Truth Behind the Mask Read online

  “Is that all you need?” Pagan asked.

  “I was getting ready to run away. I was already prepared.” Erith looked at her opened window. “Is that how you got in here?”

  Pagan heard the distant footsteps of the police heading down the hallway. “Later. We need to go now.” She led Erith out onto the fire escape. She let Erith shoulder her backpack, then stopped her from heading down the stairs. “We need to go another way. The police are gathered below.”

  “But you’re one of the good guys, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I cavort with the police at every given moment.” Pagan held out her arm. “Trust me, please. I’m here to keep you safe.”

  “My very own guardian angel, eh?” Erith said shakily as she stepped into Pagan’s hold. Pagan fastened a connecting hook from her utility belt to Erith’s body.

  “Something like that,” Pagan said and helped Erith up onto the fire escape railing. “Hold on tight!”

  Erith’s startled scream was lost amid the high-rise towers. Just another sound among millions in the noisy city where screams were commonplace and ignored by tired ears.

  Pagan shot out her wire to the next building, and they glided across the gap between the towers. She held Erith close, protecting her from the landing as they careened toward the wall. Pagan stopped mere inches away from the brickwork, then she slowly let the wire lower them to the ground, changing its settings to facilitate the move, marveling once more at the technology in the palm of her hand.

  Erith watched her with open fascination. “Where does all that wire go? Is it all in that gun casing?”

  “Pretty much.” Pagan focused on getting them to the ground in one piece. Having another body on the wire was affecting the swing, plus having Erith’s body against her own was affecting her concentration.

  “That’s an ingenious design.” Erith’s eyes were trained on the wire above them. She then looked down. “Geez! That’s a very long drop!” Her hold around Pagan tightened. “You’re not going to suddenly let go, are you?”

  “Never,” Pagan replied solemnly. She looked down to find Erith’s bright eyes looking intently into hers. Pagan looked away first. “We need to get you to a safe place.”

  “I’d settle for a bed somewhere where Dad can’t come in and drag me out to watch him beat the living daylights out of Mom again.”

  “Why doesn’t your mom just leave him?”

  “Because he’d kill her.”

  “And what he’s doing now is okay because he hasn’t killed her yet?”

  “For some people, fear and pain are the only ways they know they are alive,” Erith said as she crowded in closer to Pagan’s side. “My mom died inside years ago, I think.”

  “You were very brave to leave tonight.”

  “Your timely arrival gave me the strength to do it. I felt I could really leave this time. And I just can’t take it anymore. I’ve stayed with my parents longer than any child should. I hoped that my being there would help my mom, but instead I just got more and more tangled in the violence, both in the house and out, it would seem.”

  “Will he come after you?”

  “No, he knows I’ll go back sooner or later because of Mom,” Erith said glumly. “And to see him. He is my dad, after all.”

  Pagan nodded, respecting Erith’s feelings though not entirely understanding her loyalty.

  “Familial loyalty is a curious beast, Pagan,” Melina said softly, her voice finally returning to Pagan’s ears. “Take your charge somewhere safe. You know where is available. Then come home. The other Sentinels are watching over Chastilian tonight. If they need your help they’ll call.”

  “How safe is the place you’re going to take me to?” Erith asked.

  Pagan couldn’t help but wonder if that was what Erith had really been about to ask. She had seen something else written on her face.

  “Very safe.” Pagan made a spur-of-the-moment decision. She eased them carefully to the pavement, and with a press of a button, gathered up the wire with barely a sound. She was gratified to note that Erith didn’t shift very far away from her even when she unfastened the hook.

  “My dad recognized you as a Sentinel,” Erith said, her eyes running over Pagan’s protective leather.

  Under the intense scrutiny she was receiving, Pagan wondered if she needed to strike a heroic pose as proof to her Sentinel status. She tried not to smile as that thought tickled some crazy part of her tired brain. “Must be all the leather that gives me away.”

  “I didn’t think they existed until last night. I thought they were just a fairy tale that the people of Chastilian lulled their kids to sleep with. ‘Go to sleep, sweetie, the Sentinels will watch over you.’”

