Chapter 371
An amused expression overcame the tech guy, and I realized Christian was about to launch into one of his stories that is neither amusing nor important. He seems to think he can dazzle us with his sense of history when all I really needed was a one word answer. If he was trying to say this was the asylum I’d seen in my dreams, then that would do. Instead, he embarked on a journey back in time that none of the rest of us wanted to accompany him on but had no choice because everyone else is too polite to interrupt, and I was trying to be nice. Jamie’s shoe told me I had to be.
“Larundel was originally conceived in the late 1930s, but due to World War II, building didn’t begin until the 1940s. Even with that, it wasn’t until 1953 that it opened its doors.” I wondered if he’d just pulled up a Wikipedia page and was reading it to us—slowly, in the most ridiculously annoying voice ever conceived.
I glanced around the room. Aaron wasn’t paying any attention to Christian at all, which was a shame because he was likely the only one who could get him to stop talking. I decided he probably already knew everything Christian was saying and was trying to figure out how he’d missed this. My sister was grinding her teeth. She wanted to make Christian shut up, too, I could tell, but she didn’t. Elliott was literally scowling at the tech guy. They don’t get along. Everyone else was listening politely, except Brandon who was staring at Alex.
“It was only open for about forty years, but during that time, thousands of psychiatric patients resided there, some of the worst cases imaginable, too. Schizophrenics, the criminally insane. It’s really not a very nice place. Now, paranormal investigators flock to the site because of all of the activity. Well, they did anyway. I imagine if Holland is holed up there, they wouldn’t be coming in droves anymore.” Christian finished with a satisfied little chuckle, like he’d just enlightened us, and we could all thank him for imparting his wisdom upon us.
No one else said anything, which I found irritating. Narrowing my eyes at Christian, I asked the obvious. “So you think the place I saw in my dream, the asylum, is Larundel, and that’s where Holland is?” He really could’ve said that very statement and saved us all the drama.
“Yes.”
Now he chooses to be brief. Brandon leaned forward slightly. “Then why in the world are you just now mentioning this?”
It was a good question. If Christian was aware that I had seen an asylum and there was a giant one this close to where we’d found Paul, he could’ve said something. Of course, he hadn’t been there with us during the operation. Maybe that was why. Maybe he was still mad he hadn’t gotten to go.
Christian shrugged. “No one asked me.” It seemed like the lamest reason a person could ever give. I wanted to swivel my head down to Aaron to see his reaction, but before I could move, Christian continued. “Besides, I figured it was clear.” That was more like it. The thought hadn’t actually occurred to him. He’s such a windbag. “If Jeb said he’d checked it, I thought it couldn’t be the place. Even though it sounded right by Cassidy’s description.”
I wasn’t sure what to say and remembered my mother’s advice about being nice, so I only said, “Thanks for that.”
Christian snickered, like this was all a game to him, and I was about to say something less polite when I remembered that Alex was in the room, and I decided not to look like a little sniveling teenager in front of him.
Besides, Aaron interjected then, and there was no reason for anyone else to say anything. “I think it’s safe to say that we messed this up, and we need to go have a look around.” I ripped my eyes off of Christian and turned to face the Leader just as he said my name. “Cass, do you have any idea who Holland’s left in charge in her absence or how many Vampires we might be talking about?”
Frustration overcame me as I was put in a position to admit my weakness in front of the whole group, but I had to be honest. No matter how many times I’d tried, I hadn’t been able to figure out who else was working with Holland, other than Hines. “I don’t know. I’ve tried to find out numbers, but it’s hard because they’re always adding to their army. And Holland being away has left it difficult for me to zero in on anyone who is still there.” I didn’t mention that I also didn’t have a location on where Holland had actually gone, though I was certain it was Europe. I didn’t know why she was there or what she was doing. I was a mess—I needed to find a way to make my powers more helpful.
“Okay.” Aaron smiled at me like it wasn’t a big deal. “We’ll just have to send Paul’s team in and see what happens.”
That sounded like a terrible idea to me, but what could I say? We really didn’t have an alternative. At least we knew Holland and Hines were still absent. I could confirm that before Paul went in.
“What are their numbers like in Melbourne now?” Elliott asked. “You sent them quite a few Guardians, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Aaron replied. “They’ve got about fifty extra Guardians, which on paper sounds good, but I’m not sure what Holland’s up to. And if she’s truly trying to find a way to kill us, we need to be cautious.”
The thought sent chills down my spine as I thought about all of the work Hines had been putting in, trying to come up with some sort of an injection that would either kill the Guardians or turn them back to humans which would allow them to be killed. He was close, and there were times when he seemed to think he had it.
“Can’t happen.” Christian’s muttering stung my ears like a swarm of hornets. I did my best not to turn and look at him for fear I’d lose control of my teeth.
Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who thought his comment was ridiculous and offensive. Beside me, Jamie said, “Actually, there is something she could do.”
We all turned to look at the doctor, and I was so glad he was not only smart but also my friend because if I had to handle Christian on my own, I would probably rip his throat out. I’m pretty sure I could do that if I wanted to.
