by Theresa Kay
And that feeling probably won’t completely go away, but I promise not to take any unnecessary risks. I promise—
Lir cuts me off with a squeeze of my shoulder and a soft smile. I trust you.
Gavin looks around at the rest of the group. “Okay then. Sounds like a plan.” Using a key hanging around his neck, he opens a metal box in the back of one of the trucks, pulls out a rifle, and slings it over his shoulder. Then he turns and looks at me with his brows raised.
Do I want a gun? I shake my head—but I do check to make sure I have my knives, one tucked in each boot.
Stu holds up a hand, and Gavin hands him another rifle from the box. “You know what you’re doing with that?” Gavin asks.
Stu snorts. “Yeah. I’ve been shooting almost since I could walk.”
Gavin passes out rifles to all of his men. “Anyone else want a gun? Or I should say, anyone else know how to use one? If you don’t, you’ll mostly be a danger to yourself.”
The E’rikon all shake their heads.
Gavin shuts the box, locks it, and tilts his head in the direction of the city. “Let’s get moving then.”
Stu jumps into the driver’s side of our group’s truck. Vitrad takes the front passenger seat, and Rym and Kai pile into the back. I stand in a tight embrace with Lir, hating the fact that we’re separating, that his steady presence won’t be behind me for this. But I can’t see another way. He needs to get his sister, and Gavin needs a guide.
There’s a lump in my throat and fear racing through my body—fear for him, fear for us, fear that I’m going to have to face Jastren and I still might not be ready, fear that even if I can defeat Jastren, the shikiza might take me over in the process.
I release my bondmate and try really hard to smile at him. He returns my pathetic attempt with one of his own. I grab the collar of his shirt and tug him toward me, pressing my lips to his. Be careful.
His arms snake around my waist again, and he pulls me closer. You too. When this is over…
I release him and press two fingers over his mouth as if he had been speaking out loud. “No plans. We get through this, and then we make plans. I don’t… I don’t…”
He rests his forehead against mine. We’ll get through this. My part of this is easy, and you… you’re the strongest person I know. You’re ready for this. You can do this. When I let out a disbelieving laugh, he leans back and arches that eyebrow. Would you prefer me to say you will do this? That I will never forgive you if you leave me?
A wry smile twists my lips, and I blink away the burn in my eyes.
Stu honks, and we reluctantly pull away from each other to board our respective rides. Lir rides in front with Gavin and one of his men while the other four humans share the back seat. I ride in the back seat of our truck with Rym and Kai, preferring Rym’s proximity to Vitrad’s.
We move out, Gavin’s truck in front. We’ll stay together for a little while as we move closer to the city, but there won’t be any more stops, and we’ll be headed in different directions once we get there.
I settle back into my seat. My eyes are gritty from lack of sleep, and my whole body’s on overdrive. I need to use this time to try to relax. I won’t be any use if I’m not in some sort of fighting shape when we get there. Closing my eyes, I release another slow breath and rest my head against the window. There’s probably not enough time for a nap, but at least I can try to find some sort of inner peace and prepare myself for what’s ahead.
JAX.
I startle awake, my left arm flying sideways and smacking Rym in the stomach. He makes an “oomph” noise and I mumble, “Sorry. What?” I drag a hand over my face. I guess I managed to fall asleep after all. But who…
Jax. It’s Lir’s voice. We’re splitting up now.
Straightening in my seat, I look out my window. The other truck is beside and slightly behind us. Lir is leaning forward so he can see me past Gavin’s head.
I love you. Be careful, his voice whispers.
I love you too. I smile at him and place my palm against the glass beside me. Radio silence except for emergencies from here on out, right?
He nods. I doubt anyone could or would be listening in, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Still, if you need anything… contact me anyway. I will see you back at Peter’s cabin.
I nod, kiss the tips of my fingers, and press them back to the window. I’ll see you at the end of all this.
