shower, and rested for a while before she grabbed a few things and threw them in a suitcase. At the last minute, she’d also decided to take Aaron’s bag with her, the same one he’d packed just a few days ago to take to West Virginia. Everything was already in there, all of the items he usually packed. So she thought she’d be the eternal optimist and take it along. Hopefully, she wasn’t jinxing herself.Lots of people had insisted on going with her, and she’d given in because she understood they’d want to see the Guardians again as soon as possible. Cassidy and Tara were there of course. Lucy had
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were