“I see. And why is that, my Son?”
Jackson held his father’s gaze, but it was not easy. “She left the city while I slept. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. Is everything all right?” he asked, and another look of concern passed behind his eyes. Anger spiraled in the King’s stomach when he reached out and did a small Search on his son. As he feared, the boy’s concern was not for his father, but rather for the Sun Warrior. So it was as he had suspected. The boy had fallen in love with the Sun Warrior. He had betrayed him.
“Jackson, you disappoint me. You disappoint me greatly,” he said, and now the tiny bit of affection that usually rode his words when he spoke to his son was gone as though it had never been, and his voice was contained and cold. His smile vanished like a ghost.
Jackson’s poker face slipped for only the tiniest of moments, fear gripping him hard and rough. He knew now that his father knew of his indiscretions, he could see it in the glint of his eyes and the turn of his lips. He could feel it in the icy cold of his voice.
He said nothing.
“You screwed up, Jackson,” the King said plainly, after a good enough amount of time had passed in silence for his boy to stew over his failure and in his fear. His tone was deceptively calm and casual. “You told me about the Sun Warrior, about how powerful she was, and yet somehow you failed to mention her sister. I take it you had a momentary bout of memory loss? Or perhaps you thought a Lamia/Searcher hybrid was not something noteworthy?”
Jackson opened his mouth to say something, probably to lie. But he knew that that would only serve to sink him deeper into the crud that was up to his knees already. His father would know it if he lied. His father always knew. He had the wisdom to drop his eyes to his hands, but still, Jackson said nothing. There was nothing to be said.
King William leaned forward in his chair, his hands gripping the armrests and pulling him toward his son. “You can make it right,” he whispered. Slowly, Jackson’s eyes came up and he looked at his father, whose smile had returned as though it had never left, the gentleness back in his tone. “You can prove your loyalty to me. If you want to, that is.”
Jackson’s face showed relief tinged with dread, and more rage filled the King. But by the sound of his voice and the look on his face, you wouldn’t know it. Showing anger was showing weakness, and King William was not a man who liked to look weak.
Jackson nodded slowly, meeting his father’s silver eyes. “Yes, I want that, Father. Thank you,” he said.
King William clasped his hands. “Good. It’s simple really, and I don’t think I have to tell you that I would not afford you this most generous opportunity were you not my son.”
Jackson nodded again, once, shoulders tight.
“All you have to do is find the Sun Warrior and bring her to the place I tell you,” said King William, and he had to clench his teeth to keep his sympathetic mask in place when Jackson’s shoulders tightened a fraction more.
“You don’t have to harm her, Son. Just bring her. Bring her, and all your mistakes will be forgiven.”
Jackson hesitated, and King William was sure he saw a touch of hope in his green eyes. “How will I find her?” he asked. “She could be anywhere by now.”
The King’s smile turned into an ugly grin, his fangs flashing. “Oh, you just leave that to me, my Son. You just leave that to me.”
Jackson gave one final nod and rose from the couch, his shoulders slumped ever so slightly. “As you wish, Father. Consider it done.”
Alexa
The first rays of sunlight streamed in through the windshield. I was glad that the van had no windows in the back, where the silence that had fallen remained. I had been dozing in and out of sleep, my knees curled up to my stomach, my head on Kayden’s lap, his calloused fingers stroking my hair. I was so drained, so exhausted from the things I’d battled and experienced in these last few days that I felt just nothing. Empty. And I welcomed the hollowness, even though it seemed to carry with it an ache that was something like hunger pains, but not.
Soraya slept next to me, her head resting on her mother’s legs, dark curls springing and falling every which way. I didn’t want to sleep anymore. Nightmares about unspeakable things haunted my sleep. So I lay staring at Soraya’s little face, her dark lashes pressed down against her round cheeks, peaceful. Such a sweet, innocent little person, who had already seen and suffered things that most people live to death without ever having to face. If there were any good to any of this, it was that this little girl no longer had to live in slavery. I clung to the thread of happiness this brought me. It was all I had left.
Collectively, everyone in the van had explained to me what had happened. With the exception of Kayden, they spoke of my sister as one might speak of a fabled, mythic, fairytale hero. Whatever she had done to them, they were now enraptured by Nelly, especially Tommy, who hovered over my sister like a worried mother. What it all came down to was this: Nelly had been forced to show her powers, to reveal what she was, in order to escape Two Rivers. Daniel was dead, killed by Lamias. The Lamias who had attacked them were also dead, killed by Nelly, who had subsequently seemed to lose her mind to the Lamia half of her. King William was more than likely red at the ears right now searching for us. In other words, the shit had really hit the fan. And it was because I hadn’t been there to stop it. It was my fault.
Ah, so this is how we react when things get rough. A pity party. I would have expected better, Warrior.
I didn’t respond to the voice in my head. If I wanted to wallow in my misery for a little bit, I would. I’d earned it. As much as I would like it, I just couldn’t be tough all the time. I couldn’t just keep on climbing as the mountain grew steeper and steeper. Too much was happening. I was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of running. Tired of hurting. Just tired.
