Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher Book 2) (24 page)

I pulled Trishna aside. “Are you sure it was safe to evaporate here?” And why hadn’t I thought about that earlier?

“No. But I doubt any warlock—even Richard—is powerful enough to track us this far from the States. I’ve managed to get in contact with a few other small groups like yours, but with the way Margaret died, they’re staying hidden until they recover.”

I ground my teeth and nodded. Every member of Trishna’s coven was infected now that Margaret’s blood touched them. Those that pulled through would be in better shape for the long haul, but we were going to lose several. “How many are we down to?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Sixty, maybe. And most of them haven’t yet made it through the poison’s cycle.”

My skin crawled. Before Richard attacked Caelum, we’d had 150 coven members between our field agents and new recruits. To have lost so many… I clenched my fists and stretched my neck. Some day soon, Richard would get what he deserved.

“Bartholomew?” I asked Trishna.

“He’s with one of the other groups.”

Thank God.

“But… I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, her voice cracking.

Until now, I’d never seen Trishna cry. A tear falling from her dark eye was like a lash from a whip. She was our leader; she was the one who understood magic better than any of us. Her fear sent a maelstrom of nausea to my gut.

I swallowed and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve seen war before. Right now, we count our losses and recover. In a couple days, we regroup and strategize. We’ll figure it out. You know magic, Nolan knows Richard, and I know how to fight. This battle isn’t over, yet.”

Trishna nodded and wiped the lone tear from her cheek. Without a word, she left me to check on those who were falling under the poison’s spell.

I glanced to where Kayla stood, talking with Nolan. What did Richard have planned for her? He’d used Margaret to wipe out thousands with a disease. Kayla was stronger than any witch in existence, maybe even stronger than Richard. Being his daughter and one of the four October 31 children, she could do so much damage if he managed to get her by his side.

Which made her our best hope of victory.

I rocked, flinching as the admission sunk in: Kayla was the only person in existence with the power to take down Richard. Nolan might have his blood, too, but Kayla had the October 31 moonlight in her veins. Born exactly at midnight on a witch’s holiest holiday, she had been leagues above the rest, regardless of who her magic came from.

For so long, I’d tried to protect her, to keep her from this fate. But I couldn’t any longer. I’d never leave her side, but I couldn’t stand in her way anymore. When it came down to it, she was going to have to be the one to stop him.

Swallowing bile, I shuffled to Kayla and Nolan, clenching and unclenching my fists. “We need to talk, the three of us. Alone.”

When they both nodded, I led them through the barn’s doors into the clear, dark night. The stars were brighter than usual against the midnight-blue sky—almost as if they knew something big was coming. I walked deep into the woods, until I was sure no one would overhear, and stopped beneath a large tree.

Nolan shoved his hands in his pockets, eyeing me like I was ridiculous for bringing us this far. Kayla wrapped her arms around her stomach, and her mouth opened. I knew she was going to ask me what was going on, so I dived into it.

“Nolan, I need you to help me train Kayla,” I said, each word burning my throat. “She’s strong, but not strong enough. And I”—I took a deep breath—“I think she’s going to need to be the one who leads the army into Richard’s den.”

Kayla’s eyes widened, either frightened or amazed by my admission; I couldn’t tell.

“You know that’ll get her killed, right?” Nolan asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Richard still has plans for her, remember? He’d never hurt her. In fact, I guarantee that’s why he let us evaporate from Caelum—to keep her from getting injured. And you know as well as I do that she’s the only one with the power to defeat him. Trishna’s strong, but Kayla’s one of the four.”

Her face scrunched, blanching. After the battle in Columbus, she’d admitted, deep down, her biggest fear was that she’d become like her father. Which is why I wanted Nolan to help me train her. Not only did he know Richard better than any of us, but he, too, carried Richard’s genes. If Kayla knew the truth, if she could see that her brother wasn’t evil, maybe she’d believe she was strong enough to tap into the deepest parts of her power—the parts that had sprung free in Columbus—and not turn into
him
.

“What makes you think Kayla will learn anything from me? Trishna should be teaching her,” Nolan said.

I shot him an apologetic stare. The thought of breaking his trust, of revealing his secret, panged in my chest.

