Harvester of Light Trilogy (Boxed Set)

by S. J. West

  “Do you think Zoe and Blue are all right?” I asked him.

  “I don’t think she would hurt them,” Jace said confidently. “From what you said, she just wants her daughter back, even if she has to use other girls to make her fantasy come true. And Zoe might be young, but she’s smart. I doubt she believed Julia’s story about us deciding to leave her there. She’s probably just biding her time until we come to get her.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I said as I slipped my hand into Jace’s and leaned against him as we sat in the back of the van together.

  “Everything will be fine,” he reassured me, giving my hand a firm, comforting squeeze.

  I felt a tap, tap, tap on my shoulder and looked to see that Kirk and Teegan had moved directly behind Jace and me.

  “Skye,” Kirk said, looking between me and Jace. “We were wondering if you could do the formal introductions now.”

  It took me a moment to realize what Kirk was wanting. It had been so long since I was asked to adhere to the code of polite society the thought of introducing Kirk and Teegan to Jace never even occurred to me.

  “Jace,” I said, turning to half face Jace and half face Kirk and Teegan. Jace followed my lead by turning toward my friends. “I would like to introduce you to Kirk and Teegan. They helped me stay sane in Alliance and also were the miracle workers who made me look decent at all the events.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Jace said, offering his hand to Kirk first then Teegan for firm handshakes. “I’m glad to know Skye had people watching her back. I’m indebted to you for that.”

  “You guys don’t owe us anything,” Kirk said, waving away Jace’s gratitude. “If we make it to the Southern Kingdom, we’ll owe you guys big time. We’ve tried to escape from Alliance almost from the moment we got there.”

  Kirk filled Jace in on how he and Teegan ended up in Alliance and told him what happened to Teegan after their last failed attempt at escape. Jace was just as horrified by the tale as I was when I heard it.

  Just before we pulled up to Julia’s house, Ian asked me to sit up front in the passenger seat.

  “Look in the glove compartment,” he instructed. “There should be a gun in there.”

  The light in the glove compartment switched on, and I found a revolver.

  “Give it to Jace. I doubt Julia will do what I need without a little added persuasion.”

  I handed the gun to Jace. “What do you want me to do when we get there?”

  “Not much. Try to look distraught, since you just lost the love of your life. I can incapacitate Julia pretty easily, but I need Jace to keep the gun on her while she’s taking out my tracker, just to make sure she doesn’t let the scalpel slip.” Ian looked in the rearview mirror at Jace. “We just need to make sure she doesn’t figure out something’s up and try to call Freddy. So, stay in the van until I have her, Jace. If she sees you alive, it’ll give us away pretty quick.”

  After we pulled up to Julia’s house, everyone got out of the van except for Jace, who remained hidden in the interior while we walked up to the front door. The house was just as dark looking as the first night we happened to stumble across Julia’s sanctuary of comfort. For some reason, I felt nervous about seeing Zoe. What if Jace was wrong? What if Zoe had believed Julia’s lies and thought we left her in the hands of a stranger?

  Ian knocked on the front door. I saw a light through the thin gauze of white fabric behind the glass door. Julia answered the door, holding the lantern up a bit higher to see our faces.

  “Come in,” she told Ian, keeping a wary eye on me.

  All four of us stepped into the living room. The fragrant aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and a wet dog brought my eyes to Blue. He was sitting at the end of the hallway leading to the kitchen when he caught my scent and ran to me, nearly knocking me over. I bent down and hugged him around the neck. I looked at him with a critical eye. Nothing seemed out of place, except he looked a little fatter than usual and faintly smelled of strawberry scented shampoo.

  “Did Zoe give you a bath, boy?” I asked him, scratching him behind the ears the way I knew he liked best.

  When I stood from Blue, I turned my attention to Julia. “Where is Zoe?”

  “Asleep in her room,” Julia replied. “I gave her something that should keep her knocked out while you’re here. I didn’t want her to get confused by seeing you again. You’re supposed to be halfway to the Southern Kingdom by now.”

