Siren Rises (The Rise of Ares Book 3)

by Jade Frances

  "I need to get Cole out. I can't stay in a guardian’s outpost forever and I won't leave him here, Pearce," I muttered. He stroked my hair, tucking stray hands behind my ear, and I relaxed into his embrace.

  "I'll figure it out, the others will help me," he replied.

  "No," I snapped back, "I don't want them getting into any kind of trouble. They can have a life here, be safe. It's only me that Avetta hates," I toned down the panic in my voice.

  "I have to at least tell my brother's Evangeline. I won't be able to get him out on my own," he tried to reason with me. I took a moment to think about it, then nodded my acceptance. I would have to see the girls at some point and try to convince them to stay here. That was not going to be easy, but they should be able to see my reasoning. Egan and Barak, I'm sure, would respect Pearce and keep quiet about Cole. At least until they had gotten him free and safe. Every fibre in my being wanted to help, but there was no way that I could risk going into the academy. There was a high chance that I wouldn't make it back out.

  "Do you think you can do it?" I asked sheepishly, not wanting to offend him.

  "I'm a beast, remember," he gave me a slight smile and held me at arm’s length. When he saw that I wasn’t smiling, he continued. "It will be fine, I'll get him out and we can all run far away."

  "You want to come with us... to wherever we will go," I whispered, slightly surprised that he would be willing to walk away from his life here for me.

  "Of course, Evangeline, I am your guardian," he replied and kissed my forehead. A slight sense of disappointment filtered through me. Was it just because he was my guardian that he would take that risk?

  Another knock on the door interrupted us, and without thinking I swung it open. Only moments later did I remember the amount of people that would be hunting me down right now. Luckily, it was only Adam and Dakota. They both wandered into the room. Adam's eyes fell on everything but me and Pearce, whereas Dakota was standing there with a steely gaze on her face watching him. I rolled my eyes and huffed.

  "Pearce had the idea that we could go to one of the guardian’s outposts, LJ's to be precise."

  "Who is this LJ?" Dakota retorted. Pearce’s tense shoulders informed me that he had picked up on her animosity. That, and the fact he stepped in front of me.

  "He is a trusted friend," he didn't elaborate further. Adam, sensing the tension building in the room, touched Dakota's arm and told her that it was the best option we had right now. Pearce gave me another kiss on my forehead and strolled past the two of them, not taking his sight of off Dakota.

  "I'll go talk to my brother's, don't leave before I'm back. And Evangeline, don't open the door without getting a feel for who is on the other side please," he gave me a pointed look. I nodded in return and threw myself onto my bed.

  "So, you guys going to just stand there?" I waved my arms around and pointed at the chair and the window seat. As if reluctant, they both ambled further into the room, taking the window seat. From the corner of my eye, I could see Adam glancing nervously between me and Dakota. "You guys don't have to bother, you know. No one is looking for either of you, you can go back to your packs." Adam looked at me in shock, while Dakota looked like she would happily leave and never look back.

  “I’m bonded to you, Evvy, and even if I wasn’t… you mean a lot to all of us. I wouldn’t leave you alone in this,” Adam replied. Dakota snorted and rolled her eyes at him.

  “And you, Dakota? You are free to leave,” I looked directly at her, a small part of me hoping that she would.

  “I’ll go where Adam goes, plus, your powers can’t be trusted without me,” she replied bluntly, unhappy with Adam’s choice no doubt.

  Well, that’s that then. The four of us plus Cole, to embark on an adventure together, how fun. Now I just had to find a way to tell the girls that they wouldn’t be coming with us. Before I could so much as come up with a plan, a high burst of energy outside my door alerted me to the girl’s presence.

  Sandra was first to charge through the room.

  “Before you say anything, no, you are not leaving without us. And I think you should maybe look outside,” she barked at me, ignoring the presence of Adam and Dakota in the room. I gave her and Rose a quizzical look, then made my way over to the window. Streams of people were breaking out of the tree line in the grounds, some were carrying what looked like bodies, others were stumbling toward the academy.

