Kasiah exhaled and looked at Jade. “Your biological parents died when you were very young. Your neighbors took you in, changed their names to match yours, and raised you as their own.”
Jade didn’t say a word. She stared at Kasiah as though she was looking right through her. Her mind was searching all its files to try and make sense of Kasiah’s accusation.
After two full minutes of silence, Jade stood up from the couch. “I want you to leave,” she said. “Now.”
Kasiah and I looked at each other. We were losing her.
“Jade—” I started to say.
“Right now!” Jade insisted. “This conversation is over, and I want you to leave! I’m calling the police!”
Jade grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter. She started digging through it in search of her cell phone. “You people are insane,” she said, tossing things out of her purse. “Dammit! Where is my phone?”
My ECHO came alive with Morgan’s voice, catching me off guard. “…a major problem!” he said.
“Morgan, this is Aeron, we only caught the end of that. Please repeat.”
“We have a major problem here!” Morgan screamed. It sounded like he was out of breath from running. “Take Jade and get out of town. Do it NOW!”
“Found it!” Jade yelled from the kitchen. “I’m dialing!”
Kasiah put her finger to her lip, shushing Jade. “Morgan, what are you talking about?” she asked. “What’s the situation?”
“Who’s Morgan?” Jade asked, holding her phone to her ear. “You guys are out of your minds.”
I pinched my fingers together, shutting Jade’s mouth, then threw my other hand toward the wall, making Jade’s phone fly through the air and disappear somewhere behind the couch.
The ECHO fell silent.
“Morgan, are you there?” I asked.
The ECHO came back to life with Morgan’s out of breath voice. “Whisper and I are approximately ten miles south of Missoula, off highway ninety-three. We took a side road up to a scenic overlook to scout further south when we saw a convoy headed your way.”
“Convoy?” Aerona asked through ECHO.
I could tell Aerona was running too.
“Yes, a convoy,” Morgan said, trying to catch his breath. “Everything was quiet. We were standing at the edge of the lookout with binoculars looking north. There wasn’t a vehicle in sight in either direction. Then, suddenly, a pack of four cars—black unmarked sedans—traveling at high speed, appeared from around the furthest corner south.”
“Four cars do not make a convoy,” Rain pointed out.
Whisper took over as Morgan collected himself. “You are correct, my nocturnal friend,” he said. “Which is why we did not refer to them as a convoy until we saw the four sedans, an armored SWAT vehicle, two unmarked black SUVs, and a semi with cargo covered by thick canvas tarps. From what I can tell, there’s a helicopter under that canvas.”
“Morgan,” Kasiah said, “can you confirm what Whisper has seen?”
“Confirmed,” Morgan replied. “We double timed it back to our vehicle and are moving northeast on a side road toward the city, trying to avoid the convoy.”
Kasiah looked to me for answers. I had none, but I faked it well. “Aerona and Rain,” I said, taking charge, “get back to the SUV and meet us in front of Jade’s building. We’re on our way out with Jade.”
They responded in unison. “Be there in five.”
“Ember?” I asked.
“Yes,” she responded, “I’m here.”
“You should contact Candice,” I suggested, “Tell her to get that jet in the air as quickly as possible and fly north. We may have another ten minutes until that convoy stops to get the helicopter airborne.”
“You’re sending the jet away?” Kasiah asked, confused.
“We’ll never make it back to the airport,” I explained. “Besides, they obviously know we’re here, which means they’re aware of how we have arrived. The airport will be the first place they would look. We can’t risk grounding the jet. We’ll catch up with it once we get out of the city.”
“Aeron,” Morgan said, “where do you want us?”
I released my hold on Jade’s lips, giving her a stern look to keep quiet. “Morgan and Whisper, you two should hold position outside the city limits, just in case we end up on foot.”
“Copy that,” Whisper said. “The ECHO units may have been compromised. Radio silence unless it’s an emergency.”