His eyes narrowed; he read my look perfectly. “No”—he pointed at me—“you promised you wouldn’t tell her. You swore.”

“Tell me what?” Kayla asked.

“She needs to know, mate,” I responded to Nolan, not wanting to be the one to answer her question. If he didn’t, though, I’d have no choice. Kayla was more important to me than his pride.

Nolan snaked his fingers through his dark hair. “You’re an ass, you know that?”

“Nolan, stop. What is Daniel talking about?” Kayla asked.

Nolan glared at me, baring his teeth before letting out a growl. “Fine. But let it be known that your boyfriend is as gossipy as a cheerleader.” I rolled my eyes as he sighed. “You’re not the only one with Richard’s blood in your veins.” He spoke every word slowly. “I’m sort-of your half-brother.”

Kayla’s eyes widened further. She dropped her arms from around her stomach, her gaze narrowing. “And you weren’t going to
tell me
?” She smacked his arm, hard.

“Ow! Jesus, woman. Lay off the ‘roids.”

She spun around, sticking her finger in my face. “And you, I can’t believe you knew about this and didn’t tell me.”

I rubbed her upper arms. “A couple times, I almost did. Then something would happen, and breaking someone’s confidence isn’t exactly easy for me. But I know I still should’ve told you.”

“It’s not Daniel’s fault… I made him swear,” Nolan said.

I narrowed my gaze. Did he just come to my defense?

Kayla turned toward her brother, her fists clenched.

He spoke before she could scold him again. “You know what it’s like having people know you’re related to that bastard.”

She frowned. “So, he’s your dad, too? Does that mean you’re another horseman?”

Nolan shook his head. “No. I think I was an accident. You and the other three, you’re the ones he planned. Made a ‘deal’ and everything.”

“Wait, what?” I held up a hand, the world seeming to halt. “What do you mean ‘a deal?’”

“Well, you
have
heard of demon deals, right?”

“Of course I have.” The first Magus was created when a demon slept with a human—the result of a demon deal. Bartholomew made us study them when we became Protectors. Countless deals had been made over the centuries with demons. In fact, some of the most powerful people in the world got their positions because of them.

“Okay, well, Richard made a deal with one,” he continued. “See, every once in a while, you get a witch or warlock who’s born on October 31. But never at exactly midnight and never four at one time.”

Heat rose up the back of my neck. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”

“Because I had no idea
why
he made the deal.”

“How do you even know it’s true? Maybe he was lying,” Kayla said. She tried to be nonchalant, like she was simply asking a question to clarify Nolan’s validity. But when she slipped her fingers between mine, her hand shook, and she held firmer to me than normal.

I gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, my own throat caught in a vise.

Nolan rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Richard treated me like a prince. I didn’t know until maybe a year ago that I was actually his son, but he’d always treated me like one. So, before I’d known about my mom and what he’d done to her, I’d gone to him about everything. And never once had he lied. I’d worshipped the ground he walked on. So, when I’d read about demon deals and blood sacrifices, he’d told me he’d done them before. When I’d asked for more info, he’d told me about one he’d made with a demon called Apollyon.”

Bloody hell.

I locked my knees to keep from collapsing.

“Wait, I read about him in Trishna’s Book of Spells,” Kayla started. “Apollyon is—”

“As close to Lucifer as you can get,” Nolan finished her sentence.

I held my breath and tried not to grasp Kayla’s hand too tight. I’d read about Apollyon, too, in my Catcher training. He was the demon responsible for the world’s worst destructions. There was even speculation that he, himself, had possessed Hitler when millions of Jews were brutally murdered during the Holocaust. If
he
was involved in this apocalypse crap, we were in deep, deep shit.

Nolan continued, squinting and shifting his weight. “You’ve both heard the story of when Richard destroyed those villages in Wales in the 1400s, right? You know, when he used to go by the name ‘Tamesis?’”

Kayla nodded, her hand shaking more violently in mine. Again, I gave it a loving squeeze, both for my own comfort and for hers.

“Richard had promised Apollyon thousands of souls for the power to avenge his mother. Apollyon gave him the ability to control the Nightmares—which, you know, are pretty much demons’ pets. Richard ransacked those villages, but then Protectors stopped him before he could get past a few hundred souls.”

