The Farm (31 page)

Carter drove, and I navigated with the map we’d marked, a penlight, and the telephone books I’d swiped from the church. Two hours and twelve churches later, it felt less like a rescue mission and more like a snipe hunt. Uncle Rodney used to send me and Mel out to hunt for snipes in the woods behind his house whenever we’d visit. We’d spend all day wandering around his property searching for the mysterious creatures. I was ten before I figured out it was just a way to get us out of the house. When I told Mel, she just looked at me like I was an idiot. It was the first time I realized she knew things I didn’t.

Was this just a snipe hunt now? Were we just wasting our time, our energy, and our gasoline? Had we sent Joe out to face the Ticks alone for nothing? I was plagued by doubts. We should have waited until dawn. Maybe the Ticks would have found a way in, maybe not. Maybe they would have gotten sleepy and just wandered off on their own. Some logical part of my brain reasoned that Joe had made his own choice and that he’d done what was best for the rest of us. But the part of me that had known him since childhood grieved. And worried. Somehow, his sacrifice only drove home what danger we were all in. This was not some romantic cross-country road trip. We were fleeing for our lives.

What would Mel say if she was here?

We had just passed through another tiny town when Carter asked, “What are you thinking?”

I glanced over at him to see him rubbing his hand over his eyes sleepily. “What? You read minds now?”

He smiled. “You hum softly when you’re thinking something through.”

“No, I don’t,” I protested, but suddenly I didn’t know if that was true or not. Did I hum? I didn’t like having such an obvious tell and liked even less that he’d caught me in it. To distract myself, I answered him. “I was thinking about snipe hunts and wasted time. Joe. And I was wondering what Mel would think of all this driving around.”

Carter pushed his feet under him and shifted so he was sitting up straighter. “What would she say?”

I tried to think of nursery rhymes about crossing things off a list. Or about counting, but I was tired and nothing came to mind. I shook my head. “She’d hate that we left him. She’d hate the idea that we’d sacrificed him for her.”

Carter dropped his voice. “We had no choice. They would have made it in.”

“You don’t know that,” I protested automatically. It felt like a familiar argument.

But this time, Carter admitted, “You’re right. I don’t know that. I don’t know anything anymore. I thought we would be safe in the church.”

He scrubbed his hand down his face again. The second time in only a few minutes.

“How long has it been since you’ve slept?” I asked. “You looked exhausted.”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I didn’t mean it to be.”

“Carter—”

“This whole screwup is my fault.”

“It’s not!”

“It is. I was in charge. This was my idea. What could happen to Joe is on my head. If we hadn’t agreed to take Joe and McKenna with us, he’d be safely back at the Farm.”

“You can’t think like that. He made his choice. Yes, he was safe at the Farm, but McKenna wasn’t. And neither was their baby. He left for them, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.”

He drove in silence for a long minute and I could tell my words hadn’t offered him much comfort. Finally, he said, “I wish I knew why the damn church didn’t work. We can’t afford to make that mistake again.”

“Did you say the church has to look like a church? Maybe it just wasn’t iconic enough.”

I offered up the opinion thoughtlessly and didn’t even realize he’d registered it until I felt the car slow down. As if dazed, Carter lifted his foot off the gas and the van slid to a halt in the middle of the highway.

“That’s it.”

“What?”

“The church wasn’t
iconic
enough.”

“That’s what I said.” I was starting to feel really stupid. Either he wasn’t the only one who was tired or he’d figured out something I was missing entirely.

He put the car in park and turned on the overhead dome light. “Let me see the map.” I handed it to him. He immediately unfolded it and started searching the circle I’d first drawn out on the map. “The problem is we’ve been hitting all these small towns. The churches are all like the ones we got stuck in—built in the middle of the last century. Like you said, those churches aren’t iconic enough. Ticks have small brains. They wouldn’t recognize the more subtle clues that a building is a church. We need to look in a bigger town, for a church that’s been there at least a hundred years. Maybe more.”

“Is it really that simple?” For the first time in an hour, I felt hope stirring in my chest. Maybe Joe hadn’t risked his life for nothing.

Carter just shrugged. “Maybe. The Dean would know this stuff. And he has good reason to be afraid of the Ticks. He knows what they’re capable of. He’d be extra careful.”

I leaned over the map, too, and started looking. “Okay, where does that leave us?”

“Well I don’t know for sure, but I think we should start here.” He jabbed a spot on the map. “Decatur, Illinois. It’s an older town and one of the biggest in the area. Champaign is also a possibility, I guess, but my gut says he’ll go with something on the road south rather than north. Once he has you, he’ll want to head back to Texas.”

Since my gut said nothing, I folded the map so the route was visible and said, “Okay, let’s go find us a church in Decatur.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Mel

Places have music, too.

Home always sounded like Beethoven’s Ninth. School, like skate punk.

Only holy ground is quiet. Completely at peace. I wonder if that’s why the Ticks avoid it. Do they hear its silence, too? Are they drawn to it, like I am, or repelled? If they can hear its silence, then what does that make me?

