Linked

by K. R. Fajardo

  Lila eyed the other glass, then Jarod. Slowly she lifted the cup to her lips and was about to consume the contents when Jarod reached out, placing his hand over the glass. “Are you really willing to risk this just to be rid of me?” Removing the cup from her hand he poured the contents onto the floor. “Because, my dear, that is exactly what you are about to do. Granted, I am no alchemist, but I am fairly certain that this much Ricin in a woman your size will put you down for days if not longer.” Jarod cocked his head to the side. “That would certainly make killing me much more difficult.”

  “My lord, like I said, I assure you—”

  “I said don’t lie to me,” Jarod yelled, slamming his fist through the top of the counter. Lila gasped and retreated into the mirrored wall behind her, staring back into the black orbs glaring down on her. Without dropping his piercing stare Jarod pulled his bleeding fist from the wreckage and lifted the second bottle. “You want me dead? Just say it.”

  “My lord—”

  “Say it!” Jarod shouted. “Say it now!”

  “All right!” Lila cried out, covering her face with her hands. “I’ll admit it! The idea of my daughter being forced to live the rest of her life as your personal captive and slave is unbearable.” Lila collapsed against the wall, tears streaming from her reddened eyes. “She deserves better, so much better.”

  Furious, Jarod’s roar filled the room as he smashed the second bottle onto the floor, before collapsing his head into his hands.

  Silence consumed the room, the heaviness of it broken only by the ticking of an old clock and Lila’s occasional sob. They remained that way for some time before Jarod slid the stool away from the bar and stood. He headed across the room toward the front door and was about to twist the knob to leave when Lila’s hand fell on top of his.

  “You’re right,” Jarod spoke quietly, eyes glued on the door in front of him, “she deserves much better.”

  “Stay inside, my lord. The ricin may not have been enough to down you but it can dull your senses. And you have many enemies out there just waiting for such an opportunity.”

  Jarod huffed in amusement, “I thought the goal was to be rid of me.”

  “I never wished you dead, my lord,” Lila sighed. “And although I am not happy about my daughter’s current predicament or service to you, I am not foolish enough to believe that I could kill you without bringing harm to her. My only desire is to keep my daughter safe. And until I can figure out a way to get her away from the Shadows,” Lila paused, gazing up at him, “then she is safest with you.”

  Perplexed, Jarod looked down upon Lila’s serene features. Anyone else standing this close—much less touching him—after trying to drug him would have already met with an untimely demise, but not this woman. Like her daughter she had a way of speaking to him that left him feeling as if everything would be all right, a calming demeanor he couldn’t resist. It was this feeling of tranquility that had drawn him to Maya in the first place. And as he stared down at this woman, the mirror image of her daughter, he sighed and asked, “Why then?”

  “Come back and sit, then I will explain.”

  Jarod looked once more at the door, then at Lila’s small hand resting on top of his. Although he didn’t wish to continue on with this conversation, he found he suddenly also had no desire to leave. Besides, he had no choice but to wait on Maya, who was in desperate need of the rest she was now enjoying.

  Begrudgingly he turned and followed Lila back to the bar. He took a seat back on the stool, while Lila returned to her side of the bar and pulled out another full bottle of the formula with the cork still intact. “Peace offering?”

  Concerned filling his still hungry stomach would only serve to hasten the effects of the poison already circulating inside him, Jarod raised his hand and shook his head. “I think I have had enough for tonight.”

  “Very well,” Lila remarked, setting the bottle off to the side, “then let me explain why I did what I did.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a small stool and took a seat in front of him. “I put the ricin in the bottles not to kill you, but to make you sleepy.”

  Jarod, not surprised by what she said, remained unfazed. “To what end?” But no sooner did the question escape his lips than a thought occurred to him. Grinning at Lila he answered his own question, “You wanted to dig through my mind.”

