Everlasting Flame

by Katelyn Anderson

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Everyone loved stories that had happy endings. Those who waited for their missing loved ones to come home had their whole world taken away from them when Agent Sky announced to the media that they were all dead. The area had to be contained to neutralise the threat and to eliminate the outbreak. That was her excuse for the bombing. Only a select few knew the truth and most of those that knew were dead.

  The academy slaughter was blamed on a gas leak. The ‘gas leak’ made the students hallucinate and go mad. People never questioned the agency. Those who did usually ended up dead so people kept their opinions to themselves. The world wasn’t ready to learn about the existence of magic. Lies were necessary to keep chaos from spreading and devouring the planet. After the academy was restored to its former glory, Sky made the decision to shut it down for the time being, until the horrible incident slipped from everyone’s minds. I had a feeling that would never happen. Nobody wanted to step inside that building of death. I was one of those people.

  I only spent a short time in Chicago, mainly to attend my team’s funeral, and to sort out my life. I had written a long speech about each team member but when the time came to speak, all my courage flew out the window. Lorenzo came up with me to the podium. He held my hand, fingers intertwined with mine, but separated by a glove to avoid complete magic exposure. If it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t have spoken and would have regretted it for the rest of my life. He was my rock. He had always been my rock.

  Magic rehabilitation didn’t work out. When no progress was made throughout the course of a few weeks, it was clear to see that I would never be comfortable around magic again. The incident with Oliver made me more sensitive to power. It was a curse, not a blessing. I felt it everywhere. Outside, in a crowded building, in an empty street, it was impossible to escape from. Lorenzo kept his promise of walking away and making the decision for me. I was heartbroken. I was also thankful that he was strong enough to make the break, something I wouldn’t have been able to do. I loved him too much. He loved me enough to let me go.

  Dane made me sign a new contract. The one I signed when I joined the agency basically became null when the team I was assigned to was wiped out, a few sections anyway. Not much had changed. He respected my wishes of being a solo agent and gave me limitless access, to a certain degree. I was allowed to take missions from other agencies scattered across the world. I had to tell him which missions I planned on taking so he knew where I was at all times. Travelling helped distance myself from people. I wasn’t in the same place for long. It was almost nomadic, except I had a home to go back to, an empty home.

  It didn’t matter how many missions I went on, I still missed my team terribly. I was making a worldwide dent in the criminal underworld on my own. The Angel of Death was back on the radar, sparing nobody that would threaten my plan. I missed having company but it was easier to concentrate on my targets without the distraction. I didn’t realise how conscious I was of keeping a team mate safe until nobody was there to watch over. I had to look out for myself and nobody else. Cyrus was right; I was too kind-hearted. I didn’t care. I wasn’t kind-hearted enough if I could take life without blinking. I practically went off the rails and turned ruthless. I became the perfect assassin. I became the monster criminals feared. I was consumed by darkness.

  I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop, not until everyone was dead. When the agency fell there couldn’t be anyone left to start a rebellion, not when I wanted world peace. If agents decided to build a new agency from the rubble, I would make it my duty to kill them. I wanted Tainted Beings and humans to coexist peacefully. When the agency fell, there would be peace, as long as those who wished for war were wiped out. That’s where I came in. I killed influential people and severed their connections. I destroyed everything. I wasn’t an angel. I was a reaper.

  I barely slept. When I did sleep, my dreams were nightmares. I could sleep soundly if I got drunk off my face. I suffered a hangover in the morning. Sometimes it was worth it, other times not so much.

  Time went by in a blur. It had already been a year and a half since I had lost my team and the love of my life. It didn’t seem like that long. I had considered calling it quits many times but Claire’s last words kept me going. Stay alive. You’re our last hope to end this war. Live for us. Promise me. I did the best I could.

  I was on my way home from the airport until I got an urgent page from Dane to come into work. It was relatively late for a page; after hours. That was never a good sign. The last assignment I had been given at that time of night led to the deaths of my beloved team. If I had any sense, I would continue driving home. But that’s not what happened. I turned around and went into work, like the good obedient agent I was. Dane didn’t like to be kept waiting. After the amount of feathers I had ruffled with him, I tried my very best to be civilised. It was hard. I still hadn’t forgiven him for the Oliver case and I didn’t think I ever would. He made me lose everything. My team. Lorenzo. My sweet, loving Lorenzo.

  “Night-time pages never end well. This better not bite me on the ass,” I said the moment I stepped foot inside Dane’s office.

