The sound of water pulled me out of my chemical sleep. My eyes opened slowly. Arms extended above my head, my wrists secured by rope, a rock bit into my back, and I shifted, trying to ease some of the discomfort. My gaze traveled around the dimly lit area. I was in a cave of some sort—white rock walls wet with condensation. The air smelled like mildew and herbs; the same herbs I smelled when I first walked into the church on Sunday. A chill traveled across my bare arms.
How long had I been here?
Muted voices carried into the room. I strained to make out what they were saying, but all I could discern was the voices belonged to women. Calling out for help would be the first logical move, but it would also be stupid. And I’d already been that, so I remained silent, listening. Testing my bonds, I stretched my arms forward, only for the ropes to dig into my wrists.
“Fuck,” I whispered. “And just how the hell am I supposed to get out of this?”
Footsteps echoed off the walls, and Juliette walked into the small room. “Oh, you’re awake.” She came over, carrying a bottle of water and something wrapped in a napkin. “I didn’t know how much to give you. At first, Bridgette worried that we might have killed you.” She unscrewed the cap to the water. “It was hard trying to find your heartbeat.” She looked down at the water in her hand. “He got mad. He said we should have brought you to the church and then drugged you. But I told him you were smarter than that.”
“Apparently not,” I said, my words slurring.
Her face brightened. “So, I did good?”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me. You drugged me and tied me to a wall in a fucking cave. No, you stupid bitch, you didn’t do good.”
“Did you want some water?” she asked as if I hadn’t just scolded her. Why hadn’t I seen her for what she was?
“Fuck you,” I said, despite the dryness in my throat.
She shrugged. “Okay. Well, I’ll just leave it here in case you change your mind. I even bought you one of the muffins you like. Banana nut, right?”
I didn’t respond.
She hesitated, her eyes imploring mine, and then got up and walked out the room. I was so damn screwed. The muted voices started up again. I tested my bonds again for lack of anything better to do. The charms on my bracelet dug into my wrists. I bit down on the sting and yanked, trying to ease the ropes down my hands. Someone sadistic had definitely tied the knots. When blood ran down my arm, I stopped pulling.
I rested my head back against the rock. Juliette had said he made her do it. Since we knew it wasn’t Xavier, it had to be Logan. But that didn’t make sense, either. Maybe it was the same person controlling Karl. An Old One? Again, it didn’t make sense. Why would an Old One control either of them? What could he possibly gain? Then again, Ezra did say the actions reminded him of his brother Khnum.
I groaned.
We had been chasing our tails, going at everything not as a team, but in pairs. Nothing made sense. And with the chemicals still riding me, I doubt it would. Closing my eyes, I started with the attack on me at church. Maybe if I looked at each thing separately, I would be able to figure it out.
Logan first appeared at the church with Gerald Stewart. He demanded we turn over the Ark. Logan hadn’t once pressed us on that. He did, however, show some concern about Kara’s presence at that first encounter, only to… My mind grew fuzzy. What did he do? I swallowed, trying to coat my throat with saliva. The dryness was becoming annoying.
Think, Nicole!
Why would he be afraid of Kara? Recognition? That had to be it. So, what could Kara have told us if she had recognized him? Fuck, was this even important? I opened my eyes. The cave seemed darker for some reason, and the voices had stopped. The sound of water dripping echoed around the room. Why hadn’t Rachel been able to find this place? We were under the church. Juliette had implied as much.
Concentrate!
I closed my eyes again, picturing the next encounter with Logan. Alek said the man was using an ice cream truck to get around. It was a great disguise, really. No one would think twice about it in this heat. Which meant, when Jonah took me home after church, Logan was watching the house. But I didn’t see the truck after that.
Then came Alek and Devlin’s visit to Greenwood Apartments. Logan had led them there. So where was he when they were at the apartment? Was he watching?
Recognition. He was worried about that. Fuck. I couldn’t concentrate.
“Resting?”
My eyes flew open. Logan crouched beside me, holding the open bottle of water.
“You did this,” I said slowly.
He put a finger to his lips.
The fucking bastard played this elaborate game to get me here. Had us chasing our tails for the past few days.
“Rest won’t help you,” he whispered, then put the bottle to my lips. Water dribbled down my cheek. “Did you want me to take a sip first?”
I opened my mouth and let water rush in. After a few mouthfuls, I turned away. Probably wasn’t the brightest idea to drink the water, but my mouth was so dry, I was past caring about it.
“I should have figured you were behind everything,” I said in a harsh whisper. Why were we whispering?
He recapped the water and sat back on his heals. “Still haven’t put things together?” He shook his head. “If we had more time—if you hadn’t been stupid enough to show up without some backup, maybe I could give you more time to figure it out.”
“Juliette said you made her kidnap me.”
“Wrong. I have nothing to do with Juliette or her sister.”
“What?” I asked. “Then who is behind all this?”
“Xavier,” he said.
“He has no magick!”
“And that’s the point.” He rested back on his heels. “Juliette has one fucked up mind. Her thirst for power borders on fanaticism. The Young family has really done a number on her and her sister, especially Xavier.” He chuckled. “Her sister thinks Xavier is the handsomest. She has that shit on repeat.” He shook his head and stood. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “I have to admit, when you drove to their estate, I thought you had figured it out. Then they shoved you in the trunk.” He looked down at me. “You have to be in some pain. They weren’t too gentle with you.”
“You are one crazy fucking bastard. Did you really sit there and watch them kidnap me? And why are you here? Oh, and I learned the history of the phoenix . Any more tasks you want to send me on?” My head pounded from the strain.
He knelt in front of me. “If you had found out about the Nar al-nasaa, you wouldn’t be here.” He jumped up and dusted off his pants. “I’ve been here long enough.” He pulled my switchblade out of his pocket and started sawing through the ropes.
“How did you get my blade?”
“They left it on the altar in the other room.” He stopped sawing and shoved the knife between my breasts. “I believe this is where you keep it.” He moved me none too gently to the side. “If you focus, you can see their altar room.”
I tugged the ropes. While they were a little looser, I was still tied up. “Umm…you didn’t finish. I’m still tied up. And why are you helping me, anyway?”
He cast his gaze to the ground. “I might need a favor one day.” He looked at my hands. “And we all have bonds we need to break.” He locked eyes with me. “Free yourself. Use your magick, Nicole. Rip their souls from their bodies.” He walked away, melting into the shadows before I could respond.
What the fuck?
The voices started up again. I shifted to the left and looked through the tiny doorway into a small cavern. A robed figure moved around an altar positioned in the middle. I could just make out Bridgette staring rapt at the person. That had to be Xavier.
Why was I here?
When the robed figure moved, I studied the altar. Made of marble, it had symbols etched into the side. I squinted, trying to make out the familiar drawings. Where had I seen them before?
“Have you prepared yourself for the ritual?” Xavier asked.
“Yes,” Juliette and Bridgette said in unison.
“Then it’s time for me to become a god.”
“If you had found out about the Nar al-nasaa, you wouldn’t be here.”
Logan’s stray comment suddenly made sense. And the drawings on the altar did as well. Ezra said the Nar al-nasaa were used to create the Old Ones.
Looks like I was about to be sacrificed to make Xavier an Old One.