Page 29 of A Harmony of Procellarum

“You have two more targets,” she snarls, her face distorted with anger. “This next one sends you to California and out of my hair for a few days. Try to be a little less messy this time.”

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” I give an exaggerated bow as she huffs out a breath.

“When I agreed to your terms of having Squall’s woman here, I was anticipating the finale and how he would react when you’d ultimately rip the heart from her chest. But now I am wondering what will really happen,” she says with a ripple of amusement in her voice. “Whose heart will you really shatter, Victor?”

SQUALL

I wake up in Raiden’s hotel room, having no recollection of how I got up here and ended up on the couch. It’s early dawn as the sun fights to be seen around the gray haze hanging in the sky. It looks like another snowstorm is coming and I can’t help the grin that comes over my face. It reminds me of Tiny and when we first met. She said my name was fitting because I was cold and dangerous.

Thoughts of her immediately have my heart plummeting as I quickly straighten on the couch. I should be there at the building, watching for anything suspicious.

“Chill, I have a car there.” Raiden’s voice penetrates the anxious bubble around my head as I deflate, my shoulders slumping forward.

“I need to be there,” I tell him as my head begins to pound. “Shereen could be up to something and she could hurt Tiny.”

“Because of what happened that night at the orphanage?” Raiden asks, as he sits in a chair across from me. “Make me understand what we’re dealing with here, Squall.”

I look him in the eye and wonder if he can see the shame I’m feeling. I’ve lived with the guilt of that night for the last thirty-plus years, and sometimes I still wake hearing her screaming my name as I drag Victor out of that basement.

“The scars she has are because of me and the choice I made that night. I was a coward, and the love I had for your brother superseded everything else. I couldn’t imagine him being hurt any more than he already had been, and everyone else was disposable,” I confess as he hands me a tumbler filled with amber liquid. I shouldn’t drink because my tolerance is weak, but I need the courage it provides.

“You’re talking about her hands?” he asks gently as he brings his own glass to his mouth.

“I wasn’t there for that part,” I begin. “But the scars I imagine she has on her back I was there to witness. It would probably match the ones your brother has on his back and stomach, but worse.” I take a sip from the glass and let the liquid burn a trail of fire down my throat and into my stomach.

“I begged you guys to tell me what happened,” he growls and shoves to his feet. “The things Victor endured in there, it’s no wonder his mind is as warped as it is. He trusts no one and least of all me. He thinks I turned a blind eye, but all I really wanted—”

“Was to get out of there in one piece,” I cut him off. “I know, and he knows that, too.”

“Does he? I would disagree with you, Squall. He’s been fighting me for years, and now that we’re older and not on the road, I have no hold over him and it’s harder to clear the fog from his mind.” He takes a drink and leans against the large floor to ceiling window, gazing out at the New York skyline. “When I saw Victor the next day, I knew something happened. He was quiet and almost fearful, so unlike him, and I remember you never leaving his side. Always the most protective friend. Then I noticed Shereen hadn’t come to breakfast or lunch, then again, no sign of her at dinner.”

“Yeah,” I say as I run my thumb along the cool glass, keeping my eyes on the swirling liquid.

“When she did finally reappear a few days later, I was bowled over with relief because I thought she was dead, and do you know who I thought had killed her?” I look up at his confession, knowing exactly who he’s talking about. “Yes, I thought Victor had killed another. The relief was short-lived when I saw the bandages on her hands and the stiff way she walked. I knew something terrible happened, but when she didn’t bother to come near any of us, I assumed you two were involved.”

“She forgave us years later,” I remind him as I drink again, not wanting to remember how empty her forgiveness felt. “She was in love with Haynes.”

“I believe that was the only reason she attempted to move on, but when Haynes carved that pentagram into her skin, she knew we were no better than what we were in that home, becoming as evil as the very people meant to protect us.” He sits back down and levels me with a look. “I think Shereen is using Torrent and Tiny against you. Whatever happened that night, she blames you for it and if you’re telling me you had to make a choice, I believe she’s going to have history repeat itself.”

“I can’t choose between them.” I shake my head. “That would be impossible.”

“She knows that and it can only mean she’s been watching us closely for a long while. You have only known Tiny for four years and you’ve only really spent short periods of time together. It means the Vanquisher has stayed close for many years.” He’s making sense, but I wish he wasn’t.

“She’s making Torrent kill the Magistrates. Could that be so she can pin all of this on us? Then she’d have the means to execute us by fire.” My hand trembles as I bring the last of the whiskey up to my mouth and down it in one gulp.

“She would have the means without that, but it would solidify any case in front of the Order. Shereen is the Luciphia now, she answers to no one. Remember that.”

I get up from the couch and look out the window as the first few flurries fall from the sky. I’ve been living in fear while Shereen has been holding both of the people I care about hostage. But as I stand here and watch the snow float down, I realize I’m stronger than that. If it means I forfeit my life to save them, so be it.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Squall,” Raiden interrupts my thoughts as if he can hear them. “We will get them out, but I think it’s smart to let Torrent finish whatever job she’s asking of him. At least we can barter after that.”

“There’s no negotiating with terrorists,” I tell him as I clench my hands at my sides. “She won’t listen to our pleas. They will fall on deaf ears. If she does indeed hold a grudge for that night, it would be with me, and therefore, it’s up to me to make it right.”

“I could call Hail. They were very close at one time—”

“They were forced to be close,” I cut him off. “And remember in Nevada? She helped him once and called them even. No, I need to get over there and speak to her. She’s sending Torrent on dangerous missions, knowing his flare for dramatics could get him caught. I need this to stop now.”

“I’ll come with you.” He rises from the seat, but I stop him with a hand to his shoulder.

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