But their best chance of happiness, of safety, was admitting that he’d created an Erratic child, and seeing if they could drain him safely. Which meant he wouldn’t be there to see any of that.
So he was going to take them to base, where they would be safe no matter what. And then he was going to man up and face the consequences. Exile, imprisonment. A life without Emory and Jackson. It would be a small price to pay for their happiness, their continued safety.
When everything was in the truck and Jackson buckled into the backseat, they left Emory’s house. The sun was just coming up, blushing the mountains to the west. She cried, head against the glass, ignoring him. She even ignored him when they passed through the Elemental barriers hiding and protecting the base. Flaming trees and giant boulders in the mist couldn’t even get her to look at him.
It tore him up, but he didn’t know what the fuck to say. What the hell else was he supposed to do? He had a duty to every other human and Erratic in Topaz Ridge too. To his fellow soldiers, to his race. But he also had a duty to keep Emory safe, to keep the child they created safe. And this was the only way he could do both.
“Listen. No matter what happens when we get there, you will be safe.” He’d thought about battling Walker, Warrior to Warrior, but it was doubtful that he would win and he couldn’t risk Emory and Jackson being caught in the crossfire. He would go with Walker peacefully. “They won’t turn you guys away. They’ll take care of you.” It was their job. The wouldn’t turn away an Erratic that needed protection.
She didn’t reply other than to toss him an anguished look.
Every mile closer to the base, his heart rate increased. He felt short of breath when he didn’t consciously control it.
Ajax’s powers prickled across his skin, raising the fine hairs. It would not settle, and neither could he. He’d always loved women, loved the look of them, the feel of them. But he’d had no real concept of one love. The One. Emory was the only one for him.
But he was going to lose her, again. Have to give her up and walk away, again. And now, just for an extra “fuck you” from life, he had to give up Jackson as well. He had to walk away again, while Levi got his woman and his happiness, and all Ajax would get is more pain and bitterness.
Fucking unfair.
Had he done this to himself? He’d been sent here to right the balance between Harmony and Chaos that the Chaolt caused. He didn’t believe in karma, but maybe by being an asshole all the time, he’d upset the balance of Harmony somehow, and that was coming back to bite him in the ass. Karma, or Harmony righting the balance? Same thing, same effect. He’d fucked up bad, and now he’d pay for the rest of his life.
Please, he groaned in his soul. Please, Harmony. Mercy.
He wanted to turn around, try to find another way. He couldn’t stand the thought of walking into base, and then away from them for the last time. Imprisoned in darkness, he would go insane with regret and missing them.
But even that would be better than losing them to Chaos.
Ajax looked in the rear-view mirror at Jackson sleeping in his car seat, and then risked a quick glance over to Emory.
It wasn’t fair, but it was right. He had to make sure they would be safe, and the base, with his kind, was the only place they even had a chance of that.
After they parked, he led her through the restored warehouse. It purposely looked derelict on the outside, but was nice, comfortable on the inside. Jackson in her arms, Emory was trying to look everywhere at once. He put a hand on her arm, just in case she took a misstep. She didn’t shrug it off, probably didn’t even notice it, but it made him breathe a little easier to touch her.
Through the glass wall dividing the kitchen and eating space from the living areas, he could see Walker, propped up against a cabinet, arms crossed. Brooke was cooking something, something she rarely did but every one of the soldiers enjoyed. Levi was nearby, drinking a beer and motioning to Walker.
Walker spotted them almost immediately, and slowly straightened, hands dropping into fists at his sides. Two pairs of curious eyes turned their way as each of them caught the change in Walker’s stance.
Emory moved an inch closer to his shoulder. Too bad he probably wouldn’t be there to see the day when she thawed toward him completely again.
Ajax could see the ‘oh shit’ all over Levi’s face when he met his eyes. There was no point beating around the bush, was there.
“Walker. This is Emory and Jackson. I brought them here for protection.”
“My office,” Walker said in a low voice as he stepped past him.
