"Where is everyone?" Simon was still sitting on the coffee table next to me when he asked the question.
"Still tracking. I decided I should come back to see how our little guest is doing." I flinched when he stood up abruptly, coming closer to me. "Maybe we can make some progress of our own. Pain is a great motivator. There's a possibility that she didn't tell us everything she saw while she was under hypnosis yesterday. We could make sure."
Simon stood and faced my father. "You need to stop being so reckless. We have to think about the end goal, not about getting your kicks through torture."
My father narrowed his eyes but he kept his gaze on me. "You deserve a little payback for all the grief you've given me all these years."
I barely registered his hand raising before I felt him backhand me with such force that my chair tipped back, almost toppling me over. Simon grabbed the back of my chair to steady it, and then released it when I was firmly on the ground. I felt a flash of doubt at his action. Why would he care if I fell back? It didn't align with him being a vardoger. But when he spoke there was no emotion in his voice except irritation.
"Do I really have to have this conversation with you again? She's a means to an end. After we're done with her, we'll either be able to overtake her or we'll kill her. Until then, control yourself."
There was a ringing in my ears as my head throbbed. When I dropped my head to try and push away the pain, I saw Simon's hand closest to me clenched into a fist. He was gripping so hard that his knuckles were white and his fist was trembling. It was clear that he had been affected by my father striking me. Hope is such a horrible and wonderful thing. It was wonderful because it left open the possibility that Simon wasn't a lost cause. That he was pretending so that he could try and figure out a way for both of us to escape this. It was horrible because if I was mistaken, I didn't know how I'd survive the betrayal again.
I looked up at my father to see if he had noticed Simon's reaction but he was too busy frowning at the cell phone he had pulled out of his pocket. He walked out of the living room with the phone to his ear.
Simon sat back down on the couch and I couldn't stop searching his face for a clue. For any sign that this was all an act. But his face remained impassive. He didn't look up when the front door opened and the two boys walked in. He simply said, "Watch her," and walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The rest of the day was sheer torture. I was tense and wired, preparing myself for something to happen. Not knowing my fate was almost worse than something bad happening. My imagination was in overdrive with all the different possible scenarios. Yet the day remained relatively calm.
Lenore came back to the house when night fell, although Marie and Cecelia were nowhere to be seen. I hadn't seen Simon since he had left me earlier, so I was surprised when he walked back into the living room. He addressed Lenore who was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. It had irritated me to no end that she was doing something as banal as flipping through a magazine, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, while I was strapped to a chair in front of her.
"You're going tracking again."
Lenore frowned. "Now? Isn't it a little late?"
Simon ignored her and glanced at the boys. "You too."
My father walked into the living room. "Let's go. I got some good information on a powerful seer. If everything goes according to plan, we can bring her back here tonight."
My stomach dropped at the idea of another seer being trapped by these monsters.
The house was eerily quiet after they left. Simon dropped onto the sofa in front of me. He shushed me when I started to speak. "Don't talk."
Simon cocked his head as if he were listening for something. Several minutes passed as we just sat there until he finally stood up and peered out the window. I opened my mouth to speak but instead I squeaked in alarm when he suddenly rushed towards me. But instead of attacking me, he started untying the rope around my ankles. My heart started thudding as I stared at him.
"S-Simon?"
Simon glanced up at me. "There's no time to talk right now." He succeeded in freeing my feet and dug into his pocket, pulling out a key and unlocking the handcuffs. He then took the palladium necklace off me and threw it to the floor. When Simon pulled me up to stand I immediately tilted forward. My limbs had been in the same position for hours and they ached painfully and were unable to hold my weight. Simon grunted as he caught me and bent at the knees, flinging me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes.
I gripped his waist and tried not to smash my face against his rear end as he started walking quickly and then running. I had no idea where we were going since the only view I had was of his backside, but my heart soared when I felt the rush of cold air hit me. It was glorious to be outside after being trapped in that house, even though it was freezing.
I didn't say a word. I was too scared that they would hear us and it was too hard to speak in the position I was in anyway. Simon seemed to be running for a long time before he stopped abruptly, setting me down gently on the ground. I gingerly straightened, grateful when I was able to stand on my own despite my aching muscles.
I threw my arms around Simon's neck, clinging fiercely to him as I felt pure elation rush through me. "I knew it," I whispered. "I know it couldn't have been an act."
Simon hugged me back momentarily but then pulled back. "We have to get out of here. It was by sheer luck that your father got that call. He was suspicious when I sent them out earlier to track seers so he was spying on us outside the house, hoping to hear something damning. But he doesn't suspect a thing now since he was the one to instigate the latest outing."
It was dark and I was shivering, but I could have cared less. We were on a quiet residential street and I was surprised when Simon led me to an unfamiliar car.
"Get in."
I followed Simon's order
s and climbed in. Simon slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I watched Simon driving.