Thief of Lies (19 page)

The taxi turned off Massachusetts Avenue and onto Lexington. “We’re almost there.” I scooted to the edge of my seat and watched out the windshield. “It’s that big white house.”

The tires squealed as the driver slammed on the brakes, and I smacked my forehead against the window partition separating the front and back seats. I eyed the driver as I paid him. “They let you get a license, but me they don’t, because I drive
too
slowly. Jeesh. Really. You could’ve killed us.”

“Step away from the cab, please,” ordered the driver.

I backed up, and he sped off.

Kale and I stood on the sidewalk and surveyed Afton’s house, rain pounding down on us. The front door gaped open, and my stomach plunged to my feet.

Afton,
I wanted to scream, but slapped my hands over my mouth.

Chapter Nineteen

K
ale lifted his chin in the direction of the door.

My heart hammering, I took measured steps beside him up to the house, alert for danger.

I settled my foot on the first porch step. “This is strange. Their house is usually locked up like Fort Knox, even when they’re home.”

Oh my god. No! Afton!

Kale grabbed my arm as I started to bolt inside. “Hold on. We do them no good rushing in unprepared.”

But I couldn’t stand still, rocking impatiently on my feet as I watched him.

He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a pair of gloves. He slipped them on his hands and wrapped the straps around each of his forearms, then hid his arms in the flaps of his black trench coat.

Right. I had to prepare. Had to start thinking like a warrior instead of a scared little girl. But it was hard to stay calm when I imagined a million different scenarios involving Afton—all of them ending badly. I gulped down my fear, drew my sword from its scabbard, and kept it close to my side. The shield resting on my back under my trench probably made me resemble the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

I trailed him over the threshold with my sword extended. “It’s too quiet,” I whispered.

Kale raised his hands and pushed his middle fingers against his palms. One sharp blade shot out and extended over his knuckles. Then he flipped his left one over and said a charm, forming his purple globe.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to use globes outside the libraries?”

“It’s a stun globe and won’t destroy anything like Arik’s fire or Lei’s lightning ones would. Get behind me,” he muttered.

I let him lead and readied my sword.

“Relax, Gia.”

We circled around the entire first floor. Empty. So not good. Where was everyone on a Sunday?

Then we headed upstairs. The first bedroom was vacant. The next room was Afton’s bedroom. The usual incense smell hung in the air. Clothes hung over the footboard of the bed and shoes covered the floor. Her list of Taylor Swift songs played from the dock on her nightstand. On her vanity, lotions, perfume bottles, and makeup containers crowded the table. Not a thing was out of place.

A loud clang came from the bathroom.

“Afton?” I called out.

“Hey, you’re early. I just got back from babysitting,” she said as she came out of the bathroom. “What the hell?” She looked from me to Kale and then to my sword.

I sheathed it. “Afton, it’s me, the
real
Gia.” I yanked the collar of my shirt down to reveal my scar. “See? No tattoo.”

Afton came closer to examine it. “Oh, I’ve missed you,” she squealed, throwing her arms around me. I hugged her back hard.

“Why is your front door open?”

“My mom went next door for tea. The lock’s broken. One good wind and it blows open. They’re fixing it sometime today.” She pulled back, worry striking her face. “Why
are
you here? The other Gia is on her way over.”

“Afton?” A familiar voice came from the door. “What’s going on here?” Pop asked. “The front door is wide—” He dropped his car keys, his gaze shooting from me to Deidre standing behind him.

“Pop! You’re safe.” I dashed over to him and threw my arms around his waist. I couldn’t keep the tears from burning my eyelids, and I sobbed into his chest. And then I realized he wasn’t hugging me. I leaned back and glanced up at him. He was gaping, his eyes darting back and forth between my changeling and me.

Oh God.
There was no lying out of this one. I loosened my grip and stepped away.

My double leaned against the doorframe and glared at me. “He wouldn’t be here if you had a driver’s license.”

Pop turned from Deidre to me. “Why do you look like each other?”

“Um. You see—” I tugged my trench coat closed to hide my sword. “It’s because
I’m
your daughter. The girl next to you is Deidre.”

Pop studied my face. The confusion in his eyes broke my heart. “Are you twins? Wait, you can’t be… I was there when you were born. Are you related?” His forehead wrinkled. It did that whenever he was confused. “Who are you?”

“We’re not twins or related,” Deidre said. “She’s your daughter, not me.”

