Hidden (Hidden Series Book One) (38 page)

“Triplets,” I whispered, when I saw their
faces. They were dressed in stretchy black pants and shirts,
muscles pushing at the fabric. “Copies,” I whispered, even softer.
Nate tightened his arms around me, pulling me further away from
what my life could have been, where my life could be headed.

At the end of the hall, Remi and Liam pulled
wide hoods over their heads. The room we stepped into looked like a
chapel. Candles flickered all around us. Nate held me so close that
I heard his heart pounding against my ear.

More robed figures pushed past us, some with
one or two frightened prisoners in their grips. The triplets
marched to the front. I’d lost blood and been drugged. I needed a
bed, not to be made to kneel on a marble floor. Liam forced Nate to
kneel closer to him. I wanted to grab his hand and try to escape,
but I felt like I did in the shower before my fit – woozy, jittery,
like I’d hurt myself by trying.

I inched to my left, closer to Nathan, and
Remi grabbed my arm. She didn’t speak, but the look in her eyes was
such a terrible mix of fear and anger that I knew neither of us
could move right now.

“Those who willingly enter his quarters, let
your voice be heard,” a rough voice like crackling fire said.

“I willingly come,” they all said together,
one voice, well trained.

Footsteps interrupted the silence. Well, as
silent as this room could get for me as my growing strength allowed
me to hear them again.

“Greet me,” a man said, passively like he
was bored.

I looked up at him, and my heart stopped.
Kamon was as handsome as he was in Lydia’s memories, just with
graying hair in one spot. He’d kill Nate and breed me for sure if
we didn’t get the hell out of here.

Remi peaked up at him, awestruck and teary
eyed. He was the man she wanted to impress, not Liam. She’d
followed a witch around for
him
. I remembered what she’d
said on the phone call I’d eavesdropped on. She'd said that Sophia
always told Emma where not to party. Sophia would know exactly
where Kamon was at all times, and Remi latched on to Emma in hopes
of finding him. She wanted to be here. She was never obsessed with
Nate. She was obsessed with the man who would’ve drowned me.

“Hail, Kamon. We assemble today to show our
undying loyalty for making us whole, our commitment to learning
your ways, and our devotion to your cause.”

Right hands shot up into the air
everywhere.

“And to you, Julian, we pledge to avenge
your death, but stray from your flawed path.” My hands balled into
fists, suddenly more upset with the dead man than the person I
couldn’t think about. “To you, Kamon, my Master, my Lord, you have
made me what I am. Without you, I have no home. No life. I am
nothing. Please accept my humble praise.”

Kamon sat back in an ornate black throne. He
crossed his legs and raised his chin. He had to really believe he
was a king, no a god, to these people.

“I accept,” he said, like it was a bother to
speak to them. The hooded figures bowed their heads again. Only the
prisoners and the triplets who were standing near his throne were
left with stretched necks. “Who has something for me?”

Remi pulled me up, and Liam grabbed Nathan.
I reached for his hand but missed.

There was a clear hierarchy with the
hunters, and Liam and Remi were at the bottom. They moved us out of
the way each time a hunter stepped in front of them with their
offering. We ended up at the end of the line.

One at a time, the offerings, mostly witches
and wizards, were brought before Kamon. Ten passed, accepting his
offer to be purged, until the first one objected. The stocky man
was covered in dirt and scratches, like he’d been fighting.

“C-14,” Kamon said, chuckling. The middle
triplet stepped up, and the stocky man thumped to the ground, his
neck cracking without C-14 moving a muscle.

No one else objected.

Then it was our turn. Liam and Remi bowed to
Kamon. Liam took another step up and bowed again.

“Master, we have brought you two offerings
today,” Liam said. “Both human. I pray you accept them.”

“Do they willingly come?”

“No, Master.”

Kamon laughed and leaned forward. “Then
you’d better have a good reason for bringing them here. Julian was
dismembered because he chased after those who didn’t worship him
like I did,” he said, his voice darkening with each word.
Dismembered? Wow. No wonder I wasn’t allowed to see that happen.
“Surely, you don’t expect me to make that mistake.”

“No, Master,” Liam said.

