Unraveling (The Lost Keepers Book 5)

by AR Colbert

  The world spun around me, my head throbbing forcefully. Millie had said the headaches were a symptom of my powers coming in. This was a traumatic event, right? Surely being flung up into the air by an invisible wind held by your arch-enemy’s equally powerful crony qualified. But was it enough to bring my true nature to light?

  I closed my eyes, tuning out everything except the way the wind whipped strands of hair across my cheeks. My mother was a messenger, like Devon. Maybe I inherited her powers. I thought about how Devon appeared in the storeroom at Millie’s apothecary. He’d arrived out of nowhere, as though he cut right through the fabric of this world and stepped into it from another. I could do that, too. I had to.

  My pulse quickened, along with the throbbing in my head. And right as it seemed to reach a fever pitch, I did it. Well, I thought about doing it. Technically my hands were still pinned to my sides, but mentally, I cut right through that invisible wind that bound me. I imagined stepping straight through it. Right out of this world and into…

  Nothing. I stepped nowhere. My eyes opened to see the same terrifying sight as before. All I got from my efforts was a worsened headache.

  Tate and Osborne rolled over one another in a good old fashioned fist fight down below. I supposed when two sirens squared off against each other, their glamour became ineffective. And Daniel couldn’t help his friend. Not without dropping me.

  After a particularly solid hit to Osborne’s jaw, Tate broke away. He reached for the top of the shipping containers and gracefully pulled himself up, like a panther leaping into a tree. He landed with ease and turned his focus back to Daniel. Osborne wasn’t far behind, reaching for the container right behind Tate.

  Hurry, I thought. If Osborne gets to Daniel before you, I’m toast. Tate looked up to me, and even from my height I could see the gold of his eyes glittering with determination in the sunshine. He moved away from the edge, dashing around to the other side of Daniel right as Osborne reached the rooftop. Daniel turned, and I went flying with him. His hands barely moved, but I probably flew thirty feet across the sky.

  Hurry up, Tate. Do something.

  He and Osborne circled around Daniel, who must’ve been getting shaky. My steady, invisible wind prison in the sky grew more turbulent with every passing second. I heard shouting again, but still couldn’t make out what the guys were saying over the whipping of the wind and the distance between us.

  Then I saw it—a flash of white from the corner of my eye. I turned in time to see my friend—my true hero—the owl, right as he swooped down from across the way. A grin spread across my face. I was going to be saved.

  I watched with bated breath as the owl dove straight for Daniel. “Wait,” I whispered to myself as I understood what was happening. “Wait, no!”

  The owl collided with Daniel’s outstretched arms, and all three men turned to me with similar looks of shock as Daniel’s control over me was severed. The owl’s impact sent me flying fast, moving almost horizontally through the air before I began my descent.

  And as I began my fall, I swore I heard a familiar voice in my mind. It said everything was going to be okay. I looked at the rapidly approaching water and prayed that the voice was right.

  CHAPTER 11

  The water came at me like a wall, the murkiness of its depths contrasted by the light reflecting off of its choppy surface. Other details came to me as well, like a water bug paddling lazily across the top of a wave, and the bubbles that popped up to the surface near the cement wall of the cargo dock.

  And then it dawned on me—I wasn’t falling anymore. Or rather, I wasn’t speeding toward the water. I reached out and touched the surface, the tips of my fingers barely breaking through to the wetness below. Had Daniel stopped me?

  No. The wind was gone. I scanned back over the water’s surface to confirm my suspicions. The bug was still. The bubbles ceased. Time had stopped. Again.

  Maybe it was the owl—he was the only piece of the world still alive the last time this happened. “What am I supposed to do?!” I yelled. But the owl didn’t respond. Of course it didn’t respond. It was an animal, and it was still up on the dock with the Agarthians.

  I reached out to slap the water out of frustration. A small splash was followed by concentric rings of waves. I watched them in awe as they moved unnaturally through the otherwise motionless, dark surface. I could still interact with the world, the world just couldn’t interact with me. How very interesting.

