There is no room for error.
Closing my eyes, I try to breathe out all of my fears and instead welcome the sounds of nature. If I can tune into the rustling of the leaves and the calls of the animals, I will be able to decipher the noises that don’t belong. When my stomach calms, I open my eyes and take out my phone. In order to let Tom and my brothers know where I’ve hidden my wooden stakes, I send them all the pictures I took yesterday. I inform them of what I hid where and press send. Then, to make sure Honor is not mad at me for walking out on her during lunch, I send her an apology text and ask her to please stay safe and stay at Tamlin’s. Without waiting for a response, I slide the phone back into my back pocket and take hold of my gun.
With a slow and cautious gait, I make my way towards the bridge. Under the rocks, on the outskirts of the brook, I reach for my stake and place it upright, point pierced into the ground and ready to grab hold if needed. I text Moore and tell him we’re here.
I hunker down beneath the bridge and hide for the time being. If there’s a chance Asa and his men will see me now, it may ruin everything. So I wait, rapid heartbeat and tense muscles not lacking, for Moore to alert me what to do next.
Tom’s group text alerts us that Moore is here. Asa too. Though Moore hasn’t seen him yet – only his car. Great. That means he’s here somewhere in the woods. Confused, I ask Tom if he’s talked to Moore himself. He assures me he has and that we should head toward the swim team’s side of the pond. In an attempt to stay hidden, instead of taking the trail, I walk through the overgrown brush that parallels the trees. That’s when I see Ethan walking the trail in plain sight. Stupid boy.
Staying within the brush, I keep my eye on Ethan, just in case he needs my assistance. Fortunately, he’d grabbed a stake on his way down. When Ethan meets Moore, I see Hunter and Elijah with him. They’re stiffly turning their heads, either searching for me or for Asa. Or Tom, wherever he is. With a few waves of his hands, he instructs my family to disperse. Each one takes a different direction and finds a tree to hide behind.
Just then a text comes in. Moore. –stay hidden. He’s here. I feel him. I’m sure he feels y’all too. When I told your brothers to head towards the pond, the assholes didn’t think of staying out of sight. Fuck.
Moore puts his phone to his ear. I don’t need to read lips to know he just let out an exclamatory “fuck” when he runs his hand through his hair and starts pacing. His brow furrows and he rubs it with his phone-free hand.
Something’s happened.
Something bad.
As Moore paces the beach area, I get a sickening knot in my stomach. Approaching Moore is out of the question, so I text him. When he looks at his phone, I’m surprised when he doesn’t acknowledge my text. Shit. What’s happened?
Staying cautious, alert, and out of sight, I head to where I watched Ethan hide. I stay low behind a bush, but Ethan catches glimpse of me.
“What’s up?” he whispers, not turning to look at me.
“No idea. But I need you to go back out there. If Asa’s here, he’s already seen you. I’m sure he knows exactly where you’re hidden.” I keep my voice as soft as I can, barely whispering the words so that only Ethan can hear me.
With a nod of his head, Ethan’s gone. I get a better look so I can witness whatever’s being said.
My pulse races. My knees go weak. Ethan collapses on the bench, his hand on his heart. I’m dizzy and I’m hyperventilating.
Forcing my feet to move despite my legs’ unwillingness to follow, I bolt down to the beach and grab Moore by the collar.
“Where the fuck is she? How’d he get her?”
Moore looks at me with bated breath and bulging eyes. “You said…she wasn’t coming?”
“She wasn’t!” I yell, shaking the hell out of him. “Tell me where she is!”
He shakes his head.
“Get the fuck out here!” I yell to whomever will listen. “Get out here now.”
I guess I’m signaling for my brothers, but I want Asa to hear me. “Asa, you old fuck. Get out here now. Make this a fair fight. You hear me, you fucking old man.”
Tom puts his hand on my shoulder. I brush it off.
“What direction did you see him come?” I ask Moore, still frantically exclaiming my words.
