Бри Деспейн - The Lost Saint

“So this is the warehouse next to the club?”

Daniel nodded. “You ready? We’re going to make a run for it.”

I stretched out my arms and legs, happy for some relief. “They’re probably waiting for us.”

“We’ll just have to see.”

Gabriel went out of the break-room door first. Daniel and I followed, hand in hand. We stayed close to the wall, surveying the warehouse. All seemed quiet. The barracks were empty. I looked up at the balcony and the darkened windows of the upper office next to it. There was no sign of whomever had been up there before.

Daniel tightened his grip on my hand. “There’s another exit over there. It looks like it’s padlocked, but with the three of us working together, I bet we can break it loose. I don’t want to risk the corridor. It’s too boxed in.”

“Sounds good,” Gabriel said.

“Ready? Run.”

Daniel bolted for the door, and I ran with him. Gabriel followed close behind. We made it to the door, and the warehouse still seemed as empty as before. Were we really going to make it out? Daniel tried yanking on the lock. The metal loop stretched a bit. He shook his head. “Grace, can you do it?”

I felt a rumbling under the heels of my boots. Something was happening inside the building somewhere. I let a small burst of power into my arm as I grabbed the lock and yanked on it. It broke free in my hand. Then I heard a clanking noise from behind us. Daniel went for the doorknob, but I swung around and looked back as the gate of the freight elevator lifted and a pack of boys came rushing in our direction. The door must have still been locked from the outside. It wouldn’t open. Daniel put all his energy into kicking at it, over and over again. Then we both kicked together, and I heard the dead bolt crunch through the wood frame. Moonlight flooded in through the crack in the door. But before we could get out, someone was on top of Daniel, pulling him back. I heard Gabriel shout, but I knew he wouldn’t fight back. Someone else grabbed me.

I remember screaming. I remember fighting. I remember watching Daniel try to grapple with the person who’d grabbed him. But before I knew what was happening, I’d been seized by three guys who pulled me away from the open door. Another three had Daniel.

Jude led the pack as Daniel, Gabriel, and I were dragged up the stairs and then into the dark upper-level room. It looked like it had once been a large office, but it was now decked out like a luxury hotel room from the Victorian era. Thick, plush curtains covered the windows that would normally look down on the warehouse floor. A large wardrobe was tucked away in one corner, and the only light in the room came from the flickering of a dozen candles on an ornately carved table. A large four-poster bed filled the middle of the room, covered with a lush velvet bedspread and pillows.

While the boys downstairs slept on warehouse shelves, whoever occupied this room obviously cared much more for his own comfort.

Talbot stood by one of the bedposts, and I assumed this was his room until he directed our attention to a dark, recessed alcove. With a bowed head, Jude went to stand beside Talbot.

“Now that you’re all finally here,” Talbot said, “our father wishes to see you.”

The boys who held my arms stiffened and exchanged a half-horrified, half-delighted look. Almost as if this was the first time they’d even seen their

“father.”

“You made it too easy,” a voice snarled from the shadows of the alcove. Something body-shaped shifted, and then two yellow glowing eyes appeared in the dark. “It almost ruined the fun.”

That voice. What is it about that voice? Something about it makes me feel like I’ve been ripped open.

Daniel’s face went ashy white. He took a step back, but one of his captors pushed him forward. Did the voice sound familiar to him also?

“This is a game to you?” I asked. “Who are you? Tell us what you want with us.”

“Oh, you always were a bossy little brat,” that eerie voice said. “I never could stand you and that obnoxious little dog of yours. Do you have any idea how much I enjoyed watching your face when you found her dead on your porch? Almost as much fun as ripping out her throat.”

The man laughed and stepped out of the shadows. He had hair so blond it was practically white, a large cleft in his chin, and a crooked, evil smile. He looked almost exactly the same as the few times I’d seen him when I was a kid.

“You,” Daniel said under his breath, like he was cursing.

I shot a look at him. His face was so pale I thought he was in danger of passing out. My stomach clenched into a knot.

“Caleb Kalbi,” Gabriel said, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Finishing what should have been done the moment Daniel was born.” Caleb turned his murderous eyes on his son. “I should have smothered you before you took your first breath.” He stepped toward Daniel, his hand outstretched like he wanted to snap his neck.

“Don’t you touch him!” I shouted, and pulled against the guys holding my arms.

Caleb laughed. “Oh, you are a tasty treat. I can see why Talbot might hesitate bringing you in. I can imagine that he wanted you for himself.”

“Father,” Talbot said, “I told you, I was bringing her to you all along.”

“I am joking, my son,” Caleb said. “Only joking.”

My eyes flitted from Talbot to Caleb. Didn’t Gabriel tell me that Caleb was the one who was behind the attack on Talbot’s parents? Wouldn’t

Talbot know this? How could he call Caleb Father? Why would he even be helping him? Then again, for all I knew now, Talbot’s entire story could have been fabricated. His being the last Saint Moon could be a total lie. Except the way Gabriel stared at him, as if looking at a ghost, made me wonder otherwise.

But before I could say anything, Caleb snapped his fingers, and the guys who held me let go of my arms and pushed me toward Caleb. I stumbled forward. Caleb grabbed my face with one of his hands, cupping my chin with his long fingers. His fingernails jabbed into my skin. I could barely hear Daniel shouting at his father over the pounding of my pulse in my ears. My muscles seared with a burning pain more intense than I’d ever endured before.

“It was nice of you to dress the part. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.” He looked me over from head to toe. He trailed the fingers of his free hand down my arm, making my skin crawl under his touch. He leaned in, his mouth close to my ear. “My, what nice assets you have, my dear.”

“Better to burn you with,” I said, and swung my arm up with a flash of power and smashed my silver bracelet against the side of his cheek.

Caleb screamed. He let go of my face and slammed my arm away from him. A large angry burn blistered up along his cheekbone.

My arms went up in a defensive position, but before I could act, three of Caleb’s boys were on top of me, binding my arms and legs. I kicked and screamed and tried to flail as they forced me to my knees. Caleb glared down at me, rage burning in his eyes.

“Who let her wear silver in here?” Caleb shouted. “Tell me!”

He scanned the boys in the room. I could hear them all take in a breath. They all feared Caleb—their father, so to speak.

Jude stepped forward from beside Talbot, his head still bowed submissively. “I am sorry, Father. I did not realize her bracelet was a danger. I thought it was just a trinket with her costume.”

“Well, take it off her now!” Caleb roared.

Jude shot him a look, then ducked his head even lower and approached me. One of my captors held out my arm to him. I stopped struggling and tried to meet my brother’s eyes as he stooped in front of me. But he wouldn’t look at my face.