Chapter 22
Two weeks flew by like it was merely hours. I’d probably been happier than I’d ever been in my life, which kind of seemed a little weird for me since I was a part of the Directrix. But I knew that I was that way all because of Kade.
We decided to make my room our room. Bailey had to agree with that, too, since Kade’s closet wasn’t as fully stocked as mine was, so it was easier to move most of his things in. She was genuinely excited for us…and didn’t go get Everleigh when she found our room locked in the morning, which was every morning.
The first night – after a few hours of celebration, of course – I told Reagan all that happened. She was smiling when I got there, so I had a feeling that she’d already known what had happened.
“Congratulations,” she said, hugging me even before I said a word.
“Let me guess,” I said. “You know what happened with me and Kade today?”
“Yes, I did,” she said. “The night after your grandma and grandpa got married. It wasn’t like a usual wedding, though, was it?”
“No, but I did wear a white dress,” I said.
She laughed. “I know, and it was gorgeous,” she said, and hugged me again.
I woke now to Kade kissing a line all the way from my jaw down to my shoulder. My eyes were still closed, but I knew that he knew I was awake because he could probably see the smile playing around the edge of my lips. He then wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him to kiss me from the side of my mouth all the way to the hollow below my ear.
“Good morning,” he said. “And happy birthday.”
“I forgot about that,” I mumbled, opening my eyes.
He laughed and leaned back to look me in the eyes, his face just inches away from mine on the pillow. “How can you still forget your birthday when you know mine’s two days before yours?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, smiling. “I’ve seemed to forgotten my birthday for the past three years now.”
“Your birthday three years ago was the best, though,” he said, smiling. “It was two days after I found you.”
“Well, I could say that this birthday definitely trumps that one,” I said.
I sat up then, letting the sheets fall down around my waist. But right when I stood up, Kade caught my hand and pulled me back down and I landed right on top of him. I laughed as he kissed me and then let me go, a smile on his face.
I walked to where Bailey had set out my clothes and where I’d put my necklace the night before – I already had my ring on; I hadn’t even taken it off at all – and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When I got out, Kade got in and I finished getting dressed and ready. I went downstairs while Kade finished and the first thing that I saw when I got down to the kitchen was a huge plate of pancakes covered in fruit at my place at the table.
“Happy birthday, Rayney,” Arianna said as walked up to me and wrapped me in a hug.
“Thank you,” I said, and pulled back to look at Conley. “You shouldn’t have done this. I won’t be able to eat it all.”
He smiled. “It’s alright,” he said. “And happy birthday, Rayney.”
I smiled as I walked to sit down at my place. The first bite of my birthday pancakes was like heaven. They were so light and fluffy that it was like taking a bite out of a cloud.
“Are they good?” Arianna laughed.
“Probably the best I’ve ever had,” I said. I turned to look at Conley. “And why haven’t you made these before?”
“Because he only makes them for birthdays,” Slayter said, walking into the kitchen. Conley handed him his cup of coffee and he sat down at the table.
“Well, you need to dismiss that rule,” I said, taking another bite.
Kade sat down beside me right when I put my fork down, half of the stack of pancakes still on my plate.
“And how come I didn’t get these for my birthday?” he asked, stealing a bite.
“You can have the rest of mine, so stop complaining,” I said, pushing the plate toward him.
Arianna took a sip of her coffee and looked over at Slayter. “Are you going to tell them now?” she asked him.
“Tell us what?” Kade asked.
“Well, you know how Orion, Fynn and Ace are at Division Five now,” he said. Kade and I nodded. It was really quiet without the three of them here, which was quite a nice change. “We want to send you two and Roth over there to help them back. They’re going to follow the jet back in three of the helicopters to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“Are there going to be any Guards going there and coming back with us?” I asked.
“We’ll you’ll be taking the jet over this afternoon. They’ll pack it up over night and you’ll leave tomorrow around noon to come back.”
“So what time to we need to be over at Headquarters?” Kade asked. “We’ll need to get ready here in a little while.”
“In about a half an hour,” Slayter said. “The jet should be ready right when you get there.”
“Bailey should be up there getting everything ready right now,” Arianna said.
“So are you two good with this?” Slayter asked.
“I guess,” I said. “We should probably get upstairs to get ready then.”
“Yes, you should,” Slayter said. “I’m heading over there right now to look over everything. I’ll see you when you get there.”
Kade and I headed back upstairs after he left. When we got to our room, Kade left to go back to his old room since he’d still had his clothes that he wore when we went on assignments there. I walked back into our room and the light was on in the closet. When I walked to the doorway, Bailey was just walking toward me with all of my black clothes.
