"What about the emails?" I finally asked, pulling my hand from Alistair"s and walking back to Taylor.
"Yeah, Taylor, what about the emails?" Alistair repeated.
She looked down at her freshly polished nails. "I sent them," she whispered.
"Speak up, T. I don"t think she heard you," Alistair snapped.
"I sent them." She spoke slowly, lifting her eyes to meet mine. "I had to. I mean, I needed someone to figure out the truth, but I couldn"t risk coming forward myself. The Sisterhood would have been compromised, and everyone would have disowned me. What happened that night...it"s been eating me alive. And I guess I thought you might be able to save us, to take back what is rightfully ours."
She glared at Alistair. "I was wrong." When she turned back to me, I saw that something had changed in her eyes. The ice queen was back.
"You see, Kate," Alistair began, spelling it out for me as though I were a child, "this is all Taylor"s fault. She lied to you, pretended she was your dead best friend. And all along she was in charge of the Sisterhood"s new pledges that night. She lit the candles that set the entire chapel on fire, and she"s the one who sent Grace to the bas.e.m.e.nt to die. Come on; let"s get out of here while we still can. There"s no telling what she"s capable of."
"You liar!" Taylor threw her hands in the air and screamed at the top of her lungs, slowly unraveling. "I didn"t set the fire, and I don"t know why Grace was even in the bas.e.m.e.nt. She was late like everyone else. And you weren"t there! How could you possibly know?" She began to cry.
"The chapel is completely sealed. The only way in or out is through the tunnels. And there was so much smoke." She choked on the words. "We could barely find the way out."
Adrenaline coursed through my veins, igniting each of my senses. My heart pounded in my ears, my feet burned, and my stomach heaved as Taylor"s perfume clashed with Alistair"s cologne. Something didn"t feel right.
You weren"t there! How could you possibly know? I repeated the words in my head. She was wrong. Alistair had been there that night. Liam had seen him.
"She started the fire. She saved herself, and she forgot all about Grace," Alistair said, straightening. "Something tells me you wouldn"t have forgotten her, Kate." He turned to the door. "Are you coming or what?"
At this point, the room began to spin. It was all too much. n.o.body was supposed to get hurt, yet Taylor had left my best friend in the bas.e.m.e.nt to die? Alistair wasn"t there that night, but Liam had seen him running through the woods? Taylor was hysterical now, practically choking on air as Alistair stood at the door, impatient and self-a.s.sured.
I didn"t want to believe either of them. I almost wished I didn"t know anything. An accident was so much easier to swallow. Setting a fire and leaving someone to die? I couldn"t wrap my head around it. But worse than that, Alistair was right. There"s no doubt that if I had been there on time, I never would have left without Grace. A wave of guilt washed over me for the millionth time since she died. This was my fault too.
"I didn"t do it, Kate," Taylor cried. "I didn"t start the fire. I don"t know how it started, but what I do know is that somehow the Brotherhood got access to the tunnels that night. Someone let them in."
Wiping at her eyes, she pointed at Alistair. "Someone died, but all you and your Brothers cared about was this." She opened her arms and gestured to the s.p.a.ce around us, hiccupping a little.
I tried to imagine Grace"s last moments, to fill in the pieces and finally see the truth. And that"s when I remembered. Cameron. How did he fit into the puzzle? He was supposed to meet Grace. To meet Grace in the bas.e.m.e.nt. And when the fire began, instead of following the others, she must have been searching for him through the smoke. Only he wasn"t there.
Alistair was lying.
"You"re lying," I whispered. "Taylor didn"t put Grace in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Grace was trying to find Cameron." Taylor looked over at me, her blue eyes round and red from crying.
Alistair laughed. "You"re going to believe that druggie loser over me?"
"Actually, yeah, and..." Before I could accuse him of being in the woods that night, the click of a lock interrupted me. All of our heads turned to the door.
And in walked Maddie.
