Terregon (Book Two of The Red Diamond Saga)

by Jennifer Janne

  Aaron and Lisa drew close to her as the gunfire became louder and more rapid.

  “What are we going to do now?” Aaron asked with a growl. “He left us here to die, and even if we make it out alive, the whole world will despise us. They will believe the whole thing was a scam.”

  Corinne tried to think clearly but the sounds of the war unfolding around them were distracting, and the screams of people stuck inside burning buildings were excruciating.

  “We need to find Daniel.” She said sternly.

  “This is not the time for romance.” Aaron said condescendingly.

  “Daniel has weapons you idiot.” Corinne replied sharply. “If we can find him and Stanley, we might at least be able to help.”

  Lisa felt helpless for the first time as she had never known herself as anything but a healer. She did not know how to be, just Lisa.

  “Corinne!” A voice shouted.

  Corinne twisted around searching for the voice through the crowds.

  “Corinne!” The voice shouted again. Only then did she realize it was inside of her head. It was Conner, calling out to her.

  “Conner!” She cried out happily, which drew glares from Lisa and Aaron. “He can help us.” Corinne insisted, though her companions looked quite doubtful.

  Before she could insist, someone grabbed her hard from behind and pulled her into the shadows of an alley.

  “What are you doing here?” Daniel said between sharp breaths as he pushed her back against the brick wall in an attempt to shield her from view. “Are you insane?” He demanded.

  “Daniel, I was not given a choice.” Corinne replied just as brusquely. Then without a split second of hesitation she kissed him. She kissed him as hard and deeply as she could until he forcefully pushed her away.

  His mind was spinning from the kiss he had been longing for. “Okay, okay.” He said as he tried to get control of his emotions. “We're both here there's nothing we can do about that. Can you do something to stop this?”

  Corinne shook her head with a frown. “Simeon dosed us with something before he dropped us off here, none of us can use our abilities.”

  “Simeon?” Daniel started to ask but he shook his head, there would be time for explanations later. “Then we have to get out of here.” He said sternly.

  “Where's Stanley?” Lisa asked from the end of the alley. Aaron stood beside her, his attention on the gun play on the street.

  “I'm sorry,” Daniel said with a shake of his head. “We were separated, I have no idea where he is.”

  As the explosions and screaming continued the four picked their way through fist fights and stay bullets in an attempt to find a way out. The entire time Corinne was doing her best to stay open to Conner's energy.

  When someone shot at Corinne, Daniel drew his weapon and fired back. This drew bullets from several different directions. The four just barely managed to duck into a smoldering store front to avoid the bullets. Inside they found an older couple huddled together in fear.

  Daniel knew that if they stayed in the building it would collapse.

  “We have to get these people safe.” Daniel said softly. As he began to lead them out of the building, he was confronted by Tasha, who had her gun drawn and aimed right at Daniel.

  She glanced over her shoulder briefly, checking to see if any members of the Malita family were watching, then she lowered her weapon and spoke quickly.

  “Stanley is with Miles and Michael and their crews. I tried to get him out, but Miles insisted he stay with him. They're all looking for you.” As she holstered her gun her gaze briefly passed over Corinne and Lisa before settling on Aaron. She was startled by the way he looked at her with such intensity, as if a part of him recognized her.

  “Let's go get him.” Lisa pleaded, ignoring the way Aaron was openly staring at Tasha.

  “Of course we will.” Corinne reassured her.

  As they began to move up the street, one of the buildings further up the street that had been engulfed in flames suddenly exploded. It sent everyone scattering and debris flying in all directions.

  As Corinne struck the pavement, her head colliding with the hard surface, she felt Conner slip inside of her mind. His abilities augmented her own natural skills that could not be restrained by the drug she had been given.

  When she lifted her head from the ground to see the world around her filled with dark black smoke and the shouts and crying of others, she knew that she had to stop it. It was the only way any of them were ever going to get out alive.

  Corinne stood in the middle of the flames, the gunfire, and the wails of injured people and raised her hands high into the air. She let Conner's energy not only mingle with her own, but direct it. He had been able to mix together a dose of enhancement drug from his memory, and had injected himself with it. While his abilities were amplified, they could strengthen Corinne's as well.

  Together their energy built until it became so strong that Corinne actually began to have a physical glow. She and Conner focused together on the minds of those engaging in the violence. Rather than harming them, they lessened their energy, they coaxed them into believing they were too tried to stand let alone hold a weapon.

  One by one they began to fall to their knees, and then collapse to the ground. To those that watched it looked as if something had caused them all to suddenly die, but instead, they were sleeping.

  The others leaped into action, attempting to disarm as many of the criminals as they could. The police seized the brief moment of peace to surge in with riot gear and overtake those that still struggled to fight.

  Corinne was the last to collapse to the ground out of sheer exhaustion, and as she did, in her mind, she was whispering.

  “Thank you, Conner, thank you.”

