Darkest Dawn (20 page)

“Poison?” Sloane nudged Bri’s arm. “You better drink it.”

Bri chugged the liquid, between the heat and nasty taste she had to fight to keep it down. However, she didn’t like the idea of poison in her body. She looked at her friends who were in pretty rough shape. Jake and Tucker sat on the window seat, their arms crossed and heads bent to each other, speaking in low whispers. Sloane and Max sat next to Bri on either side. Max had a scratch on her forehead; apparently Tucker had been a little rough with her. Sloane had a cut splitting her bottom lip and the edge of a yellow bruise on the side of her head. Abbey had inspected it when they arrived at Kael’s mansion and it turned out to look worse than it was.

Sloane turned her mom’s watch around her wrist. The water had stopped its movements. She didn’t complain about it since they were all lucky to be alive. Bri mentally promised herself that she’d help get it fixed.

Abbey touched her lips to Bri’s head before leaving the room. Bri’s heart swelled. Thank God her mom was okay. As her pulse came down to a normal rate, the questions that had formed over the past few days floated to the surface of her mind. Her thoughts were broken when someone touched her leg. She sucked in a breath and Kael’s hands stopped moving. She hadn’t seen him move from the couch to the table in front of her.

“What’re you doing?” Jake asked.

Chloe handed Kael a bowl with brown muck inside. “Relax, Jakey. Your girlfriend will be fine.”

Jake crossed his arms as if he was a sentry. He had little pull in this conversation since he and Tucker had no recollection of the night.

Kael gently moved Bri’s leg and placed it on his thigh. “Is this okay?”

Bri bit her lip and nodded. He rolled her pant leg to her knee. She winced at the movement of the fabric over her raw skin.

Abbey entered the room. She stood by the bookcases that lined the walls. “I know you have a lot of questions and if anyone wants to leave that is fine.”

Jake sat on the armrest of the couch and crossed his arms. “No one is leaving.”

“Very well.” Abbey nodded at Chloe.

Chloe sniffed and stood from the couch. “The property is secure.”

Bri focused on her mom.
What did Chloe mean by that?

Kael spread the cool muck over the wound and surprisingly the pain subsided immediately.

Abbey licked her lips before speaking. “What you saw today is a paranormal anomaly.”

Tucker cleared his throat. “Paranormal? Like ghosts?”

Abbey’s lips twitched. “Like ghosts, yes.”

Max raised her hand. Always the academic. “There are ghosts?”

“Will you all listen? God, even I wasn’t this dense,” Chloe said.

Kael glared at her. “Get over yourself, Chloe. We wouldn’t be in this mess if you protected the town line like you were supposed to.”

Her jaw dropped. “This is my fault? Who did the research and gave us the wrong information?”

Kael shook his head once.

Chloe smirked. “That’s what I thought. I’ve been watching her for years and I make one mistake and everything is my fault? No way am I getting blamed for this.”

Bri turned to Chloe. “You were watching me?”

“Protecting you, yes,” Abbey said.

Chloe didn’t meet her eyes. “Protecting the little princess. Yup that’s been my job for the last eight years.”

A gasp escaped Bri’s lips.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Kael said.

Chloe moved to the window, peering out into the night.

Was Coach going to come back to hurt them?
Bri couldn’t get the face of that creature out of her mind and the thought of seeing it again turned her stomach.

Abbey waited until she had their full attention before continuing. “Kael and I are from a line of protectors that keep these anomalies away from humankind.”

Sloane took Bri’s hand and Bri squeezed back. Bri’s ears were filled with a dim vibration, a similar feeling to when Sloane’s voice was in her head. Had that really happened? Bri had lost a lot of blood. She could have been hallucinating the whole exchange.

“I was called out on a mission to investigate a sighting this weekend.” Abbey looked down at her hands. “I soon realized it was a plot for me to leave Bri alone. When I returned I stopped by my office and was ambushed by Kendra. She locked me in that closet for some time, until you found me.”

