The Council (Darkness #5)(35)

“Yes! Oh god, yes. Where’d they take him? What guys?”

Charles helped Ann stand so he could dress her like a child. She leaned against him heavily with closed eyes, trying to will a second wind as she said, “Andris. It was… bloody Andris.”

Jonas stared, cellphone clutched in whitened fingers. “Did you follow the car?”

“Motorhome.” Ann filled her lungs and continued. “He took the motorhome. Both, actually. Had Trek, too.”

“But not Rudy.” I waited for her to nod before pacing while I bit my lip. That hurt, so I switched to biting my fingernail.

I spun toward Jonas. “What the hell would Andris want with Stefan? It was me he wanted last time.”

“To lure you?” Charles asked, an arm around Ann’s middle to hold her up.

I shook my head, continuing to pace across the floor. “They wouldn’t have known Rudy failed.”

“Insurance in case he failed? To lure you?” Charles tried again.

I looked upwards in thought, but all that lurked in my brain was panic-stricken fear for losing Stefan.

I walked it out, shaking my arms. What does Andris want with Stefan?

Well, he’d always hated Stefan, so there was that. But to snatch him from here? During an escape? For revenge?

I nodded at myself. Andris was that crazy.

Okay, but what else? He could’ve just killed him here. Why take him? Stefan was a huge liability—he wouldn’t be easy to keep as a hostage.

A weeping angel flashed into my head. “He’s going to sacrifice him,” I breathed quietly. “Stefan’s got a lot of power—a lot of life-force. Andris is going to sacrifice him.”

I turned to Jonas, pleading that I was wrong. Jonas stared back, calm and icy.

“Shit, that’s plausible.” My heart beat so hard it hurt. “And he’s got a head start. A way head start. We’ll never catch him. It’s been like… what, two hours? Maybe more since he was getting taken while I had my debacle? We don’t even know where he’s going. Ann, you didn’t follow him?”

“He got on the freeway.” She looped an arm around Charles’ shoulders. “I followed him that far, but four legs wasn’t keeping up with six tires. I couldn’t find a way to jump onto the motorhome.”

I nodded. Right before the tears welled up and overflowed down my cheeks. “Andris is going to kill him.”

Jonas stepped forward before Tim could, grabbed me by the front of the shirt, and slapped me across the face. A spark of anger lit deep inside as I looked up slowly, my bottom lip quivering. Jonas’ crazy eyes stared down at me.

“There is one person that can get the Boss back, and that is you, Sasha.” Jonas hit me with each word. “You are the mage. Now, you are the acting leader. You have the shifters, you have magic, you have Dominicous, and you have authority. You need to bring it all together. You need to own your place. Your time to step up and lead is now.”

A tear leaked down my face. My world fractured, fear and the enormity of what Jonas was saying competing against a long-standing insecurity. At the bottom of it all, though, sat the love of my life. In trouble. Alone. Probably getting beat up and shoved around. On his death bed.

He’d probably go quietly, too, thinking I was safe.

That ass**le.

I let my concern for Stefan consume me. My fear of losing him tethered me to the ground. My need to survive shot right past me and latched onto him. A goal in mind, I let my body lead. I let the action part of my brain take over. I let my intuition rule.

I took a deep breath through a tight chest. Another tear leaked out as I stared at Jonas, but determination hardened my resolve. I needed to own my role or Stefan would surely die. I had to do this. For him, and for myself.

I nodded once.

Jonas let go of my shirt and stepped back. Charles removed his hand from Tim’s chest.

My mind whirled. “Okay, here’s what we know. Andris has been plaguing our territory for years. Way before I got there. He was practicing with the demons there. There’s no way he would move shop.”

My gaze swiveled to Tim. A blast of strength and power hit me as we connected eyes, the alpha in control. I summoned everything I had and matched that gaze, spilling out my hidden reserves of strength to fortify me. “I need to call in that kin-status.”

“Done.”

“Andris must be around that town somewhere. Can you guys try to source it out?”

Tim quirked his head. “We’ve been looking since that first demon attack. I don’t know where he’s hiding, but you’re right. He wouldn’t uproot his whole operation.”

“So we can’t sniff him out, but get everyone ready, anyway. Knowing Andris, he isn’t going to waste Stefan in one go. He knows how to make a demon—he’s shown us that. But making one, and controlling one, are two different things. He is still riding that failure with the last one—he couldn’t keep it in line. He’ll start small to make sure he can keep it in his command to build his confidence. Then, when he manages that, he’ll destroy his practice creation and then use Stefan for the big time.”

“Ann.” Tim fired the name across me. “Get some plane tickets. Call Bruce. Get everyone ready. Spread them out.”

“Plane tickets, good idea.” I paced. “Where’d that pecker-head Rudy go? That bastard must know something. He talked to Andris alone for Christ’s sake.”