by Jaymin Eve
My misgivings about this “safe house” were smashed when we took the side entrance and walked down into a basement of sorts. Okay, definitely not common in Hawaii. I didn’t know anyone with a basement. Xander led us toward an elevator … in their house. He had to use his handprint to open the silver doors. I was pretty sure this was the first elevator I’d ever been on, but, of course, I’d also thought I was born on Earth, so what did I know?
As I was about to step into the metal box, unexpected nerves had me hesitating. I had to take a deep, calming breath to overcome them, before I stepped inside. My hands remained tightly clenched as the doors closed, and when it lurched to the side, I had to swallow my shriek. I reached out and grasped a nearby rail to steady myself.
“Are you okay?” Maya asked.
I bobbed my head up and down. “Yep. Just … first time in an elevator.”
Thankfully we came to a halt not ten seconds later. It was a huge relief to step out, and I blinked at the large room filled with computers and huge screens up on the walls. It looked like those surveillance rooms in cop drama TV shows. I recognized a lot of the images that were flashing by in black and white. Lanai and Oahu were prominent.
“We’re tracking Laous’s movements,” Chase explained, crossing over to a set of three huge screens. He reached out and pressed an image, making it larger. It looked like a traffic camera, which had to be privately owned because outside of the main tourist hubs there was no need for cameras here.
“Facial recognition has picked him up a few times,” Maya told me as she joined her mate. “He’s definitely still looking for us, but so far has remained on Lanai.”
It was probably lucky they got to me when they did. Lanai was not huge; it would have been a miracle not to run into him. A sudden terrifying thought hit me. “My friend, the one I stayed with last night, is he safe? Will Laous somehow track me?”
What if he tortured Doc to try and find my location?
I was already heading for the door. Swimming from Oahu to Lanai would be no problem for me, especially if Doc’s life was at stake.
“Wait, it’ll be quicker if I get Lexen to check on him,” Chase said, pulling a cell phone from his pocket. “They’re on Lanai. What’s the address?”
I quickly told them how to get to Doc’s place, and then turned to the surveillance. “Can we get any images over that area?” I asked.
Chase was on the phone, so Xander stepped up, his hand moving superfast, tapping a sequence into a keyboard. It almost looked like coordinates, and then I jumped as Doc’s porch and roof came into sight.
“It’s a satellite image,” Xander explained, “so I’m limited, but it looks like everything is quiet there.”
“Is there any way to see the porch clearly?” I pressed in closer, not even caring that I’d have to touch the prickly Daelighter. I just needed to see Doc.
Xander didn’t say anything. He pressed a few more buttons and the angle of the image changed. All my breath whooshed out of me as Doc’s familiar grizzled face came into view. He was staring out across the ocean, looking somewhat peaceful.
I only realized I’d slumped forward in relief when Xander shifted his arm slightly—I’d fallen right against him.
“Sorry,” I muttered, stepping back. “Thanks for checking on him for me.”
Chase finished talking to Lexen, dropping his phone to the table. “He said they’re going to head straight back. He wanted to know if you want him to bring Doc back to this safe house?”
I shook my head. “He won’t leave, trust me. He’s a very stubborn old man, and he hardly ever leaves his house. If Laous hasn’t found him yet, it should be fine.” It had to be fine, because if I cost Doc his life—even if the old dude was ready to die—I would never forgive myself. Never.
Chase nodded, keyed in a message, and sent it off.
“We can check on him through this satellite as well,” Xander reminded me. “At least until we head back to Overworld. After that, I’ll have some of the House of Royale members stationed close by check on him.”
Wow, that was so much more thoughtful than I had expected. Especially from Xander. “Thank you,” I said, focusing on the fact that Doc should be safe. I wasn’t quite ready to think about leaving Earth for an alien world. I was just going to pretend he didn’t say that.
“How many Daelighters are here at the moment?” Maya asked, dropping into Chase’s lap. He wrapped an arm around her.
“We have a few hundred from the different houses,” Xander said. “More arrived last night. They’re here in case Laous got his hands on Avalon first. We would have had to fight him and his army then.”
“Army?” I asked.
Xander let out a short laugh. “Yeah, he’s managed to get the Gonzo on his side. Black ops military group, very big into war and rebirth of the world.”
Well, great. This story just got better and better. It did explain why there were so many guns shooting at us yesterday.
“I’m going to program Ava into the security system,” Chase said, and then he turned to me. “If you get locked out or separated from us for any reason, you can always get back here and hide out.”
I nodded, feeling somewhat happy that they were including me. They had said I was a huge part of this, that we were a family. But people said a lot of things that they didn’t follow through with. This was a small step toward building trust between us.
Chase was typing away. “I’m going to need handprints, and you’ll get a code as well.”
My left hand curled in even further than normal, and I wondered how it would work for this sort of security system.
“Will one hand work?” I asked, not embarrassed exactly, but wanting to put it out there. I waved my left hand at them, showing the ropy scar tissue on my palm and wrist and the way my fingers curled in. “I was attacked by a shark years ago. My hand is pretty shot now. I won’t be able to get it straight enough to press flat.”
