Myopia (Young Adult Zombie Paranormal Romance) (Wisteria Series) (33 page)

“So, you renewed Nate Weiss? That’s why my mum trusts him?”

Jason paused, and then nodded. “I knew Nate when his name was Eugene. The man was devastated over the loss of his wife and son.”

“And you took his mind?”

“My mother did. She thought it’d help him find peace. He found me because he’s now drawn to the closest blood relation. So technically, I’m his liege, but I might have to renew him again, if his mind starts to fracture.”

“Just so I’m clear, you knew about Didan being here and you did nothing?”

“Didan’s here?” Jason turned back, obviously shocked.

“Yes, and you can’t tell me you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t. Sabine came to my place one night and told me to get locked down until either she, Thomas Clarkson, or your mother told me to leave.”

“You didn’t question why?”

“I did for hours. Have you ever tried getting a straight answer out of your mother? Well, Sabine Morel is almost as bad.”

“So why didn’t you just leave and check out what’s going on for yourself?”

“Because, I trust Sabine and the other two ex-Red Phoenix agents. And you’re positive Didan’s here?”

She nodded.

“And Bach didn’t know? That’s weird because he’s a Sen-Son. His father should’ve told him.”

“He told me…”

“Huh.”

“Please don’t start about—”

“I get it. Since you’re his Mosroc and he’s a Sen-Son, raised to hate humans. Both your loyalties will be divided in a serious way until someone gives in.”

“You know about the Mosroc?”

“You’ve been sneaking around the clock tower for months. There’s no way someone as arrogant as Bach would do that for anyone, even a Famila. I mean the kid actually redecorated the clock room.” He pointed to his turtleneck, and then pointed at her neck “Plus, I saw the shana on your neck. Very few of us in the Family have them.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to discuss the anatomy of the Famila once we set up the piron net, before Didan gets here.”

“No,” Jason protested.

“I’m not here to argue with you. You’ve got to put up the piron net. They’re coming for you.”

“Once James gets back.” He checked his watch. “I’m not leaving my dog to be butchered. He normally finds his way home. If we set up the piron net he won’t be able to find this place.”

Seriously?
“He got hurt, but he’s with Amanda.”

“How did he get hurt?”

“Some men are attacking the town. Can’t you hear it?”

“No.” Jason placed his hand behind one ear. “This building was built to withstand the Famila forcing their way in. We can’t hear in or out.”

A massive stack of junk crashed down on the other side of the room.

“Someone’s in here,” Jason whispered.

“I thought you said no one could get in here.” She ducked under a table, cramming herself between several old computer monitors.

“Yeah, but this one didn’t come here looking for me. He’s only telling himself that. Hello, Bach of the Third House,” the man remarked in the Family Dialect.

There was some more scuffling, but peeking up from the table, she saw Bach.

Closing her eyes, she considered what to do now. If he’d come to take Jason to the empirics, she wouldn’t let him. She sighed to herself when she saw Alba trailing behind him. This just made Wisteria angrier because the Famila girl always seemed to make Wisteria appear petty and foolish. How was she going to stop two full Famila?

She was still crouched under the table when Bach peered down at her from above.

“You want to get out now?” He held out his hand to her.

Ignoring his gesture, she wiggled past and crawled out unaided. “What are you doing here?”

His eyes darkened as he studied the dark bruises on her face from where Benet and Sammy had hit her. “Who did that to you?”

“You shut up.” Enric charged at her, but Bach stopped him.

“Enric, enough.” Bach’s intense stare remained fixed on Wisteria, but he turned to Jason. “We did not come here for her.”

“He is right, Enric,” Alba concurred. “We should focus on what we are here to do. Apparently, you are the geologist who made the obsidian crystal. Give us the rest of it and the tools you used to make it—”

“Sorry. You and your cousin Felip took the last of it when—”

“He is not my cousin,” Bach smoldered.

“Why would you leave something so valuable unguarded?” Enric inquired. “Did you not know what you had, Terran?”

“It was just an experiment. I didn’t even know the obsidian crystal was growing down there. I gave up that project years ago.” Jason shot Enric a harsh look. “Don’t ever call me Terran. You say human or you call me Jason.”

“Human? That word means nothing,” Enric scoffed.

In seconds, Jason had Enric dangling upside down. Laughing, Jason dropped the boy.

Jumping up, Enric barreled at Jason, but the man easily knocked him back. “Don’t embarrass yourself.”

“It is over, Enric,” Bach said before Enric could react.

“You are a mongrel?” Alba gasped.

“You willingly betrayed your people!” Enric declared.

“Since when do you consider me one of you? I lived in Famila Bridewell for most of my childhood because my father was Terran. My mother was taken from me. You don’t have a clue about betrayal.” Jason’s eyes darkened as he took out a piron nexus and activated it. “Trust me, neither of you have a clue about anything.”

