Hyacinth (Book #2 in the Svatura Series)

by Abigail Owen

  *****

  The lights turning on woke Selene from the first relatively peaceful slumber she’d had in several nights. She stretched and then glanced over at her companion, who had yet to show any signs of life. Selene checked her pulse again, still worried about her. She couldn’t go on like this much longer. Right?

  Immediately, Selene knew that her increased efforts to put pressure on the blocker were working. The small light of the blocker was definitely getting larger. She could see a tiny bit more. She frowned.

  I’ll need to be careful and time this well.The blocker will know that I’m fighting them. They’ll know I’m making headway here.

  Breakfast was delivered not long after the lights turned on as usual.

  By dinnertime, Selene could tell that her edge over her opponent was growing stronger. Selene felt like a rock climber reaching for a cliff above her head and just barely touching it with her fingertips. The blocker was just out of her reach, but with a little patience, she’d get a grip on them.

  “Sel—ne!”

  The sound of Oren’s voice cutting in and out had Selene jumping up off the bed with a gasp and spinning in a circle, expecting to see her old friend standing beside her. But other than her unconscious companion, she was still alone.

  “Oren?” she called out tentatively. Maybe I’m finally losing it. Selene moved into a corner so she could see the entire room and waited.

  “—lene. Can --u he-- m-?”

  The ghostly form of Oren faded in and out before her eyes.

  “I’m here,” she called, careful to keep her voice quiet so her captors wouldn’t hear. She reached out to the fading image. “Oren. Oren. I’m here.”

  Selene fell silent and waited, but Oren didn’t reappear. “I’m here,” she whispered, desperation clawing at her. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

  That blocker must be holding back Oren, too. I have to be opening up holes in his ability to contain me.

  With a deep breath, Selene sat down in the middle of the floor and crossed her legs. She sat motionless with her eyes closed and concentrated on battling for supremacy over the person who had held her captive. They were both clearly exhausted after so many days of deliberate and constant effort to undermine each other.

  The lights finally turned off again hours later, but Selene didn’t move. She hadn’t wavered for even a second from the silent battle in which she was engaged. Her hair now looked like it was plastered to her head. She was soaked in sweat with the effort of the struggle.

  Suddenly, Selene could just faintly make out a sound…

  “Selene!”

  Ellie’s voice sounded as though it was coming through on a really old telephone. But it was something.

  Selene slowly opened her eyes, careful not to break her concentration. But the lights were still off, and she couldn’t see a thing through the pitch black. She didn’t dare to try to talk back to Ellie for fear she’d lose the ground she’d gained, but she could feel her in her mind, as though she stood on the other side of the wall. Selene gave a last desperate push against her jailor.

  “Selene!”

  Suddenly, Ellie’s and Charlotte’s voices were right beside her just as Selene was about to collapse from her effort. Their presence gave her the much needed strength to hold on just a little while longer.

  “I’m here. Help me,” she pleaded, still frozen in place.

  “It’s pitch black in here. Where are you?” Charlotte stage-whispered.

  “In the middle of the floor,” Selene replied. “And there’s a girl on the bed, too. Make sure you grab her when we go.”

  Without hesitation or question, she could hear Charlotte as she started feeling around for the bed. Ellie dropped to the floor beside Selene and took her hands. Nothing happened.

  “I can’t feel my powers,” Ellie gasped.

  Selene was shaking with the effort she was expending. Inspiration struck. She backed off on her attack and instead pushed a small amount of her power into Ellie, shielding them both.

  Power pulsed between them in electric waves. Pins and needles rushed through her.

  “Push against the blocker with me, Ellie,” Selene instructed, feeling stronger by the second.

  Together they forced back the light surrounding them until it reached the source and dimmed.

  “Keep going,” Selene gritted through her teeth. This was about survival.

  Ellie gave her hands a squeeze.