“She already knows what I am, Walker. What we are.” He turned, facing Walker again.
Walker’s eyes flashed to Emory, and back to him.
“What the hell are you thinking, Ajax?” His voice was low and smooth, his face blank of emotion. Ajax was sure he was the only one who could hear the undercurrent of anger, like a riptide ready to pull him under. “You’d better have a good reason, or you’re done, I’m sending you back.”
“Levi brought Brooke here when she needed protection.” He met Levi’s eyes for a split second before returning to Walker’s, hoping for an ally. “They need protection-”
“Unacceptable,” Walker interrupted, “Just because Levi broke a rule doesn’t mean you get to. And Brooke’s an Erratic.”
“They need protection,” Ajax continued, “And trying to do it myself is why I’ve been neglecting my soldier duties. And why this human just had to shoot a Chaolt in the face.”
Walker’s eyebrows rose a tick.
“I don’t want her to have to face that again, and I can’t always be there. Bringing them here was the only thing I could do.”
“You said she was human,” Walker stared at her, “Why are the Chaolt after her?”
Ajax could feel the pulse in his neck. “She is human.”
Ajax wasn’t sure Walker understood the emphasis in his words until his eyes dropped to Jackson, chewing his fist and gurgling on Emory’s shoulder.
“What Element is he? Levi? He’s not Water.”
A short shake from Levi led Walker’s gaze back to his.
“What is he?” Walker repeated softly, the glow in his eyes telling Ajax he already suspected the truth.
Ajax took a deep breath, one of the last he would take on this world.
“He’s Air. The baby—Jackson is mine.”
“The baby is mine,” Emory heard Ajax say.
The leader didn’t move, didn’t blink, at Ajax’s words. But his eyes silvered, turning the color of ocean waves in a storm.
Every sense of Emory’s began to tingle with eerie, undefinable alarm, the atmosphere in the room just wrong. Like a video she’d seen once of a tsunami. It had been a sunny day at the beach, but even through the screen she could sense that something about the ambiance was off before the wave rolled in.
Water. His commander, Walker, was Water.
Ajax had said they would be safe here, but she did not feel safe.
When Walker’s arm flashed out, she pulled Jackson closer and shielded him with her body. But he’d grabbed Ajax, and now he lifted him until they were eye to eye.
“You’re done. I’m taking you back.”
Taking him back? Back where?
“Ajax, I told you that you had one chance. I don’t know how this happened, but you hid it. You lied. You put these people before your mission. You will face trial with the Premiers, and you will be punished.”
Trial? Punishment? Oh, god. What had he done by bringing them here?
“Ajax—,” she started, but they both ignored her.
“I will face the consequences of my actions, Walker—”
“You’re damn right you will.”
“—But before we go, I need your help. I need to know if I can safely drain Jackson of his powers.” Ajax looked at her, a pain of some sort in his eyes. “I need to know. For their sake.” He turned back to Walker. “It’s their only chance at happiness, at being safe.”
Happiness? Jackson safe…but Ajax gone forever? There was very little happiness in that thought. Relief yes, for her son, but happiness? What had he done? Why didn’t he tell her?
“Well, I have bad news for you, Ajax. I don’t know. We’ll have to ask a Premier that when we get there.”
“Walker…” Levi started, something in his voice.
“Stay out of it, Levi.”
No, no, he can’t take him, not right now—
Walker took Ajax by the shoulder, pulling him through the room.
Panic started rising in her chest and she took a step after them, but they kept walking. “Ajax,” she croaked, her voice breaking.
She couldn’t breathe past the pain in her chest, but she had to tell him.
“Please wait!”
Both men stopped and turned at her plea. She met Ajax’s pained gaze through the tears that were starting to fall.
He turned to the commander. “Give me a minute?” he asked softly. Walker’s nod was short and curt, but he let go of him and let him come to her.
She ran to him, meeting him halfway.
