“Such a wonderful invention.” Alexander gestured at the smartphones. “I’ve always found it miraculous how my mortal children have managed to thrive without the use of the power that was once a natural part of the world they inherited. Their ingenuity is simply marvelous. Don’t you think, Alivia?” He turned to face her, not bothering to cast a glance in the others’ direction. He was in control here.
“It’s Livia.” The color drained from her face at the mention of the name.
“No. It isn’t. You were named Alivia, after a distant relative on your mother’s side, but how could you know that? Leave it to Marcus to give you a Roman name. Livia it is, then.” He nodded. “You won’t find Alísun here, dear. My wife sees you coming before you’ve had your morning tea and biscuits.”
“You’re the one we want anyway,” Livia said. “For the moment.”
“Who is this ‘we?’” He frowned. “It seems most of your team has wandered off.”
Quinn had watched them each drift away as if some pressing task had just occurred to them. First Selena and Ryan, and then Jayesh, with Michael right behind. They were now busy scouring the tunnel, taking pictures and measurements, murmuring about how perfect the place was for hosting Amrita.
Livia’s hand hovered near her hip, a finger tracing the lines of the intricate collar at her belt.
“You could try it, but I think you’ll find me difficult to collar, my dear.”
“He’s crazy,” Livia muttered.
“I like him.” Quinn grinned.
“Listen, Alexander. We have dozens of agents in the surrounding area. If you run, we will catch you.”
“Oh, dear me, no. I’m afraid I haven’t run in years.” He patted the small swell of his protruding belly. “But I have my reasons for meeting with you today. Tell me, what is your despicable father up to these days? I’m afraid Teigan and I never got along well when he thought to court my mother-in-law all those years ago. Eiselynn was a clever girl to turn away from him when she did. Caused all sorts of problems we’re still dealing with, but she was a wise girl nonetheless.”
“If you’re so all-knowing, then you should know exactly what he has planned for you and your wife. None of which is of any concern to me or my team,” Livia said.
“Of course not. Your only concern is for your mother. Porcia. I was always fond of her, but the dear girl was most unfortunate to find herself in league with one such as Teigan. Something happened to him during the Great War. He’s gone a bit squirrely if you ask me.”
Livia began to speak, but her voice fell mute and her movements grew sluggish.
“Ah, much better.” Alexander smiled. “Now then, Quinnton, isn’t it?” He turned to face Quinn and Santi, the only two who hadn’t wandered off. “We have much to discuss, and very little time to do it.”
“I’m sorry, sir?” Quinn frowned, confused.
“It is time to go, my boy. You and your pretty friend. We have about ten minutes to get out of here or we’re all toast.” He ushered them along the tunnel, back to the entrance. “Well, you two more than me. I may have bluffed a bit back there. I make a habit of running when cornered. I’m a scholar, not a fighter. Come, let’s go, shall we? Come, come. Quickly.”
“The car?” Santi tried to turn back.
“Leave the car, darling. It won’t run long without this thing anyway.” He held up a torn radiator hose. “And to be honest, I’m not the best driver.”
Quinn gaped at the kooky old man before Santi grabbed his hand and tugged him along. “This is our chance. We have to take it now.”
“How do you know my name?” Quinn asked as they followed Alexander up to the street entrance.
“Well, Quinny, my boy, it seems you are close with someone who means a great deal to me and my lovely wife. Several someones, in fact. I’ve kept a close eye on you recently. Livia was right when she said I see important people and events that shape our world, but she was wrong to assume you are not one of those important people. You and Santi both—and that unfortunate boy back there. But he’ll have to figure that out on his own. None of you are insignificant. You are all vital to the future of the Immortal world. But you have got to get out of this snare you’re currently in. Take yourselves and run. Now. It’s the only chance I can give you, though I fear it might not be enough.”
“Why did you lure us here? If you knew Livia was coming for you, why did you let her close in on you?”
“Why? For this moment right here, son. You want to escape, don’t you? Listen, interpreting the future is a terrible business, Quinnton. It’s just not my bag.” The Scholar laid a strong but finely wrinkled hand on his shoulder. “Deciphering prophecy takes more patience than I’ve ever had. That’s why I’ve always left it to my wife, my daughters and granddaughters. In this instance I am but a messenger. We are headed for dark times, and circumstances must play out in our favor. What happened here today was just a bit of fun for this old man.” Alexander ushered them up the stairs to the street.
“I brought you two here right now for this moment. This is the stuff that makes history, Quinn. Have you learned what you need to know to face the future as the man you should be? Or are you still running scared from your tired old fears? Maybe I thought you needed a kick in the pants. Eh? Your new gift. It is exactly what you think it is, but you have to get a grip on it soon, my boy. It’s important. There is another dreamwalker who will teach you. He will find you soon. Trust him. He is worthy.” Alexander clapped him on the back and turned to Santi.
“What does all that even mean?” Quinn struggled to decipher the old man’s babble.
“You’ll figure it out. Santi, dear girl, he’s going to need you to give him a push. You get out of Soma soon. If not today, then as soon as you can manage it. Take the prophet and the little one and you get yourselves out.”