She didn"t look surprised to see any of us, and I was starting to wonder just how many people had access to Grace"s email account. And mine. Guess that explained why Taylor felt the need to write her emails in riddles.
Alistair went a little pale when he saw her. "What are you doing here? Are you here to save Kate from Taylor too?" He gave her a look that begged her to play along.
"I came to tell the truth," Maddie said quietly. "This has gone on for way too long."
Alistair"s face froze.
Taylor sniffled. "What are you talking about, Maddie? What could you possibly know? You were only there for initiation."
The fourth invitation. It was Maddie"s. I imagined how the creamy paper would finally complete the mysterious crest.
"Don"t do this, Maddie. You know this is all Taylor"s fault. I"ve spent the last year trying to protect you." Panic rose in Alistair"s voice.
Maddie stood by the door, wavering. Her tiny body looked spent, broken.
"Maddie?" I asked, my voice small.
"It was my fault Grace died," she said, staring at her feet. "The Brotherhood found the pledge list, and Alistair approached me before I even got the invitation to initiation." Her eyes flicked over to him as she said his name but just as quickly turned back to the ground.
"He told me all I had to do was tell him where they were holding the initiation. I don"t even know why I agreed to it. I guess part of me thought that if I could get Alistair to like me, it would transform me or something." She shook her head, still staring at her feet. "All I know is that if I hadn"t helped him, Grace would still be alive." Tears streamed over the hollows of her cheeks.
Alistair swore at Maddie and began pacing the room.
She stared straight ahead, tears continuing to fall, and turned to look at me. "Taylor was there that night, but she"s innocent. Alistair started the fire outside of the chapel. It was supposed to be controlled, just enough of a distraction to force us out of the chapel so he could see how we accessed the tunnels.
"His plan worked perfectly until the chapel went up in flames. But he still figured out how to break into the headquarters. And I lost Grace." The tears continued to slip from her eyes, falling long and hard and darkening the fabric of her dress, some gathering into a puddle on the shiny wood below.
"She wasn"t even supposed to be there. He said she wouldn"t be there. Other Brothers were supposed to keep you guys busy. Away from...everything. But by the time I made it back to the bonfire, people were screaming and...and she was gone. I wanted to come forward, to tell the truth." She hiccupped the words. "But he said he"d expose me. He took my invitation and said it was proof that I was there, that I killed her. I was scared. I had to do what he said."
Taylor"s face twisted. "It was you. You let them in. We lost everything, because of you." Taylor said the words in a hushed voice that gave me goose b.u.mps.
"I"m so sorry," Maddie whispered. "I"m not scared anymore. I don"t care what happens to me. I just want everyone to know the truth."
"You think saying sorry is going to change anything? And the truth? What truth?" Taylor jumped up from the couch and lunged toward Maddie. Alistair stepped between them.
"Not so fast. Now that everything"s out in the open, I think it"s time for all of us to sit down and talk." Alistair grabbed Taylor"s arm, separating her from Maddie. She sank back down into the couch, all the fight drained out of her, while Alistair paced.
"It doesn"t matter what you think happened. When are you girls ever going to realize that nothing you say matters?" Beads of sweat dripped down his face. He sounded confident, but he looked nervous as h.e.l.l.
"So here"s how this is going to work. We"re all going to leave this room and head back to the dance, and no one is ever going to discuss any of this again. Maddie, Taylor, I think you both know the deal. Sure, you can come clean and tell everyone you were there that night and that I set the fire. But it"s my word against yours. And I think we all know who the police and Headmaster Sinclair will side with."
"They ruled it arson, you know," Taylor chimed in. "We have our sources at the police department too, Alistair. They know the fire was set on purpose. You can"t bury this forever."
"And aren"t you forgetting someone? What about me? Why should I keep quiet after you killed my best friend?" I asked. I knew it was stupid. I knew I should have kept my mouth shut, but I was done with silence. Done with the secrets and lies. Besides, I"d spent the past month gathering clues against the Brotherhood. I had Elisa, the headmaster, Liam. My slam book was full of evidence.