  41

  Once the scene had been cleared of any additional explosive devises, and it was evident that the shooting had ceased, emergency personnel rushed in to aid the injured. Using the sirens, ambulances, and fire trucks as a distraction, Daniel, Tasha, Aaron, Lisa, and Corinne slipped away. Aaron carried Corinne in his arms, who was still weak to open her eyes.

  With every step that Aaron took he could feel his strength resurging. Simeon had dosed them with just enough to get them killed, and it was wearing off. Stanley had been arrested along with the Malitas but Daniel was informed of his safety. Lisa was reassured, but she would not be content until she saw him for herself.

  The group was picked up by the police chief himself who whisked them away to a remote location so that they would no longer be in danger. There was a lot to be sorted out.

  Corinne explained how Simeon had orchestrated Daniel and Stanley being sent undercover with the Malitas in order to get them to voluntarily expose themselves to the public. She could not understand why he had then just decided to send them to their slaughter.

  “Because,” Aaron explained from where he leaned against the wall, his gaze drawn back to Tasha repeatedly. “He has Cori.” His lips quirked up into a vague smirk. “He doesn't need us, if he has her.”

  “We have to save her.” Corinne insisted as she started to stand from the chair she was sitting in. Ernie was sitting across from her, his attention riveted to her story.

  “Do we?” Aaron asked with a mild shrug. “I mean really Corinne, even if we do get to her, and she is willing to come with us, who is to say Simeon hasn't already corrupted her.”

  Corinne shook her head as she crossed her arms. “No way, she wouldn't turn against us.”

  Aaron stood from the wall and moved closer to Corinne. Their identical eyes met, their identical faces contorted into the same stubbornness, but for the first time Aaron's voice had deep regret within it.

  “Corinne there was a time that if Conner asked me to, I would have killed you without hesitation. Loyalty is the easiest emotion to manipulate, don't you know that?”

  Corinne could not respond at first. She had not thought of it that way, and again she had fallen into seeing Corinne as a child, not
as the creation that she was. She had not been given the chance to love, or to bond. Why would Corinne expect the girl to even want to return to them?

  “She has accepted Simeon as her father.” Conner said, and at first Corinne expected him to be speaking within his mind, but instead he was being led into the room by a police officer.

  “I know!” He held up his hands as Aaron prepared to attack him. “I am the last person you want to see.” He watched Aaron closely as Daniel attempted to restrain him.

  “Aaron don't.” Corinne insisted. “He helped us, he saved all of us.” She insisted.

  “How?” Aaron spat out. “By sharing your energy?” His eyes were shining with fury. “That means he could have manipulated you easily.”

  Corinne hesitated at his words. It was true that while she had given Conner so much control over her he could have altered how she thought of him. Was that why she was actually happy to see him? Did it explain her strange urge to hug the man?

  “I didn't.” Conner insisted. “I know you have no reason to trust me.” He glanced between Aaron and Lisa. “I know you two I have hurt the most. Believe me, it is all I have thought about.”

  Aaron laughed at his request for belief but he stopped straining against Daniel's hold.

  “I'm here because Simeon is a very powerful man.” Conner said as he watched Aaron warily. “He will not give up easily. I would like to offer you my help.”

  “We don't need it.” Aaron replied sharply. Lisa nodded her agreement. Only Corinne remained unresponsive.

  “Corinne, think of everything he did to all of us.” Aaron said as he saw her expression full of compassion. “Think of our mother!” He shouted. He had to restrain himself from rushing over to her and shaking her.

  When Corinne slowly lifted her eyes from the floor of the room she stood in, her expression was impossible to define. Her voice was barely audible as she spoke, her eyes drifting from Aaron to Conner.

  “I am thinking of our father.” Her words silenced the room. “I am thinking of giving him the opportunity to redeem himself for what he has done.” She added, her voice shivering beneath her words.

  “He's not-” Aaron started to say but he could not finish. Perhaps a part of him had always known, had always recognized it in Conner.

  “She's right.” Conner admitted as he withstood the scrutiny of everyone in the room. “You, Corinne, and Lisa are all my children.”

  Lisa and Aaron stared hard at one another. They had been brother and sister all along, without knowing it, and yet still treating each other as if they were.

  “That doesn't change anything.” Aaron insisted. “You stay the hell away from us, understand?” He pointed at the doorway, his heart pounding as he resisted tearing into the man. He did not want Conner to be his father. He did not want to have his blood or DNA inside of him. It disgusted him.

  Conner glanced at Corinne who only lowered her eyes back to the floor. She would not go against Aaron, not now. Conner nodded faintly and retreated from the room, leaving the group within it swept into silence over the revelation. It was Tasha who broke the silence as she folded her arms across her stomach and lifted one fiery brow.

  “Wow, I thought my family had problems.” She said with a smirk. When Aaron glared in her direction, the fury in his eyes instantly retreated and he looked away. Tasha laughed a little at the blush that she noticed in his cheeks. Before long conversations had begun again, and everyone was willing to ignore the bombshell that had just been dropped in the middle of the room.

