Drop of Hope

by Jamie A. Waters

  She shook her head. “No, I need to see Jason.”

  “Do you want some water?”

  She nodded, unsure if it would help, but the alternative would have her trembling in the corner and unable to stand. There hadn't been enough time between the nightclub and being in this situation now. But she couldn't walk away. Through the bond she shared with Jason, he had a muted version of her ability to pick up emotions. If Jason had been here for any significant amount of time, he had to be experiencing more than a little discomfort. As annoyed as she was with him, she wouldn't leave him suffering.

  Brant walked forward quickly, issuing some orders to other security officers. He brought over a glass of water and said, “They're arranging a private room for you to see Jason. It may help with some of the discomfort.”

  Ariana took a drink of the water, letting it sit on her tongue for a moment and using it to reinforce the protective energy surrounding her. The coolness of the water down her throat helped too. She'd need to completely submerge herself once she was finished in here. A strong wave of energy flowed through her connection from Alec, and she lifted her head to look at him.

  The love in his eyes was staggering. He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “Take whatever you need, love.”

  “Thank you,” she managed, sending a gentle wave of gratitude and love over him. He pressed a kiss against her forehead, embracing her again with his power.

  Brant cleared his throat and gestured down the hall. “Jason's in the center room. The adjacent rooms are empty.”

  Alec nodded, taking her hand and leading her toward the room. Jason was seated at the only table, his head resting on his hands. He appeared to be asleep, but the noise of the door opening made him look up with red-rimmed eyes.

  Jason leaned back with a sardonic grin and drawled, “Well, if it isn't Alec Tal'Vayr. Shouldn't you be out trying to fuck my sister or something? Oh wait, it's Hayden's turn tonight, isn't it?”

  Ariana gasped at the hurtful words and the wave of anger that nearly suffocated the room. She took a small step backward, but Brant had already closed the door behind them. Jason leaned over, narrowing his eyes on her. He jumped up, knocking his chair over backward. “You bastard! You brought my sister here? What the hell are you thinking?” He started to walk toward her but tripped on the leg of the table and fell to the floor in a heap.

  “Jason!” Ariana rushed over to him and knelt beside him to see if he was hurt. He batted her hands away and collapsed against the floor laughing. She pulled back, thoroughly confused. She'd never seen him like this. Alec reached down and pulled her up and into his arms.

  “I don't understand,” she murmured. “Why is he acting like this?”

  Jason looked up at her, alternating between laughing and crying. Tears ran down his cheeks, but his emotions were a chaotic swirl she couldn't even begin to decipher. The energy threads were jumbled and distorted, overlapping and intertwining where they shouldn't. It was almost as though the surrounding energy wasn't resonating with his anymore.

  “I'm sorry, Ari-bella,” he managed, wiping tears from his eyes. “You don't have to keep worrying about me. I'll be okay soon. I'll be as powerful as you, and I can protect you again.”

  She gripped Alec's arms and shook her head. “There's something wrong with him, Alec. He's not drunk. This is something else.”

  “I agree,” he said and released her. He knelt beside Jason. “Did you take something?”

  “Like you're trying to take my sister?” Jason stared up at the ceiling. “You can't have her, Alec. You'll break her, and I can't lose her. But Hayden wants her too. I promised him. He's going to save her.”

  Ariana clenched her fists and glared at her brother. If he wasn't out of his mind right now, she'd kick him. “What do you mean? What did you promise him, Jason?”

  Her brother didn't answer. His head lolled to the side, and he squinted at Alec as though trying to focus on him.

  Alec snapped his fingers in Jason's face. “What did you take?”

  “Nope, I know the rules,” he announced and then his gaze shifted, focusing on her standing behind Alec. “Hey, Ari, I heard Hayden took you to his club. Whaddya think?”

  “I think you're a fool,” she hissed. “Look at you, Jason. I left you this morning nursing a hangover, and here you are, rolling around on the floor in a security office. Answer Alec's question. What did you take?”

