Atlas (The Atlas Series)

by Becca C. Smith

  “I’m not telling you.” Kala wanted to back away, but found herself frozen in place, as if she needed to feel the heat from Talan’s body.

  “I won’t complete your mission if that’s what you’re afraid of, but if you tell me what it is I can show you what will happen if you don’t complete it.” Talan’s face was so close to Kala’s it was making her legs shaky. Not just because of the chemistry she was feeling, but because of what he was offering her.

  A chance to see what would happen if she didn’t kill Jack.

  But she didn’t trust him. She didn’t know Talan. He claimed he wouldn’t go out and kill Jack, but if he decided he wanted to, there was nothing she could do about it.

  “I don’t trust you, and I have no way of stopping you if you’re lying to me.” Kala decided the honest approach was her best option.

  Talan stared at her a few more moments, then backed away with his hands up in mock surrender. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Better yet, I’ll show you.”

  Kala found that she was disappointed when Talan stepped away from her. She hated herself for entertaining any kind of desire toward Talan, but chemistry wasn’t something she could control.

  She could, however, control herself — and Jack meant more to Kala than anything she could think of. No Angel would stand in the way of that.

  Then what Talan said registered in her brain. “Show me?” she asked.

  He nodded. “The same way I will be able to show you the future, I can show you the past. My past.”

  Kala’s one weakness in life was her insatiable curiosity. Being able to see what an Angel’s life was like was too tempting to turn down. She looked Talan in the eye and nodded quickly before she could chicken out.

  “Show me,” she said.

  Chapter Twenty

  Talan reached out and took Kala’s hand. She had to repress a shiver that went down her spine at his touch. Kala wanted to punch herself in the face for her reaction to Talan, but she shoved down her emotions instead. Just like always. She was good at that.

  Talan led her back to the couch and they both sat down facing each other.

  “Close your eyes,” he instructed.

  Kala closed her eyes and felt Talan take her other hand so that he held them both.

  Relax. Kala scolded herself, but her heart was racing with excruciating anticipation of what was going to happen next.

  A flood of images drowned Kala’s senses to the point where she had to open her eyes from the onslaught.

  Talan quietly instructed, “You have to close your eyes. The images will slow down. Relax and calm down.”

  Kala wanted to grumble in annoyance, but kept her opinion to herself. She never liked to be told to calm down. For some reason just the words made her want to choke someone. But in this instance Kala figured Talan was right. She was trying very hard not to panic, which was completely new to her. Being a Navy Seal, panic wasn’t exactly one of her regular sensations. Kala was always cool under pressure, but these were very different circumstances. She couldn’t shoot her way out of this one.

  Closing her eyes, Kala let the melee of images fly past her. If she tried to focus on any one of them it zoomed by too fast to really tell what it was. Taking a deep breath, Kala steadied her nerves, calming herself to the point of relaxation.

  The images slowed down.

  Kala could start making out what she was seeing.

  People and landscapes, from cavemen to the modern age. Kala saw flash photos of manmade progress in technology, science and agriculture. She would have fallen asleep of boredom if it weren’t for the giant nuclear explosion that drew her attention.

  Talan’s voice sounded like a narrator as the still images stopped and rapidly morphed into moving visions. “My first task was to teach people how to protect themselves.” It was almost like watching documentaries in history class, but it felt so real, like Kala was actually there. She was seeing Talan showing a group of humans, or what Kala thought were humans, more like cavemen, how to use fire. But it wasn’t as simple as showing them how it works, Talan was showing them darker things. He was throwing ingredients into the blaze that turned the fire black, then purple, then a bright burning yellow.

  Magic. Kala understood. And not the levitation stuff she’d learned. This was darker, more intense.

  The fire finally turned a whitish color and Talan-from-the-past nodded. One of the humans closed his eyes, concentrating, and the others followed. The flames responded by rising higher and higher. The humans opened their eyes and stared at the growing flames in awe. Kala noticed, though, that they also looked at the flames with greed. Like the power was intoxicating. The man who was their leader, his eyes turned milky red as he concentrated on the fire.

