Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“Something happened to mom,” the girl said.
“Yes. May we come in?”
The boy glanced at his sister.
“Yes,” she said.
Elias walked into the house. Behind him Leo entered and shut the door.
The inside of the home was clean and neat. Dark wood floors, cream walls, a lot of the wainscotting that seemed to match the outside of the house. A staircase to the left, a living room to the right, light green couches with notebooks and art supplies strewn on the coffee table, a white kitchen past it… It felt like a home, warm and lived in. He had that once.
The two kids were looking at him, their faces tense.
“I’m the guildmaster of Cold Chaos,” Elias said. “Your mother was working on the mining site in the gate we are responsible for. The miners were attacked.”
“Is she dead?” the girl asked.
“Officially, she is missing. However, your mother is a noncombat Talent. She doesn’t have any means to defend herself. Only four of our mining team escaped, so the outcome isn’t looking good. We won’t know what happened for sure until we go back in and eliminate those threats.”
“So Mom could still be alive?” the boy asked.
“Yes. There is a slight chance that she might have survived. Nothing is certain until we find the bodies.”
“When?” the girl asked.
“As soon as we can pull an assault team together. We will need top-tier people for this breach.”
“How long will it take?” the boy asked.
“Several days. Probably at least three. Maybe longer. We have to go in with the kind of team that will win.” Elias paused. “I’m inviting you to stay at our HQ until this is over.”
“You don’t want us talking to the press people,” the girl said.
“It doesn’t really matter if you talk to the press or not,” Leo said. “We will get skewered anyway.”
“I’m not going to pressure you to do anything,” Elias said. “But if you wanted to stay at our HQ, away from everyone, so you can deal with things, you have that option. I’ve called a lawyer on your behalf. Whether you come with us or not, she will come to speak with you in the morning. She doesn’t work for the guild. She works for you.”
“And if we don’t want your lawyer?” the girl asked.
“Then you tell her no and she’ll leave.”
“Why are you doing this?” the boy asked.
“Because your mother trusted us to keep her safe, and we failed her,” Elias said.
The boy looked at his sister.
“He is not a threat.” She said it with absolute certainty.
“What about him?” the boy looked at Leo.
“Not a threat either. Although he really doesn’t think any of this is a good idea.”
Leo blinked.
Adaline’s daughter looked at Elias, and there was pressure in her gaze. “My name is Tia. This is Noah. We’re coming with you, but we have to bring Mellow.”
“Who is Mellow?”
Noah reached over to the couch, moved a blanket aside, and picked up a large cream-colored cat. The cat looked at Elias and hissed.
“Don’t be a drama queen,” Tia told it.
“Mellow is welcome to come,” Elias said.
“Good.” Tia nodded to her brother. “Go pack.”
He put the cat down and ran up the stairs.
“You’re a Talent,” Elias guessed.
“Yes,” she said.
“An assessor?” Leo asked.
“Sort of. Like Mom but with people.”
What kind of power was that? “Does your mother know?”
Tia shook her head. “You have to promise me that you’ll bring her back.”
“I can’t do that,” Elias said. “I’m not going to lie to you. Your mother is probably gone.”
“My mom is alive,” Tia said. “She promised she would come back to us. She always keeps her promises.”
He didn’t know what to say to that.
Tia pivoted to the bookcase and pulled a large black folder with a zipper on it.
“I’m going to get a cat carrier and my things,” she said and handed the folder to him.
“What is this?” he asked.
A tiny shiver of fear flashed in Tia’s eyes. He watched her squash it.
“Mom’s death folder. There is one on her laptop, too. I’ll need to grab that. We won’t need it, but she would want us to bring it.”
Tia disappeared into the house.
“Are they in shock?” Leo murmured.
“No,” Elias said. “They are just ready.”
Adaline Moore had trained her children what to do in case of her death. They were so efficient at it, they must’ve practiced.
This was the war at home, he realized. Ten years of it. He was looking at children who grew up with the gates. Tia would’ve been five, maybe six, when the first gates burst. The boy would’ve been a toddler. They were prepared to lose their mother. They lived with that possibility every day, and now they were putting on brave faces and trying to stick to the plan.
He had to get into that damn breach.
The stone bridge stretched in front of me. It was only twenty-seven yards long, but it felt like a mile. I shuffled across it, one foot in front of the other, my body weak and exhausted, and poor Bear heavy like an anvil in my arms. She was still breathing. I felt her every ragged breath. She was shivering and sometimes she would yelp, but she was still alive.