  “Is father here yet?” he drawled, his head rolling to the other side to stare at the wall. “I think it's time to go home.”

  “You're not going anywhere yet,” Alec announced, walking over to Brant and exchanging a few quiet words with him. Brant entered something in his commlink.

  While they were busy, Ariana decided to try again. She knelt on the floor near her brother. “Please, Jason. I'm worried about you. Tell me what you took. How can we fix this?”

  He gave her a dopey smile and managed to shake his head. “It's already fixed, little sister. I just have to get used to it. It's not so bad. Not normally.”

  “Little sister? You're only three minutes older,” she snapped. “Now talk. Get used to what?”

  “I can't tell you,” he said with a frown, reaching out to touch her arm. “You're too powerful. I can't protect you anymore. I failed you, Ari. I'm so sorry.”

  “I don't understand!” Her eyes started to tear up from frustration. What was happening to him? “You do protect me. You always have. You're not making any sense.”

  He squinted up at her as though she kept going in and out of focus. “You like Hayden, right?”

  Ariana blew out a breath. She'd seen Jason drunk, but this went beyond his normal level of intoxication. “He's very nice, but what does that have to do with anything? Did he give you whatever you took tonight? Did he cause all of this? Jason, please tell me so we can fix this.”

  “You should be with Hayden,” Jason slurred. “Stay away from Alec. He can't have you. Hayden promised…” His voice trailed off as his eyes closed.

  “Jason? Jason, answer me!” she cried, reaching down to make sure he was breathing. His heart was still beating, but it was thready. His breathing was shallow too. Brant was already beside her and checking his vital signs. She held her hands out, but the energy around him was too chaotic.

  “I don't think I can heal him,” she told Brant, panic beginning to flare inside her. “The energy threads aren't resonating with him. Something's wrong.”

  Brant spoke into his commlink, ordering an emergency medic to their location. He pressed a small cylinder injection against Jason's arm. It beeped a moment later and Brant pulled it away.

  Alec knelt on the other side of her. “Try, Ari. They're going to be a few minutes, and I'm not sure what's wrong with him.”

  Ariana swallowed and nodded, reaching out to place her hands directly on Jason's clammy skin. She sent her senses outward, trying to discern whether she could encourage his energy to resonate with the surrounding threads. She knew Jason's energy signature as well as her own, so it should have been easy, but his energy was stunted and misaligned.

  Why was it so different? She bit her lip, wondering if it were possible to change someone's base alignment. She looked over at Brant. “I know you can't manipulate energy without Kayla, but can you see the threads?”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “What do you have in mind?

  She gestured to the surrounding threads. “I want to try bringing Jason's energy back into alignment, close to my own. Our energy is always shifting and changing, but his is especially erratic. Can you suppress or negate some of the outlying bands so I can work on the ones closer to him? I can't heal him until he's stable.”

  Alec knelt beside her and frowned. “I've never heard of such a thing being possible. You can bring someone's energy back into alignment?”

  “I'm going to try,” she whispered, hoping this would work.

  Brant studied Jason and nodded. Lifting his hands, he said, “It may make it difficult for you to wo
rk around me.”

  “I guess we get to find out whether I can manipulate shadow energy,” she replied, focusing once again on each of the threads around Jason. To her, energy had a wide variety of different characteristics, more than most of her kind experienced. For them, it was simply broken down into elements. But she saw thousands of colors, heard different sounds, tasted different flavors, and smelled hundreds of scents to go along with those elemental alignments. If she could manage to sort them correctly, maybe she could heal him.

  For over an hour, she worked around Brant's shadow energy and picked apart each thread, humming softly as she reset the alignment back to Jason's. The world became a sharp focus of color, harmony, and emotion, all intertwined to reside inside her brother. As she finished the threads closest to him, she moved outward, this time working directly through Brant's energy. It was more difficult to manipulate the threads, but Brant was keeping them stable and that's what she needed. She continued to hum, trying to determine which energy thread reacted to the tones in her wordless song.

