by Kristie Cook
I stared after him in bewilderment, with an undertone of sadness. Well. I’d asked for it. I had told him to pick one, and he had, apparently before he’d even arrived here. I just really hadn’t thought it so serious between them. Had really hoped it hadn’t been so serious. I wasn’t exactly jealous—I had no right to be—but the vamp wasn’t quite who I’d expect Owen to fall for. Owen, who didn’t exactly love nor trust vampires had become a vamp tramp, to use his own words. And love and trust were pretty vital ingredients to any relationship. Then there were the others. Did they really know they were only friends? Especially Sheree?
I shook my head. Not my problem. Not yet, anyway, and I had many other issues to contend with. Such as my poor husband. I turned to enter his room, and once again, my heart stuttered at the sight. I couldn’t get used to it, no matter how many times I saw him like this, which was way too many. This couldn’t carry on.
“Bree, I think we need to do it,” I said quietly as I sat on the bed next to her. My heart broke as if each word were a slice right through it. “We need to sever the connection.”
Chapter 21
Bree’s eyes snapped up to mine and pleaded with me to take my words back. “Alexis—”
As if in response to my decision, as if the Daemoni had actually heard me—could they?!—Tristan’s body bucked to life once more. But they must not have heard me, because a wild grin spread across his face and a wicked gleam filled his eyes, which wouldn’t be the expected response to losing their connection. Tristan broke out in what I assumed to be laughter, but the eerie sound would haunt me the rest of my days. The glee lasted for only a few moments as he fought the mage’s control, his muscles bulging and straining with the internal battle.
“Kali … has the pendant,” he croaked. Bree and I exchanged a glance.
“You’re sure?” I asked stupidly.
Several heartbeats passed before his eyes rolled up to me, dark and full of flames. “I could practically hear her saying my precious.”
Before Bree or I could respond, commotion broke out in the hallway as the sound of Vanessa’s door banging against the wall was followed by her voice, not so musical at the moment.
“Owen, no! Don’t go. It’s too dangerous,” she yelled as Owen’s figure strode past Tristan’s open door on some kind of mission.
I ran into the hall and called after him. “Where are you going?”
“Business to take care of,” he grunted, and then he was gone.
“This is all your fault, you stupid bitch!” Vanessa yelled from her room, and I had no doubt she spoke to me.
I crossed the couple of steps to her door. “Excuse me? What did I do?”
“You had to screw with him and make him think too hard about what he’s doing here and what he wants to do, which is to find his father. And that means he’s gone off to face that bitch Kali. He’s going to get himself killed!”
I pulled back. “What do you know about it?”
“Because I found him last time. If it weren’t for me, he’d already be dead.”
I stared at her for a long moment, even peeked into her mind. She told the truth, though she cut me off as soon as she realized I was in her head.
Damn it, Owen! Why?! I screamed and punched the wall, and my fist plunged through the sheetrock. Tears of anger and regret burned my eyes. Had I pushed him too far? Obviously, I had. And having no idea where Kali was, I couldn’t follow him, couldn’t apologize.
I swallowed down the emotional outburst that threatened to do more than leave a hole in the wall, and recited like an automaton what everyone had told me the first time he left. “Owen’s a big boy. We have to let him go and hope he chooses right.”
Vanessa huffed behind me as I strode back to Tristan’s room. Bree stood with Tristan, trying to calm him, but one look at my husband’s contorted face reminded me to focus.
“We definitely have to do it now,” I said as I sat on the end of the bed, closest to Tristan. I leaned my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands. “Now that Kali has the stone … she’ll figure out its power sooner or later. And we can’t …” A sob caught in my throat.
“We can’t let her control him,” Bree quietly finished for me, confirming my decision.
I lifted my head and looked up at Tristan, wanting desperately to reach out and touch him. His stony expression warned me not to come any closer.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as a tear overflowed and slid down my cheek.
“I’ll call your mom,” Bree murmured as she stepped toward the door.
