The Betrayer (Crossing Realms Series Book 3)

by Rebecca E. Neely

  Laird and Eden held a muted conversation with Áine. “We move. Now.” She directed Libby, Jordan, and Meda. “Our Watchers will transport you.”

  “Wait.” Crossing his arms, Zane planted his feet where he stood. “You asked my advice on strategy, so I’m giving it to you. We have to expect the unexpected. There are a lot of factors we can’t control. The weather, number one. What if your plan of merging it with the synergy fails? Or works against us? We need a backup plan. That’s the key.”

  Pounding feet and shouts sounded outside the cave as a crush of Keepers swarmed its entrance. “Help! Help him!”

  A Watcher glided silently behind them.

  Carrying Curtis’ body.

  Jordan simply stopped breathing. Like the weather lashing the realm, her pulse thundered in her chest. She forced her legs, leaden, useless, to move. Libby and Meda flanked her.

  No. No. No.

  She reached him as if in a dream, the roaring in her head nearly splitting it in two.

  Curtis.

  The Watcher dropped to his knees and reverently laid him on the floor of the cave.

  Jordan’s legs buckled beneath her, and she sank to the ground as she took stock of her mate, staring at his ashen face. At his body, limp as a rag doll’s. Pressing her ear to his nose, she listened.

  To his breathing, growing shallower.

  He’s still alive.

  Relief was a faraway beacon in a storm.

  She palmed his cheek and found his skin clammy. “What happened?” she demanded.

  A hushed silence fell over the cave. One of the Keepers spoke. “He collapsed. A group of Keepers were set to ambush one of the southern caves with Flint. And he just . . . collapsed.”

  Jordan linked her fingers with Curtis’. Áine knelt on the other side of him. Placing her hands on his forehead, she raised her silver eyes to Jordan’s. “He brought you through the portal,” she stated.

  “Yes,” Jordan whispered.

  “He used his energy to protect you. To give you safe passage.”

  Her insides quaked. “No, I re-purposed my Vitality. To go under the radar.”

  “That may have helped. But he didn’t want to take any chances.”

  Dazed, Jordan laid her head on his chest, wrapped her arms around him, and wept. “He did that for me?”

  Áine blinked, her silver eyes softening. “Yes. For you.”

  “But there’s an entire quarry of Vitality,” Jordan pleaded. “There must be something you can do.”

  Áine placed a hand on her arm. “The portal opening, as a result of the Similitude’s energy, is unprecedented. So is the energy required to bring a Keeper through the Betrayers’ portal. I am shocked he is still alive. The resources it would require to heal him . . . I am afraid it would cause us to lose this war. Even with a quarry of Vitality. I am deeply sorry.”

  Jordan cradled Curtis close, refusing to let him go, even for an instant. “I won’t let you die. I love you. I’ll do anything. Anything to save you.”

  Thoughts steamrolled through her mind. “The key.” She aimed a look at Zane. “A backup plan. I think I have one.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “When I was in the tunnels, I heard my father. He spoke to me from the chain of Watchers. My ability is getting stronger. I know that’s why I was able to hear him. He told me what Abel hates is within himself.”

  She smoothed Curtis’ hair, recalling her father’s words. “He said, what you are to him is his weakness. The key. Remember. There are many ways to kill. And die.” Jordan’s stomach plummeted. “My gods.”

  She raised her eyes to Zane’s. “Abel is a mongrel. It’s what I am to him.” Her voice fractured. “When I think of how he made us suffer.” Her breath heaving, she summoned her courage. “It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is Curtis.”

  “Are you sure about this?” Zane asked.

  “No. All I have is my father’s word. I can’t prove it.”

  “I can.”

  With Kemp close behind, Magpie rushed toward her and knelt beside her and Curtis.

  “Magpie!” Disbelief surging through her, Jordan threw an arm around her surrogate mother, the feel of her, the sight of her more than she could comprehend.

  “Oh, my darling child. You have no idea.” Tears flooded Magpie’s eyes as they clung together. Gradually, she leaned back. “This is your young man?”