  It was at least another hour before she was close to being finished, and she could barely keep her eyes open. Alec tried to hand her some water, but she shook her head, not willing to tear her gaze away from her brother.

  “Can I give you some of my strength, Ari? I don't know if it'll interfere.”

  “No, I can't risk it,” she replied, determined to get through this. The alternative was unthinkable. “I'm almost finished. I just need to do a little more.”

  She blinked her eyes, trying again to focus on the energy threads. They were so close to her signature now, and her brother was breathing much easier. She hummed again, watching to see which energy thread reverberated, and then she plucked it out of the mix, twisting and aligning it with hers. Once she finished the remainder, she was barely able to sit upright.

  Alec put his hands on her shoulders. “I can help you heal him.”

  Ariana nodded, and Alec's power swept through her, supplementing her weakening strength. She'd need to sleep for several hours, possibly in the bottom of a pool, but she could handle the rest. Placing her hands once again on Jason's skin, his warmer skin under her fingertips was a reassurance she'd been more than moderately successful.

  Taking a deep breath, she sent her senses outward once more, shifting and aligning his energy until he was healed. With a relieved sigh, she announced, “It's done. He'll probably sleep for a while though. You won't be able to get any useful information out of him until then.”

  She started to stand but stumbled, the drain from using her abilities more than she expected. Alec wrapped his arm around her before she fell, holding her against him. He helped her into a chair and handed her the water she'd refused earlier. The drink didn't help nearly enough. Her strength was too depleted. She needed rest more than anything.

  The medics were now checking Jason out and arranging to take him back to the medical ward where they'd monitor him until he recovered. Once he was better, she was going to hurt him again for pulling such a stupid stunt. But that would have to wait until later. Unable to keep her eyes open, she lowered her head against her arm and slipped into a deep slumber.

  “I want at least two security officers and one Shadow with him until we get some answers,” Alec ordered as the medics took Jason out of the room and down to the medical wing. “You took a blood sample from Jason?”

  Brant nodded and showed him the vial. “I'll send it over to the lab and have the analysis expedited. I'll also have it compared to the vial Lars acquired from the club. Do you want me to notify Devan Alivette that his son is in medical?”

  “I don't believe we have much of a choice,” Alec replied, not particularly pleased with the idea. He might have more flexibility if Devan wasn't already furious that he'd taken Ariana and Jason to the surface. “Notify him but have a security officer present to serve as a reminder of the severity of the situation when Devan arrives. I want answers, but I suspect Devan will be reluctant to allow any sort of interrogation involving Jason. We need whatever leverage we can get. He controls too many votes on the High Council.”

  “Understood,” Brant replied, entering some commands into his commlink.

  Alec looked through the glass door at Ariana sleeping with her head on the desk. The stark setting of the security office was almost offensive compared to the peaceful serenity surrounding her. In a low voice, he asked, “She was able to circumvent your energy, wasn't she?”

  Brant looked over at Ariana and nodded. “Yes. I didn't have a chance to tell you earlier, but her abilities affect me as well. She was sending a calming wave to Lars and Sergei earlier, and I stepped into the area of effect.”

  Alec's eyes widened a fraction. “Like Kayla? Ariana can use her energy to influence Shadows and avoid your negating effects?”

  “It appears so,” Brant admitted. “I don't know what it is about the two of them, but it makes me wonder if there are others in the towers who are able to do the same. Our abilities may not be as reliable as we once believed. This could have widespread repercussions.”

  Alec glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. Kayla's announcement about her abilities to affect the Shadows had caused an uproar within the Inner Circle. He wasn't sure the towers could withstand another announcement so soon, or what it could mean for Ariana's more sensitive nature. If people realized she had the ability to manipulate an entire room and turn them to her way of thinking without restriction, it could be disastrous.

  “You're right. This can't get out. Ariana may be willing to conduct some tests to determine the scope of her abilities, but we need to proceed cautiously. Any investigation involving her should be strictly controlled. If the wrong people found out how easily she can read them or manipulate their emotions, she'll be a target.”