  Dane was alone. He was staring aimlessly out the window, gazing at the city lights below. Rain dribbled down the glass in small rivers. His hands were overlapped behind his back, his thumbs spinning circles around each other. It was unusual for him to be out of his chair. He was usually glued to his seat every time I got called to his office.

  I saw his reflection on the glass. He stared down on the city like he owned it. He basically did. He owned the world. There was a tightness in his jaw and his shoulders were stiff. This didn’t look good. I almost tiptoed out the door but he knew I was here. I had stupidly announced myself.

  “Take a seat,” he spoke, continuing to gaze out the window. It wasn’t a request. It was an order. I had never grown immune to that smooth voice. Fearless assassin, terrified of magic and her boss... not so fearless.

  I slumped down on the seat across from his desk. I tapped my fingers impatiently on the armrests when Dane didn’t turn around. At least I could see his hands, that way I knew he wasn’t going to pull a gun on me. He had no reason to. I was one of his best agents. I couldn’t help but be paranoid. I was, after all, an immortal who was planning on taking the agency down from the inside. Dane was generally a hundred steps ahead of everyone and had always been suspicious of me. If he knew my true intentions, I would have been dead a long time ago.

  “I have a mission for you. This target is to be captured, not eliminated. It is important not to fail so you will not be alone on this assignment.” Dane was still gazing out the window. That irritated me more than it should have.

  “I told you I wasn’t going to be part of a team. I made that quite clear. I’ve been solo for the past year and a half. I haven’t failed any missions. What makes this one so different?”

  Dane turned around partway through my sentence. It must have been my raised voice that got his attention, that or my bluntness.

  “It won’t be a team. I’ll be your partner,” he replied flatly.

  My stomachs did summersaults and leapt up into my chest. “Excuse me?”

  Dane smirked at my response. “I will be your partner.”

  Yeah, like saying it a second time was going to make a difference.

  “The mission is a simple snatch and grab,” he explained.

  I snorted. “Simple,” I repeated, using air quotations. “Funny.”

  “Perhaps you’ll be more interested to know the target’s background,” he said, opening his desk drawer. He pulled out a piece of paper and laid it flat on the desk.

  I leaned forward in my chair to have a closer look. My eyes widened when I realised what it was. I had seen this elegant penmanship a long, long time ago. Black inked calligraphy. This was the magic council’s handiwork.

  “This is a bounty. Where did you get this?”

  “I think you should be more concerned about what’s on the bo
unty rather than where I got it from,” Dane said, continuing to stand. He didn’t seem interested in sitting down.

  I hadn’t bothered reading the bounty contract. I had only paid attention to the calligraphy and nothing more. The words blurred together. My eyes were too tired from my flight. I was on a plane for hours. I had been looking forward to crawling into bed and falling asleep. A late night page was the last thing I needed or expected.

  “I can’t read it,” I admitted, leaning back in my seat. “The words blur together.”

  Surprise flickered on Dane’s face. “Have you been drinking?”

  “No. I’m exhausted.”

  Dane slid the bounty contract closer towards him. The paper sparked in the centre, causing him to jerk back his hand; I jumped with fright. A river of flames devoured the contract, leaving behind nothing but ash.

  “I’m surprised it lasted that long,” Dane said, gathering the ash into his hands and dropping it into the trashcan.

  I was more surprised that he barely seemed fazed by what just happened. He didn’t even shake his hand out or anything. I would be cursing all sorts of colourful words if my hand was the one that set off the self-destruct button.

  “That was a double-sided contract. Your name was on the side I showed you. The other side was the target we will be going after.”

  My heart stopped.

  My breath got caught in my throat.

  My skin tingled.

  “My name?” I repeated when I managed to find my voice.

  Dane nodded in response.

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, Joan. It seems your activities have upset the council.”

  I raised my eyebrows. I was confused. I hadn’t done anything to upset the council. I had kept Sky’s identity safe and hadn’t told a soul who she was. All my targets I had wiped out were criminals and those who threatened to create an uprising when the agency fell. I was doing the council a favour. I wasn’t working against them. What gives?

  “Why? As far as I know, I haven’t done anything,” I said, scratching my head.

  I really couldn’t work out what I had done to earn a bounty, especially when the council knew what would happen if I were to be killed. Damian would go crazy. He wouldn’t spare anyone that had a hand in my death. The council would start a new damn war.

