Muse (Descended From Myth) (17 page)

Mina hugged her. “Well, not any more. We're going to keep you safe and make sure that we find a real Guardian to watch over for you from now on. We just need your help for a few more hours, okay?”

I glanced over my shoulder to see that the medics were finishing up with Daniel's bandages and having him sign paperwork. I'd have to tell him that this ordeal wasn't over yet, that it was ac
tually about to get much worse.

“I'll be right back,” I murmured to the girls, my eyes lingering on Daniel.

He was climbing out of the back of the ambulance, looking tired but happy. The smile that lit up his face when he saw me walking towards him caused my heart to thump in wild patterns against my ribs. I knew how much he loved his sister, even if he hadn't said it. I could hear it in his voice when he talked about her. He felt as responsible for her as he did for me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't force out the words. Instead, I folded him into a gentle hug, avoiding the
thick bandages on his shoulder.

Daniel kissed my temple and murmured, “Hey,
what's the matter, Sweetheart?”

Maybe Sebastian was lying? Maybe Kaitlyn was safe at home and he was just trying to manipulate me. Hope glimmered in my heart as I mumbled against Daniel's neck, “When did you last talk to your Mom?”

“Talk to my
Mom
? A few days ago I guess. Where did that come from?”

I lifted my head from Daniel's good shoulder so tha
t I could look him in the eyes.

“Sebastian Finn told me that he had his men take Kaitlyn. He said they grabbed her yesterday. I don't know if he was lying or not, but—” I hadn't even finished talking before Daniel was running back across the street towards th
e novices and the waiting cars.

By the time I caught up with him, he'd snatched a cell phone from one of the novices and was punching numbers into the
touch screen with a vengeance.

Everyone stood, completely silent as we listened to the tinny sound of the line ringing. Finally, I could just make out a voice answer when Daniel said, “Mom, is everything okay?”

“Daniel? Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you for hours!” my mom snarled through the phone. We hadn't been on the best of terms since I left, and I'd only spoken to her a few times. Mostly, Kaitlyn had been acting as the mediator. Neither of us have had the nerve to explain the way I felt about Anna to Mom yet.

“There was an emergency I was dealing with, Mom, but it's settled now. I'm checking in with you and Kaitlyn.” I tried to keep my voice even, not to betray the nervous energy c
oursing under my freaking skin.

“That's why I've been trying to call you,” Mom snapped. “Kaitlyn never came home last night. I was hoping she was with you!”

My eyes shot straight to Anna's. I knew from the look on her face that I didn't even have to tell her that our fears had been confirmed.

“She's not with me, Mom. But we'll find her. Tell me everything you know about where she was,” I ordered, my voice surprisingly calm. I couldn't believe Mom hadn't reacted last night when Kaitlyn didn't come home, but this wasn't the time to point fingers. I just needed to find my sister and get her back home saf
ely.

Mom explained that Kat had gone to the library to study with friends and was supposed to be home by 7 last night. When she didn't show, Mom called her cellphone. Kaitlyn answered, explained that she was over at Deirdre's house and had lost track of time. She promised she would be home soon, but never showed. Ever since,
the phone had been turned off.

I asked a few more questions, promised Mom that I would be
in touch shortly, and hung up.

“Where's Finn?” I growled. “We need to ask that son of a bitch some questions!”

Anna and I charged across the street toward the warehouse, dodging squad cars, news vans, and emergency personnel. Mina followed close behind us. Anna's heated Influence kept me calmer than I probably should have been, but I knew that she would get me in wherever we needed to go.

“We'll find her, Daniel. I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to get her back for you,” she
vowed, taking my hand in hers.

I knew that, but the reassurance didn't ease the anger and despair I felt burning in my guts. First Anna, now Kaitlyn. If I didn't have Anna back beside me, I wasn't sure what I'd do. There had been a reason they'd gone after Anna, but Kaitlyn was innocent. She'd only been
placed in danger because of me.

It didn't take us long to find the cluster of medics and police officers around Sebastian Finn. All we had to do was follow the sound of his shrieking and sobbing. He still hadn't snapped out of whatever torment his brain had locked into, and it made me feel a little better to wat
ch him suffer.

Anna's hand tightened on mine, her fingernails digging into the back of my hand as she sucked in a sharp gasp. I'd forgotten that she hadn't seen th
e result of her attack on Finn.

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “I did this?”

