Rage of Vendetta (The Vendetta Series #2)

Chapter 6

"I thought I built up a great stamina training in that attic," he wheezes. "I guess I was wrong."

"A great stamina?" I ask dubiously. "I don't think throwing me at the boxes count for much."

"Hey," he puffs. "I was great at throwing you at the boxes. And it wasn't for nothing either. We found that dodgy anklet."

There's a pause. We are both trying to recall the same thing.

"Where is that anklet anyway?" I muse, frowning.

"I... I can't remember," Jesse answers, bewildered. Then he groans. "I left it in my jeans back in the House."

I roll my eyes. "Great job."

There's a moment of strangely comfortable silence as we use our elbows to shove through the thickening crowds. Our combined efforts get us through quickly.

"The dead Cambions Dr. White is using were wearing them," Jesse says after catching enough breath to speak.

I refuse to slow down, only hurrying him.

"Yeah," I say, sighing. "I saw."

"That's how she's controlling them remotely then," he guesses.

"It just doesn't make sense," I say, pitch rising. "Aunt Nelly brought them to life without a soul by filling them up with her energy abilities. Why doesn't she only use energy to communicate to them? She obviously can. Why are the anklets necessary? Something is off. They're immortal, indestructible. You'd think she'd have a more foolproof plan than commanding with an anklet you can easily smash off."

"Back in that basement, she used verbal commands," Jesse says thoughtfully. "Think: were they wearing anklets then?"

I strain my memory, trying to recall anything out of the ordinary that could have indicated they didn't have anklets on. I can't dig anything up.

"I don't remember," I sigh. "But she told them to step forward, remember? If we didn't hear any clanging noises, then it's likely they weren't."

"So maybe that's why," Jesse says, a little smug. "She can't communicate with them verbally as soon as they're out of range, so she has to use telepathy to do it mentally."

I turn back to look at Jesse. "Why do you say that like it's a good thing?"

"Because it is," he says. "Her control isn't as vast as we thought. She needs the anklets because her energy ability isn't strong enough."

"She still has enough ability to raise zombies," I mutter. "Why can't I get necromancy?"

Jesse coughs up a laugh. "Don't you think you have enough abilities?"

I shrug. "True. If I get anymore there might be a karmic collapse."

"Power always brings sacrifice," he intones, echoing Courtney's words from earlier. "You never know how much you have to pay back to the universe for all you've been gifted with."

I roll my eyes again, though my stomach clenches. "Not really looking forward on finding out either," I mutter.

I raise my gaze, scanning the shops. "Okay, I know the toilets are here somewhere, but it's hard to tell with all the people."

Jesse cocks his head to the side, listening. "We passed it," he announces. "Eric's thoughts are coming from that way."

He points back, and sure enough, I spot the toilet we had somehow walked right by.

"I guess mind-reading serves as a pretty useful GPS system now."

"Nah," he replies, a grin breaking out. "Eric asked if they were changing together and Sasha slapped him. His thoughts are pretty loud and disgruntled right now."