Sacrifice

by Denise Grover Swank

Will appeared on the other side of the concrete wall. “Sorry to disappoint.”

  “Not to worry. Nothing that can’t be easily taken care of. Especially since I’ve confirmed I don’t feel anything from you.”

  Confusion mingled with her fuzziness. Was he talking about Will’s mark?

  Raphael’s hand rose, his palm facing Will. A gunshot echoed and his grip on Emma’s arm dropped. He jerked and released an inhuman howl as he lifted his hand to his right shoulder.

  Her head still fuzzy, she stumbled several steps away.

  Will moved around the end of the wall toward her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, her senses returning. She picked up Will’s bag and walked around Raphael, who leaned against the back wall, cursing in a language she didn’t understand.

  Raphael dropped his hand from his shoulder, exposing a gaping hole in his blood-soaked shirt.

  Will growled. “Lift that hand any higher and I’ll shoot it off.”

  “You know you’re not really getting out of here, don’t you?” Raphael sneered. “I’ll never let you go, Emmanuella.”

  Will’s eyebrows rose. “Funny, last I checked we lived in a country where free choice is everyone’s God-given right.”

  “You’re an idiot, Will Davenport, and if Aiden doesn’t finish you off, I’ll take care of it myself.”

  “Well, everyone needs something to look forward to, but I suspect there’s a long list of people ahead of you waiting for that privilege.”

  Emma stood next to Will, thankful Raphael hadn’t figured out she had the book on her. But why hadn’t Raphael retaliated against Will yet? And how could he be standing while he hemorrhaged from the gunshot blast to his chest? “Will, let’s go.” But that’s probably what Raphael wanted and she was playing into his hands. What was the right course of action?

  Will backed up, his gun still trained on Raphael.

  They moved between a row of shelves as the ground began to shake. The metal racks rattled, swaying from side to side.

  Emma ran toward the door, Will behind her. The swaying shelving unit next to them collapsed. Will tackled her as a brilliant white glow surrounded them. When she looked up, the shelves had fallen around them, missing them completely.

  How had that happened?

  Will was already up, grabbing her arm. The ground continued to shake, and parts of the dilapidated roof fell around them. A giant crack split the ground in front of the door, blocking their exit.

  “I have to blast us out.” She looked into his eyes to see if he grasped her meaning.

  He slipped the bag strap from her shoulder onto his and nodded. “Do what you have to do. I’ll take care of you.”

  A large section of rusted metal fell from the roof and landed several feet away. Emma ducked as a cloud of dust and debris filled the air.

  “Emma!” Raphael called. “I’m coming to get you.”

  Her power was weak, but it was all she had to work with. Finding her anger over Raphael’s interference in her life, she tapped into the center of the rage, building her power before she released it into the metal wall. A jagged hole appeared, large enough for them to walk through. Sunlight streamed through the opening.

  Lightheaded, Emma remained standing. Will wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the hole.

  “Emma…” Raphael’s voice echoed through the building.

  Her head whipped around, searching for him. “He’s just going to come after us.”

  “He’s playing mind games with you.”

  “We don’t have enough of a head start. I have to do something more. I have to stop him.”

  Will paused at the opening and looked down at her. “No.” He shook his head and started to push her through.

  She turned to see Raphael’s silhouette between a row of toppled shelves. “Emma, stop this nonsense now before Will gets hurt.”

  Dread shot through her stomach as she pushed her way back into the building, understanding his threat. “Will, go outside.”

  “Not without you.”

  “He’s going to hurt you, Will.”

  “He’s going to hurt you too. We’re leaving together.”

  “Then get me out of here when I’m done.” She ignited her power, letting it build. A golden glow surrounded her, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more. Closing her eyes, she tried to sense an outside power source. She felt the buzz of electricity across the alley. Focusing on the current, she called to it. The energy filled her chest until she felt close to combusting, then she opened her eyes.

  Raphael was now about twenty feet away, the front of his shirt covered in blood, the hole in his shoulder partially filled in. A wide grin was plastered on his face. “That is beautiful, Emma. Simply beautiful. I knew you could do it. Just think of what we can do together.”

  She released the energy, pushing it with everything in her. The cardboard boxes scattered around the room erupted into flames, and the last thing she saw was Raphael swallowed by the inferno.

  Chapter Twenty

  Heat singed Will’s face as the room exploded with fire. Emma crumpled and he caught her before she hit the ground. Raphael was lost behind the sea of flames, yet he still called Emma’s name. Her explosion wouldn’t hold him for long.

  Carrying her in a fireman’s hold, Will ducked through the hole she’d created and ran for the Vinco Potentia’s empty cars, relieved to find the keys in the ignition of the closest one. He placed her in the passenger seat and tossed the bag into the backseat before climbing behind the wheel.

  Smoke billowed from the metal building, but there was still no sign of Raphael. No human being could have survived that. But Raphael wasn’t a human being.

  Casting a glance at Emma, he reached for her wrist, worried that her pulse was faint but grateful she was still alive after what he’d just seen. Electricity had arced across the alley and into her chest. He couldn’t believe she had survived an electrocution of that magnitude.

