I dusted off my silver Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled out onto the driveway. I took a long look at the mansion, which I had secretly purchased almost five years ago.
No one breathing knew about this piece of property, with the exception of Lincoln, and now, Reiko and Cairo. It had been purchased under a fake alias from an untraceable offsh.o.r.e account.
I always dreamed of taking permanent residence in this beautiful modern home, situated on the coast of Moral City. There was something about this place that calmed me and made me feel at peace.
It was my fortress of solitude.
After I received the keys to the property, the first thing I did was walk over to the edge of the cliff and stare out into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, losing myself to the blue world before me. This was a place where the sky and ocean met, forming a union of tranquil beauty.
I had planned on bringing Aria here for our next date but everything had gone to h.e.l.l before I could.
I sighed and pulled out of the driveway and onto the long, winding road that went further up the cliff. The stars were out tonight, and G.o.d, was it quite the sight to behold.
I began to drive, with the spirit of Aria and the memories of her warmth lingering in my mind.
I lost track of how long I had been on the road. It wasn"t until my cell phone rang that I pulled the Aston Martin over alongside the shoulder and parked it.
I immediately answered the unknown call, hoping to hear the voices of either Aria or Lincoln.
It was neither.
"Shadow?" Leah asked.
I cursed silently to myself before answering her. "Yeah," I said, curtly.
"You don"t sound happy to hear from me."
"I was just expecting another call," I replied.
"I see." There was an awkward pause. "I know I said I was going to stay out of this war you"re preparing for, but I have more news coming from a source, planted deep within the Revenants organization."
"You have a mole inside the Revenant"s?" I was stunned. Why hadn"t she told me this before?
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Who is it? Does he or she know where Calisto is hiding?"
There was another long pause from the other end of the phone. When Leah spoke again, I could almost hear her frown through my earpiece. "I can"t give you my source, you know that." Leah replied, "And no, this person is a few steps removed from Calisto herself. If they knew where Calisto was, they"d have given me a location a long time ago."
"That"s fair," I replied. "So what updates do they have for us?"
"The Revenants think you murdered Elena Zhao," Leah replied.
"I didn"t."
"Yes, we all know that. But if you didn"t murder Elena and Calisto didn"t hire Duckface to kill her, then who did?"
I had no reply for her.
Was it possible there was a third party involved in this mess? Perhaps it was Nathan, the backstabbing a.s.shat, who thought it was the perfect opportunity to off the billion dollar princess.
"I have more bad news for you," Leah said. "Word coming out of the Revenant"s organization was that Calisto activated sleeper cells down in New Orleans. They tracked down Lincoln."
I was taken aback. "Lincoln"s a perfect chameleon when he wants to be. How the h.e.l.l could Calisto have known where he was?"
"People make mistakes," Leah replied, "Added to the fact that Lincoln wasn"t running solo. He had your lady friend with him."
I shook my head. "Aria"s smart. She wouldn"t have compromised him either." I let out a deep breath. "Have you heard anything coming out of New Orleans?"
"No," Leah replied. "That update was almost twenty-four hours ago. The second I hear something, I"ll let you know."
f.u.c.k. If what Leah said was true, then what if it was Aria on the other end of the phone, calling out for help? What if it was the sound of gunfire that I heard?
I thought of taking the next immediate flight down to New Orleans so I could find them.
I needed to know that they were both safe.
However, that was a stupid move. For all I knew, Lincoln could have left just before Calisto"s men arrived in New Orleans.
I steadied myself and tried to accept what was logical for once in my life. Rushing into New Orleans blind would only get me killed. I wasn"t ready to die...yet.
"The Midnight Society needs you," I said, shifting the focus of the discussion. "You have a network of resources that"s invaluable to us, especially this mole that you planted."
"I"m better off hiding out in my own office," Leah replied. "I can be of more use here."
No, there was something else to it that she wasn"t telling me. I could hear it in her voice.
"You"re hiding something from me," I said. "Your brother was murdered by Calisto. Knowing you from when we were together, you"d want to be right in the thick of the battle, instead of coaching on the sidelines. Why won"t you join us?"
There was a moment"s pause. "Because I"m scared of you Shadow."
I was taken aback by her response.
"That"s ridiculous," I said. "You know I wouldn"t hurt you."
"You have before," Leah replied. "You hurt me bad. I"m scared that if I stay too close to you, you"re going to reopen those old wounds that took so long for me to st.i.tch together."
I had no response for her.
"I have to go Shadow," Leah replied. "Play your cards close to your chest. If you"re confident that Lincoln is a master of the vanishing act, then someone must have fed information back to Calisto. Someone knows what your plan is. Be careful."
Before I could get in another word, Leah hung up.
I tossed the phone back onto the pa.s.senger seat, and stared up into the dark sky, illuminated by an epiphany of stars.
I suddenly had the sick feeling in my stomach that I had already lost this war, without firing a single shot yet.
Chapter Thirty-Three.