  I hope so. “The dark energy is killing him. Magpie, please. Anything you can tell us about Abel might help.”

  Magpie ran a hand through her choppy mane and toyed nervously with the hoop in her lip. “I’ll give you the quick and dirty on the family tree. Greer was his mother, a full-blooded Betrayer. Maxton, his father, was half. Haenus knew. So did I. It’s why Abel never wanted to have children with me, or anyone else. He’s paranoid about passing that on.”

  She shivered. “Growing up, his father used to deprive him of energy. To try to starve it out of him, he said. Abel can’t render Similitude. That’s part of the reason he joined forces with the other brood masters.”

  Jordan squeezed Curtis’ hand in hers as though she could will him to rouse. Her sadness solidified into resolve. It’s not for you, to end him alone. “If we could make it known to his brood he’s a mongrel, they’d turn on him.”

  “The Second Rebellion would fail,” Libby said.

  “Abel and the other brood masters aren’t in the trenches, fighting. They’re monitoring the troops, same as we are. It’s just a matter of finding which cave they’re in,” Zane reasoned.

  “If we could fight them with the Flint, it would give us an opportunity to pass into one of their Vistas,” he proposed. “One is all we need.”

  “You leave it to me,” Magpie said. She held Curtis’ face in her hands. “I can never repay your parents’ kindness,” she told him. “They saved me and Kemp.”

  At Magpie’s side, Kemp nodded solemnly. “We owe a great debt to the Keepers and the Watchers.”

  “Thank you both,” Jordan whispered through tears.

  “We’ll have the element of surprise,” Magpie informed them. “He thinks I’m dead. And he has no idea what’s become of Kemp.”

  Kemp stood solidly behind Magpie. “Wherever you go, I go.”

  Regret drummed in Jordan’s soul. “I might never see you again.”

  Magpie flashed a smile. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be standing here. Neither of us would. My precious Jordan.” She embraced her. “I’ll always be with you.” Releasing her, Magpie turned to Áine. “Tell us what you want us to do.”

  “Laird, Eden, and these Watchers will get Libby, Meda, and Jordan in position in the caves.” Áine pointed to a half dozen Watchers, awaiting her orders. “You, you, and you. Go with Magpie and Kemp to locate the brood masters. There are four caves along the eastern perimeter of the quarry. Each will need searched. They’d stay close to the portal.” She turned to Zane for confirmation.

  He nodded. “Where do you want me, Áine?”

  “Stay with Curtis, please.” Her silver eyes softened for a moment.

  “It would be my honor.”

  Straightening, Áine continued her directives. “You.” She pointed to another group of Keepers and Watchers. “You stay here. Guard the cave, and Meda’s dog.” Tan barked once, as if in agreement. “Once Laird and Eden return, our Triad will channel the energies of the weather to maximize the synergy.”

  Jordan kissed Curtis’ pale, motionless lips. “You didn’t let me die,” she whispered fiercely. “And you didn’t let me go. Not once. Now I’m going to do the same for you. I’m not giving up.”

  If we can save the realm, we can save Curtis.

  Rising, she joined hands with Meda and Libby. Laird, Eden and the other Watchers encircled
them. Together, they glided from the cave and over the quarry.

  ~ ~ ~

  From the mouth of the cave, Abel, Macen, and Ramsey assessed the battlefield below.

  Abel shivered with cold and excitement. “We’ve claimed the lion’s share of the eastern end of the quarry.”

  Not only had he escaped death and completed his portal, he’d led the brood to the Watchers’ realm. They’d claimed their due. A new order ruled.

  I am invincible.

  The Watchers and Keepers combined couldn’t stop them.

  Acres of their precious quarry belonged to him. The brood. Domination of their realm was imminent, as was enslaving humans.

  “And we’ll claim more,” Ramsey added, her grin feral.

