Sacrifice

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Then how can I make progress if I’m stuck here with that lunatic?”

  “By what you’re doing right now. Try to sneak away and practice on your own.”

  Emma took several steps toward the creek bank. Alex stood less than six feet from her and here was her chance to see if Alex had an effect on her or not. Both times Alex touched her had been before he knew his true identity. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Have you got any pointers?”

  It was either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. What if he could control her too? The fact that he didn’t want to join with her now boosted her confidence. Nevertheless, she was about to touch the man who raped her six years ago and possibly hand over her free will on a silver platter. She stepped onto the bank and wrapped her fingers around his wrist before he realized what she was doing.

  His eyes flew open at the spark between them, followed by a flow of energy. Only she didn’t lose control, she felt more powerful. Alex jerked his arm away and backed up several paces.

  The power disappeared and she found herself craving more. No wonder Raphael wanted to touch her. What the hell had just happened?

  Alex took small, shallow breaths. “You’re stronger than I thought.”

  “What happened?”

  He paced, covering his mouth with his hand.

  “Alex!”

  He stopped, spinning at the waist to stare at her. “Raphael exerts an influence over you.”

  “Yes! How does he do that?”

  “Everything is cyclical. The circle of life and all that bullshit. The world must have checks and balances. Everything has a counterbalance. Raphael is yours.”

  “So he’s stronger than me?”

  “No, not necessarily stronger. Think rock, paper, scissors. Each possesses equal traits, but has power over another. All are kept in balance.” His eyes were wide. Not only was he surprised, he looked frightened.

  “I’m your balance,” she whispered.

  He lifted his chin and his eyes held hers. “Yes.”

  “I can control you.”

  His mouth contorted before his face became expressionless. “In theory.”

  “Which is why Emmanuella always picked Raphael in the later years. He controlled her.”

  “Yes.”

  “But Raphael said she picked you in the beginning.”

  “She had an advantage with me. But we loved each other as well and I would have willingly given myself to her.”

  “You make yourself sound like a martyr. You would have benefited.”

  “A martyr? On the contrary. I know you find this difficult to believe, but I’m capable of loving someone. I loved her. In the beginning, anyway. But I grew to resent her and the power she held over me. Then over time Raphael developed an obsession with her that went far beyond survival and the game. He stole her time and time again, convincing her that she was destined to be his until she not only believed it, but remembered it with each new reincarnation.”

  “‘You’re meant to be mine,’ that’s what he keeps saying,” she whispered.

  “Exactly.”

  “So why did you kill her all those times?”

  “Because I knew I never had a chance and I refused to be exiled to the shadow world.” His mouth lifted into an evil grin. “The fact that it pushed Raphael further and further into madness every time was an added incentive.”

  “So I have you to thank for that?”

  He lifted his hands from his sides and lifted his shoulders into an unapologetic shrug.

  “So if Raphael is my balance and I’m yours, who is Raphael’s? Who do you have influence over?”

  He hesitated then looked away. “Water.”

  “Water?” Why hadn’t she thought about it before? Fire. Air. Earth. Water. There were four elements.

  “He was one of us many years ago.”

  “So water is a he? Where is he now?”

  Alex scowled. “Water was outcast long ago.”

  “Why was he outcast?”

  “Water never participated in our game. And with most of Raphael’s and my power, Aiden was strong enough to send him away.”

  “So he became a shadow?”

  “No, but he hasn’t been seen for about a century. Every so often he turns up and tries to stir up a bit of trouble, and slinks away.”

  “So why not team up with him and beat Aiden in this grudge match?”

  “For one thing, like I said, he hasn’t been seen for at least one hundred years, so I wouldn’t know where to even look. He shields himself perfectly. If he’s still around, he’s either very far away or turned off his power. And second, he’d never side with either of us. There was never any love lost between any of us and there’s the fact that I have power over him. Let’s just say he’s no fan of mine. And while Water would enjoy nothing more than defeating Aiden, he’d never side with either of us to do it. When I said ‘stir up a bit of trouble,’ I meant that he showed up every so often and tried to kill Raphael or me. But I guarantee if he showed up for the battle, all chaos would break loose.”

  “He never tried to kill Emmanuella?”

  “No.”

  “But he could control Raphael?”

  Alex hesitated.“Yes.”

  “Then I have to find Water.”

  He shook his head with a derisive laugh. “You think you can find him after all this time, when we haven’t seen him in ages?”

  “Have you looked?”

  “Well, no…”

  “You say he hates Aiden?”

  Alex’s mouth lifted into a smug grin. “Hate isn’t a strong enough word, which is why he’d never talk to you. He’d kill you first. You’re Aiden’s daughter.”

  “Then I’ll just have to convince him that I hate Aiden even more. Besides, he never tried to kill Aiden’s daughter before.”

  “Emma, that’s crazy.”

  “Any crazier than anything else going on? Is it any crazier than the wacko nut job in the house who tried to kill me with a sleeping pill overdose? I refuse to let that man have power over me. Is there any other way to stop him?”

  “Well, you could stay away from him.”

