Page 38 of Retribution

I couldn’t bring myself to admit that he was gone, and he stole a piece of my heart to take with him. “He knew it was coming, Liberty, and he was not afraid to face death. He is free.”

“But-” I reached for the arrow, squeezing it in my fingers so tightly that for a moment, I thought it would snap in half.

“No. He is at peace with what the fates had given him, and now you must allow us to save you when he could not. Oak’s book will not fix this, for I had seen its outcome.” I didn’t want to accept it, but I knew it was true. I couldn’t bring him back. I couldn’t save him. I reached forward, picking up handfuls of ashes, shoving them into my dress pocket. “We must go, Liberty.”

“I will not leave him here.”

“Then I will get him.” He looked to Oak, who pulled me up while Lenin swirled his hands, causing the remaining ashes to create a funnel before he scooped them into a vase. “We must go.”

He scooped me up with one arm, lifting my weight effortlessly before carrying me out of the room seconds before a giant boulder crashed through the ceiling. Lenin held me tightly against him as he followed Oak, who was carrying Lacy through the smoke-filled hallway past our bedrooms. When the hall dead-ended, Oak approached the bookshelf and pulled down the copy ofDracula, causing a hidden door to swing open.

I didn’t have time to contemplate the irony of the use ofDraculaor the fact that we were entering a hidden room that I had no clue existed. All I could think about was Ellis and my men still outside.

“How will they find us in here?” I blurted out.

Lenin looked down at me, his hands offering a comforting squeeze. “We were all aware of this room.”

We were? Because I sure as hell wasn’t. “I was never told.”

“We never planned to leave you alone in a position where you would need to find this yourself.” Oak offered as he approached a chair and sat the girl in it. “Are we safe?”

“Not for long,” Lenin replied before placing me on a couch. “The battle will find us.” His words echoed in the large room. “And her labor waits for no battle to cease.”

Oak swung his whole body toward me. “What?”

“Do not cause her distress.” Lenin scowled. “She is already in discomforts.”

That was an understatement. My heart hurt. My body hurt. My mind and soul were permanently broken. Oak scrubbed his face. “Then what are we going to do?”

“We do what we must.” He paused. “I could use tea. It would help me think.” He gave the equivalent of Lenin’s version of a dramatic sigh before his eyes rolled back and turned white. I would never get used to it, never become accustomed to his body stiffening and his irises disappearing. “They have found us quicker than anticipated. Someone must have intimate knowledge of the manor.”

I gripped the arm of the couch where I sat, relishing in the pain that suddenly wracked my body, thankful to know that I was still alive and that numbness I felt to my very core hadn’t meant my life was taken too. I closed my eyes and breathed hard, and when I opened them, Oak was there.

“What can I do?”

Nothing. There was nothing he could do to fix how I was feeling, to take away any of the pain that plagued my body and soul. It hurt. It all hurt. I was numb. I was sensitive. Every nerve was on fire while every cell was untouchable. I rubbed my fingers over the arrow I still clutched in my hand. Still coated in Ellis’ blood. Still the downfall of my happiness.

“Weapons.” The words fell from my lips as they battled a sob to escape. “We need weapons.”

Oak nodded. “We’ve got weapons.” He walked to a cabinet in the corner, pulling it open to reveal various knives and swords. “No guns. They backfire around witches.”

“Your mates are coming,” Lenin announced. “Time is short.”

As if on cue, the bookshelf slid open, revealing both Maggie and Michelle, followed by Sterling and Justice. Justice pulled the door shut, his chest heaving as he turned to look at us, blood trickling down his temple, and his skin was coated in dirt.

“They are coming.” He panted.

“Who aretheyexactly?” Oak asked, and I knew he generally knew what was coming, but he also was a very specific person.

“The witch. She has an army of – of undead,” Sterling sputtered.

“We are undead,” Oak clarified.

“I mean like-” He shivered. “Necromancy. We need to find the necromancer. If we find the necromancer, we can eliminate the source of her army; then we just have to worry about her, which is enough for any of us to begin with.”

Oak scrubbed his face and cursed. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Where’s Ellis?” Sterling looked around the room. “We need everyone if we are going to have a chance to defeat her.”

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