“How?” Santi asked, but the old man just shrugged and gave them a wink before he turned and blended into the crowded street.
“That was like meeting Dumbledore. Come on,” Santi said. She squinted into the sunlight. “Where are we?”
“Just a few short steps away from freedom.” Quinn grinned. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and darted across the Superior Avenue traffic.
“How far?” Santi asked.
“Two blocks up Huron Street to Terminal Tower.” If they could get there before Livia recovered from whatever Alexander had done back there, they could disappear forever.
Santi kept up with him as they ran along the busy street. The city teemed with people heading to work, going on about their lives, oblivious of the fact that Santi and Quinn were running for theirs.
“Almost there.” Quinn pulled her along behind him as they darted through the glass doors of the tower entrance.
They took the steps two at a time down the escalator until they reached the underground train station.
“She’ll be recovering soon,” Santi said, her voice full of fear and dread.
“Maybe Jayesh will buy us a little more time like he promised.”
Santi nodded as they approached the busy train platform.
“A train isn’t the answer. We need to disappear. She has people everywhere.”
“We’re not getting on a train.” Quinn pushed through the crowd of morning commuters. It would be nearly impossible, not to mention foolish, to go where he was about to go with so many mortal eyes on them, but he was desperate.
“Here.” He jumped off the train platform and reached to help her down. Stay against the wall and follow me.” He slid along the concrete wall heading into the darkness of the Terminal tunnel where the trains turned around in a loop to head back in the direction they came. Santi didn’t ask questions; she just followed.
In the darkness, Quinn found the crevice in the wall and opened the panel to reveal an analog keypad. He prayed he could figure out the code to the secret tunnel to the island. He tried a few different sequences but the door didn’t budge. His father monitored the access codes at all entrance
s leading to the underground. He tried every imaginable date, anniversary and password he could remember, but nothing worked. Then he entered the date of the day he joined his family when he was just a baby. The thick concrete wall slid open. It seemed his father had been thinking of him.
“Let’s go.”
“What is this place?” Santi whispered.
“It leads to Kelleys Island, straight into the underground facility there. We’ll be home in a few hours. It’s a long way … and there may be some swimming involved if it’s flooded.”
“Swimming? Are you serious? This goes under the lake?” She followed him into the darkness. When the concrete wall slid shut behind them, he knew they were home free.
“Do you feel it?” Santi asked.
“She’s furious.” The tug of Livia’s gift was pulling them back. She was livid, and if she ever found them, they would regret this moment with every breath Livia allowed them to take. “We have to keep going, Mina.”
Santi nodded and they headed into the darkness of the tunnel. The farther they went, the darker it grew. It would be black as night a mile in and it was over twenty-five miles to the crypt. They’d be at it for several hours, but Livia wouldn’t be able to reach them now. They ran into the darkness like a horde of demons chased them.
~~~
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Sasha: Ankathari
The Chola Valley Temple
“Are you ready for this?” Imogen asked as she brushed Sasha’s hair.
Sasha glanced nervously out of the window of her sister’s bedroom. The sun seemed to be setting at an accelerated rate—to the time of her heart hammering in her chest.
“No. Not even a little bit. I’m terrified.”
“I wish I could prepare you for what to expect during your first night of ankathari but you have to go into this completely naive.”
“Mother Raghavan says if I live to be ten thousand, tonight will still be the most difficult night of my life. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Take it moment by moment. One breath at a time. Midnight will be here before you know it and it will be over.”
“Until tomorrow, when I have to do it all over again.”
“It will never be as bad as the first night. You and Jayesh have worked so hard to get here. This is progress. Try to hold on to that thought if you can.”
Sasha closed her eyes as her sister finished securing her hair back with a black silk scarf.
She was right. Sasha and Jayesh had made so much headway in the weeks since that day at the mangrove forest. He was still the most obstinate man she’d ever met, but they were friends now. There was mutual respect between them.
Now when Sasha entered the training grounds and she knelt to touch her teacher’s feet, it didn’t feel like she was giving him the upper hand the way it once had. After months of struggling, they’d finally found their way through meithari and it was time to move on. Though she knew very little about what she would face tonight.
For months, she and Jayesh studied the kalari forms, sparring together in the evenings. Sasha felt stronger than she ever had before. Now it was time to put all of that training into practice. At sunset tonight, she would enter the place between the outer and inner walls of the temple grounds. There she would face whatever obstacles Jayesh and the mother had planned for her. She would not be free to return to the safety of the temple until the stroke of midnight.
“You are ready for this, sister. Remember, your mind will be your biggest obstacle tonight.”
Sasha nodded and crossed the room to the bench where her weapons lay. Dressed in simple black robes with a golden embroidered belt, she looked every bit the assassin straight out of some fantasy tale. The slim blades hooked at her waist were the only protection she would have tonight. Mastering the assassin’s blade was the whole point of ankathari, and once she did that, she would earn the Chola blade for herself.
“It is time,” Imogen said. “I will be here for you when you return. You will rest in my rooms tonight.”
“Gen … thank you for being here with me. I know the separation from your husband is killing you. But … I love you.”
“I love you too, little sister. Be brave.”
