I chuckled as I got in, Rourke and Nick climbing in behind me. “I didn’t think she would reply, but I feel like I at least have to try. Her tactics are frustrating as hell.”
Tyler and the necromancer had taken the middle bench, Rourke joined me in the back, and Nick scooted in next to the girl to make sure she stayed put. She didn’t look too happy, but she kept her mouth shut.
As we drove away, I glanced out the back window.
In the distance, Ray held a huge torch, and just as we careened out of view, he leaned over and lit the stack of bodies. It would be a raging inferno in seconds. We took off through the woods. I leaned forward and tapped the necromancer on the shoulder. “Can those bodies be of harm to anyone after we burn them?”
She shook her head but didn’t turn around.
“Are you sure?” I prodded. “The humans in this city are in for the shock of a lifetime when they discover this. There will be no explanation for what happened, so rumors will run rampant, but if the humans who handle the charred bodies of the ghouls and wendigos are at risk, it’s unacceptable.”
“The wendigos are not contagious. You can kill a wendigo by fire if the brain has been destroyed—which I know you did, because I felt it.” Her voice held a hard edge. “I have fully withdrawn from the ghouls. They will not harm anyone. They are only corpses now.”
I sat back, nestling into Rourke’s shoulder. “What’s your name?” I asked as the van continued to bounce over the grassy hills before James was able to maneuver us onto a small country road.
After a long pause, she replied, “Kayla.” It was clear that was all she was going to give willingly.
I glanced at Rourke. He nodded and I scooted aside so he could take over. We needed information from this girl whether she wanted to give it or not. I was not opposed to using whatever it took. “We understand you did all this against your will, Kayla,” Rourke started, leaning up so he was over her shoulder. She straightened her back and tried to inch away, but there was nowhere for her to go. “But we also know you’re a powerful necromancer, and we won’t hurt you, if”—he let that settle for a moment—“you tell us what we need to know. So why don’t you cooperate and start from the beginning? How did you come to be here?” He ended on a growl to force the seriousness of his request.
She shifted in her seat with obvious irritation. “I have no time to start at the beginning, because by the time I reach the end, my brother will already be dead.”
26
James pushed the van faster than I’d thought it was capable of going. It zipped along the country back roads at breakneck speed, tossing us around in our seats continually. But James was a skilled driver and Marcy was keeping lookout.
We’d waited for her to spill, but after that confession, Kayla still hadn’t divulged any information. Even though Rourke had stayed in her space. I tried again. “Kayla,” I reasoned, “we can help you if you give us a chance. But in order to do that, you need to give us more information than ‘she’s going to kill him.’ We can see you were kidnapped, and by the looks of it right out of your bedroom, but we need concrete details. And once we have them, we can figure out the next move. We are not your enemy. Enid is.” Still nothing. So I used a different angle. “If we decide to take you home to rescue your brother, are we at least heading in the right direction?”
“No,” she snapped, finally angling her body around to face me. “In fact, each mile we go is another mile away from him.” Her voice was full of anger and emotion, and in that moment I knew exactly how she felt. I’d just traveled to the Underworld to save my own brother. Sibling bonds were important, especially in the supernatural world—since the odds were against you having them from the start.
Before I could form a reply, Tyler said, “I say we go after him.” His voice was firm and authoritative. It was the first time he’d spoken since we’d gotten into the van.
We all gaped at him, including Marcy, who turned in her seat, eyes wide. But she had the wherewithal to keep her mouth shut.
Kayla turned from me to glance at my brother.
She was frowning.
I cleared my throat. “What my brother means is we’ll listen to what you have to say, and once we have the information—”
“No,” Tyler said with an edge. “What I mean is we’re turning this van around now and going wherever Kayla tells us to go.” His power jumped to show his seriousness.