Chapter Thirty-Five
The rest of Christmas break passed by in a flash. She and Jaxon spent some time together but for the most part it was Bryn and the two Derek’s. Not that there really were two Derek’s, but there was the Derek who talked to her and joked with her like a friend and maybe even flirted with her a tiny bit, and the Derek who was all business. If Jaxon ever found out about the first Derek he would not be pleased.
They decided to continue the tradition of a Welcome Back to School party which they’d started last year. Unfortunately, that meant Bryn and Jaxon were stuck playing hosts again. She was surprised at how touchy-feely he was being when they were in public. As they greeted students, he kept his arm around her shoulders or around her waist. Not that she minded, but she wondered if he had an ulterior motive.
When the last group of students filtered, in, she said, “I declare that it’s snack time.”
“Unfortunately, I believe it’s time to mingle and make useless small talk.”
“Nope. My stomach says food first, then useless social chatter.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “And you know how unreasonable I can be when I’m hungry.”
“Point taken,” he said. “Let’s visit the buffet.”
He stuck close to her as they filled their plates with cheese, crackers, and fruit. When she turned to head over to the table where Clint and Ivy sat, he turned in the opposite direction where his friends were seated.
“Meet back up for useless social chatter in fifteen minutes?” she said.
He paused. “Maybe I should come with you.”
“I appreciate the thought, but I’ll be less than a hundred feet away,” she said. “And my shadow is around here somewhere.” She figured it was best if she didn’t give Derek’s identity away, in case someone was listening.
“I’m painfully aware of that fact,” he said. “I’ll come find you in fifteen.”
Bryn joined her friends and noticed Ivy wasn’t wearing her bracelet. “Did you forget your jewelry tonight?” she asked.
“No, the clasp on the bracelet Clint gave me broke, so it’s at the jewelers being fixed,” Ivy said, like that was the truth rather than the story they’d come up with to throw any Silvers off her trail.
“That’s a bummer.”
“It wasn’t the most expensive bracelet in the world,” Clint said. “It’s not like I have access to Bryn’s grandma’s jewelry vault.”
“No one has jewelry like my grandmother,” Bryn said. “We should sneak in there one day and play dress up.”
“So, half of our senior year is over, and we have half to go,” Clint said, changing the topic.
“It’s funny. Finishing your senior year in the human world means you’ll either get a job or go to a different school for college. It’s weird to me that I’ll be here for college, too.”
“Our way makes more sense,” Clint said. “You can take pre-college courses that lead right into your major, like your Medic classes.”
“True.” Bryn looked around. “That reminds me, I haven’t seen Janelle yet.”
“Maybe she decided not to attend, because honestly, if this wasn’t your thing, I’d be in my room eating pizza in my PJ’s,” Ivy said.
“I understand.” Bryn checked the time. “Jaxon will be over here any minute to sweep me away for exciting small talk.”
“You’re such a lucky girl,” Ivy said.
Bryn checked the table where she expected Jaxon to be. He wasn’t there. A strange uneasy feeling tiptoed down her spine, giving her goose bumps. “You don’t think history could be repeating itself, do you?”
“Let’s go see.” Clint stood.
Bryn made a beeline for Quentin. “Excuse me, not to be rude, but how long has Jaxon been gone this time?”
Quentin narrowed his eyes. “Let’s take a walk and see if he needs our assistance.”
The four of them headed for the restrooms. Clint and Quentin went in and came right back out. “No blood, but no Jaxon either.”
Derek came stalking down the hall. “Bryn what’s wrong?”
“We’ve lost Jaxon,” she said. “This is where he was ambushed before.”
“I saw him head out the dining hall doors a few minutes ago.”
“He better not be using himself as bait,” Bryn said.
“What do you mean?” Derek asked.
“He has something the Silvers want,” Bryn said.
Derek pulled out his cell phone and made a call. “We should stay here. Other guards have been alerted.”
Yeah, that didn’t work for her. “Do you plan to physically restrain me?” Bryn asked. “Because that’s the only way I’m not going to look for him.”
“If it were my choice, yes,” Derek said. “But it’s my job to follow you. So let’s go.”
“Did he say he was going anywhere?” Bryn asked Quentin.
“No. He just excused himself,” Quentin said. “I thought he was going to meet you. Maybe I should return to our table in case he comes back. He could just be running an errand.”
“True. If he shows up go to a guard and have them call me,” Derek said.
Quentin returned to his table while Bryn, Clint, Ivy, and Derek casually walked toward the front door. Bryn’s heart rate ratcheted up a notch as worse-case scenarios played out in her brain.
When they made it down the steps of the dining hall Bryn wasn’t sure where to go. “No sign of him. Did any other guards see him?” Bryn asked.
“No one reported seeing him after he exited the building.”
