A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(96)

“Hi, beautiful.”

“Shut up, Shane. Where is Elias?”

“Who?” Shane asked with a smirk.

“Layla, don’t do this here,” Tommy called out as he walked toward her, with Diana and Kasey in tow.

“Where is Elias?” Layla asked, ignoring Tommy. She didn’t care what other people thought, she just wanted answers.

“I think I hit my head, so I don’t know,” Shane said, that same smirk on his face. A smirk that Layla wanted gone.

His metal handcuffs began to tighten, digging into the skin around his wrists.

“What the hell?” he shouted. “Stop it.”

“How strong are you, Shane?” Layla asked. “Strong enough to heal missing hands?”

Shane shouted as the cuffs bit deep into the flesh, drawing blood that quickly began to flow in a steady stream.

“Where is Elias?” Layla asked.

“You’re not a torturer, Layla. You don’t do this,” Shane said, a pleading tone to his voice.

“Today I do, today I allowed my spirits to bond with me. Today I watched as you beat my friend. I think this is fair game.”

Shane cried out in pain.

Kasey grabbed hold of Layla and tried to move her away from Shane, away from the source of her anger and rage, but she’d anchored herself to the ground using the metal in the earth around her to keep her in place.

“I don’t want to be moved,” Layla said. “I want to know where Elias is.”

Kasey got in front of Layla and forced the young woman to look at her. “I know he hurt Chloe, and I know you’ve gone through a lot, but this isn’t you. You’re not a torturer. That’s a line you can’t come back from once you’ve crossed it. We will get answers from this piece of crap, but not like this. You need to rest before we go after Elias. We’re going to find him and burn his house down with him inside. But we can’t do it with you, Chloe, and Jared all hurt. Elias with full power is as strong as that ogre. We need to be just as strong.”

Layla stopped using her power and dropped to her knees. “I just want this done.”

Kasey placed an arm around Layla and sat beside her. “Me too. And it will be. We’re going to get healthy, get prepared, and find Elias. And then we’re going to take his head. And after that, it’s Nergal’s turn.”

Layla nodded as Tommy got Shane back into the car and dealt with the bleeding. He was an umbra so it wouldn’t take long to heal, but no one wanted blood all over the car.

“I’m impressed,” Masako said. “Didn’t think any of you had that sort of thing in you.”

Layla looked over at her. “I think you should find those answers quickly. Before Elias realizes what you’ve done and tells Nergal.”

Masako pursed her lips. “That is probably a good idea.”

She walked off, and after a few minutes Layla got into the back of another car belonging to Tommy’s people. Soon, the motion of the car caused her to fall asleep. It was the first time in days that her dreams were hers and hers alone.





35

For the next few days, Layla became increasingly anxious about finding Elias and putting a stop to his plans. Shane had been of little help, and he either didn’t know where Elias was, or was capable of withstanding whatever Masako did to him down in the basement.

Chloe had healed within a few hours of arriving back at the mansion, and Jared had been fine before they’d even gotten back. In fact, he’d spent most of his time in the gym since returning, and hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone.

Everyone was on edge, and Layla wondered if Tommy and his people knew more than they were letting on. Eventually the frustration became too much for her and, knowing that Tommy was in a meeting with Diana and Remy in his office, she knocked on the door and entered.

“Layla, I assume you need something,” Tommy said, with no hint of annoyance at having his meeting interrupted.

“Most people don’t knock before they march into an office,” Remy said. “That’s like really British of you. You know, like super-British.”

“I want to know what’s happening,” Layla said, ignoring Remy. “It’s been three days, we’re all healed, and I want to go after Elias.”

Tommy pushed his hands through his hair. “Me too. But it appears that there have been some developments, and now going after Elias is more complicated than first expected.”

“I don’t understand. What complications?”

“Avalon complications,” Diana said. “When we returned here, we updated those we trust in Avalon and explained what had happened. We hoped with a positive ID of Elias’s whereabouts that they might swoop in and grab him before he attacks again or Nergal manages to get him out of the country. That doesn’t look like it’s happening.”

“My wife, Olivia, called,” Tommy said. “She’s been informed that Elias is off-limits. Apparently he’s too big a fish for my wife to go after. Which is odd considering she’s probably one of the three most powerful people in the LOA. Officially, she can’t touch him without taking flak.”

“And Olivia is okay with this?”

Tommy shook his head. “Not even slightly. That’s why she told me about it. Avalon’s power structure is a mess right now. So many people all trying to grasp whatever bits of power they can, while people like Nergal and his comrades prowl around waiting for weakness.”