Should I worry that I’m like the Ticks? I long for cool, clear water that blocks out all of Ladybird’s screeching and death’s screams. I imagine the water. Here, I fold inside myself. Better than math. Better even than blue buttons or pink bubble gum. I find the silence of this place and sink into it. I push all the other noises away.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Lily

It was nearly six in the morning when we finally parked the car half a block away from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in downtown Decatur, Illinois. St. Patrick’s looks like a church. I mean, it looks like a
church
. It’s a massive building made of white limestone with Gothic architecture. It has turrets and steeples and round stained-glass windows over the door so big if it had been a table you could have sat Arthur’s knights around it. The church gleamed a ghostly white in the moonlight as it loomed over the surrounding buildings, all of which were aging with less grace than the church. It looked so iconically holy, I had no doubt that this was the place the Dean had picked to hide Mel for the night.

There was only one problem: we weren’t positive they were here. Yeah, we could get out and check the building—as we had most of the others—but none of us liked getting out of the van if we didn’t have to.

Not for the first time since we started the snipe hunt, I found myself wishing that Sebastian was here with us. The night was dark and silent. There were no signs of Ticks. But there was also no way of knowing they weren’t out there. Waiting for us. If Sebastian was here, he would know. But we hadn’t seen him since dusk, when he left to . . . do what? Carter wouldn’t say. Hunt maybe.

Yesterday, when I’d first seen him devouring that Collab, I’d been so revolted, I didn’t want him anywhere near me. Now I was wishing for even the meager security his prescience brought us. Our party of three seemed small and vulnerable.

“Are you sure about this?” McKenna climbed awkwardly from her spot in back to the first bench to ask the question.

“No,” Carter admitted. “This could be another dead end. You got any better ideas?”

“Nope.”

“Let’s go get Mel back,” Carter said, cutting the engine. “Everybody clear on the plan?” We’d hashed out the details on the drive here from the last church. We all chimed in with our agreement. McKenna was supposed to stay with the van. I was supposed to go in to distract the Dean. Carter was going to bring up the rear and take the Dean out with the tranq rifle he’d taken from one of the Collabs. A simple plan.

But it wasn’t the first simple plan that had gone to hell tonight.

Just as Carter was swinging open the side door, there was the sudden clatter of something large landing on the roof of the van. McKenna screamed. Carter and I gasped. My heart seemed to explode out of my chest.

A second later—before Carter could even close the door—there was another creaking thud as the thing moved over the roof, then Sebastian swung in through the open door.

His countenance was unnerving in the light of the van’s dome light. The last time we’d seen him, he’d been covered in human blood. A savage monster. Now he looked like a model in a Lands’ End catalog. His dark hair looked freshly washed. Somewhere, he’d gotten new clothes and was now dressed in jeans and plaid button-up shirt. With a belt.

My startled fear morphed into anger. Joe had just driven off to face Ticks alone. Mel had been captured. We were fighting for our lives. And he had time to shower and accessorize?

“You’re a little late to the party.” He smiled at us, a nasty sort of mischievous grin.

It was the first time I’d seen his open-mouth smile. His vicious canines sent fear shooting through me.

The jumble of emotions fought their way out. “Where did you . . . How . . .
 
?”

Sebastian reached behind him and closed the door, throwing the van into sudden darkness. I was struck by the insane urge to yell at him.

Carter must have sensed it because he thrust an arm out in front of me. “Sorry we’re late,” Carter said, a bite in his voice as well. “We had planned on keeping cover until dawn. How did you get here?”

Sebastian smirked, like the answer should be obvious. “I followed them.”

“You
followed
them?” I asked. “They drove off before us and when you left us you were still—”

What was the word for the state he’d been in? Yes, he’d been barking orders, like his usual arrogant self, but he’d just eaten a Collab. He’d been covered in human blood. He’d been monstrous.

From the front of the van, I saw McKenna visibly shudder.

But on the heels of that thought was another, equally disturbing thought. If he’d followed them, then how fast could he run?

Almost as if he could read my mind, he said, “I didn’t chase them down. I followed their scent. Your sister’s scent is unique. And the Dean is one of the few humans around who still eats the flesh of animals. I could track him for miles.”

This time, I shuddered. I so had not needed to know that.

“Once I knew they were settled here for the night, I went looking for supplies.” He swung a backpack off his shoulder. “I found a fairly well-stocked house nearby. You can thank me later.”

Carter unzipped the bag to reveal more canned food. Something inside me ached at the familiar sight of a silver can of peas. Mel would have loved them.

Funny how something I’d yearned for so much just a few days ago, now I didn’t even want. Losing my sister had changed everything for me.

I surreptitiously took the peas and tucked then into her backpack beside her squirrel.

Sebastian glanced around the van. “Where’s Joe?”

McKenna let out a strangled cry and buried her face in her hands.

“I see. That’s unfortunate. We could have used the extra man.”