"I have to say, Kate, you surprised me. All those threats, and you still didn"t give up. And the ghostly emails. Did you really think they were from Grace? Taylor can be convincing, but not that convincing." My face grew hot with shame, and Taylor lowered her head, probably feeling the same way.
"And even Bethany played right into my hands, blackmailing Gilmour to keep his mouth shut and stepping in to keep the Sisterhood"s secrets after Taylor had failed. It made my job so much easier. But none of that matters now." I thought of Bethany and Liam, how deep the lies ran.
He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a card. Written in calligraphy was my name. It was the invitation Seth and I had found in the heart of Brown. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. How could he have that? We"d just found it.
"Look familiar? Tell your parents they should really invest in a better security system. Found some sparkle book too. Is that your little detective diary?" The slam book, the evidence. They had broken into my house and stolen everything. Heat rushed to my cheeks.
"It will never work. Headmaster Sinclair might defend you, but the police will have to listen. It"s three against one."
Alistair laughed now, wiping his arm against his forehead.
"Nice try. Unfortunately for you, Bradley will go on record saying he saw you at the chapel at seven fifteen, before the fire broke out. You didn"t think he actually liked you, did you, Kate? We just needed you out of the way like everyone else."
I thought of Naomi, who said she"d been late to the meeting just like me. They had probably distracted her too. Maddie and Taylor were the only ones they needed. I wondered who was supposed to stall Grace. Cameron had seen her talking with someone, but it didn"t surprise me that she couldn"t be stopped. She never would have ditched Cameron. As impulsive as she could sometimes be, Grace always kept her word.
I opened my mouth to respond but couldn"t find any words. Alistair didn"t seem to have the same problem.
"So try me, Kate. I have no problem twisting the story to make it so you were the one who sent Grace into the bas.e.m.e.nt."
I looked at Maddie, whose frail body was still as a statue"s, and then at Taylor, who had collapsed next to me in defeat. It was over.
But then I heard something. Click, click, click, click, click. Pop. I stopped and turned to the door. Thank G.o.d I"d sent the text. Sure enough, Liam and Seth came storming into the headquarters.
My knights had arrived at last.
Chapter 54.
Alistair reacted instantaneously. I guess all those two-a-days during lacrosse season had paid off, because he was shoving past them and into the tunnels before anyone else had moved an inch.
Liam looked at me. "You okay?"
"I"m fine."
"Good. Don"t move." And with that Liam sprinted out the door after Alistair.
I sat on the couch for a beat and then stood up. There was no way I was going to just sit around while Liam and Alistair fought in the tunnels. I was going in.
I made a dash for the door, but Seth moved to block me.
"Kate, it"s not safe." He put his hand up like a misguided crossing guard.
"No, but it"s better than sitting around and waiting. He has everything. All the evidence I"ve gathered. I have to get it back." My voice was shrill, desperate almost. Now that everything had finally clicked into place, I couldn"t let Alistair get away.
"Fine. I"ll come with you." Seth put on his best tough-guy face, and in that moment I knew he"d always do his best to help me slay whatever dragons might come my way.
"You"ve got to stay here with them. Please? For me?" I asked. He looked over at Maddie and Taylor. "I have to do this, Seth." My hands were already positioned on the door.
He shook his head back and forth. "Fine, but be careful and take this." He grabbed one of the swords positioned next to the entryway.
I had to laugh. Something about me running through underground tunnels with a sword was beyond funny, but I took it with me anyway. A girl could never be too careful. Besides, I was ready to start slaying my own d.a.m.n dragons.
I could hear the guys ahead, so I took off in the direction of the noise, hoping I"d get there in time to save Liam and get my invitation back from Alistair. The sconces guided my way, with my bare feet padding against the stone floor, but the voices drifted away the more I ran. I must have taken a wrong turn. I heard footsteps again and picked up my pace, but as I broke into a sprint, I realized the footsteps weren"t ahead of me-they were behind me. I was being chased.