  The blocker was becoming weaker. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. But Selene could see their growing feebleness by the flickering of the glow inside them, like a light bulb as it blinks though its last moments before finally burning out. Suddenly Selene felt the power extinguish, the pressure giving way completely. By the small grunt she heard, Selene knew that Ellie felt it too.

  “Did it work? Are we free?” Ellie asked, gasping for air.

  “Not positive. Please, just get us out of here!” Selene begged.

  If it hadn’t been so dark in the room, she knew she’d be seeing spots taking over her vision about now. As exhaustion overtook her, she felt her environment shift and knew that Ellie had listened to her.

  She was finally free.

  Chapter 28

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Lucy exclaimed as Ellie and Charlotte reappeared with their two rescues. Selene slumped over on the couch, and on the floor was a young girl, who was also out like a light.

  Ellie dropped to her knees beside Selene’s unconscious form. “Hugh!”

  Hugh was by her side instantly and quickly started moving his hands over Selene’s body. Meanwhile, Adelaide and Charlotte hovered over the other girl, checking her pulse for any signs of life.

  “What happened? I couldn’t hear you! Are you guys okay?” Griffin asked as he rushed in.

  “I’ve never felt anything like that!” Ellie pushed a trembling hand through her hair. “They had some kind of… blocker. Someone who could keep you from using your powers.”

  “Like Selene?” Griffin asked, staring at the motionless girl on the couch.

  Ellie shook her head as she accepted a glass of water from Alex. “No… Selene turns things off, like a switch. This was more like the second we appeared, our abilities, all of them, were gone. Kind of a blanket power remover. And Selene…” She shuddered. “She was fighting them. Fighting against that force, I mean. Jeez…she must have been pushing against that for days. I helped her at the end….”

  Ellie paused, and the color leeched from her face. She held a hand to her mouth like she was going to heave.

  “You all right?” Alex asked, concerned.

  “Here.” Adelaide handed him a cool washcloth, and he gingerly patted Ellie’s forehead. She gave him a grateful smile.

  “Thanks…I’ll be ok.” She took another sip of water and continued. “Selene had absolutely no strength left. Only enough to create a little bubble to shield me, let me tap back into my gifts, and then together we pushed against the blocker until we turned off their power. It felt like lifting a ten-ton boulder off us.”

  “Wow…crazy,” someone breathed.

  Tears trickled down Ellie’s cheeks. “We were only there maybe five or ten minutes. I have no idea how she held on as long as she did without help. Is she going to be okay, Hugh?”

  “I don’t know,” Hugh replied quietly.

  “What do you mean?” Griffin’s voice resonated with grim fear.

  Hugh wiped one hand over his face and shook his head. “Physically, she’s fine… Not a scratch, as far as I can tell.”

  “Then what’s wrong with her?” Lucy laid a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

  “She’s got to be exhausted,” Ellie murmured. “I battled for only a few minutes and with her help, and I’m a wreck. Maybe she just needs some rest.”

  “But if she were merely asleep, I should still be able to hear her thoughts,” Griffin insisted.

  “She might be shielding them from you without trying,” Nate suggested. “You’ve
said you have trouble hearing her anyway, right?”

  Griffin just nodded, his closed expression hiding his thoughts.

  “Is there anything you can do, Dad?” Adelaide pleaded.

  Hugh glanced at Ellie, who just shook her head. “She’ll just have to rest,” she answered.

  “Who’s this?” Hugh asked as he started to examine the young stranger.

  “No idea,” Charlotte said. “She was in the room with Selene, and she insisted we bring her with us.”

  “Is she okay?” Ellie asked.

  Hugh let out a deep sigh. “I can’t tell with her, either. Just like Selene, she’s physically fine. But there appears to be something more than exhaustion keeping her out. Not quite sure what. It’s more as if she’s in a state of hibernation or stasis. I think someone’s tampered with her somehow.” He looked around the room. “Let’s get them both up into a bed. You too, Ellie. You look dead on your feet.”