  High on victory so long elusive, Abel returned her smile. “When we’ve completely claimed the eastern end, we’ll direct our efforts to the west. Continue weakening their forces and bring additional troops through the portal to reinforce the brood.”

  Suddenly, Macen gagged. Clutching his throat, he sank to his knees.

  Foreboding crawled up Abel’s spine. “What the hell’s going on?”

  Rushing to Macen’s side, he and Ramsey each took an arm and propped him against the wall of the cave.

  Coughing, clutching his throat, Macen sputtered, “You lied to me. All of us.”

  Abel’s pulse banked a curve in his chest. “What are you talking about?”

  “In my Vista,” Macen cried. “She’s in my Vista!”

  “She?” Abel spun around, and his insides turned to water.

  Magpie and Kemp advanced on them from the rear of the cave.

  Vitality. My Goth gypsy’s wearing Vitality.

  So was the sniveling bastard.

  Gone were the bruises around her neck. She was whole. Healthy. Alive. With his AWOL minion. He couldn’t breathe.

  They stood, hands joined. Together.

  As he’d always suspected.

  Never trust a woman.

  “Traitors!” Abel snapped it out.

  “That’s the one thing I’m not. Finally.” Though whey faced, Kemp didn’t cower, nor did he release Magpie’s hand.

  “Abel.” Magpie greeted him coolly, her combat boots planted solidly on the rocky ground. “Whether I live or die, the damage is done.”

  His heart darkened. There would be no forgiveness. No reunion. “Go to hell.”

  She chuffed a bitter laugh. “You first.”

  Magpie and Kemp faced one another, hands still joined. In tandem, their stones glowed.

  The light dimmed. Winds roared through the cave.

  Abel channeled his Similitude. Ramsey’s stone shone clear.

  The energies erupted, then clashed. Dark versus light.

  From the floor of the cave, dirt and stones gathered violently, hammering the air and the cave like machine gun fire.

  A cyclone, taking aim.

  The force of the blast knocked Abel on his ass. His heart jackhammering, he heaved himself to his feet and dove for cover behind a boulder. A fist sized rock clipped his calf and lodged in the meat of the muscle.

  Howling, drenched in sweat, Abel crouched behind the massive stone. Cursing, he plucked out the shrapnel, its edges jagged and wet with his blood. Nausea roiled in his gut.

  Still, he channeled.

  Debris pelted Ramsey and mowed through her clothing. Mangled her flesh. The coppery stench of blood smeared the air. Her shriek ricocheted off the walls of the cave.

  Minutes passed. The roaring diminished, the winds lessened. Pebbles and dirt, once lethal weapons, fell to the ground, subject to gravity once more.

  He shot a glance at Macen. He still wasn’t full power, but his Similitude flickered. Black. Clear.

  Abel crept from behind the boulder.

  Kemp fell to his knees, keeling over.

  Magpie collapsed, her Vitality casting her features in a sickly glow.

  Abel pushed himself to his feet. Limped to where the traitors lay in a heap.

  “Takes a lot of energy for a stunt like that. Drains you.”

  Magpie’s eyes flicked to his injured calf. “Damage is done,” she murmured.

  “We’ll see about that.” Drawing on his stone, he assailed her and Kemp with undiluted dark energy.

  In under thirty seconds, the traitors’ Vitality flickered, then ceased. Magpie’s eyes stared, black and lifeless, at nothing at all, her fingers still linked with Kemp’s.

  Abel’s jaw slackened, pain engorged in his throat. He pivoted on his good leg.

  Macen’s fist launched out and struck him square in the jaw.

  Abel crumpled to the ground. “What’s the matter with you?” he snarled, clawing at the dirt, struggling to rise.

  Macen’s boot slammed across his chest.

  “You lied to me. Got Ramsey killed.” He jerked his head toward the mouth of the cave.

  An arm, clad in black leather and intact from the shoulder down, lay on the ground, a casualty of war. Muscle and bone, wrenched from its owner, dangled from the limb.

  “It’s over, Abel.” Macen reared back and kicked him in the ribs.

