Chapter 51
Cyrus was huddled over the kitchen counter with Victor, Ash and Vero, drawing up the plan for that evening. The sight of Victor and Cyrus standing so close together made Evie’s skin crawl. They’d come back to Victor’s to regroup before the attack and sort out the weapon situation. It didn’t seem like a great idea to Evie, but Issa had told them it was safe for the moment.
In the background a television played on mute. Evie watched a blonde CNN reporter with a sombre expression reporting to camera. She was standing on a street somewhere. There was yellow tape in the background, and several chalk outlines were drawn over the blood-spattered sidewalk. The picture switched to another reporter, on another street corner. This time in the background Evie could make out a gathering of people in front of a makeshift shrine. Statistics ticker-taped across the bottom of the screen. iPhone footage of some Mixen filled the top right-hand corner. Evie stared in horror. How was this happening? How was any of this real?
The screen went suddenly blank. Issa had pulled the plug. Evie looked hurriedly away, back towards the others. Over Cyrus’s shoulder she counted the arrowheads he’d spread out on the counter. There were twelve, made from shadow steel, strong enough to cut through thousand-year old Original skin. Strong enough to cut through anything in fact. They required delicate handling unless you wanted to lose a finger. Issa had just turned up with them. She wouldn’t say how she’d come across them but ultimately, who cared?
Evie watched Vero pick up one of the arrows with a pair of pliers and fix it carefully onto a thin shaft, before sliding it into the sheaf she usually carried with her on hunts. She did this with eight of the arrow heads, then she took the crossbow Victor handed her without a word and hefted it against her shoulder, looking down the sights and squinting. Vero was the best shooter they had. Evie felt better knowing that she would be armed with arrows that wouldn’t just bounce right off Original flesh.
Vero placed the crossbow down carefully on the side and asked Ash for his sword. He handed over the curved blade and watched as she started binding the arrow to its tip with some electrical tape.
When she was done Ash picked up his sword and weighed it in his hand. He slashed the air around him, leaving light trails hanging like the ghosts of fireworks in the air and Evie grinned along with him.
She hadn’t wanted to point out the obvious before – that going out there with a normal sword was a little like trying to fight these things with plastic cutlery. But now, with a minor adjustment, Ash and the others would each be armed with something lethal.
‘Shame we can’t melt this down and make bullets out of it,’ Selena said, picking up one of the remaining arrows.
‘Impossible to melt. Nothing in this realm will make a dent in this thing,’ Victor murmured, fixing an arrowhead to his own shorter dagger.
‘Other than an Original’s head we hope,’ Vero muttered.
Evie took a moment to watch Vero as she worked on attaching the arrowhead in her hand to Selena’s stubby broadsword.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump.
‘You ready?’ Cyrus asked. ‘Jamieson’s going to go ahead. You clear on the rest?’
Evie nodded. ‘Yes.’
She looked over at the others strapping on their weapons.
‘I called my mum earlier,’ Evie suddenly said.
Cyrus frowned at her. ‘What did you tell her?’
‘That the end of the world was nigh and that I was about to do battle with some ancient bad guys armed only with a knife, but not to worry.’
A smile twitched at the edge of his mouth.
‘OK, I’m kidding, I told her that everything was cool and that I’d see her tomorrow. She’s been reading about all these murders and all the sightings. She’s paranoid I’m going to get killed if I stay in LA.’ She paused. ‘What could I tell her? That she was right to worry?’
Truthfully, her mother had been hysterical on the other end of the phone. She was now convinced that Evie was, in the best-case scenario a drug addict, in the worst-case scenario a pregnant drug addict, and Evie hadn’t had the energy to refute either scenario with any conviction. She was almost dreading her return to Riverview more than she was dreading tonight. Maybe she would never have to return though. The odds, despite the new weapons, weren’t exactly in their favour.
‘You will see her tomorrow. I guarantee it,’ Cyrus said softly as though he’d read her mind.
‘Don’t make guarantees you can’t keep.’
The smile died on his lips. ‘I’m not. I know it. And I will look after you out there. I won’t let anyone hurt you.’
She sucked in a breath and tried not to show how much his words stung. She’d heard the exact same thing from Lucas once. And look how that had ended.
‘It’s not getting hurt that I’m scared about,’ she whispered. ‘It’s everyone else. It’s losing even more people that I care about that frightens me.’
His eyes narrowed and he took a minuscule step towards her, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he said gently.
‘Who said I was talking about you?’ she fired back, trying and failing not to smile.
Behind her, someone cleared their throat. Evie whipped around. Victor stood over them.
‘You should have this,’ he said, offering her the shadow blade he’d taken from her the day before.
Evie glanced down at it. The hilt was facing towards her. The point of it, glowing eerily, was pointed directly at Victor’s stomach. Evie reached for it with trembling fingers. It would only take one quick motion – a simple thrust of the wrist. She could do it now, right now, and it would all be over. She would have her revenge and she wouldn’t have to look over her shoulder any longer either.
She glanced up at Victor.
His eyes were blazing with the challenge and she realised with a start that that was why he was giving her the blade, here, now, in full view of everyone.
He was giving her the chance for revenge, daring her to exact it here, with all of them as witnesses. Or was he simply taunting her? Believing that she wouldn’t do it? Whichever it was, her hand froze, the blade stiff and poised between them.
Evie could feel all eyes glued to her, the atmosphere in the room buzzing. After ten long seconds Victor slowly backed away, smiling victoriously.
She felt completely undone. The blade fell limply to her side. She had betrayed Lucas – let him down. She hadn’t been able to do it. Tears welled behind her eyes. Why hadn’t she been able to do it? What had stopped her? The only thing she was grateful for was that Flic wasn’t there and hadn’t seen. What would she say? What would she think?
She suddenly wished Lucas was there. She wished she could speak to him and explain – beg for his forgiveness. She was losing him and it felt like a punishment. He was fading from her memory. The way he felt and the way he smelt, the huskiness of his voice – everything about him was turning indistinct, disintegrating into ashes and dust. She hadn’t dreamt of him last night either. She hadn’t dreamt of him since Cyrus had kissed her.
She ground her teeth at the memory of all that she’d let happen. Cyrus’s kiss had completely erased the memory of Lucas. That’s what had done it. And that was the biggest betrayal of all.
‘Evie.’
It was Cyrus. His hand brushed the nape of her neck. It was an intimate gesture, one of ownership, even if she knew he hadn’t really meant it that way. She pulled harshly away, jerking out of his reach, then she squared her shoulders and walked out of the kitchen, heading towards the door.