“So I’ve got to wear those again?” I asked, smiling.
“Yes,” she said, laughing, and then she held up my high heeled boots. “And you can’t forget about these.”
“Oh, yes, I can forget about them,” I said, rolling my eyes as she walked past me.
“At least you’re used to heels now,” she said as she set everything down on the neatly made bed.
“That’s true,” I said.
“Guess what?” she asked as I stripped down to nothing.
“What?” I asked as she handed me the tight leather pants and tank top.
“I’m going with you to Division Five,” she said. “I don’t know why, but Mrs. Slayter told me this morning.”
I sat down on the bed and pulled one boot on. “I wonder why,” I said.
“I don’t care why. I just get to go somewhere,” she said. “Maybe she thinks that you’re going to need help over there or something.”
I laughed and stood up after I put on the other boot. She handed me my leather Directrix jacket and I pulled it on, zipping it up halfway like I’d done the previous time. “I guess I do,” I said. “You’re a really good help, though.”
“I don’t think you’d know what to do without me,” she said, laughing. She reached over and got my knives in their sheath and knelt down to put it around my leg.
“I don’t think I know either,” I said.
She smiled. “Mr. Slayter was going to send the car over for us,” she said. “I’ll be downstairs.” She turned toward the door, but then suddenly turned back suddenly, smiling. “Oh, and happy birthday.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling.
I followed her out but turned toward Kade’s old room. He was standing there pulling on his jacket when I walked it. He looked me over and smiled.
“Again, this is my favorite outfit,” he said and gave me a kiss.
“Guess who’s coming with us,” I said, smiling.
“Roth?” he asked, laughing.
“Well, yes, but someone else is coming because your mom wanted her to come also,” I said. “Bailey.”
“Why is she coming?” he asked, looking confused.
“I don’t know,” I said. “She just your mom wanted her to come with us. It’s fine with me.”
He sighed, rolling his eyes with a smile, grabbed my hand, and then walked out into the hallway. We headed downstairs then, where Bailey and Arianna were just walking toward the door. Arianna sighed when she hugged me.
“I don’t see why they have to send you to Division Five on your birthday,” she said.
“At least it won’t be a boring birthday,” I said, laughing.
Bailey opened the door and looked out. “The car’s here,” she said. “Should we be going?”
“Be safe,” Arianna said. She looked sad for a moment, but then her eyes brightened up and she smiled. “Oh, I totally forgot. The gala is going to be next Thursday, so you’ve got six days!”
“So you finished planning, I take it,” Kade asked, laughing.
“It took forever to get everything ordered,” she said. “I would have had it done right after you two were married, but then it wouldn’t be as special as I wanted it to be. That’s why we just had that little get together that night. Now you should get going. I love you both!”
Kade was laughing as we walked down to where the car was waiting. Bailey got in the front next to the driver, who was, to my surprise, Castillo, while Kade and I got in the back.
“Hello again, Castillo,” I said, smiling at him as he started down the driveway after we got settled.
He nodded his hello and kept his attention on the road. Kade reached over and held my hand on the seat between us. We didn’t get to the hangar beside Headquarters as fast as we would have if we were to have taken the bike, but we got there right as the jet was rolling out onto the runway. When it stopped, the side opened and Roth walked down from it.
“What are you doing here?” he asked when he saw Bailey walking behind us.
“She’s coming also,” Kade said.
“And at least I’m not going to be the only girl on this assignment, even though she’s just coming along to help me,” I said.
“You need help?” he asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow.
“I guess I do,” I said, smiling back.
“Is everything ready to go?” Kade asked.
“Yes, it is,” Roth said.
We all saw Slayter walking toward us then, and turned when he was beside us.
“The jet’s good to go,” he said. “Division Five’s going to be expecting you in a few hours.”
After goodbyes, the four of us headed toward the jet. Once we were up close to it, it seemed a lot bigger than from far away. The cabin didn’t take up the entire jet, though, only about a fourth of it. There were seats of two in a few places, some facing each other with tables in between them, and bench seats along the side. Kade and I sat down in one of the sets of seats as Bailey took a seat behind us. Roth sat on the bench and gazed out the window.
I looked back at Bailey for just a second, looking comfortable in her chair. She looked over at Roth for a moment, who was in plain view of her, and then pulled out what looked like a very small messenger. She typed a few words and then quickly slipped it back in her pocket.
“Finally you guys are here,” Ace said as he, Orion and Fynn walked toward us as we walked off the jet and onto the runway next to the main building of Division Five. It was also just a few hundred feet from the beach.