“I’m sure that angered the demon,” I mumbled.

Nolan made a
pssh
sound. “You can say that again. Until fifty years ago, Richard was in Hell, pretty much Apollyon’s toy.”

Kayla’s grip tightened on my hand as she closed her eyes. Her face was so pale; the moonlight bounced off her skin. As much as she hated Richard, he
was
her father. No one likes to picture her parents going through that kind of torture. But while Kayla was sickening, my mood was elevating. Richard wasn’t immortal, after all—any of us could kill him.

“While he was in Hell,” Nolan continued, “Richard didn’t just promise Apollyon souls—he promised to help him raise Lucifer. All he asked for was control of the Nightmares, four ‘special’ Magus, and a pint of Apollyon’s blood. Apollyon sent him to Earth, Richard shot himself up with some of the demon’s blood to enhance his powers, and then he waited. Because of the deal, he became the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth. That’s why he bragged about it to me. His moronic, naïve son.”

Heat flared up the back of my neck. “And you thought it best to not tell us Richard’s full of demon blood?” My pitch rose. Richard might be mortal, but he was going to be damn near impossible to defeat with
that
kind of power flowing through his veins. There was a reason so many witches and warlocks went dark, why they called on demons for help—because a demon was so strong they could dry up a lake the size of Erie with a single touch. And that was your average demon.

This was Apollyon.

My grip on Kayla’s hand tightened. We were back to her being the only one able to get close to Richard. She squeezed my fingers.

“Like I said, I didn’t know the extent of his plans. I thought we’d be able to kill him by now,” Nolan replied. “Anyway, then almost seventeen years ago, Kayla was born—”

“Exactly at midnight on October 31,” she finished.

Nolan nodded. “The sign he needed to know Apollyon had upheld his side of the bargain. All it took was a little digging for Richard to find the other three.”

Kayla’s legs wobbled. I pulled her closer to me to keep her from collapsing. Nolan’s eyes flicked from her to my face, and the tight lines in his forehead and around his eyes told me he was still hiding something.

“What else?” I asked, digging my nails into the palm of my free hand.

He swallowed, shaking his head. “You don’t want to know.”

“Nolan, please,” Kayla begged.

He tipped his head back and stared at the stars before dropping his chin to his chest. He let out a loud sigh. “You both know Richard manipulated your blood, right?”

My hold on Kayla strengthened. I held my breath, trying to stop my heart from bouncing in my chest. I knew where this was going.

Nolan continued when Kayla nodded. “He… Ugh, God, I didn’t want you to know this… Your dad pumped you and the other three full of Apollyon’s blood, too.”

I forgot how to breathe. Black spots framed my vision. Only Kayla’s knees buckling kept mine from doing the same. I threw another arm around her and lifted, stopping her from sinking to the dirt.

“It’s why Margaret could create a demonic poison that no witch or warlock can cure,” Nolan said. “Because you four aren’t like the rest of us. You’re…”

“Evil.” Kayla’s voice cracked.

“No,” I said, spinning her around and taking her face in my hands. Heat fluttered in my chest. “You’re not evil. Do you hear me? Don’t you dare think like that.”

The bottoms of her eyes pooled with tears. She dug her face into my chest, wrapping her arms tight around me. Sighing, I kissed her hair and wrapped her in a firm embrace, squeezing my eyes closed.

“Yeah, I was totally just going to say ‘powerful,’” Nolan said.

The three of us stood in silence for minutes, Nolan staring at the stars and Kayla grasping me like a child at a haunted house. I rubbed her back, slowly rocking her in my arms, resting my cheek on her scalp. This news was a blow. A big one. The darkness in her was permanent, and if Richard ever managed to get his hands on her, he would exploit it in every way he could. I should just take her away from here, to a deserted island, and make happy memories. Kiss until our lips turned raw. Be together and close in every way possible, savoring every moment, every touch until death or old age took her from my side.

But I knew her better than I knew myself, sometimes. Where there was darkness in her, there was also a lot of light. Compassion, selflessness, kindness, bravery—love. She would never leave everyone to fend for themselves.

And I would never leave her.