  Everything is going to be okay. It wasn’t a voice I heard. Not exactly. There weren’t physical words or sounds in my brain, but there was a reassurance. Maybe it was just me talking to myself, but at this point, anything was possible. I believed the words, no matter where they came from.

  And just as quickly as everything had stopped, time snapped back into motion and I plunged headfirst into the cold and dirty water of the Long Island Sound.

  Air escaping my lungs bubbled up from my mouth as I dropped through the water. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t prepared. I hadn’t even gotten a final lungful of air to last me a couple of short, final minutes.

  I opened my eyes, looking for something I could possibly grab a hold of to stop me from sinking to the bottom. If I had any breath left, the sight before me would have taken it all away. I could see everything—every particle of dust, every piece of trash lining the bottom of the sound, every bug and fish that surrounded me. It was like I watched the water through a lens.

  I paused for a moment, staring in wonder at the way the sun’s rays bent through the waves to glitter off the silvery scales of a tiny school of fish wiggling their bodies past me. I reached for one, momentarily distracted by their beauty.

  The fish swam away too fast for me to touch. But me? I wasn’t moving much at all. My feet swayed back and forth, casually treading water like I’d seen so many people do before. It was a skill I’d never mastered. And now I didn’t even have to think about it. The skill had become ingrained within me. It was a part of me now. I kicked harder, propelling myself up to the water’s surface as easily as I might kick a playground ball.

  My cheeks broke free, feeling the breeze and the sunshine kiss my face. But I wasn’t done yet. I wanted more. With a grin, I dove back under the water, faster and freer than I’d ever felt on land. I sped through the water, delighting in the feel of its ripples across my skin. My lungs didn’t burn. I didn’t feel the need to come up for air at all. It was like I didn’t have to breathe. Or maybe I was breathing. All I knew was that this was what life was supposed to feel like.

  With a kick and a twirl, I circled back through the waves to the area where I’d first fallen in. As much as I would have loved to swim and play in the water all day, there were some major issues taking place on the cargo dock. Tate was fighting against two of his own kind, and he needed help. An hour before I was a worthless companion for him. Just dead weight he had to fight to keep alive. But now—now I felt power surging through my muscles. My blood pumped energy and vitality to every stretch of my body. I was strong. I was Atlantean. And there was nothing Osborne could do to stop me.

  I reached the edge of the concrete and came up to the air just in time to see my hunter dive into the sound above me. His entire body seemed to glow with a warm, earthy golden hue, almost tangerine in color—like a sunset, or the light of dawn. I stilled, entranced by the sight of him. He’d had a running start and flew out across the water’s surface, breaking through like a swan, elegant but strong. I waited a moment longer to see if Osborne or Daniel would follow, but no one came. Tate was alone.

  With a grin, I dove back in and spotted the back of his head as he scanned the water below, looking for me. I reached him in half a second, and he spun around to face me at the exact moment I reached him. Something went taut in my chest as his eyes met mine, and I felt drawn to reach out and touch him, like there was an invisible thread tying us together. I reached for his hand, the electric sensation that bloomed between us feeling stronger than ever beneath the water, and
motioned upward. His eyes grew to half dollars, and with one kick, I propelled us both back up to the surface.

  We emerged through the surface of the sound, and Tate shook water free from his hair and his eyes, then pulled his hand from mine. His jaw dropped and his breathing was heavy. “You’re swimming.”

  I grinned. “I’m pretty good at it, too.”

  He reached slowly toward my face and paused, pulling his hand back again and examining it. I still felt it, too. A humming sensation, pleasant and warm where we’d touched.

  “You’re not fractured.” His voice was barely a whisper, and confusion contorted his handsome features.

  “Nope. I’m Atlantean.”

  His face remained twisted as his eyes darted back and forth over me. He shook his head. “No. You’re not Atlantean.”