“ECHO off,” I instructed, turning my unit off so I could focus on Jade.
“Hey!” Jade yelled from across the room. “Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?”
I grabbed a backpack from the floor next to the loveseat and tossed it to Jade. “You’re coming with us,” I declared.
“Says who?” she asked, catching the pack.
I moved to the side of the front window and opened the drapes just enough to look outside. “Jade,” I added, looking up and down the street, “it wasn’t a question. You’re coming with us, either conscious or unconscious. The choice is yours. I would suggest choosing conscious, since I’m not looking forward to carrying you down those old wooden stairs.”
From what I could see out the window, it looked quiet outside the apartment. I didn’t see any signs of a SWAT team moving into position, or a pack of werewolves gathering for a hunt. I knew all too well of the dangers the darkness could hide.
I released the drape and turned back to Jade. “Those stairs are a hazard,” I said. “You should file a complaint with your landlord.”
“Forget the landlord,” Kasiah joined in. “You have five minutes to pack anything of importance to you in this apartment. You won’t be coming back.”
I pulled my cell phone out from my pocket. “I’m going to try Jess again. We’re out of here in five minutes.”
THIRTY-FOUR
The phone rang several times before going to voicemail again. “Jess, this is Aeron. We’re in a bad situation up here in Montana. Something big is about to go down—FBI convoy and helicopter big. I need you to call me back as soon as you get this message. I hope everything is OK. It’s not like you to miss a phone call. Call me.”
“Still no answer from Jess?” Kasiah inquired from the front window. Kasiah’s been on the lookout as Jade tried to fit her entire life into a backpack in less than five minutes.
“No,” I replied. “She has me worried. This is not like her at all. I just hope whoever is tracing us hasn’t tracked us up to Jess. What’s it look like outside?”
Kasiah let the drapes fall. “Quiet. We need to get out of here. There’s no doubt in my mind they’ve tracked us right to this very building. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“How do you suppose they’re tracking us?” I asked.
“How well do you know Jess?” Kasiah probed, insinuating Jess may have been involved with Atmoro.
“Jess is solid,” I reassured her. “What about Morgan?”
“I personally vouch for Morgan,” she said, understandably defensive. “Amy was like a little sister to him. There’s no way Morgan is feeding information to Atmoro.”
“I don’t understand,” Jade interrupted, removing the back from the same framed picture she had scolded me for touching earlier. “You guys say you’re with the FBI… you’re special agent so and so, and if that’s true, why are you so scared of this person chasing you? Can’t you call reinforcements or whatever?”
“He’s not chasing us,” I corrected her. “He’s chasing you.”
Jade carefully removed the photograph from the frame and placed it between the pages of a leather-wrapped bible. “And this one man is enough to send the entire FBI into panic mode?” she asked, shoving the bible into her overstuffed backpack. “Can you, at least, tell me why he’s after me, or why I have to pack everything I own and run screaming out of my own home?”
Kasiah left the window and joined me by the apartment door. “If I were you,” she advised, “I’d save the r
unning and screaming for later. You may need it.”
I reached out and offered to carry Jade’s backpack. “His name is Atmoro.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got it,” she said, swinging the bag over her shoulders. “Atmoro? That sounds so… what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh yes, lame.”
“Are you always this much fun?” Kasiah asked, clearly not amused by Jade’s sense of humor.
“Are you always this intense?” Jade asked, mocking Kasiah
Kasiah squinted out the peephole into the hallway. “You’re about to find out.”
I leaned in close to Kasiah, letting her perfume suffuse my nose. I shut my eyes for a brief moment, recalling the night we had on Ember’s Star, recalling the touch of her silky-smooth-skin against mine.
“How’s it look?” I asked.
Kasiah grabbed the door handle. “Game on!”
I put out the apartment lights and closed the door quietly behind us. Kasiah led the way to the stairs, her gun drawn. The first step creaked.
“Aeron of Stonegate.”
