Then she pulled her on to the stairs.
Emma’s broken sobs and the scuffing of their footsteps were the only noises that accompanied them down for what felt like eternity. Around and around the staircase twisted and turned until Allie was certain they must be halfway to Hell.
But she held back the rising tide of panic until she saw Zoe waiting for her near the foot of the stairs.
‘She’s here!’ Zoe called over her shoulder. Then she looked back at Allie and her eyes widened. ‘Who’s that with you? What happened?’
Carter and Sylvain appeared behind her as Allie stumbled into the room, still clinging to Emma’s hand. She could see their shock as they saw the blood-covered girl.
‘Rachel.’ Allie gasped, trying to breathe. But she couldn’t get any more words out. There seemed to be no oxygen down here.
Moving quickly, Carter grabbed Emma and examined her for wounds.
Realising she was about to fall, Allie put one hand on a stone column. It felt cold as ice under her fingertips.
‘Is she here?’ she wheezed. The walls moved rapidly towards her, as if they were about to attack her. ‘Rachel… is she here?’
‘Rachel?’ Sylvain’s voice seemed to come from far away. ‘She was with you. Allie…?’
He caught her as she fell, his arms warm and strong around her.
‘Sylvain…’ She struggled for air.
‘I’ve got you,’ he said, lifting her from the earth.
‘We must find Raj Patel.’ Nicole sounded frightened. It was the first time Allie could ever remember her sounding scared.
Sylvain said something to her in French before switching back to English. ‘It’s not safe yet.’
They were all sitting together in a tight circle on the gritty stone floor. It seemed like they were talking in circles, too.
They needed to do something but there was nothing to be done.
Allie’s head felt as if it had been stuffed with feathers that were occasionally kicking her in the face.
After she’d nearly passed out, they’d forced water on her and made her sit still, her head resting on her knees. Her breathing was steady now. In fact, her lungs were working so perfectly it was kind of enraging.
They told her what they knew – the students they’d seen going and those who’d made it to the safe places.
She still clutched Nathaniel’s blood-splattered letter in her hand like a weapon. Although the light in the cellar was dim she could make out the words he’d written. It was obvious he’d been rushed – his handwriting was usually so precise and neat; this was a hurried scrawl.
The thought of Rachel alone with that monster made Allie’s stomach twist; doubling over she dug her fists into her abdomen, pressing back against the pain.
Reaching across her body to free one of her fists, Carter squeezed her hand. ‘She’s still alive, Allie,’ he said, his tone gentle.
She shook her head so fiercely her hair stung her cheeks as it swung. She couldn’t afford to hope now; hope was nothing but delayed heartbreak. He should know that anyway – Jules was gone. He hadn’t got to her in time.
‘You don’t know that, Carter. He lies. He killed Jo…’
‘I know.’ His tone was measured. ‘But we have no reason to believe he killed Rachel.’
‘The blood.’ Allie pointed at Emma who now sat with Nicole, who’d cleaned her face with bottled water and draped her own jumper around her. Staring at them all mutely, the girl appeared to be in shock. ‘Where did it come from?’
‘It’s Rachel’s,’ Nicole said. ‘But the wound Emma describes sounds superficial.’
‘That much blood was from a superficial wound?’ Allie’s voice was sceptical.
Sylvain crouched down in front of her; his blue eyes dark in the shadows. ‘He cut Rachel’s arm with a knife. And smeared the blood on Emma. He said it would –’ He stopped, his jaw tense, and Allie saw that he was fighting to control his temper. ‘He said it would get your attention.’
‘I hate him,’ Zoe muttered to herself, stabbing at the ground with a piece of wood she’d picked up somewhere.
Still holding on to Emma, Nicole leaned forward to catch Allie’s gaze. ‘Emma says he made a bandage for Rachel’s wounds and the cuts were not deep. Allie, he wouldn’t be so careful if he intended to kill her.’
‘The thing I can’t figure out is how Nathaniel got into the building in the first place,’ Carter said. ‘How did no one see him? Is our security that weak?’
Allie rubbed her face tiredly. ‘The drivers. Isabelle said the drivers were all Nathaniel’s guards. That’s how they got in. They walked in together, in a crowd. It caused such chaos they couldn’t keep track.’
‘And one of them was Nathaniel.’ Sylvain said bitterly. ‘It’s so brazen – it’s just his style.’
‘They didn’t get a chance to count them in and out, then.’ Carter’s jaw tightened. ‘Some of them could still be in the building.’
‘That’s why Isabelle said we had to stay down here,’ Allie said.
‘I don’t care. We have to get out of here.’ Jumping up, Zoe threw the stick across the cellar. It bounced off something in the shadows and hit the floor with a thud. ‘We have to tell Raj about Rachel. He’ll know what to do.’
Pressing her fingertips against her forehead, Allie tried to make herself think. ‘Should we tell him, though?’
The others stared.
‘Of course we have to tell him, Allie,’ Nicole said. ‘She’s his daughter.’
Thinking of Nathaniel’s words, Allie felt cold inside, as if ice water ran through her veins instead of blood. But she had to stay focused. For Rachel.
‘He’ll want to run out there to fight Nathaniel,’ she said. ‘And if he does that, Rachel will die.’
Sylvain and Carter exchanged a look.
‘What do you think?’ Sylvain asked.
‘I don’t know…’ Carter sounded worried.
‘He’s tactical.’ Sylvain reminded him. ‘Always tactics.’
‘Yeah, but this is his
Allie looked back and forth between them as they worked it out. They knew Raj better than she did. Better than any of the students. They’d been working with him nearly every day for months.
‘Even then’ – Sylvain’s voice was firm – ‘he believes in strategy. He’ll be able to handle it.’
After a second, Carter nodded and turned to Allie.
‘Sylvain’s right. We should trust Raj. He’s too smart to just rush out without thinking it through, even if it’s