  “What are you talking about?” I looked around, my senses sharper than humanly possible. I could hear birds chirping a few blocks over in the small park near a pier. I smelled the exhaust of a delivery vehicle somewhere in the distance, and noted the logo of a passenger plane soaring through the clouds overhead. I was strong. I was full of life. I was definitely a Keeper now.

  “Your aura… it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  The sound of footsteps over my shoulder clattered loudly through my ears. Osborne and Daniel were on their way. Tate put a hand on my shoulder and shoved me back below the water, pushing hard until I floated beneath his feet. And there I stayed, certain that he must have had a good reason to keep me hidden from them.

  What had he meant about my aura? I’d seen his—a gorgeous golden color like the sunlight of an autumn morning. But looking down at my own arms and legs, I saw nothing. What did Tate see? And what was it supposed to look like?

  Whatever it was, he didn’t trust it to keep me safe from Osborne. Though the water was plenty murky enough to conceal me at my current depth, I swam lower, nearing the bottom of the sound just to be safe.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed, and I realized it didn’t matter. I could stay under the water forever if I wanted to. Being an Atlantean was amazing. When Tate’s face reappeared below the water’s surface, searching for me, I was almost reluctant to leave.

  Almost. But the feeling in my chest drew me upward, closer to him. He took my hand, and together we swam back up to the water’s surface. Back up top, Tate scanned me again. His beautiful eyes moved quickly over every inch of me, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “I can’t take your soul,” he said.

  “Because it’s whole?” I asked hopefully. “I’m not fractured.”

  “No. You’re not fractured. I don’t know what you are.”

  CHAPTER 12

  “I feel awful about soaking this poor girl’s upholstery in salt water.” I looked at Tate in the driver’s seat to see if my efforts to lighten the mood had any effect on him at all, but he remained lost in thought. I sighed. “Are you going to explain to me what is going on, or not? You said my aura wasn’t Atlantean. What is it, then?”

  He glanced warily at me from the corners of his eyes, then turned back to the road without answering. I groaned and leaned my head against the window.

  “I’ll leave her some money,” he said.

  “Huh?”

  “To have the car detailed. That water is rancid.”

  The water didn’t seem all that bad to me, but maybe it was due to my new affinity for it. The car rolled to a stop in front of my apartment building. “Thanks for bringing me home,” I said.

  Tate killed the engine and pushed his door open. “Oh, I’m not dropping you off. I’m not going anywhere until we figure this out.”

  Ignoring the thrill of excitement I felt at the thought of hanging out with Tate a little while longer, I simply nodded. “No one wants to understand what you’re talking about more than I do.”

  He pulled open the door to my building and allowed me to step in before him. He was such a gentlemanly assassin. We walked to the elevator, and I couldn’t help but notice how Tate shifted nervously on his feet as the doors closed us in together. The elevator had never felt so small. The feeling in my chest emerged again, and I resisted the pull to him. We were like opposite ends of a magnet, fighting to prevent ourselves from snapping right together.

  I looked away, determining the buzzy tingle that washed over me was still a warning. If I wasn’t a true Atlantean, as Tate indicated, could he still hunt me? Was my soul still in danger? It was the only explanation I had for this strange sensation I continued to feel when I was near him.

  The doors opened on my floor and we raced each other to exit the elevator, each of us eager to put some space between ourselves. But the plan backfired. We ran into each other and stumbled clumsily out into the hallway.

  His hands settled on my hips to steady me when I tripped, and he didn’t immediately pull them away. His heart raced as fast as mine. I could hear it now with my heightened senses. His eyes dropped down to my lips, and I lifted my chin without even thinking.

  But he didn’t kiss me. He lifted a hand and brushed his thumb across my chin and up onto my lower lip. “Your scar is gone.” His thumb lingered there, warm and soft, and I didn’t want him to pull it away. His touch was everything. It was like I was under his spell, but there was no glamour there. And based on the look in eyes, he was just as enchanted.