Aria By the time Beau had shoveled the last mound of dirt over Delilah"s body, the sun was peaking up over the horizon. He had taken off his suit and shirt, leaving only his dirt-stained tank top on.
He wiped the sweat off his face with the back of his hand as he plunged the shovel into the ground.
I handed him a bottle of water, which he devoured.
"I"m surprised the cops haven"t come," I said. "It sounded like the entire swamp was a warzone."
Isadora knelt down and placed her wedding bouquet on top of the mountain of earth blanketing her lover"s body.
"The cops will never come," Isadora replied. "This has always been how the Secret Societies worked, whether it"s the Midnight Society or the Revenants. There is no law or justice when it comes to these organizations. Someone will come and dispose of all these bodies, and no one will know any better."
"I think we best be gone before the cleanup crew comes then," Beau said. "You"re one crazy b.i.t.c.h, meant as a compliment, but we"re still only three against an army. We need to find Shadow and regroup."
Isadora placed her hand gently on top of Delilah"s grave.
"I love you, my beautiful, beautiful bride," she whispered. The warm light of the rising sun washed over us, casting long shadows from the house and the trees, down onto the earth.
Isadora"s voice cracked as she spoke her words. "Though your body is gone, I long for your spirit to return to me. I long for us to be together again," she finished.
"G.o.d rest your soul. Amen my friend," Beau added.
I had no spiritual words to give to Delilah so instead, I gave her my tears.
Isadora rose to her feet and turned to the two of us.
She walked over to me and wiped away the wetness from my cheeks with the soft pad of her thumb.
"Let"s be gone then."
Chapter Thirty-Four.
Aria Just as the plane landed at Moral City"s airport, it started to rain.
Was it an omen of things to come when I finally saw Shadow again?
The entire journey back from New Orleans was a blur, a collection of fragmented memories I tried piecing together.
After leaving the island, we headed back to Beau"s antique shop first. He forged us all new pa.s.sports in the span of a couple of hours, constructing them while I sat in front of the piano-the same one Lincoln and I shared our intimate moment together-and filled the room with somber music. My melodies were a reflection of all my thoughts and memories over the past month.
I played a song for Abraham first, my precious and dear friend who had welcomed me into the Midnight Society with the same kindness and sensitivity that a father would welcome a child into this world. It was played in the lower octaves, a slow and melodic tune that was filled with n.o.bility, using majestic sounding baseline chords. It was fitting for Abraham. Near the middle of the song I introduced an interlude, a sad melody that was threaded into my song as I recalled the memory of how frail he felt while I cradled his lifeless body in my arms. It was a memory that always ripped open the seams of my heart.
When his song was over, I transitioned quickly to a lighter melody, one that was filled with mirth and merriment. It was a melody constructed with trills and staccatos that hopped across the full range of the upper octaves of the keyboard. I played this song while thinking of Justin and remembered him as the happy-go-lucky and always looking-on-the-bright-side person he was. The memory of him burning alive seemed like a distant thought now, a terrible dream that was best forgotten. My true memories of Justin shall, and always be, of the innocent boy who woke up every morning falling in love with the world.
And then there was Lincoln. His tune was dark, exotic, and full of pa.s.sion. It was an enigmatic melody, inspired by the mysteries of the universe and the man who kept them locked away in his heart like Pandora"s Box. However, despite the wickedness of the tune, there were stanzas filled with warmth and comfort-a lullaby for the wild at heart. Wherever Lincoln was, right now, I prayed he was safe.
Don"t worry my friend, we will save you. Just keep on surviving until then.
I thought of Shadow, and was tempted to play the song I had written for him-the one that I had named "Shadow"s out of his f.u.c.king mind" after he had announced that I would be taking over Abraham"s seat on the Midnight Society council.
But there were too many things unresolved between us. I couldn"t play a song inspired by him with a clear head until I talked to him again.
I loved him and I hoped he still felt the same way about me.
I lifted my fingers off the piano and breathed.
Beau, who was sitting at the circular table, crafting one of the pa.s.sports, looked up from his work and began clapping.
"Bravo sweetheart, bravo," he said. "That there was possibly one of the best concert set pieces I have ever heard."
"It was very lovely," Isadora chimed in, who had been lying on her side on the bullet-holed sofa bed, her back facing both of us. She turned and sat upright. "Delilah finds it beautiful as well."
"Would have found it beautiful, you mean?" Beau said, correcting her grammar.
Isadora shook her head. "Finds it beautiful," she repeated, her eyes narrowing, clearly not appreciating being corrected.
Beau shrugged. "Okay lady," he said. "You say tomato, I say ketchup."
Isadora turned her attention towards me. "You have a brilliant gift. Thank you for playing, and filling me with some happiness today."
I smiled, though not a true genuine one. There was too much on my mind to allow my full enjoyment of the compliment.
"Don"t worry," Beau said, reading my concerns like a book. "We"ll get Lincoln back. He"s an a.s.shole, but an a.s.shole I don"t mind being around. I made a few calls this morning."
"To who?" I asked.
I suddenly felt nervous.