Chapter 18

Life has a funny way of kicking me in the teeth. I think everything is going so smoothly then wham! Everything comes crashing down around me.

I had a good dream. I was riding Kaia through the campus, a sweet wind blowing in my hair. She was having fun trotting along then galloping as fast as she could. I enjoyed it as well. Stryker ran ahead of us, howling every so often. It was a peaceful moment in my dream that I wished I could relive again. But I woke up because I had a cramp in my foot.

Call it intuition or the magic I could feel coursing through my hand, but I knew someone other than Beca was in my room. Maybe I could hear the difference in breathing or the atmosphere changed. Either way, someone had infiltrated my safe space. I had never been attacked in my own room, and it wasn't about to start now.

I didn't move too much, no more than a restless sleeper would. Or someone with a cramp. I made sure my necklace was tucked in my pillowcase, a tiny bit hanging out just in case I suddenly disappeared. Beca would see it and hopefully would know something was amiss. She should know I would never leave my mother's necklace behind for now reason.

Waiting was the hard part. I knew whoever was in my room had to move slowly so Beca wasn't alarmed when they tried over something she had strewn about the room. I wanted to know who it was so I could plan what to do next. But I could tell who it was by the smell. I just wanted to confirm it.

My bed dipped slowly. I fought not to suddenly roll over and push the person off into the floor. That would wake Beca up and things would get worse. I didn't want that.

I almost let out a sigh when a hand closed over my mouth. I had to play the part. My eyes flew open as wide as I could make them as a shocked noise escaped me. I rolled over and squinted into the dimness of the room. Beca had a night light on in the bathroom because she kept hitting her toes on the door jam. As I looked up, I could see the light halo off the blond head.

If I hadn't been sure before, this cinched the deal for me. Catherine was working with Casey. I wasn't sure how and when they'd met, but I figured it was before last semester. She had gone out one night over Christmas break and hadn't returned until the early morning hours. Then she and Dad had started their divorce proceedings soon after that.

If I was the assuming type, I would one hundred percent assume she had been cheating on my dad. Now, I assumed because I knew she'd met Casey MacDowell that night almost a year ago. Now with that knowledge, I had a suspicion that she had something to do with my father's death. I just needed to find out. To do that, I had to play a part.

Her blue eyes glinted dangerously as she held a well-manicured finger to her mouth. I wanted to laugh sarcastically. She was obviously using her divorce money very wisely.

I sat up and tossed my legs over the side of the bed. Catherine's hand dropped as she backed away. I watched her grab my discarded bra I was going to wash and a pair of mismatched socks. She went to the closet, haphazardly grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She tossed them at me.

"Get dressed quickly." Her whisper was harsh and too loud. She glanced horrified at Beca when the other girl shifted at the sudden noise.

I did as she said. The shirt was Beca's meaning it was two sizes too small. I wasn't a tiny girl like my best friend so the shirt accentuated my curves. The jeans were mine though. I recognized the black stain on the thigh. I'd gotten it in an art class in Dallas before I came here to school. It was one of the last memories I made with my dad.

I shoved my feet into my tattered converses then stood. Catherine grabbed a jacket then threw it over my head. It was too damn hot and she wanted me to wear a jacket. I didn't argue and covered my head. If it saved Beca, I'd do it.

Catherine led me down the hall. Her nails bit into my skin. I winced a couple of times, but I knew she was more nervous than I was. Because I was still in high school, I was still technically a minor regardless if I was eighteen or not. For her to take me by force from school, she was essentially kidnapping me. I wasn't her biological daughter or her stepdaughter for that matter. She had asked permission from my legal guardian.

Somehow we made it from the third floor without anyone noticing. Catherine walked through the emergency exit. A thought occurred to me too late. We'd already passed through it, but that door should have set all the alarms off in the entire building. Someone had turned the alarm off and unlocked it so Catherine could sneak in.

I glanced up as we headed to the parking lot. There was a camera facing the back of my building. I extended my hand slightly and made a signal. Hopefully why hadn't been disabled. If Simon looked at them, he'd see us and more than likely my hand signal.

Catherine's car was a Range Rover. It was a pearl colored car with all the bells and whistles. She loved driving around in it. But the car she was in now was nothing like that. It was a generic blue sedan that would never stand out.

She opened the door, and I slid in without a sound. I watched her face as she scampered around the front of the car. She was terrified. She knew the consequences of what she was doing. And I couldn't helpt the smile that turned my lips.

