Fractured Truth

by Rachel McClellan

  It wasn’t long, however, before their sounds were drowned out by the constant noise of copious amounts of water crashing on rock. The waterfall. Christian. We were almost there. My stomach lurched, causing me to double over.

  “What’s the matter, Llona?” Aaron asked behind me.

  I steadied myself on a nearby tree and straightened. “Nothing.”

  I kept moving, but the pain continued. I didn’t want to do this. See Christian. But before I could change my mind, his voice pierced the cold air.

  “You arrived safely, I see.”

  He stepped out from within the darkness, yet it still clung to him, as if an eternal shroud. Along with him came ten other Vykens. They pressed on all sides of us until we were standing against the water’s edge. A short distance away the river dropped from a steep cliff, misting the entire area.

  I looked everywhere but at Christian, even though I felt his eyes probing me as if he were an alien discovering his latest abductee. Sweat pooled in the small of my back.

  Rose stood between Dr. Han and I, expressionless. “I’m here,” she said. “Give us the ruby, and I will come with you.”

  Christian didn’t acknowledge her. “Hello, Llona. You look amazing tonight.”

  “Give us the ruby,” I said.

  “You mean this ruby?” Christian held it up in the moonlight. The stone, the size of a child’s fist, was blood red, and there was something about it that made me shiver. “I’ll give it to you, but only if you honor our agreement.”

  On the other side of me, Aaron was shifting back and forth, like he was itching for a fight.

  “How’s May?” I asked, hoping Christian would give an answer that might calm Aaron down.

  Christian’s eyes flashed to Aaron. “She’s well. We all like her a whole lot. Isn’t that right, boys?”

  Several Vykens around him chuckled.

  Aaron sprung at Christian. I stepped in front of him to try and block him. His massive body knocked mine several feet back, but my impulsive action accomplished my goal. Aaron stopped, surprised, and said, “Llona, I’m sorry—”

  Christian jumped over me and cracked Aaron in the face. “Don’t ever touch her!” he screamed.

  This got Arik upset, and he attacked Christian, which made everyone else join in the fight. I scrambled backward along the ground, anxious to get out of the way. I barely missed a falling Vyken who had been kicked in the face by Dr. Han. Blood spurted from his nose and sprayed the ground next to me.

  Not far from me, a Vyken slammed Petros to the ground. I jumped up to help him, but Petros was up quicker than I was. Long, sharp nails grew from his fingertips, as did razor sharp teeth in his wide mouth. He slashed twice, beheading the Vyken and sending a plume of dust into the air.

  Christian, who had somehow untangled himself from the brawl, stood on the other side, watching me through the chaos. I shivered and looked for Rose. She was on my left, standing on a small rise. I sucked in air at the sight of her. Her face had turned a pasty gray and bluish veins throbbed just beneath her skin. Her arms were raised high above her head, creating a fierce wind that circled all around her.

  “Stop!” she yelled and snapped her arms to her side. A wind rushed forward, knocking us all to the ground. The pointy end of a stick snagged my arm on impact, and I cried out, more from surprise than pain.

  “We had an agreement,” Rose said, her voice loud and commanding. “I am here. Give us the ruby, and let’s be done with this.”

  Christian stood up and brushed himself off. “I agree.” He walked toward me, stepping over those on the ground. “Move,” he said to Aaron and kicked him in the stomach. Aaron rose up as if to strike at Christian, but Arik took hold of his arm and shook his head.

  Grinning, Christian stopped in front of me and eyed me up and down, his eyes sliding over me like oil. He’d never looked at me like that before, and it made me feel dirty.

  “You’re bleeding,” he said and extended his hand.

  I glanced down. Blood dripped from a deep cut from where the stick had punctured my arm. “It’s nothing,” I said and stood up without his assistance.

  “The ruby as promised.” Christian removed it from his pocket and held it out for me.

  I took it and tossed it to Dr. Han, who was just getting up.

  “And the witch?” Christian said.

  Rose came forward. If anyone would’ve looked closely, they might’ve noticed that she was gliding. “I will come with you, but no one is to touch me.”

  He looked at me questioningly.

  “It’s her thing,” I said. “And believe me, you don’t want to touch her.”

  “Whatever. What about you?”

  “I’m ready.”

  Aaron’s head snapped in my direction. “What are you talking about, Llona?”

  “I’m going with them. It was part of the deal.”

  “You agreed to this?” His voice was loud, almost thunderous.

  “Does Liam know?” Arik asked.

  “Leave him out of this.”

  “Yes, where is Liam?” asked Christian. “I really wanted to see him tonight.”

  “Better things to do.”

  Christian crowded the space between us. Instinctively I held my breath. “I’m touched, Llona. Really, I am.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You chose me over him.” He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek.

  I turned away. “It’s not like that. Can we go already?”

  Arik turned to Dr. Han. “You’re letting her do this?”

  “She’s made up her mind.”

  “Will you check on May?” Aaron asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Let’s go.” Christian took hold of my hand. I tried to jerk it away, but he only clung to it tighter. Have it your way. Using Light, I ignited my hand until he cried out in pain. He smacked the back of my head, making me stumble forward.

