Darkness Awakened

by Stephanie Rowe

  Ajax looked at the threesome, all with their weapons drawn. The warriors who were supposed to be his team, who had been his team for so long, were his enemy now. Ready to kill him without remorse.

  How far he'd fallen.

  He thought of Zion's request, of the ring in his pocket, and he realized he'd pushed the Order so far there was no trust left. How the hell was he supposed to take over leading them?

  He looked down and saw Madison watching him. Witnessing his total failure of the Order oath he'd taken five hundred years ago, of the promise he'd made to Zion earlier in the night when he'd accepted his mother's wedding ring and put it in his pocket.

  She gave him a small smile that showed him she knew exactly how hard it was for him, because her life had been the same. It's time to trust them.

  Ajax realized she was seeing him for what he really was. A loner without a team, without respect. Someone who'd spent five hundred years waiting for the shit to fall apart, and he'd taken off the moment it had. He didn't want to be that man anymore.

  "Ajax?"

  He pulled his gaze off Madison and looked at Xander, making the best offer he was capable of. "Put the weapons away and I'll talk." There was no way he could lower his weapon first.

  But no one else did either.

  Xander finally looked around. "Where's Zion? I can't make that call."

  "You have to. Zion's dead."

  "Liar," Rajak snapped, his voice cracking. "No one can kill him."

  Ajax reached into his pocket and tossed the ring at Xander. "He gave me my mother's ring back before he died."

  Xander caught the ring and took a close look at it. Then he closed his fist over it and looked at Ajax, understanding the significance of it.

  "I think this whole thing has something to do with Bezoar." Ajax told them about the rock, and by the time he finished, the energy vibrating around him made the hair on his arms stand up from the electric charges. No one had lowered any weapons yet, and the tension was thick in the air.

  "I was at his prison yesterday," Rajak said skeptically. "He's still in there."

  "Then we need to figure out what's going on. Now."

  But no one moved, and Ajax knew there was no trust on either side. They didn't believe his story, and he didn't trust them not to kill him the minute he lowered his weapon.

  Impasse.

  Xander touched his mind. For hell's sake, Ajax, make the right choice. Drop your damn weapons so we can move forward. Show them you trust them. Show them you're on their team.

  Ajax shifted, every instinct telling him not to trust the Order. The oath made them mindless robots, willing to turn on the warriors they'd served with for hundreds of years, regardless of whether it was justified. He was proof, as were Enzo and Viktor. Hell, it was their sworn oath to kill Madison, and the minute the rest of the team figured out she was his sheva, they would. Xander would do it as soon as Ajax's back was turned. Madison wasn't safe there, not for a minute...

  He thought of Viktor, of Zion. Both of them dying because Ajax had arrived too late, unable to save them on his own. He thought of Madison. If she died because he made the wrong choice again... Luke, Zion's son, in his protection. He had sworn to protect them and the only way he knew how to do it was by standing on his own...but he needed the team now. And they needed him.

  Lower your weapons. Xander raised his hand, palm out, and Ajax saw the scar on his palm from the blood oath they'd taken for each other. Trust us.

  Ajax looked down at Madison once more, and she nodded.

  He returned his gaze to Xander, and slowly lowered his sword.

  And the minute he did, every Order member did the same.

  He met Xander's eyes, and his friend smiled at him for the first time in a very long time.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Two hours later, Madison hugged her knees to her chest as she listened to Luke recap Zion's death in greater detail for the benefit of Xander.

  Xander and Ajax were sitting side by side, leaning forward as they listened intently to Luke's story, interrupting often with questions. The two warriors looked so imposing side by side, and they played off each other so well, asking follow-up questions for the other, their strategic thinking in perfect sync.

  She knew this was Ajax's place. With his team.

  And it made her feel more isolated than ever.