  “The target we’re going after is a Dream Shuffler, one that should have been dead many moons ago. Cyrus faked her death to undoubtedly train her. It seems you weren’t the only one he was training.”

  I tightly gripped the armrests, digging my nails into the leather. “That two timing bastard.”

  A faint smile touched Dane’s lips. “So, you were romantically involved?”

  My face grew hot. “That’s none of your damn business,” I stammered. “So what is the purpose of a double-sided contract? Is it like a coin flip? One side kill me, other side kill her?”

  “You have grasped the concept quite well. I believe this is a form of punishment. The council doesn’t take too kindly to deceit. They have given Cyrus a choice, forcing him to pick between you or her. We’ll get to Grace Devereux first, the Dream Shuffler. Once I use her to find Emily, we’ll kill her and you’ll be safe.”

  “Wait, wait. Back up. Who’s Emily?”

  Dane shook his head, the disappointment visible on his face. “The creator of immortal kind,” he explained. “Surely you’ve heard the stories?”

  “I didn’t know she had been identified. I thought we were chasing a ghost.”

  “She is very real,” Dane said; the coldness of his tone made my skin prickle. “We have spent too much time discussing things. I don’t know how quickly Cyrus moves. This bounty is fresh. Someone in the council is keeping an eye on you. They wanted me to warn you.”

  I knew exactly who it was but I played the ignorant card. “I don’t know anyone in the council.”

  “Is that so?” Scepticism flashed in Dane’s eyes.

  “Cyrus never discussed his work, nor did he introduce me to anyone in the council. I don’t know why someone sent you the warning. Maybe they decided I was worth saving.”

  Dane tapped his fingers on the desk. It sounded like a heartbeat. He never dropped eye contact.

  I had nothing to hide, other than knowing an undercover council member who ran the second most influential T.E.A branch. Yeah, I knew nothing. I wasn’t going to tell Dane that Christina Sky was the one who sent the bounty warning. My lips were sealed and my clueless mask remained.

  “Perhaps. Let’s go. I have Grace’s address,” Dane said, making his way to the door.

  I wasn’t going to sit alone in his office and wait for Cyrus to find me. I followed Dane. His cologne hung in the air and clung to me like a second coat. The bittersweet smell always made my head spin. Like the cold smoothness of his voice, his scent was another thing I had never grown immune to. Smelling that good should be illegal.

  “Are you awake enough to not be a hindrance on this mission?” Dane asked me as the elevator descended into the parking lot.

  Usually questions like that made me mad but this was serious business. His concern was valid.

  “Yeah. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing. Nothing like a death sentence hanging over your head to keep you on edge,” I muttered, rubbing my arms. “This is nonsense. Why should I be punished for something I didn’t do? Why should my life be threatened when Cyrus was the one who made a bad decision?”

  “The council has an unusual way of handling things.”

  I made a soft splutter of amusement. “That’s putting it mildly.”

  “I have stun guns in my car. This is a snatch and grab, not shoot to kill. When we get there, leave your gun in the car.”

  “I’d rather have my gun on me in case–”

  “Leave it in the car,” Dane interrupted me, harsh words slicing through my sentence like a knife. “I won’t ask again.”

  “This is why I prefer solo missions.” Because I didn’t have authority figures bossing me around every chance they were given. I could do whatever I wanted, on my terms and my terms only.

  “I could have very easily ignored that bounty. I could have waited to see which one of you Cyrus picked to save and picked to kill.”

  There he goes. I swear threatening to kill me or have me killed was something Dane had to bring up whenever we were in proximity of each other. He could never help himself.

  “But why waste the opportunity to catch an elusive Dream Shuffler,” I said, flexing my fingers before I punched something. “Don’t pretend that wasn’t the true reason behind keeping me informed.”

  “I paged you for a reason, Joan. I could have gone to Grace’s on my own,” Dane mentioned coolly, stepping out into the parking lot. “Having you in my sight means I can be sure you’re safe.”

  That was the most heart-warming thing I had ever heard him say.

  Dane unlocked his car and opened the passenger side door. I guess we were carpooling. I would come back for my Harley.

  Dane stood there and waited for me to get into the car. I just stared at him speechlessly. He was such a complicated person. One minute, threatening to have you killed, the next being concerned about your safety. Talk about being a psychopath.

  “Why do you give a damn about my safety?” I questioned, making sure suspicion leaked out of my tone.