She started the car and peeled out before even putting her belt on. I sat back and watched as we left the city limits. If I was going to get all of the details, I was going to have to keep my eyes open.

~~~~~~~~

~Darren~

His door slammed open. Darren jerked awake, lifting his face from his pillow. He looked over his shoulder to see Drew rifling around his drawers as Beca whispered quickly from the door.

He looked at the clock. It was barely six in the morning. Their training had ended just after three. He'd had time to shovel food and shower before getting in bed. He didn't even put pants on, which was why he was shocked. He didn't want his sister to see everything about him.

Darren sat up and used his pillow to cover his lap. Drew was still flying about the room like an idiot. Whatever he was looking for was not anywhere in this room. So he left for a moment. When he returned, he threw some random clothes at Darren.

"Get up. Maddie's been kidnapped," he said. His voice was so calm that it was in stark contrast to his agitated movements.

Ice water ran through Darren's veins. He heard Beca's muffled shriek as he tossed the blankets off, but he didn't care. Something had happened to Maddie and he was going to do whatever he could to help get her back.

By the time he was dressed, Drew had disappeared. Beca stood in the hall as he pulled the door closed. She looked distraught, but she wasn't crying. That was a good sign. It meant she wasn't breaking down. He hoped she could hold everything together for a while longer. Maybe they would have a game by then.

They were all filtering into the administration building. Everyone was exhausted, but they were fighting all of that. The one person who had brought them together had been taken out from under their noses. Beca's especially, and yet she was holding it together better than the others.

Matt and Carlos sat at the computers by Simon's desk. Darren didn't know how, but the younger boys were able to brign up the security footage around the senior dorms. No one knew how long she'd been gone so they started back when they returned from training.

Simon and Max came in with the other four adults. They didn't look nearly as worn out as the younger people. Grading papers all night and working night shifts meant they had a different type of stamina.

The headmaster didn't even ask what the teen boys were doing. He raised a silent eyebrow but let it go. If they knew what they were doing he wasn't going to argue.

"What do we know?" Simon asked.

"We showered and were in bed by four," Beca said. She glanced at the clock. "When I woke up to go to the bathroom, I realized she wasn't there. She wasn't in the bathroom so I went back to sit on my bed for thirty minutes thinking she had gone out for a snack. As I was getting ready to go back to sleep, I saw this."

Beca pulled the chain from her pocket. The air left the room as the sword pendant dangled before them. Maddie would neer leave the necklace behind, not when it belonged to her mother. If she left it behind, it meant she knew who had taken her.

Matt made an excited noise and clicked faster. He whispered to Carlos, and the younger boy looked at his computer. His fingers clacked on the keyboard quickly until he was where Matt wanted him.

"Does anyone know of an older blond headed woman?" Carlos asked.

"How old?" Max asked.

His brother bobbled his head as he thought about it. "Late thirties, maybe early forties at the oldest. She's taller than Maddie but only because she's wearing heels."

The older brother sighed and looked at Simon. The headmaster had the same thought. They looked at each other for a long moment before Simon rounded his desk and looked at the twin screens. His face said it all when he laid eyes on them.

"It's Catherine Bates," he confirmed. There was an annoyed groan that passed between the team that had gone to Dallas. "She's in a non-descipt car so we can't track her."

Darren felt helpless hearing that. Maddie had gone willingly. He didn't know why. She was always arguing with him so he knew she didn't back down. So why had she gone willingly with her ex-stepmother? What did the woman have over her? What would she gain?

The door opened again. Drew was on the phone with someone. Darren felt the contempt rising at his nonchalant attitude. They had someone missing and all he could think about was talking on the phone? He wanted to yell at him, but one look at Bruce had that idea drying up like a drought. Bruce's look could kill, and if he opened his mouth, he would get the nastiness he was holding back.

"How many vehicles do we have available?" Drew asked. He slid his phone into his pocket and crossed his arms. The adults raised their hands. "So six vehicles and there are nineteen of us. Well fifteen. Alright then let's go."

"Go where?" Parker asked. He looked at Drew with a skeptical expression. "If you haven't noticed, we have no idea where they've gone."

"That was Sam. He was outside walking the grounds when he saw Catherine with Maddie. He naturally followed them. That's who was on the phone."

"Is that why you were on my floor when I came out of my room?" Beca asked. Drew nodded. "Why fifteen? Shouldn't we all go?"

"No, he's right," Simon agreed. "Sam's already there. If anything happens soon we'll know. But we need someone to stay back with Bruce and Bianca." Mitchell and Ashley raised their hands/ "Well, that answers that."

Drew clapped his hands. "Now can we go?"

Everyone split into groups of four with one group of three. Five cars were needed then so Max rode with Simon and Drew. Darren slid into the front seat of Chase's truck, grateful not to have to ride with the wily mage. He was becoming so much more eccentric as time went on.

The convoy pulled out of the parking lot as dawn brightened the darkened sky. This would make the art of surprise quite difficult. He didn't care.as long as they saved Maddie, he didn't care to fight all of hell. Luckily enough, the sun was at their back as they headed west into the farmlands away from the city.