Sasha made her way to the western gate alone. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts.
This is just another obstacle between you and your goals, Sasha. Get it done and move on.
“I don’t know who’s more nervous—me or you,” Jayesh said as he greeted her at the gate.
“Definitely me. I’m the one walking into this with no idea what’s coming.”
“You can do this, Sasha. I’ll be right here the instant midnight strikes.”
“I’m scared,” she whispered, taking his offered hand. Just a few months ago she’d never have admitted her fears to Jayesh. They’d come a long way.
“Drink this. It is part of the ritual.” He handed her a chalice filled with spiced wine.
Sasha nodded, taking a deep breath. She gulped the wine and stepped through the gates into the growing darkness between the walls of the temple grounds.
~~~
The acrid smoke smelled of sulfur and heat, tickling her nose as she made her way along the perimeter of the interior wall. Everything looked different at night.
“Don’t lose your way,” she muttered, keeping her eye on the temple entrance.
Familiar voices echoed behind the swirling clouds of smoke. Sasha wasn’t sure what to expect of this night, but she knew it would be dangerous.
“Aidan?” She whirled around in the unnatural darkness. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Sasha blinked, shaking her head to clear the confusion. She drew her blades and turned in a slow circle, struggling to remember how she came to be in this strange place.
“Sasha?” Aidan called from beyond the veil of fog and smoke.
Sasha stumbled toward the sound of her brother’s voice. She heard them all. Her mother, her father. Chloe, Allie, and her brothers. Everyone who had ever mattered to her whispered in the darkness.
“Sasha?”
“Quinn?” Her voice caught in her throat as he came to her through the swirling fog. He was a shadow at first, but she’d know him anywhere. Sasha nearly threw her weapons down in her eagerness to reach him. Touch him. Feel his arms around her again just to know he was real.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Her tears fell as the gaping hole Quinn had left in her life began to diminish at the mere sight of him. “How did you find me here? I don’t even know where here is.” She couldn’t remember what brought her to this temple. She struggled to even remember her own name. The only thing she knew for certain was that she loved Quinn, but she had to get out of this place with or without him.
Pain surged through her and she reached to grasp her head. “Quinn, please. We have to get out of here. It’s not safe.” But he stood with his back to her.
Sasha touched his arm and he turned on her, brandishing his sword. His dark blue eyes were vacant and cold. She reeled back but the bite of steel against her cheek brought a rush of blood. She cupped her face, astonished that the boy she loved could ever hurt her.
“Please, Quinn? It’s me. It’s Sasha.” She reached for him again but the scent of first blood seemed to energize him and he brought his weapon down on her again. Sasha reacted quickly, blocking his aggressive strike with her blades.
“Why do you push so hard, Sasha?” Quinn growled. “I don’t love you.”
“Quinn, please. Don’t do this,” she cried as she fought him off, trying not to let him corner her against the wall.
She had to save him from this madness. Her mind was a whirl of confusion, but her body fell into the kalari forms seamlessly. She moved with instinct, twisting her body into the familiar defensive movements. As the minutes dragged into hours and still he pursued her, Sasha’s limbs grew heavy and weak. I’m running out of time. She couldn’t remember why, but an overwhelming sense of urgency filled her. She had
to get out of this place. Now.
“Snap out of it!” She ducked his sword and rushed to his side, hoping her touch or the sound of her voice could bring him back to himself. “This isn’t you. We’ve loved each other our whole lives!” But Quinn didn’t care anymore. His blade sliced through her robes, connecting with her flesh. The action shattered something inside her.
It took her far too long to realize the only way out of this nightmare was to kill the boy she loved. He was too far gone. He was going kill her. I can’t let that happen. I have an important job to do. Although she couldn’t remember what that job was.
With a heartbroken sob, Sasha stopped fighting defensively and began pushing her attack.
“Don’t make me do this,” she begged when she had him cornered, but he wouldn’t back down. He never spoke. He just continued his single-minded pursuit.
Sasha’s cries bounced off the temple walls, the echoes filling the night as she brought her blades to his throat.
“Sasha?” Quinn finally looked at her in confusion. His blue eyes warmed with recognition and she hesitated.
But his smile was one of triumph and not the smile she remembered from the boy she was once convinced was her Complement.
“No!” Sasha’s voice broke in anguish as she screamed and brought her blade across his throat. The dagger he was about to plant in her side clattered to the ground. The spurt of his warm blood sprayed her face and covered the front of her robes.
Sasha stumbled back, dropping her weapons, letting Quinn’s lifeless body slump forward.
“I killed him!” she shrieked into the swirling clouds of smoke.
She stared down at her bloody hands, wondering how they could betray her. Violent tremors racked her body as she backed away from Quinn’s still form. “I killed him,” she whispered, dropping to her knees.
“What have you done?” Aidan’s shadow loomed over her.
“I had to do it, Aidan.” She scrambled through the dirt as he closed in on her. “No. Please. Don’t.” She cringed as he pulled his sword from the sheath at his back. A dagger in one hand and his favorite sword in the other, her brother—her best friend—stalked her. His eyes glowed in fury.
Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3) Page 20
