Chapter 5

Chapter 5

My hands are shaking as I bring up the text message that’s been burning a hole in my pocket ever since it arrived. Come to London if you want to survive this or he will make you watch them all die, it reads, as cryptic and ominous as can be. It came from a private number, and although I’ve done a little digging to try to locate the source, I’m no closer now than I was before. I hate the fact that I’m even considering this, but we don’t have much of a choice. Normally, upon receiving a mysterious and vaguely threatening text message from a stranger, most people would delete it and pretend it never happened.

But I think we’ve established by now that I’m not most people.

The unknown messenger, whoever they are, first reached out to me during the human-shifter diplomatic conference that brought us to Boston in the first place. The only problem, of course, was that the two communities seem to be past the point of peaceful negotiations. Things are escalating beneath the surface, and the worst part is that most humans, in the dark about supernatural beings, don’t even realise how dangerous their world has become. That’s not the point, though. The point is that I first received a warning message before Hawthorne even attacked the convention centre, which means whoever is behind the texts has an in with the mucky-mucks. Whether they’re on our side, though, is another story.

“Boots?” the sound of Hunter’s uncertain voice pulls me back to reality, and I realise with a start that I’ve been staring down at my cell phone in silence. “We lost you for a second, there.”

“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “I was just thinking. Look, I’m not totally sure on the transportation thing, if I’m being honest, but if the Academy is this gun ho about finding us, then we ought to consider finding outside help.”

“I’m all for that,” Landon says dryly. “It’s not like we’re a bunch of half-trained university students or anything.”

“Do you have someone in mind, Boots?” Silas asks, brow furrowing.

“Maybe,” I reply, biting the inside of my lip. I can feel a blush creeping into my cheeks. “It’s… a possibility, anyway.”

“You don’t sound super convinced,” remarks Hazel.

“That’s because I’m not,” I explain. “The truth is, I got a text from someone during the conference, telling me to watch my back.”

“Who was it from?” asks Shade, crossing his arms.

“That’s the problem,” I say. “I’m not sure.”

“You realise it could’ve been Lyle, right?” asks Ruby. “Or any of the other Academy bastards trying to throw you off.”

“I know, and that’s what I thought, too,” I concede. “At least, at first. But then…” I sigh, looking down. It’s embarrassing that I’ve kept this from the others, but I wasn’t expecting to need to resort to this. We’re backed into a corner. “After we escaped from the campus, when we were first running back into the city, I got another text,” I explain, choosing my words carefully. “Same number, but I have no idea who it belongs to. Hell, I don’t even know the area code; it was unlisted. It said that we need to come to London if we want to survive this.”

“And that’s it?” asks Shade, sounding incredulous.

“I texted them back, asking who they were, but they never responded to me.”

“Great,” mutters Landon. “That doesn’t exactly bode well.”

“I know,” I admit, “and that’s why I didn’t say anything earlier. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to… But now I’m starting to think we might not have a choice.”

“So you think we should do it, then?” asks Xander. He and Ruby exchange a look. “Just like that?”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Hunter says, shifting uncomfortably. “We don’t even know who they are.”

“That’s a fair point,” Silas agrees. “For all we know, it could be someone from the Academy, trying to lure us back there. What if it’s a trap to corner us?”

“To be fair, that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Landon points out. “If they wanted us back at the Academy, why wouldn’t they just tell us to meet them there?”

“Maybe they’re finally realising we’re smarter than they gave us credit for,” Shade suggests with a smirk.

“I guess that’s a possibility,” I acknowledge, my face falling. “You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything. We can figure out another way to-”

“Well, wait a minute,” Hazel interrupts, holding up a hand. “I don’t think we should just ignore this.”

“But we could be walking right into a trap,” protests Hunter. “We can’t let M-” He stops himself, clears his throat, and says, “We can’t let any of us get hurt.” His blue eyes flicker to me, and then down to the ground.

“We have to think big picture, though,” argues Hazel. “Let’s just say this is a trap, and someone’s trying to capture us. They obviously already know where we are, or they wouldn’t have sent that warning during the convention, right? Which means if we don’t take them up on their offer, we could just be inviting them to come attack us while we’re sitting in Boston with our asses hanging out.”

“So we leave Boston,” suggests Xander. “We can take a train down the coast, find a way to-”

“Do you really think the humans are going to let us leave the city?” Hazel asks. “They’ve blocked off the airport. They know they have us trapped here, and they’re just going to keep tightening the net. I wouldn’t be surprised if the train station already has agents there waiting for us.”