  “How is she?”

  “She’s a very different little girl,” Julia said with great hesitation. “She was more than I expected.”

  “So, she’s safe in her room, snug as a bug in a rug?” Ian asked.

  Julia’s eyes narrowed on Ian. “Yes, why would you care?”

  Ian grabbed Julia by the throat and pinned her against the far wall of the living room.

  “Because,” Ian said, his face only inches away from Julia’s, “it’ll be easier for me to get you to do what I need if the girl is out of the way.”

  Julia tried to pry Ian’s hand off her neck, but I knew how pointless it was to try to make a Harvester do what you wanted.

  “I’m not doing it,” Julia said, already knowing what Ian wanted. “Freddy will find you, whether I take the tracker out of you or not. He’ll kill you if you try to take the girl for yourself, especially if she can cure the virus.”

  “You’ll do what I tell you to do,” Ian snarled. “Kirk! Go get Jace.”

  Kirk dashed out the door to the van.

  “He’s alive?” Julia asked as her eyes widened at the news.

  “And he has a gun,” Ian added. “So, if you want to live, I wouldn’t let the scalpel slip any deeper than it has to.”

  Jace walked in and immediately pointed the gun straight at Julia’s head. If Julia thought Ian was exaggerating, the cold hardness of Jace’s stare convinced her he wouldn’t have any qualms about pulling the trigger. She had to have known what Freddy put us through during our short stay in Alliance. That alone was worth a bullet to the head.

  While Jace and Ian handled the matter of making Julia take out the tracker, I went to the room I knew Zoe would be staying in. I stood at the threshold of the bedroom remembering too clearly the last time I was here. I could see the outline of Zoe’s body lying underneath the lacy white comforter on the canopy bed. The room was dark, only lit by the light Julia was working under in the examination room across the hallway. I stepped into the room and walked over to the bed.

  A spill of long blonde hair lay across the pillow cradling Zoe’s head. I didn’t remember Zoe’s hair being so long in the pixie-like pigtails she wore, but chalked that discrepancy up to being the difference between it being up and let loose. I sat on the bed and cupped the side of Zoe’s face resting on the pillow, turning it so I could see her more clearly. I took in a sharp breath, not understanding what I was seeing.

  It was Zoe, but she looked like she had aged at least two years since I had last seen her. I stood up from the bed and stripped the comforter off the rest of her. In the dim light, I could see she had grown in length by at least a foot, possibly more.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I turned to Kirk and Teegan as they entered the room. I knew they were standing outside of it to give me some privacy with Zoe but after seeing my actions they knew something was up.

  “She’s grown,” I said, dumbfounded by my discovery. “She’s supposed to be seven years old, but she looks more like she’s nine or ten now.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Kirk said, not questioning my discovery but agreeing with me that it was an impossibility.

  “Julia,” I growled, practically stomping out of the room, sure Julia had done something to Zoe to stimulate her growth.

  Julia was just taking the small black chip out of Ian’s neck when I made it to the doorway of the examination room. The smell of alcohol was thick in the air.

  “What did you do to Zoe?” I demanded, feeling my temper start to get the best of m
e.

  “I fed her,” Julia said with no more of an explanation.

  “Fed her what?” I asked. “Growth hormones? She looks two years older than she did two days ago!”

  Julia grabbed a gauze bandage from a cabinet in the room and started taping it to the fresh cut on Ian’s neck.

  “Like I said downstairs, she’s different.” After Julia had the bandage secured on Ian’s neck, she turned her attention to me. “All I know is that she’s practically eaten everything I had stored here. It was like she couldn’t get enough. The more she ate, the faster she grew. I had to give her some medicine to help with the growing pains. Her poor little body just couldn’t cope with the extra strain.”

  “She’s grown that much?” Jace asked me, keeping the barrel of the gun pointed at Julia but looking directly at me.

  “Yes,” I replied, trying to figure out what was happening with Zoe. Was this what Simon had tried to warn me about?

