by Cece Rose
“I promise you will get your revenge. Alaric will die,” I say, leaving out the fact that the price of his death will likely be my life.
“Alright, let’s go. We can knock out the guards, and grab their keys. They must have cars around here somewhere,” Mr Daniels suggests, and none of us say another word as we walk to the door. We all know, one way or another, this ends tonight.
Chapter 21
Mackenzie
We drive in silence, well, mostly. The only sounds come from Locke attempting to break the tension with an inappropriate joke as we get caught at a traffic light. Nobody even pretends to force a laugh, though, blanketing us all back into silence.
The tension in the cramped car makes me feel like we’re heading to a funeral. It reminds me of the only funeral I’ve ever attended, the one for Dad L’s sister Ria. The solemn mood of that day is practically echoed in the car, and I can’t help but think it’s fitting, considering I could be heading to my death right now. I must have been too young to remember Alaric’s funeral, considering he was gone before I was old enough to even remember him. I wonder if it felt like this too. Thinking of him making them all go through that when he was alive the whole time, it makes me even more furious. Just another hurt he’s caused my family to add to the list of his crimes.
As much as I’m trying to stay positive, to cling onto hope that I will make it through this alive and the Honzel was merely testing me, I felt the truth in that vision. I felt the realness of my potential demise. It needed to know I was willing to risk it all, because that’s what it may require. I’m risking my life, my future with the guys, all to save everyone I care about, and to make sure they get the futures they deserve. This is more than just revenge for what he’s done to me, or for what he did by killing Ryan, it’s giving peace to everyone.
We finally reach Linda’s house, and some of the others’ cars are already parked outside. We’re all parked sloppily, nobody caring enough to straighten up right now. We might not even make it back after all, so, why should any of us care?
We file into Linda’s home, gathering in the open plan dining and living room while we wait for the last of those coming with us. I feel eyes on me and turn to look for the source, finding East watching me with a concerned look on his face. I force myself to smile at him, but he won’t meet my eyes as he turns away.
“I just need to talk to East a minute, keep an eye on things for me,” I whisper to Enzo, who’s standing next to me stiffly. He nods, grazing his hand across my cheek before I squeeze past him and head over to East.
I grab East’s hand, leading him upstairs and out of the way of prying eyes so we can talk privately. I push open the first door we reach, and find a blandly decorated room, with no real personal items in here. A guest room, I’d guess. I pull East in there with me, shutting the door behind us.
“What was that about?” I ask him directly. We don’t have time to skirt around the subject.
“You’re not going,” East states, stepping closer. I hear a metallic jingle, and my eyes latch onto the marked handcuffs in his hands. He must have swiped them from the warehouse after we rescued everyone. I step back from him nervously, putting my hands up in a stay back gesture.
“Now isn’t the time to get kinky, East,” I joke lamely, not even garnering a smile from him.
“Don’t make jokes, Kenz. How can you even think of making fucking jokes when you’re walking to your death?” he shouts, his voice sounding both pained and pissed off all at once. Shock washes over me like someone’s drenched me in a bucket of ice water.
“What do you mean?” I question innocently, though my response is a few seconds too late. The lie in my words shattering any peace between us.
“You know what, Kenzie. I heard you in the car, what you were thinking…you know you’ll die trying to stop him and you’re still willing to go there? Well, I’m not willing to let you go, willing to lose you. I’m sure the others will agree with me about you staying here once I fill them in.” He looks almost regretful as he quickly snags my wrist before I can even blink, and slaps the first cuff onto my wrist. “I’m sorry, but I know you won’t stay by choice.”
“I’m sorry too, East,” I whisper, blinking back the tears that are threatening to fall. He doesn’t want me to die, I know that. How can I be mad at his actions right now, when I know I’d do the exact same thing? I can’t let him do this though, there’s just too much at stake here.
“For what?” he asks, and I bite my lip, leaning up as if to whisper in his ear. Instead, I slip free from the cuffs that he hasn’t activated yet and slip it over his wrist instead, snapping the other end to the headboard of the bed. I use my protection mark to activate the cuffs quickly, not making his same mistake of waiting too long.
“For that,” I answer in a subdued voice. Stepping back, I look away from the accusing look on his face.
“Let me go, Kenz!” he snaps. “If you don’t un-cuff me right now, I’ll shout for the others,” he says in a determined voice, and I know he would. I can’t risk that happening, as I know they’d side with him on this.
“I’m sorry, East,” I apologise again, and use one of my new marks as I place my hand on his cheek. His body flops as he hits the floor, instantly unconscious from my touch. I flinch at the loud noise it makes, worried, both in case I hurt him, and that someone heard it. I watch the door silently for a few moments, half expecting someone to barge in here and find out what I’ve just done. When minutes pass with no intrusion, I let out a breath and crouch down beside him. “I really am sorry,” I whisper, before laying a kiss on his lips gently, and pulling away to look at his face. I commit every last detail to my memory, the shape of his lips, the way the natural highlights in his hair catch the light, the sharp edges of his cheekbones and jaw. The way I look at him now feels a little like how you see someone important to you for the first time. It’s special, a defined moment. It’s not like the millions of other times my eyes have run over him, as I know that this could be the very last time I see him. My heart feels like breaking as I stand up, heading for the door.