I can see the wheels turning in Shade’s head, and he nods slowly, looking at Hazel. “You’re saying it would be better to have someone spring a trap on us if we’re in London.”

“Exactly,” says the siren shifter. “Boston is crawling with Academy enforcers. Twice as many, with the UK humans still looking for us, and that’s not even counting the school board and the ambassadors. For all we know, everyone in the damn city is out to get us. At least if we had to duke it out with your mysterious contact in London, Millie, we wouldn’t be running the risk of the entire city coming after us.”

“And that’s all assuming your contact isn’t on their side,” Silas points out, sounding thoughtful. “It could be that they do want to help us. Remember Josie?”

I hum in agreement, thinking back to the faculty fellow who risked everything to help us escape from lockdown at the Boston campus. God, I hope she’s okay.

“Maybe you’re right,” admits Hunter.

Silas turns to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Listen, Boots, we meant what we said. You’re running this show, and we’ll follow you. To the end of the earth, if we have to.” His dark eyes bore into mine, smouldering, and his words fill me with renewed confidence -- as well as renewed longing. “It’s your call, at the end of the day. We trust you.” He looks up at Xander, Hazel, and Ruby for confirmation, and they nod their agreement.

“Give me a sec,” I say, already turning back to my phone and tapping out a message to the unknown number. I’m not expecting a reply, but it’s worth getting as much information as I can before I sign the group up for something dangerous.

Where in London? I write before sending the message.

We wait for a few moments; the others looking anxiously around at the Academy agents by the airport, and I’m debating having us return to the hotel when my phone vibrates. Surprised, I pull it back out and glance down at the screen, hardly daring to hope…

But there it is, in plain English. Hyde Park, the message reads. Speakers’ Corner. Come while it’s light out, and message when you’re on route. I will be waiting.

I feel a burst of hope as I relay the message back to my friends. “That’s… better than I was expecting,” says Silas.

“I’ll say,” Landon puts in. “I can’t think of anywhere more public than Hyde Park. And during the daytime…” He grins. “There will be people everywhere. It would be impossible for them to capture us without a bunch of bystanders seeing.”

“Not to mention the space,” adds Shade. “I don’t mind destroying a few sculptures if it means kicking a few of those bastards’ asses.”

“The risk is lower this way,” acknowledges Ruby. “I say we go for it.”

“There’s still one problem, though,” says Hunter, who has been silent the whole time. We turn to look at him questioningly, and he raises his eyebrows, gesturing around. “We still have no way of getting there,” he says. “Last I checked, we can’t just walk across the ocean.”

“Maybe you can’t,” teases Landon. “Hazel and I have the swimming thing locked down.”

The vampire shifter rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“What about Boots?” asks Shade, nodding in my direction. “You can shift into your witch form. You could teleport us over there.”

“That’s…” I splutter, feeling put on the spot. “That’s not possible. I’ve never transported anyone before!”

“But you have been taught the spell, haven’t you?” asks Silas.

“Technically, yeah,” I admit, rubbing the back of my neck. “At least, I think so. If I can remember it. But, guys, come on… the faculty fellows have been doing this for years! You saw how exhausted they got after warping us to Boston. Do you really think I could get us all to London without fucking it up?”

“You’re stronger than any of us,” Hazel points out.

“What if I send us to the wrong place?” I protest. “Or worse, what if I lose focus and we end up getting dropped into the ocean?”

“Silas and I can help,” offers Ruby. “We can carry you guys to dry land, if we have to. I really think this is our best bet, Millie.”

I fidget, looking from one hopeful face to the next, not wanting to disappoint them but overwhelmed by my own insecurity. It’s true that I learned the theory of teleportation back in one of my witch shifting classes, but theory and practise are two very different things. The idea of any of the guys getting hurt because of me…

So what are you going to do, then? a voice in my head speaks up. It’s not like you have a lot of options, here.

I can feel myself resigning to it even before I open my mouth. “Okay,” I say quietly. “I can try.”

“Good,” says Silas, looking relieved. “Then we just need to find some place where we won’t be seen, and we can-”

“I hate to interrupt,” Landon says, his tone worrisome, “but I think it’s a little late for that.” He nods in the direction of the airport, and when I follow his gaze, my blood runs cold. Two of the Academy representatives by the front entrance are staring straight at us. One of them murmurs something to the other, and then they both begin moving rapidly in our direction.

“Shit,” says Shade. “We have to get out of here!”

Here goes nothing, I think, and close my eyes.