"Kate, I know you"re out here." Alistair"s voice echoed through the narrow halls, igniting a scream deep in my throat. I managed to swallow it back and instead flew around a corner and stopped, pressing my body against the damp brick. I could barely hear his footsteps over the sound of my pounding heart.
"No use hiding. I know every inch of these tunnels."
The footsteps came closer to where I stood. Sucking air deep into my lungs and digging for courage I didn"t even know I had, I jumped out, pointing a shaking sword at Alistair.
"s.h.i.t," he hissed, holding his hands up. "Calm down, Kate. Don"t do anything you"ll regret."
I lowered the sword an inch, but he dodged at the base of it, trying to rip it from my fingers. Trying to protect myself, I sliced the sword through the air and felt the blade hit something soft. Alistair"s hand shot to his bicep and he dropped the invitation. It floated to my feet and, still training the sword on Alistair, I bent to retrieve it.
Swearing at me, he lifted his fingers to examine the damage the sword had caused. His hand was red with blood, and a long line of maroon tore down his arm where he"d been cut. He crouched to the ground and sucked air through his teeth, clearly hurt.
"You tell the truth, or I"m going to," I said, standing over him but lowering the sword. Witnessing his pain, I let my guard down. Big mistake. He lunged for my midsection, tackling me to the ground like a rag doll. The sword flew from my grasp, clinking against the brick wall a few feet from our bodies.
"Just stop fighting and listen to me for a second. You"re going to ruin everything," he hissed.
"Stop. Hurting. Me..." I struggled to form words with the full weight of him on top of me. "It"s not going to get you anywhere." My lungs felt as though they were crushed.
"Get off her." Maddie"s voice rang in my ears. It sounded strong and confident, so much different from the way she looked.
All at once, I felt his weight slide away and I was able to breathe again. I scrambled backward and into the brick wall, trying to put as much distance as possible between us.
Maddie held the other sword out in front of her. It shook in her hands.
"Trying to redeem yourself?" Alistair asked, walking straight for her. "Once a traitor, always a traitor, isn"t that right, Maddie?" He charged at her, easily knocking the sword from her weak grip and pinning her thin form against the brick wall with his body.
"I"m not about to lose everything because of you," he hissed. His voice was laced with both hatred and fear at the same time.
I couldn"t take another second. I searched the ground around me for some sort of weapon besides the sword. I had cut him once by accident; I knew I didn"t have it in me to cut him on purpose. My eyes were drawn upward, and I saw the portraits hanging on the wall. Acting quickly, I managed to lift one of the heavy frames off the hook and drag it toward Alistair, his fingers digging into Maddie"s thin arms.
Her eyes widened as she saw me coming. s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up my features, I struggled to raise the frame above my head. Maddie squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face toward the wall as I slammed the substantial frame over his head. He didn"t fall as quickly as I"d envisioned, and I wondered if one hit wasn"t enough. But then, with his head lolling to the side, he fell to the cobblestone floor with a thump.
Maddie rubbed at her arms where he had held her, and I dropped the frame to the ground. Both of us looked at Alistair"s body lying in a heap and took off down the tunnel without another word. As we rounded the corner, I saw Liam slumped against the ground near one of the trapdoors. I knelt down next to him.
"Liam"-I shook his shoulders-"Liam! Wake up."
When I heard him moan, I let the air out of my lungs. "Oh, thank G.o.d."
He rolled onto his back, and the instant I looked at his face, I noticed the black bruise already forming around his left eye.
"Your eye." He grabbed my hand, and I helped him sit up. "Does it hurt?" I placed my fingers on his cheek, barely touching his skin.
"I"m fine. It"s fine," he said, reaching his hand up to touch my fingers.
I glanced back at Maddie, who stood awkwardly behind us, not knowing where to look. "I"m going to help you up, okay?" I said. "We have to get out of here. Alistair"s out for now, and we need to call the police to tell them where to find him."
I pushed myself up and helped Liam stand as well.