Elsabetha stood with the rest of the team, including Natasha, on the stairs in front of the doors. She looked so sad. His heart broke for her. Seeing her like that made keeping his distance even more difficult. She nodded then turned around and stepped through the doors.
Noah waited several moments before crossing the street and climbing the stairs himself. The blast of heat that assaulted him as he stepped through the doors made him catch his breath. He hadn’t noticed how cold he had become while standing outside, waiting for everyone to go inside the temple.
The doors that led inside the temple opened in, giving him full view of the seats within the sanctuary. The team were the last to take their seats, giving sight to Elsa standing at the table in front of the altar. Noah’s body urged him forward, but he refused to give in. He was still too dangerous.
Elsa took her seat and laid her head on Livian’s shoulders. Her mother wrapped an arm around her, hugging her close. Noah felt a pang of jealousy start to eat at his insides. It should be him sitting with her. His arms should be wrapped around Elsa’s shoulders, comforting her and promising everything would be okay. Forcing back the jealousy, Noah reminded himself there was still something not right about him. He hadn’t learned what it was or how to control it. Instead, it seemed to control him more and more each day.
Noah recognized he was doing the right thing by waiting until he wouldn’t be noticed before stepping inside. At least he could say he made it and paid his respects to Paulson. Even though he didn’t much care for Noah or his kind. He was with the light now … in peaceful slumber.
Noah’s blood started to burn him, consuming him with rage and fear.
Gaia help me! What is wrong with me? What’s happening?
Noah knew his pleas would go unanswered. He accepted that. Still, a little hint as to what was happening to him would’ve taken him a step in the right direction and closer to Elsa. The priest entered the room from a door off the side of the sanctuary and stood at the altar. He met Noah’s gaze. Noah shook his head, telling him not to even think about mentioning his presence. The priest nodded. Noah stepped inside the doors as the men standing on either side sealed them.
Noah wouldn’t risk taking a seat. As soon as the time was right, he would exit before Elsa or anyone else who knew him could take notice. Sitting in one of the pews would increase the likelihood of him not making it out in time.
As the priest neared the end of his eulogy, Noah prepared himself to leave. His hand moved behind him and rested on the long handle of the door, fingers tightening around the cool metal. The people at the back stood as Elsa and her mom prepared for the onslaught of condolences. Two lines started to form on both sides of the center aisle. The rest of the team moved in behind them.
Noah knew this was his one chance to leave. But his feet wouldn’t move. Time for escape ticked by as he argued with himself. Elsa couldn’t know that Noah was on the surface. She couldn’t see him there. Not yet. He knew something within him was dangerous, and he couldn’t put her in danger.
That seemed to be enough to make his body move. He turned around and stepped out the door.
SCENE FOUR
NOAH BLINKED AWAY THE blur and swords of light that stabbed at his eyes. He lifted his hands to massage them, but was stopped short when he met resistance. Giving them another firm shake, his suspicions were confirmed. Not only were his hands cuffed to the sides of the bed he lay on, but he didn’t dream that horrible scene that replayed each time he closed his eyes. He lived it.
His body tensed, every muscle tightening along his frame. Red filled his vision, and tears burned his eyes before trailing down the sides of his head and soaking into the pillow under him. He couldn’t remember if he succeeded in killing his beloved. Just the pain of being tackled by his own team in an effort to save her then waking up there, in the bed, chained up like a criminal.
At least I can’t hurt anyone.
Even though he was chained up, he knew, whatever was happening to him, it would take much more than being chained to a bed to keep him from hurting anyone again. With that thought, his original hope turned to despair.
A door slid open and steps whispered toward him. He closed his eyes, unable to face anyone. The shame inside him was too great. He didn’t deserve to see anyone he cared about. What he deserved was death, and no one around him would be kind enough to offer him that. Not that he could blame them. He needed to be locked up and never let out until his bones turned to powder.
