Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The room snaps back into motion the instant the Ripper is out of sight.

Antonio drops down to his feet, holding his head.

“What happened?” he mutters.

“You hit your head on the bathroom stall,” I say. “And you haven’t even had your drink yet. I didn’t realize you were such a lightweight,” I tease.

I scan the floor, but the drones are gone, absorbed by the shadows.

Nick rushes up. “Dude, where were you?” He wraps his arms around Antonio’s waist.

Antonio laughs and assures him he’s fine, just a bump to the head.

“This is like the totally weirdest night,” Nick says. “I could swear Lucas flipped our table for some reason.”

“Yeah and you may have had too much vodka,” I laugh. My head still buzzes with magic and it takes every bit of concentration to keep up a natural appearance.

Lucas isn’t doing quite as well. Thankfully, he’s remembered to stash his weapons, but he refuses to look at any of us. We need to get out of here so he can explain what the hell I just saw and I can figure out what I want to do. When I told the Ripper I needed to think, I wasn’t lying.

“I’m sorry,” I explain to Nick and Antonio, “but my crazy aunts woke me up at the crack of dawn and I’m totally beat. You guys OK with calling it a night?”

They exchange a look that says alone time is in their future.

“No worries,” Antonio says.

“Fine with me,” Nick adds.

We shrug into our coats and, under the angry, watchful eye of the bartender, pick up the table and the destroyed glassware, and head for the door.

Outside, Nick examines Antonio’s forehead and decides they should go back to his place to “play video games and chill.” And whatever else the night brings. Good for them.

I, in the meantime, have an interrogation to conduct, a fact not lost on Lucas who hangs a few yards behind away from us.

“You sure you’re OK with him?” Nick asks.

I squint at him menacingly. “Are you suggesting I can’t take care of myself?”

Nick laughs. “He’s the one I’m worried about.”

“No worries. We’ll all survive. You guys have a great night.”

“I’ll text you tomorrow,” Nick yells to me. He takes Antonio’s hand and disappears into the Saturday night crowd.

Lucas starts walking back toward the shop, but slowly, knowing I’m going to catch up.

What do I say to him? The scene I just witnessed was obviously the most devastating of his career - of his life. Is it enough to say I’m sorry? There is no consolation for a thing like that. And then there is the Ripper’s suggestion that Lucas is not exactly Watcher material. Does it matter? Have I really been relying on him for anything more than information and a body to have by my side?

“Hey,” I call to him.

He pauses but doesn’t look back.

I reach out and take his hand. Every muscle in his body stiffens, but he closes his fingers over mine and slows his pace.

“I…” Here we go. “I’m sorry about that,” I say. “I know that must have been terrible for you.”

He snorts. “For me? I would say it was terrible for her, no?”

“Of course. I just...I meant I’m sorry I intruded on your memory. He obviously wanted to make a point. I shouldn’t have let him play me like that.”

“There is nothing in that scenario,” Lucas says, looking into the distance, “that was your fault, so don’t apologize.” He lets out a harsh breath. “Now, at least, you know who you’re with.”

“Lucas. Stop.” I yank on his hand and pull him to a halt. “Look at me,” I command.

He isn’t happy about it, but he does, his gray eyes running over the scene again and again as he must have a million times before tonight.

“I know there’s more to this than I saw. We’re going inside. We’re going to make tea. And you’re going to tell me what happened.”

“She got killed, that’s what happened,” he spews.

I put my fingers on his lips.

“Not here. Not now. And not without tea. It is our way.” I take his hand again. “Come on.”

We walk the last few blocks in silence and climb the apartment stairs. The house is completely still, only the hum of the refrigerator and the protection spells breaking the silence. Lucas sure as hell isn’t talking.

I suppose letting your one and only responsibility get slaughtered is a tough thing to get over. It’s also hard to believe that someone who seems as capable as Lucas could let a thing like that happen. I frown down at the tea mugs. Maybe he’s not as good at his job as I give him credit for. I might have been distracted by the weapons and his size and his serious expression. I did nearly kill him myself and I don’t have any idea what I’m doing. Somehow I don’t think it should have been that easy. Which begs the question, why would the aunts send him my way if they knew he wasn’t much use? It’s hard to believe they want to get rid of me, but who knows what goes through anyone’s head - especially when it comes to power?

Once the tea is secured, I lead him to my bedroom and shut the door. The steam heat clangs against the pipes and it’s about a million degrees. I tug my sweatshirt over my head and toss it on the desk chair.

Lucas stands awkwardly sweating, still doing everything in his power to avoid me in this small space.

“Sit,” I order him.

He looks around the room.

“On the bed is fine. Just take off your boots.”

He does, sinking down on the mattress. I shove a mug at him.

“Drink,” I tell him.

He does.

“I’m sorry I saw that.” One of us needs to get talking.

“I’m sure you are,” he answers.

I grunt. “Sorry because it was a personal thing and I had no business sticking my nose into your memories.”

“It would have been foolish of you not to take him up on his offer. It was self-preservation on your part.”

“I don’t know about that. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe I was being nosey. But yes, I’m sure that part of it was that he told me to and I figured he was showing me for a reason. I don’t aim to get killed anytime soon and that seemed somehow related.”

He nods and swallows a mouthful of tea. “I assume you want to know what happened.”

I do, but it seems a little cruel to make him live it over again.

“If you don’t want to tell me…” I offer.

Lucas finally looks over at me, his eyes full of resignation. “I don’t, but it seems like I should.”