“Don’t do it,” Vanessa said, her voice closer than it should be. I turned to find her behind us. She blanched at the sight of Tristan. Her voice came out quieter. “You’ll lose him if you do.”
“Don’t you think I know that? But look at him, Vanessa,” I said. “I have to do something.”
She stared at Tristan for a moment longer then moved her eyes onto me, leveling me with her steady glare. “Get the stone.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” I said, hitting my head with my palm. “Oh, yeah. Because it’s a trap. Remember pointing that out?”
“You would do it for him.” It wasn’t a question. And she was right. I would sacrifice myself to give Tristan and the rest of the Amadis a chance.
“Maybe I would if I knew how and where. All I know is that Kali has it, but not where it is.
“Well, I do.”
I jumped to my feet. “You do? And you’ll tell me?”
She studied my face. “On one condition.”
“Vanessa …”
She held up her hand. “One condition only. I go with you.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Seriously? That’s your condition? Or, should I say, your ultimatum?”
She shrugged. “Call it what you want. If you want to get the pendant—”
“Dammit, Vanessa,” I snarled. I flipped my hand toward Tristan. “Look at him! Are you getting off seeing him like this? Or are you so cold-hearted that you’d rather play games with me than help?”
She took a step toward me. But only one. “I’m doing you a favor. Do you really think you can get in and out with that pendant in your hand? Alive? I told you. They’re waiting for you. They’re planning for you. I can get us in and get you out. I’m your only hope.”
Crap. She had a point. I knew nothing about what I’d be walking into, but she knew everything. Even better than Tristan would.
“No,” Tristan croaked from the wall, as if he heard my thoughts. “It’s a trap, ma lykita. She’s setting you up.”
I nodded. I didn’t know if he knew this from his connection with Kali or if he was simply suspicious, but I was thankful that he still had enough control over himself to warn me. I knew he was right.
My eyes became slits as I peered at Vanessa. “You have the nerve to blame me for Owen leaving when he only left because you told him where Kali is. That’s what just happened, isn’t it? You guys heard Tristan, and you told Owen. It’s your fault he left!”
The vampire didn’t answer me, but she didn’t need to. I saw the truth in her eyes. At least this much of the truth.
“Why do you think I want to go?” she finally said. I cocked my head. Going after Owen motivated her to help me? A tap into her thoughts confirmed this. And where would that leave me once she found him?
“Forget it. I can’t trust you as far as—” I almost used the old cliché, but I could actually throw the vamp farther than I could trust her. I shook my head. “You’re not ready. Not on any level.”
She guffawed. “Scared?”
“Don’t waste your breath taunting me. I’m not falling for it. Drop the ultimatum and just tell me where the pendant is.”
“And you call me cold-hearted? You’re going to lose him. You have no idea what will happen when they sever the connection, but I’ve seen what it’s like when emotions are cut. He’ll be a zombie, Alexis. Or worse, he’ll go rogue. Is that what you want? You’ll let that happen because y
ou’re afraid you can’t trust me? That’s cold-hearted. He’s your man, though. Do what you want.”
She turned and left, leaving me to stare after her. I blinked, then pushed my hands through my hair, clasped them behind my head and studied the floor as if it would reveal the answers I sought. What do I do? After several long moments, I lifted my eyes and considered my husband. His arms were spread out, his wrists locked in the shackles at the height of his shoulders. His naked chest barely lifted as he breathed shallowly. His bare legs were pulled out, as well, also chained. Bree had cut away his jeans days ago, leaving only scraps around the shackles so they wouldn’t chaff his skin. She gave him a sponge-bath at least once a day. Something I couldn’t do.
Even now, as I stood and stepped closer to him, his head jerked up, and he growled at me. His muscles went taut as he strained against the chains.
“Don’t tempt me,” he snarled. I reached out anyway, needing to touch him, missing him so much even when he was right here, yearning for even the simplest caress over his cheek. His jaw snapped at my hand, his teeth narrowly missing the tips of my fingers as I jumped back. He growled in anger—at himself or me or the Daemoni, I didn’t know. He dropped his head again. “So … sorry,” he managed to say.
