Quintessence (Statera Saga Book 2)

by Amy Marie

  “You saved me,” Dylan says turning back to me. “Thank you.”

  “L-likewise.” I look at him properly for the first time.

  His copper hair is curled from the water, and his eyes are the deepest blue I’ve ever seen. There’s something about them, one could almost drown in their depths. Like the sea.

  “Y-your accent. Wh-Where’re you f-from?” I ask, mesmerized.

  Rafe interrupts with a hint of hysteria in his voice. “The man just manipulated a spout of ice water with his hands to save us, and you want to know where his accent is from? What the hell was that?”

  Dylan holds up his hands in front of his face. “I have no idea. I’ve never done anything like that before in my life. Never knew it was possible. I just knew I had to do something!”

  Silence fills the car as we all process this distorted reality.

  After a moment, he turns again to face me. “Grew up in Australia. Something drew me to this area. I used to have these crazy dreams. I’m thinking you might know why that is. They included you.”

  I display a teeth-chattering smile, liking him instantly. There’s something there, not an attraction, but more of a connection to him. It feels natural.

  The heat is on full blast and before I can continue the conversation, my body begins to violently shake with shock.

  I huddle against Char, in pure awe of the extent of the elemental power I just witnessed.

  Power.

  The word sticks in my head, filling me with dread.

  Dark spots fill my vision and I slip out of consciousness.

  I’m stuck on the edge of the void.

  Hollow eyes fix on me from beyond. They’re blackened, stale, and burnt.

  I’m sorry.

  My silent plea goes out to the fallen, but remains unheard.

  Time passes, but I’m still stuck.

  An angry beast snarls nearby.

  Instead of fear, I want to laugh.

  The beast nudges me, and I sigh.

  Suddenly, there’s something next to me and I can sense its struggle. I’m able to move now and I grope around for anything nearby to help, but find emptiness all around.

  Light. I need light.

  My thought makes a silent plea.

  Like the stab of a knife, a voice violently enters my subconscious.

  Use your power.

  Reaching up to cradle my head in my hands, I shake it negatively.

  Use it, or he dies.

  The whispering voice, neither masculine nor feminine, gives silent threat.

  I feel around and find the limp form next to me. Is it Darcy?

  My hands reach for any sign of familiarity in the form’s features. Yes. Longer hair. There’s stubble on his chin. I build a vision in my head of my dark companion, as my hands move over his body.

  He’s struggling. I don’t feel a wound, but I sense his pain.

  He’s dying.

  The voice is back.

  You can save him. You hold the power.

  Something seems wrong. I don’t want to listen to this voice.

  You are weak. He will be consumed.

  The body pops up and light glows somehow from within him. It’s not Darcy, but someone else entirely. His features are fair, almost angelic.

  Suddenly his face twists into the face of the destructor.

  He lunges, wrapping his glowing hands around my throat.

  Use your power!

  But I refuse. I can’t. I just can’t handle the power.

  In response to my thoughts, the grip tightens, and the light is choked out of me.

  I’m no longer stuck.

  I sit up gasping, pulling invisible hands from my neck.

  My body is stiff. I must’ve been unconscious for a while.

  Darcy lounges in a chair in the corner, but he jumps up at my movements. “How are you feeling?” he asks, bringing me a glass of water.

  “Sore. How long was I out?” I ask, taking a sip and stretching.

  “Two days,” he replies.

  “What?!” I spit out the water in reaction.

  “You were hypothermic. Rafe and Dylan brought you back, and we warmed you up as best we could. But then you developed quite the fever.”

  “How is Char? Did Dylan get sick?” I ask.

  “Char suffered a mild concussion, but has recovered,” he replies. “But Dylan was not affected by the cold temperatures of the water at all. Michael seems to think it is a part of his elemental energy. We sat him in the copper tub with boiling water near the fireplace, and he just marinated like he was at a health spa.”

  “Did they tell you about his other abilities?” I ask, remembering the water manipulation and ice storm.