She wrapped a hand around his neck and touched her forehead to his chin as the tears choked her. She’d chosen Jackson over him. But he’d chosen the two of them over his own freedom. Over his own life. And she was so, so thankful. So humbled.
But it was tearing her into pieces.
“I’m sorry, Ajax. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, kissing her forehead. His hand came up to tangle in her hair, and she raised her lips to his.
“It’s not okay,” she gasped through her tears. “Thank you. Thank you for protecting us. And I’m sorry.”
Ajax put both hands on her cheeks, his eyes roaming over her face. One last kiss to her lips, and he pulled back all the way to Walker’s side.
At the edge of her vision, she saw Levi and Brooke step up beside them, holding hands. But she only had eyes for Ajax. The extraordinary man that was taking half her heart off this world with him.
“Walker.” Levi’s voice was stronger, insistent, and she turned pleading eyes his way, hoping that he would do something. Brooke put her hand on his arm.
“Aqualis,” Levi commanded, when Walker didn’t stop walking away.
Finally, Walker turned to him, a brightness to his blue eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. “What, Aediniri,” he snarled.
Ajax’s head turned sharply, looking at the pair standing beside her.
“If you’re taking Ajax back to face trial with the Premiers then…” Brooke sobbed quietly beside Levi, hand over her mouth, and he and pulled her close to his side. “Then you have to take me as well.”
“Levi, no,” snapped Ajax.
Levi looked at Ajax, and then to Emory. He smiled at her, but in his eyes was a pain very similar to what she’d seen in Ajax’s. Very similar to the pain that was in her own heart. And Brooke looked scared.
Levi looked back to Walker, who was breathing heavy, jaw clenched tight. With a sickening feeling, she realized what Levi was going to say.
“Brooke is pregnant.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ajax winced. Shit. He'd figured it out right before Levi spoke, because a lot of things made sense now. Brooke canceling her training with him. Levi going to celebrate at the bar the night he saw Emory again, Levi keeping his secrets about missing shift change and Jackson. Levi losing control of his powers again, due to his emotions. He had been hoping for an ally, a way out, an answer. Buying time, just like him.
At Levi's revelation, Walker leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hands clenched on his hips.
“Sir,—”
Walker held a hand up, stopping the words, and then paced to the window on the far side of the room.
It still felt like a deadly wave was going to crash over them at any moment, but Ajax walked to Emory and pulled her back in his arms. Lips on her hair, he breathed in her scent. Roses and whipped cream. He would take the small reprieve. If he was going to be imprisoned and exiled, he needed every single second he could get.
It would have to last him a lifetime.
Over Emory's head, he saw Levi and Brooke were clinging to each other too. He met Levi's gaze, asking with his eyes. Was Brooke actually pregnant, or was this some kind of attempt to stop Walker?
Levi’s nod was almost imperceptible, but it was there.
First him, now Levi. Two Warriors, who were supposed to be sterile, apparently anything but.
What. The. Fuck.
Levi threw a hand up behind Brooke's back, as if to say, I don't fucking know either.
"You realize I have to take you both to prison now, don't you?" Walker was still facing away from them, his head turned to the side. Emory squeezed him tighter, face buried in his chest.
"Are you going to fight me?" He turned around fully, jaw clenched, hands dropping from his hips, fingers flexing. A brighter color in his deep blue eyes.
"No," Levi said, slowly, and Ajax breathed out a relieved “no” as well. Levi had wanted an ally against Walker. Maybe literally, at some point. Ajax was glad he’d come to his senses, too.
Walker was the leader for a reason. He had reserves of power deeper than the rest of them combined. All of that focused on him would almost certainly mean death. And he couldn't speak for Levi, but that wasn’t the whole reason he said no.
He was done running from the consequences, done putting others at risk for selfish reasons. There was no way in hell he'd fight Walker, even if he thought he could win, just because of Jackson and Emory.
And because he respected the hell out of the guy.