  Pagan smiled at the thought. “That’s cute. I’ve never heard of us being compared to baby sitters.”

  “Not wearing those masks and suits, no.” Her eyes drifted up Pagan’s body. “My mom used to tell me the stories about the Sentinels that she’d heard watched over Chastilian, and that when things got bad, they would come and save people.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Not so much a fairy tale now, are you? You did exactly what she said they do. You came in and saved me. Twice now. You’re the same one from last night, aren’t you? My own private Sentinel.” Erith shook her head as if clearing it of the stories. “So, what are baby Sentinels told as tales to make them fall asleep?”

  Pagan grinned. “Probably stories about red-haired baby girls that need baby Sentinels to rescue them.”

  Erith punched at Pagan’s arm in laughter and shook her hand as it landed solidly. “Ow! What is it with me hitting people who are made out of stone?”

  “Hit many, do you?” Pagan asked.

  “Just the one, she’s as solid as a rock as well.” Erith stuffed her hands into her pockets. “But soft too, I’m learning.”

  “Soft is no bad thing.”

  “No, it’s wonderful,” Erith replied. “So tell me where my new home is before the excitement kills me and I don’t get enough sleep before work tomorrow.”

  “It’s somewhere you’ll feel safe and hopefully will come to look upon as home,” Pagan replied, changing directions from her intended route. She heard Melina in her ear question her course, but she very slyly turned the volume down and tuned her out.

  “Pagan, if you are considering what we think you’re doing!” Rogue’s voice sounded in her head. “Turn your feet around right this second, Pagan Osborne!”

  “You’ll be safe there, I promise. They’re nice people. You’ll like them,” Pagan said over the muted sounds of disbelief she could just make out in her aids. She had never been more conflicted as to where her loyalties lay. Erith represented all that was dangerous to bring into the heart of a Sentinel home. The risk of exposure alone was enough to make Pagan question her motives. She looked down at the woman beside her and took a far greater leap into the unknown than she ever did when jumping from Chastilian’s towers. This time she had no wire to guide her flight. Pagan took the riskiest leap of all, one of faith for Erith.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Ronchetti Security lighthouse beam shone into the night sky and drew Pagan and Erith toward it. Erith was still as close as she could be to Pagan without knocking her over. Pagan briefly wondered if Erith had noticed the same recognizable height difference that was so obvious to her. She was curious at Erith’s instinctive trust for the masked figure that had broken in and taken her from her home.

  Erith gasped as they rounded the corner. “Tell me you’re not taking me there!” She quickly spun around and started back the way they had come.

  Pagan easily caught hold of her arm and halted her flight. “Whoa, wait a minute.”

  Erith pointed at the lighthouse almost in accusation. “You know I can’t go there!” She crowded in close to Pagan to harshly whisper, “You caught me in there just last night!”

  “You need a safe place. Where’s safer than with the local security specialists?”

  E
rith stared at her incredulously. “You’re crazy!”

  “Maybe so, but I guarantee you’ll receive a better welcome there than you would if I took you back home.” She watched as Erith conceded that point. She nudged Erith forward again.

  Erith was favoring the lighthouse with an exacting eye. “Look at how the light doesn’t truly beam out at a concentrated strength. I wonder what filter they used for that trick.”

  Pagan looked down at her with unmasked surprise. Erith grinned back up at her.

  “What? Don’t I look like someone who would know that kind of thing? You’d be surprised what I know.”

  “I try to not judge anyone by their appearance,” Pagan said sweeping a hand down at herself with a deprecating gesture. Erith just chuckled at her.

  Pagan guided Erith across the road to place her at the front door to the shop.

  “This isn’t what I expected when you mentioned a safe house.” Erith cupped her hands upon the windowpane and peered inside the darkened shop.

  “It’s going to be perfect for you,” Pagan said and began to back away.

  “Hey!” Erith grabbed Pagan to pull her back. “You can’t just leave me on the doorstep like some unwanted kitten.”

  “Ring the bell,” she said softly and slipped away into the darkness, leaving Erith on her doorstep.

