Daughter of Night (A Daughter of Nyx novel)

Chapter Twenty-Three

The buzzing of her phone as it lay by her pillow woke her. Hope filled her but she remained silent. It was still afternoon and she didn't want to wake Nikolas. Sliding from the bed, she ran into the hallway, making for her room. Her voice was soft as she answered the unknown number.

Please be Jonathan. Please be Jonathan. Afternoon. It couldn't be him. Her thoughts were so full of him that it took a second to realize whose voice was on the other end.

"Happy Birthday, Chevonne."

"What do you want?"

"To show you your surprise, of course."

"I want nothing from you. I know what you did to me, mother. I have those memories back." The laughter from the other end of the line sickened her. "You need help. You need to be locked away from humanity."

"Chevonne, sweetie, you know I'm not crazy. You were there. You saw her."

"I was dying."

"You should have, but, I think she protected you, didn't she?"

She paced her room. She should have hung up on her already. But she needed information.

"You don't have to tell me. Because you are going to help bring her back."

"You are absolutely psychotic. I'm doing nothing for you."

"There is someone I would like for you to speak to. Chevonne, this is your half sister, Madelyn. Won't you say hello?"

There was a voice on the other end now, one that quivered with fear and Chevonne went stiff in shock. Could this be real? A trap? "Please help me, who ever you are. She's going to kill me. She said she's going to feed me to Jonathan." There was a sharp cry before the voice was back. "She's cutting me. What is going on?"

"Well, Chevonne? What do you think of your surprise?"

"You have Jonathan."

"Why yes, I do. You know, I thought of him as my own son. And like my own, I have to punish him for stealing. That's a crime, you know."

Somehow, she kept her legs under her and her voice steady.

"So is attempted murder. What do you want."

The tone from the other end changed. "I want the books, Chevonne. I want them and you." Ice couldn't have been colder.

"And you'll let them go?"

"Of course!"

She didn't believe her for a second, but she had time to think, right? And didn't she have her own army?

"Tonight."

"Oh, no. That's too late. You have one hour. I know who your friends are and we can't have them interfering."

"You can't call Nyx until night. What's to stop them from finding me?"

"Why don't you ask me why you have an hour, sweetie? Why don't you ask me where your going?"

Chevonne closed her eyes. Yes, she knew where she was going. Back to the mountain top, on the other side of the city. If she left then, and sped, she might make it. And there was no way they could track her that far. Not while she was driving.

There was another of those little screams in the background and she swallowed. Of course she would go. Sibling or not, she had Jonathan. Which meant that she knew what he had become.

"Tick tock."

The line went dead and she dropped her hand, phone falling, slipping from nerveless fingers. This was it. The feeling she had.