Chapter 423
My sister’s voice infiltrated my thoughts, which seemed weird because I didn’t even know she was back. It wasn’t until I opened my eyes and saw her standing in the doorway that I also noticed I was levitating. I bounced up and down on the mattress a few times, and she looked at me a little oddly, like she couldn’t quite figure out what I was doing. She didn’t ask, only said, “Come on. We’re going to DC.”
“Okay.” I slid off of the bed, grabbing my jacket and my Glock and putting them both on as we went. I still had Brandon’s shirt on, which probably looked way too big on me but not totally weird, but I decided to shove Elliott’s hat back in my pocket.
I almost asked where Ashley was, but then I realized I’d been out a lot longer this last time than I would’ve ever guessed. I had a message from her from about an hour ago that said she went with Christian to DC to see if she could help. She said she’d knocked on the door, but I hadn’t answered, and she hoped I was asleep.
“Did you get anything?” Cadence asked as we headed down the stairs.
“Not much,” I admitted. The foyer was beginning to brighten. The sun was somehow coming up like nothing crazy had happened the night before. We walked toward the door, and I saw Hannah and Job, the local leader, outside talking to the lady who owned the B and B. I wondered why she was up so early and what she’d been doing but didn’t care to ask. To my sister, I said, “I know Stewart’s running. I decided to see if I could find Holland instead. If I can figure out where she’s hiding, I can stop the signal.”
“But you haven’t been able to do that for months,” my loving sister reminded me.
I stopped in my tracks and put my hands up in frustration. “I’m out of ideas.”
“Okay, okay.” Cadence backed off a little, and we continued on our way. “Whatever you think. Stewart’s got to resurface eventually, though. He’s a professor. Do you think he’ll just walk away from that to serve Holland?”
We were close to the vehicle now, and I wanted to take a deep breath and clear my mind, but it was already muggy out and it probably would’ve done no good anyway. “Maybe.” I didn’t know. I got into the back seat, and Cadence went around to the other side while Hannah and Job got in. Buckling my seat belt, I continued, “Whoever they got to do this can’t be your typical college prof.” From what I’d seen in Rog’s head, Stewart wasn’t typical at all.
The exhaustion was evident in my sister’s tone and her expression as she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. “We also have to remember that Holland wanted the Guardians out of the way for a reason. So sooner or later, she’s going to have to come out of hiding. Because she’ll be coming for me.”
“For us,” I quickly corrected. “She wants me, too.” I knew Cadence didn’t like to think about that, but it was true.
Shaking her head, she said, “Right. So maybe there’s another way we can figure out what this is and what happened without knowing where Stewart or Holland is. I mean, they had to find out about it from somewhere.”
Hannah turned around to look at us. “Didn’t you say you had Christian go over all of the books in the archives? Before we left KC?”
“I didn’t—Aaron did,” Cadence explained. “So if there’s nothing in any of those books, where else might we find information about the phenomenon?”
Job had been quiet so far, just driving and letting us think aloud. He interjected now. “The archives in Kansas City are the only place that would have that sort of information. I can’t think of another place that would house books that predate what Christian can personally remember.” I had no idea how old Job was, but with a name like that, I figured he wasn’t a spring chicken.
“Who is the oldest Guardian still alive? There’s got to be some older than Christian,” Cadence said.
Hannah was thoughtful for a moment before she replied, “Sure, there are a few, but most of them are scattered, and none of the really old ones have IACs. How old is Ward?”
“Aaron’s friend Ward?” Cadence asked. “I have no idea.”
I knew who Ward was because he was going to be in the wedding. He was flying in from the UK and should’ve been headed to Iowa right about now. That was my first thought about the wedding since Aaron and the others disappeared, and I cringed a little. How was my sister functioning?
Job said, “I’d say Ward is at least a hundred years older than Aaron. Do you think he’d know something?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah admitted. “And he doesn’t have an IAC. Surely, Aaron would’ve asked him.”
Even while Hannah was speaking, I jumped directly into Ward’s mind. He was on a plane. I quickly searched for old books, blood moon, got nothing. I also instantly thought of one other person who was old. Schmitz—the guy who had told us about Daunator. He was back at headquarters, presently watching a sitcom in his apartment, antsy and nervous as always. Same search, no result.
About the time Hannah said Aaron would’ve asked Ward, I announced, “He doesn’t know. Neither does Schmitz, who is also older than Christian.”
Cadence stared at me wide eyed for a moment. I admit, my skills can be startlingly fast when I can find who I’m looking for. “Does Ward know Aaron’s gone, or did you search his mind without tipping him off?”
“I didn’t tell him anything. I just searched for information about the blood moon.”
My sister sighed but nodded. I could tell she wasn’t sure what to think about anything at this point. Turning back to Hannah, she asked, “Anyone else from Roatan in that age bracket?”
“Probably, but we’ll have to check. There aren’t any that I personally know of.” Hannah shrugged and turned back around, like she didn’t know what else to say. I was right there with her.
