The Twelfth Keeper Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Belle Malory

  Something about the way Dr. Sigly carried herself with so much determination gave Kennedy pause. Like this was only the beginning, which didn’t make sense. The worst was over. She’d gotten into the pool, dammit. What else did the woman want from her?

  “Would you like to hear my advice about ridding yourself of your fear?”

  Not really. Humor them. “Sure.”

  “You face it. It’s simple, but true.” Her tone was cool. Steady, determined and cool. “One day I saw one of those eight-legged beasts, just a common house spider, mind you, but it frightened me nonetheless. A sturdy, four-inch pump was lying on the floor near me, so I picked it up. Right then and there, I squashed the beast. Dead. Suddenly, it occurred to me how tiny a spider is, and how large and powerful I am in comparison. Then, voila! My fear of spiders had vanished.”

  Kennedy’s eyes flicked to the hall. Phoenix was there, on the other side of the mirror. He pressed close to the window. His hands clenched into tight fists, and he laid them against the glass as if he was trying to push through.

  Her gaze wandered over all of the keepers, seeing similar expressions marking their faces. They didn’t look curious or gossipy, as she’d first imagined.

  They looked worried.

  If their faces held a glimpse of what was to come, she should probably be worried too.

  Dr. Sigly crouched down by the pool, demanding Kennedy’s full attention. “It’s time to face your fears, Miss Mitchell. Once and for all.”

  Her head was shoved under the water, a meaty arm wrapping around her neck, locking her there. She flailed, trying to squeeze out of his hold, but was deadlocked. Budging his grip was impossible.

  Water was…everywhere. Above her, surrounding her, every inch of it suffocating. She felt it working into her body, and soon down her throat and into her lungs. She would never take another deep breath. She would never feel air pumping through her chest.

  She wildly fought and kicked and pushed, only to get extra hands on her body holding her down. The surface teased her from above, only inches away. Mere inches stood between her and breathing in air. She dug her nails. Nothing. Fighting did nothing.

  She was going to die.

  Soon the water would cut off all oxygen, cut off every thought, every precious memory, and darken her world as she sank into the black void that was death. Only her pale, watery corpse would be left.

  Her throat swelled.

  Oh God.

  Kennedy blinked against the blue water, feeling the strain in her muscles weaken. The water weighed down on her. Killing her. Just like it had her father.

  Out in the distance, they both saw it at the same time.

  “What is that?” she whispered.

  The raging storm would have made it impossible for him to hear her, but it didn’t matter. She knew what it was. She didn’t want to believe her own eyes, but with each passing second the shape of it became clearer and clearer. It grew, became tall and thick like a moving wall.

  The monstrous wave headed straight for them.

  Her father tugged the rope more desperately. They had to make it back to the boat before it struck.

  “You’ll have to hold your breath, Kennedy,” he shouted. “For a long while. Can you do that?”

  She nodded into his back.

  The wave was almost upon them when they reached the boat. “There’s no time,” her father said. He wrangled her grip loose, then boosted her onto his shoulders. “Push yourself over!”

  She gripped the slippery wood of the hull and the rope her father had secured to the mast, lifting herself as fast as she could. The wave darkened the corner of her eye, and her hands trembled, knowing how badly she needed to hurry.

  She pushed the rope between the wooden posts that gated the starboard.

  Her father didn’t take it. “Wrap it around your waist!” he shouted.

  “But—”

  “Do what I say!”

  She wrapped the rope around her waist, and then handed it back to him again, thinking she could use the weight of her body to pull him up.

  He took the rope and tied a knot around one of the wooden posts.

  “What are you doing!” she screamed. “You need to climb aboard!”

  He hung along the starboard, working the knot, frantically pulling and stretching it. “No time,” he said. “Listen, Kennedy. You hang on okay? You hang on with everything you’ve got.”

  The water stilled, then lowered. The wave towered above them, about to suck the boat into its middle. Hot tears blinded her eyes.

  She shook her head. “Daddy, no!” she screamed. “Climb over! You have to climb over!”

