Beyond (40 page)

“
We ’
ll talk later. We need to help our friends, ”
Michael said , caressing her cheeks with such tenderness in his eyes , she could have just melt ed into them.

“
Don ’
t leave my sight, ”
Austin demanded, and pulled Claudia behind him.

“
Wait.
”
She grabbed Austin ’
s arm.

Austin winced.
A single stream of blood ran down his arm.

“
You ’
re hurt.
”

“
It ’
s nothing. It ’
ll heal.
”

“
He kidnapped Patty and ti ed her up. She ’
s unconscious. I—”

“
Don ’
t worry. I know where she is, ”
he said, leading them out carefully.

The few demons that
had survived escaped , and there was no sign of Callum or Avalon.

“
Well…there you three are. What were you doing , h aving a party back there ?”
Holly snuff ed .

“
Sorry, ”
Austin said.
“
But hey…you ’
re all in one piece.
”
He gave a sorry grin.
“
Don ’
t tell me you let Callum and Avalon escape?
”

Holly
thr ew her hands up in the air.
“
Let ’
s see…hmmm…we were busy fighting demons. You three were back there making out.
”

Austin
narrow ed his brows with a n “
are you serious ”
look and t ook off, search ing for Patty.

“
What?
”
Davin snapped out of his thoughts, laughing out loud from Holly ’
s words, then bec am e stoic, changing the subject.
“
Callum took her. Avalon is innocent.
”
She had to be. He couldn ’
t have a crush on a traitor ; that would be horrific.

“
I don ’
t think so, Davin, ”
Gracie said softly.

“
Have you not heard her words?
”
Davin snapped.

“
Callum is her father. Did you not hear his words?
”
Michelle fired back.
“
I knew something was suspicious about her. She was way too calm and observant.
”

“
How does that define a person? You mean to tell me you ’
re never calm and observant?
”
Davin retorted.

“
You ever see me calm and observant?
”

“
Well , that explains everything then.
”
Davin rolled his eyes.
“
I think you ’
re wrong. He took her without her permission. Did anyone see?
”

“
Again, the princess, the frog and the toad were too busy to see anything . Let ’
s get out of here. We need to report back to Katherine ,” Holly said.

“
Michael is the frog…right?
”
Davin said.
“
Because there ’
s no way he ’
s the ugly toad.
”
Then he changed the subject.
“
We need to find Avalon. She is part of this team. If it were Austin, you would go to the ends to find him.
”

Caleb and Vivian stepped
forward.
“
We ’
ll go with you.
”

“
So will I, ”
Michael said.

“
Me too, ”
Claudia said, feeling extremely relie ved seeing Austin holding Pa tty safely in his arms . She was still unconscious. Claudia was flabbergasted th at Callum brought her t here , an d tried to take her life. Recalling when she visited Patty for the second time, she had felt an unknown presence and now guess ed it might have been Callum lurking nearby, watching her steps. Why wasn ’
t she more careful? She was utterly mad at herself for thinking of her selfish needs when she should have be en more careful of the people she cared about. Then it occurred to her. She now understood why venator ’
s memories o f their loved ones were erased—to keep them safe. Claudia looked at Austin , waiting for his answer.

“
Alright, ”
Austin roll ed his eyes, unable to say no to Claudia ’
s pleading look.
“
We all go.
”

“
What?
”
Holly scoff ed .
“
Fine. But we need back up because the next time we see him, he will be mad as hell , a nd no fire or ice will st op him. Something evil is inside him. I t makes my skin crawl with horr or . You saw his face, heard his tone. He ’
s not the Callum we know.
Delilah , Conn o r, you two take Patty to her house and inform Katherine we need the watchers .
It ’
s a shame. Look what happened. I can ’
t even enjoy the beauty of this place. There are black burnt spots everywhere from the demons. Now…can we get the heck out of here?
”

Claudia waited for Austin to pass Patty to Conn
o r ’
s arm s and spoke.
“
Please be careful. She won ’
t remember today , will she?
”

“
No, she won ’
t, ”
Austin said .
“
I’ve taken care of it.
”

“
Thank you, ”
Claudia said.
“
Could we go somewhere first?
”

“
W
here?
”
Austin asked.

Claudia had been waiting for this opportunity
.
“
To my place. Not to Isl and of Eden …t o my human house where I used to live.
”

Chapter
2
6

Claudia
’
s room was too small to have all those bodies in there. Austin, Michelle, Grace and Holly sat on the edge of her bed, while the alkins stood by the window. They waited patiently , wondering how Claudia knew of this place and what questions she would ask.

Claudia
pace d back and fort h with her hands clasped together.
She wasn ’
t sure how to begin her speech without sounding accusatory. Rubbing her hands together, she thought of ways to begin, but she couldn ’
t think. All eyes set heavily on her , making her fe el uncomforta ble. Warmth flushed her cheeks .
H
er heart hammer ed out of control . She just needed to spit it out. Final ly, she stopped and stood still , ready to make her speech.

“
I asked you to come here because I need answers. Austin told me I ha ve selective amnesia , which is the reason why I can ’
t remember. The good part is that I ’
m starting to remember, but it ’
s like pieces of a puzzle, scattered.
I f I c ould fit them together then these flash backs would make sense. I ’
m not pointing any fingers because I don ’
t know what happened, but something tells me you are a ll hiding the answers from me.

“
Callum told me he could help me remember my past if I ate the apple . Now I know for sure he wasn ’
t trying to help me, he was using me .
Desperately wanting my memories back has only brought d istrust and pain. So please tell me what you know , so I can go on with my life. Either way, I ’
m going to find out sooner or later. If you are truly my friends, then you will set me free.
”

Dead silence filled the room unt
il Michelle and Gracie stood up and pointed their fingers at Michael .
“
He did it.
”

Davin
, who was leaning against the desk, raised his brows in discontent .
“
Good one girls.
Great way to explain.
”
He turned to Claudia , looking apologetic.
“
It was out of our hands. The Twelve wanted you to forget your past so you could move on as a venator. We are so sorry that we kept this from you.
”
His tone was soft and sincere.

Claudia swore to herself she w
ouldn ’
t shed a tear, but tears welled up anyway. She couldn ’
t help her emotions , as it was difficult to believe what Dav i n was saying .
Her heart hurt so much . She could feel it breaking, crumbling with every breath of Davin ’
s words.
“
You all knew , yet you stood in front of me, pretending that nothing was wrong?
”

The room was filled with silence
again . Their heads were down, unable to look her in her eyes. Uncontrollable tears stream ed down Claudia ’
s face.
“
Yo u all pretended to be my friend s …
feeling sorry for me as if I was this stupid angel who would never ask questions or wonder about my past and who I really am. I can ’
t believe Katherine agreed to this .”

Michael reached for her.
“
Claudia, this is not t heir fault. This is my doing. I—”

She didn
’
t let him finish. Astounded by his word s , she pierce d his eyes with hers in confusion.
“
What do you mean?
”

“
All of you go back to Nubilus City . I need to talk to Claudia alone.
”
He turned to Davin.
“
Give me some time. I promise we ’
ll help you find Avalon. We need to stick together on this. Wait for me…okay?
”

Davin gave Michael
an unsure look. His eyes darted with panic.

“
I promise, ”
Michael affirmed and gripped Davin ’
s shoulders.
“
We can ’
t just walk into a trap.
”

With a confirm
ing nod from Davin, they left , leaving behind Michael and Claudia in the room.