“You didn’t hurt her, in case you wanted to know. You just broke her heart.”
What is she doing here?
Noah refused to listen. He turned his face from her, hoping she would take the hint. He wasn’t in the mood for talking. Especially to her.
“She’s gone, you know. I assume to look for Alexander. Even after trying to kill her, she wants to save you.”
Somehow, that was enough to shake Noah of his silent resolve. The fear of his love walking into danger made his heart quake in his chest. “Why did you let her go?”
“She wouldn’t have listened if I tried to stop her. She’s convinced she can cure whatever is going on with you with some remedy that Alexander or his yuppie girlfriend supposedly have.”
Noah held still and listened to Natasha’s words. Desperate, he searched for truth but couldn’t sense either way. He realized that he didn’t feel her energy when she stepped into the room. It was like everything in him had gone numb. Knowing that formed a painful knot inside his gut, pinching and contorting his muscles until they ached.
“There is no remedy,” he said. His words were distant and soft.
“For your sake, I hope you’re wrong.”
“Why are you still here?” Noah asked. The sound of his ex’s voice irritated him, and he hated that he couldn’t feel her energy or access any of his other senses.
“I relieved Avery of his duties. You have very loyal friends.” A few more whispered steps came before the sound of shuffling fabric. Noah assumed she took a seat.
“I didn’t—” He cut himself off. It was better not to mention the frightening new change in him. Maybe death wasn’t too far off.
“Didn’t what?”
Noah refused to answer.
Natasha came into view, taking a seat on the bed. She laid a hand on his thigh. Noah’s muscles flinched under her touch. With a sigh, she said, “Noah, please. I come to you as a friend. We are all worried about you and Elsa. Whatever it is, we need to know. It could help us.”
“With what? Pity? More reasons to sedate and enslave me?”
Not even Noah knew the reason for his attitude, but the anger in him contorted and grew, making him care less about helping her—or anyone else for that matter. Even Elsa. She was better off dead anyway. With what he was sure was happening, just on the brink of awareness … the world was better off not knowing.
Noah’s mind swam in a dizzying, chaotic spin.
Please, Gaia. End this! End my suffering and torture!
“With getting back the old Noah,” Natasha said. “I have a theory.”
Noah snorted.
Natasha continued on as if she hadn’t heard him. “I’ve read through some of the files surrounding Alexander and what he’s doing down here. The incident with Elsa, and then with you. As well as what happened on Tartarus. If my suspicions are confirmed, there is more trouble to come, and it won’t stop with you and Elsa. It will escalate and continue. You two were just the biggest hurdles in Alexander’s way.”
“What suspicion?”
Noah didn’t know why he was feeding into her words. But for the moment, the fury within him ebbed a little. And that gave him hope.
“The Academy is corrupted. Vassarious along with them.”
“That’s impossible.”
For the first time, Noah looked at Natasha and almost did a double take. Dark rings hugged the bottoms of her eyelids, the green was nearly swallowed whole by her pupils. Her bright red hair was pulled from her face, making
her jaw line appear too sharp. Noah’s eyes widened with shock.
With a raise of an eyebrow, she smiled and said, “You should see how you look.”
“What happened to you?” he asked.
“I’ve spent every waking moment trying to figure out what is going on, doing recon, and investigating the whereabouts of Alexander. Shall I mention protecting Avalon and all her inhabitants, which includes you?”
Noah couldn’t believe what he had heard. None of it seemed real. None of it could be real. Yet all the evidence stared him in the face. But one thing didn’t make sense.
“You said Elsa and I were the biggest hurdles in Alexander’s plan?”
“As far as I can tell from what I read, you two made his life a living hell. Why?”
“If removing hurdles was his plan, why didn’t he just kill me? Kill us?”