“I didn’t. I only…I only saw his car…and got his call.”
If I’d only brought her with me, she’d be safe by my side.
Tamlin. I phone her.
It goes to voicemail.
“Feel your way to her,” I tell them all. “You guys are empaths, right? Well use your fucking superpowers and find Honor. Now.”
Closing my eyes, I reach deep inside my gut to listen to what it says. I head back towards the bridge and hope to God that my instincts are right.
My gun clutched in my right hand, I worry that my trembling hand will cause me to miss my shot. Though my empath abilities are gone, my bond with Honor is so strong, that I know she is near. And in danger.
Taking a hidden path all the way back to the bridge, I must show myself in order to reach the part of the bridge I left my stake. Ducking as I maneuver my way down the rock decline, I see Tamlin rushing down an unused trail.
Huffing, she drops her hand to her thighs, bending over to catch her breath. “Storm, help,” she says between breaths. “He has her…he took her…and…”
“Where?” I beg.
She points into the trees. “He…he’s lost…he doesn’t know his way…around. That’s…”
“What, Tam? Hurry, I need to go after her.”
“Go that way.” She points again. “I got away because he was trying to get his GPS to work.”
Taking her by the arm and hiding her beneath the bridge, I tell her, “Stay here. Don’t move. Call Eli, tell him where you are and take this.” I hand her the stake I had hidden.
Not looking back, I race back up the trail Tamlin just came from. When I come to a fork, I need to rely on gut instinct to tell me which path to take. I choose the one on the right and say a quick prayer that I’m headed in the right direction. I follow the path up another steep incline and hit a dead end. Though my instincts are to scream for Honor, I don’t. Instead I text the guys and tell them what’s up.
Rather than return back down the trail, I cut through the woods hoping…praying…I’m on the right track. The adrenaline takes over my body and I can’t help but run. Though running will get me there faster, my reasoning will be impeded. I want to break down and cry. This evil man has Honor, and I feel so helpless.
Suddenly it occurs to me what Tamlin had said. Asa is lost. He can’t find his way out. I know that there are only two ways out of Mahlon Dickerson. The way Ethan and I came in and the way Tom and the others entered. I am nowhere near either. I text Moore and tell him to guard the front entrance, then I run for the path that leads to where we parked. When I reach the lot, Ethan’s car is there. And Tamlin’s is parked next to it. I remind myself to kick her ass later for bringing Honor here.
Taking the trail back this time, I don’t stray from the path. But I do, however, take it slow, scaling every inch of the woods around me for any movement. Not even an animal scurries through. A new text comes in and it’s Eli. He’s with Tamlin and they’re staying put. He lets me know that Ethan is on his way up the trail heading out to the lot, while Hunter and Tom are headed up the trail that circles behind the lake. With all four pathways surrounded, the dread inside my chest lifts a little.
Gripping my gun, my eyes are peeled on everything around me. When I’ve combed every inch of woods on the outskirts of the trail, my hope diminishes and I wonder if I need to travel inside of the woods as well as the paths. Acre upon acre of rock, brush, and trees lie before me and I think, it’ll be dark before I’ve even searched a tenth of the place.
Fatigue takes over. My desperation heightens and no longer do I feel the hope I had in finding Honor before she’s harmed. Not one for giving up, I trudge forward, vowing to die before giving up on f
inding her.
As the bridge where Tam and Eli are enters my line of sight, I hear a shuffle in the woods beside me. Shaking off my weariness, I stride up to where I hear the noise.
And there she is.
Her back against the chest of a lithe Asa.
A gun to her head.
“Storm,” she cries.
“Honor,” I cry back.
Holding my gun in his direction, I hesitate to shoot, fearing I’ll clip Honor instead.
“Drop the gun,” he commands, while still holding his gun to Honor’s head.
“You won’t shoot her,” I reply, hoping he won’t. “You won’t be able to drain her blood if you shoot her.” I try to stall. “It won’t hold her powers if she’s dead.” The chill in my voice betrays the heart that’s pounding at my chest, searching for a way out.