Walker nodded, eyes back to normal, but a fine wrinkle between his brows. Yeah, Walker didn't want to do this, wasn't enjoying this, and that helped.
But the rules were there for a reason, and fuck, Walker was the one that had to make sure they were followed. Sometimes there were exceptions, like Brooke, but making more Erratics to feed the Chaos side couldn't be one of them. No matter how much he wanted to beg Walker to do just that.
All he could do now was pray the Premiers would be merciful on the account of this was not-supposed-to-fucking-happen in the first place.
"Say your goodbyes," Walker said to Ajax and walked toward the door, answering his ringing phone. “Walker,” he snapped.
But then he stopped mid-stride, and the eerie feeling in the room coalesced into something else. “Chaolt?”
That one word managed to put everyone’s attention back on him. Slowly, Walker lowered the phone, blue eyes icy, and mashed a button.
“You’re on speaker.”
Instantly, Micah’s low, grainy voice filled the room. “There were at least thirty.”
Micah’s deep words were already painting a picture Ajax didn’t like. Thirty Chaolt would almost be too much for the four of them together, no way Micah could take on that many by himself despite the fact that he was a wrecking ball. Why would he?
“They already had an Erratic. Powerful, young. An adolescent. They were taking him up into the mountains.”
Yeah, that was a good enough reason. Micah was not usually much of a talker. The fact that he was stringing several sentences together at once said how serious this was.
“He was one of the most powerful Erratics I’ve seen.”
Ajax’s eyes narrowed. Why so many super powerful Erratics in the area lately? Brooke, Jackson, now this one.
“That must be their new tactic,” Levi interjected, “lay low and then move en masse when they have a target.”
Walkers quick nod to them said he’d come to the same conclusion.
“Where did they all come from?” Ajax wondered aloud.
“Yeah, I thought I had cleaned Topaz Ridge out pretty good,” Levi said, getting closer to the phone.
One of his infamous times losing control had been rescuing Brooke from the Chaolt at Cass Dam. He’d pretty much fried them all, or so they’d thought.
There was silence on the other end
of the phone.
“Micah, we can’t hear you shrugging,” Levi said, a slight relaxing of his face though his body remained rigid.
“There’s been signs of Chaolt here for a couple weeks, but nothing of that scope, or I wouldn’t have risked it.” A small silence. “Maybe,” he ground out.
Ajax huffed. Yeah, right. There wasn’t one of them here that wouldn’t try to do something, even when the odds were against them.
“When you say ‘here’, you mean the location you’ve been patrolling?” Walker asked, a loaded look coming Ajax’s way.
“Yes.”
Ajax’s gut churned. That location is where Walker had asked him to patrol the morning he’d gone back and lied about Emory and Jackson the first time. Walker’s look, full of ice, said he knew it too.
“I pursued them, but I couldn’t get to the Erratic in time.” They could all hear the weight in Micah’s words.
“They killed him?” Ajax asked, his mouth twisting.
He held Walker’s fierce gaze, hating that he’d made that choice. Because fuck, a very powerful Earth Erratic was lost, and it was essentially his fault. But on the other hand, Emory and Jackson… Wrong or not, he’d make the same decision again. He let that show in his eyes, alongside his regret.
“No. They disappeared. No trace. No smell, no buzz. I investigated—”
Ajax met Levi’s look as he asked Micah the details of the location. It was too much of a coincidence.
“Yes,” Micah answered, confirming the same location as where Ajax and Levi had a similar experience with the Chaolt disappearing. “And Walker?” Micah, added.
“Here,” Walker replied.
“Walker, there’s a Chaos portal there. They disappeared because they went through it, with the Erratic.”
Walker pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, and for once Ajax knew just what he was thinking.
A Chaos portal. In Topaz Ridge. Similar to the portal to their own world, this one would lead to the world of the Chaolt. That’s where they were all coming from, even though they’d cleaned them out more than once. And to take an Erratic through with them? What effect would that have?
Rise (Elemental Hearts Book 2) Page 16
