Chapter 4

Having never been in a plane smaller than an airliner before, I had no idea what to expect, but the plane we took from Shenandoah to Kansas City was actually a lot bigger and nicer than I was expecting. My mom and dad and I sat in the back, and Cadence sat up front with Aaron—who was flying. I had no idea he knew how to fly a plane, and when I told Cadence that was cool, she said she hadn’t known either until a few days before. I took some pictures for Emma of the plane on the inside and outside, as well as a few aerial shots. If nothing else, it gave me a chance to keep my mind off of what was happening and where we were going.

Cadence recommended we wear something comfortable on the plane and said we’d get to her headquarters in time to change, so I had packed the pink dress I’d finally decided to wear to the memorial, as well as a couple other outfits, although I secretly wanted to pack everything I owned. I wondered if Cadence would notice if I happened to miss the plane back home.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like my life in Shenandoah. I had some great friends. I loved most of my classes, and cheerleading had really become my thing recently, but the idea that whomever had shot Elliott was still out there somewhere waiting to be reckoned with had been weighing on my mind. I still needed to figure out who this punk was so I could help take him down, which was easier said than done since clearly the only people who knew were not too keen on talking right now, not to me anyhow.

I looked down at the ring on my finger and tried not to think about missing Elliott. Not only was he amazing, he was the only reason I knew most of what I knew about this organization at all. Perhaps my first mission should be to find another ally. I knew it wouldn’t be Cadence. She hadn’t even wanted to tell me anything in the first place. And Aaron seemed way too busy, even though he was more forthcoming with the info than my sister had been. I decided I could distract myself throughout the day by trying to build another trusting relationship with someone on the inside.

Going through all of the people I’d already met allowed me to consider a few possibilities and eliminate some others. As I stared down at the ant civilization between the clouds, I thought about each of the LIGHTS members I’d met so far. Hannah was the first that came to mind. She was nice enough, but she’d been the one to swipe all of our memories, and if it hadn’t been for a quick text from Elliott, she’d still have mine. She was off the table.

Christian was creepy. There was no doubt in my mind he would not be the one. I’d met Meagan and she seemed nice enough. My sister had taken her on the six-month-long adventure she’d just returned from. I wondered if she could be a possibility. The other woman I’d met, Eliza, had been transferred, according to Elliott, and that was just as well. I didn’t like her even before she stabbed my sister in the back.

The only other person from her team I’d met myself was Jamie. He was a doctor, and Emma had found a picture of him from the late 1880s online and done a facial recognition comparison with one of his social media pictures, the positive results of which went a long way in convincing all three of us that something odd was happening here. He seemed like a pretty nice guy, and I knew he’d put my sister back together again when Giovani, the violent Vampire who had turned Jack from one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met into pure evil, and some other Hunter named Laura, had shot Cadence. So, I thought Jamie might be a possibility. Could I get the good doctor to trust me well enough to answer my questions?

It would be much simpler, of course, if I got my sister to talk, but something told me her answers would be sketchy at best. And, for now, she was very tight-lipped anyway. I knew she was upset about Elliott; that much was clear. But as I watched her from further back in the plane, it seemed like something else was bothering her as well. She didn’t seem as touchy-feely with Aaron as she had been the day before, and I wondered if something had happened between them. It wouldn’t surprise me. I still didn’t fully trust him not to be screwing around with her again, messing with her mind and her heart.

We landed in Kansas City and I was very impressed that Aaron didn’t kill us. He was a good pilot, but I just thought there was no way he was going to be able to get our plane to land perfectly on what had originally looked like a short ribbon on the distant horizon. He landed like it was no big deal, and we all took a collective deep breath, thinking of why we were there, and headed out of the plane.

My opportunity to test out this other doctor came the moment we stepped foot on the tarmac, or whatever you call the thing you pull the plane over on. My sister was very excited to see Jamie and flung herself at him, asking him how he was feeling. From the way they were talking, I got the impression that he was also wounded in whatever happened with Elliott, and yet, here he was, standing, walking around, being alive and all that, while Elliott was in an urn somewhere. Perhaps he wouldn’t be my new confidant for that reason alone.

“Hi, Cassidy,” Jamie said, offering me his and. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You, too,” I replied, shaking it, thankful no one said anything stupid about “too bad it’s under these circumstances.” Some baggage guys were loading our luggage into the back of the large SUV Jamie had apparently driven over to pick us up, and we all piled in. I sat in the very back with my mom, and we hadn’t gotten very far when she reached over and grabbed my hand. I didn’t know if this was for my benefit or her own, but I didn’t let go.