I can’t know what he’s feeling, but I can certainly read the resignation on his face. He won’t shoot her. My gun remains in my hand. If only I could trust my shaking hand to shoot him in the head while sparing Honor.
His smirk lets me know that he’s read my thoughts. “I’ll just shoot you. Now that I got what I need, who the hell needs you, Sutherland.”
“Go ‘head. I’ll trade my life for Honor’s any time. Just know though, there are others here who will fight you just as hard to save her.”
Asa walks forward, his gun now held on me.
I don’t back down.
“I’ll be long gone,” Asa says.
“You’re wrong there,” Moore says from the brook behind me.
Asa turns, leaving a gap between him and Honor.
“Storm,” Honor cries when Asa loosens his grip.
“Well I certainly don’t need you anymore,” Asa says.
And just as I aim for the gap between Asa and Honor, Asa aims his gun at Moore.
Right through the heart.
Mr. Moore goes down just as my shot reaches Asa’s shoulder.
He lets go of Honor to reach for his wound and that’s when I shoot him again, this time shooting him in the chest. To be sure, I shoot him again in the head. He’s down after my second shot, but Honor surprises me by running for Moore.
“No!” I yell. “Don’t.”
Ethan is running down from the upper trail, and I quickly get him to help me hold back Honor.
“Honor, no. You can’t,” Ethan demands.
But before we grab her, smoke rises from both dead men, halting Honor from touching Moore.
Making my move, I wrap both my arms around Honor. “You can’t save him. You don’t have the energy left. You’ll kill yourself.”
“I won’t,” she cries. “He helped us. How can we just let him die?”
Tamlin and Eli head up from the bridge.
“Honor,” Tamlin cries, still holding the stake that I gave her.
“Stay back,” I tell her. “She’s trying to save Moore.”
Hunter and Tom, their makeshift stakes in hand, make it down from their trail, running and out of breath.
Behind me, footsteps plod down the hill. Turning to look but keeping my hold on Honor, two armed men approach us – the men who paid me a visit when Asa did. Thing One and Thing Two. But when they see what appears through the smoke, they come to a full stop.
My attention returns to Honor, who is still struggling to release herself from me. “He’s a good guy,” she cries again, tears falling down her face.
Ethan runs to my side and holds her with me. “Honor. Look. They’re killers. Look at all those souls vacating their bodies.”
Hundreds had to be rising up into the sky.
“Why would you want to save a mass murderer?” Hunter asks.
Still pushing to break free from my grasp, Honor cries, “Noooo. Noooo. He can’t die like this. He helped us.”
While she cries on about saving Moore, the rest of us are stunned into silence by what appears before us.
One soul manifests itself from Moore’s body.
A transparent male image.
Rugged and middle-aged.
Honor gasps, and halts her efforts to release from my hold.
Of course, keeping my arms wrapped snugly around her, I hold her more affectionately.
When the image has transformed into a solid figure, he smiles.
At Honor.
“Do you know him?” I whisper in Honor’s ear.
She shakes her head, and then totally starts nodding. “I think.” Her words come out in tiny breaths.
The man glides forward, rustling nothing beneath his feet.
When he opens his mouth, no words come out. Until finally, he says, “Sweetheart.”
Honor drops in my arms. Noticing she’s still conscious, I sit her down against a rock and hold onto her.
The man steps forward again, this time kneeling down in front of her and placing his ghostly hand on her knee. “It’s me, Honor,” he says softly. “Gramps.”
Every single one of us gasps this time, excluding Honor.
“Gramps?” she whispers.
“Yes, baby. Oh how I’ve missed you.”
As I watch Honor’s frown turn into a huge bright smile, she leaves my embrace and hugs her grandfather – which is odd to watch, because though he looks solid, he really isn’t. Honor ends up falling forward. I catch her before she falls flat on her face, and her grandfather apologizes.
