No Peace for the Damned (25 page)

“Wait a second,” Jon interrupted. “How the hell do you know all this? Are you sure about the other hostages, because right now just Sasser, Thirteen, and Banks are expected to be—”

“I can hear them,” I said impatiently.

“You sure you didn’t know all this ahead of time?” Shane asked through clenched teeth.

My hands fisted. The world flashed red, but only for an instant. My control was resolute. “We are
here
. We are about to go over that fucking wall. If you people don’t believe in me by now then just
go the fuck home
. I’ll do this myself!”

Jon stepped between us, his arms outstretched as if to hold us back. I bit my tongue at the irony: wasn’t it Thirteen who had jumped between
Jon
and me, in that very same position, just a couple of days ago?

“That’s enough!” Jon yelled. Theo had his gun gripped in both hands, but pointed it at the ground in front of him. “We cannot get over that wall and to our captured teammates without Magnolia’s
help, Shane. So either get on board with the plan or return to HQ with Chang.” Then he turned to me. “Magnolia…hell, we may never completely trust you. That’s just the way it is, so get over it. But right now, for this mission, we have no choice but to get your back. And we
will
trust you to get Thirteen out of there safe and alive.”

He looked back and forth between us. “Now everyone calm the fuck down and get your game faces on. We’ve got work to do. Magnolia, you said there are seven guards in the barn. Any of them your relatives?”

“One is, but I can’t make out who it is. Whoever he is, he’s strong. I can get inside his head, but I’d rather wait until we’re over the wall.”
When the temptation to haul ass out of here will be less distracting
.

“Will he sense you,” Jon asked, “like the senator did back in his office?”

“Once I get close enough to the barn, yes. He’ll be able to sense a supernatural presence, but he won’t know it’s me.”

Worry flashed through Theo’s mind, but it was gone just as fast.

“You’re not going to see me once we reach the barn,” I continued. “I’ll be invisible and will stay that way until I have Thirteen. You three worry about the other captives.”

“Once we have the members,” Theo said, “we’ll head south back toward the wall.”

Jon added, “We’ll rendezvous back here. If we need backup, Chang will be ready to make the call.” He stood straighter, a new gleam in his eye. “Things go well, and the Kelch family will have a better appreciation for the abilities of the Network.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just do what we can to get Thirteen and the others and try not to get killed in the process. OK?”

We each exchanged glances. All three cocked their guns. And we were off.

All three guys were solid masculine specimens of training and muscle. Still, they were no match for my speed and strength. I had to practically walk for them to keep pace. Who knew working with a team would be so
frustrating
. And even worse was their noise. Did they
try
to step on every twig on the freaking planet?

You’re just irritated to be back here. Stay focused
.

We approached the wall. I stopped several feet inside the tree line. I wanted the cameras to be on the out-turn, just to be safe. When the lens began its rotation away from our position, I stretched out my power and concealed all four of us.

They were quicker than I expected. We were over the wall and safe inside the opposite tree line in under a minute. I pulled back our invisible cover. They looked ready, capable. I put a finger to my lips and listened. No security breach had been detected. We moved again, quicker this time.

A few minutes later we neared a clearing and I pulled up short. I listened again. There was no time to take in individual thoughts, but from what I could tell, all four hostages were still alive. At least for now.

Nausea stirred in my gut. One of my relatives was in that barn. I could feel him. But which one? And where were the others? Steeling my resolve, I took a deep breath and scanned the rest of the estate. Father’s study was empty. So was his master suite. The library, the interrogation rooms, the dining halls—all empty. I reached out farther, focusing just on the remembered sensation of Father’s energy. Across the gardens, into every building on the estate, there was nothing.

Relief washed over me, nearly buckling my knees.
Thank God!
My father wasn’t home. I hadn’t realized how worried I’d been about facing him again. But now, knowing he wouldn’t be a factor, I was practically giddy. I lifted my face to the sky. Rain had started to drizzle but I didn’t care. Anything was possible now.

I listened again. Uncle Max was at his desk in the main house. He talked on the phone—an overseas call with someone in Africa. I could hear the translation device speaking in that pleasant robotic voice.

My father and Uncle Max are occupied. That means it’s either Markus or Malcolm with the hostages
.

I spoke to all three of my teammates’ minds simultaneously. One of them flinched. I didn’t care. My father wasn’t here. Uncle Max wasn’t in that barn. Taking out one of my brothers would be nothing. In fact, I didn’t even bother finding out which brother it was. I just started moving again.

“What about Mallroy?” Jon whispered. This time
I
flinched. How could I have never noticed how loud these people were?

Mallroy is a nonfactor
.

“But—” Jon started again. A severe glare cast over my shoulder cut off his words. Uncle Mallroy wasn’t an organizer. They knew that. He rarely ever took part in his brothers’ plans. It would be a wasted effort to focus on him now.

The barn is on the other side of the clearing up ahead. The north side door will be closest to the back storage rooms where the hostages are being held. I can mask your appearance to the guards until you are in position. I’ll be upstairs getting Thirteen
.

I paused a moment and looked at each of them. All their training, all my preparation. They were still no match for my family’s powers. Not even my brothers’.