  “What the hell--?” I spun around to the girls, looking for an explanation.

  “People are arriving from all over, their homes have been attacked. We heard a few of them saying there’s something in the darkness, creatures that they’ve never seen,” Rose explained what she could. “And Evvy, Sandra is right. You aren’t leaving here without us.”

  I sighed and made my way back to my bed. I had no idea how to keep them here, how to keep them safe. But I had to try.

  “I won’t be gone long. Hell, I don’t even know where I’ll be going. But you have to stay here, you have to stay safe. At least until we can be together again,” I pleaded with them both.

  “Your natural instinct is to run toward danger to protect those you love! You have done it countless of times now. Taylor had that same instinct and look where it got him. So please, Evvy, let us help you,” Sandra shrieked at me, tears glistened in her eyes. I looked at Rose, who was nodding in agreement and knew this was a fight that I wouldn’t win. I let out a sigh and held my arms out to them both. Triumphant in their small victory, they bounced over and joined me on the bed.

  “Erm, getting Evvy out was going to be hard enough… now everyone’s going?” Dakota raised her eyebrows at us all and stood with her hands on her hip.

  Before anyone could reply, a massive explosion and a blinding flash of light came from the main academy building. It shattered the window. A scream tore from my mouth as the glass rained down on us.

  “Pearce,” I screamed a moment later when I took in the destruction below. He better not have already been in that building.

  Chapter 6

  Everyone jumped into action so fast that I could barely comprehend what was happening around me. As I stared at the entrance to the academy building that was currently in flames, all I could think of was whether Pearce and Cole were in there. Whether they were injured and needed my help.

  “This is our chance to get out undetected, everyone move,” Dakota was yelling at all of us. Sandra and Rosemary had been a step ahead and had already run off to gather their things from their rooms. Adam was gently tugging me away from the window, pleading filled his eyes. I was stunned, rooted to the spot and unable to figure out exactly what had happened or why there had been an explosion. Dakota swung my duffel over her shoulder and nudged me, with a lot of force, toward the door. I stumbled and caught myself before I fell. I threw her a dirty look but had to admit that it pulled me out of my stupor.

  Only minutes later, we had all gathered in the hallway and were descending the stairs. I led the way out into the grounds, seeing as I was the only one who had been to LJ’s outpost. Once we reached the edge of the forest, each of us took off at a jog. I kept glancing back, hoping to see Pearce running toward us. But the only shadows we saw were all running to the academy and not away from it. As we neared the outpost, I faltered. Pearce might not have spoken to LJ yet, there was a chance that he would be willing to hand me over to Ares.

  “Hey,” Adam placed his hand on my shoulder, “what’s the hold up?”

  “I’m not sure this is a great idea,” I whispered. The coldness of the dark forest was biting at my skin now that I had stopped running. I crossed my arms and rubbed them, trying to generate a little heat.

  “I’ll go first, scope out the situation,” he said, and covered the small distance to the outpost. I heard the door creak open. LJ’s face appeared around it, he stood and took in the sight of all of us. Adam was muttering something hastily, but I couldn’t quite hear. After a few minutes, he turned and waved us over. Still feeling apprehensive, I
moved with caution toward them. When I was close enough, LJ pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. The affectionate gesture was followed by a hard pat on the back, then he held me at arm’s length.

  “What have you gotten yourself into now, girl?” a slight smile tugged at his lips. I shrugged in return and was grateful that he wasn’t shouting that I was here.

  “Always me huh, guess that’s what I get for being born into a family of power-hungry narcissistic men,” I tried to add humour to my tone, but the truth was all too real. With a squeeze of my shoulder, he ushered us inside. Once we had all squeezed into the small outpost, I had my first look around. It was bare, a couple of beaten armchairs and a small kitchen area were on the lower level. The rickety ladder that led up looked like it would break under even the smallest weight.

  “What’s up there?” I took the few small steps toward it.