  “Pagan Osborne, you and I are going to have some serious words about your idea of safe houses,” Melina said in Pagan’s ear when she finally turned back up the volume on her comlink.

  “Her father is involved with this Phoenix. And she’s been forced to do some of his dirty work. Would any place be truly safe for her with that knowledge?” Pagan asked.

  “You’re going to have to be quick to pull this off,” Rogue grumbled through Pagan’s comlink.

  “Quick is my middle name,” Pagan muttered as she rushed through the underground garage to get into the lighthouse. She was shaking with nerves as the elevator whisked its way up into the lighthouse tower.

  “No, I believe trouble will be your middle name from now on.”

  Pagan winced at the anger in Rogue’s voice as she stepped from the elevator. Pagan then heard the doorbell chimes ring through the building. She burst into the tower to be confronted by Rogue and Melina, both with their arms folded and harsh looks on their faces.

  “Well, don’t just stand there. Go let her in!” Pagan said as she hastily tried to divest herself of her outer layers. Neither Melina nor Rogue moved. They just watched her stonily. Pagan nearly toppled over trying to get her boots off. “Please!” she said. “She needs to be safe, and for now I feel that she’s best cared for by us.”

  Melina looked at Rogue uncertainly. Rogue’s face remained stony.

  “Don’t look at me like that. She’s your sister,” Rogue said and turned abruptly. “Come on, Mel. Let’s go greet our unexpected guest.”

  Melina dutifully followed after her. She gave Pagan a look before she closed the door. “You’d better hurry and come get your friend settled.”

  Pagan nodded and hastily hung up her leathers and her mask. She ran into her bedroom, grabbed a pair of sweatpants, and jumped into them. She looked around her room carefully, making sure there was nothing visible to reveal her secrets. Once she was satisfied, she clattered out of the room and down the stairs toward the shop. She paused at the bottom to catch her breath. She sneaked a look around the door frame and could see Erith standing nervously at the door. She was twisting the straps to her backpack under the curious stares of Rogue and Melina.

  “Sorry if I woke you guys up,” Erith began with a faltering voice. “I think this might have been a huge mistake.”

  “Who are you?” Melina asked. “And what are you doing here at this time of night?”

  “I’m Erith Baylor,” she replied, and then rolled her eyes expressively. “And you wouldn’t believe me if I tried to explain why I’m here. I think this is someone’s cruel idea of a joke.” She looked at them both. “I was told this was a safe place for me to be by some person in a mask…” Erith’s voice faltered as she saw Pagan coming through the back door. “Pagan!” The relief in Erith’s voice was painfully obvious, and Rogue and Melina stepped aside as Erith rushed past them. Pagan’s arms immediately wrapped about her to hold her close.

  “Are you okay?” Pagan asked.

  “I take it you know this woman, Pagan?” Melina asked, playing her role well.

  “This is my friend Erith from the Ammassari car lot, remember?”

  “Take her upstairs.” Rogue sighed and began to once more lock up the shop.

  Pagan led a still-clinging Erith into their living quarters.

  “I’m sorry to have bothered everyone,” Erith mumbled as she looked between Pagan and the others. Her brow furrowed as she took in their clothing. “Weren’t any of you in bed yet?” she asked, noticing the lack of nightwear.

  “The security office never sleeps,” Rogue said bluntly.

  Pagan helped Erith take off her backpack and then settled her on the sofa. She knelt before her, very aware that Erith was shaking slightly.

  “You’re going to think I’m crazy.” Erith rubbed a hand over her forehead. “I’m beginning to think I am. You would not believe the night I’ve had so far.” She looked around at everything and everybody. Her eyes fell back on Pagan. “Do you know how distinctive that lighthouse of yours is?”

  “I’m so used to it I tend to forget,” Pagan said.

  “It’s beautiful.” Erith raised hopeful eyes to meet Pagan’s. “Is it really a port in the storm to ones who need it?”

  “You know you’re very welcome here, if you need a place to stay.”

  “I was brought here,” Erith said. “They said I’d be safe here.”

