The True One

Chapter 36

Anger welled up. "I'm going to repeat my question, Norvin. And I expect a straight answer—no games, no puzzles, and no bullshit. Where is Verity?"

"You aren't asking the correct question if you want a direct, simple answer, kid. The question should be, 'is the world safe from Verity now?' The answer, you might be interested to hear, is 'yes and you're welcome.'"

I stood up, forgetting I was still tied to the chair. Stumbling forward, I used the chair's weight to propel myself at Norvin, who calmly pushed himself out of my reach. He pressed a button on the side of the desk and two burly men I'd never seen before entered the room. They shoved me and my chair down and held me in place.

"What are you doing, Alek? You are smarter than this," he said. "You've given me what I wanted and honestly, I don't see why you're make a fuss about it. You're going to hurt yourself for no good reason."

"What did you do to her, Norvin?"

"Who's playing games now? Why pretend you didn't know all of this was going to happen? You brought her to me, didn't you?"

"Your circus werewolves and your Aurum Venari minions did that themselves, actually," Flora said. "He's a jerk, but he's not that much of a jerk."

Norvin chuckled. "You know, Miss Marquez, I expected you to be a lot less gullible, given who your mother is. Alek knew exactly what he was doing."

Flora scoffed. "He's as upset about this as I am. Clearly, he didn't know you intended to kidnap all of us."

"Is he truly as upset?" Norvin leaned in, one eyebrow raised. "And, for that matter, why are you? Didn't Alek explain to you what the deal was?"

Flora sucked in air like it was the last breath she'd ever be allowed to make. "No, he did not." She turned to me. "What deal is he talking about? And don't you dare lie to me!"

"I'm the deal." Flora's mom walked into the room. I knew this was coming, but seeing her looking healthy and well rested, and without restraints still shocked me.

"Mom?"

Val bent over Flora's chair to give her an awkward hug. "Is this really necessary Norvin?" She pointed to our bound wrists.

"I suppose not. Cut them loose if you want." Norvin stood up and walked towards the door, motioning his guards to follow him. "I'm not one for emotional reunions, so I'll leave you to it."

Val opened up a pocket knife and cut through the rope tying her daughter to the chair. Once free, Flora embraced her mother again. "Are you saying Alek agreed to exchange you for Verity?"

"That's what I was told."

She slid the knife in between my wrists and a few seconds later, I was free, just in time to turn around and see Flora's horrified face.

"Alek, I'm glad to have my mom back, but... how could you?"

"Don't look at me like that. There's more going on here than you know."

"Enlighten me, then." Flora stomped her foot. "Was there truly no other way? You really had to betray Verity—someone who loves you, by the way, and you were out of all other options?"

Someone who loves you.

I swallowed hard. This was not the time to take in the significance of those words.

"Like I said, there's more to the story, and if you could—"

"No," she raised a hand, palm towards me. "I don't want to hear it. It's not possible that Verity was the price that had to be paid for my mom's freedom."

"Freedom?" Val cocked her head. Her brown eyes searched her daughters. "Sweetie, here's what I need you to understand. It's going to be hard to accept, as it was for me at one time. But hopefully, you will eventually. I work for Norvin. I've worked for him—for Aurum Venari, ever since you were little. And despite what you may have assumed, no one forced me to come here. I've always been free."

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Author's Note: So... it doesn't look like Flora's mom was Norvin's prisoner, does it. What's the story there? How is she involved? 

And WHERE IS VERITY?

This story is not over yet, but we are well into the final act. If you are interested in reading another of my works, I'm participating in Open Novella Contest this year. Check out my new thriller, 18.98.