The Legend of the Eight: The Wicked (Book 2)

11: All's Well That Ends

ELEVEN: ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS
MARCH 19
KATE DIAMOND

"DAMON DONOVAN IS MY BROTHER." 

Chloe Lawson stood beside her desk with her doe eyes wide and her hands on her hips. The longer Kate stared at her, the more she began to see the resemblance to Mr. Donovan. They had the same dark coloring and silky hair. It was a wonder no one pieced it together before.

"Your brother?" Kate asked when she remembered how to speak again. "H—How?"

Chloe's face twisted with confusion and Kate was quick to correct herself.

"Well, obviously I know how. I just— I don't understand."

"I only found out a few months ago," Chloe explained, leaning against the desk as she began her story. My entire life, it was just my mom and I until in August when Damon shows up and tells us that he's my half-brother and I'm in danger. It turns out that my father—er, our father—is this Dark Wizard who was Banished when I was a baby."

"Jeremiah," Kate said, the name tasting like vinegar on her tongue. "His name is Jeremiah."

"You know him?" Chloe sounded surprised. 

Kate looked to Nicole and then to Liam who shrugged casually and then said,

"We've met."

"Then you know how dangerous he is," said Chloe. "And you know why I had to stay in hiding. It wasn't safe."

"But it's safe now?" asked Phoebe, her words dripping with doubt.

"No. Of course not," Chloe practically chuckled. "But Damon's in trouble. He told me about what happened. About the place called Purgatory. That Jeremiah was free now and the only place safe for me was the Academy."

"Because of the spell," said Liam and Kate remembered the protective shield her parents placed over the Academy. It was right after Cupid's Comet and she and the Eight were shipped off to the old boarding house until the spell was complete. Thirty-six people died for that spell.

"So," Chloe said after a minute. "Are you guys going to explain what's going on or should I fill in the blanks myself?" 

TWO HOURS LATER, KATE AND the others filled Chloe in on all things about the Eight. They were hesitant to bring an outsider in—especially when said outsider was related to two of the Darks hunting them—but she knew about the Armory and her knowledge was something they couldn't take for granted.

"So we're just going to trust her?" Kate asked Liam as he walked her back to her room that night. They had finished with Chloe and after Nicole ran off to meet Alex in the library and Phoebe left with Drew for a run, Kate and Liam were the only ones left.

"What choice do we have?" Liam asked, leaning against the wall while she unlocked her door. "Even after we get Levi's traveling agent, we could use her help."

"Because she's done the spell before," Kate said and she almost sounded disappointed. "She knows about the Armory and she has Dark Magic so she can help with the spell."

Kate realized that as she talked about Chloe, she did so like she didn't like Chloe. The truth was, she liked Chloe—well, as much as anyone could like someone they barely knew. The problem wasn't Chloe. It was her family. Sure, she might have been perfectly fine and sure, she could've been the first genuinely good person born out of a family of evil, but she just as easily could lead Jeremiah and Bartemius and the Darks right to them. Just like her brother.