  But then, she wasn’t human either.

  As he pulled onto the highway, the harsh reality of what she was hit him. Even if he didn’t fully understand it, he knew that being with her was opening the door to a world he wasn’t a part of, not any more, not without his mark. What did he have to offer her?

  Yet, when he considered the alternative—leaving her—a knot of panic lodged in his throat. He loved her. Being with her, touching her only made the love he’d felt since he’d woken up on the cargo plane more real. He had no idea how or why he lost his memories, but he didn’t want to live without her.

  With Emma still unconscious, he drove back toward Kansas City, unsure where their destination should be. Would it take her long to recover? Should he do something to help revive her? He remembered that she’d mentioned needing to eat, which made sense. She’d used energy to create the fires, energy that came from within her, until she summoned electricity.

  Thirty minutes out of town, he pulled into a gas station and parked on the side of the building. After he bought a couple of prepackaged deli sandwiches and some water, he opened the passenger door and squatted next to her. “Emma. You need to eat something.” When she didn’t respond, he rubbed her arms and her cheeks. “Emma, I need you to wake up.”

  With a groan, she turned her head toward him. “Will?”

  Releasing his breath, he took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m here.”

  “We got away?”

  He smiled. “Yeah, completely thanks to you.”

  “Raphael?”

  “He was trapped in the building, although I have no idea how he could survive a gunshot wound like that.”

  “I think he can heal quickly because of his supernatural powers. I did after I was shot and I’m only half elemental. Raphael is full.”

  “Well, you’re safe now,

  Her lips twisted. “No, I’ll never be safe.”

  Unsure how to respond, he kissed her lightly instead.

  Her fingers stroked his cheek with a feathery touch as she smiled
against his lips.

  Leaning back, he put a sandwich in her hand. “You need to eat, Emma.”

  “This revives me just as much.”

  He squinted in confusion.

  “When I asked you to kiss me in the warehouse, I wasn’t lying when I told you it was an experiment. Before you lost your mark, when I overexerted myself, you could revive me with your touch.”

  He paused. “Like when I touched you in my dream.”

  “Yes, I thought it was because of your mark, but after I healed James and after I blew up the car and you dragged me to the warehouse, I felt myself growing stronger through your touch.”

  “So you’re saying any living body will do the same?”

  “I don’t know. I know for a fact Raphael doesn’t work. Unless he purposely gives me energy, he sucks the energy from me instead and makes me weaker. Spending the last day and a half away from him has helped me realize that. I was stronger before he took me to Tennessee, and that’s not saying much.”

  “You performed some impressive feats today.”

  “And almost died doing it. I need to practice. The days I spent with Raphael have set me back. Time is running out.”

  “Running out for what?”

  She stared into his eyes for several seconds. “A battle.”

  Fear tickled the hair on the back of his neck. “What kind of battle? Between who?”

  “A battle for control. A battle to survive. Four will fight, two will remain. That’s what Aiden said.”

  “And you’re one of the four?”

  Her head barely nodded. “Yes.”

  “And who are the other three?”

  “Alex and Raphael. And Aiden.”

  “But wait. Aren’t there four elements? You said Alex was air, Raphael was earth, and Aiden was fire. Where’s water?”

  “I’d like to find out. Raphael has power over me. I have power over Alex. Water has power over Raphael.”

  “How much time do you have?”

  “Five weeks.”

  Will had seen what Alex was capable of, but he had a feeling that Raphael had been holding back in the warehouse. Probably to protect Emma. “Why does Raphael want you?”

  “Several reasons. He loved the Emmanuella that lived before me. So even though I’m not her, I look exactly like her. But most importantly, he wants to join his powers with mine to defeat Aiden and Alex. However, Alex wants the same thing—just not right now, since I have the same effect on Alex that Raphael has on me.”

  “Why would you join with them?”

  “They both think that joined powers are stronger than the two individual powers. They insist it’s the only way to beat Aiden and for me to get Jake back.”

  He sat back on his heels. “So Aiden has Jake? James and I wondered who had him.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Yes, Aiden has him. Aiden’s strong. Stronger than each of us individually.”

  “Then why don’t the three of you combine forces and fight him together?”

  “How could we trust one another? Only two survive. One of us would be cast into some shadowy abyss.”

  “Which one will you pick?

  She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Neither.”

  “Why?”

  “Because joining with one of them means more than joining forces. It comes with a price I’m not willing to pay.”

  “How are you sure you can dismiss this so easily if it’s your only chance at saving Jake and yourself? How do you know the price is too high?”

  She leaned forward, furious. “I know it.” She put her hand on her chest. “I know it in here. They want to join more than just our energy. What they want is eternal, Will. Eternity is a very long time.”

  “So if you can’t fight Aiden on your own to save your son, what are you going to do?”

  Her eyes flooded with tears. “I don’t know. I only know that after spending the last month with you, I can hardly face a day with one of those assholes, let alone eternity. Maybe I’ll see if Aiden will spare Jake if I forfeit.”