  While Nate picked up the young girl, Griffin scooped Selene’s limp form up into his arms. They headed upstairs, and Lila hurried ahead to turn down the covers in Selene’s room. Gently, Griffin laid her down in bed and then retreated as the girls went about getting her changed into pjs.

  After Selene and her young companion were settled, the entire family gathered in the living room, except for Griffin, who remained with Selene. Ellie curled into Alex’s arms as they sat on the couch.

  Hugh shook his head at Ellie. “I thought I said you should be in bed, young lady.”

  “I will, just as soon as we finish talking,” she answered.

  “I’ll make sure of it,” Alex added, running a tender hand over Ellie’s hair.

  “What do we do now?” Dexter asked.

  “I think we should wait for Selene to wake up.” Adelaide plopped down on the loveseat with Nate. “We need to see what she knows before we do anything else.”

  “I think we need to have someone watching over her at all times,” Lucy said. “What if they try to kidnap her again?”

  Heads nodded around the room.

  “And who knows what condition she’ll be in when she wakes up?” Adelaide added. “She might need a friendly face.”

  “We can take it in shifts like last time,” Ramsey said. “I’ll go first.”

  Ellie watched Lila surreptitiously squirm in her seat and shoot him an irritated look.

  “What’s up, Lila?” she mentally asked her, tapping into Griffin’s telepathy.

  Lila’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Was I that obvious?”

  “No. I just know that your emotion sensing has been on high alert lately.”

  “Ugh! We need to practice some more on my control of it, or Griffin is going to send me ‘round the bend.’”

  “That bad?”

  “Worse. He’s all over the place when it comes to Selene. And Ramsey’s not making it any easier.”

  Ellie released a mental sigh. She suspected Ramsey’s behavior might be bothering Lila even more than Griffin’s swinging emotions, if that were possible.

  “Okay. We’ll work on that this week,” Ellie promised.

  Alex leaned forward and whispered in Ellie’s ear, “You going to explain to me what that was about?”

  She nuzzled into him and nodded. “Tonight.”

  *****

  Griffin, upstairs with Selene, but listening to the discussion going on downstairs, ignored Lila’s irritation and clamped down on his irrational jealousy. He’d noticed that Ramsey and Selene had become friendly lately.

  And why should I let that bother me? I’m glad that she has a friend.

  “This one’s practically falling asleep on me,” Alex announced, interrupting Griffin’s internal monologue. “Time for bed, I think.”

  “Ellie,” Griffin telepathically called his twin.

  “You’re going to leave, right?”

  Griffin held back a grimace. “That obvious?”

  “Not really. I just know you well.” She paused. “She’s going to think you hate her, you know,” she warned.

  “I’m going to have to take that chance. I think it’s more likely that she’s not going to want me anywhere near her. And I won’t be idle, either.”

  “I would argue that first point if I thought it would get me anywhere. But it sounds like you have a plan?”

  “Maybe. When you found Selene, do you know where you were?”

  “I caught just a few flashes when Charlotte teleported us in, before that blocker kicked in. Enough, I think, to get you there.”

  “So you couldn’t have been too far away, then, if you were able to use my telepathy.”

  “Exactly.” Griffin watched as Ellie showed him what she’d caught.

  “Got it. Send Ramsey on up,” he instructed.

  Chapter 29

  Consciousness did not return to Selene gradually.

  “Wake up, Selene. Your people need you!” Oren’s voice was like an alarm clock jolting her out of sleep, and her eyes flew open. Soon she was assailed by memories, and she gasped. Panicked, she looked around and took in her surroundings.

  I’m at Hugh and Lucy’s… I’m safe now.

  She let out a relieved sigh and relaxed slightly as realization of where she was sank in. Then she noticed someone was dozing in the chair beside her bed. For a brief moment, she thought…hoped… it was Griffin. But she quickly realized it was Ramsey.

  “You must be sick of having to watch me sleep,” Selene murmured.