  “I agree,” Brant said, tapping another order into his commlink before closing the device. “She's strong but also fragile. Kayla's more like a steamroller, but it was only Kayla's inexperience that made her susceptible to outside influence. Ariana is far more skilled than I ever imagined, but she's still vulnerable.” Brant paused for a moment. “With your permission, I'd like to wire Hayden's living quarters.”

  “I can't risk it yet,” Alec replied, keeping an eye on the hallway to make sure no one was approaching.

  Hayden was somehow tied up in this mess, but Lars was right. They needed to be careful so Hayden couldn't make any accusations against him. Until Ariana publicly accepted his claim, he had to tread lightly around the fire channeler.

  “I want Jason's medical room monitored though. I'll speak with him once he awakens and hopefully get some information from him. Otherwise, we may be able to learn something from one of his visitors. Have the results from the vial come back yet? Do we know what the substance is?”

  “Not yet. It's proving challenging. Based on Ariana's earlier comments, I believe we may have to enlist some trusted Inner Circle members to assist with the analysis.”

  “Very well, I'll reach out to some of my contacts,” Alec agreed with a sigh. There were too many questions and not enough answers. The number of Inner Circle members he trusted with sensitive information was getting smaller every day.

  “Alec,” Brant began and then hesitated. “I don't want to overstep myself, but I would be remiss in not saying something.”

  Alec arched an eyebrow. Brant was one of the few people he trusted implicitly. The fact his half-brother was apprehensive about saying something was more than a little curious. “You know I value your opinion and thoughts, Brant. What is it?”

  Brant sighed. “I've known how you felt about Ariana for a long time. When the bond with Kayla broke, I'd hoped it would be an opportunity for you to pursue something with Ariana.”

  Alec nodded. He'd suspected as much.

  “But I have some concerns,” Brant explained, glancing in Ariana's direction again. “I know Hayden has more than a passing interest in her, but Sergei does as well. Earlier tonight, I saw her and Sergei toge
ther, and then I reviewed the surveillance feed from Hayden's club. Sergei is extremely protective and solicitous toward her. I believe it goes far beyond a mild interest. I suspect she may reciprocate some of his feelings.”

  Alec frowned, and he glanced again at her sleeping form. “I'm aware. She told me of her attraction to him. She's curious about non-sensitives, and Sergei is a way to alleviate that curiosity. Other than a kiss the other day, I don't believe anything of consequence has happened between them.”

  “What?” Brant’s eyes widened a fraction. “I apologize. I wasn't aware you knew about their interactions.”

  Alec shrugged. “I'm not happy about it, but I'm not overly concerned about it either. She's been more than forthcoming about her interest in Sergei. She cares for him, but then again, I've never met anyone she doesn't care about in some way. It's just who she is. I don't believe her interest is serious.”

  “I see, but that brings up another concern,” Brant said with a frown. “If she rebukes him, it may cause problems with our alliance. We're already behind schedule with the construction, and I'm not sure what will happen if we're unable to meet our deadline. If Sergei becomes angry that Ariana's chosen you over him, it could affect the outcome. We've allowed the Coalition a great deal of access to the towers, but we haven't sent our people to their satellite camps. I'm afraid we're at a strategic disadvantage.”

  Alec clasped his hands behind his back. “The Council has discussed sending an envoy to some of their camps for specifically that reason, but we're still deciding who should go and when. I was hoping you would be one of the people to go when things settle down. There are few in the towers that I would trust to act on my behalf.”

  Brant blinked, the only indication Alec's words had caught him off guard. “Thank you, Alec. I appreciate your trust.”

  “As far as Ariana is concerned,” Alec began, glancing at her again through the glass, “Lars doesn't seem to think the situation with him will be a problem. I don't know Sergei well, and I'm not overly fond of him, but I believe his first loyalty is to his people. I don't believe he'll do anything to jeopardize that.”