Penumbra (The Midnight Society #2) (30 page)

She nodded as she gently brushed the side of my cheek with her index finger.

“Then consider the bitch as good as dead,” Isadora said.

Beau knelt down and made the sign of the cross over his own body, while looking at Delilah’s face. Her eyes were still open, a look of shock engraved into them. He reached out and closed them.

“Godspeed, sweetheart. Find heaven soon,” he whispered, just before turning his attention back to Isadora. “Was there anyone else inside there we should be worried about?”

She shook her head. “I killed them all,” Isadora replied with such conviction that it could have been gospel.

The look of skepticism on Beau’s face was a clear as water. “You’re telling me that you took out eight men—by my rough count—all by yourself?”

Isadora shook her head. “It was not just by my hand alone,” he said. “The restless spirits of this plantation helped me as well.”

He scratched his head and scrunched up his face. “I know better than to start disrespecting you, the witch queen, but I’m a little skeptical”

“There were nine men hunting me,” Isadora said. “Now there are nine bodies, desecrating the halls of my home. I don’t care to discuss how they died. Just know that they are dead. You can step inside and have a look yourself if you need reassurance.”

Beau shook his head. “That’s good enough for me,” he said. There was a brief pause before he changed the subject of discussion altogether. “The boat that you loaded for Lincoln, I figure we take that back to the mainland before this place is crawling with cops. I figure someone here must have a plan as to where we’re heading next.”

I nodded. “We’re going to the House at the Edge of the World,” I replied. I said it in a way that sounded far more dramatic that it should have been.

Beau raised a brow. “Come again?” he asked. “I didn’t sign up to partake in some cheeky girl’s fairy tale fantasy.”

I sighed. “The cliffs across the water from Moral City,” I replied. “Shadow is waiting for us there.”

Isadora stared at
Delilah’s body. “I need to bury her first,” she said. “She loved it here on this island. This was her home. This is where I’ll bury her so her spirit can rest.”

Beau shook his head. “We won’t have time,” he said. “The cops will be all up over this place like rats on cheese.”

“Please,” Isadora said firmly.

Beau looked at her, pursed his lips, and finally agreed.

“Get me a shovel then,” he replied. “I’ll do the digging.”

Isadora nodded. “Thank you.”

“Meanwhile, is there anything within that house that can help us on our way?”

She nodded. “Money, passports, weapons,” she replied. “Everything else…” she swallowed hard. “Everything else belongs in the past now.”

“Get what you need then,” Beau said. “After we leave this island, I’ll craft us up some new passports and IDs. Then we can make our way to this magical house at the top of the hill, or wherever it is. Shadow can take it from there.”

Isadora walked over to Beau and touched him gently on the forearm.

“Thank you, Beau,” she said. “Perhaps you’re not the dog I thought you were.”

“Think nothing of it,” Beau said. “The business of revenge is a lonely endeavor. We all lost someone important to us to the evil bitch sitting high on her throne. I figure we can all keep each other from getting completely lost while we search for vengeance.”

Beau’s words made me think of Shadow. He was a lonely soul, lost in the cold unforgiving darkness.

#

Chapter Thirty-Two

Shadow

I finally tore my eyes away from my cellphone, resting atop my dining room table. I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath and looked out the window of my mansion. The House at the Edge of the World always provided the most spectacular view of the ocean.

Fifteen minutes ago, I had tried calling Lincoln, and what I heard on the other end of the line was static along with the fragmented voice of a woman.

I was so sure she sounded like Aria. But, before I could find out, everything went dead.

It was the worst time for the piece of shit phone I gave Lincoln to finally crap out. That was the last time I would buy any piece of electronic equipment off the black market—though I had no other choice at the time.

All I could do now was pray that everything was alright.

“You worried man?” Cairo asked as he snuck up behind me.

“Wouldn’t you be?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, of course I would.”

He took the seat across from me, one hand buried in a bag of salty snacks. “Dorito?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’ll pass.”

Cairo shoved a few chips in his mouth, and then tossed the bag onto the table and dusted his fingers off.

“I never liked Lincoln,” Cairo began, “But I can never say that the man wasn’t resourceful or loyal to you. They’ll both come back alive. I’m sure of it.”

“Why don’t you like him?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter.”

I frowned. “Of course it matters. Lincoln has a key role in the endgame,” I replied. “I need to know that you’re not going to choke him out the moment you see him.”

“I won’t,” Cairo said. “I’m the consummate professional.”

“You tried choking me out the second you saw me,” I pointed out.

“Different circumstances man,” Cairo replied. “I thought you murdered my dad, and we
were
in a cage match. I can’t think of a more perfect scenario for a man to choke another man out.”

I sighed. “What’s your beef with Lincoln?”

Cairo took a deep breath. “Back at the Academy, the dude kept making passes at Reiko.”

“So?” I asked. “The two of you hadn’t hooked up at that point.”

“I know,” Cairo said, “But I was trying to.”

I smacked my palm against my forehead. “Let me get this straight, you’re holding onto a decade long grudge over a high school crush?”

“I think he kissed Reiko,” Cairo added.

“Once again, my reply is ‘so?’ Who cares what happened back when you were still trying to grow your first pubic hair?”

“You don’t get it man.”

“No, I do get it,” I replied. “You’re an idiot.”

“What Reiko and I have is pure. I’m her first, as she was mine. No one from the outside ever tainted us. The thought of her lips on someone else’s drives me fucking mental.”

I rose from the table, and took my cellphone with me.

“Hey, where are you going?” Cairo asked.

“For a drive,” I replied. “I need to get away from the cloud of stupidity that’s currently surrounding me.”

Cairo folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I think you’d understand once you found true love,” he replied, “You’ll know you found it when the idea of anyone else touching your girl is enough to drive you over the edge.”

