Strength (The Descendant Trilogy)

by Theresa M. Jones

  “Little pet, what are you doing out in the woods all by your lonesome?” And then it hit me, I needed to know more about what he was doing here. I knew he was looking for the Compound, but maybe I could find out more. I ignored the pain and reached out with my mind to read his thoughts.

  He was working alone. No one sent him. He had a hunch that The Compound was around here, and he wanted to prove he was right so that he could challenge the Leader. At least I knew there was a Leader.

  The he pushed me out and punched me in the face again. “That’s very rude, little pet,” he growled in my ear, his breath smelled even worse than the rest of him.

  Andrew! I need help! I shouted to his mind, hoping he would hear me. But I couldn’t think of anything more to say to him, because at that moment I thought of something else. I couldn’t die right now because Andrew had seen me in his vision. I would be there with Gabby. I needed to be there for her.

  So, though I was pinned beneath him, my arms were free. I looked down and saw a tiny hilt of a blade sticking up from his boot. It was the same knife he used to cut me with before. He was saying something to me about how he was going to torture me, but I’d heard it all before. I summoned the blade to my hand, and in the blink of an eye I pushed the blade between his eyes. It went in easier than I thought, or maybe I was using more force than I thought.

  He screamed, but only for a minute, because I used my Power to push it further, burying most of the hilt in his face, and causing the end of the blade to stick out the back of his head. His nasty blood gushed down from his face and onto mine, sticky, slimy and warm. And then he collapsed, getting even heavier than before. His black hole completely disappeared. Gone.

  I rolled over, pushing him off me and to the side. I tried to wipe the blood from my face, but it was like glue, not wanting to leave me. It felt like it would be there permanently, forever tainting me. A tattoo of death. Proof that I was a killer. And then I walked backwards until my back hit a tree. I slid down it, the bark scratching through my shirt, until my knees were once again tucked under my chin and I cried.

  I stared over at the lifeless body as the blood pooled around his head, staining the dirt and grass below. I stared at him and realized that his life was gone, his little hole, even though it was black, was gone forever.

  So I cried. And I didn’t stop.

  Chapter 16

  Faith

  When they came to get me, I was pretty out of it. Mom and David came running, faster than any human should be able to, with Andrew and two guards right behind them. I hardly paid them any attention.

  Not until I saw my mother’s eyes. They were filled with love and compassion. She felt bad for me. She knew though. She knew what I had done. The dead body was just in front of us, blood everywhere, and probably still all over my face and in my hair. I wasn’t dead. He was. I killed him, and she knew. They all knew.

  They all knew I was a killer!

  And I cried harder. My throat hurt, and I wasn’t even sure how many more tears could come, since I had been crying for what felt like hours.

  David pulled me into his arms and carried me like a baby back to The Compound. I felt like zoning out, like this was still a dream. Not real. It couldn’t be. And finally he laid me in bed. My mom wiped my face with a wash rag. I knew they were talking to me, but I didn’t have anything to say to them. Not to anyone. I was a killer.

