Page 32 of Shattered Fears

“Damn it,” her father yelled and slammed his fist into the table. “We were close to having a sample.”

“What?” She stood up.

“Nothing for you to worry about, my little dove. Why don’t you go to your room and read for a bit?”

“No.” She stood her ground. “What’s going on?”

A couple of the men with big, big, guns looked at them. Her father motioned for them to stand down, but before they could, her brother ran into the room. He was wearing his usual leather jacket, and his hair was wild everywhere. He looked flustered. The men all pointed guns at him.

“Having a party, Dad?” He laughed but held his hands in the air and froze. “Bit different than mine.”

“Shoot him,” her father said.

“No!” she screamed as the sound of gunfire rang out.

Her brother’s body shuddered as several tiny darts hit him. He tried to speak, but no words came out.

“Kingsley.” She started to run toward him, but one of the men stopped her.

“He’s not hurt just tranquilized.” Her father’s voice was ice cold as he came to stand beside her. “He’s been messing with the wrong people, and I need to find out if he’s been infected.”

“Infected? He’s your son.”

“Who’s been hanging out with people who turn into animals.” He threw the pictures at her.

“Who are you?” She stared at her father in complete disbelief as her brother was dragged from the room.

“I’m your father, and I’m trying to protect you from getting hurt.”

She shook her head.

“Kingsley?”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. They’ll examine him and then fix him.”

“Fix him?”

She looked down at the pictures in her hands. She cycled through them. There were pictures of Emma, Scott, Selene, and Jessica, although they didn’t have anything of her changing, just an energy ball coming out of her hand. She noted there was none of Kas, though — since they were twins, it would have been too obvious for Nuka to present evidence that would implicate himself as well. Although the evil polar bear had destroyed any hope of remaining undiscovered, following his recent vanishing act.

“Isobel, for several years there’ve been rumors of people who can turn into animals, and some who have powers we cannot comprehend. I joined a task force to discover their existence. My job as a senator has been a front, the rallying against shifters was a ruse to try to draw them out. Here, today, it worked. We have the proof we need, now. I want you to go to your room, lock the door, and do not answer it to anyone but me. Do you understand?”

“No.” She looked him up and down as if he was a stranger. He was in many ways. He’d been lying to her for years. “Did Kingsley know?”

“Given he is in leagues with them, I suspect he did, but he never told me. You don’t have to worry. We’ll make the world safe. We’ll get rid of them. Now, please, I need you to do as I ask.” Her father turned his back to her and started ordering his men around. She needed to think quickly. She had to get to the Glacial Blood mansion. She remembered people calling Jessica, and she’d appear. Maybe it would work. She placed all the pictures on the table, except one of the witch, which she slid surreptitiously into her pocket. “Please let this work,” she whispered to herself as she left the room and took the stairs to her bedroom, two at a time.

She placed the picture down on her dressing-room table and concentrated on it as hard as she could.

“Jessica,” she said.

Nothing.

“Jessica.”

With more force this time but still nothing.

“Damn it.” Tears were falling down her cheeks now. She needed to warn them, but nobody would answer her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tried Zain again. No answer.

She looked down at the picture one last time and focused as much of her strength as she could into it. A tear landed directly on Jessica’s face as she said the witch’s name one more time.

“Jessica.”

The air in the room crackled around her. She spun around to find a bemused Jessica frowning at her.

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