  Dane didn’t seem to care when he sent me around the world on dangerous missions, never batting an eye. Maybe it’s because this was different and my life was actually at risk. He knew I was capable of surviving anything, but my mentor possibly coming after me changed the game.

  “You are worth more alive to me than dead.”

  “So you keep telling me,” I mumbled, getting into his car.

  I snuggled into the seat when he closed the door and rested my eyelids. I leaned my head against the window and folded my arms.

  “You’re the only agent I have left who has connections to both worlds. You’re allied with the coven that holds Chicago as their t
erritory. That might be beneficial to me later.”

  “Lorenzo and I haven’t been together for over a year. Besides, I doubt the coven would help you with anything.”

  I left out the part of knowing the coven were the ones who put a stop to Maria killing me all those years ago. The coven protected me from becoming another victim of the agency. It was only thanks to Damian that the coven interfered at all. Damian was no longer in town, just Lorenzo. Lorenzo was second in command but I knew how he felt about Dane. He didn’t like him one bit and would keep the coven out of his reach, at any cost, maybe even my life. He chose magic over me and would probably do it again if he was forced to. I didn’t hold it against him. It was my fault we broke up.

  I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Dane was nudging me awake. I was toasty warm and all I could smell was his cologne. His jacket was covering me like a blanket. That surprised me. Comforting gestures weren’t his thing, ever.

  Rain splattered on the windshield, falling from the sky in a raging torrent. The car was parked outside a house, next to the curb. The engine was no longer running and the lights were off. We were in stealth mode. Lamps lit the street in scattered patches of light. We were close to a street lamp so the inside of the car wasn’t completely concealed by darkness.

  “You were shivering,” Dane said when I looked at him apprehensively.

  The only reason why I would be shivering was because I was afraid or having a bad dream, not cold. Immortals didn’t get cold. The flame magic inside us kept us warm. Like I would tell him that. He thought I was human and it would stay that way.

  “Thank you,” I murmured, handing his jacket back. “What’s the plan?”

  “The house is empty. We’ll look for any signs of struggle or clues to see where she might have gone.”

  I studied his appearance to see if he had investigated the house and left me alone in the car. It was a bit too dark to see if he was wet from the rain. How else would he have known that the house was empty? I didn’t want to reach out and touch his hair in case he took it the wrong way.

  “Did you go on ahead without me?”

  “No, I just know that it’s empty,” he said, sounding as if he wasn’t going to elaborate on how he knew.

  Ok then. Was I going to ask and risk getting shot? No thanks.

  Dane reached into the glovebox in front of me and pulled out a gun. “Gun,” he requested, holding out his other hand.

  I pulled my Glock out of its holster and dropped the gun into his outstretched hand. I took the stun gun. It looked like a normal gun and had the same weight as one. I hadn’t used one of these before. I was trained to kill, not capture.

  “How do I use this?” I asked as I slipped the gun into my hip holster.

  “Aim and shoot,” Dane helpfully said. “No knives. Leave those in the car.”

  “What? You frisk me while I was asleep or something?”

  Dane chuckled. “I know how you operate. Knives,” he ordered, hand still outstretched.

  I sighed and leaned forward, rolling up my pants. A dagger was strapped to each leg. Couldn’t be too careful in my line of work. I had a permit to carry weapons anywhere and everywhere, even on flights.

  I handed the daggers to Dane hilt first. Wouldn’t want him to snag himself on the blades. They were very sharp. See? Even I could be considerate.

  Dane put my weapons on the dashboard and held out his hand again. “Last one.”

  “I don’t–”

  “Last one,” he cut across me, voice sharp.

  I removed the dagger from my back and placed it on the dashboard next to my other weapons. Dane was thorough, that’s for sure. What could I say? I liked having a lethal weapon close at hand. I wasn’t comfortable with using a gun that knocked people out cold, especially since I hadn’t used one before. I preferred to have a backup. We were dealing with a Dream Shuffler that could mess with your head. Backups were a good idea.

  “Satisfied?” I asked, tone bitter.

  “Very,” he responded before leaving the car.

  I got out of the car, not wanting to give in to temptation; it took all of my restraint not to grab my weapons off the dashboard. I was grumpy, tired, and soon to be soaked by the pouring rain. The last thing I needed was to make Dane mad for disobeying orders. He had a habit of shooting those who did. I had somehow managed to avoid being shot by him but it had come close, many times. I wasn’t going to break that streak, not tonight.

