A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(80)

Layla left the medical room. “We’ll find her,” she told a pacing Kasey.

“I know, and thanks.” Kasey hugged Layla, and Layla was grateful for the companionship.

Tommy emerged a few minutes later and told anyone in the vicinity to leave, and that he would sort out going after Elias once he knew Jared’s condition.

“We’re going now,” Layla said.

“You’re not ready, Layla. You’ll get yourself killed.”

“A monster has my friend. I need to go find her.”

“Not today you don’t. Just go find something to keep yourself occupied. Chloe will be fine.”

Layla wanted to believe him, but couldn’t. She ran upstairs to her room, stepped inside, and closed the door. “Rosa.”

“What’s up?” Rosa asked as she appeared.

“How do I accept you? All of you?”

“You tell us, and if it’s true in your subconscious, we’ll permanently bond with you.”

“Fine, I accept you all. Including the drenik.” Nothing happened.

“You have to mean it, Layla,” Rosa explained, her voice soft. “You don’t.”

“I do,” Layla shouted. “I mean it. I accept you all.”

“Layla.”

“I just want this done,” she shouted, releasing her frustration. “My father trained me my whole life to fight. And then when he was gone, I continued to train, but the first time I was in a situation where I could fight, I froze. Blake raised his hand, and I froze. And that’s something that even after all these months still gets to me. And now he’s dead. Then I fought a bunch of blood elves and there was no freezing, just me being lost in the moment of the fight. And it felt good.

“But when I think I’m done hesitating and worrying, Terhal makes me watch as I murder everyone, and I’m back to being that scared girl who hid under the bed when the LOA came to arrest my father. And now my best friend has been kidnapped by a group of crazed psychos, and I can’t do a damn thing. I want to help here; I don’t want to sit around like a damsel in bloody distress while everyone else does the work. They’re protecting me, and I’m done with it. I need to help. I need to save my friend.”

“All you can do is keep practicing, and hopefully you really will accept all of us one day soon.”

Layla flung herself onto the bed, before sitting up. “This sucks. This both sucks and blows.”

“Hello, Layla. Miss me?” Terhal said from the corner of the room.

“I’d hoped you’d gone,” she said, getting up from the bed.

“I can’t leave, Layla. I’m part of you. That . . . man, Grayson, just postponed the inevitable.” She came and stood in front of Layla. “You will be mine. One way or the other.”

Layla walked toward her and took a swing, her fist going through Terhal, making Layla pitch forward and land on her knees as the drenik laughed.

“Interesting choice of attack,” Terhal said. “Here’s mine.”

The room burst into flame. The paint on the walls bubbled under the intense heat, and the bed exploded into an inferno. Layla scrambled back against the door, trying to avoid the flames as Terhal continued to laugh.

Fire licked at Layla’s feet and she pulled them up toward her, hugging her knees against her chest.

“Scared, Layla? Scared of dying, or burning alive?”

The fire disappeared, showing Layla that nothing had happened. “I’m getting stronger, little one. And soon your spirits will no longer be able to stop me from consuming your mind. I’m looking forward to it.” And she vanished.

Layla sat there for several seconds, allowing the fear to drip away, before she got up and went to the bathroom to splash water on her face. She’d spent the last few days working with Diana and Chloe to increase her power, while trying to master Terhal’s influence over her mind. Considering she hadn’t seen Terhal since Grayson helped banish her, Layla had thought she’d been winning. But it seemed the more confident she got, the more powerful Terhal was. She was becoming more and more dangerous.

She’d deal with that later, but first, Chloe. Because she was going to go after her whether Tommy liked it or not.





29

“They killed one of Tommy’s people,” Masako said, her voice full of anger. “I told you all not to do anything stupid. Killing his people is classified as stupid.”

Masako and Elias were alone in one of the many rooms in the farmhouse. She’d stormed in there the second Shane and Reyes had returned with a semi-conscious Chloe.

“It was a risk worth taking,” Elias said. “It’s better to have grabbed one of his people than storm the mansion. This way we have leverage.”

“Leverage? Or is this just about getting revenge on Chloe for killing Dara?”

Elias fought back the rage that exploded inside of him. “I am a professional. I don’t allow my personal feelings to get in the way of a job. I’d really like to skin the little bitch alive, but right now she’s useful.” He got up from behind the desk he’d been sitting at and walked around it toward Masako.

“If this all goes to hell, Nergal will hear of it. That means my neck too, and I’d rather not make an enemy of the man unless forced.”