Thirteen (Otherworld 13)

"The room behind the auditorium, right?" I said, remembering it from my first visit.

"Exactly. But if he catches you . . ."

"It wasn't your idea."

The man smiled and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a show to catch."

One good thing had come of my scouting--I'd found an empty, unlocked room. Once inside, Adam closed the door and I spell-locked it.

"Lucas?" I said. "You're there, right?"

"Yes," he said through my earpiece. "I just didn't want to distract you. I heard everything. We're coming in."

"I'm sorry. We--"

"There was nothing you could have done differently. The main thing is that we have you and Adam inside, and Jasper is with Hope. While I don't trust him to hand her back to us, I do trust him to keep her safe."

"I don't think the guards inside the garage were replaced."

"They weren't, which gives us a buffer. With any luck, we can disable the outside two and get in before anyone notices."

"We can take out the girl at the door."

"No, she's been replaced by two armed guards."

"Damn."

"It doesn't matter. I want you and Adam in there. Go to the room with the video. Watch from there. That's backstage, is it not?"

"It is. We'll be behind Giles and Jaz."

"Good. Once the guards are taken out and our men are in place, you and Adam will go in and take down Giles."

I nodded. "With any luck, once Giles is in custody and the kids in the audience realize they're surrounded by Cabal tactical goons, they'll surrender."

FORTY-FIVE

The backstage door wasn't locked. As I pushed it open, I saw the room wasn't empty either. A young man and woman sat on a single chair. Even from the back of their heads, I recognized them.

Sierra turned first. "Private viewing room, chumps. Get back on duty."

I finally remembered the name of the guy we'd just spoken to. "Chris told us to watch from here, in case you two need help."

Sierra grumbled.

"Fine," Sierra said. "Sit down and shut up then."

We eased into the room. Adam closed the door behind us. There were plenty of chairs to choose from. Sierra was on Severin's lap.

They'd pulled their chair right in front of the screen. That meant we had a lousy viewing angle, but it also meant we could sit behind them while whispering to each other.

We didn't do much whispering. We were both too busy listening to the Cabal's progress through our earpieces. It was frustrating as hell, watching Hope on the video feed and knowing we couldn't help. But the cavalry was coming.

Giles's plan was to threaten Hope and bring her daddy running. It was a scene I've watched in plenty of movies. The classic demonic sacrifice. A gorgeous young woman bound to a table, knife poised above, her dark curls spilling artlessly, her amber eyes wide with horror and glistening with tears as she writhed against the ropes. Torture porn with a black magic twist.

Or that's what I imagined.

That wasn't what Giles did at all. Probably because the woman in question wasn't a nubile young virgin. She was a heavily pregnant woman that many of the audience likely felt they knew, the witty True News reporter who'd kept them laughing as she kept their secrets safe. Did they really want to watch her writhing on a table, a knife poised over her huge belly? Of course not. So Giles kept her in the wheelchair, wearing a loose dress to make her condition less obvious.