“Let’s check the Blue dorm and the library.” Bryn shifted. “Derek and I will fly up to my terrace. Clint, Ivy why don’t you check the library?”
“Got it,” Clint said. He and Ivy shifted and took off.
Bryn launched herself into the sky and powered past the treetops. She landed on her terrace in a stumble step because she didn’t have time to gauge a graceful landing. Her terrace window was wide open. That was wrong.
Derek landed beside her.
“I didn’t leave that window up.”
Derek stepped in front of her and entered the hallway. She followed, a ball of fire ready in one hand and ice in the other.
Her bedroom door was open, and her room was trashed. Someone had searched through all her things, tossing clothes and shoes all over the floor. The door to the spare bedroom was open. The mattress was pushed off the bed and the drawers pulled from the dresser.
“What were they looking for?” Derek asked.
“I don’t know.” In the living room, they found the same thing. “Whatever it was I didn’t have it.” She headed out her door to the hallway and ran to Jaxon’s room. She knocked and of course he didn’t answer.
“Step aside,” Derek said. He rammed the door with his shoulder twice, and it splintered down the middle. One more hit and there was a hole big enough for Bryn to climb through. Jaxon’s apartment had suffered the same fate. After a quick check to make sure he wasn’t in any of the rooms, Bryn turned in a circle and threw her arms up in the air. “Now what?”
Jaxon’s phone rang. “That can’t be good.” She picked up the receiver.
Derek came and put his ear next to the phone so he could hear, too.
“Hello, Bryn. This is Adden.”
“Do you have Jaxon?”
“I do. Your friends Clint and Ivy popped by, too. You should come join us.”
Derek stepped away and dialed his phone. Hopefully, he was calling for reinforcements.
“I’m hosting a party right now,” Bryn said. “Maybe I could stop by another time.”
Adden laughed. “Come now. There’s something you should see.”
“I’ve never been fond of surprises. Why don’t you tell me what it is?”
“If you’re not here in five minutes, I’ll drain the life from your friends.”
Bryn slammed the phone down. “We need to move.”
“Other guards have been alerted. They’re converging on the library. We’re staying here.”
“If a psychotic asshat didn’t plan on draining the life from my friends, that might work for me.” Bryn headed for the terrace window.
“We’re supposed to stay here,” Derek objected.
“No. You’re supposed to follow me.” Bryn threw open the window, climbed out, and shifted. He could follow her or not, but he couldn’t keep her from going to her friends. She dove off the terrace, aiming for the library. Derek joined her. They landed on the front steps, shifted back, and entered the building.
Miss Enid stood at her desk. “It seems we’ve been here before,” she said. “Adden is waiting for you in the vaults.”
“Why? I can’t open them any more.”
“We’ve kept them open by stationing guards inside,” Miss Enid said.
“Bad idea,” Bryn growled as she hurried past Miss Enid into the room with the trap door in the floor. She descended the narrow staircase, knowing Derek would follow.
At the landing she saw the doors to the main room were open. Adden stood there with Jaxon, Ivy, and Clint. He was holding her elemental sword. And that annoyed the crap out of her.
“I want my sword back,” she said.
“Then you shouldn’t have given it to me.” He gloated. “Oh, that’s right, you expected me to die. Sorry to disappoint you.”
Jerk. She turned to Jaxon. “What happened to meeting for small talk?”
“Sorry.” Jaxon shrugged. “I stepped out for some air, and Adden suggested I join him in the vaults. He’s such a sparkling conversationalist, I couldn’t refuse.”
Right. She doubted Adden snuck up on Jaxon. This had to be some sort of plan. A plan he’d neglected to tell her about.
“So many jokes,” Adden said. “So little control over your fate.”
“What do you want?” Derek asked.
“Finally, someone who gets straight to the point,” Adden said. “I want the other artifacts. They’re down here somewhere and you’re going to help me find them.”
“What do you want with us?” Bryn asked.
“I required Jaxon’s cuff links.” Adden held up his arm to show he had the cuff links in place on his sleeve ends. “Plus you’re my insurance policy and my bargaining chips. There’s only one way out of these vaults. I’m not going to strand myself without a get-out-of-jail-free card.” Adden pointed at Clint and Ivy. “These two are worthless to me, so if either of you tries anything I’ll drain them in front of you.”
“That’s just rude,” Clint muttered.
“Let’s go,” Adden said.
“Go where?” Bryn asked. “We can’t open the doors without a knight.”
“You can’t open them, but the guards stationed inside can.” He pointed at Derek. “Call them and explain the situation.”
Derek looked to Bryn. “What do you want me to do?”
It’s not like they had much of a choice. “Make the call.”