  "So, just as I reached the ridge and could see my dad, there was this horrible noise, like the screams of thousands of people being tortured." Luke’s cheeks flushed as he recited the tale. "I couldn't walk, couldn't move. It felt like my ears were bleeding—"

  Ashley. Biting back tears, Madison looked at her watch. She was running out of time until she had to deliver Ajax's weapons, or at least call Charles and tell him she had them.

  "So, then my dad called out his weapons and hurled them at the guy. The other two men jumped in front of him and Zion killed them both—"

  "And the girl?" Madison couldn't quite keep her voice calm. "What about her?"

  Luke's gaze became sympathetic as he looked at Madison, the first hint of the young Calydon warrior feeling protective. "She didn't look so good," he said gently, with a maturity that belied his years. "But my dad didn't kill her."

  Madison pressed her lips together, felt fierce resolve growing inside her. She couldn't leave Ashley to her fate. She couldn't.

  Ajax caught her around the waist and hauled her next to him so she was tucked under his arm. We'll find her, Madison. I promise.

  She leaned into his side, unable to keep herself from leaning on his strength, just for a minute. Just until she figured out what she was going to do.

  She remembered Pete's words, that she could trust no one, and it struck too close to the truth she'd been brought up with. She was the enemy, and no one would stand by her if they knew her truth. Even Maisy would have walked away, so the Order would certainly kill her. But dammit, she couldn't do this on her own! What choice did she have?

  She had to ask for his help, because she'd never kill him. And she had to do it now, with his team all around him. But how would that work? She was their enemy.

  "And then what happened?" Xander asked.

  "My dad called the guy Charles. He told Charles that he'd never get involved—"

  "With what?" Ajax asked, his grip still tight on Madison.

  Luke shrugged. "Charles told him they'd found the tablet—"

  "What tablet?" Xander demanded.

  "I don't know," Luke explained. "But my dad knew, and he got really angry as soon as Charles brought it up. He said Charles was a fool for trying to use it. Charles said he needed my dad's weapons, and if Zion joined them, that Zion would become all-powerful and could use that power to fulfill his Order oath."

  Madison glanced at Ajax and Xander to see if they knew what Luke was talking about, but they were both scowling, as if they didn't have answers either.

  "What next?" Xander asked.

  "Zion told me to throw down my weapons. He made me leave them there until they vanished into the ground. Once they were gone, he took advantage of the fact I couldn't recall them and tried to kill me. Then, he let Charles kill him."

  Ajax sat up. "He tried to kill you? His own son?"

  "Yeah." Luke hunched over. "Yeah, he did."

  "And he couldn't?"

  Luke shrugged. "I had already started to run. He missed."

  Ajax sat back, exchanged glances with Xander. "He missed?"

  "No offense, kid, but Zion would never miss unless it was on purpose." Ajax rubbed his jaw. "What the hell was he doing? By throwing his weapons at Luke, he made himself defenseless? Why didn't he just kill Charles?"

  "My sister," Madison said quietly.

  They all looked at her.

  "What are you talking about?" Ajax asked.

  "My sister's Illusions," she explained. "As powerful as I am, my sister is even more than I am. Now that she's gone dark, she would be able to bring down Zion. With her Illusions in play, Zion couldn't
have fought Charles. It would have been enough to screw up his aim when he went for Luke."

  There was silence, and she didn't look at Ajax.

  But he touched her mind. Luke said Charles killed Zion. Not your sister. Remember that. It's not over yet.

  Not yet, but it was so close.

  Time was up, and she still didn't have Ajax's weapons to trade for her sister's life. She rubbed her palm over the marks on her arms, wishing the sheva bond was enough to work some sort of magic, to get Ajax to be willing to toss aside his new Order responsibilities and donate his weapons to her sister's cause.

  That same cause would, apparently, result in the liberation of Bezoar. He'd never do it. The weapons were too key, too important and—

  His weapons! His weapons were hers to call! What if she called Charles, met up with him and then called out Ajax's weapons? Her adrenaline started to pump, and she sat up. Ajax frowned at her. What?