Lir sits back, and Gavin’s truck pulls away, heading toward the residential section of the city where I saw the children. My heart goes with him, and I feel his absence as a gaping emptiness in my chest. It’s better this way. He’s safer. But as the truck pulls out of view, I have to force down the selfish urge to ask him to come with us instead.
Focus. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. After a few more inhales and exhales, I open my eyes again, more grounded. And determined.
Rym shoots me a sad half smile and pats my arm. He’ll be okay.
I return his smile with another just as sad and turn to look out the window for the rest of the trip.
Following my directions, Stu parks the truck near the edge of where the city’s barrier used to be, and we continue into the city on foot from there.
Twenty minutes later, as we’re approaching the research facility, a buzzing begins in my body. Nothing painful, just weird and a bit irritating, like the sensation of scraping your teeth along a fork. I stop and hold out a hand.
Stu sends me a quizzical look, brows raised. I hold up a finger and try to figure out where the strange feeling is coming from.
What is it? Rym asks.
I’m not sure. There’s something… I squint and take a few steps forward. There’s a shimmering dome-shaped barrier beginning about twenty yards from the wall of the research facility. Is it something we can pass through?
I scan the ground for any sign of Tiercel. There’s nothing, not a single feather, and everything was so topsy-turvy when he was going down, I can’t figure out where he crashed.
“I was right,” I say. “There’s definitely a barrier up there. I take it I’m the only one who can feel it?”
“I imagine so,” says Vitrad.
“Do you guys know if we can cross it, or if it’s dangerous?” I ask. “I know what Jastren told me about these portable barrier things, but I don’t necessarily trust that information.”
“It should function much like the city’s barrier, but on a smaller scale,” Kai says. “E’rikon should be able to cross it without any issues.”
“Okay then, I guess the only thing to do is test that theory out.” I walk forward and stretch one hand toward the shimmering barrier.
“Stop.” Kai grabs my hand well before it can come into contact with it. “Because of what you are, you create a… disturbance when you cross the city’s barrier. I do not know if this one would be the same, but it could have been left to trap you into announcing yourself.”
My stomach drops. “But if I create a disturbance, as you say, wouldn’t he already know I’m here? We had to cross through the city’s barrier to get here and—”
“Extending the barrier weakened it,” says Vitrad in a sharp tone. “It did not announce your entrance the other day. I assume it did not today either.”
Kai glances at the others, then says, “I will attempt to cross it. If I am successful, I will find a way to shut it down.”
“Wait a second. Let me do that shield thing to cover you. It might not do anything, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, right?”
Kai lowers his chin, a chunk of his pale blue hair falling over one eye. “I would be honored.”
“Honored?” I shake my head. “Never mind—if this is another one of those E’rikon royalty versus peasants things, I don’t want to know.” I take a deep breath. “I’ve only used this once before, so give it a minute.”
I close my eyes and search for the part of my mind where my enhancements reside. The enhancements are still a bundle of thread, but it’s neater no
w, more organized, as if as I learn each one it becomes untangled from the rest of them. It’s a good thing, too, because it makes that warm, protective blanket of power easy to call up and push outward.
When I can sense Kai enclosed inside its bubble, I open my eyes and tilt my head toward the barrier. “You’re good to go.”
With a nod, Kai steps forward. He flinches slightly as he crosses through.
Nothing happens.
Whew.
He continues toward the research facility.
I feel it when he steps beyond the boundaries of my shield, and everyone else sees it—because he immediately collapses to the ground with his hands at his throat. I try desperately to push the shield farther, but either I’m at my limit or the barrier is interfering in some way. I can’t reach him. Rym runs forward, but the barrier pushes him away, and he crashes to his knees yelling Kai’s name. Vitrad tries next with no luck.
I glance from Kai to the barrier and back again. Who cares if they know I’m here? I’m not going to let anyone die; might as well make an entrance while I’m at it.
