A Crown Of Shadows And Secrets - Sloane Murphy Page 0,97
at the table. He heads to the fridge and grabs two beers, handing me one before sitting down.
“That’s not something you could have ever known. We hid it, and we hid it fucking well. Same as Remy, I guess. What a fucking lot us Bennett's are.”
“Right,” I say, lifting my bottle to him and he clinks his against it.
“So, you and Dad?” Bauer says and I shake my head as I swallow the amber nectar.
“Nope. Not something I want to talk about.”
“He's being a dick,” Bauer says and I nod.
“Not going to disagree with you there!” I laugh. “But there's not a fucking thing I can say or do to make him be less of an asshole.”
“I could speak to him?” He offers, and I shake my head.
“Nah man. If he wants to be a dick, let him. I've got enough to deal with at the minute.”
“If you're sure.”
“More than sure. As long as he toes the line, right now, that's all I give a fuck about.”
“Okay man. I'm going to head up to bed. If you need me, you know where I am.”
“Thanks. Night.”
“Night, Colt.”
A whole day passed with no sort of retaliation, or even word from Archer, and it’s making me antsy. There is no way that he isn't up to something. Even Bauer is shocked, and it’s making me edgy. I hate the waiting.
“Still nothing?” Bauer asks as he enters the kitchen.
“Nope,” I tell him as I nurse the mug of coffee in front of me.
“You hungry?”
“Nah.” I shake my head and lift up my mug. “I'm good with this, thanks.”
He shrugs and starts banging around the kitchen, making himself some flamboyant breakfast. Bauer always was the cook of us all. I can just about burn beans.
My phone buzzes on the table just as Bauer’s pings in his pocket. A sense of dread fills me, and I just know. I know that it’s Archer. I pick up my phone as Bauer watches me, pulling his out too. A message from an unknown number with a video clip attached.
I swallow as I hit play and Archer’s face comes into frame.
“You Bennetts, you think you're so smart. Hitting my sites, like I didn't have others just in case Bauer turned on me.” He laughs manically, and it’s hard to watch as the camera flips and refocuses. The view makes me want to throw up, but I keep it down. “Their screams were like music to my ears. A special song just for me. This was on you Bennett brothers. Just know your sister and her little Witch will pay for this too.” The bodies were still smoking, blackened from the fire that burnt them. I can't tell who they are, but I know the building behind them. The Elder Tower. They're behind it, in the back grounds. How the fuck did he get in there?
The video ends with more laughter and I drop my phone, running to the sink and bringing up my coffee.
“Colt...” I lift up a finger and stop my brother from speaking while my stomach rolls again.
“There were kids in that pile, Bauer,” I say, spitting into the sink before rinsing my mouth.
“This is my fault.” he says, hanging his head.
“No, this is his fault. All of it is his fucking fault,” I seethe, gripping the counter until my knuckles turn white.
“If I hadn't taunted him with Dylan...”
“Then he'd have just retaliated for our move last night anyway. He knows how to hurt us. Our people are what we value the most. Hurting them hurts us. He knows that.” I sigh, my anger and guilt rolling around inside of me, fighting for dominance. I made the call to attack his buildings. The weight of this is on me. No-one else.
“We need to stop him, Bauer. For good.”
“I know,” he sighs, clasping my shoulder. “We'll stop him.”
“First, we need to find him,” I say quietly. “But before that, I need to call the other Elders and tell them what's happened.”
I sigh and leave the room, knowing that the call I'm about to have is going to be one of the hardest I've ever made.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Remy
“R.E.S.P.E.C.T…” Morgan on her version of karaoke is hilarious. I've lost track of how long the guys have been gone, and how much we've drank. I can't remember the last time I laughed like this. She belts out the classic song, because apparently along with most other things, the Shadow Realm steals their arts from, what they call the mortal realm, too.