  Two gunshots rattled my bones, followed by a thud that I barely heard over the heavy downpour of rain. I waited for any sign of movement but heard nothing. I waited for Dane to say something but all I heard was the rain.

  Screw this stealth nonsense. I can’t see a thing.

  I used the flashlight on my phone and peered around the car, seeing Dane out cold on the pavement. There was no blood seeping through his shirt. He had been knocked out by his own stun gun. He shouldn’t have gone down that easily. There was only one person alive that could get the jump on Dane, one that could make himself invisible and hide in plain sight, the master of all assassins: Cyrus.

  It happened so quickly. One second, I was moving behind the car, the next, someone slammed into me, making us skid across the wet concrete. The perpetrator covered my mouth to stop me from screaming. He had an iron grip; his hand was too big to belong to a female.

  I was about to turn the tables until power flared through my skin, making me freeze. I suddenly forgot how to breathe or how to fight. I was numb and felt helpless.

  “Pity, I was hoping those were real bullets,” Cyrus murmured in my ear. “Joan, I’d love to stay and chat but I’m in quite the predicament. There’s only one thing I can do to ensure both you and Grace survive. I’m not willing to kill either of you. What I need to do to keep the council from sending someone else after you...” his voice trailed off when I started to struggle; he held me tighter. “You will undoubtedly hate me for the rest of your life. I am doing this to keep you safe. I am doing this to protect you from the council’s wrath. They’ve seen the end of the world and you were the key to all of that destruction. If I take away your bloodlust, that vision of doom will change. You won’t be hunted. I’m doing this so you can continue living. Consider this early retirement from field agent.”

  “No!” I screamed against his hand when I felt his power flood my mind.

  I couldn’t tell the difference between the sensation of his magic and the pouring rain that continued to fall from the stars. That was how he snuck up on us so effortlessly. The rain had masked his power.

  Cyrus plucked memories from my mind, leaving me scrambling to hold onto them as he altered everything that made me who I was. He was eradicating the darkness, making me lose the will to fight. My body went slack against him. I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was hopelessly fumble in the dark passages of my mind to salvage what I could, to keep originality, not falsehoods he left behind.

  By the time Cyrus was done, I was in a state of pure disorientation. Lies became truths. Truths became lies. He had changed everything about me, to the point where I wasn’t sure what was new and what was old. I was in a trance.

  “I’m altering Dane’s memory of what happened tonight. He mustn’t know of Grace’s existence,” Cyrus said as he dragged me to Dane’s car. “Forgive me, Joan. There was no other way.”

  I couldn’t even lift a finger. I was completely out of it. I was floating in a sea of altered memories, trying to find the ones that were real to separate them from the fakes. They all crumbled in my hands. I was drunk.

  Cyrus eyed up the weapons on the dashboard. He decided not to grab any and shut my door. He could snap Dane’s neck with his bare hands if he wanted to kill him.

  I would have grabbed a gun if I could get my body to work properly. My mind was currently disconnected from my limbs.

  Cyrus heaved Dane’s unconscious body onto the backseat and shut the door.

  Dane’s keys were still hanging in the ignition. All I
had to do was turn the key, jump seats, and floor it out of there. But I still couldn’t bloody move. What the hell did Cyrus do to me? It was like he had drugged me.

  Cyrus fiddled with a few of the car controls. He managed to find an autopilot mode that plotted a course back to the agency on its own. A high tech guidance system took control of the car but hadn’t moved out of its parking spot. Cyrus had to press the go option and decided to place it on a short timer.

  “I wish us meeting again was under different circumstances. You’ll thank me later,” Cyrus said.

  “I’d rather be dead,” I mumbled when I remembered how to use my mouth.

  “It will take a while to adjust. Take it slow. No more missions. You’ll only pull the trigger when your life is in danger. Taking someone’s life will no longer be an automatic reflex. You’ll hesitate and hesitation is death,” Cyrus said, edging his way out of the car. “Goodbye, Joan.”

  “Go to hell,” I snapped as he shut the door. “You’ve ruined everything!”

  The car revved to life and swerved onto the road with no warning. It seemed Cyrus had the decency to make sure I was strapped into my seat before we parted ways. I would have gone flying across the inside of the car otherwise.

  I closed my eyes. Watching a speeding car drive on its own would have been fascinating if some psychopath didn’t rewire my brain. The weather conditions were terrible but that didn’t slow the car down. I didn’t want to watch. I was trying to recover the tattered pieces of my memories. Most were foggy. Others I could see as clear as day but something felt off about them.