I swallowed and nodded. “I know,” I murmured. “I still love you.”
“You … shouldn’t. I’m broken … now, Lex. We’re … done.”
“No. Don’t say that. We have options.”
His head jerked up, and he glared at me. “And none of them are good! Don’t do it, Lex. Don’t … do …”
He didn’t finish. Had Kali regained control? Did she somehow know he warned me? I couldn’t even fish through his thoughts. His mind was … black. Nothing. As if a dense curtain veiled his thoughts. His head fell to his shoulder, then rolled down, so his chin pressed against his chest once more.
“He’ll probably be out for a while,” Bree said. “He’s been doing this a lot lately. I assume it’s when whoever has the stone sleeps or leaves it behind. Tristan’s more like himself, but when he realizes he doesn’t have to fight, he collapses in exhaustion. That’s what I’ve noticed, anyway.”
She moved again toward the door.
“Don’t call my mom yet,” I said.
“I won’t.” She gave me a weak smile that came nowhere near her golden eyes. “I wish I could tell you what to do, but it’s not my place. I don’t have what you do with him. This is something you have to figure out on your own. But whatever you decide, I’ll support you, and do what you need me to do.” She glanced at her son with longing, then looked back at me. “You’ll be okay here while I take a break?”
I nodded, glad to be left alone with him.
Tristan? I tugged at his mind once I heard Bree stride off toward the kitchen. No response. I stepped toward him again, holding my breath, but still he didn’t move. With a shaking hand, I traced my fingers over his cheek. Electricity pulsed through me with the touch. I sighed. I wanted so much more. But I couldn’t chance it.
What do I do? I asked myself once again. I had no one to turn to. Mom and Rina would never agree to Vanessa’s ultimatum. Owen was gone. Again. The bastard. I immediately felt guilty for that thought, remembering Vanessa’s warning. I might never see my protector again. Hmm …
Trying not to disturb Tristan, I stepped silently out of the room and over to Vanessa’s. She sat on her bed, arms crossed, looking as though she’d been waiting on me. As if she knew I’d eventually bow to her ultimatum.
“You think we can stop Owen and get him back, too?” I asked.
“That’s my hope.”
“And you’re not setting me up? Luring me right into the lion’s den?”
She peered at me for a long moment. “Think, Alexis, about every confrontation we’ve ever had. How many times everyone else warned me about Lucas wanting you alive and how many times I said I didn’t care. Because I didn’t care, Alexis. I didn’t care what they wanted. In fact, giving them what they wanted was the worst thing for me.”
I had no idea what she meant, but I could hear the jealousy in her voice. They wanted me, and she hated that anyone wanted me, even if for horrible reasons such as my murder.
“But if you gave me to them now, I’d be out of the picture. You’d be Amadis and have Tristan and Owen and whatever else you want.”
She laughed. It almost sounded like a snort. “I really don’t know how you can be so smart yet so stupid. Seriously. If I deliver you to the Daemoni, I’m no one. The Amadis would have nothing to do with me, and I’ve already severed myself from the Daemoni. I may as well be dead. In fact, I probably would be sentenced to death by both sides. Besides …” She looked away and stared at the curtained window, as though she could see through it. Her voice came out in a near whisper. “I owe you my life, or at least the chance to have a real one. I do want this way of life, whether you believe me or not, and I wouldn’t have it without you.”
I didn’t know what to say, but I could feel the truth in her words. Vanessa’s gaze returned to me, watching as I paced her room, thinking over our options. They were so limited, and the longer I waited to make a decision, the more likely Kali would figure out how to use the stone. And then she would achieve the Daemoni’s goal since the beginning of the Amadis. Tristan would single-handedly destroy us, their very intent for creating him.
But the Angels wouldn’t allow that, would they? They had as much of a role in his creation as the Demons did. They brought him to the Amadis to serve them, not the Demons. So they surely had a plan for all of this. A way for us to win, to get the pendant back, to free Tristan and also to bring us another daughter. I could have retrieved my dagger and seen if Cassandra would tell me the plan, but I already knew it.