  She felt for the car keys in her front pocket. Still there. How close do I have to be to you in order to call out your weapons?

  He scowled at her. I'm not going to let Charles take you. You have nothing to worry about.

  I need to know. Madison let him see the fear on her face, knowing he'd mistake it for fear for her own safety, not realize it was fear for Ashley's life. How far?

  There's no limit. You could be on the other side of the world from me. He cocked his head, his scowl fading, replaced by a suspicious look. Are you planning on taking off?

  No. I was just wondering.

  He narrowed his eyes at her, and she felt her cheeks heat up as she averted her gaze from his. He was smart not to believe her, and a part of her wanted him to call her out on it, to force her to make him help her. Because she couldn't risk making that choice on her own, not with Ashley's life at stake.

  "Continue," Xander said, drawing Ajax's attention away from her. "Anything else?"

  Luke nodded. "After my dad died, Charles cut open my dad's arms to get his weapons. When they weren't in there, he got furious."

  She could do it. She could deliver the weapons without killing Ajax. Without asking him to forego his new allegiance to his team, without forcing him to choose between avenging Viktor's death and saving Ashley.

  "Weapons again." Ajax was leaning forward, his forearms resting on his knees. "He tried to kill Luke and then sacrificed himself so their weapons couldn't be taken. Why?" He rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Shit. Let's go through the list of Calydons whose weapons were harvested. See what they have in common. Who died first?"

  Madison stared at the dark brand on Ajax's forearm, the swords that would save her sister. Her throat was tight, her pulse pounding. Ajax would be furious with her if she did it. If she left and then handed his weapons over to the enemy. If she didn't tell him the truth and give him the chance to help her.

  But what if she did tell him the truth and he didn't help her? What if he couldn't help her? What if he was too obligated to the Order? What did her sister matter in comparison to Bezoar? Despite the bond, Ashley was a dark Illusionist killing Calydons, and Madison was a dark Illusionist who was an Order sheva. Four strikes. Would Ajax really be able to convince the Order not to kill them? To forego avenging the deaths of Zion and Viktor to run a quick rescue mission for Ashley?

  She couldn't take the chance. If she told him her intention and they refused to help, they'd never let her get away on her own.

  "The trainee outside the yoga studio," Xander said. "He died first."

  Ajax nodded. "Do you know who it was?"

  "Yeah." Xander paused for a second to think. "Name was Marx. His weapon was a spiked club. His death was a great loss, as he was one of the few direct descendants of the original twenty-one Calydons—"

  "I'm a direct descendent of the original twenty-one," Luke interrupted. "My dad was O21 as well. We're the only ones left of our line."

  Madison felt the air thicken as Xander and Ajax stared at each other, knew they'd just come onto something important. Casually, she stood up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," she announced, her fingers tight around the keys in her front pocket. "And then I'm going to go to the car. I left a jacket in there."

  Ajax glanced at her as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "Be careful. Call if you feel any threat at all. Trust your instincts."

  She nodded. "Okay." As she walked away from the fire, she opened her mental connection with Ajax to listen to his conversation.

  "Liam," Ajax said into the phone.

  She knew Liam was the youngest member of the Order by Ajax's thoughts, that he'd intentionally chosen to call the Order member with the fewest years of Order indoctrination. It made her realize that he was still treading carefully around the Order, still not ready to trust.

  "Aren't you supposed to be dead, or at least on the run?" Liam asked.

  "I need you to get on your computer and look up all the Calydons who've been killed or gone missing in the last six months. See if they're all direct descendants of the O21, and find out which of the O21 lines have had weapons harvested. Of the ones that haven't been harvested, I need all the names of the Calydons alive who are descendants of those lines."

  There was a pause. "Are you back on the team?"

  Ajax ground his jaw, and Madison saw him look at Xander. "Yeah. I am."

  Her heart tightened at the intensity on Ajax's face, at the tension he was radiating. She could feel his strain, his reluctance to trust the team he felt had betrayed him.

