The Traitor

Chapter Fourteen: The Freedom Conditions

Recap: "Teya, it's Jasper."

My jaw dropped. "What? What happened? Where's Jasper?" Lauren didn't answer as she stood facing me, looking petrified and full of fear. "Lauren!"

She snapped out of her daze. "What?"

"Where is Jasper?!" I yelled again. My heart rate began rapidly picking up speed.

Lauren took a deep breath as she braced both herself and me for whatever she was about to say. And that moment, I knew. "Teya, he's been captured," she replied, worry evident in her low tone.

Now it was my turn to enter a shock daze. "Captured? You mean Thomas figured out it was him?" I asked in horror. What was I going to do now? If both Jasper and I had been captured, then had they found Brandon too? And if not, how did I know that Jasper wouldn't tell them where Brandon was? "Oh, this is all my fault, I should've done something, I should've-"

"Teya," Lauren interrupted my worry rant. "It was the Wens."

I stared at her in even more horror this time and I felt my heart stop as I thought of Jasper being captured by the Wens. "The...Wens?" was all I could say.

Lauren nodded slowly, then looked down to avoid my horror-ridden gaze.

I began to feel dizzy. Will the same thing that happened to Brandon, happen to Jasper? I had to do something, though I wasn't sure what. If Jasper had been captured after helping Brandon get home, then I had to help him. None of this would have happened if I didn't convince him to help me rescue Brandon. And now he had been captured.

I turned to Lauren. "I have to do something," I told her.

"But how? I mean you're locked in here, it's not like you can do anything that would possibly help him."

I began pacing my cell in anxiety, then turned back to Lauren. "No, Lauren, you don't understand, this is all my fault. If I didn't convince Jasper to help me rescue my brother, he wouldn't have been captured. It was my fault and I have to do something."

But she was still unpersuaded. "Teya, there's nothing you can do. You can't help him." I stared at her. I knew she was right, what could I possibly do that might help Jasper? "I have to go. I'm sorry, Teya." With that, she turned and walked out the door.

"Wait!" I stumbled back and tripped over something, falling to the ground. I quickly pulled myself up. "Guards!" I shouted to the guards outside the door. "Get me Thomas. Tell him I need to speak to him immediately!" I heard muffled speaking from outside and hoped they would listen to my request. If they didn't, then I would have to wait until the next time Thomas visited my cell. And I knew I couldn't wait that long.

I waited for Mr. Thomas to come, hoping I wasn't wasting my time. But sure enough, minutes later, Mr. Thomas appeared at the door, opening it and taking a cautious step inside.

He cleared his throat. "I hope you're going to tell me what I want to know, because if not, you're wasting my time. I happen to be dealing with something very important right now. One of our fellow members has been captured by the Wens and I have-"

"It's about Jasper," I explained before he could finish. His expression told me he was listening.

He looked taken back. "Jasper? Miss Raine, how did you know who it was?" he asked suspiciously.

I hesitated. "Lauren...told me," I said, reluctantly. It just crossed my mind that maybe she didn't get permission to come see me. I braced myself as I waited for his reply, hoping I didn't just get her in trouble as well.

But to my relief, he listened in recognition. "Aw, Miss Cooper? That's right. She told me she needed to talk to you."

"She said she needed to talk to me?" She didn't say anything about needing to talk to me when she was here.

He nodded with a fake sense of sympathy, realizing from my expression that she had not gotten to tell me what she was planning on saying. "Yes, and it sounded important. Anyway, you said something about Jasper?"

I shook off thoughts about Lauren, leaving myself a mental reminder to check up with her in the future, and said, "Yes. Sir, you need to let me go, I know I-"

His expression turned angry. "Miss Raine, you know the conditions on which you can get out! If you cannot tell me what I want to know, I cannot let you out. I'm sorry, end of discussion."

"But-" I began, but he wouldn't hear it.

"Miss Raine! I came in here because you said you needed to talk to me about Jasper! Now, if it is not about him, then I don't want to hear it!"

He turned to storm out, but I said, "Sir, wait! This is about Jasper, I swear! Please, just listen to me!" He stopped suddenly at the mention of Jasper's name and paused, before turning around.

He frowned, but reluctantly said, "Fine, but I'm warning you Miss Raine." He folded his arms across his chest and glared at me as he waited for me to begin.

I cleared my throat- this would be harder than I thought. "Sir, if anyone is going to rescue Jasper, it should me. I probably know the Wens territory better than anyone else and I know where they keep their prisoners. If you let me out, I can sneak over and rescue Jasper." There, I said it. Now all I could do was wait for his reaction.

He grimaced in anger. "You want to go over to the Wen Side? Absolutely not! I will not risk a traitor like you to go over and tell the Wens all of our secrets! I will not!" He stomped his foot down hard on the ground and I noticed veins nearly popping out of his head and neck.

This was beginning to feel hopeless, but I knew I couldn't give up on trying. "No, sir, please, you have to trust me. This is all a misunderstanding. Please, if you let me go and rescue Jasper, I can prove to you that I'm nothing but loyal to the Daines." At this point, I was close to getting on my knees and begging him to let go, but I kept my cool and patiently awaited his reply.

His angry expression turned to thoughtfulness, but the hardness in his eyes stayed cold and firm. "Fine, you can go. But so help me, Teya, if you pull any tricks, I'll make sure you regret it," he threatened, and if there was one thing I knew, it was that he didn't take his own warnings lightly. I was one hundred percent sure that he was completely serious about what he said he would do if I messed up. But I wasn't planning to.

"I won't sir, I promise." Though his warning made me nervous, I knew I had nothing to worry about. I was a loyal Daine and now I had a chance to prove it.

"I've heard those words before," he mumbled, just loud enough so I could hear.

I resisted to urge to growl in frustration, but I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't do anything that might change his mind. Besides, I was being let out!

I watched eagerly as Thomas reluctantly opened the door to the building and whispered something to the guard standing outside, to which he nodded his head, then entered the building. The keys were drawn from his belt to the lock, which was unlocked slowly as I eagerly waited behind the for now closed bar door. Finally the guards pulled open the door and I stepped out, then started toward the other door that lead out of the small building. But Mr. Thomas caught me by the arm in a tight grip, pulling me back.

"I'm watching you, Teya," he warned in deep, gruff voice. I glared at him, then ripped my arm from his grasp and continued out of the the isolated building, toward my dorm. I needed to tell Lauren, not to mention get ready to leave. I could hardly wait.