I knew I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about the Mystik world, but did it really matter anymore? Pop would find out soon enough, since we were there to whisk him off to Oz. I’d tried to tell him about the magical light before and never could. Would my words even come out?

Kale shifted his gaze from Deidre to me. “We’re not safe here. We must go.”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” I looked at Pop. “We’ll explain on our way. Please trust us.”

Pop rubbed his forehead and glanced at Deidre.

“We should go,” she agreed.

He nodded and followed her out the door, and my heart twisted in my chest. She was taking over my life. Over Pop.

Afton slipped her hand in mine. “Come on.”

Sitting in the backseat of Pop’s Volvo felt odd. Not only was Deidre taking over my life, but she also claimed the front seat. Where I’ve always sat since forever. It hurt so badly I felt like my chest had been torn open. Pop gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. His jaw muscle twitched, and I knew he was clenching his teeth. I hated making Pop feel this way. Scared? Confused? Both ?

I scooted forward and placed my hands on the back of the front seats. “Remember that time when I was going into the first grade and I was so scared I wouldn’t go into the classroom? Back when you used to call me Bumblebee? You had told me it may sting at first, but soon it would be all honey. I never got what you meant. It was cute, though, and it still makes me smile.”

Pop nodded. “I never was good at analogies.”

“Nope.”

He glanced at my double then returned his focus to driving. “So, Gia, who’s Deidre? And how does she look exactly like you?”

I gulped. Deidre started to open her mouth, but I frowned at her. “This is going to sound like I’m crazy.”

“I’m sure it will.”

I explained everything to him while everyone else pretended to look out the window. I figured I’d show him my light globe later, when he wasn’t driving. I wasn’t sure I wanted to show him Mom’s letter, though. Maybe he didn’t need to know how much she’d loved Carrig.

He looked at Deidre again. “That explains why you’ve been acting odd lately.”

“So you see, you have to come with us. You’re not safe here. In Boston.”

“My mother’s a witch, huh? That answers a lot of questions.” He rubbed his neck.

“I love you, Pop.”

“You too, kiddo,” he said, reaching over the seat and squeezing my hand. “We better hurry, huh? It’s like having twins,” Pop directed to Deidre. “I was beginning to get suspicious. You and Gia are polar opposites. She can’t cook and she’s a slob, and you can cook and you’re tidy. I worried someone had clobbered you on the head during kickboxing lessons. I was about to call a doctor friend of mine.”

Deidre laughed. “It’s been such a rush. I hadn’t time to learn about Gia’s quirks.”

“There’s the parking garage,” I blurted, wanting to end their conversation about my hijacked life.

“I see it,” Pop said.

He kept giving me weird looks on the walk to the Athenæum. His shoulders were slumped, and his face looked worn out. I wished we hadn’t had to drag him into this otherworld stuff, but at the same time, I was relieved he was there, and I relaxed. I squeezed his hand to show how happy I was to be with him again.

Demos was waiting on the steps for us.

A thought struck me. “We should call Arik and let him know Deidre and Pop are here.”

“Right. They’re most likely waiting for them at your apartment.” Kale pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket and poked the numbers on the screen.

“Yes?” Arik’s voice blasted through the phone. Kale must’ve accidentally hit the speaker button. Clanging and crashing sounds came over the phone.

“This is Kale. What’s going on there?”

“Sword fight. I have—”

Clang
!

“To—”

Clang
!

“Go—”

Clang
!

Fear ignited within me. I wanted to rush to Arik. Help him.

A man walking by gave Kale a startled look.

“It’s a video game,” I said to the guy.

The man shook his head and continued on his way.

A grunt came over the phone.

“Mr. Kearns and Deidre are with us.” Something crashed in the background. “What was that?”

“A telly. Apologies to Mr. Kearns.” A growl came across with a burst of static. “Don’t worry about us—” Something like glass shattered over Arik’s last word. “We’ll meet you there.”

“How many are adversaries?” Kale asked.

“Too many—”
Clang!

Without thinking, I started for the exit, but Demos grabbed my arm. “Let’s go,” I said. “We can help—”

Kale frowned at me then said, “Do you need us to assist you?”

“No.”
Crash
! “We have it under control. Keep the others safe. That’s an order.” An end of call chime sounded.

“Now that’s talent,” said Deidre. “Talking on a mobile while sword fighting.”

I gaped at her. Arik was in danger and she admired his multitasking skill?

Kale pushed the off button on the screen. He grinned at Pop uncertainly. “Don’t worry about the mess. We have Cleaners who will fix everything.”