I’m going to mask my appearance early. Be ready for a fight. A hard one. And please—please remember what I showed you about the illusions. My brothers’ powers aren’t as strong as Father’s or Uncle Max’s, so if you’re ready for them, they shouldn’t be a problem
.

From beside me Theo lifted his hand, reaching out as if to touch my arm. Instantly I vanished. All three of them sucked in a breath.

“Let’s go.” I said.

…

I guided them with my thoughts. We crossed the clearing to the broad side of the barn. The last time I had been here, I’d eavesdropped on my father and uncles. Everything looked the same, except that the maintenance crew had replaced the wide swinging doors with an automatic garage door.

One guard—Allen the Asshole—stood at the front of the barn, so we moved against the wall to the opposite end. The camera that monitored the north door, a regular wooden door,
had been disconnected; its cut wires dangled from the top of the doorframe. Had my brother done that?

No one will be able to see you, but it’s good to know that the monitor is out of commission
.

“Wait,” Shane whispered.

Shhh!
I yelled in their minds.
Just think it and I’ll hear it. If you want me to tell everyone I’ll relay it, but you’ve got to shut up!

Fine
, Shane thought at me.
Should we wait for you and Thirteen to cross the wall or just meet you back at the Jeep?

I turned and looked at Shane. His features were tight. He couldn’t see me but he was turned in the right direction to face me. God, he really did care about me.

Thirteen won’t be invisible
, I told them
. Once you’re in place I’ll pull back my power. Everyone will be able to see you. I’ll keep Thirteen safe. As soon you see him, follow his lead. This way the Network will be the responsible rescue party. Secure itself as a viable threat to the family. Once you’re over the wall you are outside of Kelch property lines. You can take the hostages to the police, or a safe house, or whatever you guys do with Network witnesses
.

We’ve never had witnesses before
, Jon responded
. Not against the Kelches. No one’s ever survived a Kelch capture before. God, if we can save the witnesses, we could really take out the family. Destroy them. The Network lawyers could…

Whatever!
I said.
Let’s just stay on track here
.

Thunder crashed in the distance. A good storm would mask our escape. A great storm would knock out the power. I’d just keep my fingers crossed.

OK
, I told them,
this is it. On the other side of the door is a tall partition that leads to the left and ends at the storage rooms. The rooms are small, like closets. There are three guards posted outside. I can keep you invisible until I find Thirteen upstairs. Get in place as quickly as possible and be ready for your cover to drop. The stairs
are just to the right of the door. That’s where you need to watch for Thirteen. Are you guys ready?

All three thought
Ready
at the same time.

My powers heightened in anticipation. Each man vanished before my eyes. We were all invisible again. I turned back to the barn and went to the door.

Theo was at my back; I could sense it. I welcomed the calm his nearness provided right now. My powers shimmered, anxious to use this new level of energy inside me.
Here we go
.

With a deep breath, I pulled on the door’s long metal handle. It opened easily. I moved quickly along the inside wall, leaving room for the others to enter behind me. The guards at the end of the hall jumped to attention. To them the bolted door must have seemed haunted—opening and closing all on its own.

“Who’s there?” a tall guard called out. He stood in a ready fight stance, his hand moving for his gun. The two behind him mirrored the move. They wore solid-colored wife-beaters and baggy jeans as if they were a uniform. Like wannabe gangsters with white trash roots. Father must be hurting to find decent guards if he’d lowered himself to hire these guys.

“Sir? Is that you?” the same guard called out.

Whoa—what?
These new guys knew the family’s supernatural secret? How? Most staff had to be employed for at least a year before being exposed to the Kelch “otherness.” Something wasn’t right here. Someone brushed against me. Theo, Jon, and Shane made their way down the partitioned hall. I took a step to follow them, then stopped.

No. This was their fight, not mine. They could handle themselves.

I turned my thoughts back to Thirteen and sprinted the short distance to the rusted staircase. All the bolts were so rusted out
that it barely hung from its joints on the second floor. I flew up the stair on tiptoes, hoping not to collapse the whole thing.

The narrow second-story loft stretched the length of the barn. The ceiling angled with the roof and had more cobwebs than secure nails. Slowly, I inched over the plywood floor. The stall-turned-room was at the far end.

Thirteen’s thoughts were weak but alive. His guard’s thoughts made me frown. Something about that guard…

A stroke of my brother’s energy hit me from across the barn. I froze midstep. My stomach dropped.
Markus
. His voice echoed through the rafters from the barn below.

“…big one will give,” he said to a guard. “We just need to find the right pressure point.”

My confidence wavered. The pain, the hatred—he wasn’t as bad as my father, not by a long shot, but he was still part of my life here. I closed my eyes and focused. His voice was barely recognizable. I knew it was him, felt it in my bones. But he sounded deeper, scratchy. Like he had a sore throat.

That was weird. None of us
ever
got sick
.

Whatever. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was downstairs. Not in the room ahead of me. I crept through the loft toward the open doorway. An enormous masculine shadow passed by the doorway. A clang quickly followed.

“We both know that you’ll give up
l’annuaire
eventually,” the guard growled. “Might as well make it easy on yourself.”

My heart leaped into my throat. I recognized that guard now.
Shit
.