I call the buzzing feeling the barrier brings out in me up to my hand until it’s zipping along my fingertips and nowhere else. Then I slam my hand into the barrier, letting its own side effect zap it. Cracks extend from the point where my hand touches it. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. The cracks climb the curved sides of the barrier, and ten seconds later it shatters and disappears.
Rym rushes to Kai’s side, ignoring his father’s attempt to stop him. When Rym doesn’t immediately collapse, the rest of us run to Kai as well.
Kai’s already getting to his feet by the time I get there. He blinks a few times and shakes his head. “I do not know… That was…”
“Weird,” I finish for him. “But we don’t have time to analyze it right now.”
“Should we split up?” Stu asks. “We could cover more ground that way.”
I pinch my lips together, thinking. “Let’s see what the situation is in there first.” I jerk my chin at Stu. “You’re in front with me. Kai, bring up the rear.”
We move inside as a unit. Stu and I fan out to check the corners, then motion the others forward. It’s quiet and the lights are dimmed. It looks deserted. We cross the room in silence.
When we reach the door to the stairwell, Stu holds up a fist to stop us. He looks at the door in confusion for a beat before realization dawns on his face. He motions Vitrad forward and jerks his chin toward the silver pad.
Vitrad nods and places his hand over the pad. The door slides open with a soft whooshing noise, and Stu steps onto the landing, pointing his rifle at every angle until he’s satisfied the stairwell is clear. Again he motions us forward.
The stairwell is fairly narrow, forcing us to go down in single file. At the next landing, it’s Rym who opens the door. Another careful check by me and Stu, then all five of us are standing in a wide hallway on the middle level.
Still no one else in sight. Still so quiet it’s nearly silent.
Why was that barrier in place if there’s no one here?
I look at Stu. “I don’t like this.”
He shakes his head. “Me either. Any way you can get a reading on Ethan?”
“I’ve been trying to since he was taken, but… nothing.” Seeing the look of worry on Stu’s face, I quickly add, “Most likely Jastren has found a way to block his abilities. He wouldn’t… He needs Ethan.”
“I have performed a brief scan of this level and I cannot sense anyone here,” Vitrad says. The tension in my shoulders trickles away, and Stu lowers the rifle to his side. “Still, if nothing else, we should search Jastren’s lab. It could provide us with a better idea of where he is—since he is clearly not here—and what his plans may be.”
“You’re right,” I say. I gesture down the hall. “Lead the way.”
Vitrad’s eyes slide to Kai, and his lips flatten for a second. Kai gives a barely noticeable nod, and Vitrad steps out in front of our group. Stu and I move to either side and slightly behind him. Vitrad leads us down the hall, turns right, goes to the end of that hall, and makes a left. There’s no hesitation, no matter how many turns we take. He knows this route well.
An angry disgust floods me when I realize the reason why: this is where he kept Lir. Not that first time, when I was down here too, but afterward. Before his sudden—and, if you ask me, convenient—attack of conscience broke through whatever control Jastren had placed on him.
Of course, I recognize this place too. Not anything in particular, just the feel of it. Institutional. Stark. Empty. I shudder. I want to get this search over with as quickly as possible.
A couple turns later, we move into a wider hallway with only a set of double doors at the end. Vitrad places his hand on the silver pad beside the doors.
The lights flicker and … something brushes across my mind. Something close.
I reach out to grab Vitrad, but he’s already pushed open the doors and taken a step into the room behind them.
A loud crack echoes in my ears, and Vitrad’s head rocks back. I instinctively leap forward to catch him, but it’s too late. He’s dead, a single gunshot wound in the center of his forehead.
What…? Who…?
My stomach’s in my throat, confusion swirling through my head. Someone chuckles. My face flies up as Brin steps out from behind the door Vitrad’s body is holding open.
He smirks, meets my eyes, then glances down at the handgun he’s holding against a tearful Stella’s temple. “Useful things, are they not, these human firearms?”
NEVER TAKING HIS EYES FROM me, Brin tilts his head to the side. “Tell your human friend to lower his weapon, or we will find out what her brains look like scattered all over the floor.”