“I don’t care about the stuff,” Pop said. “I’m worried about that boy. Aren’t you?”

I turned to Kale, desperation lacing my words. “We have to help. He only has Sinead and Lei.”

Something flashed in Kale’s eyes when I mentioned Lei’s name. “Yeah, all right. We better check it out. Demos, you’ll come with me,” he said. “Where are Jaran and Nick? He can keep watch on the others.”

“We had a run in with a hunter,” Demos said. “We got separated. They should be here in a bit.”

“Shite.” Kale glanced down the street. “I can’t leave Gia alone with them. You’ll have to stay behind. I’ll go on my own.”

Like hell I’m staying.
“You don’t know your way around Boston,” I said. “I’m going with you.”

“I’ve been here—” Kale hesitated when I gave a pleading look behind Pop’s back. “All right. I could use a guide.”

After some arguing, Pop agreed to let me go. Kale and I grabbed a taxi and had the man drop us off down the street from my apartment.

I adjusted the shield on my back and tied the trench’s belt tighter around my waist. Kale stopped under the apartment complex’s canopy. The place was quiet.

“How’d you know which building was mine?” I asked.

“I shadowed you the two days before you came to Asile. I was your guardian, so to speak.”

I swung a sidelong look at him. “You had to be bored. Watching me.”

“On the contrary, you have interesting habits.”

I opened my mouth to ask what habits, but the door swung open and a man in his seventies stepped out. Good thing, since I didn’t have my key.

“Oh, hello, Mr. Navarro,” I said as I dashed up the steps. He wore a dark suit with a white gardenia stuffed in the lapel.

“Gia.” He nodded, hobbling down the steps. “I have a date. I can’t talk. I’m late,” he answered my puzzled look as we passed each other.

“Have a good time,” I called after him and darted through the door Kale held open for me.

Kale strapped on his hidden blades as we ghosted up the long interior stairwell leading to the apartment. We reached the front door in a matter of seconds. A loud crash sounded upstairs. Kale and I grabbed for the doorknob at the same time. He let me open it as he readied for an attack.

It was as if something had blown up inside the apartment. Papers and couch stuffing, mingling with smoke, floated in the air. Several charred books lay beneath the cooked bookcase, and the overhead lamp hung from the ceiling by a single cord. The ornamental mirror in the entryway was in shattered pieces on the floor.

“Good thing Mr. Navarro’s hard of hearing,” I said.

When we reached the top of the stairs, it was eerily quiet.

Broken glass crunched underfoot as I eased into the apartment. “What happened here? This is horrible.”
Oh please, let them be okay.

“This is dire,” said Kale, his face etched with concern.

“Where are they?” I took another step.

Kale moved in front of me. “Careful. We have to assess the situation.”

A loud crack reverberated throughout the apartment. Both Kale and I spun around looking for its origin. It sounded again above our heads, and I glanced up, plaster showering my face. With a final groan, the ceiling crashed down on us.

I lay on top of the shield strapped to my back, clawing frantically at the ceiling debris burying me. Powder choked my throat and suffocated my nose. Panic seared my mind and I willed myself to stay calm. I reached out, trying to grab onto something.

Two hands clamped onto my wrists and dragged me out of the rubble grave. I coughed, spitting plaster chunks and blowing powder out of my nose.

Kale dusted me off. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I managed to say, shaking debris from my hair. I winced as I pulled a tiny shard of glass out of my cheek. Blood trickled from the cut, and I smeared it away with my fingertips. My head throbbed.

“Arik—Lei—Sinead!” Kale yelled.

“We’re in here!” Lei shouted from the kitchen. “Arik’s been stunned!”

Kale and I hurried through the narrow kitchen entry. Arik’s head lay on Sinead’s lap.

I sucked in a scared breath. His face was pale; his chest rose and fell, laboring for air. My hand flew to my mouth.
Oh no!

Kale kneeled across from Sinead. “Did you see the bleeder who stunned him?”

Lei shook her head. “I only saw the globe whiz by. I didn’t see who sent it.”

“If you saw a globe, it had to be a Sentinel, and mine should counter the stun.” Kale raised his hand, forming a purple sphere. With a turn of his wrist, the globe dropped onto Arik’s chest, and his body glowed violet.

Arik blinked. His hand twitched. He gasped and coughed, gulping at the air. Kale guided him into a sitting position.

He’s okay!
I expelled a relieved breath.