Page 17 of Lower World
Alice would be the death of me.
I was sure of it.
Shouts and snarls were louder than anything else as I shook my head to clear it. Scrambling around, I tried to stand up, but my heel got caught in the silk of my dress. I tipped to the side as I realized the damn string pretending to be my underwear was cutting between my ass cheeks, which pissed me off, too. My ribs and shoulder protested from the impact as I flailed around like a fish out of water.
“This is why I don’t wear fucking dresses,” I hissed angrily at the stupid dress when a hand wrapped around my arm and hauled me up.
“We have a problem.” Veronica panted next to me, her nails digging into the skin of my upper arm. Internally, I was stunned to see her alive in front of me, but dream me kept going no matter how much I wanted to stop her.
“No shit. What gave it away?” Jerking my arm out of her grip, I tried to assess the situation.
“Don’t be an ass, Bee. We have a shitstorm happening.”
Everyone was running out of the hall, pulling daggers and other weapons that glinted in the light of the swinging chandeliers. Naked, barely-alive humans huddled in groups in the corners trying to make themselves look as small as possible. An explosion shook the foundations of the mansion and pitched me sideways into Veronica. We both stumbled while reaching blindly for any sort of support.
“What the fuck is going on?” I expected many things tonight, but this was not one of them.
“Someone attacked the mansion.” The awe in her voice was reflected on my face.
“Who in their right mind would attack the Syndicate at home?”
“I know, right?” Her nervous laugh was contagious, so I joined her. “Listen ...” When she paused for too long, I turned to give her a quick glance. “Do you think maybe it has something to do with your jobs lately, the ones that were done but not really done?” Chewing on her lower lip, she watched me with a sheepish look. My stomach dropped. “I knew what you were doing. That’s why I was hell bent on coming with you. In case we need to do a coverup or something.”
“Veronica, I ...” Lost for what to say, all I could do was sigh and scrub a hand over my face like that would make everything better. I realized that everything after that moment happened because of me. Because of my selfishness and keeping secrets.
“I don’t need an explanation, Bee. I just want you to know I’m proud of you.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Do you think that may have something to do with this?”
“No way.” All those shifters were safely in the reservations. Hopefully they’d stay there for a very long time, too. “I have no idea what this is, but I’m about to find out.”
“Where the hell do you think you are going?” She grabbed for me, clawing at my arms to stop me from leaving our safe place near the wall. The two of us were as pathetic as the humans.
“If someone is attacking the Syndicate”—Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, I leaned closer to her—“I’m going to help them.”
The world around me shifted, throwing me into a different scene. I fought with everything in me to stay where I was. In a time where my friend was still alive. I failed. I failed her.
It was the second time I’d come face to face with the Council, and only someone’s grip on my arm kept me standing. Seeing Veronica bloodied on her knees in the middle of the wide room cracked open my heart, and my legs almost gave out. Her bruised face shook sharply in a no, which was the only thing that stopped me from bolting to her. My gaze snapped at the three males who were watching me intently with various expressions plastered all over their faces. The leering disgust and anger I could deal with. It was the anticipation in Isaiah’s eyes that sent ice shards through my center.
“Brooklyn, I am pleased to see you are unharmed.” Frederic’s gaze flicked to my neck where the purple and blue fingerprints of the shifter’s hand had long since disappeared.
“I’m sure you are.” It was out before I could stop myself. “Sire,” I added lamely through my teeth.
“Come closer, child.” Samir beckoned me with his hand, and Johnathan finally released the death grip he had on my arm, leaving red lines where his fingers used to be.
“You see, Brooklyn. Veronica here was not who we thought she was.” Isaiah spoke as my numb legs carried me to stand next to Samir. I curled my fingers around the seams of my pants to stop my hands from shaking. “She was in cahoots with our enemies and helping them plan an attack while we took care of her as one of our own.”
“She is one of us,” I snapped at him.
“Bee, don’t.” Veronica’s cracked voice was barely above a whisper, and that sound stabbed me right in the chest. I knew I was dreaming, but seeing my friend alive opened a fresh wound that crippled me further. I wanted to run to her, and I even struggled in the dream to make my legs move, but I stood where I was, the misery strangling my throat.
“Is she now?” Turning his upper body to better face me, Isaiah arched an eyebrow while he eyed me like a cat would a cornered mouse.
“She is loyal to the Syndicate. I would place my life as an assurance.” In reality, I looked away from Veronica that night, but in the dream, I kept my eyes on my friend, drinking her face in as tears rolled down my face. I knew what was going to happen, and I was dreading it. “Don’t do it, don’t bring attention to yourself,” she mouthed, and a frown tugged on my eyebrows. Veronica never said that.
Was this really what happened that night? Or was my subconscious playing tricks on me in the dream? My body swayed, and the room tilted in front of my eyes when a different scene came into focus.
All three Council members jumped to their feet, and I flinched away from them. Frederic and Samir roared insults at Veronica, while she stood proudly facing them with a serene smile on her face. The pendant was not around her neck, the bare skin taunting me. Isaiah materialized next to her as the guardians burst through the doors from all the shouting, daggers clutched in their hands. Veronica’s gaze didn’t leave mine as she mouthed, “Love you, Bee. Figure out the pendant and you will find the truth. Look at the stone.”
Those were not the last words she said. Apart from telling me she loved me, Veronica didn’t say anything else that night. Fresh agony ripped through me when the rest played out just like it happened on that cursed night. Striking like the viper he was, Isaiah sank his fangs into her neck and ripped out her throat with a firm shake of his head. Blood sprayed in a wide arch until his face was bathed in it, and Veronica’s lashes fluttered before hiding her warm, brown eyes from me forever. I stood there numb and horrified, my feet glued to the floor while my mind shrieked so loud it drowned out all the other noise around me.
