Tower of Light (Under The Cowl Book #2)

CHAPTER 3

     Jessica felt her throat sink to the bottom of her belly. 

Baz's voice grew distant over the phone. The microphone vibrated in her hand, likely Baz screaming for her attention. He may have just heard the same thing. Casey's revelation automatically brought Jessica back behind the brush where she hid from the criminals who callously gunned down her friends. The guilt, the fear of being discovered, of being next.

Casey's touch quickly brought Jessica back into the edge of the bed, kneeling across from the gravely wounded girl not long for this world. "I'm not sure if Danny got away in time, but he sent me to you."

"What? Me? Why?" Jessica asked.

"Because what's after Danny and me will come for you too. Find Danny, protect him, please. You're capable of doing so much more than I could every hope."

I'm not even sure if I can protect myself. "If you know anything about me than you know it's been over two months since I've went on patrol."

"I know I'm asking a lot from you. My body is what's going to die, not me. I live as long as Danny lives, no matter how bad my injury looks. And Danny is not so easy a target to kill. Help me up please?"

Jessica reluctantly lifted Casey up and scooted her to sit against the headboard. She knew doing so is further accepting the responsibility of what Casey was ready to lay at her feet. "What am I up against?"

Jessica couldn't believe what she was saying out loud. This was Guy's voice, his eagerness to help those in need more so when it involves a fight. Infectious? Perhaps.

Jessica's felt her phone vibrate and ring in her hand. She looked down and found that it was Baz again. She didn't remember hanging up on him. It's likely his impatience did that for him, hanging up and calling just to get her attention. Not in the mood to hear his screaming over the phone, further proof that he's been hanging around Guy Garner outside of training.

She tapped the red ignore button on her screen and tossed her phone on the nightstand.

"Start by telling me who attacked you?"

Again Jessica's phone rang, shaking the lamp it sat beside.

"Maybe you should get that?" Casey suggested. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Jessica hurried and grabbed her phone in a huff.

She headed for the bathroom and answered, "What do you want?"

"Where are you?" Baz asked.

"What do you mean? I'm home."

Silence echoed from the other side.

"Is that why you called? Ask for the obvious?"

No response.

"Baz, you there?"

The line was still connected, but there was no word from Baz, nothing but dead air.

"Where are you?" he asked again. Something was off. Baz's voice had changed into somewhat monotone, a little too clam, calmer than what she expected to hear.

"I'm home." she replied with a harden tone to get her point across, I have no time for your questions. "Is Guy with you or something? Is that why you sound so detached? You don't want him making fun of you for checking up on me."

Silence returned.

"Hello? Baz, you there?"

Jessica pulled her phone away from her ear. The numbers on the screen continued to add up the seconds on the clock. Baz was still on the line, but there was no sound, only the continued brush of wind. She was getting a sickening feeling in her stomach. This kind of quiet did not feel unfamiliar to her. During her days hunting she remembered being the one responsible for this kind of calm before the storm. As the hunter she watched and waited for the hunted to reveal themselves from where they hid. That's the feeling she was getting.