Kasiah spun around and dropped to one knee, her gun stretched straight before her. Jade flattened against the wall at the sight of her gun.
“Ashes,” I acknowledged without turning around. “I didn’t think we’d be seeing you again so soon.”
“I’m not afraid of a little fire,” she retorted. “Tell your friend to drop her gun.”
“Not going to happen,” Kasiah spat back, keeping her gun aimed at Ashes.
I turned and faced Ashes. She was still dressed from head to toe in her black hunting suit and trench coat, holding her two guns. “You don’t understand,” I tried to explain. “This is bigger than us. This is bigger than Malance and his corrupt council. We need to get this girl out of the city, and we need to do it now.”
I felt no need to hold anything back from Ashes. The convoy was not her doing or her style; it was Atmoro’s. I was out of options at that point, and we needed Jade out of there.
“The girl’s life is in danger,” I explained, “Atmoro wants to use her blood to open the Forgotten Shadow City and release all captive Shadows.”
Ashes’s eyes switched from me to Jade and back. “Her blood?” she asked, considering my accusation. “Atmoro has been dead for many decades. Your lips are weaving a lie. I told you you’re not the only jumper to try and talk their way out of returning to the Shadow World.”
“Aeron!” Kasiah shouted, still on one knee and her gun trained on Ashes. “We need to move!”
I didn’t dare take my eyes off Ashes. “Get Jade out of here, Kasiah.”
She didn’t move. “I’m not leaving without you! You can’t fight this fight alone!”
“Jade is more important than I am,” I argued. “Get her to Rain and keep her safe.”
I could feel Aerona’s presence even before I saw her step around the hallway corner behind Ashes. It was as if Aerona was gliding in slow motion, floating as though we were in a music video. All she needed was a hard rock song booming in the background, something with heavy guitar riffs. The crimson center stone on Aerona’s necklace was glowing, and her long dark hair flowed behind as she moved.
“Nice boots,” Aerona teased, stopping behind Ashes, catching her off guard. “You must tell me where you got them.”
At least now it was a fair fight.
Ashes threw her back flat against the wall, cracking the cheap plaster in several places. She turned one gun from me to Aerona. “This must be the twin. I have to say, I expected more style than a plain white shirt and jeans,” she taunted.
Aerona was prepared for this moment. She was in total control of herself and the energy around her. “Rain is at the bottom of the stairs,” Aerona said calmly. “Kasiah, take Jade and get her out of here. Aeron and I will take care of our friend here.”
I looked at Kasiah. I could feel the dilemma in her eyes and I nodded to her.
Kasiah grabbed Jade’s arm. “Move!” she ordered. “Now!”
Jade didn’t hesitate a second. She stepped quickly down the stairs with Kasiah, keeping her back to the wall. Kasiah gave me one last look before turning to follow Jade and vanished down the stairwell.
Jade’s neighbor opened his door. A man stood in the doorway rubbing his eyes. “Do you assholes know what time it is?” he growled.
He stole one glance at Ashes and slammed the door shut, probably to call the police.
Aerona smiled. “Looks like we have a bit of a dilemma here.”
Ashes, though, was calm. “There is no dilemma. You and your brother are jumpers and will be returned to the Shadow World, where you will be sentenced accordingly.”
I looked past Ashes and locked eyes with Aerona. I could see she understood. Her lips curled into a clever smirk. Ashes’s eyes moved back and forth quickly between me and Aerona, trying to calculate the odds of taking us alive or determining the one Malance would prefer dead.
“This girl is worth your lives?” Ashes asked.
“She’s worth all our lives,” I told her, looking straight into her eyes. “Atmoro is alive and whether you choose to take that as truth or not is up to you. He is alive and unimaginably vexed with the Shadow Council for imprisoning his wife in the Forgotten Shadow City. He’s determined to free her from the prison, and by doing so, he will release all Forgotten Shadows. If he succeeds, there will be a war of worlds, and thousands of Shadows would flood the Light World.”
