Going into Holland’s mind is always a risk because she can get information from me as quickly as I can get it from her. So I had to be fast, and I had to be quiet. I had a feeling she was still in Melbourne. We still hadn’t been able to determine exactly where her headquarters was, and she’d done everything she could to mask that information from me, as well as keep all thoughts of anyone who knew the location, other than Hines, out of her thoughts so I couldn’t determine who to pinpoint. I wish I knew how to zero in on people I hadn’t met or didn’t know, but my skills didn’t work that way, or if they did, I hadn’t figure out how to make them that precise.
Something was different this time. I could tell immediately, the second I slid into her nefarious mind. While that sense of overwhelming despair she still harbored for Carter was obvious, there was an undertone. What I had perceived as nausea before hit me in a wave, and I tucked my arm around my stomach. But it wasn’t an illness. It was something far, far worse. I couldn’t quite tell how long she’d been aware of the situation herself because I could sense doubt in her mind, like she knew this was impossible, but she had to accept it because it was obvious now.
I didn’t stay there for long. I couldn’t. The implications of what I’d discovered hit me like a Mac truck slamming into a concrete divider, and my eyes flew open. I was breathing a lot heavier than I normally am when I come out of a trance, and the stars seemed like spotlights, each one burning my retinas. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths before I used my IAC to say, “Brandon, I’m done.”
He was there in a flash, and as soon as his eyes fell on my face, I could see concern written all over his countenance. “Everything all right?” He dropped down next to me, like he always does, giving me a moment to dust the cobwebs of other people’s realities off my mind.
“No, something is definitely wrong with Holland.”
Brandon looked confused. Creases marred his otherwise handsome face as he pondered what I was saying. I’m not sure I was capable of making too much sense at the moment. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I don’t think so.” There was something about the entire vibe I’d gotten from Holland that told me that this wasn’t going to end well. “I think this could be really awful.”
Smirking at me, Brandon said, “Well, unless she’s feeling bad because she’s about to have a whole litter of demonic kittens, I don’t know why that would be.”
He had no idea just how close he was. “I need to talk to Cadence. Now.” We both stood, and he took my hand.
“All right. Let’s go.”
My palms were sweaty, but I didn’t care. I latched onto his fingers and followed him to the door and down to the elevator. Normally, we talk about everything I’ve seen on my way to report it to Cadence, or Aaron, or whoever, but this time, I wasn’t capable of saying anything yet, and I didn’t know if I could report it all twice, so I just walked along with Brandon, who let me know Cadence was expecting me.
We reached her penthouse apartment in a few minutes. By then, I was calmer. When she pulled open the door, it was obvious she was alone, and I was glad. I didn’t know if I could rewrite two centuries worth of history in Aaron’s brain as quickly as I could convince my sister that what I’d seen was true.
“Cass—are you okay?” Cadence asked, probably noticing the sweat that damped my brow, and I thought I might be shaking a little. “Come in.”
She stepped out of the way, and Brandon walked me over to the couch before he took a spot in an armchair out of the way. Cadence dropped down next to me, her face indicating she was currently my concerned sister, her boss hat put away. I took another few deep breaths before I said anything at all, and Cadence waited as patiently as she could.
Finally, I spat it out. “Holland is pregnant.”
My sister’s face didn’t change for the longest time. She continued to stare at me without even blinking. When she finally moved, it was minute at first. Eventually, she asked, “What?”
All of that for me to have to say it again. “I said, Holland is pregnant. She has a baby. In her abdomen.”
“Right,” Cadence said, shaking her head a little bit, like she was hoping her brain would roll back into place. “I know what the word means, Sis. I just.... What? That’s impossible.”
“I know it’s impossible. But so are lots of other things. Like Vampires. And coming back from the dead. And Transforming before you turn seventeen. Yeah, I’m sure. She’s pregnant. I felt it. She knows it. And it’s not like a normal pregnancy either. She’s progressing very quickly. She’s scared, but I got the impression this thing isn’t going to be your run of the mill Vampire either.”
I had been staring at the couch while I spoke, and when I looked back into her face, I could see most of what I had just said was wasted. She hadn’t gotten past the first statement yet. “Cadence?”
She startled a bit as her name jarred her back to reality. “Are you sure? A baby?”
I was getting a little worked up by then. It was infuriating that she’d sent me into the minds of monsters and not believe me when I came back out. “Yes, I’m positive, Cadence! I know it’s supposed to be impossible, but I’m certain. She’s pregnant.”
Cadence still wasn’t computing. “But... that’s impossible.” I took it she’d missed my entire list of occurrences we’d just witnessed that were also impossible and didn’t bother to go through them again. Instead, I hoped it would all sink in momentarily, and then we could figure out what to do about it.