  “I’d love nothing more than to stay away from him, but you won’t teach me how to hide myself, and if I leave, he’ll just find me.”

  “Did he really try to kill you?”

  “Which time? The sleeping pills or this afternoon?”

  “Gods be damned. He’s crazier than I thought.” Alex covered his face with both hands and rubbed his eyes. “You can’t leave him yet. You need to grow stronger so you can defend yourself if he finds you, not to mention you’ll need to defend yourself against Water if you go through with that crazy scheme and find him. Just keep practicing and I’ll be back in two nights to check on you.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why would you help me?”

  “I haven’t hid my motives. I hope you’ll agree to join with me later. If I help you, you might help me.”

  “I won’t promise anything.”

  “I know, but at this point, I’m willing to take my chances. Besides, between you and me, you’re the one with all the power until we join. Literally.”

  She nodded. “Okay, so tell me what I’m doing wrong. Raphael said I need to be able to do small things with my own energy, then I can use other energy sources for bigger things.”

  “He’s right. What’s your own source of power?”

  Hesitating, she considered her options. She worried revealing too much could give him an advantage against her. Alex claimed she had control over him, but what if he lied? Or what if he hoped to glean information to use against her as leverage? At this point, she didn’t have a choice.

  “Anger. I use anger.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Extreme emotions work, but be careful with that—you can also lose control just as quickly as you gain it.”

  She knew that to be true from firsthand experience. “So what else can I use?”

  “Honestly, it may b
e too late to change it. In the past, Emmanuella always used her core energy, which, while fairly even-keeled and reliable, isn’t as strong as an emotion. That must be why you’re stronger than she was.”

  “So can I find my core energy?”

  “You can try, but I suspect you’re already hardwired to use anger. Is it difficult to generate?”

  “Anger? Generally, no.” She snorted. “So why isn’t my power as strong around Raphael? Because he has control over me?”

  “Partly. I suspect with his erratic, irrational behavior that he’s also made you afraid of him and your fear inhibits your power.”

  She bit her lip, refusing to answer.

  “The only way you’ll be able to use your power to its fullest around him is if you are fighting him.”

  “He tried that this afternoon. It didn’t work. Not effectively anyway.”

  Alex sighed. “The problem is we’ve never reached this point before, and even if we had, you would have already reached your full powers. The old rules stated that the one’s presence could stunt the growth of the other. What Raphael probably didn’t tell you was that the stronger of the two stunted the growth of the subordinate. Raphael’s presence could literally be stunting your development.”

  “Which is why you don’t want to be with me right now.”

  “If I have the chance to grow stronger, I don’t want to risk it. But be careful to keep him from touching you as much as possible. There’s a rush of power, as you just discovered, and it can be quite addictive. Mixed with Raphael’s insanity…”

  Just what she needed. A crazy addict. “But what about you and Raphael? Do you two affect each other?”

  “No, because we’re on opposite sides. Think of all four elements as points on a square, and our energy flows counterclockwise. Fire is at the top and water is at the bottom, polar opposites. Raphael and I are polar opposites. We exert no control over one another.”

  “You know all of this and I know nothing. It’s so goddamned frustrating.”

  He moved closer, his face softening. “I carry my memories from one life to the next. Once I realize who I am, I can remember all of the things I did in past lives, which helps me figure out what I can do now. But you have only this lifetime. You’re figuring it all out like Raphael and I did centuries ago.”

  “And Emmanuella.”

  “Yes, and Emmanuella. Although she was never around very long after all her memories returned.”

  “A few times, thanks to you.” She needed to remember that.

  He gave a noncommittal shrug. “That’s enough lessons tonight.” He moved toward her, his hand outstretched. “Take this, but only use it if absolutely necessary.”

  She cautiously reached her hand out and he placed a folded piece of paper in her palm.

  He turned and walked across the pasture without a backward glance. “See you in a couple of nights.”

  Watching him walk into the darkness, she was even more confused. Alex might be helping her now, but at his core he was a monster, and she needed to remember that.

  Chapter Twelve

  Will woke up exhausted and with a dull headache, the sound of the shower gurgling through the bathroom wall. His sleep had been plagued with dreams of James and Emma. In the light of day, they were vague and foggy, and he was sure they were ordinary dreams. His subconscious was telling him that he feared James betrayed them both.

  His subconscious had wasted its time. He already knew that.

  Will reluctantly admitted that he’d hoped to dream of Emma, but there’d been nothing this time, not even her tears. Maybe she’d forgotten him already. Or maybe they were never real to begin with. He wasn’t ready to accept that, further evidence of his disconnect to reality.

  Sitting up, he tried to orient himself in the crappy motel room. James sang an off-key rendition of Aretha Franklin’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T behind the bathroom door. Will stepped into his jeans and grabbed the ice bucket off the dresser. His throat still felt like it was on fire.

  The sun blinded him when he opened the door, and he raised his hand to shield his eyes. Two men rushed him and shoved his face into the exterior wall.

  “Thought you could get away, huh?” one grunted into his ear as he lifted Will’s free arm at an awkward angle behind his back.