  “Just a bed. Sometimes we do long shifts and need a quick rest bite.”

  “Is it not boring being out here? Just waiting for something to happen.” And lonely, I thought, but didn’t add.

  “It was until you got here, little siren,” he replied. I flinched at his use of the pet name Pearce called me. It only brought back the fear that he had been in the academy when the explosion happened. I sat on the bottom ring of the ladder and put my head on my knees. “You ok Evangeline?” LJ asked as I took a deep breath in and released it.

  “Has Pearce been here?” I whispered, not entirely sure that I wanted the answer.

  “Not here... I saw him at the academy a little while ago.”

  My stomach done a flip, and I leaned to the side of my legs to let out the unexpected retch that had risen up into my throat. Rosemary ran over to see if I was ok, but I couldn’t answer her, not yet. I took another few deep breaths and laid my head on my knees again. A jumble of thoughts crossed my mind, none of which I liked the outcome. After the loss of Taylor, I vowed never to feel that way again. What I hadn’t expected was that one day, I could lose Pearce. Once I had gotten my breathing steady, and my stomach settled, I rose from the ladder and looked around at the wayward gang. I can’t sit here and do nothing. Everyone seemed preoccupied, talking about the best route out of the academy. I ambled to the door, not wanting to draw attention to myself. Someone beat me to it. Adam. My shoulders sunk, and I dropped my head. I should have known out of everyone; he would have been the one watching me.

  “You’re not going to the academy, Evvy, it’s too dangerous out there,” he whispered, his eyes darted to the others. I stepped closer to him.

  “I can’t sit here and wait, Adam,” I hissed back. “I have to go back and find him.”

  Adam shook his head and sighed but didn’t move from the door.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that,” he replied sullenly. Another wave of nausea hit me, followed by a burning flame of rage.

  “Then if he dies, his death is on you,” I spat and stormed back to the ladder. I’d just have to wait for another opportunity to slink off. I knew that I was being unreasonable, Adam wanted to protect me. But who was going to protect Pearce. Not knowing where he was, was taking a toll on me and my mood was darkening with every second that passed. Adam’s head cocked to the side and he looked behind him to the door.

  “LJ, someone is approaching,” he stated. LJ rubbed a hand over his face and moved over to Adam.

  “Get everyone up the ladder, and stay quiet,” he commanded.

  Seeing as I was already sitting on the ladder, I was the first up to the small platform that held a single mattress. “How the hell are we going to fit up here,” I mumbled.

  “Budge over,” Dakota grumbled as she elegantly lifted herself into the small space. I shuffled to the furthest corner, eager not to be stuck next to her. Once we were all huddled on the mattress and what little surrounding floor space there was, LJ creaked the door open. We waited with bated breath to see who would approach. Every inch of me hoped that it was Pearce, but logic reminded me that I would have sensed his energy if it was.

  “Guardian, I need to speak with Evangeline,” a voice carried up to us. We could barely hear it, but I could have sworn I knew that voice.

  “She isn’t here, Sir,” LJ replied. All of a sudden, a burst of energy blasted my senses. One, that I most definitely knew. I vaulted across the others and was down the ladder before any of them could protest. I ran to the door and shoved LJ out of the way. Arms encased me as I ran into them.

  “Theodore,” I muttered into his shoulder. He squeezed me tight and gave me a quick once over.

  “You need to get out of here, I am here to assist in any way that I can Nzuri.”

  “Have you seen Pearce? I can’t leave without him.”

  Theodore shook his head, and again my mood darkened that little bit more.

  “He will be ok, he is strong, a survivor... wherever he may be, he will find his way back to you. This, I am sure.”

  “I can’t do this without him,” I whispered. Theodore grabbed me by the arms and shook me rather hard.

  “You can do anything you set your mind to. This is a war Nzuri, one you are, unfortunately, the centre of. If you stay here, all of our loss would have been for nothing. I will find your guardian and send him to you. Now I brought essentials, but I can only get you so far.” He moved out of the way to reveal five military style backpacks.

