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The way Dante and Artie looked at me, made me want to throw down the folder and tell them to get their shit together, we were going to go rescue Celia.
But that wasn’t an option. I had my orders and I couldn’t disobey my alpha anymore than I could tear my own arm off.
I looked to Artie first. "Have you gotten anything on Lou yet?"
He shook his head. He looked over to the filing cabinet where we kept all of our important information and I realized that it was slightly ajar.
"And Celia? Can you get anything from her?"
Artie shook his head again.
I nodded and looked at the door that they left open behind them. It didn't matter. No one could find us and there was no one else in the house.
I opened my mouth to start explaining but Dante interrupted me. "My brother? Do you know what happened to him?"
I closed my eyes. I had completely forgotten about Marcus and how he stayed behind with Celia when she ordered us away. He had his gun, sure, but there were so many Ascendancy guards and only him and Celia holding them back so that we could get away.
Artie cleared his throat. "He was beaten pretty badly. I'm not clear on the specifics because they took him to the hospital and that's beyond my reach, but I do know he's alive."
For a second, Dante's face crumpled and he looked away from us. He stood up and left and we heard him in the kitchen and heard something break. There was an indefinable roar from him and Artie stood up and backed away. He came behind me, but I couldn't feel any threat from Dante. At least not towards us.
If any Ascendancy guards crossed his path, they would regret it.
"Should we go get him?" Artie asked.
I shook my head. "Give him a minute. He'll be okay."
I doubted my own words. His parents were gone, Lou had disappeared, and Miss Maricel was in the forest and beyond his reach. I highly doubted he would be all right.
Just like I said, Dante came back into the office. His face was red and he looked to be holding himself in very, very tightly. I didn't ask him if he was all right because I knew that was the stupidest question to ask. But he was alive, and that gave me hope.
"Do you need more time?" I asked. We didn't have a lot, but I knew that I needed him completely present in with me when I gave him these next instructions.
Dante shook his head and sat back down
Artie did the same and offered Dante his hand. Dante took it and Artie cradled it in between his own.
Dante stared down at their hands for a moment and then he was able to visibly relax. I had no doubt that was Artie's doing.
"After our parents died, Celia and I came up with every terrible situation we could think of and made a plan for it. We have passports, money, and other forms of currency to take us just about anywhere in the world that we need to go. We have connections throughout the country that can take care of us for the time being. There is a lot we can do, even if we aren't in Glenwood Lock."
Artie and Dante immediately looked up at me.
"Are you talking about running?" Dante asked.
I nodded.
"We can't just leave Celia and Lou. We can’t just leave them behind," Artie sputtered.
"We aren't," I said and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not."
The understanding hit them like a physical blow. Dante stood up and dragged Artie with him.
"You can't ask me to leave my family here," he protested.
"That's what I'm asking of the both of you. I need you guys to be calm while I explain this, okay?"
They looked anything but calm as they sat back down.
"I said it before, Artie. The prophecy says that you are the teacher. And it has to be that way for a reason. We’ll understand one day, but not today. Today we have other things we have to take care of. And this is what you have to do today."
It was an echo of the word said that Artie had told Lou.
And tomorrow, you will do what you have to do.
"We can't stay here forever. At some point, we will have to leave and we will have to face them head-on. There has to be some way to stop them, to keep the Lock safe. We have the oldest spring in the world here, and if we don't protect it, what are the remaining four springs in our world left to do?"
I settled my eyes on Artie and every single protest he was working himself up to seem to die in his throat.
"It's bigger than us, bigger than even Lou and Dante. A world without magic is not something I want to see. Even as ours grows weaker, it seems like the entire earth is thrown into an imbalance. I don't know everything about magic, not like you Artie, but it's pretty obvious, even to me. So, I am asking you to run, yes. Please. Keep what magic we have left alive in the world and find Lou. Bring it back. Bring it all back and maybe you'll find yourself a little revenge in the process," I said quietly.
I came around the front of the desk and leaned against it so that I was closer to them. I felt the need to be closer to them and what little remained of my family.
"You're talking like you're not going to make it back," Artie said. He took his glasses off and wiped his eyes.
“What are you going to do?" Dante asked.
"I'm going to go find my sister. I'm going to chase after her like I've done every day since I was born. That's what I do, that's what I was born to do. I can't be your alpha. That's not who I am. But she can find another Beta or," I looked at Dante. "Maybe she has already found him. It doesn't matter. What matters is that the three guardians live, Artie teaches Lou everything he needs to know, and then you guys can fight back."
"I don't want to. I don't want to do any of this without you," Artie whispered.
Dante looked between the two of us and I could feel him on the edge of tears once more. I knew he was seeing his own brother and I reached out a hand and squeezed his shoulder. When he met my eyes, I smiled at him.
I kept my hand on Dante’s shoulder but turned to Artie. "Then remember everything we've done together. Make it all right. Or fight through it. Whatever it takes to get you through to the next day and the next, you have to do it. If me going out there and defending you is what I have to do, then that's what I am going to do. That's what I was born for. You may be a guardian of Glenwood Lock, but I'm yours. It's always been this way. I'm not the first beta to give his life for his family but I'm happy to do it."
Artie shook his head. "You don't get to die. I already told you that."
"And you told me once, all the magic in the world can't hold back when death has decided."
"I won’t let them. And I won’t let you."
Artie stood up and left. I didn’t blame him or chase after him. The rest could be done by Dante.
We both looked up as we heard Artie's door close gently above our heads.
"What do we do now?" Dante asked.
"Leave him. He doesn't like it now, but I can’t say a big fan of dying either. Some things can't be avoided though, I guess," I said.
“You really think you are going to die?” Dante asked.
I nodded. There was no avoiding the truth now.
“The odds aren’t in our favor,” I pointed out.
Dante looked away, out to the forest, where Lou was. “It wouldn’t take much to put it back in our favor though, would it?”
It would though. It would take a miracle. And I wasn’t going to pray and ask for one. I asked for one when my parents were killed and that got me nowhere.
I went around the side of the desk and grabbed the folder with all the printouts of everything I had done that morning. I brought it to Dante and sat down with them. I took a deep breath and began explaining everything that needed to be done.