  When they left, I finally allowed myself to rest. I closed my eyes and prayed that I wouldn’t feel that dumb falling feeling again.

  ~~~

  The next morning, as I lay in bed I thought about everything. Yes , it was way harder than I thought to kill someone. Yes, he was a Rising Member who wanted to kill us. Yes, he was evil. But he was human, a person. I took his life. That is something I just had to accept.

  But, I also saved many lives. I saved my own life. I survived, in a battle that I hadn’t won in dream after dream, I managed the impossible. Or what had seemed impossible to me. I would be there for Gabby when she needed me. And Andrew would still be there for me. I was victorious. And though it sucked that I had taken a life, it was for the best.

  I got up that morning, showered longer than I ever had in my entire life, and didn’t shed one more tear. I was stronger than he was. And I was stronger than a pathetic child crying over spilt blood.

  When I walked out, surprisingly my mother and David were both still there. They sat on the couch, just waiting for me. I could smell bacon and eggs in the kitchen. I couldn’t believe they had made breakfast for me.

  “Can you come sit with us?” David asked. And I realized that I had just stopped in the doorway when I saw them. I nodded and walk toward them, then sat on the chair across from the couch where they both sat.

  “How are you feeling, baby?” Mom asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders, not sure of what to say. But she stifled a sigh, so I knew she wanted more.

  “I’m okay, actually. Much better than last night.” I paused to try to regain some semblance of control over my speeding thoughts. “Last night I was pretty devastated. I totally get why you don’t want us going out on hunts with you now.” I said with a chuckle. Though it wasn’t funny at all, it seemed funny to me that it took that to convince me they were right.

  They both nodded, not smiling at all.

  “But I am better now. I feel more sure of myself. I did what I had to do to survive. It wasn’t easy, and something I’ll never forget, but…” I paused again, not sure what I was trying to say. “I understand things now,” I said, finally understanding how I actually felt.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” My mom said, as she stood up and walked over to me. She sat on the arm of the chair, and placed her hand on my back. “I wish you never had to do something like that.” Then she shook her head. “At least not for a while.” I guess she realized that this was part of our life now. Killing.

  I’m a killer.

  But so is she.

  That’s what we do. We kill to save lives. How messed up is that?

  “If you need anything, to talk, to cry, to…anything at all, I’m here for you. I will leave Council Meetings, and hunts, and everything to come to you. Okay?” she asked. That meant a lot. Being in the Council and trying to kill Rising members was her life. “You always come first, baby,” she said as if she read my mind.

  I nodded. “Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me. But I think I’m okay now.”

  “Also, we wanted to talk to you about our last conversation,” David said, and I had to think hard to remember what our last talk was about. It felt like years ago, but it was only yesterday. “About Gabby,” he offered.

  “Okay?” I said, but made it a question, because I didn’t know where he was going with this.

  “We think you were right, to a degree. We will start training her differently than the other children. We won’t tell her yet, but very soon, who she is. And in the meantime, she will be training with the Guard.”

  I smiled, because this is exactly what I wanted. I could wait a little while longer for her to know everything, but she needed more training.

  “Also, all of you kids will be training differently. We do believe what you said about us training you all to hold back, especially those of you that are more Powerful,” he continued. And I listened on the edge of my seat.

  “After you left last night, your mother and I talked for a long while about the way you all are being trained, and agree that we have been going about it the wrong way. This is with Gabby too. We will no longer train her to hold back. We will help her to control it while she uses the Power at its full potential.”

  He cleared his throat before continuing. “This could cause some problems, since she really is very Powerful, but we are counting on your to help her through this.”

  My head bobbed uncontrollably as I nodded my agreement with his statement.

  “I’ll so be there,” I promised them.

  “Things are changing, Sam. And we all need t
o be prepared. Every single one of us will have a part to play. And we must play it to the best of our abilities,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it either. I wanted to keep you safe, both of you. And I wanted to keep you sheltered. I felt like if I treated you like children, than it would hold off the inevitable. But I was wrong.” Holy crap, she never admitted that!

  Then it was quiet as we all sat there.

  “Thank you!” I said. “I will help any way I can!” I told them. I almost jumped when we heard a knock at the door. They both smiled at the same time after sharing a knowing glance.

  “Well, I think that’s our que. So, you are officially ungrounded, and I love you so much, my Sammy!” She said after hugging me and kissing my head. “We are going to work.”

  “Aren’t you going to see who is at the door first?” It was probably someone here about some crazy Council stuff.

  She smiled and shook her head. “No. This time it’s for you.”

  They walked to the door together and left, just as Andrew walked in. He walked straight to me and pulled me into his arms. And finally my hope had been restored.

  But not just that. As I hugged him back, I realized I had more than hope. I had strength.

  I was strong. Like really strong. I knew I could defeat my enemies. I knew I was strong enough to fight beside him. That I was strong enough to help Gabby. And I was so thankful that I had Andrew, who gave me more strength than I ever thought I had.

  *PRIMITUS

  Peony : Virtue-Charity, Ability-To heal others

  Minerva: Virtue- Wise, Ability- Teach people by touch

  Arabella: Virtue- beautiful and full of grace, Ability- Artist/Dance

  Beatrice: Virtue- Joy and Patience, Ability- affect people’s emotions

  Idadurant: Virtue- Diligent, Ability- Fierceness in battle

  Catsafonda: Virtue- Love and Chastity, Ability-inspire love

  Temperence: Virtue- Self-Discipline, Ability- Telekinesis.

  Esperence: Virtue- Hope, Ability- Shield/force field

  Verefidel: Virtue- Faith and loyalty, Ability- Telepathy and Visions of past/present/future

  * The Order-

  All descendants are faster and stronger than the powerless. Also they heal faster and age slower than the powerless.

  Samantha- Plum.

  Descends from: Beatrice, Esperance, Verefidel, Arabella, Temperence, Idadurant

  Amber- Rose

  Descends from: Verefidel, Temperence, Minerva

  Andrew- Gold

  Descends from: Verefidel, Esperence, Temperence, Idadurant, Arabella

  Albrecht (Al)- Forest Green

  Descends from: Esperence, Idadurant, Peony

  Allison- Deep Purple.

  Descends from: Beatrice, Esperance, Verefidel, Arabella, Temperence, Idadurant

  David- Emerald.

  Descends from: Peony, Minerva, Castafonda, Idadurant, Esperence, Verefidel, Temperence

  Sharon Howard- Peach.

  Descends from: Verefidel, Arabella, Temperence

  *The Rising

  All Rising Members are faster and stronger than the powerless. Also they heal faster and age slower than the powerless. Depending on which demon(s) one descends from, a Rising Member could have any number of different abilities, including but not limited to teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy.

  Acknowledgments:

  There are many people who helped me along the way. I want to thank my husband, for putting up with my obsessive need to read and write. I want to say thank you to the amazing photographer, Dana Dotherow at Digitally Different Photography for my gorgeous cover art! I want to thank all my bloggy friends, who encouraged me along the way.

  And especially to YOU, the reader for taking the time out of your day to read this!

  If you enjoyed this book, PLEASE take the time to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads!

  The best gift you can give an author is a good review!

  About the Author:

  Theresa M Jones is just a regular small town, Texas girl. You can find her at home with her husband and two beautiful (and rambunctious) kiddos.

  In her spare time- as if there ever was such a thing as "spare time" - she reads and reviews books on her book blog, and writes paranormal romance novels.

  POWER (The Descendant Trilogy #1) was her debut Paranormal Romance novel.

  ARISE (A Descendant Trilogy Novella) a prequel to Power is her first Novella.

  HOPE (The Descendant Trilogy #2) is her second published novel.

  STRENGTH (A Descendant Trilogy Novella) is her second published novella.

  You can find Theresa M. Jones many places!

  TWITTER- @MrsTheresaJones

  Goodreads: Author Theresa Jones

  Her website: Theresa M Jones

  And Facebook: TheresaMJones