It took a lot of guts for me to just throw my flaws out in the world like that, and in the moment of silence that followed, my heartbeat pounded in my ears.
Maya was the first to react. She jumped up off Chase’s lap and wrapped her arms around me. “That is so freaking scary, but also amazing. You were attacked by a shark and survived!”
I didn’t know how to react to her hug. It had been months since anyone had even attempted to hug me, aside from those few people I saved from drowning. And they were more about keeping themselves above the water.
I patted Maya’s back. “Yeah, it was scary, but I still love sharks. He didn’t mean to hurt me, I just got in the way of the fish he was going after.”
Luckily it had only been a baby great white. Any bigger and I’d have lost my entire arm.
“We don’t have the same marine life in Overworld,” Xander said, relaxing back in his chair. “The meglam would be the closest, a cross between an alligator and a shark. Outside of Royales, they rule the waters.”
I froze, just a little, because the mental image of what he described was scary. “Sharks are the kings in our waters, and I respect them.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Xander replied. “Humans are notorious for thinking they are the only creatures that matter. Everything else is expendable.”
I was no normal human, but there was no point telling him that. Xander clearly had a thing against my kind, and I really didn’t have time to care.
Chase went back to the previous subject. “In regard to the security, I can definitely just use one hand.”
Nothing more was said, and no one seemed grossed out by my mangled hand. That made me feel another level of comfort with them.
Once all the security stuff was done, Maya twisted around so she was facing Chase. “So, I think you should tell us now what your theory is about Ava and the map to the stone.”
“I think we need to take Ava back to the waters of Royale,” Chase said. “Back to wherever she was born. I assume that’s the place that will reveal the map. Someho
w.”
“Like the knowledge will appear in her mind? Or the network will kick in and show us the way?” Maya pressed.
Chase shrugged. “No way to tell, and I could be completely off track, but I’ve always wondered how exactly the network managed to tie four humans together who were all born at different times. I know your births had to be within the same year, but that doesn’t seem like a close enough connection.”
Xander crossed his arms, leaning back into the wall. “My understanding of it is that the secret keepers are a chain. With each birth, another link was added. The final link is Avalon, and she is the one with the lock attached to her. The lock and the key. Staying in the same year of birth was probably just so the chain was completed relatively quickly to satisfy the treaty terms.”
His intelligence didn’t surprise me, and I liked the way he called me by my full name. For some stupid reason.
Chase nodded. “That makes sense. When the others get back, we can decide on the best route home. We need to figure out the map straight away.”
I cleared my throat, because it almost felt like they’d forgotten I was here. “I’m not sure how I feel about leaving Earth....”
I trailed off because that statement pretty much said it all.
Before anyone could reply, the elevator behind us whirred, followed by a clunk. I took a step back when a new group filed through the metal doors. There was no way for me to tell who they were. I didn’t recognize any of them, and I felt uneasy again.
An auburn-haired girl broke away from the crowd and pretty much sprinted for me. Well, she took two steps, tripped over something on the floor, and sprawled across the ground.
“Shit!” she cursed as she pushed herself up with two hands. “This is why I don’t run,” she moaned. Before she could pull herself all the way up, a huge dude scooped her into his arms.
I let my eyes rest on the guy. He was definitely a Daelighter. Dark-haired, flashing dark eyes, symbols on his head just like Chase and Xander. One of the overlord minors, I would guess.
He was gorgeous and intimidating, but he held the girl in his arms with great care.
“Emma, babe, you really have to stop falling down. You’re giving me anxiety.”
Emma and this overlord were clearly in love. He held her like she was precious, cradling her close, his gaze locked on hers. She had one hand resting against his face as he moved closer to us.
Behind them was another pair. The chick was tall and blond, the guy shaved-headed and menacing, and they too were in love. He had a hand on her back; she was leaning into him.
I took another step back, my eyes darting between the three secret keepers and their mates.
“Ava?” Maya was off Chase’s lap now. She took a step closer to me. “Is everything okay? Come and meet Emma and Lexen, and Callie and Daniel.”
She waved me over, but I took another step back.
“You’re all couples?” I asked, trying to keep the upset from my tone. “How?” Why hadn’t they told me that part before now?
The love in the room was overflowing everywhere, but I didn’t understand how it could be possible. It made me question the strong warmth in my chest whenever I looked at Xander. What was going on here?
Emma, back on her feet now, crossed the last few steps to stand before me. She was smiling brightly, although there looked to be a flash of worry in her eyes as well. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she started. “I’ve been waiting such a long time for the four of us to be together.”
I swallowed roughly, trying to find some moisture. “I....” God, what the hell was I going to say? This was just getting too weird for me. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”
Because I was hyperaware of Xander, I noticed him stand. He was out of his chair and before me in a heartbeat.