  It was too late.

  The boat lifted from the side, and for a moment, the water drained around them. Her father hung on to the rail, finishing the knot. “I love you, Kennedy! Hang on and take a deep breath, okay? Tell your mom—”

  The roaring wave drowned his voice. The water flooded over them. She felt for her father’s hands, holding on to them, but suddenly, they were gone.

  The rope jerked and cut into her skin as the ocean tossed her, threatening to rip her body in two. She slammed back into the railing, hitting her head on the hard wood of the hull. Several minutes passed, each wave becoming less violent than the last. A while later, she felt the sea calming.

  Her lungs burned. Each second that ticked by could’ve been her last

  She floated, empty and hollow, no strength to swim to the surface. The folds of the ocean became a cold, dark abyss surrounding her.

  Only a few faint thoughts fluttered through her head. She wondered if this was what death felt like, if this was where her grave was meant to be.

  So empty. So cold. And so alone.

  She wondered what her father meant to say. Tell your mother…what?

  She wasn’t sure if it even mattered, if she’d ever get the chance to tell her mother anything. If she could though, she would pretend he finished that sentence. She would pretend he said, “Tell your mother I love her.”

  Twenty-Nine

  Whispers flew around the floor like the hush before a storm. Phoenix wouldn’t have paid much attention, especially not during Elemental Training, but he heard Kennedy’s name. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he left the room to investigate.

  Everyone was out in the hall, their eyes glued to whatever was happening on the other side of the mirrored hall. He wondered why no one was training, why they were all acting so strange.

  Kennedy was inside her training room with Dr. Sigly. Two men he recognized as security guards led her to the pool, one on each side, as if they weren’t giving her much of an option.

  His tensed, and pressed against the glass. The way this whole thing was going down, with the doctor and the guards—something wasn’t right. The feeling chilled him straight through to his bones. Kennedy looked like a sacrificial virgin about to be tossed into a fiery pit. Or rather, in her case, a watery grave.

  For one fleeting second, her eyes met his, and he saw her fear.

  Gasps were shared among the other keepers. Someone whispered, “My God,” followed by, “Can’t believe Dr. Sigly is going to such brutal lengths.” One of the men shifted, and he saw her reach out from beneath the water, only to be forced back down.

  They were holding Kennedy’s head under.

  Phoenix heard nothing, saw nothing except for the men holding Kennedy under the water. In that moment, Phoenix understood what it meant to see red. All the years he worked to keep his emotions below the surface dissolved. He was done with it, done with the bullshit, done with being a bloody tool.

  In a few quick motions, he pushed the door in and strode into the room.

  He took the first guard out quickly, grabbing him by the hair on his nape, cracking his fist along the guard’s jaw. Phoenix shook out the ache in his hand, then heaved the guard out of the way.

  Guard number two was ready but frightened, which ultimately led to his downfall. He tried to make a run for it. He barely got a few st
eps out of the pool before slipping on the wet floor.

  Coward. Phoenix hefted him onto his back and kicked him in the ribs. He didn’t bother going for the face. The cement already bloodied the guard’s nose when he fell.

  He would’ve kept going, would’ve beaten the shit out of both guards, and God, who knows what he might have done if he had access to a match or lighter; this whole place might’ve burned to the ground. But Phoenix stopped, catching sight of Kennedy in the pool.

  She wasn’t moving.

  His heart lurched beneath his chest. He ran to the edge, pulled her limp body out of the water. No, his mind screamed. Don’t let her be dead.

  Phoenix gently set her on the cement, lying her down. He swept the dripping hair away from her face, felt the iciness in her skin. She was pale—so incredibly white. All he could think of was getting air into her lungs, putting the life back into her body.

  “Dominika,” he called. His voice was choked, torn in a way he’d never heard it sound before.

  Dominika was the only air-manipulator he spotted, and wouldn’t have been his first choice. She never spoke to him, or anyone for that matter. Phoenix wasn’t even sure if she’d come to help, and for a moment, it didn’t look like she would. So it shocked the hell out of him when she rushed to his side in the same frightened urgency he felt.

