She focused inward and tried to find Charla. Nothing. Angie. Nothing. It was like they weren't on the planet as if they'd vanished completely. The anger in the pit of Victoria's stomach turned into fear, and she jumped to her feet. She had no time to lose.
Without thinking, she held Leto and teleported to her apartment, the effort knocking the breath out of her. She realized that she hadn't quite recovered from the last time. After a few minutes, she threw on a pair of jeans and a warm turtleneck, and grabbed the keys to her Mini. She would have tried to teleport but there was no safe arrival site that she could focus on clearly, and too many variables could make it disastrous.
"I'll be back, Leto. I love you. Everything will be okay, I promise you," she whispered before leaving.
As she drove, she thought about Charla and the whole unbelievable situation. Victoria couldn't figure out the reason behind it. Was it some roundabout way of Charla hurting Holly to get to her? Because of Gabriel? It was the only thing she could think of that would possibly make Charla do something so unspeakable. Still, no one would be that vengeful over a boy, would they? Charla's words ran through her mind, "I can get a little Ted Bundy crazy where Gabe's concerned," and Victoria felt herself go cold. She stepped on the gas.
She made the trip to New York in six hours, the clock on the dashboard saying two p.m. just as she was pulling off the Henry Hudson Parkway onto 125th Street. The streets were packed, typical for a Tuesday afternoon with yellow cabs threading violently in and out of the traffic. Buses droned by, trailing black clouds of noxious gases, and busy pedestrians peppered the sidewalk.
As another driver almost side-wiped her, Victoria pulled the car to the curb, and centered her emotions. All she needed now was an accident. It was proving more difficult to navigate New York City than she thought, so she decided to ditch her car in a long-term parking lot on 125th and Park Avenue. She took the subway downtown.
When the train pulled into the 42nd Street Station stop, she walked slowly into Grand Central Terminal from the subway and waited on the lower level near the circular train information center, her heart pounding so loudly it felt like it was going to jump straight out of her chest.
She saw Charla at the same moment that Charla saw her, and wondered how she had known that Victoria had arrived. No doubt that sneak Angie was slithering around somewhere, doing Charla's dirty work, and had been watching for when she arrived. Charla was dressed in dark jeans and a white sweater, and walked with arrogant purpose.
Her pretty face was marred with spite as she walked up to Victoria. "Don't think about trying anything unless you want that old woman to die," she said. "I know your tricks and there are people watching to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
Victoria's face tightened. She wanted to rip the skin off Charla's smug face. She dug her nails into her palms to suppress her rage. There would be time enough when Holly was safe. She could feel the blood racing and knew that she would give it freedom soon, no matter the cost, she thought rashly. It churned in response.
"Come on, don't just stand there," Charla said, as she walked into the entrance to Track 114. Victoria frowned and followed her. Were they going to get on a train and leave Grand Central? Charla walked quickly down the platform ignoring the Metro North train that was waiting on the side of the platform and Victoria trailed behind, trying to work out where they could possibly be going. They descended the stairs toward the end of the platform and walked toward a long escalator.
"Why are you doing this, Charla?" she asked, trying to memorize the way. "What did Holly ever do to you?"
"You think this is about Holly?" Charla laughed, the sound chilling.
"Why are you hurting her if it's about me?"
"You just answered your own question, don't you think?" Charla said. "Come along, we don't have all day. The old lady looks a little peaked," she added maliciously. Victoria gritted her teeth and prayed for self-control. She had pegged Charla all wrong.
Near the 47th Street and Park Avenue exit, Charla finally stopped at an elevator where she inserted a key and, to Victoria's surprise, pressed the down button. Victoria wondered briefly whether she could overpower her and maybe take control of her mind to find out where Holly was, and then thought the better of it. If Holly got hurt because of her rash behavior, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She couldn't risk Holly's safety until she could use magic to get them both out.