up. Utana and I have learned where they’re being held.”
“We already know,” James told her. “They’re at St. Dymphna.”
“Well, aren’t you all just way ahead of us, then? I suppose you also know they’re nothing more than bait for a great big DPI vampire trap?”
Her brother blinked, his eyes telling her that he hadn’t known that at all.
“They’re going to do something to them, J.W. They’re going to hurt them, scare them, something to put them into a state of anguish or pain or fear.”
“So the vampires will feel their need and come to their aid,” he said, putting the pieces together at last.
“Now you’re getting it. They figure they’ll lure out every vampire left alive, so they must be planning to really put the screws to the captives. And then they intend to kill you all.”
“How?” J.W. asked.
“They intended to use Utana to do it.” She put her hands on J.W.’s shoulders and stared forcibly into his eyes. “But he refused. He came with me instead.”
“Yeah. To do what? Blast us all on his own time-line?”
Throwing her hands in the air, Brigit turned away in exasperation. “I wanted to come to you all, to warn you. He didn’t want to do that. He wanted to rescue the Chosen on our own, to keep everyone else far from danger.”
“Oh, so he’s looking out for us now.” J.W. threw his own hands in the air and walked in a small circle. “Am I supposed to believe he’s decided to thumb his nose at the supposed dictates of his gods and not kill us after all?”
She shrugged. “Not yet.”
Her brother’s eyes widened, brows arching high. “Are you kidding me? He hasn’t decided yet, and you’re still taking his side?”
“Believe me, the second he seems inclined to harm a hair on any of your heads, I’ll take him out.” She didn’t tell her brother that she no longer had any idea just how she would manage to do that, now that her powers were gone. She wasn’t going to give him any more reason to hate Utana than he already had. He didn’t know the man—not like she did.
“Great. That’s just great.”
“Now that you’re here, we have a far better chance, though,” she said. “The three of us can free the Chosen before the DPI does whatever horrible thing they have planned for them.”
Her brother looked at her, searching her eyes as if for some explanation that would make him understand the change in her. But she knew he wouldn’t find one. She didn’t even know what had changed in her, so how could he? All she knew was that returning Utana to an endless existence of being buried alive was beyond her. She couldn’t do it, couldn’t kill him, knowing that would be the result. Nor could she allow him to harm her people. She was being torn to pieces by the conflict that would only be resolved if Utana chose to betray his gods for her, and her people chose to forgive the man who had decimated them.
Odds didn’t look very good for either event.
With a frustrated, furious sigh, J.W. shook his head. “No. I don’t want any help from that murderer. And if you’re with him, Brigit, then I don’t want any help from you, either. And you can trust me when I tell you, our family will feel the same way.”
“No.” Brigit felt hot tears burning in her eyes. “Don’t say shit like that, J.W., not to me.”
“You need to choose—right now. You either come with me now, or you take off with him and let us handle our own problems. Make your choice, Brigit. Us or him?”
“I want you to talk to him,” she said. “Just talk to him. Please, James.”
“No.” As he said it, he looked past her toward her car. And then his eyes narrowed, and he went on, “Looks like he’s made the choice for you. Though it pisses me off to think he had to.”
“What the hell are you talking abou—” She turned as she spoke, then stopped when she saw her car speeding away without her.
15
“I take it you taught him to drive?”
Brigit nodded, still staring into the empty space, now that the T-Bird was out of sight.
“Bad idea. I guess you’re stuck with me now, sis.” J.W. slammed her shoulder from behind as only a brother would do. “Only question is, would you rather storm the castle, just the two of us, or head back to face Rhiannon and explain to her