  “Really?” Melina asked, easing down beside Erith on the sofa armed with a bowl of warm water and a few medical supplies. She began to clean up Erith’s face as if she did it for every visitor who dropped by in the dead of night. “Who brought you here?”

  “A Sentinel.”

  Melina’s eyebrows rose. “You met a Sentinel?”

  Erith nodded. “He said…no, wait…you know, I don’t think he was a he after all.” She sat motionless while Melina wiped away blood from her forehead “There was something…” Erith paused. “You know the feeling you get when you think you know someone but you don’t?” Melina nodded. “I got that feeling with the Sentinel. I knew I could trust him, her, whatever.”

  “So they brought you here why, exactly?”

  Pagan gave Melina a long stare that she studiously ignored.

  “My dad was beating on me and my mom. The Sentinel came in and stopped him before he could go any further. Then the Sentinel asked if I wanted to leave.”

  “So you left your parents?” Melina continued her questioning, palpitating Erith’s cheek to check that no bones had been broken.

  “I couldn’t take it anymore,” Erith whispered, her horror at the evening, and countless others just like it, evident in her face. “He’d gotten a knife this time. He doesn’t usually have to resort to weapons. His fists and feet are lethal enough.”

  Melina nodded slowly, eyeing the furious mark on Erith’s face. “The Sentinel must have known you needed to be with someone you would be comfortable with. A friend would especially fit that role.” She looked at Pagan, who was hanging on her every word. “I’m Melina, Pagan’s sister. I’m pleased to meet you, Erith.” Melina laid aside her bowl and held out her hand.

  Erith shook it solemnly. “Thank you for your kindness. I will try to repay you somehow, someday.”

  “I don’t need anything from you except a promise that if you need anything, you will come to us and ask.”

  Erith cast nervous eyes over at a silent Rogue. “We meet again, Rogue.”

  Rogue nodded just once. Erith turned back to Pagan and leaned forward to whisper, “I’d still want her on my side of a brawl too.”

  Pagan choked back a chuckle and even Melina bit back a smile. Rogue just stared at
them, her arms folded, obviously still fuming.

  “We have a spare room for guests,” Pagan said. “You need to sleep. We both have work in just a few hours.”

  Erith yawned and then belatedly held her hand up to her mouth. “Sorry. Who’d have thought flying through the city would make me so sleepy?”

  “You flew?” Pagan asked, reaching for Erith’s backpack. She held out a hand to help Erith up off the sofa.

  “Yeah, the Sentinel flew me right out of my bedroom window.” Erith mimicked the movements with a series of grandiose hand gestures.

  “Yeah, right,” Pagan snorted.

  “Did too!” Erith punched at Pagan’s arm and then frowned. She shook her head as if to clear it. “This has been a weird night.”

  “Let’s get you settled,” Pagan said as she ushered her up the stairs.

  “Pagan, I still need to talk to you,” Rogue said.

  “Tomorrow, I promise. We’ll talk and I’ll do whatever you need me to do.” She left Erith halfway up the stairs and backtracked to kiss Melina good night. “Thank you,” she whispered. Melina nodded at her. Pagan looked at Rogue, who just stared at her and then raised a finger and tapped on her cheek. Pagan smiled slightly and dutifully kissed her cheek.

  “I am going to beat you so hard in training tomorrow you won’t have any thoughts left in your damn fool head,” Rogue whispered sweetly.

  “Thank you, I look forward to that,” Pagan said with a smile, but she swallowed hard as she tried not to let the fear show on her face.

  “You have a nice family,” Erith said when Pagan rejoined her. “Do you always kiss them good night?”

  “Sometimes, if it’s been a rough kind of day,” Pagan said. “I’d hate not to let them know that I love them.”

  “I kissed my mom good-bye tonight, but not my dad.”

  Pagan remained silent, waiting for Erith to continue.

  “Does that mean I love him any less?”

  “No, maybe it just means you knew your mom needed it more.”

  “You haven’t asked me anything about what happened tonight, do you know that? Your sister did, but you haven’t.”