Page 171 of I Will Mend You

The body camera feed shakes violently, as if Jynxson is thrown off his feet. Debris falls all around him, obscuring my view of Camila.

“Someone must have thrown a grenade,” I yell. “Jynxson and Camila are trapped.”

Xero leaves the highway, and we speed through the streets. The city becomes a blur as we race toward the house. Xero directs his team through the Bluetooth, his voice terse.

I breathe hard, my gaze fixing on a third screen displaying drone footage of a helicopter hovering over our backyards. If Xero wasn’t busy driving and coordinating his troops, I would ask if this was his rescue team or another threat.

The answer comes when the drone fires on the helicopter, and two figures emerge from a crater in the ground. As the shorter one, who I suspect is Dolly, sprints toward a ladder dangling from the helicopter and ascends, the taller one secures a small, unconscious figure into a rescue harness and attaches it to the ladder’s lower rung.

“They’re escaping,” I say with a gasp.

The drone follows the helicopter, displaying footage of the man climbing the ladder after his smaller colleague, then reaching the top where he helps hoist the unconscious figure into the aircraft. The cabin crew pulls them in before turninggunfire on the drone until it spirals into a free-fall, the feed whirling before blinking out completely.

“They shot the drone,” I rasp. “And they took someone into a helicopter.”

“It’s Camila,” he grits out. “They’ve abducted my little sister.”

EIGHTY-ONE

XERO

I pull into the courtyard of St. Anne’s Church, shaking with impotent rage. Jynxson and his team are still trapped under the rubble, but there’s no sign of the bastards who took Camila.

Every drone we sent after the helicopter was shot down, leaving us blind. All we know is that they’ve gone west.

The Spring brothers retrieved Relaney Cymbal, along with two other men from number 11. All three had been shot with tranquilizer darts, which explained why they were unmoving. Ms. Cymbal is now en route to Simon Memorial Hospital, while the men found with her await us inside the church.

Amethyst hasn’t said a word since we lost sight of my sister. If she blames herself for Relaney’s abduction, then she’ll be even more devastated about Camila.

St. Anne’s is the late Reverend Thomas’s workplace, which backs onto the Parisii Cemetery. It’s a gothic stone building hidden within a copse of weeping willows. I ordered the Spring Brothers to move them to the altar for questioning, because I plan on using a former member of X-Cite Media’s place of worship to send a message to Father.

She places a hand on my shoulder. “Xero, are you alright?”

“Ask me again after we’ve found Camila.” I turn off the engine.

My emotions are on lockdown. I’m far from okay, and my little ghost wouldn’t believe a platitude. While Dolly won’t recognize Camila, Father might. The best-case scenario is that he’ll use his own daughter as a hostage. I don’t want to consider the worst.

If Charlotte told us the truth about the daughter she had with Father being used as a Lolita assassin, then Camila’s potential fate is too chilling to contemplate.

Amethyst stares at my profile for a few seconds before opening the door and stepping out into the darkened courtyard.

Cold rage powers my steps as I stride toward the church. I push open its wooden door and step into the gloom.

The Spring brothers meet me on the aisle, avoiding my gaze as they mutter about needing to join the search for my sister. At the altar, they’ve set up a makeshift interrogation space. Dolly’s accomplices hang from the ceiling by ropes, their naked bodies swaying under the weight of their guilt. Next to them is a table laden with instruments.

Moonlight filters through the stained-glass windows, casting multicolored shadows on the two captives. Their heads are bowed, their limbs immobilized by shackles.

Amethyst’s steps falter. She claps both hands over her mouth and suppresses a gasp.

I turn to her, my brow furrowing. “What is it?”

“Those two are from the asylum,” she whispers.

“These are the men who hurt you?” I snarl.

She points a trembling finger at the pair. “The one with the long black hair is Seth. The other one is Barrett.”

“Tell me everything,” I say through clenched teeth.

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