As I leave, I fight the urge to say a goodbye. Saying goodbye would mean I’ve given up, and I’m not quite ready to do that yet. I decide right there that this won’t be the last time I look at that stupidly perfect face of East’s. I swear it to myself, and to him, as he lies there unconscious on the floor and chained to a stranger’s bed, unable to follow. Then, I turn and head to walk into the fire, without him by my side.
Chapter 22
Mackenzie
“Where’s East?” Enzo asks me when I join them downstairs. I notice that most of the people that were here have already headed down to the basement, and only Enzo and Logan are left waiting for me. I feel waves of guilt slam into me, and I swallow thickly.
“He’s decided to stay here,” I lie. I hate the words even as I say them. Lying has never been something I’ve been comfortable doing, but to save everyone, I’m willing to cross the line.
“No fucking way,” Enzo snaps.
“He wouldn’t, no. We need to talk some sense into him,” Logan says, looking frantically at the stairs, before taking a step in their direction. I move into his way, blocking him and Enzo from storming up there.
“I get it, really. I couldn’t believe it either,” I say softly. “But we do not have the time to go convincing East to come with us, and I won’t forgive either of you if you forced him there. We need to leave, now.” Neither of them looks happy at my proclamation, but they appear to accept it as they seem to deflate in front of me. I see Daniels watching me and the others from the kitchen, overhearing our argument. I don’t know why, but I feel like Daniels knows I’m lying. I can see it in his eyes, but he looks away before I can make sure he believes me. At least no one has gone upstairs.
“This way,” Stacey holds open a door in the kitchen, and we all look to her from the dining room. She steps in, pauses and looks back at us. “You can all swim, right? Or have the water and air
marks?”
“Why?” I ask, pushing through the twins, and stopping next to Daniels who is watching Stacey curiously.
“Okay, so when describing the tunnel layout, Linda explained to me the reason the tunnels aren’t used anymore. They are completely flooded and have been for years. There’s a hole in there somewhere, because fish and stuff are in there,” she says.
“How did you use them to get to school then?” Daniels asks Linda, who is hovering back behind the rest of us.
“By being smart, and the air mark is my most powerful mark. I make a bubble of air around myself and use my water mark to push the bubble through the tunnels. I did it countless times and never had a problem. The bubble scares off the fish, so they weren’t an issue,” she explains, and there’s a long silence as we all think about it. Crap, this just got a lot more complicated, but it can’t stop us. Luckily, most of us have both the air and water mark; they’re the most common. “I cannot come with you right now, not as beaten up as I am right now,” she says regretfully, explaining why it’s Stacey who will be leading the way.
“Team up, two in each bubble. One using the air mark to make and hold the bubble, and the other using the water mark to manoeuvre it forward. If anything goes wrong, you turn back,” Daniels orders, and I know we should be focused on the plan, but hearing him being all bossy turns me on and totally distracts me for far too long.
“I don’t have the water or air mark,” one of the men says, and I finally force my eyes away from Daniels to deal with the next problem. The man doesn’t look in good enough shape to fight anyway, with a large cut on his head, blood and bruises on his arms. I glance around the room, seeing how nearly all the people are in this state. We’ve healed those of them that had critical wounds, but they all still need rest and time, which is something we can’t give them. My dads catch my eye, all three of them standing together and talking quietly. Dad P smiles gently at me, before going back to the conversation. How can I let my dads walk into a fight when they need rest? But I can’t walk in there alone either, or my father will just kill me. I guess no part of this situation is easy on anyone.
“Then you can’t come with us,” Enzo says simply, and I see the man look down, disappointed I bet. I’m sure he wants to fight, to avenge whoever my father has taken from him, and instead of that, he is forced to stay here. I would hate to be side-lined like that, and guilt fills me as I think of East, unconscious upstairs. I’m sure he wanted to help me avenge Ryan, his best friend, but if the choice is me or him…it’s going to be me, every damn time. East is worth more than I am.
“I will stay and wait for your word,” the man says, accepting the new plan. I pull my bag off my back, getting out my silver tube and slipping it into my pocket. I walk over to him and hold my bag out to him. He accepts it, giving me a questioning look.
“What’s in this bag, my father can never get hold of or know of its existence. It’s too important. If we don’t make it back and we lose today, chuck that bag in the ocean, and don’t look back. Never mention the bag to anyone, and you run. Promise me?” I ask, not specifying what is so important. I’ve left the book in the bag, which he would find easily by looking, but I don’t care if he knows. All of the people left in this room are the only ones we can trust. It’s not like I can take it with me; my father can’t have the information it holds. It’s better to leave it with someone rather than just hiding it in the house like I had initially planned.
“I promise,” the man says, looking relieved that he can do something.
“You’re with me Kenzie,” Mr Daniels tells me, and I walk over, linking my hand with his.
“I’m better with water,” I tell him, and he tightly smiles down at me, worry written all over his face. I lean up, placing my hand on his cheek. “We can do this. I love you.” My words are only a whisper, only meant for him, and he seems more determined than ever.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I don’t have the water or air mark either,” Kelly says, stepping to my side as everyone begins to team up.
