Chapter 193

Justin's POV

“What do you mean they're gone?” I roared.

Randy flinched back from me. “I'm sorry. I don't know anything more than you do. I spent the morning with you, as you well know.”

“Where were her guards?”

The news that Helen and her friend had been abducted once again sent both my temper and Beowulf’s into a frenzy. Containing him was taking every bit of my willpower. He wanted to burn down everything around us, to both get Helen back and to punish any and everyone for letting this happen.

Randy scowled at me. “The guards were found unconscious at their post. They've been hit with darts from a distance. It wasn't that they didn't do their job. It was that we were outmaneuvered, plain and simple.”

I snarled and threw the glass that I was holding at the wall, where it shattered. “This is unacceptable. Who took her?”

“Who do you think?” Randy snapped. “Somehow, the Huntsman must have figured out what we were doing.”

“I don't think that's the case,” Russo threw in. “If he knew what we were planning, he'd have taken out a lot more of us, especially Lisa. But since she's still here and ready to do the rite, I doubt he has any idea that we're planning on attacking him with magic. Didn't he threaten to continue torturing Helen quite a while ago?”

The muscles in my jaw twitched with anger. “Yes, he did.”

“Then,” Russo said, “I think we need to calm down and focus on what we do know. I think it's safe to say that it was the Huntsman who took Helen and Julianne. But I also think we need to look at the bigger picture. We only have five days until the full moon. If we're going to do this correctly, it's now more imperative than ever that we get it done.”

He caught me in a firm gaze. “Helen, as much as I love her, was not a part of the action. Her absence changes nothing except our need to get this done. If we want to save Helen, the best way we can do it is to completely destroy the Huntsman.”

“Oh, I'll completely destroy him,” I said. I gripped my fists together so hard my nails cut into the palms of my hands.

Russo grabbed my arm and swung me around so he could stare into my eyes. A look of fury was written on his face. “Don't be an asshole and go ruining our only chances to save everyone just to satisfy your temper.”

He snarled this at me with so much venom that I paused and stared at him.

“That's better,” he said, bringing his voice down just a little bit. “Think about this, Justin. If you go blazing into whatever compound the Huntsman is lurking in, you're going to disrupt all of our plans. You're going to alert the Huntsman that we're not unprepared for him. And you're going to put him on the defensive, which is going to risk our plans against him. The last thing we need is for him to even think that we're coming for him.”

“Well, of course, he's going to think we're coming for him,” Randy pointed out. “He's got Helen, right?”

“And he needs to think that he's gotten away with it, at least for a few days,” Russo pointed out. “If we weren't prepared to deal with him, it would take us a few days to mobilize a proper response, to stake out his hideout, wherever it is, and then to get into get Helen back.”

Russo continued to lecture like an annoying teacher. “Rather, since us needing to scramble and prepare was what he's planning for, let him think that. And we will continue to arrange the real surprise. We will continue to prepare the ritual and then attack from afar, destroying him with magic.”

He gave me a soothing look. “Then we can go in at our leisure and find Helen.”

“What if he's hurting her in between,” I pointed out. “I promised her that we do better. Leaving her to whatever torture the Huntsman is doing to her isn't treating her better.”

This time Russo gripped my shoulders and shook me, making Beowulf growl from deep within me, asking me to lash out at him.

“Snap out of it, damn it,” Russo snarled. “What would Helen want you to do? If she were here right now, what would she tell you to do? Would she want you to ruin our one chance at getting rid of the Huntsman for good just to come busting in and maybe rescue her?”

I hung my head at his logic. “No,” I grumbled, admitting something I didn't want to admit. “She'd want us to take down the Huntsman once and for all.”

Randy sighed and rubbed his face, looking exhausted. “Yes, she would. Helen would be furious with us if we ruined our one chance to rescue the pixies and save everybody else just to save her.”

“Fine.” I pointed my finger at Russo's face, shaking with anger, even though deep down I knew it wasn't really him I was angry with. “But if this doesn't work, if that pixie reports back to us that we haven't killed this beast, then we're going to throw everything we have at defeating him once and for all. And I will kill every single person who's helping him, no matter what it takes.”

Russo shrugged me out of his face. “Fine. You can go on your vendetta if you need to, as long as you let us do this the right way the first time. I don't think you're ever going to need to make good on that threat.”

I slumped to sit on the sofa, holding my head in my hands. “How do I hold on and wait?” I asked Randy, sounding pathetic.

Randy sat beside me, patting my shoulder. “You lean on us when you need to, and don't shut us out just because you're hurting. We all love Helen, and she's gone.”

I nodded morosely. “Gone,” I murmured. “After everything I did to convince her that she would be safe with me from here on out. After everything I did to put her in the background of this mess so that she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire of this war.”

Randy bumped his shoulder against mine in a supportive gesture. “I wouldn't worry too much about her,” he said. “Whatever is happening, she's tough.”

“And as for not getting her involved,” he continued, “that was more your request than hers. Remember, she was willing to throw herself into the thick of things to save everybody, which is why she’d be so angry if we didn't follow through with the plan at this point. If you really want to show Helen that you care and that you understand her feelings, the best way to do it is by making sure that this works and giving us the best shot of banishing this demon for good.”

I nodded that, though it still didn't get rid of the chewing guilt in my stomach or the anger throbbing through my head. But Randy had a point. Helen was made of tougher stuff than I was giving her credit for.