  “Where’s the medicine you give her for the pain?” I asked Julia. “We’ll need to take some with us.”

  Julia crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t you think she would be better off here with me? I can feed her and take care of any complications she might encounter. She needs a doctor to watch over her to make sure nothing bad happens.”

  For a split second I actually considered Julia’s argument before saying, “No, she needs me and Jace. We’re her family now. We’ll be able to get her a doctor where we’re going.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Julia said, opening up a cabinet on the wall and pulling out a bottle of pills. She tossed the bottle to me. “When she can’t handle the pain, give her two of those pills. It won’t take it away completely, but it’ll help her cope.”

  “Thank you,” I said, actually meaning it to a person who was the catalyst of so much pain in our lives.

  Ian tied Julia up in a chair in the examination room. Jace carried Zoe down to the van while Kirk, Teegan, and I rummaged around in Julia’s house for supplies. I found the backpacks Jace and I had come to Julia’s house with in the back of her bedroom closet. Most importantly, I found Ash’s jacket. I hugged the coat to me, inhaling the faint scent of Ash still clinging to the fabric.

  “Are you about ready?” Jace asked tersely.

  When I looked at him, I could see him making an effort not to look at the jacket directly, but keeping his eyes focused on my face.

  “Yeah, almost done.” I reached down and picked up Jace’s backpack, handing it to him. “You should probably put some clothes on,” I told him. “Don’t want you to catch a cold.”

  “Never been sick a day in my life,” he answered, a moment of confusion crossing his face. “I’m not sure why I just said that.”

  “It’s probably true. Maybe that means your memories are coming back.”

  “I see yours have,” Jace commented dryly, pointedly looking down at the jacket in my hands. I knew what he was hinting at, and I couldn’t deny the jacket had indeed reminded me of the person waiting for me in the Southern Kingdom.

  I didn’t try to make a reply to Jace’s statement. I just picked up my own backpack, following Jace out of the closet, keeping a firm grip on Ash’s jacket.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  I couldn’t stop staring at Zoe during the long drive southward. Was the time she spent inside the bubble catching up with her? Would she keep growing until she reached her true age? What if it didn’t stop? What if she grew old and died right in front of me?

  The chilling possibility made my skin crawl, causing me to shiver involuntarily. Jace scooted closer to me and put a comforting arm around my shoulders.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, concerned for my physical well-being, not knowing fear was the culprit of my unease, chilling me to the bone.

  “I just can’t believe what’s happening to her,” I confessed. “Do you think she’ll be all right?”

  Jace hugged me closer to his warmth, easing the tension in my body with just his presence. “She’ll be fine. Remember what Simon said: she has work to do.”

  “But what if she’s already done it?” I questioned, feeling the cold dread of realization creep up my spine. “What if she was just meant to protect us from that bomb?”

  Jace shook his head. “No, I think she was meant to do more than just that with her gift. Do you remember me telling you about the blonde girl I saw you laughing with in the future?”

  I nodded. “Could that have been Zoe?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Jace said, studying Zoe’s face in the dim light of morning. “I can see the similarities between that girl and how Zoe’s features are maturing. If I were a betting man, I would wager Zoe will stop growing when she reaches her real age. Plus, we need her to get through that barrier you told me about.”

  Even though we hadn’t actually talked about it, I knew then Jace had the same idea as me. If Zoe could protect us from a full-on nuclear blast, her shield should be able to keep us safe through the radiation field that surrounded the Southern Kingdom. We needed her help to cross over.

  “You guys mind me asking who Simon is?” Kirk asked, prompting me to tell him and Teegan about the man in the bubble, which led to a discussion about Zoe’s power and mine and that Freddy thought my blood might be a cure for the Cain virus.

  “Yeah, I heard Julia say that while we were at her house,” Kirk admitted. “Were you really shot twice at Freddy’s party? He played it off like it was all staged to add some excitement for the tournament and that you weren’t really hurt like everyone was led to believe.”