“You should stay,” I say gently, and her bright blue eyes cloud over with anger.
“I can’t stay. I need to see him die,” she practically growls out, and Taelon comes over, stopping next to her. I watch as she casually steps away from him, like she can’t stand to be near him.
“I have exceptional control over the basic marks. I can take Kelly through the tunnel with no issue. I also have the ability to breathe underwater, which means I can swim out of the bubble and just worry about Kelly if anything goes wrong,” he tells us, pulling his sleeve up and showing me a mark, three circles in a line.
“No, not you,” Kelly hisses in response as I start to thank him, and Taelon sharply turns his head to her, glaring down at her as she glares right back at him.
“You want revenge, right? It’s all you care about, so stop being such a stubborn princess, and deal with it. You. Are. With. Me,” he snaps, and I can practically see the anger seething from Kelly. She looks ready to kill him, and we can’t let her do that. At least, not right now. What they do when we don’t have a crazy man to kill, and two worlds to save, is up to them. I intervene before this gets bloody, or worse, East wakes up.
“Kells, he has a point. He’s the only one that can get you there. Whatever happened between you two to make you dislike each other, can’t you put it behind you for a little bit?” I ask.
“Nothing happened, and fine,” Kelly rushes out in a high-pitched voice, and I know that voice well. It’s her lying, guilty voice. I watch as she runs away, and Taelon follows her.
“Nothing my ass,” Logan comments from just behind me.
“He wants her ass, that’s the problem,” Locke taunts, and I hear them high five each other as Daniels shakes his head.
“It’s time to leave, now,” Daniels shouts, making the room go silent as he tugs on my hand. He leads me through the door in the kitchen, and the others follow us. The door leads to a circular staircase, which is made of wood and doesn’t sound stable. The staircase is massive, so four of us can walk down in a line, and light streams down from a light in the ceiling. Every loud creak seems to echo louder than it should, and some of the steps feel like they could fall through with every step. I step closer to Daniels, holding his arm tightly just in case we fall.
“How are we going to be able to see?” I ask, noticing that its getting darker and darker as we walk down. I already know when we are in the dark, I’m going to trip and fall on my ass. It’s not like we have twenty odd flashlights handy to give out.
“I don’t know, Kenzie. I don’t think calling the fire mark in an air bubble is the best idea,” he replies, clearly having thought about this already.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and I may be able to help,” A voice says behind me, and I turn to see two of the Ariziadia guards step to my side. They are both dark haired, with dark eyes and similar features. They might even be twins, or at the very least, brothers.
“How? Any help would be great,” I encourage them. The one on the right holds his hand high up, and five small white lights, shaped like spheres, shoot out of his hand. The other guard does the same, and I watch as he sends a sphere to each couple. The one above us simply floats in the air.
“It’s the light mark. It doesn’t take too much energy,” he explains.
“Thank you. They’re perfect,” I say, and they bow lower their heads before stopping as we hit the last step before the stairs are lost in the water.
“Stacey?” Daniels calls, and she steps forward with Enzo at her side. He must be going with her. “You should go first, since you know the way.”
“Yes, good idea. Though, Linda said that it’s pretty simple. We just follow the middle tunnel, and don’t take any of the side tunnels. She said that she’s never been down either of them, and nobody has a clue where they lead,”
“Where will we come out in the academy?” Enzo asks. We should have asked before this, but I’m glad he did now.
“A secret door behind the changing rooms by the swimming pool. We will be right underneath them,” she explains.
“Good. I don’t want them to see us coming when we arrive to kill them all,” I say, stepping into Daniels open arms. I just want to get this over with. He calls a bubble of air around us, with the light sphere inside, and we walk into the water. The water pushes around the sphere with each step as I use my water mark to slowly propel us down into it, until we are completely submerged. Once underwater I see the long, stone tunnel.
“Let’s go,” I say, continuing to use my water mark to slowly push us towards the academy, and the death I know is likely coming. But if I’m dying, my father is going first.
Chapter 23
Mackenzie
“Why did you lie about East?” Daniels asks as we float down the tunnel. I don’t answer him, choosing instead to look at the many passageways, the fish swimming past us, and the broken stone on the floor. The tunnel has been the same for the last twenty minutes. “I suppose I should ask if East is alright?”
“I only knocked him out. He will be fine,” I say.
“Talk to me Kenzie, please,” Daniels pleads.
“He knew something, and he didn’t want me to come here because of it. East was going to stop me, so I stopped him first,” I say, looking up into Daniels eyes as he stares down at me.
“What did he know?” he asks.
“That I might die here,” I admit, my whisper feels like it echoes around the bubble as silent fills it.
“We all might die, but you will not be alone. I would never allow that,” he states firmly, rubbing circles with his thumb on my hand.
“You don’t understand,” I shake my head.
“No, you don’t,” Daniels lifts my head with his hands, moving so our faces close together as he whispers. “If you die, we die. I die. I don’t believe in soul mates, or anything to do with fate, but I know that we are meant to be together. No matter what.”