McKenna made another noise from the back. Just now, we needed her to keep it together. The idea flittered across my mind that I might be able to make that happen. I didn’t want the power. But if I did have it, then wasn’t this precisely the time I should pull it out?

I didn’t even know how this would work, really, but I blew out a breath, consciously trying to slow my heartbeat and stay calm. Plus, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to change the subject.

“Where are they? Are they in the church?”

“Actually, the Dean and Mel are holed up in the cafeteria of the school that adjoins the church. It’s around back.”

“Why?” Carter asked. “Why not the church?”

Sebastian gave a shrug. “I can’t say for sure. But I suspect he’s avoiding the church for the same reason the Ticks do. He is a man who’s done unconscionable things. By now I suspect he’s lost nearly as much of his humanity as the Ticks have. Walking into that church would terrify him.”

“He didn’t strike me as particularly religious,” I muttered under my breath.

“It is the world’s worst villains who believe the strongest. They have the most to fear from divine retribution.”

I sat forward. “Enough philosophy. Is Mel safe here? Sacred ground isn’t exactly guaranteed sanctuary.”

“You are correct. However, they are safe in there. There is not a Tick around for fifty miles who would set foot in that building.”

“If you knew they were safe, why didn’t you come find us? To tell us that you’d found Mel and the Dean? We’ve been searching all over five counties. We’ve been worried sick. We’ve—”

Sebastian cut me off. “It didn’t occur to me to come find you. Actually I assumed you’d found sanctuary and had the good sense to stay there. By the way, your sister is fine. Since you asked.”

His voice was chiding. Like I was at fault for not wondering.

“I assumed that, because—” I started to say.

But Carter cut me off with a wave of his hand. “If you two are done bickering, can we discuss how we’re going to get Mel back?”

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. “Obviously the first step is to take this one back to safety.” He shot Carter a disapproving glare. “You never should have let her leave sanctuary in the middle of the night.”

Carter shrugged. “The Ticks trying to tear down the church doors didn’t think we’d found sanctuary. And besides, did you really think I was equipped to talk her out of it? After all, I’m just a defenseless human. She’s the—”

“I’m not an
abductura
,” I growled, even though I’d just tried using my powers. Everyone ignored me. I cast a sidelong look at McKenna. She was drying her eyes and looking a little more composed.

Sebastian gave a beleaguered sigh. “Never send a boy to do a vampire’s job.”

“Go ahead. You talk her out of going in there.”

I surged forward, as much as I could in the confines of the van. “You’re joking? At a time like this? With my sister stuck in there with that slobbering, nasty man, you’re joking?”

Carter held me back, his arm solid across my chest. “Calm down. Mel is fine.”

“According to him. How do I know his definition of ‘fine’ doesn’t include fava beans and a nice Chianti?”

“Ah, and I was starting to think you had no sense of humor at all.” Sebastian smiled again and the sight of his incisors made my stomach lurch. Then he rubbed his hands together in almost gleeful anticipation. “However, she does have a point. We should get to it. Hopefully, we’ll be in and out within five minutes and back on the road. Carter, you’re with me. You girls stay here and try not to smell too much like food.”

“I’m going, too.” I spoke before he could even get his hand on the door handle.

“Of course you’re not going.” Sebastian waved a dismissive hand. “You’ve done enough damage already.”

“I’m the one he wants.”

“Exactly.
You’re
the one he wants. If you waltz in there, there’s nothing stopping him from killing Mel and taking you anyway.”

“He told me to come alone. If you and Carter go in, and I’m not there, then there’s also nothing stopping him from killing all three of you.”

Sebastian laughed at that. Carter looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be amused or insulted. “Come on, the Dean? Seriously?”

“Okay,” I corrected. “He probably couldn’t take out all three of you. But he got Mel to get in the car with him. She’s wicked strong when she doesn’t want to do something. So that means he’s either stronger than he looks or a hell of a lot more wily. Besides—”

“She has a point,” Carter conceded.

“Thank you,” I said.

At the same time Sebastian said to Carter, “The last thing we need is her in there, out of control and spewing emotions all over the place. Besides, of course you’re going to agree with her.”

“Here’s the deal. Neither of you can make me stay in here. We’re wasting time. Carter and I had a plan. You can either use me as a distraction or you can try to leave me here in the van and wait for me to waltz in and screw up whatever plan you think you’ve got.” I gave a shrug that was far more blasé than I felt. “What’s it going to be?”

Carter gave Sebastian an I-told-you-so look.

Sebastian glared at me. It was the kind of look that sent adrenaline flooding into your bloodstream. “She better be worth it, because she’s a real pain in the ass to deal with otherwise.”

I felt a shiver of fear at his words. It was the first time one of them suggested that I might not be worth it. That I might not be an
abductura
. Maybe it shouldn’t have bothered me. I didn’t want to be an
abductura
, and I didn’t believe I had these powers. But their thinking I did had lent me a sort of freedom. I had believed they needed me. And I had no illusions. If Sebastian decided he didn’t have an
abductura
he could control, then Mel and I would be on our own. Or worse, we’d be dinner.