Kael finished gauzing Bri’s leg, allowing the muck to soak in. “Abbey asked me to watch Bri while she was on the mission. I was at the diner on Friday night picking up food when I saw Sloane.” His eyes met hers. “You didn’t recognize me so I knew you weren’t Bri. After the man was murdered in the same room, I thought you did it.” His apologetic eyes turned to Sloane. “After further investigation I found injuries from Kendra’s tentacles. So we confirmed we were dealing with something else.”

“We?” Bri asked.

Kael answered. “Chloe and I.”

Bri’s chest warmed. She had been partly right about them. “Why did you both take my mom’s phone? We went to Chloe’s house to find it.”

Chloe lowered her chin. “Nice try.”

Kael held a hand to her. “We were looking for clues. Abbey isn’t supposed to leave without her phone.”

Abbey’s cheeks flushed. At least everything hadn’t been a lie. This was still Bri’s mom, even though she seemed like a stranger.

“What is Coach?” Max asked.

Abbey sat up straighter. “She’s a Siren.”

Max’s eyebrows shot up. “Like a mermaid?”

“Worse,” Chloe chimed in.

“How is that possible?” Bri asked. “Didn’t she come here after her parents died?”

Chloe shook her head. “All a lie.”

Kael nodded. “When you saw me on Friday, I’d found a mangled limb in the filter.” He glanced at Abbey quickly before continuing. “We think it’s part of one of the Richardsons. The couple was murdered and Kendra was squatting in their house. I assume she found out about Bri and Sloane and waited for her moment to strike.”

“We’re getting off topic,” Abbey said to the group. “We’re going to eliminate the threat and move on with our lives.”

“You didn’t explain what happened to us.” Jake spoke quietly. Bri felt bad for him now that she knew he hadn’t intended to hurt Sloane. Bri reached for his hand and he took it.

Kael moved off the table and stood behind the other couch.

Abbey glanced between Tucker and Jake. “Like the old tales, Sirens can control men through their voice.”

“That’s why you wore those headphones?” Bri asked Kael.

He nodded.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Abbey said to the guys. “You didn’t stand a chance.”

Jake frowned and let go of Bri’s hand.

“I was able to counteract it with—” Chloe stopped mid-sentence and didn’t continue.

“With what?” Max asked.

Abbey rubbed her hands together. “We’re getting off topic.”

“What does Coach want with Sloane and me?” Bri asked.

Abbey hesitated. Bri could almost hear the gears turning in her mom’s head. “There is an explanation to why the two of you look the same. As my lineage is important, so is yours. I protect humans from discovering or being harmed by anomalies, while you both are one.”

“Excuse me?” Sloane asked. “Bri and I are a paranormal anomaly?”

Chloe laughed. “Did you think you were twins?”

“Abbey,” Kael started. “This part is different.” He waved his hand around the room.

Abbey clapped her hands together, indicating for the others to leave. “You’re right. This discussion is between them and us.”

“No way!” Tucker interrupted.

Abbey put up a hand. “Bri and Sloane can tell you whatever they want, but it’s not my place to do it.”

Bri felt the heat from her friends’ stares. As much as she wanted them there with her, the idea they could be in danger changed her mind. “Thanks for staying with me, but I think Mom is right.” The word “Mom” sounded wrong in her head.

“Are you kidding me?” Max said. “After the insanity at school you want us to leave now?”

She turned to Kael. “Can they all stay the night?” The last thing Bri wanted was her friends to be in danger.

Kael shrugged. “There’s more than enough room.”

Jake shook his head. “If Kendra goes after my family I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

Bri nodded even though it ripped her heart out to think of him out there.

“Kendra is after Sloane and Bri, and now that we know who she is she won’t risk anything right now,” Kael said.

Tucker dropped a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I’ll come with you.”

Max took Bri’s hand. “My parents are working. I’d like to stay.”

Bri took her friend’s hand in both of hers.

Tucker hugged Bri tight. “I’ll be waiting for your phone call.”

Jake pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”

She nodded and smiled up at him. In all the chaos, she should have lost Jake, especially after what happened earlier. It was hard for her to think past their situation. When they were safe, would he still want to be with her?

“I’m going to get something to eat.” Max left the room. Abbey waited until the sound of Max’s footsteps receded and she had distanced herself enough from the room.