Kamon glared at me. His eyes were a
hypnotizing mix of green and brown with a hint of blue. That’s when
I realized I was staring.

“Are you sure they’re human?” Kamon asked,
tilting his head to the side, eyes still locked with mine. “They’re
awfully silent.”

I knew he meant our thoughts and I was
grateful. At least her … well our … secret was safe.

“We aren’t sure, Master,” Remi said. “We
need you to figure it out for us.” Liam turned around and raised
his hand, poised to slap her.

“Drop your hand. She isn’t talking to you.
When did you become her master?” Kamon said. He motioned Remi
forward and smiled at her. She actually blushed. “Tell me why you
need your master to figure out a simple blood test?”

Her hands shook, and she took a loud breath.
“I never want to disappoint you with a mistake. I am nothing. I
need you for everything. I think we all do.” Her tone sent chills
up my spine. She sounded brainwashed. Insane.

“Remi…” Kamon said. Her face lit up, like
she was surprised he knew her name. “I think you should sit in the
front from now on. Liam has no business leading someone smarter
than him.” Remi fell to his feet, and I jumped. Nathan pulled me
closer, but I couldn’t try to escape. I was too worried for her. I
knew how her life would unfold. She’d live to please him, possibly
be bred. If she ever changed her mind, ever decided not to be
devoted to him, he would make her life hell. “Get up, pet. Take
your spot.” I shivered. Julian used to call Lydia that. Remi stood
with a face full of tears and ran to where he pointed, at the feet
of the triplets. “Liam, you may return to the back.”

“Thank you, Master,” he said.

Kamon stood from his throne, and Nate
stepped in front of me. “Cute,” Kamon said. I wrapped my arms
around Nate and tried to pull us back to my house. I shook, so hard
that Nate tried to steady me, so hard that my nose leaked blood on
his back. “Excuse me, young man. Give her to me.”

“No!” Nate yelled.

Kamon chuckled. “How do you humble a man,
boys?”

“Make him a prisoner of the ground, Master,”
the triplets said together.

As I held him, Nate’s back twisted, and he
fell. He screamed, shaking all over. I reached for him, but Kamon
flung him to the back of the room with a gentle wave of his hand.
He moved closer to me, smiling, and I knew it was over. I also knew
that because of the horror demented men like him had done to my
family, I couldn’t cry or show an ounce of fear.

“Who trains you?” he asked, smiling, as
charming as a prince from a fairytale. I didn’t answer, just stared
at him while I contemplated spitting a mouthful of blood in his
face. “Who owns you?”

“No one.”

He laughed. “You are bleeding. You’re either
well bred or poorly trained. Join me. I can help you. You strike me
as someone who belongs here. Do you feel at home, staring at them?”
he said, pointing to his brainwashed followers on their knees. “Or
perhaps them?” he said, pointing to the triplets.

I knew with unsettling certainty that if
Kamon had gotten to me before Sophia, this offer would have been
appealing. To finally be among people like myself, to finally not
be an oddity. I would have joined him. I would have thought I was
meant for this. But Sophia
had
gotten to me, so living alone
in a glass box and being a killer would never be okay. I would
rather die.

He reached his finger out and slowly
collected my blood on his nail. His touch infuriated me, and his
finger snapped as I stared, twisting painfully away from the
knuckle. I’d never broken a bone before, but I’d imagined doing it
hundreds of times. I didn’t even feel myself do anything. He
grunted, but moved away as more of his fingers bent in the wrong
direction. I wasn’t even looking at them. Then his right arm went.
Then the left.

He howled, and an arm reached around my
stomach.

Lydia turned me around. Her eyes were
burning, and she was shaking all over. I knew it was because of me.
Because she couldn’t handle the thought of me being hurt. I wanted
to jump in her arms, thank her for saving me. Every piece of me
knew she wouldn’t push me away, but we were around the man she
wanted her child hidden from. Witnessing a world she never wanted
me to see.

I pointed to Nathan, and she nodded.

“Get him,” she said.

I ran to him. He was stiff and straining,
maybe to keep from shifting.

Lydia circled Kamon, shuddering. He
laughed.

“Shut up,” she said, but I hadn’t heard him
say a thing. “I could end you right now if I wanted to.”