  Immediately, Ramsey’s eyes opened. “Hey, there. Huh, we do seem to spend a lot of time watching people sleep. Ellie last year, now you twice.” He sat forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Nice to see you again. How do you feel?”

  “Like I’ve been run over by a truck.” She groaned and propped herself upright in the bed. “Ugh! How long was I out?”

  “It’s been about a day or so.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  He chuckled at her astonished expression. “You must’ve been pretty darn tired.”

  “I guess so.”

  “What do you remember?”

  She shook her head. “Everything… I think.” She sat up straighter in bed. “Did they save the girl that was in my room?”

  Ramsey nodded. “Yeah. She’s still out cold, but Hugh says there’s nothing physically wrong with her.” He shrugged. “We have her in a room at Dex and Charlotte’s house.”

  Selene relaxed a little more. Then the memory of what had woken her filtered back into her consciousness, and her shoulders tensed again.

  “Oren called for me. Was he in here? Something’s wrong. Gather the others. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  Hearing the urgency in her voice, Ramsey jumped up and left the room. Selene flipped back the covers and dressed as fast as her still-weak limbs would allow and then ran downstairs. As she entered the living room, she was immediately engulfed in a warm hug from Lucy, followed by everyone else.

  Selene was taken aback. Hugs were not the norm in her life. But the family’s affection was contagious, and she found herself returning their embraces.

  “We were so worried about you,” Hugh said, his hands on her shoulders. His concern warmed her heart. Besides Oren, it’d been a very long time since anyone had cared about her welfare.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. Only her desperate need to speak with Oren immediately kept Selene’s emotions in check.

  She could feel Griffin’s absence. In vain she glanced around for him, though she knew, even without asking, that he wasn’t there. But she couldn’t dwell on that now.

  “Oren, we’re ready,” she called out.

  Immediately, his ghost-like figure appeared before her. He bowed deeply. “It warms my heart to see you safe, My Lady.”

  Selene allowed herself a tiny smile for her old friend. “Thank you, Oren.”

  “Unfortunately the news I bear is not the –” He abruptly stopped speaking as Griffin walked into the room.

  “Please go ahead, Oren,” Griffin said a
fter several moments of awkward silence.

  “I was saying that the news I bring is not pleasant. My Lady, the Vyusher are in grave peril.”

  Selene’s eyes widened. “What has happened?”

  “Maddox has been approaching other Svatura clans and families,” Oren explained.

  “To take them over?” Nate asked.

  “Not quite… possibly worse. He’s turning them against us. These are people that the Vyusher attacked while under Gideon’s control. They have every reason and every right to hate us and to wish for revenge.”

  Selene’s expression remained neutral, but inside she was a raging storm of conflicted emotions.

  The room erupted with frantic outbursts.

  “Wasn’t Maddox one of Gideon’s lieutenants? Why wouldn’t they turn on him, too?” Dexter asked.

  “But they need to know that Gideon was responsible for all of that, not the rest of the pack!” Adelaide declared.

  “If we could forgive the Vyusher, anyone could,” Ellie said.

  “We can’t fight them, though,” Hugh insisted. “These are good people who’ve suffered great loss.”

  Selene waited patiently. Eventually, the din died down, fading to silence, and all eyes turned to her.

  “Oren?”

  With the one word, she was asking for guidance from her trusted friend.

  “You should come home, My Lady,” he advised. “If they agree, bring your new friends with you. They could, perhaps, convince the others of the truth.”

  “But I can’t—” Selene started.

  “The Council has instructed me to extend an invitation to you all,” Oren cut her off. “They prefer to offer an apology to you in person, if you accept.”

  Shoulders back, head held high, Selene turned to face the others. “I will not ask you to put your lives in danger for us. Not after what we’ve already put you through.”

  Everyone stared at her in silence. Then Ellie reached for her hand. “If you think we’re letting you go through this on your own, especially when we have a real chance to help save lives on both sides, then you’ve got another think coming.”