  “Yes. And the guardians are in a frenzy to uncover any other powers he may have. The great room has been full of experiments for the past few days,” the side of his mouth turns up.

  Eying Darcy, I notice his haggard appearance. “Have you been here all along?” I ask.

  “I have. I suppose I could not wait to yell at you for getting yourself sick.” He smirks.

  His words remind me of my dream. “I heard you, when I was out somehow. You were in a rage. I know it was you, you beast.”

  He snorts, which only helps prove my point.

  I hide my smile.

  “Such vanity to assume you are the beauty, and I am your beast,” he challenges.

  “I never claimed beauty,” I retort.

  “There is no need. It radiates from you,” he says, moving next to me in the bed to cradle me.

  “Just as your animalistic tendencies always find the right moment to shine from you,” I tease, laying against him. “Thank you for staying with me, beast.”

  “My pleasure, my beauty. But I am not an animal. And nothing shines from darkness.”

  “You’re wrong,” I argue. “Light shines from darkness. That’s the real beauty. It’s darkness that gives light a reason to shine.”

  He looks down to me with open, unguarded affection, basking in the rare compliment.

  “Don’t let it go to your h–,” I start, but Darcy swoops down with a kiss to interrupt any chance of a retraction.

  He’s gentle with me after my illness. My body should still be recovering, but I’m fooled by its reaction to him. I lay back into the pillows and he rolls with me.

  Still kissing me gently, he moves from my forehead, kisses my nose, over to my ear, and down my neck. Into my hair, he whispers, “Do not put yourself in danger again.”

  I smile at the command, eyes still closed. Doesn’t he know I’m in danger right now?

  I pull him closer to me, never getting close enough. My heart is almost sore from my ache for him.

  “Nora,” he sighs, and pulls away.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “If it is possible, now more than ever… I do not think I can bear losing you again. Promise me you will not put yourself in danger anymore.” His look carries fierce passion.

  My natural instincts have always been to fight such dominance. But his eyes are prompting me to obey.

  “Nora,” he pleads. “Please, stay with me.”

  “Till the end,” I say, and it’s the first time the thoughts are just my own. It’s no longer a combination of feelings carried over from the past.

  “Nora, I–,” his words are interrupted by a knock at the door.

  A low growl of frustration escapes him as the door opens, and Uncle Mike enters.

  “How is our patient?” Uncle Mike asks cheerfully.

  After assuring them both that I’m feeling better, I move to get out of bed. With Darcy’s assistance, I make my way out to the great room and sit down to a bowl of hot clam chowder.

  As I’m scraping my bowl clean with a piece of bread, Rafe, Char, and Dylan enter the sanctuary peeling off their sopping wet coats and shoes.

  “I swear it’s been raining for two days straight,” Char complains.

  “I think it’s kind of nice,” responds Dylan.
/>
  “Hey! She’s awake!” Rafe cheers.

  I smile in greeting. “Finally! Are you feeling okay, Char?” I ask.

  “I’ll be fine. Just a bump on the head,” she gestures to the side of her skull.

  “So, you’re a superhero of water?” I ask Dylan when they sit and join us. “What’s with the kiddie pool?” I point to a small inflated pool sitting next to the fountain.

  “Just call me King Triton! And yeah, that’s mine. Darcy yelled at me for trying to swim in the fountain,” he says with a mischievous grin.

  “Tell me what you’ve found out in the past few days,” I say with enthusiasm. “Did you discover any other… powers?”

  Dylan goes over their successes and fails in experiments. “I didn’t even know I had powers until I met you guys! I mean I’ve always had good luck in the water, but the things I did the other night… it’s unbelievable!”

  “Actually, Nora, I wanted to talk to you about that, now that we’re all here,” Rafe cuts in.

  I look to him in question, surprised at the seriousness of his tone.

  “When Dylan was using his power, did you see his eyes, and his hands?” he asks me.

  How could I forget?

  “Yes, they were glowing. I’ve never seen anything like it!” I respond.

