A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(48)

“That’s my deodorant. It smells of flowers, apparently.”

Terhal’s expression hardened. “Don’t mock me, girl. I don’t appreciate it.”

Layla held Terhal’s stare. “Leave. Now.” To her surprise the demon vanished, leaving her alone in her own mind.

“Nicely done,” Rosa said from the foot of the bed.

“Do I have to always have one of you out here?” Layla asked.

“You need to pick one of us to be your main guide through your powers. You need to learn how to use them properly, and not just to melt the legs of a table. You can’t do this alone. The better the control you have over the power you wield, the better your chance of being able to stop the demon from entering your waking moments until you decide whether or not you can accept us.”

Layla sat up. “Whoever I choose, I can still talk to the others, though, right? This isn’t forever?”

“Nope. Just while you learn.”

“Then I choose you. You’re the only one who accepted the demon and spirits and didn’t go insane, or allow the demon to murder everyone you love. Gyda’s kill-yourself platform isn’t really for me.”

“You’re okay with having an assassin as your guide?”

“Your memories are already bleeding into mine. I can’t stop that. I can’t stop your abilities from becoming second nature to me. So, I may as well embrace it.”

Rosa nodded an agreement. “None of the spirits can take control of you now; none of them can make you do anything you don’t want to. Our training starts when you next sleep. Until then, I’ll let you relax. Trust me, you’re going to want to eat and make sure your strength is as high as it can be. Training will be taxing on your mind and body.”

“Something is going on here. With Chloe, and Tommy and Diana. There’s something they’re not telling me. I’m not sure if it’s about my powers, or if it’s because they think they can use me to get to my father, but something is weird. My phone doesn’t connect to the Internet at all, and the hospital Wi-Fi doesn’t work. I need to find out what’s happening. I need some answers, and I don’t think they’re going to give them to me.”

“You think they’re hiding something from you for malicious reasons?”

“I don’t know. Elias mentioned the LOA. You ever heard of them?”

“Avalon? Sure. They essentially rule the world from the shadows.”

“I need to know more. I need to know what I’m dealing with. I want to look into Tommy’s security firm too. I can’t do that from here.”

“You don’t trust them?”

Layla shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I trust that they’re not trying to hurt me, and that they really want to find and stop Elias. I’m all for that. But there’s a lot they’re not telling me, and I get the feeling it’s stuff I need to know. I need to get out of here. I need to go back to my place and use my computer.”

“Elias could be there.”

“No. He doesn’t know where I live—he admitted as much to me. It’s why he came for me at my work. I’ll be safe there.”

“There’s more. You can’t keep it from me, Layla.”

Layla paused. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to having the spirits know everything she knew. “My father’s contact details. The details of the agent in charge of the case. They’re meant to be classified, but I have them all written down. If Elias does find out where I live, and he finds those, he’ll know where my father is, and he’ll know who put him there. That’s a dangerous amount of information that needs to be destroyed. I can’t tell Tommy and Diana because they might want to use that info to talk to my father too. And maybe they’ve already convinced Chloe that it’s the best course of action. She might think she’s trying to protect me.”

“So, we’re going to break out?” There was no part of Rosa’s tone that suggested she disagreed with Layla.

Layla grabbed her trainers, which Chloe had brought for her, and put them on. “That’s the plan, yes. But I need to do it quietly, and I need to be back here by morning. Can the training wait until tomorrow?”

“You want to come back here?”

“If Tommy and Diana aren’t as trustworthy as they seem, they’re only going to come after me. Staying off-grid is something I’ve managed to do for a long time, but I’m pretty certain they find people who don’t want to be found.”

Layla walked over to the window and removed the metal cage from it, taking metal from the window beside it and using it to create a ladder. “It doesn’t reach the bottom. I need more metal.”

“When you get to the bottom, use some metal to anchor yourself, and then turn the rest into the remainder of the ladder.”

Layla looked over at Rosa. “This isn’t an overly sensible thing to do, is it?”

“Sometimes sensible and right aren’t the same thing. You need proof you’re working with the good guys now. Let’s go get some.”

Layla climbed out of the window and began to descend the ladder. She touched the ground a few minutes later and dissolved the metal ladder before running off into the night. It was a few miles from the hospital to her home and she wanted to get there as soon as possible. It was time for her to start discovering facts for herself.