Natasha’s lips parted and rounded out as if she were going to say the very reason, but then her body deflated, and she sat slouched, appearing too weakened to support her usual posture. She removed her hand from his thigh, joining it with her other. Finally, she said, “I don’t know. I can’t imagine how torture could solve anything. But then, I came to realize that you weren’t a hurdle. Elsa was. In order to get to you, he had to remove her by any means possible. You are a puppet to him. How? I’m not sure. Just when I think I’m getting close to the answer, I come up against a wall.”
The door opened with Bear charging through, Harringson on his tail, followed by Dobbs and … Elsa!
Natasha removed herself from the bed, but not before Elsa’s eyes caught the sight. A small crease appeared in between her brows, and Noah was sure she was seconds from pacing. He wanted to strangle Natasha. She did that on purpose. He knew it. He would glare at her, but his eyes couldn’t leave Elsa. She looked pale and worn out.
Noah reached out for her, as much as he could. She smiled and walked toward him. He knew she tried to hide the hurt in her eyes. Guilt consumed him until her fingers wove through his and warmth filled him. Pleasant and peaceful.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what?” Noah asked then readjusted himself on his pillow to look at her more comfortably.
She averted her gaze and took in a shuddering breath. On the exhale, Elsa pushed out, “I failed to get the antidote.” Her eyes found his again and hardened. “Jenna is dead.”
SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK
FORCED TO REMEMBER
ONE
I RECOUNTED THE DETAILS of the event that led to Jenna’s death, being as specific as I could. Noah held my hand as he lay cuffed to a bed, giving me the strength I needed. When I got to the part about her beating me inches from death, and her being knocked from me by Justin, I stopped.
“Then what?” Captain Morrigan asked.
“I must’ve blacked out.”
“What do you mean you blacked out?” she asked, stepping up to me with her arms crossed over her chest. “How am I going to explain this to our superiors if you can’t even tell me every detail that happened? Need I remind you the narrow path you’re walking as it is?”
“You were the one that advised me to pursue her,” I said. Noah squeezed my hand.
“Yes, and to follow protocol.”
“I tried to follow protocol. But …”
“But?” Captain asked.
“She got to me somehow. I know I should’ve held more composure. Before I knew it, she was laying it on me. Okay? I don’t know what happened after that. Just …”
“Go on, Sergeant,” Captain Morrigan urged.
“I stood staring down at her with my hands covered in blood. Justin was on his back and not moving. My concern became making sure he was okay. I’m afraid we were seen.”
Captain Morrigan turned her back to us and lifted a hand to her forehead. Justin and I exchanged worried glances.
“That’s not all, Captain,” Justin said. “She got Jenna to talk.”
She turned, setting her gaze on my brother. “And?”
He shifted his weight back and forth. “Well …”
“She said only Gaia can save him,” I said. “The antidote wasn’t real. It never was.”
Captain’s gaze moved to mine, filled with ice. “Gaia? Do you think this is some sort of joking matter, Sergeant?”
“No,” I snapped. My nerves were still raw from the encounter with Jenna.
“We didn’t believe her either,” Justin added. “That’s why, when we got back, we did some digging of our own.”
“There’s a tribe of aborigines that have a tale of a large flying ship that was swallowed by the ocean eons ago. Not long after that, they noted men and women emerging from the sea,” I said.
“Upon further investigation,” Justin added, “and a significant number of favors called in, I might add, we found information detailing divers having taken submarines toward the same rumored location looking for artifacts. Stories range from strange electrical interferences to seeing things they can’t explain. But none of them were able to make it deep enough to see anything ‘ship-like.’”
“But,” I said.
“But what?” Morrigan asked, sounding more annoyed than interested.
“There’s one Nepherium who has made it down there and is willing to help us … on one condition.”
“Of course, the catch,” Morrigan said.
“Who-whoever goes down there … they can never leave,” I said, shifting my eyes to Noah. The warmth in his hands soaked into mine and reached up my arm. His eyes were bluer than before. A few silver specks reflected the light in the room. My heart fluttered. “It’s our only hope to save you.”