  How would he react when he found out what she'd done? Not just the truth about her past, but when she stole his weapons? A man who trusted no one...and she was going to betray him, as well.

  She didn't want to betray him. The thought of violating his trust made her feel terrible, but she had to make the best choice to save Ashley.

  "About damn time you're back," Liam said. "I'm on it. Where are you?"

  "Zion's retreat. Bring the info with you."

  "You got it." Liam hung up, and Ajax gripped his phone, tapping it against his knee. "Assuming that they're all descendants of the O21, what's the significance of that?"

  Luke was the one who answered. "The Satinka magic that erected the protections on Bezoar's prison used one weapon from each of the O21 for the spell, right? What if someone wants those weapons back?"

  "Oh, hell." Ajax stood up, the air around him vibrating with energy. "There's rumors of a tablet which contains the rite that will bring Satinka protections down. If someone has found the tablet, then they might be able to reverse the safeguards trapping Bezoar if they had weapons from each of the O21."

  Xander was on his feet also. "You think Charles found the tablet? That it really exists?"

  "Charles apparently thinks it does." Ajax paced across the clearing, and Madison moved deeper into the woods, not quite able to walk away. To commit to betraying him. "If he needs the weapons of the O21, then he needs mine. I'm O21, and I'm the only one of my line since Enzo is dead."

  "Viktor tried to kill you," Xander pointed out.

  "If it was an attempt to kill me, it was a crappy plan. And no one's tried since."

  Madison closed her eyes, her heart aching.

  "If it was the O21, I'd be a target," Ajax said. "Charles had his chance at Nightshade Tavern, but he didn't try for me. That can't be it. It has to be something else."

  The warriors began to discuss other options, moving away from what she was certain had been the truth. They'd let themselves become distracted by the fact Charles had let Ajax go without even attempting to get him.

  Charles had let Ajax go because he already had an Illusionist who was supposed to kill Ajax and take his weapons. She was so dangerous to them. There was no way they would let her live.

  Instead of correcting them, she slipped into the darkness and broke into a run the minute she was out of sight.

  She shoved her way through the dark woods back to the truck, the marks on her arms burning.

  Madison? Check in. I don't like having you out of my s
ight.

  She winced at the undercurrent of concern in his voice, but she forced herself to keep moving. I'm fine. I'll be back in a minute.

  Keep our connection open so I know if you need me.

  She felt his intensity and knew he meant it. She knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Her throat tightened. He wanted to protect her? She was the monster, but he didn't see it. God, she wanted to be the woman he thought she was. I appreciate you looking out for me. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she reached the truck and yanked open the door. I wish things were different. I wish I had a choice.

  She felt his attention sharpen. What are you talking about?

  I'm sorry. She shoved the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. She knew he would come after her when he realized she'd betrayed him. She would be worse than the Order. I'm so sorry.

  She felt his shock when he heard the truck start, and then he was racing toward her, through the woods. Stop the damn truck, Madison!

  I can't. She shifted the truck into drive, remembering how he'd risked everything to save her life by tightening the bond. She recalled his memories of watching his own parents slaughtered, of killing his rogue uncle, his loyalty toward Viktor. He wasn't simply a warrior. He was honor and strength, and she could trust him with her life. Could she also trust him with the truth?

  She looked at her hands, the ones that had nearly been destroyed merely by touching the rocks, the ones Ajax had saved for her. She thought of her sister. She felt his presence closing in...

  He burst out of the woods in front of her—

  She hit the gas.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Keira Bouchard tensed when she heard the lock to Charles's office creak, but she stood up and set her hands on her hips, as she'd done every time she'd faced him in the last two years.

  He'd stashed her in there hours ago, as soon as he'd returned from his latest murder spree, carrying an unconscious Ashley in his arms.

  God, that poor girl. What was Charles doing to her? Why did he have her? Keira had figured out what room he was keeping Ashley in, but she'd been unable to make contact with the woman.