  “Well, I have,” Rafe says quietly.

  “What? With who?” I ask, stunned.

  “You,” he replies.

  Chapter 11

  “What do you mean, Raphael?” Uncle Mike asks.

  Rafe meets my eyes, but speaks to the room. “Back when we found the Statera, Nora was attacked by the building maintenance guy. I remember being called to her, and then bam, a flash of light. When I asked her about it, she did her best to rationalize, and I let it go. But then I saw her do it again.”

  “When?!” I ask, defensive. It’s almost like he’s accusing me of something terrible.

  “When you screamed at the element guide to help me, your hands and your eyes… they glowed with another flash of light. I didn’t realize that you could be using any kind of power, until I saw Dylan. Then I knew.”

  “Knew what? What power? I didn’t even do anything!” I argue, raising my voice.

  “I saw it too,” Dylan adds softly.

  I turn to Dylan with a look of dismay.

  “When I was tied below the docks. The ice was breaking and we were sinking. Nora couldn’t get the ropes untied. I thought she was going to go into shock, but then she closed her eyes and her hands began to glow. In seconds, the rope was off.”

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I have some sort of power? Worse. I’ve used this power without realizing it? What kind of power is it? What if I can’t control it? My heart’s racing with anxiety.

  Breathe.

  I count my breaths slowly in and out.

  Darcy grasps my hand in his. His eyes capture mine. “You have not done anything wrong,” he says quietly. He puts his hand gently on my chest. “Feel your heartbeat. You are afraid of the power you bear. That fear is your control. You will not abuse it. This is why you were chosen.”

  His touch steadies my heartbeat. I feel myself begin to calm down.

  All eyes in the room are on me.

  “Sorry, I just… I had no idea,” I shrug.

  “What exactly is her power?” Char asks.

  “I’m not sure,” says Rafe, “But I saw it stun Mario when he attacked her. And the other day it was like it made Lilly follow her command–”

  “Lilly?” Dylan interrupts. “You guys know Lilly?”

  I forgot I never had a chance to ask Dylan about his connection to Lilly.

  “My boy, she is the element guide. She found you and directed us to you,” says Uncle Mike. “She’s responsible for bringing the elemental souls together to meet the light and dark souls.”

  “Are we talking about the same Lilly Tolbert? Dark hair? Exotically beautiful?” Dylan laughs, looking around the room. It occurs to me that I never even knew Lilly’s last name. There’s still so much I need to find out from her.

  “Did you not know?” Darcy asks Dylan.

  “No! Of course not. I mean, I’ve been hanging out with Lilly for months!” Dylan replies.

  “So, you had no idea Lilly had anything to do with this?” Rafe asks him.

  “I didn’t. Where is she? Does she live here too?” he asks, hopeful.

  “She took off,” says Char with obvious contempt. “We haven’t seen her since the night we found you.”

  “How long have you known her?” I ask him.

  “I met her last fall. Just at the beginning of the school year. I was supposed to go out with… well, with my friend, Alex.” His eyes cast down at the painful reminder of his lost friend. “But I met her that day, and we went out instead.”

  I look to Char, wide-eyed.

  “Lilly is the reason you didn’t come out that night?” Char asks, eyebrows shooting up.

  He looks confused. “Yeah. Why?”

  “What if she kept him from us, Nora?” Char turns to me. “I’m telling you, I don’t trust that girl.”

  “I agree with your sister on this matter,” says Darcy.

  Uncle Mike answers my questioning look with a shrug. “What if she was trying to keep him from Talbot?” he suggests to the others.

  “That could be. We have no reason not to trust her. She saved me from TJ and helped you all get out before the explosion.” I try to reason with my untrusting companions.

  “But she bailed at sunset,” Rafe points out.

  “Guys, she’s the element guide. She told me herself that she only had the dream to find us after I met Darcy. When she met Dylan, I hadn’t even known Uncle Mike or Darcy. Besides, she led us to our first elemental soul.” I point to Dylan.

