Queen of Thieves

➵ Chapter 6

"No," I said through clenched teeth as Tyra pulled me out the car. "I told you to drop me off at in the city. Nobody can see me like this."

"You're a mess," she snapped, having me lean on her. She moved closer and closer to the porch of the little farmhouse. When I looked back, I could see the barn in the distance. A couple cars were parked outside it.

"You called the twins," I accused, slowly stepping onto the porch.

"No, I didn't! The rest of the Circle is in a meeting. Logan called it, he found out you were missing."

"The whole point of me calling you was to make sure the Circle didn't know."

If the Circle saw me like this, I would appear to be the weak leader. I would lose support. Tyra wasn't exactly my biggest fan to begin with, so I had nothing to lose by calling her.

"They don't know that you're here," she promised.

That didn't exactly reassure me. I wouldn't put it past Tyra to make sure they'd see me like that in an attempt to undermine me. The door to the farmhouse was wide open and she pulled me across the premises without whining about how my blood was staining her new suede jacket or how I smelled like a liquor cabinet.

When the world started to spin again, bile rose up in my throat. "Stop, Tyra."

She stopped moving and I pulled away, sitting on the vinyl floors with my head between my knees. Soon, the nausea became too much and I pressed my cheek to the cold surface under me, fighting the urge to vomit on the spot.

"Should I get somebody?"

"No," I whispered. "Just go to the meeting. I'll handle myself."

The sound of her heels clicking was amplified since my ear was pressed against the floor. The clicking got further and further away. The door slammed shut loudly behind her and I winced at the noise. Rolling over, I forced myself to climb to my feet.

Upon searching the farmhouse, I realized that I could hardly recall the layout. I hadn't been inside for years. It took a while before I found my way into a narrow hallway that led to a couple bedrooms and a single bathroom. Shutting the door to the bathroom, I shook off my coat, hanging it on a shiny silver hook attached to the door. My hair was matted with blood from the minor head wound. These things always looked worse than they really were.

A couple painkillers and I would be completely fine. All I needed to do was get myself cleaned up. Then I would go back home.

Peeling off my clothing, I turned on the faucet for the shower. Adjusting the shower head, I washed my hair. It took time, but eventually, the water came out clear. With handfuls of water, I scrubbed my face and hands clean. Grabbing a fluffy towel, I dried myself off and slipped back into my clothes, shivering.

I peered into the mirror that hung behind the sink. There was no longer any sign of blood in my hair. Without that, the only sign that something had happened to me were my filthy clothes.

I smiled bitterly, thinking of how Lillith would react if she saw me. She would probably scream some silly nonsense about abusing my Prada privileges.

Pulling open the glass medicine cabinet, I began searching it for painkillers. It was lined from top to bottom with bottles of pills. Professor Keen was old, but had never struck me as sick.

Somebody knocked on the door, making me jump. When I didn't say anything, they rattled the doorknob.

I opened the door, looking up at Logan. "Uh, hi."

His eyes widened and he pushed his way in, closing the door behind me. "You're here? Lia, I just called a meeting because you vanished!"

"Shh!"