Silver Dew (42 page)

“The Necromanteion,” Jai answered quietly.

David made an irritated “tsk”ing sound in the back of his throat.

“Patience, patience, Caoilinn. All will be revealed to you soon enough,” he chastised. He glanced at my hand upon my amber necklace with obvious annoyance. I was surprised no one had tried to take it from me. They would have discovered just how unwilling I was to give it up.

I glared at the side of his handsome face but he refused to acknowledge me again, his dark brown eyes staring steadily ahead. I shifted in my seat, half-turning my body towards Jai and Nathaniel who sat in the back. Neither of them could quite meet my gaze. I spoke slowly and gently, with a chilling calm of my own.

“What and where is the Necromanteion?”

Jai hesitated, his eyes darting forwards to the back of David’s head. It was Nathaniel who answered this time, shrugging his thin shoulders uncomfortably.

“The Necromanteion is near Parga, about four hours from here. It is known as the Oracle of the Dead and the chosen meeting place for The Order,” he told me softly, his polite, British tones almost apologetic. He only met my eyes briefly and reluctantly before gazing back out the window with a frown. Just from that brief glance, I could tell he spoke the truth and I could also tell that he didn’t entirely want this to be happening... whatever
this
was. I filed the knowledge away, hoping it was something I could use later.

“Well, that clarifies everything,” I muttered, adding a touch of annoyance to my tone. A smile twisted David’s lips that actually took away from his good looks; there was something very wrong about that smile.

“Speaking of clarification, how rude of you it was, Caoilinn, to erase and confuse our memories at The Giant’s Causeway – it took us some time to recall exactly what had gone on there. And that’s not to mention what you did to poor Walter. That was certainly… unexpected.”

“It was deserved,” I lied. I swallowed hard, hoping he wouldn’t notice. It was a struggle more than ever to maintain the façade of being Caoilinn. I took a slow and silent breath in, focusing on my dream memories of her, of how it felt to be her – her power, her strength, her confidence. I tried my best to embody it all.

“Perhaps I should thank you though. He wasn’t a good fit to The Order and it was becoming quite the dilemma as to what we would do with him.”

I thought I heard Nathaniel shuffle behind me.

“You should choose your companions with more discrimination,” I commented dryly. “I can’t say I care much for any of them – especially Darius.”

David let out a soft laugh. It was a disturbing sound that sent chills down my spine.

“Be careful, Caoilinn. With the current situation as it is, you wouldn’t want to offend anyone,” he warned. “Darius has his strengths and weaknesses, like most others.”

“He tortured and murdered Mags,” I stated flatly, not quite able to hide the quivering anger in my voice. I blinked quickly, banishing the image that was building behind my eyes of Mags’ tortured and battered body with her head hanging lifelessly at such an unnatural angle.

“You murdered Walter because of the crimes you felt he had committed against you,” David shot back calmly. “Tell me, what is the difference?”

I paused before answering, taking a quick moment to consider my response.

“I wonder… how close is the other vehicle to us David? Are you certain that there are enough of you to out-number me right now?” I asked innocently. His eyes flickered to the rear view mirror while his lips compressed into a thin line.

“You don’t want to play games with me.” His voice was deadly but unexpectedly, I didn’t feel that afraid anymore; I didn’t feel much of anything.

“Who’s playing games?”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the car, one that I quite enjoyed being the cause of.

“Jai, send a message to Krystos. Tell him to stay close,” David quietly snapped. “And tell him to be on standby for the signal.” He glared at the road ahead, his irritation clear.

“The signal?” I echoed, trying not to sound too curious.

“Yes. If you try anything, Seamus will be killed instantly.”

I opened my mouth to respond but no sound came out. Fear struck my heart, momentarily paralyzing my body and stealing my breath. I had no response this time.

“How did you kill Walter?” Nathaniel suddenly asked from the back seat in his soft, accented voice. I turned slowly to face him. He hesitated briefly before dropping his eyes.