  42

  In the brief peace that fell over the city after the riots had been subdued, Corinne tried to pretend that everything was still the same. They all braced themselves, waiting for repercussions from Simeon, but he did not seem the least interested. It was almost as if he had forgotten about them. Stanley had been promoted because of his undercover work, and Daniel finally received an official transfer out of the undercover division so that he could get some sense of stability in his life. Weeks slipped by as they waited, pensively, for something devastating to happen. When nothing did, their lives regained some twisted sense of normalcy.

  Daniel handed her a cup of coffee as they sat together at the kitchen table. Corinne was staring out the window at a lone reporter who even two months later still camped out on their lawn every day, hoping for an interview from the cities resident superheroes. Daniel slid his chair closer to Corinne.

  “Can we talk about it today?” He asked as he watched her expression.

  Corinne frowned. “Daniel you know that it isn't safe.” She said with irritation.

  Daniel clenched his jaw so as not to react in anger. He took a short breath and then asked in a calm tone.

  “When it will be Corinne?” He waited for her to turn to look at him. “There's always going to be something, you know.” He had been pushing her since the riots to get married. He did not want to wait anymore, and he knew that deep down she did not want to either.

  Corinne frowned as she ran her hand back through her hair. Daniel made a good point. It had been fairly quiet lately. Lisa and Stanley had resumed their romance, and if she and Daniel did not get married soon they might beat them to the altar. Aaron had been preoccupied and secretive as always, but Daniel had revealed the truth.

  He was heavily pursuing Tasha who had been reassigned because of her exposure. Daniel and Corinne pretended that they did not know and thought it was adorable the way he sulked around until he could go meet her.

  Although Corinne had pushed for trying to get Cori back from Simeon, the police chief had admitted that he had no power against the man. Daniel had pointed out if they tried to push it, Simeon would just flee with Cori to any number of countries where he had homes.

  She had been meeting with Conner, unbeknownst to anyone. It was her business if she wanted to get to know the man, and find out everything she could about the past. She had not forgiven him, nor had she claimed him as her father, but she was willing to hear him out. Perhaps she might even learn a few things from him about herself and her abilities along the way. She knew if Aaron found out about it he would be furious, but as long as he was distracted with Tasha, Corinne felt she was safe.

  The only thing that concerned her was keeping yet another secret from Daniel. However, she did not feel he would understand, and she did not want to create any distance between them by arguing over it. She cared more deeply for Daniel than she ever believed she could care for anyone, and she was eager to marry him.

  Still it did not feel right to Corinne to think about getting married, and moving on with her life, to consider being happy, after everything that had happened.

  “How can you even still want to?” Corinne asked, emotions weighing her voice. “How could you want to be with me?”

  Daniel met her eyes with fierce intensity. “Corinne, nothing can ever happen, that will change how I feel about you. You can fight me on it, you can doubt me, but I will be here every step of the way, for the rest of your life.”

  Corinne laughed, and the sense of impending doom that had been haunting her began to lift. He continued to tease her about her resistance in allowing him to move in with her.

  “Fine.” She suddenly said, as if her mind were finally clear. “Yes, let's do it.” Her smile spread into a grin.

  “Okay, so maybe six months from now?” Daniel suggested gleefully.

  “Uh uh,” Corinne shook her head as she cupped his cheeks and placed a light kiss on his lips. “Tomorrow!”

  “Tomorrow?” Daniel repeated in shock.

  Corinne kissed him again, drawing him into a deeper caress that made him dizzy with passion. When she broke away Daniel was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Tomorrow!” He declared with elation.

  Simeon studied the lab report that was handed to him. “Mmhm, coming along nicely.” He said quietly as he glanced in on where Cori was sleeping.

  “Sir, I am a little concerned about the results.” The doctor said as he pointed out the
extremely high levels of psychokinetic energy.

  “No need to be.” Simeon said sternly as he swept his gaze fondly over Cori. She would start to show soon.

  “In fact, lets increase the dosage. Double it.” He made a note on the paperwork and handed it back to the doctor.

  “But sir, that could cause all kinds of risks for the mother and the baby.” He protested, however when Simeon met his gaze darkly, the doctor dropped his eyes and nodded. “Of course, as you wish.”

  Simeon smiled to himself. Cori's artificial insemination had been successful, and now it was just a waiting game. With Cori’s rapid age acceleration, he knew the baby would soon come faster too, and he would have the power of Conner, Corinne, Aaron, and Lisa combined at his finger tips. Of course there was always the possibility that the baby would have severe defects, but if so, they could always try again.

  He had his own personal super human making machine and this time he would make sure it was done right. He would let the whole world think they had seen the last of him, and then he would introduce them to his newest creation.

  Check Out The Other Books In The Red Diamond Saga:

  Book 1: Corinne

  Book 2: Terragon (this book)

  Book 3: TBA

  Book 4: TBA

  Interact With Me @ http://www.JenniferJanne.com