He laughed again, stretching his mangled
arms, breathing in like he enjoyed the way it felt. “But you won’t.
You know what will happen if you do. You’ve taken a student, I see.
Maybe two? A boy and a girl. I thought you were against that.”

She jumped at Kamon but caught herself
before she touched him. “This will be over soon,” she
whispered.

“I know. I’ve seen it too. You must be
afraid,” he said.

She walked away without turning back. She
didn’t look afraid at all. She took my hand and lifted Nathan with
the other. I was seconds from this nightmare being over, but I
suddenly felt more fearful than I had the entire time.

“Remi!” I screamed, like her life depended
on it. She was the reason why we were here, but I knew more about
this world than she ever could. I knew how it ended, how the
decision to stay here would infect the rest of her life. “Please
come with us.”

She said nothing, didn’t even look up. On
her knees, she looked hollow, like the little personality she’d had
a few days ago had been snuffed out. I wondered what she would
smell like to Nathan now. I wondered what I could have done to stop
it.

“I’m sorry, but we have to go,” Lydia
said.

We left the chapel in an instant, leaving
Remi behind to fester with Kamon. And all of those people, and the
triplets too. If she wasn’t afraid of what he was doing, I had
enough fear for the both of us.

Sophia swept me up in a hug a moment after
we left the chapel. She was crying harder than she had last
night.

“My love,” she said. “You’re okay. I’m so
sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Sophia,” I said.
“Where are Paul and Emma?”

“My house. They were dropped off in the
middle of nowhere and got home. They called me, and we found you as
fast as we could.”

“And the others?”

“All fine. Thanks to you, I hear,” she said,
holding me the tightest she’d ever held me.

I saw the room when she let me go. We must
have been in California. The furniture was younger and sleeker. It
wasn’t separated into two rooms like Vincent and Cecilia’s. A black
loveseat faced away from the rest of the room in front of a flat
screen, sectioning off a sitting area. The bedroom was black and
white with random hints of color like the yellow lamp, blue
pillows, and green rug. I marveled at the careful and interesting
design until Lydia groaned as she put Nate down on the bed.

Right, his back had made an awful sound. I
ran to them, and she flipped him over. His cries weren’t human, and
they brought tears to my eyes.

“Sleep,” she said, touching the back of his
head. His breaths slowed and his cute snores followed. “Can you…”
She darted her eyes to me then back to him. “Hear him?”

“No. Kamon couldn’t either,” I said. “I
guessed his middle name. That’s it.”

“Thomas,” she whispered. “Human given.
Theresa.” She shivered. “Strange.” While I would have loved her to
solve the mysteries in his past, it felt like his present and
future were more pressing at the moment. I pointed at his back, and
she pulled his shirt over his head. “His spine. It’s broken.” The
scream stuck in my throat. I just wanted this awful day to be over.
How many more times would I feel like I was dying? “It’s healing by
itself already. I just need to set it right. He’s going to be fine.
Do you want Sophia to check you out?”

Sophia didn’t wait for me to answer. I told
her about the sedatives as she ran my bathwater. She cleaned the
blood from my face and made me drink two glasses of water and one
of orange juice before I got in the tub. After, she snapped and
brought us to the kitchen. It was similar to the kitchen in New
Orleans, just with darker wood and red chairs.

I wasn’t in the mood to eat, but she forced
a sandwich down my throat.

“You don’t want to go and be with Emma and
Paul?” I asked. She shook her head, but I didn’t believe her.
“They’re your family, Sophia, and you’ve been with me for days.”
We’d both jumped forward and backward on the clock, and I’d bet she
hadn’t slept like I had.

“I love you like my own family, and this
could have all been avoided if I didn’t bring Remi into your home.
Or if I hadn’t gone through your phone and decided to give you and
Nathan some time alone before intruding. Or if I’d let your moth- …
Lydia handle everything and didn’t intrude in the first place. She
isn’t speaking to me, and I am the most afraid of her when she’s
this silent.”

I knew why she would be. Lydia had nearly
killed her for calling me a copy. And even without that, Lydia was
pretty terrifying.

For the first time, I initiated a hug with
Sophia. She needed it.