Chapter 108

Army cots were not as comfortable as the bed Jo had been sleeping in back at Adrian’s house, but it was a lot more comfortable than trying to sleep on the plane. She’d had to excuse herself a few hours into the storytelling. Unlike Guardians and some Hunters, she just couldn’t stay up all night. A few of the other Hunters were sleeping in the tent she was in, including Ashley, but the Guardians would likely stay up all night. Knowing Cadon, he’d stay out there with their dad and make himself the good twin, the one who was interested in what their father had to say, the one who would take advantage of every second he had to spend with the Guardian Leader, while Jo was the weakling.
With the scratchy blanket up over her shoulder, Jo closed her eyes and forced the world away. She’d always been pretty good at falling asleep without much effort. Even though she knew the next day would be an important one, this night was no different, and before she knew it, she’d drifted away, still hearing Elliott’s booming laugh in the distance.
The next few days could be monumental--or unbelievably disappointing. With her dad with them, there was a good chance they’d actually be able to hunt Holland down and capture her. Having Jamie there would give them a better chance of getting everyone out alive, too, even with the scandium bullets.
She needed to check in with Emma and see how the uniforms were coming. She’d been making a huge amount of progress before Jo left Russia. Maybe by the time she came back, they would be ready to go. It would be a lot more reassuring to know that the Guardians were not as vulnerable to the Vampires’ attacks as the Hunters were, the way that it should be.
Despite the worry on her mind and the uncomfortableness of the cot, eventually, Jo did fall asleep. She knew she was dreaming when she found herself standing in an odd black tunnel. The walls, floor, and ceiling seemed to be made entirely of ash, but it was hard beneath her feet, like stone.
She took a few steps forward, letting her fingers trail against the wall. A shard of the black crusty material bit into her finger, causing her to jump. When she looked at her hand, it was bleeding. A stream of scarlet dripped across her fingers and onto the ground near her boots.
She was in the Blood Moon portal.
But why?
The pain in her hand dissipated, and she continued to walk forward. She had an idea that someone was at the end of this tunnel, waiting for her. It was just a sense, a notion in the pit of her stomach, but she continued to walk forward, searching for whoever it was.
Just before she reached the end of the tunnel, she heard a female call her name. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t be sure that it was who she thought it was. Jo took a few more hesitant steps….
“Jo! Wake up!”
Jo covered her face with her hand, squinting up at her brother’s face. “Cadon?” What was he doing in her dream?
‘The plane’s ready. Dad wants to get out of here. The sooner we get back to Russia, the quicker we can get this mission over with.”
“Right.” Jo leaned up on one elbow and rubbed her eyes. “Okay.” She stifled a yawn and put her feet on the ground. “I’m up.”
“Okay. Just… meet us on the airfield in fifteen minutes, all right?”
“All right,” Jo said, still trying to get her brain out of the dream she was just in. She had no idea where the airfield was, but her brother was gone, and she wasn’t going to ask her brother. She’d figure it out or ask someone else.
About twelve minutes later, with her hair somewhat tamed, her teeth sort of brushed, and her clothes a little more straightened, Jo headed through the tent city toward the far end of the camp. Thanks to a tip from Zane, she was sure she was headed the right way. Apparently, everyone else was already there, including Ryker, even though she technically had a few minutes left on her timer. She wished she’d gotten a chance to grab some breakfast. It was going to be a really long flight back to Russia with no food.
The plane’s engine was already running when Jo spotted it. Elliott was standing in the doorway, beckoning her to come on. Jo didn’t feel like running, but it seemed clear she was the last to arrive, so she broke into a jog and jumped through the door. “Cutting it close, Lil’ Jo,” Elliott said, grabbing hold of her as she leapt in beside him as if she might fall right back out.
“Sorry. Someone should’ve woken me up sooner.”
“Are you kidding? Waking you up early is like sticking your head in a lion’s mouth,” Brandon said from his position across from them on the floor. “No one wanted that job except for Cadon, and that’s only because he loves to agitate you.”
Jo looked around the plane for her brother but didn’t see him anywhere.
“He’s up front with your dad,” Cassidy said, reading her mind.
Jo nodded, not sure how she felt about that. Part of her was jealous that her brother was in the cabin with their dad because she wanted that time with him, but at the same time, she didn’t feel worthy of his time either.
Behind her, some of Margie’s Australian troops closed the plane doors.
“We’d better sit down before we fall over,” Elliott suggested.
Again, Jo’s head bobbed up and down. She almost sat where she’d be leaning back against the doors, but even though she watched Elliot lock them into place from the inside, that didn’t seem like the greatest idea.
With all of the extra people on board, the plane was a little more crowded this time. She took a spot next to Martin and gave him a polite smile, thinking it was going to be a really long flight with no food and no one to talk to--and no one to fall asleep on. She remembered Margie had wanted him to go with her but guessed he’d had other plans.
Zane was across the plane, sitting between Cassidy and Scott. There wasn’t any room for her to push her way between any of those people. He gave her a look, asking if she wanted him to move over to her, she assumed, but she just shrugged. It would be okay. Somehow.
The conversation quickly turned back to stories from “the good old days.” Some of the stories Elliott and Jamie were telling were familiar to Jo. Others were not. Occasionally, someone else would chime in and add a detail or give another perspective, but for the most part, it was Elliott doing the majority of the talking and Jamie either setting him straight or clearing up some of the wilder exaggerations.
Most of the group was interested in listening to the stories, but Jo was having trouble concentrating. If her dad was going to be staying, once they landed in Russia, she wouldn’t have as much responsibility as she had before. He would naturally take over everything.
But if he didn’t stay… well, she had a lot of stuff to figure out.
That would mean that she would have to take charge of everything again. Hopefully, she’d get a chance to at least speak to her dad on the way back to the frozen tundra and get some advice about how she should proceed.
The lack of quality sleep the night before coupled with the white noise from the plane and the monotonous storytelling from the same people had her nodding off only a couple of hours into the flight. She caught herself falling forward a few times and woke up, looking around to see if anyone was watching her.
Zane’s eyes were on her, a questioning expression on his face, but he didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t have been easy for him to be discreet in the plane, and Cassidy wasn’t providing a shield for the IACs at the moment. She’d be happy to get back to Russia if only so that they could speak in private again.
It was another voice asking the question. “Are you okay, Jo?”
She turned her head to look at Martin, trying to make herself at least look reasonably conscious. “Uh… yeah. I’m fine.”
“You look like you’re falling asleep. Is Elliott’s storytelling boring you to tears?”
Jo chuckled. “No, I don’t mind his stories. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“And you had a busy day yesterday,” he added.
“That’s very true. I think we all did.” The urge to ask him how he’d done during his imprisonment was caught on the tip of her tongue. But the thin line between being interested and being nosy kept her from saying more.
“If you want to lay down and go to sleep, I bet no one would mind. Elliott probably won’t be any quieter, but I’m not sure he’s physically capable of being quieter,” Martin said with a chuckle.
“Oh, no. Thanks. I’m fine,” Jo said, waving her hand as if to show him that she was doing great with eyelids that weighed at least six hundred pounds.
“Okay….” Martin gave her a smile and then returned his attention to Elliott.
Jo was a liar. A big fat liar. Within a few moments, her eyes started getting heavy again. She absolutely wasn’t going to be able to stay awake any longer. Try as she might to fight it, sleep was winning, and the world was beginning to fade away.