After a few terse comments on the phone, a door opened. Bryn expected to see the library table and stacks of books like she’d seen months ago. Instead, the room appeared sterile. There were file cabinets and desks crammed into the space, along with microscopes and lab equipment.
“That’s new,” Ivy said.
“What do you mean?” Adden asked.
“Before it was artifact-ey,” Clint said. “Now it’s all science-ey.”
The guard inside the room smirked at them. “Something I can help you with?”
“Where are the artifacts?” Adden asked.
“They’ve been removed for study,” the guard said.
“You’re lying. This is the most secure area. Where are you keeping them?”
“There are other doors,” the guard said. “Perhaps you should try one of them.”
Bryn sidled over to Jaxon. “He’s being awful agreeable.”
Jaxon’s face gave nothing away. “It’s his job to keep us alive. And to some extent, Clint and Ivy.”
“I heard that,” Clint said.
“Just stating a fact,” Jaxon said. “Adden, why don’t you let Clint and Ivy go, the guards aren’t as invested in their wellbeing.”
“But Bryn is,” Adden said. “So stop trying to out maneuver me.”
“Can we just get on with this?” Bryn asked. Maybe they could shove Adden into a room and trap him there.
“Do you want to try another room?” Derek asked.
“If you would be so kind,” Adden said.
A door which was slightly ajar appeared on the back wall.
“What’s in there?” Adden asked Bryn.
“Last time I was here it was a storage room for scrolls and books.”
“You can open the door,” Adden said. “Just in case the guard inside decides he wants to try something.”
Bryn stepped forward and opened the door. This room was all scienc-ey, too. There were microscopes and tables and a row of computers.
“Someone has been redecorating,” Bryn said.
Adden pushed past her. He looked all around the room. “Where are the artifacts?”
The guard inside said, “They pay me to sit here and open the door. I’ve never seen any artifacts unless they’re tiny slices on those slides.” He pointed at the boxes of slides near the microscopes.
“You think you’re so smart,” Adden said. “Where’s the next door?”
Jaxon placed a hand on Bryn’s arm and shook his head.
Suspicion confirmed. He was in on this.
The guard pointed to the right-hand wall. “Back out past the main room.”
“Show me,” Adden said.
Derek led them back past the first guard into the main room and down a hall to a normal door.
“This isn’t what I asked for,” Adden said.
“They store artifacts here. It’s the only way to access them.” Derek pulled out a set of keys and opened the door to a hallway.
Jaxon held Bryn’s arm so she wouldn’t enter behind Derek. “Follow my lead,” he said.
For now, she nodded. Later she’d yell at him.
The hallway had several visible doors. Adden walked to the first door and pulled it open. Inside were display cases with antique swords and daggers.
“That’s more like it.” Adden entered the room. “Come along.”
They shuffled in behind him. The cases resembled the ones that had poison dart defense systems. If a dragon tried to open a case containing artifacts which weren’t for his Clan, the cases would shoot arrows with enough poison to kill him in seconds.
Adden walked over and opened the case. Bryn held her breath and hoped to hear the zing of poison darts. Nothing happened. Damn it.
“Look at this.” Adden held up a ring featuring a giant sapphire. “Probably meant for a Blue.” He slid it on his finger and waited. Nothing happened.
“Just a pretty bauble?” Bryn said.
Adden frowned. He rifled through the case but didn’t find anymore jewelry. He stalked over to the other case. “There must be something here.” He pulled out daggers and swords, carelessly tossing them on the floor. “Aha.” He held up a ruby ring. “Reds don’t wear jewels like this. Only Blues. This must be something.” He put it on his left hand and closed his eyes.
Jaxon yanked Bryn backward out of the room. Clint and Ivy also lunged backward.
“Yes,” Adden said and a dagger of fire shot from his hand. He opened his eyes just as Derek slammed and locked the door.
“That won’t hold for long,” said Bryn.
“This way.” Jaxon tugged Bryn down the hall. Clint and Ivy followed. Derek dashed ahead and unlocked a door. “Inside. Quick.”
The sound of screeching metal was like nails on a chalkboard. Adden was breaking loose.
Derek locked the door with a deadbolt from the inside. They ran down a hall which led to some stairs. Up they went into a room without a door. Derek spoke on his phone and a door appeared on the back wall and swung open. They rushed through to a room with a dozen guards.
No way this was happening by coincidence. “You used yourself as bait and didn’t tell me,” Bryn said.
“I’ll explain later,” Jaxon said. They followed Derek to a real door which he opened with a key. Three of the guards came with them. They were in a stone hallway that tilted up at a mild angle. It reminded Bryn of when they’d walked under the library…forever. She spotted a playing card with the number two on it. “Shit. We’re a long way from the exit.”
“Not really,” Derek said. “But we should probably jog.”
“Nothing like running from a psychopath to make the Welcome Back to School party really special,” Clint said.