  “You mean die?”

  She looked away and nodded.

  “Or we find Water and see if he will team up with you.”

  “But then there would be five. How would that work? And how do we know he’d be willing or if I even want to join with him? Will, joining is like marriage. Only much more permanent.”

  “We’ll find him first, then take it from there, okay?”

  She nodded, blinking back tears.

  “And where did I fit into all of this before I lost my mark and my memories?”

  Her mouth lifted into a smile, but sadness filled her eyes. “You were my protector, that was the prophecy, anyway. But you were much more than that. Except I was too confused and stupid to see it until it was too late.”

  “It’s not too late. We’re together now.”

  She looked wistful. “Things might have been different. The baby…” Shaking her head, she looked down at the sandwich. “What’s done is done. We can’t change the past.”

  He kissed her forehead and shut the door. They were silent until he pulled back onto the highway. “I’m not sure where to go.” Used to being decisive and in control, it rubbed against his confidence.

  “Neither am I. I need to find someplace remote and relatively fireproof to practice.” Glancing out the window, she sighed. “I have to be in New Mexico in a week and it has lots of desert and nothing for miles. I say we head that direction.”

  “New Mexico?” He had to admit it sounded like a good idea, especially with the fire threat. “What do you have to do in New Mexico?”

  “I promised Alex that I’d attend a fundraiser lunch with him.” She shook her head. “Wow. That sounds incredibly out of place compared to what just happened.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea, Emma? Is it safe?”

  “It doesn’t matter if it’s safe or not. I promised, and at this point in my life, the only thing of worth I own is my word. The only way Alex would teach me how to hide my power was to agree. Besides, I’m much more of a threat to him than he is to me.”

  He had a week to talk her out of it and he planned to use every persuasive technique in his book.

  “Which reminds me, I need to hide myself or Raphael will find us again.” She closed her eyes for several seconds before she opened them again. “I hope that works.”

  After a long nap, she spent the rest of the trip telling him how they met and how much she’d detested him in the beginning. At least, until Jake had softened Will’s jaded edges, letting her see the man he really was. She told him about her marks, and his, and how he protected her countless times. She confessed that he’d loved her with an intensity that scared her and made her question her own feelings for him until the end. As she told the story, he was amazed at what they’d been through together and saddened that he’d forgotten it all. Emma explained that Will’s memory loss was a punishment Emma’s father had inflicted on her. She also shared, with few details, what happened after the Vinco Potentia took Will away. How Raphael convinced her that Will was dead. How Raphael descended into madness as she failed to progress. She told him her shock and surprise that the person who’d helped her the most was Alex.

  The rest of the time, she scoured the book, becoming frustrated when she discovered most of it was in a language she didn’t understand. “This doesn’t do us much good.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” If Alex and Raphael wanted the book, it obviously contained information vital to her survival. With any luck at all, it would provide information about Water. He’d figure out a way to get it translated.

  Will decided to stop outside of Colorado Springs for the night. He pooled his money with the money Alex gave to Emma, coming up with almost two thousand dollars. “Do you think we could spring for a cockroach-free place tonight?” she asked in a hopeful tone.

  He winked. “I’ll even buy you dinner.”

  ***

  After finding a place in Colorado Springs
that boasted clean sheets, Will checked in and carried the bag into their room and set it on the dresser. He pulled her into his arms, sweeping her hair from her cheek, his eyes searching hers. He bent down and kissed her, his lips soft and tender.

  She hesitated, suddenly nervous. He didn’t remember her. This wasn’t her Will.

  Only he was.

  Hope and joy blossomed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging as though he might disappear. His hands grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head. It barely hit the floor before he unfastened her bra and slid it down her arms.

  The air hit her bare chest and she shivered.

  His gaze traveled down to study her before it returned to her eyes. “You’re beautiful.”

  He kissed her again and she ached with the need to be closer to him, the belief that he could give her the comfort she longed for. The wholeness she had only ever found with him. His hand reached down to her waistband, unfastening the button and the zipper.

  Will tugged off her jeans and pulled her down onto the bed. Leaning over her, he studied her with a blank expression.

  Her chest tightened. Maybe he decided this was a bad idea. She should stop him before he broke her heart. Just when she was sure he didn’t want her, his mouth found hers. She sunk her hands into his hair, pulling him closer.

  His lips moved down her neck to her breast. To her frustration, he took his time, exploring her body until she insisted he give her what she really needed, him.

  When they finished, he lay next to her and gave her his slow, playful grin. “I can’t believe I could forget doing this with you. You’re certain we did this before?”

  “Many, many times.”

  “How did we ever get anything else done?”

  “You’re very efficient.” She laughed, rolling to her side.

  His thumb stroked her shoulder blade, sending a shiver down her spine. “Are these the marks you told me about? Fire and water?”

  She swung her head around. “What are you talking about? It’s just fire now.”

  Will slowly shook his head as his thumb outlined her skin. “No, I’m pretty sure there’re two marks. One plainly looks like fire and the one beneath it looks like water.”