In front of me, Soraya stirred, cracked open her eyes, golden like her uncle’s. “Hey,” she said.
I sniffed, smiled. “Hey.”
Soraya yawned and stretched, pushing her curls out of her face. “Mommy,” she said, looking up at Catherine. “I have to go pee-pee.”
Catherine sighed. “Okay, Baby,” she said. “Victoria, we have to stop. Is there a gas station or something up ahead?”
Victoria nodded, rubbing her eyes. I guess we were all tired. We had been driving for four hours. “Yeah,” she said. “I’ll stop at the next one I see and signal the others. I need to stretch anyway. And someone else should drive.”
“I’ll drive next,” said Patterson. It was the first time I’d heard him speak since we got in the van, and his voice sounded strange to me now. He was just staring out the windshield with wide eyes, hardly moving. “I slept, so I’m awake enough to do it.”
Five minutes later we were pulling off the highway and into a truck stop. When the van stopped, Tommy slid the back door open and we all climbed out. In the light of the day I could see how awful we all looked. Shadows hung below our eyes like dark half-moons. Our clothes were rumpled and our hair disheveled. Looking at the brown rags Catherine and Soraya wore, I knew that we would raise alarm if we walked into the store looking as we did.
“You guys wait here for a second,” I said, shooing Soraya and her mother back into the van before anyone could see them. “I’ll go buy you some real clothes.” I looked down. “And some shoes. You can’t go in looking like that.”
Catherine nodded and they climbed back into the van and slid the door shut. When I saw the look on Kayden’s face, my heart wrenched a little. He was afraid to leave them with Nelly. I didn’t blame him, and this made guilt and pain stab like a corkscrew in my chest.
I touched his arm. “You can wait here with them,” I said.
Kayden’s hand came up and cupped my face. “Thank you,” he said. I nodded.
Turning back to the group, I saw that the others had joined us from the Mercedes, except for my Mother, who no doubt had the same issue Soraya and Catherine had. I looked at the Queen. “Where are you taking us?” I asked, n
ot nicely.
She cringed a little at my tone. “About an hour from here there is a stronghold of people who have escaped the King’s rule. There is nowhere else we can go, Warrior. There are people who can help us there. We need protection.”
We don’t need shit from this bitch, Warrior. I say we kill her.
“That’s all you ever say, psycho. Shut up. I’ll handle this.”
I strode over to Queen Camillia until I was about an inch from her face. “If you are taking us to some kind of trap,” I said, “you want to rethink that right now. I swear to God that I’ll kill you if you betray us. And it will hurt.”
To my surprise, the Queen just nodded.
Someone behind me cleared his throat. I gave the Queen one last hard look before turning around. Gavin nodded at me. “We all need to go clean up in the restrooms, maybe get some food to hold us over until we can get some blood,” he whispered. “We don’t have time to fight right now. If I know the King, he’s already sent a hunting party after us. We need to get in and out.”
Everyone shambled off toward the station’s entrance. Luckily, Tommy had plenty of money for all of us to get what we needed. I bought t-shirts and sweatpants for Soraya, Catherine and my Mother, as well as three pairs of bright orange flip-flops. It was all they had. Then I used the restroom, where I washed my face and scrubbed my hands clean. I felt like a zombie.
I was the first to return to the van, where I found Kayden waiting for me. I tossed the clothes in to Soraya and Catherine, and threw an extra pair of sweatpants to Victoria, who still only wore Tommy’s large shirt. They dressed and went to use the facilities.
After they were gone, Kayden turned to me. “You okay?” he asked.
I shook my head.
My Mother came over then from the Mercedes. I held her clothes out to her and she surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. I surprised myself by hugging her back. When we broke apart, I felt awkward, but touched.
The door to the Mercedes opened again, and the girl I didn’t know climbed out. She looked confused, with spiky black hair streaked through with blond; and big, wide eyes. She was the girl whom the other Warrior I didn’t know had been carrying. When she saw us, she came stumbling over, eyeing Kayden in a way that made my fists tighten.
“Go lay down in the car, Bethany,” my Mother barked.
The girl’s lips quirked into a sneer. “I have to use the restroom,” she snapped, and stalked off toward the station.
I raised an eyebrow at this and looked to Kayden, who shrugged. My Mother’s gaze followed Bethany. She rolled her eyes and turned back to me.
“I take it you two aren’t having fun?” I asked.
My Mother snorted. “She’s the one that reported your sister to the King,” she said.
Oh, let’s kill her then, Warrior. Can we? Can we? Can we?
Kayden’s arm went around me and I rested my head against his chest. My Mother slid open the door to the van and climbed in. “Why don’t you two go take a little walk?” she suggested. “You look like you need a breather. I’ll look after your sister. Just be quick.”
