I nodded, trying to show her the apology in my eyes. She seemed to understand.
‘Spence was using a glamour to get in close to a group of humans. They’re working for this one exile and they’re part of these tournaments going on everywhere.’
‘I know the ones,’ I said.
She nodded and licked her lips. ‘We thought he worked alone at first, but we were wrong. Very wrong. We realised pretty quickly that we’d severely underestimated him. He’s so much more powerful than anything I’ve … but Spence …’
‘Spence what?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m not sure what happened but he suddenly changed. And then we were on the run. I could feel them coming after us but Spence refused to tell me what was happening. He just kept telling me he was going to get me out of there.’
‘Chloe, what happened?’
‘We were weaving our way towards an old Grigori safe house in Mexico that Spence knew about. We were almost there but they found us. There were six exiles, plus their humans. Spence knew I couldn’t …’
‘It’s okay, Chloe,’ I assured her.
She swallowed. ‘The exiles captured us and sent us off with the humans. But they weren’t like ordinary humans. They were different.’
‘How?’ Steph asked.
Chloe’s attention turned to Steph for the first time and she smiled warmly. I could tell they had formed a friendship.
‘You know how when people are being controlled by exiles but they don’t seem to be aware of it, they just see things like they’re in daze?’
We all nodded.
‘Well, these people – it was like they knew the truth and they were okay with it. They’d somehow accepted it and genuinely worshipped the exiles. If I didn’t know better I’d think they were possessed or some kind of …’
‘What? Like a cult?’ I asked.
‘No. Like smart, wealthy people, all driven and working towards something. Like Scientology. They shot us with enough tranquillisers to take down a herd of elephants.’
‘What did they do with you?’ I asked, my stomach sinking. If they had Spence it was not going to be easy to get him back.
‘They have places all over the world. They moved us every day, never staying in one place. They kept us drugged and moved us on a private plane. We left Mexico and went to Quebec, Toronto, Washington. On the fourth day, when they flew us to Austin, Spence made his move. We’d been getting stronger without them knowing – developing immunity to the sedatives. Once Spence had enough control it wasn’t too difficult for him to take down the humans. He grabbed me and we ran into the commercial airport. He got me a ticket to New York and told me to leave. I thought we’d be coming here together but he wasn’t having it.’ Tears started to slip down her cheeks, and I gripped her hand even though my insides clenched with worry.
‘He told me that I had to find you. He said to make sure I used your surname. He said to tell you he’s still got your back and he knows he’ll see you soon.’
Spence knew me well and I couldn’t help but love that although he’d said it was a trap, he knew for sure that I’d go anyway.
Now I just need to know where.
‘Can you sense him?’ I asked.
‘Only that he’s alive. But I’m still pretty weak.’
With Chloe’s permission I finished healing her. Tears streamed down her face but she didn’t make a sound. When I released her hands she opened her eyes.
‘Now can you sense him?’ I asked.
She concentrated. ‘He’s in the country. He’s south, but I can’t tell you exactly where.’
‘That helps,’ Steph said.
I shook my head, still trying to make sense of it all. ‘So, if Spence sent you back here, what happened to you?’
‘Most of the damage is from the humans keeping us down. And when we got free of them I got on the plane like Spence said, but then I saw him through the window, moving around on the tarmac. A few minutes later I saw an exile following him.’
‘Spence didn’t know?’ Zoe asked, seeing where this was headed. No Grigori could stand back and watch their partner be taken down.
Chloe shook her head.
‘You got off,’ Zoe concluded.
‘Yes. But the moment I did, I was hit from behind.’
‘And they just left you there?’ Salvatore asked, voicing my own suspicions. But for Salvatore, I knew it was more: he was seeking lies. It was his gift.
She bit her lip. ‘I don’t know why they didn’t take me again. Or kill me.’
Neither did I. Discreetly, I glanced at Salvatore and registered his small nod. Chloe was telling the truth.
‘Maybe they wanted to make sure you were found,’ Steph offered. ‘If someone was waiting for you the moment you got off the plane, maybe it was to make sure you really left. When you got off, they knocked you out, but put you where you’d be discovered, knowing the Academy would eventually find you.’
I looked up at Steph’s worried expression.