  Dominika kneeled next to Kennedy’s unmoving body. The silver color of her eyes turned foggy as she felt for a pulse. She gripped Kennedy’s chin, parting her ashen lips, then raised her slender hands over Kennedy’s throat.

  Phoenix swallowed, feeling helpless. All he could do was sit back and watch. Waiting to hear one of two words. Alive or dead.

  Dominika closed her eyes and blew out air, controlling it with an intense focus. Phoenix could see the shape and color of it, could feel the energy Dominika gave. A stream of air left her body and worked its way through Kennedy’s mouth, then into her throat, and eventually her lungs expanded, heaving Kennedy’s chest. She coughed, water dripping from the sides of her mouth.

  Phoenix let out a long breath. He’d never been so happy in his life as he had been to see that cough. “Thank you,” he whispered. Dominika only nodded in response.

  As soon as Kennedy was steadily breathing, Phoenix lifted her into his arms, letting her body drench his clothes and skin. She was still so cold. Pressed against him, he focused on heat and felt it seep through his pores. Within seconds, he saw her cheeks bloom with color, felt her skin grow warmer.

  Dr. Sigly stood very still before him as if he were a king cobra and any sudden movement was potentially lethal.

  Phoenix didn’t blame her. She should be afraid. He’d never been able to stomach the idea of hurting a woman before, but in this moment, he couldn’t deny the overwhelming desire to do so. If Kennedy weren’t filling his arms, he just might’ve.

  He would have to gut Dr. Sigly with words instead, something he’d never been very good at. Besides, there were no words that could hurt her. She was too unfeeling, but then, there it was. The thing he could say. Might not hurt her exactly, but it would definitely unbalance her, which was something, at least.

  “I quit.” The words left his lips easily, and surprisingly, he meant them.

  Dr. Sigly displayed her shock so subtly, Phoenix wouldn’t have noticed if he weren’t paying close attention. First, her brows raised, just slightly. Next, she stretched her right hand, then balled it into a small fist.

  Good enough. He knew her well enough to know his declaration would leave her simmering.

  He walked away, and in doing so, he felt strangely free.

  Out in the hall, he passed a slew of faces, none masking their surprise.

  Davaris was instantly at his side. “Are you for real, bro?”

  Next came Lexie’s concerned voice. “Nix, think about what you’re doing.”

  Fang only stared at him, her face a mixture of disbelief and hurt.

  Phoenix looked ahead, walking by them in silence. He couldn’t answer their questions right now. Felt bad for letting them down. But he refused to feel bad for walking away from the scene he just left, or for the sense of power he felt in doing it. No, he wouldn’t apologize for that. He would never be anyone’s keeper, especially if it meant he’d have to put up with more of DOE’s controlling bullshit. Or watch someone as new and innocent as Kennedy endure it.

  He was done.

  ~ ~

  Phoenix found Kennedy’s apartment using the map on her brace. The place was lavish, bigger than his too, but not by much. Compared to her family’s home on Amelia Island, this place felt lifeless, pretty much unlived in.

  He set her down on the sofa, and left to find towels and clean clothes. As he searched through drawers, he noticed a family picture on the nightstand. Kennedy was younger, much younger, and there was a man who must have been her father. They were all making funny faces, Kennedy sticking her tongue out at the camera comically.

  It made Phoenix smile; he thought of Pappa and his brothers, missing them badly. He wondered what they were all doing now, what their lives were like. Talking to them once a month, seeing them every other holiday, it was never enough.

  When he came back into the living room, Kennedy was stirring. Her brows drew together as she looked around. “It’s okay.” He wrapped her in a thick towel. “You’re okay.”

  She looked at him, then straight through him, her aqua eyes glazing over.

  Must be remembering what happened, he thought. He wished he could pluck the memory from her mind, make it vanish forever. Hell, he wished he could forget the nightmare of it himself.