  “Why do you have to do things like that?” he said.

  Petros came forward, his fists balled tight.

  I held up my hand to stop him. “It’s okay,” I said.

  Christian smirked and prodded me forward away from the others.

  Rose was in front of me, leading the way through the forest as if she knew where to go. I glanced back once at Dr. Han. His expression was one of sadness and anger.

  As soon as we were deep into the forest, away from the sound of the waterfall, the remaining Vykens, all seven of them, spread out and walked parallel with us.

  “What are they doing?” I asked.

  “Just making sure there are no surprises,” Christian said. He nodded up to Rose. “So what’s her deal?”

  “You guys killed her sisters. She’s pissed.”

  “But she’s going to help us, right?”

  I shrugged. “She doesn’t want to die.”

  Christian reached for my hand again, but I dodged it. “Why do you keep doing that?” he asked.

  “Serious? What makes you think I would want to hold your hand?” I knew I should probably start the whole acting-in-love thing, but right now I couldn’t stomach it. Maybe my plan wasn’t such a good one.

  “Because I’m your boyfriend.”

  I stared at him, aghast. “You are mental! The Christian I loved is dead.”

  “Not dead,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm, “just evolved. Like you.”

  “I’m nothing like you.”

  The corners of his mouth curled up like he knew something I didn’t. “You’ll see, Llona. It’s just a matter of time.”

  Ugh. I didn’t want to think about any warped plan he might have for me. “Have you seen Sophie?”

  “Why do our conversations always have to go back to her? Can’t you just think about us for more than a minute?” He broke a branch from a tree in passing.

  “Is she okay?”

  Christian swung the stick back as if it were a sword. “She’s fine, just like the other girls.”

  “What are you guys d
oing with them?”

  He swung again. “Only what they were born to do—feed us.”

  I swallowed a bitter taste in my mouth. “And May?”

  He laughed, his normally handsome face twisting into something ugly. “I won’t lie to you. She got in some serious trouble for playing both sides.”

  My breathing quickened, and the bitter saliva I just swallowed rotted my stomach. “What did they do to her?”

  “Only what she deserved. They would’ve killed her if it wasn’t for her father.” He tossed the stick into the woods.

  “How could you, Christian? May was your friend.”

  “Not a very loyal one.”

  The forest opened up and moonlight brightened his face. It was heartbreaking to see him the way I remembered, right down to the dimple in his cheek. It’s just a mask, I reminded myself.

  Up ahead were two vehicles. While the Vykens figured out who was sitting where, I leaned over to Rose and said, “How are you doing?”

  “Holding steady,” she said.

  “Over here, witch,” a female Vyken said. “You too, Aura.”

  “Her name is Llona,” Christian said, enunciating his words. “And they’re sitting with me.”

  “I won’t ride with an Aura,” Rose said.

  Christian laughed. “You don’t like them either? Fine. Go get in the other car.”

  “No one is to touch me,” she reminded him.

  “No one touch her!” he called to the others.

  Rose climbed into the car behind the one Christian was ushering me into. So far our plan was working. But the tricky part, for me at least, had yet to come.

  Christian started the engine and pressed on the gas. Behind us sat three Vykens. I looked in the side-view mirror. The car Rose was in drove behind us. I pushed a quick thought to Liam: All is well. Driving with C.

  Christian tapped me on the shoulder. “Do you remember that dance awhile ago?”

  “No,” I said, keeping my eyes on Rose’s vehicle.

  “Oh, come on. The one with that other private school with those dorky guys?”

  “Do we really have to listen to this?” a Vyken from the backseat asked.

  Christian swiveled around in the driver’s seat, taking his eyes off the road. “Shut up, Danny,” he said and then looked at me before returning his gaze forward. “Sure you do. You know, the one where we were kissing behind those white curtains.”

  “Can we talk about something else?” I asked. The road curved sharply. I held onto the door to keep from leaning his way.

  “Like what?”

  “Tell me about Cyrus, about his plans.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Do you plan on ever letting me go?”

  He scratched his sandy blond hair. “No.”

  “Then what does it matter if you tell me Cyrus’s plans?”

  “I guess it doesn’t.”

  “I’m pretty sure it does,” Danny said again from the back.

  Christian ignored him. “Cyrus is going to finish what he started.”

  “You mean the attack on Lucent Academy?” I gripped the door tightly.

  He opened his mouth to answer when a loud boom rattled the windows and shook our car. Christian wrestled with the steering wheel to keep us on the road and then slammed on the brakes.

  I, along with everyone else, turned around to look out the back window. The vehicle behind us had exploded.

  Christian jumped from the car. “What was that?” he shouted.

  I stayed inside, staring straight ahead, knowing that Rose was fine. With Charlie’s help, she had managed to project an image of herself that could maintain its form as long as no other being touched her. When the time came she ignited that energy into a fiery blaze, taking everything and everyone with her. All the while she was safe back at Lucent. Our plan was executed perfectly, but the part I wasn’t sure about was how Christian would react.

  He rounded the car to my side and opened the door. Jerking me outside, he took hold of my face and pointed it in the direction of the fire. “Look at that, Llona. What happened?”

