Catch Me When I Fall (36 page)

For hours, I sat with Kayla, holding her hand, until my heart couldn’t take it anymore. I’d felt all sorts of pain over my two hundred years as a Protector—broken bones, pierced organs, my skin melting off. But all of that combined couldn’t compare to the pain in my chest as I watched Kayla’s pale eyelids flutter, wondering if her next breath would be her last.

No one had been able to crack the hard drive we took from Richard’s house. Not even Nolan, who’d spent most of his life in Richard’s coven. By now, he told us, Richard would know that Nolan had betrayed him. Any communication he used to have with the warlock would be cut off, and any attempt at rekindling it would be dangerous for us. He promised he’d try his best to locate Richard’s preferred hideout, but he’d only ever been there as a child, and since then, he’d been out in the field.

Desperation floored me as I watched Kayla. Sitting here was doing her no good. I needed to be out there. I needed to kill Richard. She was not going to die while I could be doing something.

After setting her hand down gently on the bed, I stormed out of Kayla’s room. The others had left me alone with her; they would all be next door. I barreled into the other room, and they jumped to their feet. All except Nolan, who lay on the bed with his eyes closed.

Seth’s eyes widened. “Oh, no—”

“Please tell me you guys have something. I cannot sit here any longer.”

“My coven is ready to fight as soon as we find him,” Trishna said. “What he’s doing to Kayla, playing with her memories, intruding her thoughts, is the last straw. I know I said a war between Magus would be catastrophic, but we’re past that now.”

“Then where is he?”

Bartholomew held up a hand. “Nolan is working on finding him.”

“Well, tell him to hurry up. I’ve about had it with his—”

Nolan sat up and stared at me. “Dude, you’re ruining my mojo.” He flopped back down onto the bed and covered his eyes with his arm.

“Nolan is attempting to go back into his memories and pull out clues as to where Richard used to take him when he was young,” Trishna explained. “It takes a lot of concentration to revisit the parts of the brain you’ve locked away.”

“And how do we know he’s not just stalling so Richard can kill Kayla? He spent how many years with the guy?”

“Thirteen,” Nolan replied with his eyes still closed.

I glared at him. “My point exactly. So he got Kayla and me out of that place? What if that was Richard’s plan all along, and he’s lying on this bed right now,” I gestured toward him, “laughing on the inside because you’re all bloody morons listening to his bullshit.”

Trishna scrunched her nose. “No, his aura’s off. If he was really evil—”

“He doesn’t have to be evil to be manipulating us!”

Nolan sat up. “True. One doesn’t have to be evil to be a good con man. I mean, I could probably give that Frank Abignale guy a run for his money, but does that make me evil? No.”

My fingers twitched, itching to throttle him. I’d had just about enough of his snark.

“Oh, calm down, Daniel, and pick your wedgie. It’s not
you
I’m conning. I’ve been after Richard for years. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to figuring out how I can—”

He stopped dead cold, the color draining from his face. The hair on the back of my neck rose on end.

“Nolan?” Trishna said.

Nolan’s eyes squeezed shut. “It’s Richard. He told me where they are, and he has a message for you. He says, ‘I’m waiting.’” He flipped over his left wrist. A black tattoo in the shape of a “G” was branded into his skin.

ou’re
linked
to him?” Samantha yelled. We all knew the rumors of the Unity spell. Only the most powerful Magus could cast it, but the enchantment gave a coven the ability to communicate solely through their thoughts.

Nolan raised his hands. “I have not been talking to him, I swear. And until now, there’s been radio silence on his end, too.”

Samantha gripped the blade in her belt, but then Trishna grabbed Nolan’s wrist.

Nolan yelped. “God! What the hell was that?”

“You are not of his coven anymore.”

She let go, and Nolan looked at his wrist. The “G” was gone. “
You
can do the spell?”

Trishna lifted her shirt sleeve to reveal a fancy “T” branded inside her own left wrist. “I am the leader of my coven. Tamesis isn’t the only powerful Magus.”

I fought the smirk that wanted to rise on my face. I liked Trishna more and more with each passing day.

Bartholomew stepped forward. “Nolan, where did Richard say to find him?”

Nolan was still rubbing his now-sore wrist. “Columbus, Ohio. There’s an abandoned factory in the bad part of town. It’s one of his better-known hideouts. Has been for a long time. I didn’t think he’d go there.”

My fists clenched. Richard had been watching Kayla for years. “Well then, let’s go.”

Trishna turned to me. “Now, wait. The five of you Catchers against his coven is suicide.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Ivan asked.