  In one flash of light, the fire rose up from the ground and flew into the eyes of all that stood around it!

  Then the fire completely snuffed out.

  It was now living inside them.

  “The spell gave them strength,” Talan sounded proud of his work as the scenery changed and turned into a wide view of the humans, charged with the power the fire gave them, attacking beasts who were invading their homes. These were not prehistoric animals that Kala could recognize. She began to realize that much of the mythology in history books was closer to reality than anyone ever dreamed.

  The beasts that were attacking the people had heads that looked like bulls with overly large horns protruding from their temples. They had human bodies that were muscular and bulky.

  “Minotaurs,” Talan answered Kala’s unasked question.

  She’d seen them in movies and books, but to see them in front of her like this, so real and vivid, was freaking her out. The concept of fighting mythological beasts was not something Kala had ever considered. At least Demons and Angels looked like people. This Minotaur was out of a nightmare. Although a part of her thought that her sniper rifle would do very nicely against a creature like that. She imagined herself on a nearby cliff, popping them off one at a time.

  But when she saw what the humans did, Kala realized her rifle paled in comparison.

  The fire that the people had captured through their ritual burst out of their eyes and mouths with deadly force, slamming into the Minotaurs with frightening accuracy. The Minotaurs were completely engulfed in the fire, screaming in agony as flames stuck to them like tar. Every time a Minotaur tried to douse the fire, the humans poured on more flames, making the Minotaurs suffer in a fiery prison.

  After watching the horror of these creatures burning in front of her, Kala found herself relieved when the Minotaurs finally fell to their deaths, black charred corpses. The grotesqueness of their final expressions of agony was forever etched into Kala’s brain.

  Free of the fire, the humans looked normal again. They started to celebrate their victory as the scenery changed again…

  …to a place that Kala’s brain couldn’t comprehend.

  It felt as if she were in outer space, yet standing on solid ground. There were stars all around her like she had stepped into the center of the Milky Way. Swirling red mist creeped across from where she stood; upon closer inspection she saw that it was made of tiny red rocks. She felt them prick her skin as the cloud flew by. Where she stood was almost blinding from the intensity of light against utter darkness.

  “This was the Grigori’s punishment for teaching you humans magic, banished here for eternity.” Talan’s voice sounded as if he were standing next to her.

  “Poor you,” Kala could hear the sarcasm dripping gooeyly out of her mouth. As far as prisons went, this place was stunning. A bit overwhelming, but Kala didn’t think she’d ever get tired of watching the universe up close like this.

  “We didn’t deserve it. We were only trying to protect your species. Most of my brethren are still stuck here, but a few of us managed to escape. Open your eyes,” Talan instructed.

  Kala opened her eyes to see Talan still across from her, still holding her hands. He was looking at her cautiousl
y, like he wasn’t sure how she would react, but Kala’s reaction was simple. “That’s it?”

  Confusion crossed his features, “What do you mean?”

  “You said you’d show me who you are. All you showed me was some psycho humans blazing up some Minotaurs and a crazy-ass space prison. I still don’t know anything about you.” Kala wasn’t sure what Talan had wanted to prove by showing her those memories.

  Talan was taken aback by Kala’s response, at least, that’s what it looked like to Kala. He pulled his hands away and appeared as if he were taking a moment to reflect.

  After an awkward silence he finally said, “My point was to show you the kind of magic I can teach you to survive. The few of us who escaped our prison have been teaching select humans we believe can change the world. We’ve only been back a little over two-hundred years and had to be careful so as to not be caught and forced back into exile. But didn’t you ever wonder why humans have grown so fast technologically in the past hundred years as opposed to the thousands of years before? It’s because of the Grigori. We’re finally able to complete our mission.” Talan’s blue eyes searched Kala’s for some kind of appreciation or awe.