Mina spoke before I had a chance. “You were defending yourself and defending Claire. Don't waste your pity on him, Anna. This is better than he deserves. Let's just see if we can pull him out of it enough to question him.”

Mina approached the officers, hips swaying. I felt the slight warmth of her Influence skitter across my skin, a reminder of how very different Anna's power had become. Hers was far more solid, a tangible heat and press
ure that spread out around her.

She was staring at Finn intently, concentrating on his energy and not the
squirming, wailing man himself.

“I don't know if I can do it, Daniel. He doesn't even have any cords any more, they're just withered away. He's severed from everything. I don't think my abilities can fix what I've broken.”

“I think I can,” a timid voice behind us interrupted.

Claire's pink tinged hair veiled her face and her hands shook, but she stepped forward to join us while Mina
kept the officials distracted.

“I can fix mental problems. It's about the only thing my Influence is good for. He wanted me to make him money by forcing treaties and business deals and everything, but all I can do is mend crazy.” Claire shrugged. “Kind of ironic that I might be able to put him back together.”

Claire stepped a little closer, careful to avoid actually touching Finn's trembling limbs and took a slow deep breathe, then placed her fingers on her temples. No one had been teaching this girl how to use her abilities, obviously. Finn should have known better, but maybe his greed had made him forget the most important responsibilities of a Guardian. Claire's Influence was wild, completely uncontrolled and rushed out in short bursts of lukewarm static. She was straining so hard she was going to hurt herself.

“Don't force it so much,” Anna warned, speaking before I had the chance. “Just picture the energy flowing out of you and into his mind. Be specific about what you want it to do. The more you think about it in specifics, the easier it will be to control.”

Claire looked shocked at first, but her posture relaxed as she processed what Anna was telling her to do and tried it. Her Influence flowed a little more steadily, though she was going to need a lot of training in the weeks ahead. We stood quietly, not wanting to distract her as she put the pieces of our enemy's shredded psyche back together.

Finn's trembling and squirming gradually slowed, until he lay still except
for the panting of his breath.

“I'm not putting him back to the way he was. I won't,” Claire calmly stated. “But he'll answer any question you ask him.”

“Thank you, Claire.” I knelt down at Sebastian Finn's head so that I could look into his vacant eyes.

“Now, Finn. It's time for you to tell me where my sister is,” I sneered, knowing there was a
bsolutely no mercy in my voice.

Finn's eyes twitched, and his lips tightened, but no sound escaped them. Impatient, I shoved his shoulder, forcing him onto his back
until he was staring up at me.

“Where. Is. My. Sister?” I spat, inches from his pasty face. “Kaitlyn Lyoncourt. Tell me where you have her now, or you're
really
going to suffer.”

“Foster...has...her,” Finn grunted, as if he barely had the strength to push that much past his clenched teeth.

I didn't care. He’d brought this on himself, and if I had my way, he'd be in much worse shape. He was lucky he was still breathing. “Where is Foster?”

Finn tried to turn his head away, but I slapped a boot against the side of his head, stopping him. “Eyes forward. Answer the damn questions and I'll leave you to them,” I nodded toward the cops. “They'll be a lot gentler than I will be. But if you lie to me, I will come back for you.”

“He's trying to lie,” Claire whispered behind me, “But he can't anymore.”

“Fantastic,” I answered deadpan. “Speak up, Finn. Or I'm going to make you speak up. I'm running out of patience.”

“Club. Over...over the club,” he hissed through his perfectly straight teeth.

Over the club? There had to be thousands of clubs in Chicago alone, and my sister had been taken from our suburb outside DC.

“Which club?” I demanded. “Where?”

Finn's eyes rolled back in his head, showing only the whites. I lashed out with my boot, cuffing
him in the temple and swearing.

“Claire, wake him back up! What the hell?”

“She can't, Daniel; he's fighting the changes too hard. When he comes to, they'll be stronger and he'll have to answer, but in the meantime we'll need to find someone else who can give us answers.” Anna put her hand on my bicep, pulling me away from Finn's limp form.

Mina backed away with the rest of us, as I stomped back out of the warehouse towards the cars. I knew I had one more person who might know the names of Finn's minions. I just had to hope he was sober enough to answer my questions.

Stefan pulled Mina's Watcher out of the back of the SUV by his hair. “He hasn't shut up since we got here so he ought to be able to answer some questions,” he complained over Marcus' whining and wailing.