“How?” she asks.
Her grandfather raises his eyebrows. “He killed me.”
“Mr. Moore?” she asks incredulously.
Nodding his head, he says, “But he’s not all bad. He listened to me these past few months.”
“I…I don’t understand,” she says.
“Some souls are persistent. They refuse to die within their host body. They wait it out until it’s time to finally flee…when their host is finally put to rest.”
I look around and I’m amazed that everyone, including the two armed strange men, are speechless and intent on listening to this dead man speak.
“So,” Seth, I believe Moore said was his name, continues. “I refused to rest. I knew that eventually you’d be in danger and I wouldn’t allow it. I willed my thoughts and feelings onto that man and insisted he help save you.”
“Hmm,” I utter, despite trying to remain silent.
Seth looks at me. “The doubting Thomas.”
I point to myself.
“Yeah, you. You insisted Honor was crazy for trusting Moore. But she knew. Her empathic powers never lie. She felt me inside that man. Yes, Moore was evil…but I wouldn’t let him act on any evil plans. Not where Honor was involved.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I inquire.
“Certainly. I’m not sure how much time I have, so make it quick.”
“Why did he kill you?”
Seth smiles. “Sibling rivalry.”
Instead of responding to that, I look at Ethan and then back at Seth.
“When we were in our thirties, the three of us – Jared, Asa, and I – worked tirelessly on the immortal elixir. I finally got the formula right when we realized that I had all this power that they did not possess. We had worked on every ingredient together…until one night when I decided to add a couple pints of my own blood to it. I was about to tell them what it was – they were my best friends for goodness sake. I thought I could trust them. Until the two of them turned violent against each other, claiming one or the other had the idea first and that they each earned the rights to it over the other. No. I earned the rights to it. I created it.”
Seth stands from his kneeling position, holding on to Honor’s hand in hopes she’ll stand beside him. I help her up but don’t loosen my hold on her.
“I decided to run off without giving them access to the elixir. I ran clear across the country from out west to New Jersey. I had hid the elixir in my house, but I figured they’d find it eventually if they ever caught hold of me. Instead, I found the old schoolhouse in Hardyston and figured I could hide it away there. Class was not in session since it w
as summer, so I thought I could hide it without consequence. The basement was so deep underground that even if they knocked the building down, the elixir would probably remain.”
He runs a hand through his phantasmal thick head of blond hair and smirks. “It stayed hidden for many years. I was always on the run, flitting from one place to the next –even after I married and had children. My poor kids barely saw me. Then one of my great-granddaughters gave birth to her own daughter and I met my Honor. I’m not sure what it was, but Honor made me want to be a better person.”
“I know the feeling,” I interject.
Seth laughs. “That’s when I decided to leave a clue for her…just in case she ever needed it. I told her mother to give her the box I left as soon as she was old enough to understand what a keepsake was.”
Seth starts fading away.
“Gramps,” Honor cries.
“I think it’s time, sweetheart.”
He hugs her this time, and it hurts me to see the tears spill from her eyes.
“I love you, baby. Always will.”
“I love you too, Grandpa.”
When he fades, Honor turns into my chest and cries.
Seth rises up in a puff of smoke and the two men lying on the ground are nothing but dead men. Possessing no more innocent souls.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
After the shock of watching hundreds of dead souls vanish into thin air, not to mention one of them stopping to chat, I realize we are still standing in front of two very armed large men. Turning to face them, and positioning Honor behind me, I look them in the eye and hold my gun back out.
They laugh.
“Put that thing away,” the larger one of the two says. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To get Honor.”
Without taking my eyes off of the men, I motion with my hands for my brothers to build a wall around Honor. “You’re not getting her.”
“We don’t need her now,” they laugh. “Asa’s not around to pay us to hand her over.”
“So…you don’t want Honor?” Ethan asks.
A Man of Honor (A Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (The Honor Trilogy) Page 15