“Who was she?”

He leans his head back against the metal frame at the foot of the bed, telling his story to the ceiling.

“She was my last Seeker, Aisling. Like you, she was powerful, beautiful, smart.”

The compliments aren’t lost on me, but I know that’s not the point of this conversation. I store them away for later consideration.

“You were close then?”

He laughs, a short, bitter sound. “She hated me.”

“But you were bound?”

He nods.

“That must have been fun.”

He shrugs. “The feeling was mutual. But I respected her and her skill. Like I said, she was powerful, extraordinarily so, but she was also cold and self-centered. Not the kind of person to whom such great magic should be entrusted.”

He closes his eyes and after a minute or two of silence, I start to wonder if he hasn’t fallen asleep.

“So what happened, you know, there?”

“The Rippers offered her a deal similar to the one they just offered you: work together and magnify their power. She could reign supreme, a queen. It was exactly the kind of thing to appeal to her pride. Except it wasn’t enough. The two of us infiltrated their central location. She told me we were going in order to make the deal.”

“You were OK with that?” I can’t imagine Lucas letting me team up with murderous monsters.

“Of course not. But I am a Watcher. I do that, I watch. I am a sort of bodyguard, cleaning up messes and keeping my Seeker out of trouble but, ultimately, I have no magical power of my own. Short of killing her, I couldn’t have stopped her.”

Killing her. Is that a thing?

“I’m forbidden,” Lucas answers my unasked question. “But yes, if it had been in my power, I would have killed her. Like I said, she was not a good person. In fact, she was a few years experience away from being as evil as a Ripper. To allow her to roam free would have been incredibly dangerous to the other Seekers. I’d already glimpsed a growing desire to eliminate any Seekers who could stand in the way of her wishes. That, however, was a thing to be dealt with by others. I would have protected her to the end. I would have given my life to keep her safe. But my protection was not something she wanted.”

“She cut out on you?”

“She escaped me.” Lucas sits up to face me. His expression makes it clear that what he’s about to say next is something I should listen to very, very carefully.

“There are ways,” he continues. “They are not easy and I will not tell you the details. I will only beg you, once again, to never, ever try to escape me. I’m sure that you heard some things tonight that seem tempting,” he doesn’t wait for me to confirm or deny, “but let me assure you that every option the Rippers offer you will end the same way: with you dead. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually, when you are no longer useful to them or they fear you are becoming a liability. And in the event that that is not a strong enough deterrent for you, let me assure you that they will eliminate anyone you care for - your friends, your family - everyone. The Rippers won’t risk your loved ones being able to turn you against them.”

His story is tragic, but less surprising than I would have thought. Power is a difficult thing to resist, especially when you’ve been kept in the dark forever and haven’t had a chance to figure out how you feel about it. Most of all, it is a tremendous temptation to someone who feels like she’s been putting up with a never-ending stream of other people’s bullshit for as long as she can remember. So maybe the Rippers are all talk, but maybe it’s just what a person wants to hear.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Lucas laughs. “Another one? Haven’t you heard enough?”

“It’s just...I mean, you seemed very broken up about what happened. If you didn’t like her…” I suddenly sound very much like a teenage girl. Embarrassment colors my face.

“You want to know if I cared for her. No. Not anymore than I would most people. As I said, she was not a good person. And she did hate me. That’s rather off putting.”

I make a small noise of assent, not wanting to continue down this path.

Lucas has other ideas.

“You however…” I look over at the change in his tone and he gazes back steadily. “You are not her,” he ends.

I pull my eyebrows together afraid that it seems like I’ve been asking him to for compliments.

“And I would very, very much like it if you stayed alive,” he adds.

My stomach twists and I am pleased in a most revolting manner.

“So no escaping?”

Lucas reaches over to where my hand is resting on the mattress. He lifts my fingers and squeezes. “I do not,” he frowns and stalls. “I don’t think I would wish to survive if such a thing were to occur again - not with you.”

For once, snarky comments elude me.

“Right,” I say instead. “So I think we need to go to sleep. I mean, I need to sleep. I don’t know what you do. Do you sleep?” I ramble on.

“Of course. I am human.” He smirks. “Mostly.”

“OK, then.”

He raises his eyebrows awaiting further instructions. And while I should probably just send him off to the couch honestly, the idea of Miranda’s reaction is so priceless that I make up my mind.

“Just stay here, Watcher. And when we wake up, we can figure out our next move.”

Lucas rakes a hand through his hair. “That doesn’t sound like a very good idea.”

“I promise I won’t attack you. Go to sleep.”

He nods and walks around to the other side of the bed, pausing to take off his sweater and unstrap the weapons. Likewise, I lay Gae Buide on the bookshelf beside the bed next to last season’s cross country trophies. I click off the light and slide down onto the pillow.

My mind buzzes with leftover magic and the memory of the horrifying vision I witnessed. That body on the floor, with the same curling black hair and fair skin as my own, could easily have been me. It would be almost natural to be taken in by the Ripper’s offer, but I’m not as stupid as I like to pretend. Why would they share my power with them when they could just take it? The image of the puddle of blood slowly spreading out across the floor makes me shudder. That cannot be me. It will not be me.

My distress, exhaustion, and confusion stretch out across the bond between me and my Watcher. He stirs in his sleep and reaches out, drawing me back against his chest. He leaves his around my side and I let him sleep, let him believe that, in the end, he will be able to save me.