  Meanwhile, Dane was completely vulnerable. It would be so easy to kill him. I felt my fingers twitch but my mind refused to take the life of someone who wasn’t threatening mine. I tried to argue the fact that he threatened my life all the time but my conscience wasn’t buying it. I couldn’t kill Dane because I was no longer in control of my actions. There was a stranger in my mind, calling the shots. I would never be an agent again.

  How the hell was I supposed to walk away from this life when it was the only thing I knew? Dane made it quite clear that agents who walk get shot. This wasn’t my choice. Cyrus forced my hand. Cyrus ruined everything.

  A ringing sound made me lose my train of thought. I opened my eyes to see Theo’s name pop up on the Bluetooth dashboard. He was trying to call Dane. I was still finding it difficult to move. My limbs were too heavy to lift. I couldn’t answer with touch. It was called hands free for a reason.

  “Answer,” I said to the Bluetooth.

  The ringing stopped and a call timer showed on screen.

  Silence replied for a few heartbeats.

  “Dane?” Theo finally asked, sounding cautious and hesitant.

  “Not exactly,” I replied, struggling to find my voice.

  “Joan, it’s nice to hear from you again,” Theo said. “What happened? I got an alert on my phone when the car’s autopilot was activated. Dane never uses that unless it’s an emergency and he’s unfit to drive. I’m already on my way to the agency. Fill me in.”

  “Bit hard to. I’m pretty out of it.”

  “Are either of you mortally injured?”

  “No.”

  The car took a few sharp turns before Theo spoke again, “What am I walking into, Joan?”

  “Not a trap. Promise.”

  “Is Dane unconscious?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you check his pulse?”

  “I can barely move.”

  “Is he alive?”

  I doubt Cyrus would have made the effort of altering Dane’s memories or heaving him into the car if he was dead.

  “I think so,” I replied, unsure.

  “A definitive answer would be better.”

  Clambering onto the backseat in my condition while the car skidded on the road was just a recipe for disaster. I would end up falling flat on Dane. That would be awkward for everyone involved if he woke up.

  I gathered what strength I could to shuffle to the edge of my seat. I leaned around the back. Dane’s head was closer to me than his wrist. I pressed two fingers against his neck and felt a pulse beneath his cold skin.

  I found myself moving his hair to the side so I could see his face. The blonde was a lot darker when it was wet. He looked so peaceful while he was unconscious. The piercing grey eyes that usually gazed back at me were closed. His lips were slightly parted. I felt his breath on my skin as I continued to fiddle with his hair.

  I shook my head and returned back to my seat. What the hell was that about? My brain truly was fried.

  “Yes, he has a pulse,” I murmured.

  Theo released a breath he had been holding. “Good.”

  “For you, maybe. I don’t think I have much time left.”

  “Why?”

  “Cyrus made me utterly useless. He took away my bloodlust. I can’t kill anymore. Dane has no use for a washed up agent.”

  Theo didn’t know what to say to that. His silence was enough.

  “Yeah, I’m screwed. What am I supposed to do, Theo? I can’t run because Dane will find me. If I stay, I’m dead. There’s no way out of this. I’m freaking out, Theo. I’m freaking out because Cyrus rewired my brain and right now I can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s fake. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. I can’t walk away from being an agent but I have to. Cyrus forced my hand. I can’t shoot to kill. I doubt I can even hold a gun right now unless I know my life is in danger. I won’t be able to pull the trigger unless I’m mere seconds away from death. I don’t even know if I can still fight. I remember how to but the memories are hazy. Everything is hazy.”

  “Joan, slow down,” Theo told me, somehow managing to keep his tone firm yet soft at the same time. “We will work something out.”

  “How? I’m broken, more broken than I have ever been, and that’s saying a lot considering how much trauma I’ve been through. Dane will kill me, Theo. I don’t want to die.”

  “You’ve been an exception for most things. You’re more important to Dane than you realise. He won’t kill you, not because of this,” Theo reassured me. “Calm down. Speak to him when he regains consciousness and explain the situation. He might surprise you.”

  “There’s no need. I heard everything,” Dane said from the backseat.

  It took every nerve of steel I had left not to scream like a little girl. I managed to cover my mouth so my yelp was muffled. I wanted to commando roll out of the car. I was not ready for this conversation.