Ashes remained focused on her mission. “This is something Malance will surely want to hear,” she said. “He will protect the girl and secure the prison.”
Unfortunately, that was not the answer I sought from Ashes. She was steadfast in following the orders of a corrupt council. Aerona pieced together the same conclusion. We both drew in the energy around us. Ashes saw what was about to happen and fired two shots simultaneously at Aerona. She used her gift of time manipulation to easily dodge both bullets.
Ashes had miscalculated which warlock to turn her back on. I extended both my arms in front of me, immediately throwing them toward the wall opposite Jade’s apartment. Ashes, caught in the energy, slammed against the wall with incredible force. She crashed into the wall on her back, causing a piece of the old ceiling to collapse. The impact knocked both guns out of her hands. She growled fiercely; she didn’t like being held down. To my surprise, she started to move away from the wall. I used every ounce of energy I could pull in to try and keep Ashes pinned in place.
“Aerona!” I shouted, knowing I couldn’t do this alone.
Aerona threw her arms in front of her, slamming Ashes back to the wall. Ashes shut her eyes and lowered her head, taking several deep breaths. She stopped struggling for a short-lived five seconds, then her eyes flipped wide open, like two bright blue flames.
“Aeron, I think we pissed her off!” Aerona warned.
Ashes somehow found the strength to push away from the wall. Aerona and I were weakening, our minds failing to keep control. Ashes had extraordinary strength, even for a Shadow Vampire. She managed to push completely away from the wall and step into the center of the hallway, her body tilted forward slightly, as if fighting hurricane speed winds.
Aerona fell to her knees, her arms stretched out and her hands smoldering. She looked at me with pain in her eyes; she was losing control. If Ashes broke free, she would go after Aerona first.
That’s when it came to me. This is exactly like when you play tug-of-war as a child. What do you do when you’re losing? You let go. Let the other team fall on their asses.
“AERONA! NOW!”
I didn’t have to tell Aerona twice. She let her mind go blank and her arms fell to her sides, as did mine. Ashes rocketed across the hallway and passed right through the wall. A cloud of dust and splinters filled the hallway. I ran to Aerona.
“We need to go,” I insisted. “Can you walk?”
Aerona coughed. “Go, Aeron,” she gasped. “Keep Jade safe.”
“You’ve given yourself brain damage,” I said, not wi
lling to leave Aerona behind. “If I’m going anywhere, it’s with you. Now quit being such a sissy and get your ass off the floor!”
Aerona lifted her head and looked into my eyes, shaking her head with a slight grin. She slammed her fist into the floor and found the strength to rise to her feet.
We stumbled past the Shadow Vampire-sized hole, where pieces of the wall were still collapsing. Our feet hit the stairs, just as Jade’s door blew off its hinges, crashing into the hallway. Ashes pulled off an action movie stunt, rolling out of Jade’s apartment and scooping up her two silver guns along the way. She began firing and found her feet, all in one swift move.
Shots peppered the wall all around us. I shoved Aerona down the stairs, dropping down so that my head could be below the hallway floor. Aerona tumbled like a ragdoll to the bottom of the stairwell, hitting the steel door hard. She was going to hate me for that one.
Ashes stopped firing to switch magazines. I turned over onto my stomach, grasping the carpet runner that extended the full length of the hallway. I got to me knees and yanked the runner with everything I had, falling backward in the process. The last thing I saw as I fell was Ashes getting the rug pulled out from under her feet.
I hit the bottom of the stairwell, landing next to Aerona hard enough to break bones. We both gasped for a breath of air with our backs against the steel door. What a mess we were in.
Without warning, the door swung open behind us, and Aerona and I fell halfway out the door. We were now staring up at street lights and Rain’s face. He grabbed us both and pulled us free from the stairwell, slamming the door shut and ramming himself against it.
The Blood of a Stone Page 25