“No!” Bach lunged at Jason to stop him, but the man leaped back with an incredible speed, landing on the other side of the room.

“It’s too late, they already know where we are,” Wisteria called. “The piron net won’t work.”

“Shut up, Terran,” Enric warned her again.

“No, the others haven’t been inside the building, so only these three could bring them. And the renewed human you brought is trapped somewhere in the building,” Jason informed them.

“So are you planning to trap us in here too?” Bach asked.

“My plan is to sit here and wait this out until your people get tired of going around and around, looking for this courthouse. I am guessing they’ll wait five years,” Jason said.

Five years?
Wisteria hoped he was lying, but where were they supposed to go?

“You guys can’t leave until I open the doors, and none of you are strong enough to break my doors down,” Jason continued.

“You cannot keep me here!” Enric roared, marching toward the far doorway, tossing one of the tables aside as he went.

“I will talk to him.” Alba glanced at Bach and moved away.

Wisteria was glad Enric and the other girl were further away. As far as Wisteria was concerned, Alba was dangerous and the fact that Bach brought her meant Wisteria couldn’t trust him either. “So we just wait until Didan leaves?” She walked over to the stone table next to where Jason had landed.

“Wisteria, I can’t tell you what I’m doing,” Jason whispered now that they had some privacy. “You’re bonded to a Famila. Eventually, you’ll tell him.”

“I won’t,” Wisteria promised.

“You need to let her go.” Bach marched up to Jason. “What Didan has in store for you is not going to be pretty, so we should keep Wisteria out of this.”

“You involved her when you brought the empirics. But don’t worry, the only way those people are getting in here is if someone lets them in.” Jason casually drummed his fingers on a stone table. “And I control the doors.”

“
D’cara
!” Enric continued to pound and swear at the door.

“How did you end up here?” Wisteria asked after waiting for almost an hour as Jason tinkered with a small black tile. “I mean really, a half Famila living on this particular island?”

“My mum was a teenager when she learned she was pregnant with me. She came to this realm looking for your father. He helped her find a place to have me, but a lead empiric tracked me down and took me back to what had to be a prison home realm. I didn't see her again until I was ten. Then, she'd been married for five years and had had three children.”

“I’m sorry.” Wisteria could relate to being abandoned by one parent. After her father remarried, he’d made it clear this new family was the priority.

“She’d traded my freedom in exchange for marrying a Sen-Son.”

“That is a lie.”

Wisteria was startled to find Bach standing behind her.

The older man shrugged, completely unconcerned.

“Bach's father? Seriously?” Wisteria couldn't believe it. Right here all this time, Jason, Bach's half-brother. “Did you ever meet your mother's new family?”

“I saw my younger brothers five years ago when my mother tried to run away from the Family. She came to Red Phoenix to find your father, but instead she was trapped in a research facility in RZC and they experimented on her.”

“Were you part of Red Phoenix ?”

“RZC and Red Phoenix hid this from me for over a year. When I did find out they were experimenting on my mother and half-brother, my brother was gone and my mother was dead,” Jason informed them.

“She went to my father for help and he experimented on her.” Feeling suddenly very heavy, Wisteria sat. “Didn’t my mother do anything?”

“Well, it wasn’t that straight forward. Your mother helped me track my brother to a den where I saw the eldest one practically beat a Thayn to death over nothing. I realized then that those were the kind of people I did not need to see again,” Jason explained.

“How did your mother die?” Wisteria asked.

Jason glanced at his half-brother. “You really should be asking Lara. She was the last person to see
our
mother alive.” He opened a book to read.

Bach grabbed the book from him and flung it across the room. “Not our mother, just yours.”

“Coia is our mother. I would’ve told you, but I didn’t recognize you. It wasn't until you both manifested some Mosroc symptoms that I suspected who you were, but I wasn’t sure.”

“There is no Mosroc between us,” Bach declared intensely. “It was a childish aberration.”

She fought to keep a straight face, but his words cut deep. Even though she felt he was right, he didn’t need to throw it in her face.
Wisteria, enough!
Their dying relationship should be the least of her worries right now.

“No Mosroc—What?” Jason scoffed. “Did you two have a fight? Is that why you feel like it’s broken?” The man glanced at Wisteria, and then at Bach. “You'll both get over it. The Mosroc can never be broken, but couples fight, argue, and bicker. At the end of the day, the Mosroc will stand.”

*****

“You do not know what you are talking about,” Bach insisted. Jason wasn’t making any sense. Bach didn’t have a half-brother, especially not a traitorous one like Jason Webb.

“What happened to your father?” Wisteria seemed taken by his fantasy stories. “Was he my...” Awkwardly, her voice trailed off. “Jason, we have spent enough time waiting. We should decide what we are going to do. I can’t wait here with you forever.”