Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire, #1)(48)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN


THREE MONTHS after I’d left the court, I was lost.

At first, I followed Clay’s statement in Charlotte when he’d said that Louise would already be back in New York. At the time, I hadn’t paid too much attention to his words, but now that I was on my own, it was the only solid lead I had.

I spent a month scouring the streets, listening for any information about mysterious deaths or anything that sounded as if it could be Rain related. A few times, especially when I was close to Central Park, I could have sworn I was being followed, but whenever I turned around, I was always alone. I’d initially planned to try to follow trails of odd murders and strange activities, but it was getting me nowhere. I had no way of knowing which deaths had a logical explanation behind them and which were linked to something more sinister. The fact that I’d been framed as a suspect when my father was killed proved that the Rain had control over the media and could cover their tracks.

After too many weeks of no solid leads, I was close to giving up, but then I saw an article on the front page of a newspaper. It wasn’t the headline about a hero who’d saved eight people from a burning yacht that caught my eye. Instead, it was the photo that accompanied the article of the hero in question, topless as he appeared to wave off thanks. What drew my instant attention were the thick black lines of the tattoo on the hero’s collarbone. A dove. The exact same dove as the one that hung around Clay’s neck.

I scoured the paper for any details about where he might be, but the article only mentioned Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts. It may have been stupid, and slightly suicidal, to chase random Rain operatives in order to find Clay, but it was the only lead I had. If I could somehow disguise myself enough to approach him, I could ask if he knew Clay or his family. I was so excited by the possibility that I left New York immediately. It took almost a week to get to Ipswich Bay.

In the end though, I didn’t need a disguise because all leads to the man vanished.

When I arrived in Ipswich Bay, I found a follow-up article from two days prior with information that hadn’t made it to New York before I left. The more recent article spoke of the sudden disappearance of the mystery hero.

Disappointment flooded through me. I’d put so much faith in something that had disappeared. And it isn’t even the first time.

I didn’t know what to do next. Where to look or what to do. If I revealed my true nature, I had no doubt I would have Rain operatives swarming the area in days. Yet they were so adept at blending in that it was impossible to find the one I wanted more than anything else.

How do you find someone that doesn’t want to be found? Someone with access to cover up every death and disappear without a trace?

At least when he’d been looking for me, Clay’d had access to a myriad of computer programs and databases to help him. I just had me. I barely had any money, just whatever I could siphon from a small pile of credit cards I’d reluctantly stolen from unknowing victims. Each time I used one, the risk of being caught increased. Even though I’d survived for a little while without returning to any shelters or the court, I really had no idea what I was doing.

Trying to avoid using the cards except in emergencies, I’d taken to hiding out in reserves and national parks. The knowledge Dad had shared with me was finally able to shine. I’d learned that I was quite adept at fishing, hiding, and camping.

I was on my way back to New York, hiding among the huge hardwood trees in Breakheart Reserve near Saugus, Massachusetts, when I was interrupted.

“Lynnie!”

Looking around for the source of the feminine voice, I spied a flash of green between the trees. I dragged myself out of the little nook I’d found between two twisted tree trunks and followed the sound.

“Lynnie?” Whoever was calling for me spoke again.

I turned, glanced around and saw her. Willow. She stood in the middle of the hiking path a few dozen yards from where I’d been hiding.

“Willow?” I asked as I closed the distance between us. “What are you doing here? Why are you looking for me?”

She smiled at me, each of her perfect white teeth glimmering in the muted sunlight. “Aiden thinks he might have found him.”

My heart stopped at her words. Aiden had found Clay? “How?”

“The same way we found you,” she said as she shook out her long corn-silk hair. “We have scouts and spies all over. Some not in the form you’d expect. Aiden asked for anyone to come forward for increased Rain activity. There’s something big going down tonight in Salem.”

“Salem?” I repeated. “Salem, Massachusetts?”

She grinned.

“That’s just a few hours walk from here.” My voice was a low whisper as I realized that if the information Willow was giving me was even partly right, I might see Clay in a few short hours. My stomach leaped and twisted. My mind reeled.

Despite looking for him for so long—or maybe because of it—the thought that he might be just a few hours east was enough to make me want to launch myself in that direction and run as fast as my legs would carry me.

I had to be cautious though. It was a big enough city that we could easily cross paths and never see each other.

“Lynnie,” Willow said, glancing around her cautiously. “I just wanted to add that I’m sorry if you were hurt or left because of my actions.”