  Kala wasn’t that kind of girl.

  “Fine, so because of you I have my iPad. Do you want a medal or something?” Kala knew she was being a jerk, but it was her one way of distancing herself from someone she was attracted to. Be mean. Always works.

  To her surprise, Talan laughed. “Do you want my help or not?”

  Put in those terms, Kala was frozen with indecision. That fire spell looked pretty effective. She wondered if it would work on Demons and Angels.

  But all this magic mumbo jumbo made her head hurt. “Of course I want your help. Apparently I was getting it filtered through Roberta anyway, so better to learn from the source, I guess.”

  “You should still train with Roberta, she’s very special. She’s learned things even I have never seen. It’s one of the things that drew me to her in the first place. She has raw power almost as formidable as any Demon or Angel. She’s not aware of how powerful she is, though. If Roberta and Geoffrey ever have children I can only imagine how strong they would be,” Talan mused.

  “I still don’t know if I can trust you,” Kala admitted.

  “You’re going to have to trust someone.” Talan looked at Kala carefully, then stated simply, “You can’t do this job alone. The ones who have tried never lasted very long.”

  “I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to be the Atlas. The world will just have to end I guess.” Kala didn’t exactly say that last bit with too much conviction. The world ending was a little severe even for her, and she didn’t believe it would happen anyway.

  Talan seemed to pick up on this. “You say this, but if you could see what will happen if you don’t complete your task, you’d change your mind. I promise you.”

  Kala didn’t want to see. She was afraid of how she would feel if she did. Kala didn’t want to consider killing Jack. But seeing what would happen if she didn’t? It would be too much. At this point Kala had built an entire city in Denial-land.

  Standing up, Kala avoided eye contact with Talan as she walked to the window to look at the distant peak of the Washington Monument. She wished she could spear her chest with it and save everyone the trouble. She almost laughed when she remembered that being the Atlas meant she was invincible when it came to self-destruction. It was only when others were trying to kill her that she was vulnerable.

  Kala could hear Talan walk up behind her, then she felt his hand rest on her shoulder. “I’m hiding too. The Demons and Malaks would try and capture my brothers and I if they knew we were back. We’re more powerful, but we’re outnumbered.”

  Kala turned around fast enough to shrug his hand off and looked at him. “Why do you want to help me? What do you care about the stupid Atlas?”

  Talan reached over and touched her hand. Kala couldn’t believe she was letting him, but his touch was electrifying. “We’ve worked too hard to create this new world and we’ve only just begun. I think I’ve found my champions in the Turners, but if you fail all of it goes away. Everything the Grigori have worked for will be destroyed. So, yes, I have more than a passing interest in your safety.”

  Kala grabbed his hand and angrily shoved it off hers. “Don’t touch me,” she snarled. “And why don’t you kill me and become the Atlas yourself if you’re so worried about this End of Days scenario?” For just a second Kala almost wanted him to. Death seemed an easier choice than killing the only man she ever gave a damn about besides her foster dad.

  Talan didn’t look offended at Kala’s violent rejection. He simply stared at her with eyes that suggested he wanted more from her. Kala knew that look all too well. Yet another supernatural being that wanted to get into her pants. Kala didn’t like it, especially since she had been flitting with the idea herself. But making it with an Angel wasn’t exactly on her bucket list. It seemed kind of gross and a little bit sacrilegious.

  “I can’t kill you,” Talan said simply.

  Kala waited a few more seconds before she realized he wasn’t going to elaborate. “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Both.” Then before Kala could react, Talan reached out and held her arms in his hands, his expression one of wonder and desire. “I know you can feel it too. We’re tied to one another. We’re bound. Killing you would be like killing a part of me.”