The first thing I’d seen as we stepped off the jet was the sun beginning to lower toward the ocean. The sight made me stop on the top stair and look over at everything. With everyone on the runway but me, they all looked up until I walked down toward them.
“Well, that’s probably all you get to see of it,” Orion said.
“Actually, unlike you, we’re free to go anywhere,” Kade said. He tapped his face then, pointing toward his tattoo. “This also helps.”
“That’s because people are scared you’ll do something to them if they tell you not to do something,” Fynn said.
“True,” Kade said.
“They’re going to start loading up everything now,” Orion said. “They’re going to refuel afterward, so we’ll be leaving in the morning.”
“Actually,” Roth said, walking back toward us. I don’t think anyone even saw him leave. “We’re going to be staying her for a day or two more. They’re sending another jet tomorrow evening from Division Fourteen. It’s bigger so they’ll have more room to put things. They had more than they originally counted.”
“Great,” Orion said, rolling his eyes. “More time to watch them assemble weapons.”
“Sounds like fun,” I said, smiling at him.
“Oh, yes, it’s a blast,” he said. “No pun intended.”
I laughed. “Well, looks like we’ve got some time to go look around,” I said. “I guess we’ll be seeing you later.”
“Well, there is one way to get out of going to watch,” Orion said. “I could take you to the waterfall that’s in what used to be the old Yosemite National Park. It’s not that far from here. It’s actually better to see if you go at night. Tonight’s supposed to be clear and the moon’s going to be full, so it’ll look really good. I’ll take the four of you.” He looked around at me, Kade, Roth and Bailey. He looked confused when he saw her. “But the way, what are you doing here?”
“She only came for me,” I said. “But I’d really like it if she came also.”
“I’ll take you all,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve got to go get a helicopter. It might take a half an hour or so.”
“That’s fine,” I said. I looked up at Kade, smiling. “I want to go to the beach anyway.”
“I’ll come and get you when it’s ready,” he said, and headed toward the hangar that was right off the runway.
Kade and I started toward the beach, but Bailey quickly caught up with us. “Do you want to leave your jackets and boots with me? It’s surprisingly hot for fall weather.”
“Alright,” I said, and started to take off my jacket.
“I’ll take yours, too, if you’d like me to, Kade,” she said. “I’ll put keep them close so when you come back, you’ll be able to get them quickly.”
“Okay, then,” he said. He took off his jacket and boots also.
“Have fun,” she said, smiling, and walked back toward the hangar where Roth, Ace and Fynn were just walking in.
“You ready?” Kade asked.
“One second,” I said. “Turn around.”
“What for?” he asked, but did it anyway.
I put my hands on his shoulders and jumped up. He caught my legs and held me while I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I’m ready now,” I said.
“And why am I carrying you?” he asked as he started toward the beach.
“Because it seems more romantic,” I said, laughing.
He snorted. “Yeah, okay,” he said.
He walked off the paved area and onto the sand. I’d only been to the beach one other time in my entire life, which was when I was six. We’d flown down to Florida where my grandma had a beach house that had been in our family for years. I remembered running into the waves with my mom and building sandcastles with my dad.
“I haven’t been to a beach in forever,” I said to Kade as he got closer to the water.
“I remember,” he said, laughing. “It was when you were six. You were gone for two weeks and I hated you not being there.”
“I wanted you there with me,” I said. “I guess this makes up for it now, though.”
I could feel his feet sinking down into the sand as he walked. “So what do you think?” he asked, stopping right at the edge of the water.
“It looks…big,” I said.
He laughed. “Well, of course it’s big,” he said.
“I know,” I said. “It’s just bigger than I remember seeing. Which is odd, since you would think that I would have thought it was huge when I was six and tiny. Now I’m all grown up and think it’s gotten bigger. I think Lyric would love it. So would Lilah.”
I tighten my hold on him and put my head against his. He moved then, shifting me so that I was in front of him. He walked backward away from the water and then sat down in the sand, me on his lap.
“You’ve been thinking about everyone more in the past few weeks,” he said, running a hand through my hair.
“Yeah,” I said, picking up some sand in my hand and letting it sift through my fingers. “I guess it’s because of everything happening. I think it really started happening when I saw them when we went to Division Four.”
“When they were watching us from the woods,” he said.
I nodded and picked up more sand, not meeting his gaze. “And then with me and you getting married, that’s got me thinking of my grandma and what she’d say about it,” I said.
“What would that be?” he asked.