I was the plan.
I had to go in myself to get the pendant, and, if I was really lucky, capture Kali’s soul, as well. And the plan included Vanessa, too, even if she was setting me up.
So what else? Who else? I couldn’t go in there by myself with only Vanessa by my side, especially since I couldn’t trust her. But who could be on my team? I had no one besides Vanessa. Sheree needed to stay for Sonya, who was definitely not ready to take on the Daemoni. Bree needed to stay with Tristan, being the only one who could get near him and also the only one who could hold him back. I could take Blossom, and I knew she’d jump at the chance, but even if Dorian and Sasha stayed at the safe house with Bree and Sheree to protect him, no way could I bring Blossom into such a dangerous situation. She wasn’t a warlock. She wasn’t a fighter. Besides, I needed a mage here, at the safe house.
Because there was one other way this could be a set-up. The Daemoni would expect Tristan and Owen to accompany me, not knowing the situation with either of them. Which meant they’d expect Dorian to be as vulnerable as ever. No, I needed Blossom, as well as every other mage in the colony, here at the safe house with as strong of a shield as they could possibly muster.
“Well? Do you have a plan?” Vanessa asked when I turned one last time, stopped and stared at her.
I pressed my lips together, pushed a hand through my hair, massaged my temple with my fingers, and then finally said, “Nope. Sure don’t.”
“But you don’t have a choice. You know that.”
“I do know that. But what are we going to do? Just the two of us saunter in there by ourselves, pick up the stone and leave? You know it won’t be so easy. But there’s no one else to help us.”
Vanessa shrugged. “We can do it. The two of us … ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this … but the two of us would make a kick-ass team.”
I chuckled. “I don’t know what I’m doing and you’re barely converted. In fact, who knows what will happen when you’re drowning in all that Daemoni power? I don’t even know what will happen to me, and if I can’t boost your Amadis power, we’re both dead.” I shook my head. “You’re too weak.”
I expected her to make a smartass retort or to even flare up with anger at that comment. But instead sh
e looked at me with a gleam in her light-blue eyes.
“You can make me stronger than I’ve ever been and give me a powerful dose of Amadis energy at the same time.” She cocked her head as if to show she’d wait for me to understand, but she didn’t give me a chance, too excited about her own idea. “With your blood pumping through me, princess, we’ll be unbeatable.”
My eyes bugged. She had to be kidding. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
Why not? Because that was the last thing I needed—the person about to betray me hyped up on my extremely potent blood. If she truly didn’t want the Daemoni to have me, she could easily kill me using my own powers, and make it look as though the Daemoni had done it. I could beat her now, and even before her conversion, but not easily. With my blood in her system, she’d be too even of a match, and with the Daemoni power surrounding her, it would be too easy for her to freak out and flip a switch. I wasn’t about to take that chance.
“It’s too risky,” I said and gave her only that last reason. “We don’t know how stable you are. Besides, you’ve only been drinking animal blood for how long now? I’m no expert, but I’d think going from that to my blood would be about as smart as a kid exchanging milk for a bottle of whiskey.”
“I can handle it,” she said with a shrug, but she didn’t push further. “If not yours, then mage blood.”
Yes, I’d already thought of that, too, but how? All of our stocked blood was animal. Sonya definitely wasn’t ready for anything more, and Sheree didn’t want to take the chance with Vanessa until someone more experienced—Char or my mom—could assess her. We had no mage blood on hand, and I didn’t know the protocol for asking for it. If I asked Blossom or any of the other local mages, would they freak or did they believe it part of their Amadis responsibility? Of course, if they knew who would be getting it, they’d never volunteer to donate anyway. Vanessa remained a secret from the Amadis, although … that may not last much longer.
“Alexis!” Tristan’s voice bellowed in my head. I rushed out of the room and into his. Madness filled his eyes as he looked at me. “I felt shock … a surprise … a good one. I feel … glee … hope? No … pride.”
