The Lost: Book Two of The Whitechapel Chronicles

Chapter 10

"Okay, now do you want to tell me what the hell just happened back there?"

Garrick moved his face close to mine and I edged backwards, the wooden shelves of the bookcase biting into my spine.

"Back off, Garrick," warned Harper, gripping his brother by the shoulder and dragging him away from me.

Garrick turned on him, shoving Harper hard in the chest and knocking him back against Benjamin's desk, fragile tomes tumbling to the floor and sending clouds of dust spiralling into the air.

"Not this time, brother," Garrick glowered, his dark eyes blazing. But I could see something else there, a flicker of panic encroaching on his anger. "She almost brought us to our knees out there, just when everything was going so well. She could have destroyed everything we had planned. And if you think I'm going to let her off with a oh well Megan, don't worry, the fear gets us all sometimes, then you are way off the mark."

So I knew then I hadn't been wrong about how the whole meeting had been nothing but a lie. They had intended to lure the Varúlfur there for some twisted power play and Harper had been fully aware all along. I shouldn't have been surprised. What I was surprised about however, was his reaction now as he stood facing his brother, their eyes locked in a furious battle of wills. He looked coiled, ready to attack. I'd seen that look in his eyes before. I'd seen him look at me that way and I knew how deadly it was to provoke the demon.

"And you think ripping her to pieces is going to help?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "She's scared, Garrick. Something freaked her out and it sure wasn't them."

Their heads slowly turned in my direction and the way they both scrutinised me made me want to push myself back even further, only there was nowhere for me to go. I was trapped in their lair and I knew there was no way out. Not this time.

Garrick stepped towards me, his movements wary and hesitant almost as if he were afraid to get too close. Inclining his head, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed me, his lips pursed into a tight line.

"My brother is getting way too sentimental in his old age, Megan," he said. "Not so long ago he would have torn the information out of you with his bare hands if he had to."

Harper shook his head but wouldn't meet my beseeching, desperate gaze.

Garrick moved closer still. I held my breath. "You are going to tell us," he warned. "Did you think I had forgotten about poor Gina's last moments? I know that wasn't Lucius' doing. I was there. I saw. You held her hand and everything she saw, everything she said was directed at you. Not Lucius. You. And then tonight, you were fine until something spooked you. I felt your fear. Hell, I could practically taste it. What happened in the cemetery, Megan?"

I remained tight-lipped. The tension in my muscles was crippling me. I wanted to crumble to the floor, curl into a ball and hope that when I unfurled, I'd be back home, so wrapped up in my old life that I could no longer see. I wanted to be her again. Ignorant. Naïve. Blind.

"I am going to ask the question again," sneered Garrick. "And I am going to ask the question again and again until your head feels like it's splitting in two from the pain. And if that doesn't work, then I will make you tell me. I don't care how, but it won't be pleasant, trust me. There is too much at stake here for secrets."

Before I could say anything, I spied two beautiful pools of blue staring at me from behind Garrick as Lucius peered around the vampire, one hand tugging on the hem of Garrick's jacket. Harper stood, tense and alert as if the boy's very presence made him feel threatened.

"Don't be angry with Megan," Lucius said, with that sweet smile. "I will show you."

Garrick's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. I guessed that he too feared the boy's dark touch and I wondered what horrors he had been forced to witness, I wondered what terrible waters he had been forced to wade through and whose cold laughter he heard every time he closed his eyes.