I thought about Aria, and how much I wanted to, no,
needed
to see her again. I thought about the call to Lincoln’s phone and how I had heard her voice along with something else in the background too.

Was it gunfire?

I had to think positive. The negative thoughts would only drive me insane.

Two weeks ago, I had been foolish. I didn’t realize how much I needed Aria in my life.

I missed her smile, her playfulness, and the way she looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered in this world.

I was an idiot.

I was scared of myself, and because of that, I pushed her away.

I looked at Cairo, who had his hand back inside the bag of Doritos.

“I do know what true love is,” I said. “I’m experiencing it right now.”

Cairo smiled as he held a single Dorito between his thumb and forefinger. “Good for you man,” he said genuinely. “It’s a thing of beauty.”

It was, unless you were a meathead like me, tossing it all away like sand in the wind.

#

I dusted off my silver Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled out onto the driveway. I took a long look at the mansion, which I had secretly purchased almost five years ago.  

No one breathing knew about this piece of property, with the exception of Lincoln, and now, Reiko and Cairo. It had been purchased under a fake alias from an untraceable offshore account.

I always dreamed of taking permanent residence in this beautiful modern home, situated on the coast of Moral City. There was something about this place that calmed me and made me feel at peace.

It was my fortress of solitude.

After I received the keys to the property, the first thing I did was walk over to the edge of the cliff and stare out into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, losing myself to the blue world before me. This was a place where the sky and ocean met, forming a union of tranquil beauty.

I had planned on bringing Aria here for our next date but everything had gone to hell before I could.

I sighed and pulled out of the driveway and onto the long, winding road that went further up the cliff. The stars were out tonight, and God, was it quite the sight to behold.

I began to drive, with the spirit of Aria and the memories of her warmth lingering in my mind. 

#

I lost track of how long I had been on the road. It wasn’t until my cell phone rang that I pulled the Asto
n Martin over alongside the shoulder and parked it.

I immediately answered the unknown call, hoping to hear the voices of either Aria or Lincoln.

It was neither.

“Shadow?” Leah asked.

I cursed silently to myself before answering her. “Yeah,” I said, curtly.

“You don’t sound happy to hear from me.”

“I was just expecting another call,” I replied.

“I see.” There was an awkward pause. “I know I said I was going to stay out of this war you’re preparing for, but I have more news coming from a source, planted deep within the Revenants organization.”

“You have a mole inside the Revenant’s?” I was stunned. Why hadn’t she told me this before?

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“Who is it? Does he or she know where Calisto is hiding?”

There was another long pause from the other end of the phone. When Leah spoke again, I could almost hear her frown through my earpiece. “I can’t give you my source, you know that.” Leah replied, “And no, this person is a few steps removed from Calisto herself. If they knew where Calisto was, they’d have given me a location a long time ago.”

“That’s fair,” I replied. “So what updates do they have for us?”

“The Revenants think
you
murdered Elena Zhao,” Leah replied.

“I didn’t.”

“Yes, we all know that. But if you didn’t murder Elena and Calisto didn’t hire Duckface to kill her, then who did?”

I had no reply for her.

Was it possible there was a third party involved in this mess? Perhaps it was Nathan, the backstabbing asshat, who thought it was the perfect opportunity to off the billion dollar princess.

“I have more bad news for you,” Leah said. “Word coming out of the Revenant’s organization was that Calisto activated sleeper cells down in New Orleans. They tracked down Lincoln.”

I was taken aback. “Lincoln’s a perfect chameleon when he wants to be. How the hell could Calisto have known where he was?”

“People make mistakes,” Leah replied, “Added to the fact that Lincoln wasn’t running solo. He had your lady friend with him.”

I shook my head. “Aria’s smart. She wouldn’t have compromised him either.” I let out a deep breath. “Have you heard anything coming out of New Orleans?”

“No,” Leah replied. “That update was almost twenty-four hours ago. The second I hear something, I’ll let you know.”

Fuck. If what Leah said was true, then what if it
was
Aria on the other end of the phone, calling out for help? What if it
was
the sound of gunfire that I heard?

I thought of taking the next immediate flight down to New Orleans so I could find them.

I needed to know that they were both safe.

However, that was a stupid move. For all I knew, Lincoln could have left just before Calisto’s men arrived in New Orleans.

I steadied myself and tried to accept what was logical for once in my life. Rushing into New Orleans blind would only get me killed. I wasn’t ready to die…yet.

“The Midnight Society needs you,” I said, shifting the focus of the discussion. “You have a network of resources that’s invaluable to us, especially this mole that you planted.”

“I’m better off hiding out in my own office,” Leah replied. “I can be of more use here.”

No, there was something else to it that she wasn’t telling me. I could hear it in her voice.

“You’re hiding something from me,” I said. “Your brother was murdered by Calisto. Knowing you from when we were together, you’d want to be right in the thick of the battle, instead of coaching on the sidelines. Why won’t you join us?”

There was a moment’s pause. “Because I’m scared of you Shadow.”

I was taken aback by her response.

“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “You know I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“You have before,” Leah replied. “You hurt me bad. I’m scared that if I stay too close to you, you’re going to reopen those old wounds that took so long for me to stitch together.”

I had no response for her.

“I have to go Shadow,” Leah replied. “Play your cards close to your chest. If you’re confident that Lincoln is a master of the vanishing act, then someone must have fed information back to Calisto. Someone knows what your plan is. Be careful.”

Before I could get in another word, Leah hung up.

I tossed the phone back onto the passenger seat, and stared up into the dark sky, illuminated by an epiphany of stars.

I suddenly had the sick feeling in my stomach that I had already lost this war, without firing a single shot yet.

#