I smiled slightly, looking at him. “I think she’d be happy. She always loved you when she saw you, though you were a kid then. But she was happy for me when we found each other again. Well, maybe not that we were fighting at first.”
“She wasn’t really happy when we came to Division Sixteen to come and get you,” he said.
“But you had to do that,” I said. “And look where that’s gotten us now.”
“Married,” he said, laughing. “Even with bumps in the road beforehand.”
I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “They were probably more like huge sinkholes.”
“Probably,” he said, laughing again, and leaned in to kiss me.
We both heard someone calling then, and we turned to see Bailey waving at us. Behind her on the runway was a helicopter. I saw Roth and Orion opening the side doors as a Guard jumped out of pilot’s seat.
We both got up and started toward her. Our boots and jackets were in her arms and on the pavement when we came up beside her. We both took our jacket from her and brushed the sand off our feet to put our boots back on.
“Orion got the helicopter a little faster than expected. And he got one of the new models so it won’t take us but about ten minutes to get there, even though it’s almost two hundred miles away,” she said.
“Let’s go then,” I said, and we started toward the helicopter.
Once we were there, Orion was getting in the pilot’s seat and Roth was getting in the copilot’s. Kade, Bailey and I got in the back and put on the headsets.
“Are we ready to go?” Orion asked, looking back at us. “It won’t be too long until we get there.”
“We’re good,” I said.
As the helicopter lifted up off the ground, Kade looked out the window.
“What?” I asked, laughing.
“It’s weird having someone else flying the helicopter,” he said. “I’m usually the one to do it now.”
I smiled. “You don’t know the way,” I said.
“I would,” he said, and tapped under his right eye, indicating the interface.
I smiled again and looked out the window beside Bailey.
“I haven’t been in a helicopter in a long time,” she said. “I forgot how high you go. And this one’s faster than the old ones.”
I watched the trees pass by in a blur, even for me. “I haven’t been in the newer ones,” I said.
“This one might be faster, but it’s got something wrong with it already,” Kade said. “Your systems are messing up. I could probably see what’s wrong if we could land somewhere.”
Orion messed around with a few controls. “That would probably be best,” he said. “I’ve flown this one before and it worked perfectly fine. I wonder what’s wrong.”
I felt as the helicopter slowed and start to lower. The trees were coming up to us as Orion tried to find a clear place to land. Once he found one, the trees surrounded us and we were on the ground. Orion powered down as the rest of us jumped out.
“Can you figure out what’s wrong?” I asked Kade as Orion opened the pilot’s side.
“I will in a minute,” he said, and walked toward him.
We gathered around as Kade got in the pilot’s seat and put his hand on the controls. He closed his eyes for a moment and, after a few clicks and beeps from the helicopter, he opened his eyes.
“I think some kind of frequency messed up all the equipment,” he said, jumping out. “I don’t know where it came from, though.”
“Are we good to go, though?” I asked.
“We should be,” he said. “Maybe I should fly and Orion can be in copilot’s seat.”
“Roth, you don’t mind sitting in the back with Rayney and Bailey, do you?” Orion asked. He looked behind me and looked confused. “Where is Bailey?”
I turned and saw what he meant. Bailey was nowhere to be seen.
“Bailey?” I yelled.
And my call was answered by a scream, one fairly close. It was cut off suddenly, though, like a hand covering someone’s mouth. I looked around but couldn’t see anything.
“Someone’s got her,” Kade said, and started to run toward where the scream came from.
“Bailey!” I yelled again as I started running after Kade.
“Split up,” Kade yelled. “We’ll be able to cover more ground.”
He kept straight while I went left and Roth went right. I yelled Bailey’s name again, but this time I heard the scream coming from the direction we’d left. There was another sound. Kind of like a thudding.
I started back toward where we’d left the helicopter. But right when I was about to break into the clearing where we’d left it, I saw something lying on the ground. Actually it was someone.
Orion.
When I got to him, he was passed out cold. He had a huge knot on the back of his head, probably from where someone hit him. I checked to see if he was breathing, and when I knew he was, I looked all around.
“Bailey!” I yelled again.
“Rayney,” she said from behind me.
I turned and she was walking straight toward me. Her face was completely blank.
“You’re alright,” I said, and then looked down at Orion. “Someone’s here. And they did this to him…”
“He’ll be okay,” she said, still walking toward me. “So will you.”
I stood up and looked at her. “What are you…?”
But then hands caught me from behind and Bailey was rushing toward me. I was too surprised to do anything as she pulled a cloth out and had it over my mouth and nose within the same second. I stared up at her as I started to fall backward into the blackness.