“Stop panicking,” he said bluntly. “Yes, the secret keepers and the overlords are connected. The eight of us are part of fate’s plan, but that doesn’t mean you and I have to follow the trend. My world is not for you. There would be no way for you to survive. All you have to focus on is finding the stone. Once we do that, the council is going to figure out another way to hide it. They’re going to try and break the link you four have to it. This should all be over then.”
Callie, the blond secret keeper, gasped. “I didn’t know that was the plan.”
“We got word last night,” Daniel said. “The new treaty is in the works now. The humans have agreed that this way of hiding the stone does not work. There will be no more secret keepers once this is all over.”
They continued to talk over each other, discussing everything that was going on, but I could not get past what Xander had just said. There was a fated bond between the secret keepers and the overlords, one that had created these strong relationships I was seeing. But he didn’t want to even acknowledge that with me. I was not for him. Not for his world.
Not for his world.
He hadn’t moved, still standing before me, those ocean eyes locked on me.
“Excuse me,” I said coldly, pushing past him. I needed to get out of here before I screamed or cried. The emotional crying thing was a real bitch when I was trying to hide how much his dismissive words had hurt me.
Why the hell had they hurt me? I didn’t know him or care about him, but rejection was always a bitch.
He didn’t move. “Get the fuck out of my way,” I said, keeping my voice toneless. The curse word should be enough for him. “I need some space.”
He took a step back and I sucked in a quiet breath. “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked Maya, who was close by.
“Just down the hall,” she said, pointing. “There are a few bathrooms back there. Feel free to use whatever one you want.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
I could feel eyes on me as I hurried off, but I didn’t look back.
5
My breathing was ragged as I moved quickly toward the bathroom; my face felt very flushed. When I got inside the first generic white, tiled space, I closed the door and leaned back against it.
Eventually I made my way across to the sink and mirror, letting the towel drop to the ground. My hair fanned out around me, dry and wavy from the ocean. Other than that, I was a mess: barely clothed, salt and sand across my skin, eyes wild and greener than usual.
It was hard for me to believe that I had woken up this morning with the same life as always, and within a matter of hours everything had changed. I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
I stood there for a long time, trying to calm myself. Hiding in the bathroom all day sounded like the best idea ever, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. They wanted to get back to Overworld. They wanted to find this map I possessed. Basically, all of their family talk could be construed as “we need you, so we’ll keep you around for a bit.”
There was a light knock on the door then and I swung around. “Yes?” I said shortly.
“Hey, it’s Emma.”
“And Callie,” another voice added.
“And Maya,” she finished.
“We’d just really like to introduce ourselves, explain everything,” Emma chimed in again.
Knowing I couldn’t avoid them forever, I decided it was better to get it out of the way.
“Sure, come in,” I called, leaning back against the sink.
I couldn’t get comfortable of course, so when the three girls trooped in, I was shifting left to right like there was a sea urchin on my ass. I forced myself to stop fidgeting because they didn’t need to know how awkward I was.
The room wasn’t huge, and with the four of us in there it felt downright small. Emma was the closest; she stopped right before me. I didn’t feel uncomfortable, though; she maintained just enough personal space.
“Hi,” she said softly, her blue eyes soft and kind-looking. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
She held her hand out and I didn’t hesitate in reaching forward to grasp it in greeting.
“Sorry for bailing,” I said
quietly. “It’s just been a really weird day. Usually when that happens I escape to the ocean. Being stuck inside … it makes me a little insane.”
She squeezed my hand briefly, and in the same moment Callie touched her shoulder, and Maya moved in close enough for her arm to brush against Emma’s.
The four of us gasped. Mine was because a buzz of what felt like electricity had just zapped through me and was still running up and down my arm.
“You all felt that, right?” Callie asked. I immediately pegged her as being a little reserved. Her eyes were gray and guarded, but not unkind.
“Yep,” Maya said as she nodded. “Holy crap, that was stronger than when we all went into the network.”
The buzz seemed to be increasing, and I was about to mention something to Emma when she wrenched her hand out of mine. “Sorry,” she said breathlessly, “but I was afraid we were going to blow up or something. That was intense.”
My chest heaved up and down as I tried to breathe and process what had just happened. “What was that?”
Before anyone could answer, a heavy knock on the door had us all jumping. “Everything okay in there?” asked a deep voice. I was pretty sure it was Lexen, but I couldn’t be sure. “We heard you all gasp.”
Emma cleared her throat before answering. “We’re all fine. We’ll be out in a minute, Lex.”
There was no sound for a moment, and then I heard his footsteps leaving. Emma straightened and said, “I knew there was going to be a strong connection between the four of us.” She looked between us. “The secret keepers are connected on a basic level, the same way we are connected to the four overlords.”
“I noticed that,” I cut in dryly. “It’s actually one of the reasons I ‘needed some air.’”
Maya chuckled. “Been there, done that. I was running off for ‘air’ far too frequently when I was first initiated into this world. When I realized that there seemed to be a common theme of secret keepers being soul mates with Daelighters … I didn’t really handle that information too well.”
