13 Chapter 12
Someone knocked on the door.
Byron was studying with the girl who said her name was Haylee.
«I'm going to open the door.»
He didn't seem surprised to see Amy. But she was visibly worried. «Please tell me that at least you have seen her. Haylee's missing, we've been looking for her all day.»
«No, I haven't seen her, I'm sorry.» Byron replied. «I saw her going towards the woods. She probably went for a run, she goes there often.»
«If she shows up, please call me, this is my number.», Amy gave him a piece of paper.
«Alright.»
Amy ran away.
Byron closed the door and Cassandra walked over to him. «What's happening?»
«My neighbor is nowhere to be found. But that doesn't concern me at all.»
«I have to go now.» she said.
Wow… she doesn't even try to pretend to be surprised, Byron thought. What a bad actress, he was expecting more effort.
«Yes, it's quite late. See you at school.»
She said goodbye to him with a smile. «See you tomorrow.»
Byron opened the door for her and she walked to her car. They waved goodbye one last time before she started the engine.
Byron closed the door behind him.
Haylee's disappearance didn't seem to bother him. He knew that she had something in mind. Sooner or later she would show up again.
***
That evening, during the usual meeting, a flash of light tore through the sky.
They heard a scream.
Everyone hurried out of that old house in the woods.
«What was that?» Selene asked.
Amy took Josh's hand. «I have no idea.»
They walked slowly towards the spot in the woods where that light seemed to be coming from.
Suddenly total darkness returned. The moonlight didn't shine much, due to the leaves on the trees.
Some of the guys turned on their cell phone flashlight.
Haylee was lying on the ground, unconscious.
Byron was the first to run towards her. He bent down and took her in his arms. «Haylee! Hey, wake up!»
Slowly she opened her eyes. Cell phone flashlights blinded her so she had to cover her face with her hand. «What's happening?»
«You should tell us! We've been looking for you all day.» Amy said, almost screaming.
«I was jogging, it's all I remember.»
«There was a powerful light, was it your doing?»
Haylee got to her feet with Byron's help. «My powers don't work here, it wasn't me.»
Byron stared at her. «Did you remember something?»
«Actually, yes. I'm a banshee, but that's all I remember.» she said still dazed.
«It's very strange… » Josh whispered.
They hurried to carry her into the house. They couldn't risk getting caught in the middle of the forest.
«We must hurry. That flash of light will not go unnoticed. The Keepers will soon notice. We need that book.» said Byron when they were finally safe in the old shack.
«Yes, Byron's right. We can no longer delay.» Amy said.
«How do we find it? Michael ran away years ago, I don't think it will be easy to find clues.» Mark said.
«There has to be a way. You Keepers can't find him, but we certainly can. He found a way to hide from you, but we are not Keepers, he will let us found him.», Haylee seemed quite impatient and Byron was probably the only one who knew why.
«As far as I know only a werewolf can find another werewolf, but must be part of the herd. I can't find him, only his descendants can do it.»
Luna remembered what her mother had written in her diary. She took it from her purse and leafed through it immediately. «Here it is! I was sure there was something! He has a son! If we find him, we can find Michael and the book.»
«Keep reading Luna.» said her brother. «The Keepers hold him prisoner, hostage. We will never find him. We're not true Keepers, no one will tell us where he is.»
«We could get Percy to talk, he's one of the top brass.»
«It might work.» Haylee said.
«But can we be sure he won't betray us?» Amy asked. «Percy is one of the most faithful men of the High Keeper.»
«I'll take care of it. I'll be able to convince him, don't worry.»
«Are you sure you can make it, Haylee? Do you really think he will help us?»
«I'm pretty sure his interest in me goes far beyond his task.»
«Fine. So it's decided.» said Byron. «Haylee will take care of Percy.»
Everyone nodded.
One by one, they turned away and left.
Byron walked Haylee home.
Oddly, Rachel didn't ask too many questions when she saw them coming together through the window.
«What were you doing in the woods?» she asked after slamming the door in Byron's face.
«Don't worry, everything is fine.»
«Are you sure?»
Haylee glared at her and hurried to her room without saying anything else.
***
«Are you insane?!» Amy yelled as her friend walked through the door with Percy. «How could you take him to our hiding place?!»
«This wasn't our plan, Haylee!», Byron also raised his voice, but his face doesn't look really angry.
«Guys, don't worry. He's alone, we are seven.» Haylee said.
«But we have no powers here!»
Haylee didn't reply and turned to the Keeper. «Just tie him up.»
«What?», Percy looked at her confused.
The others also looked at each other without understanding what was happening.
Suddenly their friend had become another person.
She had a look as cold as ice and she also gave the chills a little.
But in the end they did as she said. They were sure she had a plan
She must have had one.
Otherwise she would have never taken the enemy to their lair.
If the other Keepers had found out about that ruin in the woods, it would really have been the end for them.
They would die before the five years were up.
They surrounded Percy.
Mark dragged an old wooden chair behind him and Josh pushed Percy making him fall right into that chair.
Selene tied his wrists with the flap torn from a dusty curtain.
It was all she had found. Of course, that evening, she didn't come at the meeting with the intention of kidnapping and tying a person.
But Haylee… she had planned everything instead. She pulled out a small knife and pointed it at the Keeper's throat.
Everyone looked at her in bewilderment. They tried to stop her, but she gave them a threatening look and they came back in a circle with the blood freezing in their veins.
She walked over to Percy. «Don't worry, I won't hurt you. But they have to believe the show, so play along with me.» she whispered.
Percy stuck to the plan and continued to pretend to be scared, even though he could have killed them by sucking up every bit of their life with a single touch. «What do you want? Why did you bring me here Haylee?»
«We know who you are and we have a small favor to ask you.» she replied.
«You have to tell us where Mr. Sparkle's son is.» Josh said. «We're not complete Keepers, they don't tell us anything. We only carry out easy orders.»
«And you think I know?»
Mark turned to Percy. «What do you mean?», then he turned to Josh and Amy. «You said that he was close to the High Keeper and knew where he was.»
«He should have known.» Amy said in her defense.
Josh stepped in front of her, to defend her from Mark's furious gaze. «We're not deceiving you. Don't even think about it. If he doesn't know, he can find out. He's close enough to the High Keeper to do it. Me, Amy and Luna, we don't even know where he is.»
«My brother is telling the truth. The orders come to us through our father.»
«They're not lying.» Percy took their side. «They don't know it, just like me. But I can track him down for you. I will help you, so now untie me.»
They turned their eyes to Haylee, waiting for her approval.
She nodded. «Okay. Free him. But know that if you were to betray us we wouldn't let you get away with it.»
«There's no need for intimidation. I would have done it even if you had simply asked me, without being tied up.» Percy said, stroking her face.
Byron clenched his fists and looked away. He didn't want to witness that scene. He just wanted to disappear, to be elsewhere. That was Haylee's face and he couldn't stand the sight of him caressing it, even if it was all a staging.
«Now go and make sure you find him.» Haylee said. Her voice was cold, she had no time to think about so irrelevant things to the success of her plan.
Percy went away.
A quarrel inevitably began.
Nobody was sure they could trust him. «We shouldn't have sent him alone. I should have gone with him and kept an eye on him.» Luna said.
«You don't have to worry. I've got him.» Haylee said. She smiled, but no one there was reassured.
There was something strange, anyone could sense it.