“Did you see the mark on his body?”

“Of course,” he murmured back.

“That’s how.”

I turned back around without saying anymore.

“And you did a thorough job of erasing Mags’ memories,” David commented, his eyes on the road ahead. “A permanent effect, if I’m not mistaken?”

He waited for me to nod before continuing.

“Seamus and Mags had quite clearly given us the impression that such things were not possible. It would appear that either they deceived us or you have deceived them.”

“It would appear that way to you,” I agreed coldly.

David’s black eyes narrowed, his displeasure clear.

“It would benefit you to be more forthcoming, Caoilinn.” There was a new dangerous edge to his voice.

“Perhaps,” I agreed ambiguously. “But I don’t care to discuss any of this with you.” I sighed, feigning boredom as I turned to stare out my window, my heart racing. Thankfully, the conversation ended then and there.

I had only the faintest idea of where we were going and what would happen once we arrived. I was terrified about what was happening to Sebastian in his vehicle and could only hope that we would be reunited soon and I would find him unharmed. I knew within a few hours I would be entering a dragon’s lair where I’d be badly outnumbered and fighting for both mine and Sebastian’s lives. The only weapons I had were my wits, my patchy memories from a life lived two thousand years ago and a premonition about an obscure Irish legend that was possibly referenced by one of Sebastian’s tattoos. I tried to hold on to my feelings of confidence and unwavering, emotionless, calm but it was hard. I had a few more hours before we arrived at the Necromanteion and I had to figure out exactly what my plan was before Sebastian and I were at the mercy of the thirteen Others.

David drove straight for the next three and a half hours without stopping for food, drinks or any other reason. I supposed that the Others in the vehicle didn’t want to feel hungry so they weren’t but whether it was because I was unable to focus or because they wanted me to be as uncomfortable as possible, I felt half-starved. My throat was parched, my head was pounding and my legs were cramping up from sitting so long. Despite it all, I projected an image of calm, cold, composure, spending most of the drive staring out the window with my head tipped back against the seat and my eyes closed. I tried my best to focus, to meditate, to relax and to plan but it was all to no avail. Ice cold panic was slowly creeping into my bones and freezing my heart as I realized I had no idea what I was doing and that there was a very good chance that Sebastian and I were both about to die.

It was Jai’s voice that attracted my attention and broke me from my silent fretting.

“Parga,” he murmured from behind me. I lifted my head from where I’d been resting it against the window’s glass and blinked my eyes, looking around.

We were just coming into what would appear to be the center of a beautiful, seaside town. The city was built up on a hill, the clean, bright buildings piled up on top of one another as the hill climbed away from the sparkling, blue ocean. Low, rocky mountains covered in green grass and trees surrounded the city, rolling and flowing into the distance beyond. The closer we drove to the ocean, the more tourists there appeared to be. People flocked to the sandy beaches that stretched out alongside the warm, Mediterranean ocean and were dotted with bright white beach umbrellas and towels. Numerous sailboats were in the large bay, their white sails contrasting against the ocean’s deep, turquoise-blue. It was a beautiful sight but there was no way I could possibly enjoy it.

We slowed down as we approached the harbor and David pulled into the large parking lot near the docks. There just happened to be two parking spaces available, side-by-side. The other black SUV pulled in beside us seconds after we had parked and I could already recognize Sebastian’s profile through the dark, tinted glass of the front passenger seat. I tried not to appear too relieved, I tried not to feel too much of anything. I had to remain focused and in control – it was the only chance we had.

David, Jai, Nathaniel and myself got out of our SUV first and moved around to wait by the vehicle’s rear. David tapped his foot impatiently while we waited for the others to join us. The short and stocky, Greek boy who I’d briefly glimpsed before we left Thessaloniki (who must be Krystos) hopped out of the driver’s seat. He had dark brown hair, a mischievous smile and surprisingly warm and friendly eyes. Darius climbed out the back seat of the vehicle on the passenger side while red-headed Charlie climbed out of the other rear seat. Another attractive young man who I hadn’t yet met followed Charlie out. He had blond hair, bright blue eyes, chiseled features and muscular arms, that appeared to be almost as powerful as Darius’. That left only Sebastian who didn’t appear to be moving.