I’m sure I looked like I needed a lot more than a breather, but my Mother slid the van door closed, and alone with Kayden, I did feel as though the air was coming a little easier. Kayden kept his arm around my shoulder and began leading me toward a field of tall grass that neighbored the truck stop. I put one foot in front of the other. I was going to cry. I could feel it. I was just glad that my Mother knew me well enough to offer an escape so that I wouldn’t have to do it in front of everyone else. Kayden and Nelly were the only two people in the world who I didn’t mind to cry in front of, and even that sucked.
“She’s going to be fine,” Kayden whispered as we stepped through the curtain of yellow grass. He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head in his chest, warm tears spilling down my cheeks as if they had only been waiting for the flood gates to open. This was the second time in only a few hours that Kayden had held me while I cried. I hated myself a little for that. But it couldn’t be helped.
“How do you know that?” I asked, panic edging my voice. “How do you know? You saw her, Kayden. She almost killed me. Nelly almost killed me.” I sobbed harder, squeezing Kayden with every ounce of strength I had, which didn’t feel like much.
Kayden pulled back and tilted my head chin up, forcing me to look into his sunrise eyes. “I know that because I know you. You will find a way to help her. You just gotta…man up.”
A laugh bubbled up my throat at that. This was one of the reasons I couldn’t help but love Kayden. Even when I was blubbering in the middle of a wheat field, he could make me laugh. “’Man up’?” I asked.
Hey, that’s exactly what I said, my monster growled. But him, you listen to.
“He doesn’t think that the answer to all of life’s problems is murder.”
Sure he does. He’s your Libra, isn’t he? I think you would be surprised at how similar your minds work.
“What are you thinking?” Kayden asked.
I sighed. “You wouldn’t want to know,” I said. I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt and stepped back, wishing that I could just let him hold me, knowing that I could not. “You’re right. Man up. Got it. We should go.”
We walked back to the van, Kayden’s hand in mine. I pushed my chin out. Now was not the time to break down. Things needed to be done. I had a half-crazed, Lamia-turned sister to help, and a revolution to lead. I would mope after.
When we reached the van, Kayden yanked me forward and kissed me hard on the mouth. My lips parted and I felt myself melt into his arms, drinking in the feel of him, clinging as hard as I could. I would be lost if he weren’t by my side, unable to face whatever lay ahead. But he was with me, and we would see this through together. He was a single ray of sunshine that permeated the dark world I’d been thrust into, and I was grateful for that, if for nothing else.
We pulled apart from each other when someone cleared their throat behind us. It was Victoria. I had to bite back a nasty comment when I saw her. The others were ready to go, and enough time had been lost already.
Kayden slid open the van door, and then things went from bad to worse. Much worse.
No one screamed, which was a small wonder, because the sight on the interior of the van would have wrenched a howl from a mime’s throat. Scarlet painted everything, and the smell of copper wafted out on nauseous waves. I stumbled back and would have fallen if someone hadn’t caught me. I looked up and saw that it was Tommy holding me up, clutching me hard enough to leave bruises. Catherine had little Soraya pressed against her, her hands shielding the girl’s eyes. Patterson looked like a stake had been driven through his heart. Everyone else had hands over their mouths, holding in the silent scream that seemed to resound somewhere in all of our ears.
Amidst the blood and gore was what was left of two bodies, throats torn open, limbs sprawled into unnatural positions. My Mother and Bethany lay on the cold floor of the van, eyes wide and sightless; dead.
And Nelly was gone.
King William
“My Liege,” Andre said. “I will do as you ask of me, always, but are you sure that it is wise to call on a Sorcerer for a favor?”
King William laughed without humor. “It sounds as though you are questioning my judgment, Andre.”
The enormous Warrior shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “But I’ve known Sorcerers. They are tricky, and their debts never go unpaid.”
King William slammed his palm down on the top of Queen Camillia’s desk hard enough that pain vibrated through his hand. Andre didn’t flinch, which said something about his character. “I always pay my debts, Warrior,” he said. “And we are Vampires; we do not fear other races. They are food to us, nothing else. Lions do not fear the buffalo. Our ancestors have made us weak, signing away territories to the other races, forcing us to cower behind our walls and rivers. The time for cowering is over. We will bring for
th the rule of our kind by weeding out the weak and strengthening our strong. If the Sorcerer dares to cross me, he will pay for his mistake tenfold.”
Andre nodded, said nothing.
“I need not explain myself to you, Andre. The girl is vulnerable right now. She may be powerful, but she is too young to control that power. If we can use that power against her, we must do it now. No more questions. You just need to trust me.”
Andre believed in his King’s ideals whole-heartedly, and agreed that the girl could be of great use to them. But he wasn’t so quick to underestimate the other races, or humans for that matter. They would fight till their last breath, Andre knew this. The road ahead was a righteous one, but that did not mean that it would be easily travelled.
“Go,” King William said, flicking his wrist. “Bring me the Sorcerer by sundown.”
Andre left. King William sat for a moment in silence, until the door to the office opened once more, and four of his Warriors came into the room, breathing harshly. “We’ve searched the woods and the road beyond, Your Majesty,” one of the Warriors said. “There is no sign of the girl or the Queen. They must have taken a vehicle.”
The Rise (The Alexa Montgomery Saga) Page 7
