Fire And Ice

Chapter 83 - Soulless

Natalia's P. O. V

The burns turned out to be permanent.

After a night of my consciousness resting in the back while Candy pranced about the forest, I'd woken bright and early to check on Brittany. I'd found her on the ground, her clothes littered around her in tatters. She'd slinked into a corner when I walked in, every muscle in her body quivering in fear.

I smiled.

Quicker than she could process, I'd moved to her and injected her with a combination of Wolfsbane and anaesthetics. Her body hadn't even put up a fight and her eyes had fluttered closed almost instantaneously.

I swung the van doors shut with, Brittany, Hannah and James' chained, unconscious forms inside, and walked around to the passenger seat window, "You know, you don't have to do this."

Hailey offered a smile, "I know, but I want to. I want to be there for you after everything's over, plus I want to make sure Tim doesn't crash."

At that, he shot her a look and she just smiled at him in response.

Tim had finally learnt how to drive over the last year, which turned out to be useful, seeing as dragging two unconscious people through airport security would raise more than just eyebrows. I was still going to take a flight, then wait a few hours before they arrived so I could make my entrance first. I'd been surprised to find Hailey waiting for me with Timothy in the truck, given her aversion to my methods. But her decision to stick it out with me gave me a comfort that I didn't know I'd wanted.

"If you're sure then I'll see you at the rental."

They were off.

The drive would take them about eight hours, and the flight would take me under two. I'd been tempted to use Brittany's phone to set the stage for my arrival. The idea of them assuming that she was bringing me back to them only to be met with an entirely different scenario was enticing, but I took the safer route and instead told them that she and her co-saboteurs were returning after a successfully executed plan. From what I knew, they hadn't brought any of their targets back except to kill them on the way, so news of my visit wouldn't be easily justified.

On my way out of my wing of the house, Kaesha was waiting for me.

"Are you really going to do this?" She asked, her arms folded across her chest as she leaned on a wall.

"Yes."

She said nothing, looking at me with those pitying eyes again. Then she sighed and opened her arms for a hug.

I regarded her for a second, before letting myself be embraced. Her arms wrapped around me as she whispered into my hair, "I know you feel like you need to do this right now, but I just don't want you to feel regret when it's all over. These things... they eat away at your soul."

"I'll be fine."

I'd be more than fine.

"I hope so. But I care about you and I couldn't live with myself if I never said a thing."

"I know... I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday." I mumbled.

She released the embrace, holding my arms as she looked at me with a pained smile, "I know you were just being testy about us getting in your way, so I understand."

"Thank you, Kaesha."

She nodded and stepped aside, letting me go on my path.

"Also, you're in charge while we're gone." I told her as I passed, to which she chuckled after me.

The tension I felt emanated off of me the whole way, which probably didn't help the humans around me in the summer heat. By the time I reached the rental just an hour away from the Lightwood territory, I'd heard from at least three concerned grandmas about how I should stay out of the sun and five guys about how I should join them in their pools.