“You’re going to need help. My help.” She looked around the room at us, her face tight in contemplation. Then, finally, she spoke. “I’ve never done this before, but the same rules cannot be followed any longer. Seth, hold out your left arm, please.”

He did as she asked. Trishna turned his arm over so his palm was facing up. Realizing what she was about to do, Bartholomew startled. “Trishna, no. They were made Protectors by the Angels. You can’t unite them to you using dark magic.”

“My coven cannot see Nightmares. Richard is going to have them on leashes like pets. Without the help of the Protectors, my coven won’t make it out of there alive. And your kind cannot battle magic the same way we can. We need each other, and we need to be able to communicate. This is the only way.”

Bartholomew’s mouth opened to protest, but I didn’t care anymore if I wound up in Hell. Richard would not win. I stuck my arm out, palm up. “Unite me.”

The room was so quiet, I could hear someone riding their bike twelve stories below. I’d gone over the Keeper’s head, offering up my eternity. I knew enough about Protector history to know I’d be the first one ever to wind up in Hell. Binding yourself to anyone with demonic blood was strictly forbidden. But my stomach didn’t churn. My heart beat steady. My head was clear. If this was the only way to save Kayla, I would gladly pay the price.

To my surprise, Seth spoke before Trishna could cross the room. “Me too. I’m in.” Then Samantha, Ivan, and Lian followed suit. Only Tabbi and Bartholomew stood silent.

Trishna turned back to Seth. “Are you sure?” He nodded once, then Trishna clasped his wrist, speaking in Latin. “
Lunctus nos unum sumos
.” She let go when Seth shouted.

“Man, I was not expectin’ that.”

“Yeah, it’s like a cattle prod,” Nolan said.

Nolan went next—most Magus were bound to a coven leader—and, knowing what to expect, didn’t even flinch.

The rest of my team replied with some sort of “ouch,” and then it was my turn. Trishna looked me straight in the eye, grasping my arm tight, her palm against the inside of my wrist. Again, she spoke the Latin words. Red hot pain exploded into my arm, up my shoulder and into my chest. I clenched my jaw to avoid wincing, and when she let go, I looked down. On my wrist was a brand in the shape of a fancy “T.”

“Until you get used to the feel of sending one person a message, do not attempt to try to communicate to the entire group at once. Doing so will result in a terrible headache and will weaken you. But, you should be able to speak directly to each other.” She turned to Seth. “The magic should have worked through you by now. Try. Send a message to someone. Use only your thoughts, and you must focus on directing it
to
them. Understand?”

Seth nodded before looking directly at me and scrunching his face like he had to take a massive bowel movement. A few seconds later, I heard his voice in my head.

My butt itches
.

I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing.

While the six of us practiced communicating with each other, Trishna and Bartholomew popped in on her coven to prepare them for battle—and to bring some weapons back for me. The last place I’d seen mine was in Richard’s house before he dragged me to his torture facility. By the time they returned, we were all pretty confident we’d be able to communicate during battle.

Trishna passed out long-sleeved black shirts and black pants, spelled to be body armor against magic. Nightmares and weapons could penetrate the fabric—Magus rarely had to worry about such things—but the outfits could take a few hits from the Magus before we’d be injured.

Bartholomew handed me a weapon belt and blades. “The coven is on their way to Columbus. They should be ready to go within the hour. If I were you, I would take a moment to relax and strategize because once you’re in there, your abilities are going to be limited.”

I nodded, but there was no way anyone would be relaxing. Every muscle in my body was tight, and I had an unbearable urge to run or do jumping jacks.
“Within the hour” better mean in the next ten minutes.

Bartholomew grabbed my arm before I could turn away. “And Daniel, be smart. I know you fear for Kayla, but don’t do anything rash. You’re no good to her dead.”

Again, I nodded, not wanting to respond in case my voice gave me away. I wanted to live, to have another day with Kayla, but either Richard was going to die tonight or I was. There’d be no coming back unless I knew Kayla was safe.

I left the room to sit with her until it was time to go. Her face was still ghostly white, and the way they had laid her hands on her stomach already made her look like a corpse. My chest tightened as I sat down. I reached forward and grabbed her cold hand, bringing her fingertips to my lips.

“Hold on just a little longer for me, love. Don’t let go yet,” I whispered.

“You really do love her, don’t you?” Samantha said from the doorway.

I couldn’t reply. My throat was too tight. Instead, I let my newfound gift of telepathy do the talking for me.
You should’ve known that by now
.

Samantha sat next to me. “I’m sorry, Daniel, for what I said back at the mansion. I hope you know—”

It’s all right, Sam.