  “Whoa, dude, rein it in.” Kala easily shoved her way out of Talan’s grasp, but didn’t move away either. “Chemistry: maybe. And that’s a big maybe, but you’re acting like we’re freaking soul mates. I’m spoken for. Seriously spoken for.” Kala made sure she said those last two sentences with as much clarity as possible. She didn’t want a Grigori stalker, Asmodeus was bad enough.

  “I can wait. As the Atlas, you won’t be able to stay with your boyfriend. Even if you ignore your duties, he’ll be destroyed in the aftermath anyway,” Talan said this as if he were waiting for a pesky fly to die.

  It pissed Kala off.

  “Saving Jack is exactly what I’m going to do. We’re going to hide somewhere until this whole apocalypse blows over. I’m not letting anything happen to him!” Kala felt like kicking Talan in the crotch for emphasis, but decided against it.

  Talan’s eyes lit up as if he discovered some secret surprise. “That’s your mission.”

  Kala froze. She swallowed hard, trying not to reveal anything in her expression, but she knew her pause gave everything away. “What are you talking about?” She tried to add as much attitude as possible to her voice to throw Talan off.

  Then he closed his eyes as if in extreme pain.

  When he opened them, Kala almost flinched from the amount of concern on his face. “I’m so sorry,” was all he said.

  Kala suddenly needed to walk away. She shoved past him and headed toward the door. “What are you sorry about?” Kala heard the choke in her voice before she could stop it. Having Talan guess what her mission was made it real for her. Though she hadn’t admitted it yet, just hearing the words from another person caused her immense pain.

  Talan was promptly by her side. He wrapped his arms around her and held Kala close. Kala wanted to push Talan away for trying to hug her, but at that moment it was something she needed. Before she could stop herself she had wrapped her arms around Talan and buried her head in his chest, trying to hold back tears. It wasn’t romantic or sexual; it was Kala trying to take some comfort from another living soul over everything that had happened to her in the last couple of days.

  Finally Kala pulled away. She looked up at Talan with desperation, “You’re not going to kill him are you?”

  Talan didn’t try and pull Kala back in towards him, somehow sensing her unease at his closeness. He shook his head, “I told you: I won’t do that. You either complete your mission or it doesn’t get completed.”

  Kala wanted to believe him, but her innate distrust for…well…everyone… wouldn’t let her. “It’s not like I c
an stop you, but if you kill Jack I swear I’ll make Roberta show me how to hurt you.” It was an empty threat, but Kala felt desperate. The fact that Talan knew her mission scared her beyond measure. There was nothing to stop him from killing Jack. Except her. And Kala would die trying.

  “You don’t have to threaten me, Kala Hicks. I told you I’m bound to you: that means more than saving the world my brothers and I are creating. It also means I can’t stop them either. It’s no secret that you are the Atlas. They’ll hunt you down and either kill you to take your job, or make you do your job. But know this, I will fight every one of them to protect you,” Talan said these words in warning, but Kala could see the genuine fierceness in his eyes when he talked about protecting her.

  “I need to get Jack and get out of town. Just a few days until this all blows over.” Kala backed away from Talan, toward the door. His intenseness scared her, mainly because she felt it back and that made her mad at herself, like she was betraying Jack somehow.

  Talan shook his head sadly. “Kala.”

  The way he said her name made her pause. It was as if eons of pain were shoved into that one word.

  “Don’t try and stop me. I don’t care how you think you feel about me. I only want Jack.” Kala couldn’t seem to turn around to leave. She just kept backing up so that she was always looking directly at Talan. It wasn’t like Kala thought he’d hurt her, it was just that she felt an indescribable need to face him.

  Talan spoke gently, “At least let me show you what will happen if you don’t kill him.”

  Kala could tell he wasn’t trying to push, that he genuinely wanted to help her see the consequences of ignoring her duty. Kala flinched when she called it her duty. The word burned like acid. How could it be her duty to kill the man she loved? Kala knew she could not say no to seeing the potential future. It wasn’t in her nature. If she was going to make the decision to run, she had to know the costs.

  Kala nodded.