  Abel’s vision grayed. Blindly, he fought.

  Fingers grappled with his jacket. His Similitude.

  Snap.

  Powerless against the quarry of Vitality surrounding him, against Macen’s Similitude, Abel screamed.

  Macen dragged him by the arms of his jacket to the mouth of the cave and deposited him on the cliff’s edge. Planting his hands against Abel’s back, he shoved. “Enjoy the ride.”

  His blood frozen, fear glazing his senses, Abel tumbled down, down, his body slamming against the massive rocks jutting out, unforgiving, from the slopes of the quarry. He heard his bones break, felt his skin tear from his limbs. Shrieking, every one of his senses heightened and aware, the black sections of the quarry glittered up at him, mocking him.

  Wind, heat, and fire scourged him.

  Acres of the green stone he’d so greedily sought rushed to meet him. The cries of his own troops, retreating through the portal he’d created, trumpeted in his ears.

  The Second Rebellion had failed. And he’d lived just long enough to witness it.

  You’re weak. A failure.

  The acid of his father’s voice corroded Abel’s final thought. The thud of his body battling gravity reverberated in his mind one last time and echoed across the whole of Mount Verdant.

  Chapter 30

  “The FBI has joined with the Pittsburgh police force to investigate what appears to be a mass grave following the terrorist attacks in the city last week. No group has claimed responsibility. The National Guard has been called in to protect the burial site, where hundreds are covered with white sheets. Heads of major agencies and organizations all over the world are being consulted, and a full-scale investigation is underway. In other news, the price of gas continues to skyrocket as we head into late summer, and city officials are partnering with the EPA to continue research on fuel options.”

  Jordan powered off the television in Curtis’ room. Like a watercolor, shades of purple and pink painted the night sky. Dipping a sponge in a basin of warm, soapy water, she sat on the bed next to him.

  Áine, can we save him?

  It is only a matter of time.

  Mysterious ways. The Watchers worked in mysterious ways. Hadn’t Dev, the Keeper who’d existed as a Watcher, proven that? He’d been the one to contact her father in the chain, the one who’d sent him after her in the tunnels.

  Sighing, she dredged for faith in those ways, as she had for the last three days. Tracing the line of his nose, she dabbed Curtis’ face with the sponge.

  “Did you hear that?” Jordan asked him. “The Keepers cleane
d up the city and gave the humans back some dignity. They even cleared the city of the worst of the rubble, so crews could get in and remove the wrecked vehicles and put out the fires. They’re rebuilding the ’Burgh. We’re going to help them with the construction.”

  She dipped the sponge into the basin again. “We’re already looking into how we can train others to create the synergy. Of course, there are a lot of stones to be converted, and we’re planning the best way to do that too. It’s going to involve raiding the tunnels and fallout shelters across the city. It’s going to take time.”

  Smoothing the hair from his forehead, Jordan wiped his skin clean and lowered her mouth to his. “We won, my love,” she murmured, willing his lips to respond to hers.

  When they didn’t, she blinked back tears. “We defeated the Betrayers,” she added. “Shut down their portal. Despite that, they’ll always be a threat to humans and Keepers. But we’ve been able to permanently weaken the brood. The Watchers are restoring their realm and the network here in the ‘Burgh is back to normal. The clan is receiving Compulsions and guarding humans.”

  She choked back a sob. “The network needs you to monitor it and keep it safe. I need you. Don’t you understand? The only thing missing is you.”

  He remained motionless, unresponsive. Jordan rested her head on his chest, comforting herself with the beat of his heart.

  Moments later, she pushed herself up abruptly. “That’s fine, Curtis Geary,” she told him sternly. “You can be as stubborn as you want. I’m not going anywhere and I’m not letting you go. That’s what you told me, more than once. You healed me, in the reno when no one else could. Now, I’m going to do the same for you.”

  She’d told the clan the same. To her, that fact was unarguable. As his mate, there was a unique and powerful quality to her energy when joined with his. It was something no one else could give him.