“How do you know?” Morrigan asked.
I turned my attention back to her. “I refuse to believe otherwise.”
Morrigan pursed her lips and sucked on her teeth before turning toward the rest of the team that gathered in the med room Noah was stationed in.
“And you all believe her story?” She gestured toward me, despite Justin having told the tale as well. When her hand fell, it slapped against her leg.
So much for having her trust.
“It’s true,” Noah said, commanding everyone’s attention to him. “I’d forgotten all about it until now. When I was a boy, my father told me Gaia was more than what we thought. She lived in the deepest ocean, safe from humans, just waiting for her children to return to her. I thought he was just telling me old fables based in truth; stories handed down for generations meant to hold some secret wisdom. He never seemed to believe them. At least, that I could remember. But thinking about it …” He struggled to sit up. I pressed the button to lift the head of his bed. He smiled at me then continued, “There were other historical accounts of the same thing the aborigines had mentioned. Most of them are hidden under the guise of the legend of Atlantis or something similar.”
“There’s one more thing,” I said, laying my free hand on his shoulder.
Noah’s eyes took in mine, his lips dipped in the corners. Could he see the fear in me? He asked, “What is it?”
“Alexander didn’t poison you. He’s changing you … with his blood.” A tear streamed down my cheek.
“That’s impossible. I’d be dead.”
“You are dying,” I said. “But the process is slow. I don’t know why he did this to you but I’m sure taking you to Gaia will reverse it. It’s our only choice. Will you please let me take you there?”
“Wait,” Captain Morrigan interrupted. “How do you know this?”
“I made some calls.” I pulled out my communicator and handed it to her. “I remembered a few connections from my past that I could count on. Justin took me to my source, where I gave him all Jenna’s blood I could from my clothes. He accessed Tartarus’ database and compared it to the information in Noah’s file. That was the one conclusion that he could come up with. You can check.” I pointed to my communicator. “He’d said he’d confirm to you and you alone.”
“What does Jenna have to do with Noah?” Captain Morrigan a
sked.
“Jenna told me Alexander changed her with his blood.”
She gaped and seemed to search for words that wouldn’t come.
“I figured that had to be the common denominator. Turns out I was right. Now we can save Noah.”
“It’s been too long as it is. I’ll die on the way there,” Noah said.
I sniffed and shook my head. “Not if we place you in stasis. The process will slow enough for us to take you there and get you help.”
“This is just a bunch of radical bullshit,” Captain Morrigan spat.
Bear stepped forward. “Do you not feel an ounce of truth in it?”
“With or without your permission, we’re leaving,” Justin said. Good for him, standing up to her. Then again, he was well aware of everything that happened in my past with Noah.
“Just say the word, boss, and we’ll be outta here,” Blake said to Noah.
Morrigan turned to Noah. Her eyes softened, and a part of me felt betrayed. I wanted to ignore that she was sitting next to him—on his bed—when I walked in, but the image resurfaced, taunting me. I bit my lip. Hard.
Some hidden agenda. I guess even Nepherium can lie.
“Whatever your decision is, I will honor it,” Captain Morrigan said. “I owe you that much.”
Did she have to talk to him like they were naked in bed? I half expected her to reach out and touch him.
I’d have knocked her ass to the floor if she even tried.
Noah squeezed my hand. His thumb rubbed the skin over my knuckles. “Yes. I will try that.”
He squeezed my fingers again and brought the back of my hand to his lips.
I smiled at him and removed the hair that had fallen in his face. “We’re going to make it through this. I promise.”
“Can I have some time alone with Elsa?”
“Of course,” I said at the same time the others muttered a combination of no’s. I sighed. “Justin, Taberious, can you wait outside the door please. Put the stop on so it won’t close. This way, if something should happen, you’re close enough to help. The rest of you, I respectfully ask to give us some space.”
Echoes of Memories (Nepherium Novella Series Book 2) Page 11