  The sound of a door slamming open down the hall startled us quickly apart. I turned to find Dom’s wide eyes staring back at me.

  “Everly! You—nevermind. I’m glad you’re here. I need your help!” Her face was pale, and twisted into a terror I couldn't imagine.

  Tate and I rushed over to the apartment and followed Dom inside. Gayla lay prone in the middle of our living room floor, convulsing. I immediately dropped by her side, Dom taking position across from me.

  Reaching for her hand, I pleaded with her, softly. “Gayla, can you hear me? Please. Please… you’ve got to be alright.” I looked up at Dom, noting the panic flashing in her eyes. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I just got back from class and found her like this. I walked in just before you did... I—I don’t know,” she said again, her voice cracking.

  Tate crossed the room and picked up a small brown envelope from the arm of our couch, cursing under his breath. He crushed the empty paper in his fist. “It’s the pills from Viv.”

  “Pills?” Dom asked.

  “What’s going to happen to her? Is she dying?” I gently moved a piece of white-blond hair from her face.

  He knelt beside us and felt her forehead. Then, with careful fingers, he lifted her lids. Dom and I gasped in unison. Her beautiful brown eyes were deep black pools, swirling in a way that reminded me of an ominous thunderhead before a storm. Foam leaked from the corners of her mouth as her body continued to be wracked with violent tremors.

  “I don’t think so,” Tate said. “Just stay here with her until this passes.”

  We held her hands and I whispered silent prayers until all of a sudden, it stopped. Her body went rigid as a board, then her eyes popped open and she sat up tall, ramrod straight.

  “Scoot back,” Tate said.

  We did as we were told. Gayla said nothing at first. She didn’t move. She barely looked to be breathing. When her lips finally parted, it wasn’t her voice we heard at all. It was the sound of another creature—a thousand otherworldly voices speaking as one.

  “He sees you coming, Deliverer.

  He knows your story.

  They’ve hidden him in the cleft of the rock, but the beacon still stands.

  He watches the waves.

  He waits for you.

  It won’t be long now.

  It won’t be long.

  He sees you coming.

  Go.

  Go now.

  You must GO!”

  Gayla stilled again. Her lids grew heavy and closed over the storms in her eyes. She swayed, and Dom dove forw
ard with a pillow to catch her fall just before she hit the floor. I reached out and released a breath of relief as I felt her pulse, strong and regular.

  “I think she’s going to be alright,” I said. “But what was that?”

  “A vision,” Tate said.

  “It’s never happened like that before.” Dom shook her head. “Where did the drugs come from?” she glared first at Tate, then turned her hard eyes on me. “Oh, Everly.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t know. She’s going to be alright though, right Tate?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I think she just needs to rest. But those words…” He turned to Dom. “What do you know about the Deliverer?”

  “Nothing. I’ve never heard anything like that in my life.”

  Tate frowned.

  “What do you know about it, Tate?” I asked. “Is this something we should be concerned about?”

  “I don’t know. I remember a story about it. I only heard it once, as a child.” He scratched the back of his head. “Technically, I overhead it during one of my brother’s lessons.”

  Dom made an O shape with her mouth, and I suspected there were a few more layers to that simple statement. But I’d have to save my questions for another time.

  “There were rumors once of a prophecy. It spoke of a Deliverer, who would one day come to the earth and reunite the people—every race, every creed, every color. But the change would destroy the Keepers. It’s folklore, of course… just a story parents used to tell their children when they fought with their siblings. They’d warn the children to settle down or they might bring on the Deliverer.” He laughed, humorlessly.

  “But several years ago a man became obsessed with the so-called prophecy. He lost his mind while trying to piece it together. The lesson I heard given to my brother was more of a reminder. We are to erase evidence of this story from our history. It’s damaging when taken seriously, and my brother was instructed to report any indication that the rumors may be spreading through Agartha.”