Something pulled on her hair and she shifted as the afghan from the back of the couch landed on her legs, covering her up. She smiled gratefully at Kael.

Sloane sat forward. “Tell us about The Two.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Sloane

Abbey looked at me as if I’d sprouted six heads.

Bri spoke up. “It’s what Kendra called us.” She quirked her lips. “And we found your USB drive.”

Abbey jolted as if Bri had slapped her. “You went through my things?”

“You lied to me about where you were.” Bri choked back a sob. “You were the one to tell me that we’d never lie to each other and you’ve been the biggest liar of all! Are you even my real mother?”

Abbey bit her lip hard enough that the skin went white.

Bri’s lip trembled.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I had a sister. My heart brimmed with warmth at the thought. “So we are twins.”

Abbey leaned back, crossing her arms. “No. You’re actually two halves of the same soul.”

“So not twins?” I said, more confused by her riddle than ever.

She pressed on. “Many generations ago, a curse was placed on your family by a powerful witch.”

There were witches involved now? A woman dressed in black on a broomstick came to mind.

“Months later, a set of twin girls were born in the family and one was stolen a few days after birth. The girl who stayed had a normal childhood but always sought something more. This girl died when she was eighteen after she took her own life. It was discovered in her diary that she suffered from extreme depression, even before she gave birth to a daughter.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Sloane asked.

“It took a few generations for us to discover the curse and what was happening after they caught the witch for another of her crimes. She was the one to steal the original sister away and keep the curse going. With each new generation a set of girls were born separately. And it was their life’s mission to find their other half.”

Bri looked at me. “So they were happy when they found each other?”

Abbey stood up. “Yes.”

Kael whirled around and looked at Abbey, who shot him a quick glance. I knew a liar when I saw one. She’d lied to Bri about so much, what was one more?

This wasn’t the time for lies. She promised the truth. “Why do you have pictures of me from a year ago?”

Abbey didn’t hesitate. “We checked in on you throughout the years. No more than a couple of days here and there.”

“The day we first met,” Bri started. “We both felt sick. Why?”

Abbey sighed. “The bond is very strong. It will be even stronger if you mix blood.”

I gave Bri a look. Is that where the mind reading came from? We were both bleeding at the time. All of the pieces started to fall into place.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Kael said. “In the past it hasn’t led to very good things.”

“Like what?” I asked.

Abbey shifted her weight back and forth from foot to foot. “The point of the curse is to join the halves of the soul together again. It always starts off fine but an internal battle begins shortly after.”

“What do you mean?” Bri asked.

Abbey looked around the room as if the answers were written in the books around us. Were they? “Once the halves are recognized in the other person, gifts are bestowed upon The Two. Powerful gifts, given by the witch. You become closer than twins. You share thoughts and feelings…”

Bri and looked at each other. I thought of Jake. Were the feelings I had for him coming from Bri’s attraction to him? We already shared our thoughts; who was to say we couldn’t already share feelings?

Kael’s expression darkened. “These gifts are powerful enough to want to kill each other over.”

“Why would Kendra want us to join if we were the ones to get powers and not her?”

Abbey shook her head. “I’m not sure exactly what she wants. That’s why we’re going to get to her first.”

The main question for coming here rose to the forefront of my mind. “She was the one to send for me?”

“Yes,” Abbey said. “It appears the Siren lied to get you here.”

Abbey lied about my mom too and I wasn’t about to let her get away with it. “You identified my mom’s body.”

Abbey’s eyes narrowed. “I did.”

“Was there anything strange about the accident?”

Abbey crossed the room to my side and knelt in front of me. Her eyes glistened. How dare she cry over my mom! “I am so, so sorry for your loss. I’m afraid the only reason Kendra brought this up was that she knew it would get you here.”

I leaned back against the couch. There was nothing new I could learn about my mom. All those nights I’d spent worrying about her. It was for nothing.

Something crashed in the other room. Kael hopped over the couch as if he hadn’t recently been shot.

Abbey followed him. She and Chloe stood in the threshold of the room.

Bri turned around. “What happened?”

I squeezed her arm. “Stay here.”

“Wait—”

Kael rushed out of the other room. “She’s here.”