  “I’ll make you something to drink,” he offered. “Which do you prefer—coffee or tea?”

  “Sure.” Her voice sounded far away. It wasn’t exactly an answer, either, but at least she was talking.

  He went into the kitchen and decided on coffee. She was American, and most of the ones he knew couldn’t get by without it. He found a bag in the pantry and poured. It looked about right, and he turned the machine on. Moments later, he brought Kennedy a steaming mug of the stuff.

  She stared into it.

  “You should dry off,” he said. “Change into new clothes. It’ll probably make you feel better.”

  She nodded, still staring into her cup, but didn’t move. Phoenix wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He could see she was still in shock, but he didn’t know how to bring her out of it.

  She whispered something, then cleared her throat, holding a hand over the crevice of her neck. “Sorry,” she tried again, her voice hoarse. “It burns a little.”

  His jaw tensed. Hearing her say that made Phoenix wish he’d had more time with the security guards. He’d like nothing better than to hold both their heads under water just then, see how they liked struggling to breathe.

  “My dad,” she said, trying again. “He died that way…drowned.”

  Phoenix stilled. It made sense—a lot of sense. The dots were beginning to connect. Kennedy’s fear of the pool. The father in the photograph that wasn’t there the day he and Mason visited her house. He hadn’t known—never wanted to know anything about her life.

  “I was with him,” she continued, pausing to swallow. “We were out on the boat. The weather was sunny when we left. That’s the way Florida is; one minute it’s sunny and the next there’s a freak storm.” Tears sprang to her eyes, and she bit her lower lip, trying to keep them from falling. “There wasn’t much time. A giant wave was about to hit us. Daddy was more concerned about my survival than his. He tied me to the boat’s rail…” She looked up at the ceiling, still trying to stop herself from crying.

  “It’s okay,” he said, but she didn’t hear him.

  “His hands were holding mine. And suddenly he…slipped away.”

  Anger boiled Phoenix’s blood all over again. He might not have known about Kennedy’s past, but there weren’t any secrets DOE officials weren’t aware of. They made it a priority to know every single thing about their employees’ lives, especially
the keepers. And still, those bastards forced Kennedy into that pool and held her beneath the water. He couldn’t begin to imagine the depths of her fear.

  “I don’t know why I told you all of that.” She looked at him, actually seeing him now. “I never talk about it.”

  “I’m sorry. For what you went through.” Fuck, that sounded incredibly dumb. She didn’t want his sympathy. What she wanted was her father, and not to worry about psychopathic DOE officials trying to drown her.

  “You stood up for me, didn’t you?”

  Phoenix slowly nodded. “I didn’t get to you soon enough though. I should’ve gotten to you sooner.”

  She ignored his guilt-tinged words. “I knew you stood up for me. Even though I wasn’t conscious, I could sense it somehow.” She wrapped the towel more tightly around herself. “Why did you do it?”

  “Why did I stand up for you?”

  “Yeah.”

  He felt his brows furrow together. What kind of question was that? “Why wouldn’t I? They were drowning you.”

  “But you hate me.”

  She said it so simply, so matter-of-factly, it took a moment to register with Phoenix.

  All this time, he’d been angry. Bitter, truthfully. Over the things Calaya told him. Over things he couldn’t control. In all honesty, he hadn’t been very nice to her, but only so she would keep her distance. Had he really gave her the impression of hatred though? Stars, he was a bloody idiot. “Kennedy, I don’t hate you.”

  “Then why—”

  “Ah, you’re home early!” Someone whizzed into the room. Phoenix jumped to his feet. Why hadn’t he sensed someone else in the apartment? He could usually detect their heat, felt them in the area before he ever laid eyes on them. “And you brought a visitor.”

  A life-sized metal robot with a ridiculous looking knit cap paused in front of Phoenix. Okay, not exactly a person, which explained why he didn’t pick up on any heat.

  The thing took the length of him in, scanning him from head to toe. “Prime specimen too. Just look at those muscles! You’ve done alright for yourself, cupcake.”