  “I assure you the bullets were real. Freddy just didn’t want anyone to figure out what really happened.” I looked over at Jace. “Jace was able to help me learn how to use my powers to heal my wounds.”

  “How did he know you could do that?”

  “He can see into my future.”

  “We sort of overheard some of what you guys were saying last night,” Kirk said with a modicum of embarrassment for his unintentional eavesdropping. “I thought it might have been a game you guys played with one another. Not a real question.”

  “No, I’ve seen Skye’s future. Parts of it anyway,” Jace said.

  “Did you see me and Teegan in any of your flashes about Skye?”

  “A few. But most everything I see centers on Skye, not always the people around her.”

  “Well, that doesn’t surprise me,” Kirk said, smiling at us. “Anyone who’s around the two of you can tell how much you care for one another.”

  Jace smiled, tilting his head down and chancing a shy glance over at me.

  I’m pretty sure I looked confused. I felt confused. What exactly had Kirk seen from me to lead him to such a conclusion? Did I care for Jace even more than I knew, or was willing to admit? I knew then I wouldn’t be able to reconcile my feelings for Jace until I resolved how I truly felt about the other man in my life. What was Ash going to think about me bringing Jace to the Southern Kingdom? I guess that depended on what Ash’s feelings were for me. I didn’t really know for sure, just had a hunch they might be deeper than mere friendship. If they were, what would I do? I knew where Jace stood. He loved me unconditionally. If Ash declared that he loved me too, who would I choose? The honest answer—I didn’t know.

  We didn’t make many stops that day except to fill the van’s gas tank up. Ian stole two barrels of gas from Julia’s supplies, which we were towing in a small trailer attached to the back of the van.

  Zoe didn’t begin to stir until midafternoon. When she did wake up, I made sure my face was the first one she saw. I lay down beside her and gently smoothed her hair away from the side of her face.

  Her eyelids fluttered open, showing the bluer than blue eyes I remembered so well.

  “Hey, monkey,” I said, using Jace’s nickname for her.

  “Skye?” she asked, raising a hand to her forehead like she had a headache and closing her eyes briefly before looking back at me. “Where are we?”

  “On our way to the Sout
hern Kingdom.”

  Zoe tried to sit up, but she wasn’t being very successful by herself. I helped raise her up to a sitting position. She looked at her new surroundings. Jace smiled at her. Kirk waved, and Teegan winked. Blue, who had guarded her while she slept, licked her on the cheek once.

  “Where’s Julia?” Zoe asked, still confused by her new surroundings.

  “You don’t have to worry about her anymore,” I reassured Zoe. “We left her far behind.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  Zoe’s question caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”

  “You should have brought her with us. She’ll be all alone now.”

  “Zoe, she kidnapped you and Blue. And she sold me and Jace to a bunch of Harvesters. Why the hell would I bring someone like that with us?” I heard my voice rise in anger but couldn’t prevent it. Had Julia brainwashed Zoe somehow?

  “She wasn’t all that bad,” Zoe tried to defend her. “She was just lonely, Skye.”

  “Stockholm syndrome,” I heard Ian mutter from the driver’s seat.

  “What did you say?” I asked him, not sure I heard him correctly, since it sounded like a set of random words put together.

  “Stockholm syndrome,” he repeated a little louder, leaning back in his seat. “It’s when people who are held captive develop a relationship with their captors. They end up sympathizing with them, instead of despising them.”

  “She wasn’t that bad,” Zoe continued to defend herself.

  Teegan scooted closer to sit beside me. She pointed to me and then Zoe then to her mouth.

  “I’m sorry,” I told her, shaking my head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

  “Julia was the one who cut out Teegan’s tongue,” Kirk said, supplying the missing information. “Anyone who does that to a person is either crazy or evil in my opinion.”

  Zoe looked startled and stared at Teegan before asking, “She really cut your tongue out?”

  Teegan nodded, making a noise in her throat for affirmation.