Page 53 of As Darkness Fall
“Damn,” I said, pacing away, deep in thought. “Okay, so if we give Lars the Idol, we’re in a world of trouble.”
“I’m sorry,” Vir said. “I know he—”
I whirled on him, eyes ablaze with anger. Vir took a step backward.
“These are myparents,” I hissed, glad that he was respectful of my fury.
“Dani—” he started, but I cut him off.
“We arenotleaving them to rot in some dirty prison, wherever he’s got them stashed. Do I make myself clear?”
I had to hope that Lars had them somewhere other than the Manor. If they’d been down in the cells when we’d rescued Jo, and I had left them there, I’m not sure I could ever forgive myself.
Vir opened his mouth to protest, and I stormed right up to him, for a moment feeling like I had back in the temple, full of energy and power that I couldn’t comprehend.
I watched Vir’s eyes go wide.
“Repeating myself is not something I’m in the habit of doing,” I growled. “Am I clear?”
Vir nodded.
“Good,” I said, the feeling fading. “We’re still going to get the Idol back. Then we can use it on Lars, or we find a way to get my parents back without it. Either way, we’re not leaving them with him.”
The Champion of Amunlea stood in the center of the grand opening to Aaron’s penthouse staring at me silently.
“Whatever,” I said, turning on my heel and walking away.
“Where are you going?” Vir asked, speaking at last.
“To get more information,” I growled, heading for one of the guest rooms.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ibarged into the room without knocking. There was no need for such courtesy, nor did I particularly feel inclined toward extending it. Johnathan was still our prisoner, in a way, and my hatred of him had dulled but not disappeared. Not yet. It would take a lot to do away with that. Telling me about Jo was a start, but only a start.
“Johnathan,” I snapped, somewhat upset I hadn’t caught him in the middle of something nefarious.
Apparently, I was looking for a fight in addition to information. I wasn’t going to get one. Not from him. Johnathan wasn’t doing anything at all. In fact, he’d flopped down on the bed and was staring aimlessly at the ceiling. His eyes didn’t even blink when I said his name; he was that zoned out.
“Wake up,” I said, kicking the bed hard enough to shake him.
What was he daydreaming about, I wondered? A way out of here? Was he busy scheming up ways to win me back, as if that would ever happen?
I was probably being too harsh on him. At any point while we were rescuing Jo, he could have left, and we wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about it. He’d kept his word to stay until our return, and while I was surprised, I knew I’d have to start re-evaluating him at some point.
“Johnathan,” I growled, saying his name again.
This time he blinked, slowly, and his eyes refocused, though he didn’t turn his head to look at me.
“Time to start talking,” I said, crossing my arms and waiting.
“About what?” he asked, his voice still distant, detached.
“How much do you know about your father's plans?” I said.
Johnathan sighed, a heavy, sad thing. “Whichplans?”
Now it was my turn to slow blink. Just how many plans did that scheming asshole have going on? What else was he up to that we didn’t know about? I had so many questions, but only one of them truly mattered. Only one of them was what I cared to know about.