  “We were just about to find him ourselves!” exclaims Rafe.

  “There’s just something about her, Nora,” Char says in earnest. “I don’t trust her.”

  “We have three more souls to find. We need her, end of story. If I have to deal with her by myself, I will,” I argue.

  “Like hell,” says Darcy, temper rising. “You will not see her on your own.”

  “He’s right, Nora. That would be foolish and you know it. From now on, until we know who we can trust, we move in groups,” Uncle Mike says with final authority.

  My skin boils. Don’t they remember what happened the last time they tried to order me around?

  Later that night, I take a shower and disappear into my own room for privacy. Locking the door against the orders I’ve been given, I move to my cell phone and look through my messages. I pull up Lilly’s last text and retrieve her phone number.

  I hesitate. Should I call her? I contemplate what happened the last time I broke Darcy’s command and lost his trust. I nearly got myself killed.

  But there are questions about my power that I know Lilly has the answers to.

  I could text her and ask her to come here to talk. If I could bring her to the sanctuary, I could prove to the others that she’s here to help us. But can we trust her enough to let her in to our stronghold? I’m not sure I trust her that much myself.

  I decide to text Lilly and ask her if we can talk at her place tomorrow. I can ask Dylan to come with me. He’s known Lilly longer than any of us, and I technically wouldn’t be going alone.

  Seconds later, I get a response back with her address and instructions to meet after class. Perfect. I’ll talk to Dylan tomorrow to arrange everything.

  I lay back on my bed, exhausted from my exertions so soon after my illness.

  A soft knock at my door makes me jump from my thoughts.

  I get up to unlock the door and Darcy enters.

  My eyes wander to my phone on the table in guilt, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

  “I did not want you to worry over your power all night. I figured I could stay… if you want me to?” he asks, with a rare look of vulnerability.

  “Well, I don’t know,” I get nervous and
excited at the same time. “Do you want to stay?”

  “Just to hold you and talk. I am nothing, if not a gentleman.” One side of his mouth turns up. The look he gives me seems to contradict his words.

  My nose twitches trying to suppress my own smile. “And they say chivalry is dead. Little do they know, it’s just been cursed for hundreds of years.”

  My heart races as I crawl into bed. Good thing I grabbed a quick shower before coming to my room.

  I snuggle into the crook of Darcy’s arm, fitting perfectly. Darcy always smells clean, like cedar and soap. The light scent comforts me.

  “How many lives have you remembered?” I ask him after a time, thinking of my ancient dreams.

  “Countless. Some are just glimpses. Some are more memorable.” He smiles at his own visions.

  “I wonder if we’ve ever discovered our powers before,” I say, staring up into the darkness.

  Darcy remains quiet.

  I turn to look up at him, but he avoids eye contact. Instead, his hand caresses my lower back, just under my shirt. I snuggle back down in comfort.

  “We have never married, you know.” Darcy says out of nowhere.

  My eyes had been closing in contentment, but pop open at Darcy’s words.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it, with everything else going on,” I pick my words carefully.

  He huffs. “Eleanor said those exact words, when I asked her back then.”

  “You proposed?” I exclaim.

  “A memory you must not have held dear, since it has not resurfaced.” His tone has turned flat.

  “Darcy,” I hold my head up to look at him and stop. The memory is there, in his eyes. It all comes back to me.

  The proposal, the joy, the confusion, and the duty Eleanor felt towards her father. Eleanor’s father had promised her to Talbot before they knew he was the destructor. When she tried to get out of her obligation, Talbot’s threats awoke her true fear. She tried to push Darcy away, refusing to see him, but Talbot’s absolute evil took over. Gabriel was murdered. Eleanor was finally able to recognize Talbot for what he was – the destructor.

  “You know she wanted to say yes, right?” I offer after a moment.

  “She tried to explain to me after Gabriel died. But there was never a good time to ask her again. We were constantly hiding and on the run. And then I lost her…” his voice trails off in pain.