Chapter 77: Teamwork
I gulped fresh air in the back yard. I'd been so engrossed in my training I didn't even realize it was full dark until Erica was taken. I tried to get my head on straight while I struggled with my emotions.
Erica was gone. Celeste possibly dead. As much as I disliked the latter, I never wished anything of the sort on her. And as for Erica... she was my mom's best friend, my second mother my whole life. Yes, she bugged me sometimes and treated me like a kid. But she tried and I knew she loved me.
And she was gone.
I felt him before I saw him, leftover residual power from the link, but I was very happy he was there. Uncle Frank hugged me and held me while I cried on his chest. He was still cold so he hadn't even taken time to eat before coming to see me.
"It'll be okay, kiddo," he said. "We'll find her, I promise."
It wasn't just Erica, of course, but a mix of sleep deprivation and one emotional blow after another turning me into a weeping mess of Syd.
When I finally pulled back, I saw Sunny watching us from the kitchen. She came out when I motioned to her and I hugged her, too.
"You're the strongest girl I know," she whispered. "Oh Syd, this has been so hard on you."
Sunny knew just what to say to make me cry all over again.
I had just gulped my last teary hiccup when I realized we weren't alone. Sebastian smiled at me, a gentle smile, and stroked my hair before going inside. One other male and Anastasia were with him. She gave me a look saying she thought I was whole worlds of pathetic, but I didn't give a crap.
It made me sad instead to know Uncle Frank and Sunny weren't sleeping at our house anymore.
We followed the three inside and met my mother in the kitchen.
"I wanted to thank Syd for being such a fine focus." Sebastian bowed to me a little. I was wiping my nose with my sleeve at the time so it didn't have the impact it could have.
"You're welcome," I muttered around the cuff of my hoodie.
"We not only felt your loss," he went on, "we only now discovered your witch wasn't alone in the abduction. One of my clan is missing as well."
Not good. Bad enough it had two witches, but access to vampire power too? We were rapidly losing ground in this war and everyone knew it.
"We have to find it tonight," Sebastian said. "I fear if we wait much longer there will be no standing against it."
Mom nodded once. "We'll form teams. Two vampires with two witches."
"Agreed," he said. "Though some of my people may protest, I see the logic in what you say." He didn't look at Anastasia. He didn't have to. She kept her peace, but only barely.
"We know from Erica's connection she was in the same area where the creature first appeared," Mom said. "We have been searching there and elsewhere since this happened, but if we refine the location we won't be so thinly spread. Tonight we search for it until we find it."
"And destroy it." Sebastian held out his hand to her. She took it.
"And wipe it from the Earth," she said.
Mom was not fooling around. She would turn it into a smear on the ground.
She immediately started sending out orders. It almost didn't matter. It was like the whole family just knew because they started showing up in clumps.
No one wanted to be caught alone.
"Mom," I pulled her aside the first chance I had, leaving the family to mill about in the house and the back yard, trying to reconcile they were about to be working with vampires. "Celeste?"
"Alive," she breathed. "Barely. Louisa and Martin reached her in time."
I loved the earthy Vegas.
"So who am I teaming with?" I was so ready to get out there and kick some creature butt.
"No one." She pulled free. "You're staying here."
She was not serious! I didn't get a chance to argue with her. She didn't give me one.
"We need to go now," she said, using her magic so everyone heard her. "Stay with your teams and report anything at all suspicious."
"This creature is crafty with wiles beyond our knowledge," Sebastian added. "Think like your own kind, but also as your enemy. It is alone and growing stronger, but still too afraid to come at us when we are in numbers."
"Be safe," Mom finished. "And good luck."
Mom left the twins to watch the house. Of course she did. The little old ladies glared at me when I tried to argue. Mom left with a quick hug and a kiss for me and Meira and I had to just watch her go.
How much did that suck?
I considered defying her and going anyway, but figured it wasn't worth it. Especially when I saw Meira's trembling lower lip. She needed me.
I led her upstairs to her bedroom and read her a book, Sassy curled up next to us. It took three stories for her to fall asleep, but she finally did. As I crept out of her room, Sassy stopped me.
"Syd," he said, amber eyes glowing in the dark. "Don't do anything stupid." His silver tail thrashed against the comforter once.
"Mind your own business, fuzz ball." I returned long enough to bury my face in his fur and give him a loving scratch to his mane. "Just keep her safe."
His heavy purr made me smile. "Of course," he said. I left him there, chin on paws, glaring after me.
I spent the next hour pacing around my room, down the stairs to the kitchen, back upstairs, et cetera, ad naseum. Because of the wards around the house, I couldn't feel a thing. My family marched to battle with vampires at their side and I was stuck at home with my baby sister, my crazy grandmother and two old biddy witches who smelled like cat litter.
I was beginning to sink into serious resentment when the phone rang.
Caller ID said Brad. I was so surprised, I answered it.
"Syd." He sounded awful. "Hi."
"Brad," I said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just the flu. I'm finally over it."
"I was worried." Lie. Honestly I hadn't thought about him since his dad mentioned it. Bad girlfriend.
"Can I come over?"
Um. Not the best timing.
"It's important. I really want to see you."
I hesitated one more moment and sighed. "I'll meet you out back."
"See you in five."
I dug out a coat and crept downstairs. The twins were in the living room in matching recliners, their identical sweaters pulled up to their chins, a game show blinking its happy message at them.
They snored in tandem. Some guardians.
Still, the wards were up and that was all that mattered. But they were built to keep the creature out, not me in. It probably never occurred to them I might disobey my coven leader. Thing was, she wasn't just my coven leader. And I had no intention of disobeying her. As far as I was concerned, I was following orders. And planned to keep Brad as far from that thing as I could.
Swearing this was for the best, I made it out the back door and waited in the warming air. I needed to get this over with anyway. No time like the present. If I was going to break up with him, I might as well cut him loose and round off a truly perfect week.
When his black truck slowed in front of the neighbors, I ran for it.
***
