Chapter 16: Vanishing Act

Keira Goode's POV:

The moonlight, the only light, shined through the only window in my room. I rubbed my eyes let out a yawn before pushing myself in a seating position and then speaking.

"Zach what are you doing here?" I asked tiredly as I looked at my brother who was now kneeling beside my bed. "It is way too early in the morning to do anything," I added in almost a groan.

If there was anything that bothered me the most it was being woken up at four in the morning. The rest of the day was shot because of it.

His shoulders slumped together as he stood up, deflated and tired. "I just thought you would like to know I was leaving today. I'm leaving the group and since you were so deadest on joining me I thought you would want to know. But…" He started walking away and I quickly grabbed his arm throwing my whole body to the other side of the bed almost falling out in the process.

"Wait, what?" I asked in a whisper shout. I wasn't sure if I had completely heard him right due to being half-awake.

He turned back around towards me a sadness overcastting his face. "I'm going to make a run for it, Keira. I'll probably get killed for it soon enough, but I decided I can't do this. I can't live like this otherwise…" He didn't finish the statement as he shoved a hand through his, now much longer, hair in frustration.

He didn't need to finish the sentence I already had a pretty good idea of how it ended. If he did stay here, if we stayed…well…we wouldn't be the same people much longer, let's leave it at that.

"I'm going with you, wherever it is you're planning on going. Do we have a specific destination?" I asked standing out of bed.

Zach flashed a small grin and replied, "Nope, we'll only know when we get there." He didn't sound the least worried about lack of planning and I realized just how impulsive, how last second, this decision really was.

And for us that wasn't exactly a good thing, but I've gone against my better judgment before and lived.

"So we're being spontaneous instead of planned, maybe it'll work," I said with a shrug as if it didn't matter.

He nodded saying, "We better go over to Harper and talk to her. It would be strange if we just left without taking her and we need all the time, the lax, we can get."

***

"This is crazy, you know," Harper said shaking her head as she pulled her jacket tighter around her. They had woken her up and brought her down to the Gates four-car garage where on the way they discussed their plans.

"Of course it is, and they'll most likely find us and kill us," Zach said in agreement. He lowered the hood of a car finishing the last installments. "But Keira and I have decided we can't live here like this anymore. We have to try to escape. Try being the key word."

For a moment Harper watched Zach with narrow eyes as he walked around the car. "Is that really the only reason…?" Her voice trailed off as she shook her head. "Well, if you're so set on this then I guess I'm coming with you."

Zach paused looking over at Harper from across the car with grieving eyes. "You know you don't have to. You don't have to risk your life like…You just don't have to come if you'd rather not Harper."

Harper shook her head starring dead straight at Zach. "No I want to Zach."

Nothing else was said as all three piled into the car Zach in the driver's seat, Keira in the passenger seat, and Harper in the back.

Then with all three set Zach started the car, driving away from all they ever knew as home. They had less than one-hundred and twenty two hours to be far enough away and well hidden enough before their problems really began.

***

Zachary Goode's POV:

"Ugh," Keira groaned as she rolled over on her back yet again. She greatly missed her bed back home. For what she was on at the moment she didn't even consider being a bed at all. She desperately wanted a five-star hotel not a hotel that was hiding under the radar.

But we only had so much money that I had stashed and saved over the years and while we could always go to the bank to withdraw millions it would cause too much suspicion on our part. We would have to live on the money we had and could make, meaning we would currently have to stretch the money we had as far as we could. We had already spent five-hundred for a cheap plane ride from a guy that Keira was still convinced had tried to purposefully kill us.

"Where are we going next?" Keira mumbled half into her pillow and half to me.

Setting the highlighter down away from the map I turned to her. "A place a couple blocks down from here. I think David might be working there if we're lucky."

"David…" Keira said drowsily. "David Martinez?" I nodded. "A graduate from Blackthrone, is that such a good idea, Zach?" Keira asked worriedly.

Was it a good idea? Probably not, but what other options were there. It wasn't like we had many friends who would be willing to take us in no questions asked who were outside the Coven. David was all we had as he was never one to ask too many questions.

His philosophy as a spy was the least you know the better.

With a shrug I told her, "Keira, at the moment it's all we have."

***

Natalie Fitzgerald walked closer to the picture hanging on the wall. Zachary Goode. She breathed in deeply. You will not cry, even if he do…

"Ah, Natalie, what are you doing out here?" Miles asked. He gave her a slack grin, showing off just how naïve he was. She knew he would be dead by the end of the year. He only served one purpose to the Coven for the past five years and now his service was ending.

Peter Torres held the same fate, she remembered. Although he was around longer his life too was ended for a purpose. Natalie wondered if her group would have such an extreme use for Miles or if they would simply kill him.

Nonetheless, she smiled up at Miles as if everything was alright. "I was just looking around. After all,"—she took another look at the picture—, "this will be my new home."

"Yes, but not now it appears the other children are not here at the moment. They left on a mission for a couple days ago. They shall be back shortly and then you can meet them."

"Terrific," Natalie said with a tight smile. She had never heard a word so hollow of meaning but Miles never noticed as he led her down to the meeting hall.

***

"They just left?" Riley asked Gemma again who nodded.

"Yeah, the Gates and Summer kid just drove off early in the morning. And I guess they had permission or something because no one has gone after them," she told Riley.

Looking over at the cold, hard gates Riley began to realize how hard this job would be. But right now he had to concentrate on finding them. He asked Gemma if she had an idea where they went off to, but she of course didn't know nor did she really want to. They were the rich kids of Mallbury Lane and whatever happened there didn't matter down here, not to anyone but Riley.

Suddenly Riley let out a sigh as the full understanding of his job would entail started to sink in. He had to find them and then watch them from afar before reporting back to school either with or without answers to Mr. Steve's questions.

Riley felt like a stalker and a snitch at the same time. It wasn't a pleasant combination to feel even for a spy.

A/N: Alright it's not much in length but hopefully it was still good.

Now we have gotten fairly far along in the story and still have a ways to go, but I'm getting curious to see how you guys think this story will progress and end. If you're not sure about what to write, try and answer these types of questions…

What will happen to all the characters? [Zach, Cammie, Keira, Harper, Riley, ect.]

Who will live? Who will die?

How much will Cameron find out or will she know nothing or everything?

Will the Circle of Cavan be destroyed or not? Who will still be in the Circle of Cavan if it is not destroyed?

You don't have to answer all the questions; you don't have to answer one. I'm only curious to see, with what I've given you, how you think the story or a part of the story will end. If you do write something of how you think it will end I will give you the very last four letters to this story. And don't worry I've looked it over and over again and it doesn't spoil the story.