  “You masked your energy on your way here, why?” I gave him a dubious look.

  “I didn’t want to be followed,” he squeezed my arm gently and looked over my shoulder. I turned around to see the others had followed. Sandra had a look of disgust planted on her face as she took in the backpacks on the floor. Rosemary looked worried. Dakota was standing next to Adam; her features gave nothing away.

  “We are leaving without our guardians?” Rose pushed her way through the others to stand next to me and Theodore. “And Darryl?”

  Theodore nodded and held out a hand to her, which she took tentatively.

  “I will send them to you when I find them, but you are running out of time. I can hold a portal open for only a minute before others are alerted to its energy.” He let both of us go and stepped back. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to go back to the academy and find Pearce myself. He wouldn’t want you to put yourself at risk, my inner voice informed me. I sighed, picked up a backpack, and swung it over my shoulder. The others followed suit. LJ appeared from the outpost carrying the bags we had already prepared. I walked over to him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

  “Thank you, you know... for not giving me up,” I gave him a slight smile.

  “Sweetness, if I had, then I’d have Pearce to answer to. I’d rather have him as a friend than foe,” he chuckled, which lightened the mood somewhat. Until something occurred to me.

  “LJ, why aren’t you at the academy? It’s been attacked, surely as a guardian you should have been first there...” I tried not to sound accusatory, but my tone let me down. He sighed and again, rubbed his hand over his face.

  “Loyalties change little one, I guess mine is no longer to Avetta or the academy,” he paused, “a guardian’s life is not their own, I really would like to make my own choices.”

  I wondered then, if any of the guardians were happy with their roles. Roles that they had been born into and not chosen for themselves. I could attest to that all too well.

  “Come with us, it will be dangerous, maybe we won’t survive... but you would be able to choose,” I heard the pleading in my voice and the slight wobble at the end. Was I asking more for myself or him?

  “I can’t right now. But maybe I’ll help Theodore find the others and I could join you then...” he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me. Theodore was frantically waving his hands at me; I was out of time. I gave Lj another peck on the cheek.

  “Take care... find him for me ok,” I said, then turned my back to him and walked to Theodore.

  Green tendrils were already forming in his hands. They danced and began
to wisp themselves into something more solid. Once the doorway had been formed, Theodore had to choose a destination. With mere seconds to decide, I sensed his hesitance. But a shimmering mass appeared in the centre of the doorway.

  “Hurry, I cannot hold it,” Theodore muttered as sweat dripped down his forehead. One by one, my friends entered the portal. I hung back until they were all through.

  “Thank you, Theodore.” I touched my forehead to his briefly.

  “Stay safe, Nzuri,” he replied.

  Then I stepped through. Into a place, I had been certain that I would never see again.

  Chapter 7

  A newspaper blew across the ground, I grabbed it before it past me. Straightening it out, I read the headlines that were dated a month ago.

  Unprecedented times.

  Eclipse puts the world into an endless darkness.

  Avoid leaving your homes unless absolutely necessary.

  Crumpling it into a ball, I threw it to the side where many others were strewn.

  I looked around the alleyway that we had stepped into. It was even darker here than it had been in the forest. I edged my way out and looked around. A strong gale tore through the street, scattering rubbish across the deserted road in its wake. There was no sign of life, not even in the windows of the houses. It made the dark that bit more ominous.

  “What happened here?” I whispered into the silence.

  “Where did that bloody Fae send us?” Sandra’s voice made me jump. I turned to look at everyone, they had all been watching me. Aware that I recognised where we were.

  “Ferry,” I mumbled, “this is where I lived when I first met Avetta.” Of course, Adam already knew that. It was also where we’d had our first encounter. I met his eyes and saw the regret that filled them. He had been standing exactly where he was now, when he had first warned me. Even then, he had been trying to protect me. But I hadn’t listened, I had gone in search of answers. And now here we are, back to square one with quite literally the weight of the world on our, or my, shoulders.