~Drew~
Simon's whistle reflected Drew's thoughts. The location Casey and Catherine were holding Maddie was straight out of a Liam Neeson movie.
It was an abandoned farm. From the road, it looked abandoned at least. It looked dilapidated and ready to crumble. Many of the outbuildings were falling apart. Someone had once loved the old farm from the hand hewn posts holding up the fence outside. Sam leaned against a tree on the other side of the mailbox, hiding in plain sight but out of the early morning sun not to be seen.
As they pulled up, they could see the badly concealed cars. Casey had either gotten lazy or she wanted them to find her. Behind the main house were even more out buildings falling apart, the main one being a massive barn where the cars were parked to somewhat hide. More people could be easily hidden back there.
Despite the cars visible by the hour, Drew could sense magic. It was the only way no one had come searching the property. Casey had to have put a protective barrier around the entire property for no one to be able to see the insane amount of people that would normally be milling about. It was the only way Casey could illuminate the interior of the house without disrupting her spell.
Drew knew Casey wasn't as strong as she used to be. If she had been one of her past selves, she would have been able to keep everyone away from her hideout for miles. That she could only keep her barrier around the property line menant she was at the end. They actually had a fighting chance if they could get Maddie.
He'd thought long and hard about it, but Drew still couldn't figure out why Maddie hadn't woken Beca up. What had Catherine said to make her go willingly? Had she threatened her? Had she threatened everyone else? Maddie had made the decision for a reason. He just needed to find out why.
He tried to go look, but sometimes he couldn't see Maddie's past or present. He couldn't figure out what she was planning to do. She was a loose cannon at times, but he never doubted she wanted what was best for them. She'd been through so much in the last several months, and he wouldn't be surprised if she had a breakdown. Until then, he would see what he could do to finish this.
Simon was smart. He stopped just shy of the barrier, pulling up alongside it where there was enough space for them to get out. Slowly, everyone stepped out of the cars and gathered ahead of them. Though they couldn't see it, they could feel the buzzing and popping of its energy. Drew had no doubt Casey had built in an alarm spell to let her know when they arrived. If they breached it now, it could be all over within minutes.
Drew closed his eyes and felt along the barrier with his own magic. Shades were on the other side. If he dismantled it right now, they would be overwhelmed. Though they hadn't fought any Shades since Dallas several months ago, these were completely under Casey's control. They would be out for the blood of those who trespassed on their mistress's home. He knew that's what Casey wanted. If her minions could take them out, she wouldn't have anyone stopping her.
"This seems too easy," Simon mused. Drew looked at him briefly as if to ask him to continue. "If I'm not mistaken, she's planning something more than just taking over the school."
Max sighed then spoke in a sing-song voice. "High school never ends…"
Tyler understood the reference. He couldn't help the smile as he looked over the barrier. "What else could she be after?"
"One of us probably," Beca offered. "She used Catherine to get Maddie to go willingly. She must be desperate. We have Excalibur, and we are the Round Table. What's missing?"
Drew stopped probing for weaknesses and gave Beca's question a thought. He hadn't thought about it that way before. He'd thought it had been super simple. Casey wanted to take Maddie to get one of them, but he had thought it was to disrupt their ability to stop her. If she had taken Drew or Simon, it wouldn't have been an issue. They would have died in silence.
But, no. She had sent Catherine to kidnap her ex-stepdaughter. He wagered the older woman had a secret she wanted to keep, and Casey knew what it was. She had used that secret against her to get what she wanted. Maddie was their heart and soul. She knew that, and she had made sure they'd taken her at this specific moment.
The Round Table was not an actual table. It was the people around it. Beca had been right about that. They were the Round Table. As long as they were united, nothing could break them. As long as they were honest and true, no one could make them stray. They'd had Excalibur the entire time even though they hadn't known it. It had taken Aaliyah pointing it out for them to understand. What else were they missing?
He looked at the barrier. He was certain he could despell it. It would take some time. He knew they had that. Casey would be waiting for them. She couldn't do anything to Maddie. Whe would want an audience. Unravelign her work while replacing it with his own would give him time to think. Not much as he'd like, but he could figure out this puzzle.
He didn't touch the barrier. He didn't have to. All he had to do was infure his magic into it and disarm the alarming spells. Then he would overrun her magic with his. She would have other ways of knowing they were there, but they at least have a chance to defend themselves.
Max gathered everyone on the street side of the cars and began to plan their defense. Drew heard him tell them not to provoke Casey's people. It was smart. All they'd seen was her destructive capabilities, but she hadn't seen their full powers. They would be able to hold her off a lot longer if they made a plan. But that one question of who was the actual target would be their downfall.
When his magic was finally coloring the barrier, he ripped a hole in it. No one came running from the house so he knew he'd done it right. That still made him feel ill at ease though. Unless Casey was that weak, she had to know what he'd done. What was she planning?
While Max was still talking to the others, Drew pulled Simon and Darren aside. He glanced at the barrier before looking at their drawn faces. They felt the exact same he did; this was too easy. But as Drew looked at them, he knew his hunch was right.
"Drew," Simon muttered. "What is it?"
He had to clear his throat. It was so thick he could barely swallow. In all the centuries this had been going on, he had never felt this helpless. They had never been this far before either.
