Chapter One: The Truth

"Liss, can I see the paper?" Kane groaned, reaching his hand into the backseat.

I shoved the wrinkled Mapquest directions into his hand. "I told you not to call me that."

I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "I've called you Liss since you were three years old. I'm not just about to stop because you asked me to."

Evangeline snored softly, asleep against my shoulder. For a moment, her brows furrowed. She rolled over and rested her head against the window. I looked up to the rearview mirror. Kane's eyes were cast down at the page in his lap. Finley has been quiet the entire car ride, eyes on the road, expression blank. I looked back at Evangeline. She whispered something, eyelids fluttering. I could see her pale grey eyes darting back and forth behind her eyelids. All were tell-tale signs that she was having a nightmare. The boys were still absorbed in themselves, not looking particularly interested in the two of us. I let out a quiet sigh and inched closer to Evangeline. I leaned close to her ear and hissed, softly, "Sanguinem meum sanguinem in me cogitationes tuas. Blood of my blood, let your thoughts become mine."

"Did you say something, Lissy?" Kane asked.

I jumped. "Uh, yeah, I said turn up the radio."

"Sure thing," He complied by cranking up his favorite station on the satellite radio Blackwell had given him for his birthday as part of his whole present – the Mustang Fastback we were driving in.

As the car filled up with a thumping bass, I whispered a little louder. "Sanguinem meum sanguinem in me cogitationes tuas. Sanguinem meum sanguinem in me cogitationes tuas."

The inside of the car began to spin around me and everything started to fade away. Suddenly I was standing in an abandoned house. Evangeline was trembling, white as a sheet. I was used to walking around in her dreams. I knew I couldn't move her or touch her at all. If she woke up, I could be trapped here. Instead, I wandered behind her, searching for any hints as to where we might be. There was few pieces of dingy secondhand furniture, some exotic looking plants, a rickety untrustworthy- looking staircase. Was this in Chance Harbor? Her voice was muffled by tears, but I froze in my tracks as I heard her choke out a spell I'd taught her years ago. Through the strangled sobs coming out of her mouth, the Latin was clear as day. It was a freezing spell.

For a moment, I thought maybe she was casting on me. But then I saw him.

Blackwell.

Lying dead. Burnt from the inside out.

I couldn't breathe. My heart was in my throat. "No," I whispered, tears threatening at the corners of my eyes. There he was, smoldering, his skin peeling as though it were a blister. My father was burning. My father. Our father.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. This couldn't possibly be real. This couldn't have happened. I shook my head, rapidly, backing away. "No…no…sanguinem meum sanguinem, somno iam. Sanguine sanguis tua facta tua est. Blood of my blood, sleep now. Blood of my blood, your thoughts become yours alone. Sanguinem meum sanguinem, somno iam. Sanguine sanguis tua facta tua est."

I opened my eyes. In an instant I was back in the cramped backseat of the fastback, chest heaving. Kane glanced over his shoulder. "You doing okay back there?"

"I…I'm fine. Just…upset." I said, breathlessly. I looked up, into the rearview mirror. Finley was staring at me, his odd golden eyes fixated on my face. I swallowed, uneasily. If he knew anything, he didn't say a word.

"Take a left up here." Kane said, punching him in the shoulder. Finley tore his eyes away from me and went back to watching the road ahead.

Kane put the directions down on the dashboard. "We should be here. 321, it should be right on the right. Cassie Blake lives here."

An old Victorian sat nestled amongst a row of houses lining the street. Through the windows, the inside looked dark. "It doesn't look like anybody's home."

"Well…"he checked his watch, "It is 11:50. Let's find out." He popped the door and leaped out, lowering the seat for me. "You comin'?"

I looked to Fin. His seatbelt was still fastened, hands clenched around the wheel. Evangeline was sound asleep. I bit my lip and sighed. "Yeah, I'm coming."

Kane marched across the street, making time with his six-three gait. Though there was a confident smirk on his face, I could taste his lingering anger in the air. His fists were clenching.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, quietly.

"As good as any." He replied.

"I mean…just what are we going to do? Just burst into her house?"

"Of course not…we're not criminals. We're going to knock first."

"…are you telling me the truth, Kane?"

He snorted. "No." With a flick of his wrist, the front door flew open and banged against the side of the house.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. "What are you trying to do, wake up the whole neighborhood?"

"A wake up call of sorts, Lissy. We've come to get our sister. I'm not worried about those who choose to get in the way. They won't be standing in our way for very long."

"God, could you be more dramatic?"

He shot me a glance as if to say, don't you know me by now? And justifiably because, in truth, I did know Kane well enough to recognize that he was all about the theatrics. He wasn't just going to steal Cassie Blake. He was going to enjoy it. Still, I was hesitant. Something didn't feel right. "So, this is it, then? Our plan? We're just going to walk right in?"

"No, no, no," he chuckled, stepping over the threshold. He looked back at me for a moment, and winked. "We're going to make an entrance."

He marched into the foyer, a ripple effect in his wake. Books were flying off shelves behind him, papers scattering and flipping up into the air like dry leaves in the wind. Only this wasn't just a light autumn breeze. This was a cyclone.

The chandelier above us was swinging dangerously, threatening to rip straight out of the ceiling. The coat rack to our left flew off the wall, sending its contents up into the tornado. An umbrella flew out of its stand and opened as it ascended. The wall sconces began to burst in a shower of sparks, one by one, straight down the hall toward the staircase. The large, ornate tapestry rug soared off the floor and nearly took me with it as it spiraled past. The mirror hanging on the wall shattered with a splintering screech. "Oh, Cassie…" Kane called, standing in the eye of the storm, "Where are you?"

He strode into the living room, all the light bulbs in the lamps simultaneously exploding. The curtains tore off the windows and whizzed by the side of my head, followed by several throw pillows, a vase, picture frames, flowers, and various other pieces of flotsam and jetsam. The couch flipped over and dragged across the hardwood into the wall, like a bee buzzing against a windowpane.

From there, he waltzed through the dining room, the liquor cabinets smashing, the bottles breaking, the table and chairs flying in different directions. The crystal chandelier burst into a flash of sparks and broken glass. By the time we'd made it to the kitchen, the warpath of Kane's whirlwind was ahead of us. The room was destroyed before we'd rounded the corner. The first floor was empty, except for the two of us, and the debris of Hurricane Kane. I could see Kane's spine go rigid as he sucked in a sharp breath. His ears were beginning to redden. "Where the hell is she?" he said, slowly.

"You're using your calm voice…" I muttered, swatting an airborne dust-bunny away from my face.

"And when do I use my calm voice?" He asked, through his teeth.

"When you're about to lose your shit." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Where is she?"

"We still haven't checked upstairs. By now, if anyone's here, they know we are, too. We've got to hurry."

Kane turned on his heel and leaped over the dining room table, running back toward the entryway. By the time I caught up with him, he was at the top of the stairs, all the doors lining the upstairs hallway flying open with a single wave of his hand. I shook my head. "God, I can't stand being around you when you're like this."

"Like what?" He growled, head snapping in my direction.

"Melodramatic. I'm going to check in here first." I dove in through the door I was closest to. "If we split up, we'll cover more ground in less time."

To be continued…