Aimee Carter - Pawn

“Not a word, girls,” she said. “Else I promise you both a slow and painful death.”

Engulfed in mind-numbing fear, I could barely breathe, but that was nothing compared to the look on Celia’s face. Her mouth hung open, and she looked between us wildly.

“Grandmother, you can’t do this,” called Greyson. “Celia will let me go, and there’s no reason for anyone to die. Think about what you’re doing. She’s your daughter.”

“Celia is no longer any daughter of mine,” said Augusta, her voice rising. “She tried to kill my son, and she kidnapped my grandson.”

“Only because she thought you’d killed her entire family,” shouted Greyson. “If you do this, Grandmother, you won’t just lose her. You’ll lose me, too.”

Her grip tightened on my shoulder, and I winced. If I survived this, I’d have a nasty bruise. “You don’t understand now, but you will in time,” she said. “Now, Celia—you have ten seconds to make your choice, or I will make it for you.”

The guards drew their weapons. When the one beside me pressed the barrel of his gun against my neck, all I could think of was Benjy and how he’d stormed off before we’d had the chance to say goodbye. Would he hate himself for it, or would he eventually forgive himself? Would my death save his life? Or would he be sent Elsewhere so Augusta wouldn’t have to worry about him, either?

“Five,” said Augusta. “Four. Three. Two—”

“The one on the left,” cried Celia.

The crack of a gun echoed off the mountainsides around us, and I instinctively ducked, covering my ears with my trembling hands.

I was still standing.

My eyes flew open, and Augusta smiled cruelly down at me. She set her hand on the back of my neck and traced the three ridges underneath my VII. “Go, Lila,” she said. “Go to your mother.”

On the other side of her, crumpled in a heap, was Lila. My stomach twisted violently, and it took everything I had to put one foot in front of the other. But as I walked away, I noticed a tiny blue plume sticking out of her neck, and her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.

She was still alive. Would that have been me if Celia had chosen Lila? Had Augusta known which of us was which?

As I crossed the clearing, Greyson knelt on the snowy ground and gathered up Celia, who had collapsed. She’d kidnapped him and threatened to kill him, and he was hugging her.

“Greyson,” said Augusta sharply. “Come.”

The look he gave her could have melted steel. He helped Celia to her feet, and without wasting any time, she reached for me. As she wrapped her arms around me, I looked at Greyson, and he touched the middle of his chest—right in the place where the silver necklace rested against mine.

As the guard led him away, I gave him a small smile, and he returned it. Even if I never saw him again, at least he was safe.

Celia held me so tightly that she nearly broke my ribs. “Lila?” she whispered.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “But she’s still alive. It was some kind of dart—”

Celia swore and pushed me away as if I’d burned her. She stumbled forward and desperately searched the group across the clearing, where Augusta ushered Greyson into the helicopter, but Lila was already gone.

“Come on,” said Celia, grabbing my wrist. “We have to get out of here.”

I didn’t question her. Just as the roar of the helicopter started again, another gunshot echoed off the side of the mountain, and a clump of dirt exploded in front of me. I ducked.

“What—”

“What do you think?” she growled.

I kept my head down as Celia pulled me into the forest. The earth around us took bullet after bullet, and I ran blindly, my lungs burning. Even after we reached the trees, we kept going.

Celia led me down a winding trail, and we didn’t stop until we reached a vehicle parked on the edge of another clearing. Without saying a word, Celia opened the door and pushed me inside, slamming it shut behind me.

She jumped into the driver’s seat and ran her thumb over a sensor. The engine purred to life, and she stomped on the accelerator. “You’re sure she’s still alive?” she said, steering the car expertly around curves I didn’t see coming.

“I saw her breathing,” I said as I wrestled with my seat belt. “I don’t think Augusta knew who was who until after you chose.”

Celia breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

Once I managed to slide the buckle together, I squeezed my eyes shut and willed my stomach to settle. The twisting path did nothing to help. The heat was on full blast, and soon a trickle of sweat ran down my forehead. My heart raced from the adrenaline rush, and I knew taking off my jacket wouldn’t cool me off much. Besides, I’d have to put it back on later, and if we really were being chased, it would waste precious seconds.

“Why did you kidnap Greyson?” I said as she sped down the side of the mountain. “You must have known this kind of thing was going to happen.”

“How could I?” she said. “I had no idea she was still alive. It’s really Lila? How did you find her?”

“It’s her,” I said, and I launched into everything that had happened since she’d taken Greyson. She demanded details, especially about where Lila had been hiding. I made a point not to mention Knox’s role.

“Christ.” She turned the wheel sharply again, and the car emerged from the trees onto an open road. Celia sped up, and the forest became a blur. “None of them told me. She was with them the whole time, and not a single one of them said a word.”

“They love her. You said so yourself.”

“I can’t believe she let me think she was dead.” Celia shook her head in disbelief. “Where did I go wrong?”

It wasn’t my place to tell her, so I didn’t answer. Instead I stared out the window and kept my eyes peeled for any signs of a helicopter in the morning sky.

Suddenly a great boom rattled the car, and I twisted around to look out the back window. Several miles away, a cloud of black smoke rose into the clouds, and orange flames flickered up from the trees.

“What was that?” I said, panicked, but Celia was silent. Her grip on the wheel tightened, and when it became obvious she wasn’t going to answer me, I added, “Where are we going?”

“To the city,” she said. “I’m getting my daughter back.”

By the time we passed through the outskirts of D.C., it was nearly noon. I tried to nap, but I couldn’t find a comfortable position, and I was too worried about Benjy to fall asleep anyway. I’d fulfilled my side of the bargain, but I knew better than to think Augusta would do the same.

We ditched the car a few miles from Somerset and started out on foot. Avoiding the crowded main roads, we took back streets and alleyways, which muted the buzz of the city. The sky rumbled above us, threatening a storm, and on the side of a building I noticed a screen with a picture of Celia’s face on it. Words scrolled underneath it, but I had no idea what they said.

“Celia,” I said, pointing to the picture. The blood drained from her face. “What is it?”

She stared wordlessly at the screen for a good half a minute. When she spoke, her voice was rough. “They’re saying—they’re saying I’m dead. And that Lila and Greyson are safe, but in the middle of the rescue attempt, you—Lila’s double—valiantly gave your life to protect her.” Celia swore. “I can’t believe she’d do this to me.”

I could. It was exactly like I’d predicted, except the part where Celia had died, too. “It’s not a bad thing.” Before she could snap at me, I added, “If everyone thinks you’re dead, you’ll have an easier time of disappearing.”