The Thief

groaned as his back hit the stone, hard.

“Jul, I need you to turn it off,” Rhys said in my ear. “Whatever it is that you do, that Tailor thing - I need you to turn it off!”

But I didn’t know how. I had tried the focus, the concentration, nothing had ever come of it. Our backs were literally to the wall, and Rhys was counting on me.

Hemlock let out a long breath. “Now, where was I...?” His gaze slid to me, and Rhys pushed me behind him. “You do inspire the most loyal friends,” Hemlock commented. “Boyfriends, I should say. You know they only like you because you’re pretty, right? If you had any personality, you’d have garnered some female friends.”

As if he’d forgotten Camille. Anger burned. “Bea and Tailor were right about you,” I snapped. “All you do is lie and steal.”

Hemlock spread his arms, quirking an eyebrow. “Uh, Thief? It’s my nature. I have no more control over it than you do your little...void thingie.” He held up his hand, showing the ring. “Which this counteracts, by the way. Now are you going to come along, or am I going to have to harm the young prince’s pretty face?”

“Jul...” Rhys said, under his breath.

I scrambled for focus. Behind Hemlock, the vines around the Tailor’s sword in Simon’s grip were withering.

“There’s no way out,” I said. “No other way out of the mirror.” I came out from behind Rhys, and Hemlock smirked, pleased.

My hand slid into Rhys’s, and the warmth was steadying. “Not unless you make one,” I say, looking into his eyes. The pale blue is almost clear as they widen. I imagine a switch in my mind, like I’d done with the door downstairs. I don’t feel the barrier fall, but he does.

Hemlock barely has time to look confused before we rise into the air, hoisted aloft by a pillar of glass. He screams in fury, vines twisting up after us. As I look down at him, I see no trace of the man I’d thought he was, and I can’t help wondering: what will happen to Camille now?

Chapter 20

Camille

He had to be here. He just had to be. Everything he’d warned me about was coming true - Gabriel would know what to do. He always did, even if he didn’t explain, even if he wouldn’t share his reasons, he always knew how to fix whatever had gone wrong.

We were well past wrong.

“Gabriel!” I shouted, pushing through the front doors of the cafe. “Gabriel, where are you?” The place was empty, the lights out. I streaked up the stairs, taking them two at a time, could have done three if my legs weren’t so damned short. My blood ran hot and I’d never been this fast in my life. “Gabriel!” I cried, throwing open the door to his room. It was his usual mess - bed unmade, clothes in heaps on the floor, stacks of books half-read. His laptop’s screensaver cycled through images of dense forests, throwing a sickly green light around the dark room. But no sign of the man himself.

I cursed loudly, and tore into his closet. There had to be something here, something I could use, something he’d kept hidden for emergencies. I threw aside shoes, boxes of photographs, stacks of magazines. I needed a weapon. He wouldn’t leave me with nothing, not at a time like this. I thought of the bracer - the sword - lost so carelessly.

I should have listened more closely, I berated myself. All his stories I’d thought were fiction, the bracer I’d resented him for. And then lost. My fingers curled in the fallen magazines. I should have trusted him more. I’d take it all back, everything I’d said, I’d ignore everything Bea and Tailor had ever told me - trade everything to have Gabriel here now. I punched the frame of the closet and the wood split.

I heard the latch on the door downstairs click open as if it were right next to me. My hearing had never been sharper. I jumped to my feet, heart in my throat. “Gabriel, I need you!” I shouted, vaulting over the stairs as I’d done against Hyde -

And skidded to a halt.

Meredith stood in the doorway. “Such abject desperation in your voice,” she commented, letting the door gently shut on its own behind her. “Not terribly attractive, kiddo.”

I almost cringed, hearing Gabriel’s pet name come out of her mouth.

“You’re fast,” she said. “Not all of them are, you know. Every Wolf is different. But every Wolf is also the same - agents of destruction, all.” She grinned at me. “You’re not 16 yet, so I can stop you before it gets out of hand. Pre-emptive strike,” she hit the ‘k’ sound hard, almost biting it off.

“I don’t hurt people,” I shot back.

“You will. I’m doing you a favor, kiddo - ”

“Don’t call me that!” I roared, slamming my hand down on the counter. It shattered, spraying bits of glass across the stone floor.

Meredith quirked an eyebrow. “There’s that famous temper. Answer me this riddle before I dispatch you, though - what makes a man hunt six Wolves and hide the seventh?”

“What?” I snapped.

“I don’t know what Gabriel did before he started helping me with this endeavor,” Meredith said, sauntering closer. “In fact, I don’t remember the others at all. I don’t really care about them. Past is past. What I don’t understand is why he hid you. Why lie now? You’re not even his real child, that’s clear.” She tilted her head, regarding me. “You’re not doing him, are you?”

I stared at her, aghast. “Gross!”

“I never can tell with kids these days,” Meredith shrugged. “All these rubbish vampire stories in the cinema. But I’m with you, I think it’s creepy for a teenager to date a bloke who’s older than the London Bridge. Now,” she said, holding up a hand. A fireball smoldered in her palm, throwing grisly shadows around the tables and chairs. “Before I start to like you, let’s put you out of your misery.”

She hurled it and I dove behind the busted counter. Flames bloomed through the display case, and I shied away from the sudden heat. My fingers curled around a large, jagged shard of glass from the floor. Meredith advanced on me and I struck out, slicing her cheek. A spray of glowing blood arced out, splattering burning holes in the wall. I pushed past her, back into the dining room. An enormous fireball barely missed my shoulder and collided with the front door, transforming it into a wall of flame. I skidded to a halt, turning to see Meredith advance on me. My blood pounded through my veins. I hefted up a table, barely registering the weight, and hurled it at her, snarling. She fell, and I dashed up the stairs. Fire was swirling around her like a storm, melting the debris as she rose from it. The flames from the display case were eating their way through the kitchen, and it was only a matter of time before they found the gas line.

I froze at the top of the stairs, out of escape paths.

Meredith climbed the stairs slowly, the vortex around her igniting the stairs, climbing up the walls to the ceiling. She’d blocked me off.

“There’s a good Wolfie,” she purred, dark eyes reflecting the firelight. “Now hold still.” She reached out for me with a smoking hand.

My life was burning down around me, but I was not losing to this psycho. I leapt to the top of the railing and launched myself into the upper air of the atrium. I caught one of the hanging lamps, swung, and crashed through the stained glass window by the front door.

I heard the Ender scream in frustration as I hit the gravel in the parking lot, rolling several feet in tiny stones and shards of glass. I groaned - this was way worse than being beaten up by Hyde. I reached out a trembling hand, trying to push myself up. I had to run before she could get out of the building. All that had saved me so far was the fact that being a human volcano hadn’t made her strong or fast.

I started to crawl, adrenaline beginning to mask the pain. I had to find Gabriel. I didn’t know how, but he’d fix this. The cafe crackled and roared behind me, making the parking lot bright. Heat rolled off the building in waves. Everything we had was burning, but we could start over, couldn’t we? He’d always said we’d survive...that I