  Lila grinned back, confirming his suspicions. “My lord is a wise man.” Lila sighed, brushing a loose piece of hair from her face. “I meant no harm. I just wanted to know what my daughter had gotten herself into. I fear for her, I always have, she tends to only see the positive in things. And while that trait makes her aura shine so brightly, it also often blinds her to dangers standing right in front of her.”

  She reached beneath the counter and pulled out a piece of fruit and took a bite. “Want some?” She smiled offering it up to him as if it was common practice for a Full-blood to consume normal food.

  Frowning, he shook his head. “I am doing what I can to protect her from harm.”

  “Those lashings on her back say otherwise”

  Though she spoke the words without malice, Jarod couldn’t deny the deep rooted guilt that resurfaced knowing Lila had witnessed the marks on Maya’s back. He dropped his eyes to the surface of the bar and remained silent. Lila studied him closely before continuing.

  “I don’t blame you,” she stated calmly. “I won’t deny I was angry when I first saw them. I wanted to kill you, but I know you had no choice.”

  Despite her comforting words Jarod remained silent. It was apparent from his demeanor that there was at least some semblance of regret for the damage he had inflicted on her daughter. And as she continued to look over the dark brooding man, she noticed for the first time the massive amount of scarring that covered his now bare arms and hands.

  “Do you care for her?” Lila asked softly.

  Lifting his eyes from his fixed point on the bar, Jarod answered without hesitation, “Yes.”

  “Then take her away from that place,” Lila pleaded, leaning over the bar and startling Jarod. “Please, Maya will die in that Tower if you don’t.”

  Jarod’s brow creased in confusion and he shook his head. “As much as I would like to, we can’t.” He breathed a ragged breath and raked a hand through his hair. “There is nowhere we can run that they wouldn’t find us.” He paused, holding up his scarred hand to make his point clear. “And when they do find us … well let’s just say that death is the only merciful punishment that occurs within those walls.”

  “There is one place you can go,” Lila answered confidently. “One place that they wouldn’t find you.”

  Jarod’s brow furrowed as he stared into Lila’s determined features. “And where would that be?”

  “In Oasis, with your brother.”

  Jarod rose angrily, knocking over his stool. “How do you know …” he began, then in a moment of clarity he glanced over his shoulder at the door. “You touched my hand.”

  “Yes.”

  “But it was only a moment and I felt nothing,” Jarod argued, still trying to grasp the idea she had obtained such deep rooted knowledge with just a slight touch. He had had the Shadows merge themselves with his mind before, but that trick always took all three of them working together and resulted in a whole lot of pain for him.

  Lila smiled. “I am older and much more adept at using my skills than my daughter is.”

  “Then you have seen them?” Jarod asked quietly. “You know everything?”

  “Not everything,” Lila responded, shaking her head. She met his gaze, her face saddening as she continued, “But I have seen enough.” Standing, Lila leaned over the bar. “You have lived a tortured existence my lord. Born one of the cursed ones, you were doomed to suffer from the moment you took your first breath.”

  “I don’t believe in curses,” Jarod spat. “We make our own destinies and our actions determine our fate.”

  “Perhaps it is possible for a man, with a strong en
ough will, to veer their fate slightly. But do not fool yourself, my dear, no one can ever completely alter it.” Lila slowly reached out and ran a finger along his cheek bone. Taken aback by the unexpected contact, he grabbed her hand, but released it just as quickly. Lila continued, undeterred, “You can deny the truth all you want, but those eyes are proof. Though you cheated death, you still bear the mark of the cursed ones, destined to live a life full of torment and anguish.”

  Slowly she turned and walked around the end of the bar toward him, stopping only a few feet away with her hand extended. “May I?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jarod frowned. “You have seen more than you should already. If you were anyone else I would have killed you already.”

  “Well, I am glad that I am not anyone else,” Lila answered seriously. “But if you allow me to do this, perhaps I can find out why they have lied to you.”

  “What are you talking about, woman?” Jarod growled angrily, though he found himself nervously backing away from the petite woman. “And take care in what you say next.”

