Hannah Jayne - Under Attack

Will stepped closer to me, tried to put his arms around me, but I pushed him away, using the back of my hand to wipe my eyes. “And you’re a horrible guardian!”

“Isn’t she a bit old for a guardian?” I heard Vlad mutter to Alex.

“Vessel thing,” he returned.

Then, “Oooh. She’s got the Vessel?”

“She is the Vessel.”

I pushed my palms flat against Will’s chest. “Get out.”

I felt Alex’s palm on my shoulder. “Wait. Lawson, we need all the firepower we can get. As much as I don’t like it—or him—he is the seventh guardian. He’s avoided Ophelia for this long and kept you alive.”

Will grinned, brushing his fingernails on his shirt proudly. “Haven’t lost one yet.”

“You had to put the ‘yet’ in there, didn’t you?”

“Um, guys? Can we just go find my aunt?” Vlad said from behind us.

We all filed into the living room, filling Will in on what we knew. When we got to the table, Alex unzipped his backpack and started handing out books.

“I thought these just dealt with the Vessel,” I said.

“All of these mention the fallen and all of them were stolen from Ophelia. Might give us some insight into where she took Nina.”

Vlad took the book Alex handed him and looked at the spine disdainfully. “I don’t think this is going to help. I’m sure I can sense her or track Ophelia by her scent.”

“You can track a scent through seven square miles?” Alex asked.

Vlad’s lip curled and he huffed into a chair, pulling open his book angrily.

I pushed away from the table and looked out the living-room window, staring into the slate grey of the sky as it edged into night. Everything was still outside; the world stood motionless. I blew out a sigh.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked, coming up on my left shoulder.

I wagged my head, feeling waterlogged and exhausted from the tears I’d already shed. “It’s going to take forever to get through all these books, and even then all that’s going to happen is that we’ll have an idea of where she may have taken Nina. We won’t have Nina.”

“We’re going to find her,” Alex said solemnly.

“I just feel like Ophelia is constantly one step ahead of us.”

“Well, right now she is. But”—Alex gestured back at the guys, Vlad snapping pages angrily, Will silently moving his lips as he read—“we’re gaining on her.”

I looked hopelessly on.

“We need to do more.” I tapped my index finger against my lips and paced. “I think I have an idea. I think I know a way to get one over on Ophelia.”

I took Alex by the hand and led him into the hallway. “You need to get the Vessel.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“If you have the Vessel of Souls—if you return it—then Ophelia won’t be after me anymore. She’ll release Nina and everything will be fine.”

Alex put his fists on his hips. “Everything will be fine? We don’t know that Ophelia would release Nina, and anyway, Lawson, you’ll be dead.”

“We all have to make sacrifices.”

Alex grabbed my shoulders and gave me a shake. “Do you hear what you’re saying? No. No, I’m not going to do it.”

“It’s the only way to get rid of Ophelia and keep Nina safe.”

“It is not.”

“Come on, Alex. If we go up against Ophelia, it’s likely I’m going to—”

“Don’t you dare say it,” Alex said between gritted teeth. “Don’t you dare.”

“Maybe this is why you found me.”

“I found you so I could protect you and I sure as hell am not going to let Ophelia win. We’ll figure out another way.”

“I’m beginning to believe there is no other way.”

“This isn’t worth your life.”

“Nina is.”

“We are going to find another way.”

I stepped back, put my hands on my hips. “Okay, so what else do you propose we do?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Alex followed me back into the dining room, where Will and Vlad were turning pages. Vlad groaned. “Can’t we just go to her house or something? Doesn’t anyone know where Ophelia lives?”

We all wagged our heads.

“So far she’s blown up my father’s house—”

Will knitted his brows. “Oh, I’m sorry about that, love.”

“Don’t be. It wasn’t actually his house. And anyway I think my dad is Satan. Oh, and Ophelia’s my sister.”

Will’s eyebrows shot up. “Now that wasn’t on your getting-to-know-you form. Hell of a family tree.”

“I just need to think,” I said, sitting down on one of the dining room chairs and holding my head in my hands. I tried to concentrate, ran my fingers through my hair. I heard the whisp of a name— Sophie —run through my mind. It’s you... . It’s always been you... . I closed my eyes and saw two pinpricks of light flicker behind closed lids. They came into focus and I recognized birthday candles, a fat chocolate cake, pink cheeks pushed out and ready to blow.... I saw myself on my fifth birthday, strawberry-red pigtails bouncing as I tore the wrapping off a Barbie Dream House.

It’s always been you , Ophelia’s breathy voice came again.

The image warbled and I saw Nina’s face, drawn and bruised. Her eyes were red-rimmed and tears dribbled silently as her head lolled, chin on chest.

Sophie , Ophelia sang, won’t you come out to play?

“I think I know where she is,” I mumbled to myself.

“What was that?” Alex asked me.

“A shower. You know”—I shook myself—“this soot and dirt. I think better near water anyway.”

Alex followed me as I headed to my bedroom. I turned around at the threshold, heart pumping. “I’m just going to clean up. I’ll be right back.” I forced a smile. Alex and I had an unspoken agreement that his angelic mind-reading abilities were strictly off limits when it came to me. He let his fingers trail over my bare arm and I knew that his focus was not on my mind.

Alex brushed his lips over mine. He wrapped his arms around me, pushing me into my room, and kissed me hard. I pulled away, licking my lips.

“That doesn’t feel like the kiss of someone who’s expecting me to come back,” I told him. “I’m just getting in the tub.”

Alex pulled me toward him again and nibbled on my bottom lip, flicked his tongue over my ear. “No, that’s the kiss of someone who not only expects you to come back, but who intends to pick up where he left off this morning.”

I felt a delicious shiver in spite of my fear. When I pulled back I looked into Alex’s eyes. “Good to know.”

I closed the door and rummaged through my underwear drawer, finding the gun Alex had given me a year ago. It was now nestled between a lacy thong with the tags still on and a pair of fuzzy socks with polar bears on them. The gun used to live in the freezer, but after an unfortunate accident with a Skinny Cow Mint Dipper, I decided to move it to a safer location. I pulled my bathrobe from the peg by the door, slipped it on, and tucked the gun in my pocket. I trudged out past the guys, head down, shoulders hunched under the guise of girlish modesty—and just as I suspected, they all did their best to look away.

The one benefit of undead men—they’ve got all that old-school chivalry.

I locked the bathroom door behind me and turned the tub on full bore. Then I slid out of my bathrobe, unrolled both of my pant legs, and yanked my discarded sneakers from their “I’m going to get rid of these tomorrow” spot on the floor. I threw my well-thawed .22 into my shoulder bag and added a couple bars of soap for good measure. I wedged the bathroom window open, sucked in my stomach, and launched myself through.