“Get him out,” David instructed, gesturing impatiently.

I watched silently and without outwardly displaying any emotion. I still had to fight my apprehension as Darius leant forward and reached for the door with a purely evil smile. Just before his hand touched the handle the door flew open with unnecessary force and unpredictable speed, slamming into Darius’s large form and knocking him back into the side of our SUV. The door had somehow caught him in the face and a trickle of blood ran from the side of his mouth.

Sebastian smoothly slid out of the car, a tight, bitter smile twisting his mouth. I immediately noticed his swollen lower lip and the dark bruise along his cheekbone. He stood slightly hunched over as if it hurt him to straighten up and he was obviously favoring his weight on one side.

“You bastard,” Darius growled, wiping the blood from his mouth and glaring at Sebastian with enraged eyes. He took a menacing step forward. Sebastian stood his ground, watching Darius with a dangerous look of his own.

“Leave him,” David snapped, his sharp tone immediately halting Darius’s advance.

“He owes me blood.”

“Leave him,” David repeated. “I wanted him out of the vehicle and he’s out. I warned you not to become complacent with either of them.”

“That would certainly be a mistake,” Sebastian agreed, boldly limping past Darius and coming right up to my side. He ignored all of the Others as if they didn’t exist, an impressive feat considering we were closely surrounded by the seven of them.

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” he asked me quietly, his eyes intense, his tone urgent. I could feel his eyes scanning me over, taking inventory and looking for any possible signs of harm or discomfort as I had just done with him.

“Who would dare?” I murmured back, speaking just loudly enough that some of the Others might overhear. Sebastian relaxed slightly and even looked like he might smile for a second. “What did they do to you?” I raised my voice slightly more this time, ensuring the Others heard my sweet and disapproving tone. Several of them shifted uncomfortably, causing Sebastian to arch a questioning brow.

“I didn’t want him to attack me!” Darius half-yelled, cutting off Sebastian’s response as he punched the SUV door closed with his fist. A large dent was left in the metal but Darius didn’t even flinch. His face was flushed bright red and beads of sweat were forming against his forehead, clinging to his spiky, dirty-blonde hair.

“You just didn’t think he’d dare try it again, not after what you put him through,” Krystos commented with a laugh. “You probably actually wanted a reason to hit him.” I wasn’t quite sure what to think of him, even his low voice was friendly. He looked like the kind of guy who would always keep the mood light and be ready for a good laugh. He was the complete opposite of the image I’d conjured of the Others in my mind. There was absolutely nothing dangerous or threatening about him. I tried to keep David’s warning about complacency in mind.

“We had a fun ride,” Charlie commented with a half-smile. He appeared to be addressing his comment towards either David or myself, it was difficult to tell as he didn’t entirely meet either of our eyes.

“Let’s just get down to the boat,” Jai cut-in. He was definitely nervous, his eyes constantly shifting and small beads of sweat forming on his forehead also. I wasn’t sure exactly what was shaking them but I could only hope it had something to do with me.

“Where are you taking us?” Sebastian demanded, slipping his hand into mine as he spoke.

“The Necromanteion,” I answered. Sebastian turned to look at me sharply, the name obviously meaning more to him than it did to me. The Others who had been riding in the other vehicle also looked surprised that I had been kept so well-informed.

The blonde beefcake who had been silent until then, stepped forward. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Lead the way, Francois,” David replied, gesturing to the side of the parking area where a long ramp led down to the dock.

The blonde nodded his agreement and then marched ahead, leading our small group, with Sebastian, David and I in the center, down towards the dock.