  “Your brother has deceived you, Jarod,” Lila stated, tears welling in her eyes. “You, your brother, and the Shadows,” Lila paused, studying him for a reaction, “you are all one in the same.”

  “That is ridiculous,” Jarod argued, but before he could continue Lila interrupted.

  “You were all changed by the White Queen, were you not? So why is it difficult to concede that you are every bit as powerful as they are?”

  “No!” Jarod yelled, moving to stand over her, fists clenched by his side. “I was dying and she healed me, nothing more. I have never taken a drink of her blood, so that isn’t possible.”

  “No, you did not drink her blood. But she did infect you with her venom before she allowed her blood to be directly infused into your body.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “And did you not feed on one of the Shadows, a carrier of her blood, to become the Enforcer?”

  Jarod paled, his legs becoming weak beneath him. “No, it can’t be.” He collapsed back against the bar. His mind raced to find any holes in the story Lila was telling him, but he could come up with none. And the longer he thought about it the heavier the air around him began to feel. Suddenly the room around him felt too small and it was becoming more and more difficult to breath.

  “Fifty years,” he gasped through ragged breaths. “Fifty years I served the Shadows, wondering every day why they chose to spare me that day. Why instead of ending my life like all the others, they tortured me until I agreed to serve them.” He looked up at her, no longer concealing the pain he was feeling inside. “They couldn’t kill me, could they?”

  “No, but they tried many times after you initially refused them.” Lila sobbed, sharing in his pain. “But the only person that can kill a descendent of the White Queen is …”

  “The Queen herself,” Jarod breathed. The words were almost too difficult to hear. He had wasted so many years and endured so much agony, while Jaron lived free in the safety of the woods. He now understood why Jaron had apologized to him so much after seeing the scarring in the clinic for the first time. He knew the whole time what he had become as a result of feeding off the Shadows, and yet for some reason he choose not to tell him. He let him continue to believe that he was vulnerable to their threats.

  “Why?” He gazed upon Lila’s face, confusion and grief marring his features. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because you have spent the last fifty years believing a lie and I think it is about time someone told you the truth.” Lila stepped forward and took his hand into her own; this time he didn’t pull away. “And because I believe with this knowledge, you are better equipped to protect my daughter.” She stood in front of him, running her finger across the scar on the back with her eyes closed, digging further into his mind. After only a few moments, Lila released his hand without a word, looking very disappointed.

  “What is it?”

  “It was as I feared,” Lila responded, turning around and wiping the tears from her eyes. “Your fates have been intertwined. But beyond that I can’t see anything past the fact my daughter will die if she goes back to the Tower.”

  “What does that mean? Intertwined?”

  “I don’t know,” Lila answered softly. “All I do know is that whatever it is you are meant to do, Maya is meant to do it with you.”

  Jarod paused, considering her words carefully before pushing off the bar and heading across the room toward the stairs.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Upstairs,” he answered calmly, “I need some time alone to think. Besides, I believe your poison is beginning to take effect.”

  “And what about tomorrow? What will you do tomorrow?”

  Jarod smirked as he ascended the steps. “I don’t know, perhaps my nightmares will tell me.”

  And without another word, Lila watched as he lumbered into the upstairs bedroom, closing the door behind him. Alone in the silence, she began to reconsider the morality of her decision to use the ricin to dull his senses and make him more responsive to her reading. But the more she reconsidered the options, the more justified she felt in her final decision. She did, however, feel slightly ruthless in the manner in which she had revealed it all to him.

  So much blatant truth laid at his feet all at once would for sure take a toll on his already fragile mental state. But in the end there had been no other way, her vision was clear. Maya would follow that man to the end of the world if he asked her to, and in return he would offer up his life to protect her. Together they had somehow created a bond in which they complemented each other perfectly despite the fact they were complete opposites.