  Stupid. He’d forgotten his gun inside. “Haven’t you heard, if you love something set it free?”

  “Too bad there’s no love for you as far as Warren’s concerned.”

  “The feeling’s mutual.” Will thrust his head back into the man’s nose. His would-be captor’s hold loosened and Will swung around, punching him in the throat. The man doubled over and gagged.

  The man next to him reached for his gun. Will swung the ice bucket into his temple then shoved his head into the wall. His attacker’s body slumped as it slid down the wall, the gun clanging to the concrete.

  Will picked up the firearm and held it to the gagging man’s head.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Warren,” he choked.

  “What about him?”

  “He wants you back.”

  “Why?”

  “The woman.”

  Emma.

  Will’s finger tightened on the trigger.

  “Having fun without me?” James asked from the doorway.

  The captor reached for Will’s arm. Will brought the handle of the gun down on the man’s head. He fell face down on the pavement.

  “I can’t leave you alone for a minute.” Will glanced at James, who stood in the doorway, a white towel wrapped around his waist and water dripping down his chest. He leaned over and grabbed the man closest to the door, dragging him through the opening. “Time to clean up the trash.”

  Will tugged the other man inside and dropped him next to the guy on the floor. “Looks like we’re still wanted.”

  James pulled a shirt out of his bag and pulled it over his head. “We need to focus on getting some dirt on these members, something to hold as leverage to get them off our asses.”

  Will rubbed his temples. “It shouldn’t be hard to dig up shit on Warren. He’s a politician, for God’s sake. Isn’t a closet full of skeletons a requirement to run for a political office? In fact, Kramer said something about a current scandal involving a woman claiming to have an affair.”

  Frowning, James shook his head. “Old news and dismissed by the press already. Besides, nothing sticks to Warren.” He opened a folder and flipped through several pages. “We could focus on Simmons from Simmons Industries. It looks like he’s got some shady deals involving some overseas accounts. And he’s got Warren in his back pocket. We could nail them both and take out two key guys in the organization.”

  “What about his son?”

  James continued reading. “Simmons doesn’t have a son.”

  “Not Simmons. Warren.”

  He froze, raising his head. “Alex? What about him?”

  “There has to be shit on him.”

  “You’re fucking insane. You do not want to go there. You saw what he did.”

  “Exactly. Can you imagine if the media got a hold of that?”

  Shaking his head, James set down the paper and placed his palms on the dresser. “I know what you’re doing, Will.”

  “You don’t know shit about what I’m doing.”

  “You’re trying to find her.”

  James had started to refer to Emma as her, refusing to say her name, as though not mentioning her name would make Will forget about her quicker.

  “I know I’m not going to find her, jackass. I’m trying to save our necks. We’re not just dealing with the Vinco Potentia, and we can’t ignore there’s supernatural shit going on. It would be a huge mistake to dismiss it.”

  “So, what? You tell the media that Alex magically killed a compound full of men?”

  “No—”

  “Because how are you going to prove that? Not to mention the crime scene has almost certainly been cleaned up by now. Warren’s been tied to so mu
ch shady bullshit that always gets swept into the corner while the circus clowns waltz in and distract the crowd. Warren’s the master at it. So even if the media got wind of it, and actual bodies were produced, guess who was in the compound at the same time? A couple of ex-Marines from the special forces who happen to know a lot of creative ways to kill a man and who just so happened to be locked up at the same time and escaped.”

  Will ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, you’re right, but I still say we can’t dismiss it.”

  “Oh, trust me, I have no plans to. I intend to keep him in plain sight. From a distance. I know a cobra’s dangerous, but that doesn’t mean I have to cage it. I can let it slink off into the forest and terrorize other creatures.”

  This was all backward. Will was the leader of the two and James usually followed, further evidence of Will’s decline.

  James looked up, determination in his eyes. “I’ve figured out what we need to do. You’re right. We need to think of the bigger picture. We need to focus on our end goal.”

  Will cast a glance at the unconscious men on the floor. “I’m listening.”

  “Our end goal is to extricate ourselves from the Vinco Potentia without repercussions. We need to make them trust us.”

  “What do you propose?”

  “We go back to one of your original goals before you lost your memory. We find Emma’s son, Jake.”

  That was the last thing Will expected. “Holy shit.”

  “Now hear me out. We find him and prove to Alex that we’re on his side. Alex gets his son back. The Vinco Potentia gets the boy and we prove ourselves useful.”

  “You don’t know that. You said they never wanted the boy. You said they wanted Emma.”

  James shrugged. “When plan A doesn’t work out, you go to plan B. The boy can be their plan B.”

  “I’m not so sure we should hand him over to Alex. Shouldn’t he be with his mother?”

  “Alex is his father. If they want to have a custody dispute, they can take it to court. But this way we prove ourselves friendly to the Vinco Potentia and Alex. It’s a win-win.”

  After listening to Emma cry for Jake for hours in his dreams, Will wasn’t certain he could give Jake to Alex. But they could concentrate on getting Jake first, then figure out who to give him to.