  His fingers dug into my cheek and forehead. “I don’t know,” I said, but the words were muffled because of the pressure against my cheeks.

  He pushed me to the side. “This was planned.”

  “By you,” I said, trying to gather some strength so he would believe me. “Your guys must’ve killed her.”

  He appeared in front of me so fast I stumbled backward. “You’re lying, Llona. I see it in your eyes.”

  I lifted my chin, refusing to break eye contact.

  He moved closer until his face was inches from mine. The air between us was suffocating.

  “I want my witch!” he screamed, spittle hitting me in the face.

  I took a shaky breath, more frightened of him than ever before.

  “Cyrus isn’t going to be happy,” Danny said.

  Christian straightened, paused, then turned around and approached Danny. Before anyone could do anything, he removed a blade from behind his back and sliced Danny’s head off. The other two quickly backed away. “Someone’s going to pay for this,” he said while wiping the ash from his blade against his jeans. He came back to me and pressed the cold steel of the dagger to my throat.

  It was in that moment when my darker half kicked in, and this time it was me who moved faster than he could blink. I knocked the blade from his hand, moved behind him, and wrapped my arm around his throat. Using both Light and strength, I brought him to his knees. The other Vykens rushed forward, but, using my free hand, I shot a spray of Light at the nearest one, knocking him ten feet back. This gave the other pause.

  Christian tried to laugh, but it came out all wrong on account of me squeezing his throat. I could kill him now.

  I squeezed harder. A small part of me, a part I didn’t think I had left, remembered all the times he had protected me and made me feel loved. It begged me to stop. I loosened my grip while my darker half cursed me for being weak.

  “This is what’s going to happen,” I said. “You are going to take me back to wherever May and the others are being held. That’s the only way I’ll go back with you, do you understand?”

  Christian nodded, but it was more of a shrug, like he didn’t care what happened.

  I let go of him and backed away. He stood up slowly and rubbed his neck. Turning around, he said, “I am so turned on right now.”

  “You disgust me,” I said and brushed by him into the car.

  “Not so fast, Llona.”

  I slowed up.

  “Grab the ropes,” he said to the other two, motioning his head to the rear of the vehicle. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, although I must admit it’s always been a fantasy of mine. Bet you didn’t know that, did you, Llona?”

  A Vyken with short red hair handed Christian a thin rope.

  “Turn around,” he said and walked over to me.

  “That’s not necessary. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “It’s not to keep you with us. It’s for our protection.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He jerked me around and yanked my arms behind my back. “This is special rope made out of silver that’s been cursed by witches,” he said as he tied my arms. “It will prevent you from using Light.”

  “I told you I’d go with you. This isn’t necessary.” Before he tightened the rope, I thought of Liam. Would I still be able to contact him? I pushed a thought quickly: They are stopping my Light, I—

  Christian cinched the rope tight, cutting off my message. I was alone.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  We ended up exactly where I thought we would: the warehouse. It was still dark when we arrived, and the air was cool, much colder than it had been earlier. The hole May had blasted through the side of the building had been patched up with plywood and thin metal sheets.

  Christian hurried me into an alley and through a side entrance, placing me deeper into the great room, opposite of where
Liam and I had entered previously. Lights high on the ceiling were turned low, but they were bright enough to expose the extent of Cyrus’s plan. I backed up, frightened by the sheer number of Vykens.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Christian said, placing his hand on the small of my back. “No one will hurt you. They know you’re my girlfriend. Plus, I’m kind of a big deal around here. Cyrus really likes me, and he’s hoping things work out for us.” He took hold of my arm and pulled me forward.

  The warehouse was larger than I originally thought, with three levels. An atrium-like center provided a view of all three floors. Several Vykens looked down at me from the third floor behind a metal railing, making me think of inmates in a huge prison. But they were hardly prisoners. That was to be my fate.

  In the center of the atrium on a concrete floor was a boxing ring. Larger than normal, it looked like. Three Vykens fought each other inside while dozens of others crowded the ropes, cheering for their favorite victor.

  “It’s quite the operation Cyrus has built, isn’t it?” Christian asked. “Did you see the weapons?”

  I glanced around until I saw what he was talking about. On the far side, an entire wall was covered in shelves, each of them full of what looked like swords, bows, guns, anything that could kill. The entire scene, the reality of how destructive Cyrus’s plan was, hit me all at once. Blood drained from my head, making me light-headed. I didn’t mean to, but I fell back against Christian. His arm came around me.

  “I got you,” he said, his voice gentle and sweet, which made me even more ill.

  “How do you guys think you’ll get away with this?” I asked. “With those kinds of weapons, the police are bound to find out, and then you’ll all be exposed.”

  “And?”

  My heart skipped a beat. “That’s what Cyrus wants, isn’t it?”

  “Not just Cyrus. All of us, including other mystical races . . . Furies, Diablos—”

  “But humans will overrun you! You’ll be hunted and killed.”

  Christian ushered me forward again. “Not if Auras are out of the picture. Really, they’re the only ones who truly threaten our existence, but by our growing numbers, and the Auras’ lack of commitment to their abilities, you girls are screwed.” He opened a door. “Watch your step.”