  Sighing, Lila rounded the end of the bar still deep in thought. He definitely wasn’t the man she would have dreamt of for Maya to spend the rest of her life with, but then again, what right did she have to judge someone’s choice in life partners? She shook her head, studying the bottles on the shelf. Picking up one with a heavy alcohol content, she then headed off to her room. She had done all she could do tonight, the ultimate decision rested with Jarod. So until then she would drown her worries and beg the stars to help him make the right decision for them both.

  ****

  Maya awoke in her room nestled inside the soft familiar sheets of her old bed. For the briefest moment the thought occurred to her that everything that had happened over the last six months had been nothing more than a horrible nightmare. That perhaps the Enforcer never stopped in their tiny inn that fateful night and turned her whole life upside down.

  Jarod! The thought sent her sitting straight up in bed, her eyes focusing on the clock next to it. Six o’clock in the morning. Panicked, Maya jumped up and ran into the hall yelling, “Mom, where are you? Mom!”

  After several more minutes of her panicked yelling, Lila’s face appeared from behind her bedroom door, rubbing red exhausted eyes. “What is it, dear? Why are you yelling?”

  “The Enforcer, he didn’t come back, something must have happened to him!”

  Lila rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then stared quizzically at her daughter. “Would that be a bad thing?”

  “What? Yes of course it would be a bad thing! I can’t go back to that place without him, if it wasn’t for him I would have died months ago.” Maya began pacing up and down the floor of the hall, while Lila watched quietly. “And if I don’t go back they will hunt me down. Oh my stars, oh my stars, what do I do?” Stopping suddenly, Maya’s face brightened. “I just need to find him.” Spinning on her heel Maya stormed back to her room to retrieve her clothes.

  “Maya, wait,” Lila called after her.

  “I can’t, Mom, I have to find him.”

  “Maya, he is upstairs asleep.”

  Maya stopped and turned back to her mother visibly relieved. “Why didn’t you say so?” Maya laughed nervously. “Oh my stars, I was about to have a panic attack.” Walking past her mom, Maya strolled through the door leading into the bar, and stra
ight for the stairs. She was so focused on finding him, she didn’t even notice the state the bar was in. “Which one is he in?”

  “First door,” Lila answered, following her up the stairs. “But don’t you think you should let him sleep?”

  “He doesn’t sleep,” Maya laughed running ahead. “He’s probably hiding up there trying to avoid you.”

  Coming to a stop in front of the door, she knocked. “Hey, it’s me.”

  When no response came, Maya scrunched her brow and knocked again. “Jarod?” Twisting the knob, she pushed the door open slowly, calling to him again as she did. “Jarod?”

  Entering into the room she was surprised to find he was actually sleeping. Relieved that he was finally getting some rest after so many months, she stood watching his chest raise and fall in a comforting rhythm. He looked extremely uncomfortable, with his head tilted to the side and both legs, boots still on, hanging over the end. Giggling, she attempted once again to awaken him. Stepping carefully and keeping as much distance as she could, she reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. “Jarod!”

  Again there was no response. Maya’s relief rapidly morphed into fear. No longer concerned for her own safety, she ran to his side and shook him violently. “Jarod! Wake up!”

  “Maya, calm down, he is only asleep,” Lila stated, coming inside behind her. “He will wake up later, let him rest.”

  “Mom, you don’t understand,” Maya argued, pointing to Jarod’s unconscious body, “this isn’t normal, he doesn’t sleep like this. Do you think someone might have given him something?”

  Maya continued shaking, at times even hitting Jarod, but after a few more minutes and no signs of him awakening, she turned back to her mom. “Mom, did you hear me? Do you think someone did something to him?” Flopping down on the bed beside him, she looked up at her mother. “Maybe someone at the patrol station gave him something, or maybe Rodgers isn’t as trustworthy as we thought.”

  Lila sighed, taking a seat in the lounge chair in the corner of the room. “Maya, the chief didn’t drug him, and neither did the patrols.”