My hands are shaking and my throat’s too dry to speak. But I manage to make a lowering motion with one arm in Stu’s general direction.
“Good. Now he drops it and kicks it away.”
Stu complies without anything further from me, the rifle clattering to the tile floor and skittering up the hallway in the direction we came from.
“Now, all of you, please step inside.”
I extract myself from beneath the top half of Vitrad’s body, clenching my teeth against my rising nausea as my hands come into contact with the gore splattered across the tile. The golden-haired E’rikon falls the rest of the way to the floor with a wet thud. Another shudder crawls up my spine as I rise to my feet.
I wipe my blood-covered hands on my pants and glance back and forth between Brin and Stella as I step forward into the room. Stella. She’s not supposed to be here. She’s supposed to be… My stomach drops, and nausea burns the back of my throat. Lir! If Stella’s here, they must be headed into some sort of trap. I have to warn him.
Keeping my face as expressionless as I can, I reach toward the bond.
Nothing.
It’s not there.
Pain slams into my temples. I inhale sharply.
“An issue with the bond, Jasmine?” The familiar voice practically slithers through the air. He’s here. Sitting behind a small desk across the room with a bored look on his face. And then a smile drenched in absolute malice. “Or perhaps young Steliro is…”
Stella whimpers, and my stomach twists. The world drops out from under me. I take a step backward, shaking my head in denial. Not Lir. I can’t lose him. No. It can’t be…
Everything around me fades away as a raging grief wrapped in black anger crashes through me. I let it fill my body and flow down to my fingertips.
I will make him pay.
I will make him hurt.
I will make him scream.
And only when—
Jax!
The darkness filling my head tries to turn against that voice, but… no. I can’t…
Jax! Rym’s voice again. He’s lying, trying to get you to lose control. He’s using your ignorance against you. You’d know if Lir… You’d know.
My eyes meet Jastren’s. Rym’s rig
ht. There’s a gleeful glint inside those red and yellow orbs. He wants this reaction. I’m doing exactly what he wants me to do. The shikiza hisses as I grit my teeth and push it back.
“No.” My voice is a guttural whisper. I clear my throat. “You’re lying. I’d know.”
Jastren leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers at his chin, and gives me a thoughtful look. “Impressive. I was not expecting that level of control from you. Not after the weakness of your sibling.” The bottom corner of his right eye twitches. He’s testing me again, trying to figure out which buttons to push to get the most reaction out of me. Trial and error.
Is he hoping the shikiza will kill me like it did Jace? Not just hoping. Maybe counting on it? Which means it’s the one ability I absolutely cannot use against him. But if he wants the shikiza to take me out, it also means he’s not strong enough to do it himself.
“Where’s Ethan?” I ask.
Jastren lifts his chin toward the wall on my right. No, not a wall—a bank of cages. Stu makes a choked noise. My eyes dart to Ethan’s tearful face behind the bars of one of the lower cages. His face is pale, and blood is crusted on one of his nostrils, but he’s alive. I mentally reach out and brush across his mind. You okay, kid?
He sniffles and nods.
“You will not be strong enough to take him from me,” says Jastren. He rises from his chair in a graceful motion.
“Don’t be so—”
My throat freezes. My vocal cords. My everything—except my eyes. I can still move my eyes, and I look at Jastren. He isn’t weakened. And his strength… I had no idea. Jastren has me locked in place, every limb, every cell. Only my eyes and my lungs. He’s still allowing me to look around, to breathe. Just not move.
And the others…? I slide my eyes as far to the side as I can. Kai and Rym are beside me, locked in a similar position.
On my other side, Stu is also frozen in place. How? I mentally smack myself in the forehead. Of course. Jastren can use his abilities on humans through hybrids like me and Ethan. No, not Ethan. Ethan isn’t a hybrid. Which means he’s using me. Jastren used my distraction to plant some tiny connection he’s now exploiting to keep Stu in line.
