“So what happened anyway? I’ve been so worried about you.”
Gabriella ran a hand over her face, it was a sharp harsh movement, she was clearly beyond tired and stressed.
“A few hours after you left, the Coven foresaw a Bloodling attack on a house a few miles from the Warren. I should have called you back, but I didn’t — I’m sorry. To be honest I was still angry with you…and myself a bit for how I reacted.”
“Don’t worry about that now. Go on.”
“Sophia sensed them. They were hiding in the attic waiting for the owners to return home from a night out.” She shrugged. “It was easy, we arrested them no problem.”
“So what went wrong?”
“As we were leaving, we were ambushed by the SOS, dozens of them. We were outnumbered and outmatched. We managed to escape, but Sophia got cornered by a Bloodseeker. Midnight pretty much tore the thing in half, but not before the bastard got his fangs into her.” She paused, harshly tugging out a strand of hair that had slipped onto her face. “Alex, it was a setup.” “You mean there’s a Rogue in the Warren?” “There has to be. It’s the only explanation. They knew we were coming.” I blew air out through the side of my mouth. “That’s the last thing we need.” We stood in silence for a moment before I asked. “Can I come and see her?”
“Of course. We can head together later. Selene and the Coven have requested to see you today anyway. To be honest the only reason I’m here is to bring you in.”
“Surely Faru could have just done that link thing with me like he did before, you didn’t need to come here.” As I said the words, it dawned on me that all my frantic call attempts could have been avoided. The communication is two way — I could have linked with him. I groaned internally.
Gabriella shifted her gaze down to her hands. “Okay, I needed to get out of there, in case…you know.” She lifted her head up. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“No, of course it doesn’t…it makes you human.”
She looked relieved. “Thanks. Listen, I also came here to apologise. It was wrong for me to act the way I did. I was terrified and overwhelmed by everything.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s me who should be apologising — what I said was completely out of order. And as for going behind your back, I promise I will never do anything like that again.” I held out a hand and tried my best smile. “Friends again?”
Gabriella knocked my hand away and wrapped her arms around me. She pressed her cheek against mine and I felt the warm dampness of her tears on my skin. As I breathed in her wonderful scent, the knots in my stomach unravelled and all of the fear slipped away as if it had never existed.
I turned down the Soulfire song blaring from the car speakers and glanced at Gabriella.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier. If there really is a Rogue in the Warren, why not force Bargheist to give up who it is?”
“That’s yet another reason I think there is one. He was deported back to Pandemonia just before the ceremony started. The trap happened what — six hours later? I would say that’s about the perfect amount of time for a message to be passed on and for an attack to be set up.” I indicated and overtook an old couple in a Beetle. “They knew you wouldn’t be able to question him about anything.” “Exactly.” “Which also means that they must be close by.” Gabriella raised her eyebrows. “I don’t follow.”
“Think about it. If they were able to setup an organised attack like that within a relatively short window of time, there must be a base nearby.”
“Alex, you’re a genius! Of course they would need somewhere to meet safely. If we can find that base, we can take them all out.”
“Yeah, but how do we do that?”
“That’s the hard part.”
We drove on in silence for a while. The Audi raced along the duel carriageway. Under Gabriella’s instruction, I came off onto a country style lane and followed signposts towards an area called the Warrens. The name sounded so innocent and normal. Like hiding in plain sight.
A thought occurred to me. “Do you think the attack was meant specifically for Orion?” I asked.
“I think so. It’s common knowledge that Orion is the first response team for Chapter Hill. Echo and Trojan back us up if it’s a big mission or handle specific jobs, like the occasional infiltration or protection- like they're doing with your house. The rest of the Guardians generally work further afield. Plus…” She cast an odd glance in my direction. “What is it?” “Well, there’s been this feeling I can’t shake. But I didn’t want to worry you.” “You’re worrying me now! Tell me.” “I think the trap was meant for you.”
I stared over at her. A juddering under the wheels warned me that I was drifting off the road. I steadied the car. “Why do you think that?”
“Because, you’d officially joined that evening. The SOS couldn’t have known that we’d have an argument and that because of that I’d choose not to bring you along on the mission.”
I gripped the wheel tight with both hands. “Why is everyone trying to kill me?”
Gabriella stared out of the window. “I don’t know. But like I said before, if anyone tries it, they won’t live very long.”
The garage door cranked open and I eased the car down the slope, parking it in a space near the Nexus.
In the elevator, Gabriella pushed a button of a cross with a snake wrapped around it.
Recovery Centre, said the voice.
We emerged into a sterile white corridor. Rows of black chairs had been placed outside uniform doors. The only way to tell them apart were the metallic numbers screwed onto the wood. I mentally counted down as we walked. The only break in the pattern was a door marked refreshments.
Sophia’s room — number seven, was near the far end of the corridor. Delagio was outside; leaning backwards, foot resting on the wall. A marble weaved itself between his fingers in a constant loop. His eyes were closed. He opened them a fraction and nodded. It was a solemn gesture which implied 'no change either way'.
I patted his arm as we walked past and creaked the door open.
The room was dimly lit. A single lamp sat on a corner unit, creating a large halo of light on the ceiling. Lying in a bed shaped like half a glass cylinder was Sophia. All manner of tubes and wires were connected to her. Each one trailed back to a cluster of blinking, whirring machines. I didn’t have a clue what half of them were. The only one I recognised was a Cardiogram. A black line travelled from left to right on the screen, jerking into a lightning bolt in the middle. The bolt looked small.
It was hard to see Sophia properly, because of the shadow that Midnight’s hulking frame cast over her. He was hunched over, dabbing her head with a damp cloth. He looked terrible. His face was pale from lack of sleep and his bloodshot eyes were ringed by dark bags. The tattooed scars were red and swollen, where he’d clearly been scratching. The smell of stale sweat made it clear he hadn’t left the room to do anything, even wash.
He gave a weak smile as we entered. We made our way over to the bed and I had to stifle a gasp.
I’d thought Midnight looked bad, but it was nothing compared to the state Sophia was in.
Her skin was completely grey. Darker areas surrounded her protruding cheekbones. Thin red lines of infection originated from two purple puncture wounds on her neck, spreading out like a spider’s web, mapping every part of the skin I could see. An oxygen mask covered most of her little face like some kind of clinical facehugger. Sophia had always been skinny, but now the poor thing looked in danger of simply disappearing. The only clue that she was even alive apart from the beeping monitor, were the occasional twitches and moans she made from the depths of her feverish sleep. Her sickness seemed to radiate from her, taking on its own menacing life form, which threatened to engulf the room.
We crowded around the bed, trying to find space amongst the tubes which sprouted from her like appendages. Looking at the sickly waif that had replaced the sweet Sophia made me want to cry. I bit my lip hard. “She’s trying her hardest to fight it,” Midnight said as much to himself as any of us. Gabriella stroked her palm across Sophia’s forehead. She frowned and pulled her hand away. “She’s even hotter than before.” “One hundred and nine,” Midnight agreed. My mouth gaped open. “How is that even possible?” “Witches run hotter than normal humans,” answered Gabriella. “Still that’s too much — even for her.” “Isn’t there anything we can do?” I said, feeling utterly helpless.