"I think," he said as he glanced at the house again, "I don't think Maddie was their real target."
Simon didn't argue with him. He looked over at the others who were still immersed in listening to Max. He was a good leader and could keep the younger people's attention. There was no doubt he was either third or fourth in command depending on who was around.
Darren crossed his arms and looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Call it a hunch or instinct, but I think Maddie is bait. No pun intended. She was taken because they knew we'd come after her."
His posture was rigid as anger rolled off him. "You're right we would. We need her. We have to find everyone else."
"No," Simon disagreed. Darren pulled a face. "This is everyone. We have to make due with what we have. If Drew says something is wrong, then he's right."
Darren ran a hand through his hair and looked around. "If it's not Maddie they're really after, then who is it?"
Drew didn't want to say it but his gut said Darren was the one. Though they'd been on the outs recently, he had never stopped caring for Darren. Despite all the hell raising he'd done and how ornery he'd been, he had stried to do what was best.
Darren understood his look and shook his head. His heart clenched painfully. This was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to be the knight in shining armor, the one who saved the day. He wasn't supposed to be the one who was the downfall of his friends and fellow knights.
"No, it isn't me," he argued. Simon and Drew shared a look. He glanced between them, noticing the same look on their faces. "It can't be me! If they wanted me, they would have taken Beca too."
"Not necessarily." Max formed their circle. He glanced back at the kids. "Beca is Sir Alymere, but Maddie is Camelot. She's the reason we're all together. She is your weakness."
"That doesn't make sense!" His voice was a hard whisper so he didn't alert the others. "You keep saying not to look into the past, but that's what you're doing."
"I tell you not to emulate what you see in the past, but I've never told you not to learn from it. You are not the original Arthur; you're fifteen hundred years of Arthurs. That means you should learn from their mistakes, not recreate them," Drew explained. Despite his hot temper, his tone was very calm.
Max stepped in between them, diverting the argument they'd been having for months on to him. "We don't have the time to argue about this. I think Drew is right; you are their target. However, I'm not dumb enough to ask you to stay behind. But," he turned and stood toe to toe with Darren, "this is not medieval times and I don't have to follow your orders. That girl has been through enough. We owe it to her to get her out safely. If you jeopardize that, I won't be so kind anymore."
Simon put a stop to their bickering, but he didn't separate them. He wasn't stupid. The two of them had been at odds since Max had been sworn in. Darren was simply mad he couldn't control his emotions or Maddie's. Max was doing his best to give her space to choose, but they all knew how he felt. This was about Darren's hurt feelings.
"So what do we do?" They all looked at the group. Matt leaned against the car with his arms crossed. In that pose, he looked identical to his brother. He wasn't denying that he'd heard the entire conversation even though he had probably been eavesdropping. "What's your plan, Drew?"
Drew looked back at the house. He could see the pale blue of the arc light clearly through the windows. The higher the sun climbed in the sky the more they lost their surprise. They had to move now.
"Are we done arguing semantics?" he asked. It took a minute, but Darren finally nodded. "Good. Simon, Tyler, and Chase will take their groups and surround the house. The rest of us will go to the house. Hopefully we can discuss things."
"Don't count on it," Bruce mused.
He wasn't wrong. A part of Drew wanted them to give in easily, but he knew they wouldn't. Casey was too close to getting what she wanted. There was no way in hell she would give up immediately. She would die before that. He didn't want anyone to die, but his people were the ones he would protect.
He walked back to the barrier and stared at it. Once he opened this, they would be at the final part of this. After they went through, they would be in the final jaunt to end fifteen hundred years worth of struggle. He would finally be at peace; they all would.
He looked back into all the faces of those he'd brought with him over the centuries. If they failed, it was over. They would never get a chance to make things right again. Dead men can tell no tales, and Casey would spin everything in her own way. He didn't want to think about what she would do.
He saw Darren and Parker talking. Frowning, he could only imagine what it was they were discussing at this moment. Parker looked upset as he stared at Darren, but the other guy never stopped talking. He held out his hand and waited for Parker to take it. The other guy stared at it for what seemed like forever before he took it. What could they be talking about at this time? And was it so bad that Parker couldn't even shake Darren's hand?
Drew hoped to everything that they were making amends instead of making things worse. It had been so tense with them that they didn't need to make things worse at this time. He did know Darren enough to kow he wouldn't do something so friendly without a reason, and that colored Drew's thoughts even more.
Sighing, he turned back and pressed his hands into the barrier. It crackled then melted away in a hold the size a man could slip through easily. There was no turning back now. He held the edges open and waited for a minute. The Shades didn't move. He motioned everyone through, holding his breath as they went in one by one.
Darren was the last one before Drew. They stared at each other for a long moment before Darren went through slowly. Drew followed and closed the hole but marked it so he could find it again in case they needed a quick escape. When he was done, he turned to look at their mission.
"Well," Carlos mused. He jumped when a Shade shifted towards him. "Shall we dance?"
Simon laughed softly. "Let's get started. We don't want to be caught dawdling."
Drew agreed. As the three teams of four moved away, the others stayed with Drew and Darren. When they were out of sight, the others picked their way to the house. They moved slowly so they didn't attract the Shades. They moved either to victory or their doom. No matter what, Drew still thought they were going to make a play for Darren. He just didn't know how.