“Do you know who Foster is?” I asked Marcus as
Stefan pulled him back upright.

“It's Australian for beer,” Marcus smirked, looking pleased with himself until Stefan's fist connected wit
h the right edge of that smirk.

“I've had enough of your mouth,” Stefan threatened. “I suggest you start answering his questions before I knock your ass out.” I was really starting to like this kid! I grunted my approval, too busy gla
ring at Marcus to do much more.

“Right, so? Who and where is Foster?”

“You think you're soooo damn shmart, 'doncha, Lyoncourt?” he slurred, watching for Stefan's fist. “Well, if you were, then you woulda figured out that you've already been there. Shee?”

I've already been there? What? It hit me with the force of a Mack truck. The nightclub, the apartment building where we found Marcus! I'd been within feet of my little sister and never even knew it. Guilt rushed through me. I had put Anna before my family, just like my Mom said I would. I just hadn't known I was doing it at the time. Would I have made the same decision if I'd known? Could I have chosen between Anna and Kaitlyn? Thank God, I didn't have to wrestle with that now. I just had to get her back sa
fely, no matter what that took.

“Everybody, load up now! I know where we're going. Watch your head, Marcus,” I warned, knocking his head with the tailgate as
I shoved him back into the SUV.

Anna and I piled into the SUV, while Gabriel drove. Stefan drove Mina and Claire in the car so they wouldn't have to deal with Marcus, while the rest of his crew split up between the two vehicles
.

Anna launched into an explanation of what all she'd learned from Finn, while I mentally prepare
d myself for finding my sister.

“Sebastian Finn had been approached by a company who wanted my mother and father to help force a business deal through. He was pressuring them to do it, but they refused. Then he started to make threats. Lucius heard about it, and was going to take them to you so they could get help from the Guardians. Sebastian had already tampered with the car when they left. It was never really an accident. He killed my parents and they were just the first. He's been threatening the friends and relatives of every Talent he can get to and forcing them to do jobs for him. Some of the Guardians are even in on it! Like Mina, her Watcher actually brings her here!” Anna explained breathlessly. She'd been holding all of that in for a while. I could actually see her relax as the information left her lips. She'd have some degree of peace, knowing what happened to her parents at least.

Gabriel listened, growing more and more agitated as she went on. “We do have Marcus, and he won't be going anywhere until he faces disciplinary action. He'll never be a Guardian after tonight. We'll have to re- evaluate every Guardian and see what can be done to protect the Talents who have been threatened. I hope you and Daniel will assist in the investigation. I'm afraid that I have missed too much as Grand Master. It may be time for a new leader to step in.”

“I don't think that you need to step down, as long as you're willing to make changes. I suggest that you re-think the way you recruit Guardians in the first place. Daniel said that the responsibility has been handed down, father to son over the years and that there just aren't enough willing descendants any more. It's time to expand your options. Maybe you can recruit from outside, or maybe you should consider opening the opportunity to women. I see no reason why women couldn't be Guardians and Watchers. They would certainly blend in to certain situations a lot easi
er.”

Kaitlyn would be thrilled if that happened, if she was actually allowed to train to be a Guardian. She'd always been fascinated by the swords and throwing knives especially. But, the whole conversation was really kind of pissing me off.  It was as if we weren't speeding on our way to anything more important than brunch.

Gabriel glanced at me, testing the idea. “Traditions are important, but the world has changed a bit in the last 2000 years. We Guardians are slow to change, but we must when it is necessary in order to fulfill our purpose. Perhaps we can explore those and many other ideas.”

“Perhaps we can worry about this when my sister's
life
isn't in danger?”

Anna grabbed my good shoulder around the seat. “She's going to be fine. I don't know
how
I know exactly, but I do.”

“I hope to hell you're right, because we're here. Stay in the car with Gabriel, please? I'll just be distracted if I have to keep you safe, too.” I smashed a rough kiss to her lips before she could argue, and jumped out of the car before Gabriel had even parked. I couldn't handle worrying about Kaitlyn and Anna at the same time and still conce
ntrate on the possible dangers.

“Stefan, let's go. Two of
you stay with Gabriel. The rest come with us,” I ordered the novices over my shoulder.

Finn had said that Kat was somewhere over the nightclub, but should we check it first? I hated to leave any stone unturned afte
r my colossal screw up earlier.