Violet Eden Chapters 04 - Endless

‘Wouldn’t it have been better to stay and explain?’
    Griffin accepted the cup of coffee Peters passed him with a nod. I all but yanked mine out of his hand. It was drip-brewed, but I sucked down the scalding liquid anyway and wondered if it would be rude to ask for an immediate refill.
    ‘Trust me,the alternative was not preferable. Lilith and Phoenix have kidnapped over sixty children that we know of, not to mention Evelyn – the time for dealing with the politics of the Academy is over. Our only hope of stopping this runaway train is trapping Lilith. And our only hope of doing that is going to be by using the right bait.’ Griffin took a gulp of his coffee.
    ‘Violet,’ Lincoln concluded.
    Joy .
    ‘How do you know that Josephine has been doing all of this?’ I asked Griffin.
    ‘Evelyn and I discussed the possibilities before coming to New York. We both know Josephine well enough to have made some assumptions and expected her to use Evelyn in an attempt to lure Lilith. The rest came in from Rainer. She and Wil have been feeding me information whenever they could. They’re tired of Josephine’s games.’
    Evelyn had known exactly how things would play out – that Lilith would take her – and yet, she’d stayed there patiently and waited. I wouldn’t be surprised if the only reason she’d put up a fight at all was to protect Dad. I hoped I’d get my chance to say thank you and … tell her some of the things I should have told her already.
    ‘Why do I get the feeling you have a plan, Griff?’ Lincoln asked, leaning forwards now.
    Griffin nodded. ‘Because you know me.’ He turned to me. ‘You trusted me to come to New York. You told me if the roles were reversed you knew I’d be there for you. Well,’ he held his hands out, ‘this is me, here for you. You two need to leave the city. Get rid of your mobile phones and anything else electronic. I have everything you need here.’ He heaved a bag onto the table. ‘Zoe and Spence helped me pull as much together as I could. Passports are still good, but no credit cards. There’s plenty of cash in the side compartment. I’ve got clothes but not much else, you’ll have to buy what you need along the way.’
    I shook my head. ‘I haveto stay, Griff. I have to get Evelyn back.’
    He nodded. ‘I agree. And being outside the Academy walls will make it easier for Phoenix to find you in two days, but never lose sight of the fact that this is all a trap. Lilith is setting you up to fall.’ He dug a piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it to Lincoln. ‘Evelyn gave this to me before we came to New York in case something like this happened. She and Jonathan had a safe-house on the Hudson. This information will take you in the right direction and she was confident everything you needed would still be there. She said to make sure you checked the basement.’ Griffin glanced at the note, handing it over to Lincoln. ‘It’s a little cryptic, but she was worried it might be found. When you arrive, contact me with the missing details so I can send Steph and the others to you when they get here.’
    We nodded.
    ‘Wait. What about you?’ Lincoln asked.
    Griffin put a hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m staying here. I’ll keep an eye on Josephine and try to get any intel on Lilith and Phoenix to you when I can. If you need me, go through Dapper and Salvatore. They’ll act as our go-betweens for now. I spoke to them before coming here – they’re on their way to collect the final ingredient now. None of us knows if this potion will work, but we have to hope. Most importantly, I’ll be gathering the cavalry for when you call. Something tells me this fight is going to find you two before anyone else.’
    With that,Griffin rose and embraced us all, a promise passing between us.
    He turned to Father Peters. ‘Do you have a way to get them out of here safely?’
    The priest nodded. ‘Safe from Grigori, anyway.’
    ‘Show us,’ Griffin said.
    After Lincoln and I exchanged our bloodied clothes for fresh jeans and T-shirts from our new supplies, we followed Peters down to the basement, where he pulled aside a loose covering over one of the walls to reveal what looked like a bank-vault door.
    I had a terrible suspicion where it would lead. ‘The tunnels?’ I asked.
    Peters took hold of the large spinning circle to unlock the door. ‘Like titanium, exiles aren’t the only ones who like to have a good escape route. I owned this property long before