  Dane sat up shortly after he spoke. He massaged his temples with one hand. His eyes were still closed. I wondered how sore his head was after being knocked out and landing on concrete. At least his entire brain hadn’t been rewired. I would give anything to trade positions with him.

  “I’m not going to kill you,” Dane spoke softly. “I’ll move you to office work until we fix this.”

  “You and I both know that there’s no fixing this,” I said.

  “We can try. Cyrus isn’t the only one who can manipulate the mind,” Dane replied. He had to be referring to Anthony.

  “No. I am not letting anyone else into my head. That’s final,” I stated curtly.

  “Let us help you, Joan,” Theo said. I had almost forgotten he was still present.

  “No more magic. I’m done. I am so done,” I mumbled, resting my head on the window. “I just want to go home.”

  There was a short pause in the conversation as Dane took that into consideration.

  “That can be arranged,” Dane eventually said, leaning forward. He cancelled the autopilot. The car pulled over into the nearest street and parked itself; the engine was still running.

  Dane got out of the car and positioned himself in the driver’s seat not a moment afterwards. He chucked his jacket on the backseat.

  “Theo, head home. I have this under control,” Dane said, ending the phone call before Theo had the chance to speak. Those cold grey eyes fell on me. “Joan,
is there anything else you would like to tell me?”

  I am immortal. The agency killed my parents. I trained to become an assassin to bring the agency down from the inside. I planned to be your undoing but now I’m lost and don’t know how to be found.

  I slowly shook my head. “No, nothing at all.”

  Dane looked at me for a very long time before grasping the steering wheel. “Very well.”

  Epilogue

  I didn’t want to leave the house, not until I found myself again. I wouldn’t forgive Cyrus, not in a million years. He took everything away in just a few moments. He made me vulnerable. He turned me into the fragile doll strangers perceived me to be. I was no longer the Angel of Death. I was nothing but a washed up agent. My dreams of making the world a better place had slipped out of my hands.

  Renée showed up the next day with an apology present. I had never been mad at her, only Cyrus. Cyrus had ruined everything. He hadn’t bothered to give me a full explanation before altering everything about me. Taking away my bloodlust was supposedly the only way to save the world from destruction, which I found funny, considering I was trying to save the world, not destroy it.

  Renée came to be the peace keeper but I told her to stick it. Nothing said I’m sorry than an eight-month old husky that was already well trained, not to mention the cutest and sweetest dog I had ever met. I accepted the present but not the apology. I bonded with Sophie instantly. She helped me get back onto my feet and gave me the motivation I needed to keep going.

  Dane knew I would no longer be the top agent. He suggested to become a teacher and work at the academy. After what happened at the London academy, I wasn’t comfortable being near students. Instead, Dane moved me to a private office, giving me the desired space. I didn’t want to be around people.

  Dane was set on fixing me and throwing me back into fieldwork. I wasn’t going to let Anthony anywhere near me. There were too many secrets I held close to my heart. If Anthony got into my head, it would be game over.

  I took each day as it came. I tried to move past what Cyrus had done, to try and become the person I was. When I wasn’t snowed under with paperwork, I would spend time in the shooting range. Pulling a trigger was easy when my targets were inanimate. They didn’t bleed. They didn’t breathe. They didn’t have a heartbeat. They didn’t beg for their lives to be spared. I couldn’t kill unless my life was in danger.

  I would never be a field agent again. I wasn’t sure I would ever accept that. I just had to keep my chin up and think of the positives. I was still alive. I had Sophie, my furry pal. I still had Renée, the only friend I had left. Dane didn’t know I was a Tainted Being. Things could be a lot worse. I could be alone, or dead.

  Bringing the agency down would be no easy feat but I had come too far to walk away. There would come a day where Tainted Beings lived without the fear of being hunted. That was my dream. I needed to bring the agency down to accomplish that dream. I needed to change my game plan. I had time on my side. When you lived forever, all you had was time. I wasn’t done with this life, not yet. I had made Claire a promise and I had full intentions of keeping that promise. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

  ###

  About the Author

  Katelyn Anderson was born in New Zealand and is a proud Kiwi. She loves writing, watching anime, marathoning TV series and travelling. Fantasy and magic is a world she has always wanted to be a part of, which is why she became an author.

  Visit Katelyn’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatelynAnderson for updates and news about upcoming books.

  If you’ve enjoyed this book, please support the author by leaving a review at the store of purchase. Thank you!