House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(23)

“Good idea. Okay, then, hurry back to your house now. I think this storm is about to get much worse.”

I stumbled away, looking back to find him staring after me. He gave a brief wave, and then the second time I looked back he was gone. There was really no point in running now; I was soaked through, the umbrella zero barrier against rain that seemed to be falling sideways. Talented rain in the PNW, apparently.

Slipping and sliding across the muddy ground, I tried to figure out which house was mine again. I was going to have to tie a big red bow to the front freaking porch soon so I could find it with ease. As I got closer I started to ponder what to do now. There was no other option. I would have to go to the police. I’d just check Michael’s computer first, see if I could somehow manage to get information from it…

A roar of an engine close by distracted me, and as my chest clenched I lost my balance and slid into the mud. My umbrella flew off into the wind and I found myself flailing on my belly, trying to gain traction so I could get back to my feet. I managed to lift my head up far enough to see that it was one of the cars from that mansion across the street, slowly making its way along the lane. It pulled up to the front gate and I waited, expecting them to disappear inside, which was their usual thing. But the car’s loud engine died off, and the driver and passenger door opened. Two large shadows stepped out, neither of them holding an umbrella. Cara’s words came back to me and I wondered if these weird bastards could probably repel the rain with mere thought or something. Those two were joined by another shadow, and then the three of them turned away from their huge front gates and started walking down the sidewalk.

I lost sight of them as I got to my hands and knees, pulling myself up. I had mud in places where mud should never go, coating my face and hair. I could even taste it on my tongue. The rain would have to take care of it, though, because I decided then and there I was not going home. I was following those three. I needed to know what was going on in this street, because whatever the mystery was, my family was caught up in it.

Following them would require me to cross to the other side of the road of course. The forbidden side. But by this point I really didn’t give a shit. I was wet. I was coated in mud. I was scared and annoyed and furious at the world for all of its messed up happenings.

So … I was going over to the elite side.

The sky was lit only by the occasional strike of lightning, yet I felt exposed as I dashed across the main road, streetlight no doubt reflecting off my strained features. The mud running off me in thick dark rivulets was good camouflage, but it would soon be washed completely off, so I stuck to hiding and running between bushes as I followed the three shadows.

They stayed on the path that led right along the front of the elite side of the street, nicely landscaped hedges and small bushy bundles of roses popping up along both sides, which gave me some decent hiding places. Not that I needed them; none of the three ever looked back. I wished it wasn’t so dark so I could see who exactly I was following. I had a feeling it was the Darkens, which was almost purely guessed from the size of their hulking shadows, and the car they’d emerged from.

Weirdly enough, the farther we got from the main gate, the fewer street lamps were about, and somehow the harder the storm raged. The wind buffeted me from all sides as I slipped and slid after them, my hands and forearms already covered in grazes from falling into bushes. I didn’t care. This was not a chance I was giving up on. I would figure out where my guardians were.

The last elite house was coming up on my left, and as the three shadows passed by it they took a sharp left and then were gone from my sight. Forgetting about stealth, I picked up the pace, hauling butt as fast as I could. Rounding the corner in the same direction they had taken, I found myself in a long laneway. Roses trailed in huge viny masses across the roof of the path; it smelled sweet as I tentatively stepped inside, the damp air ramping up the scent of the flowers.

There was next to no light in here, which had my pulse racing and stomach churning, but I had come this far. I was not turning back now.

Picking up the pace, the grass beneath my feet keeping my footsteps silent, I raced along. After some time, I blinked as a faint glimmer of light appeared in the distance, a pinprick that grew larger as I closed in on it. The roses were thinning above me, the stormy sky visible in small patches as I continued toward the light. It was quite bright, and I kept my eyes locked on, using it as a guide. As the covered path ended, I slowed my steps, afraid I was about to run right into the three elites. If they were standing there at the end of the path, I would just have to play dumb, because there was nowhere to hide.

Hopefully they’d buy my story that I’d somehow gotten lost and stumbled into this secret little area. With my cover story intact, I focused on the light for the first time.

What in the world?

I just stared and stared and stared, trying to figure out what I was looking at.

A swirling portal? A manmade storm?

Whatever it was, it stood at least fifteen feet high, and looked a lot like a tornado of light and energy. It lit up the round, otherwise empty courtyard. The light was swirling and twirling, shooting small rope-like tendrils about. Somehow I made my feet move again, each step slow and deliberate as I walked closer to the swirling mass.

What was it? Some new government technology? Or something … supernatural?

When I was as close as I felt comfortable getting – there were definite sparks of electricity in the air; I had goosebumps across my arms – I sidled around, trying to see the full scale of this light-tornado.