Darkness Awakened

by Stephanie Rowe

  "When he brought you in a few hours ago, I thought you wouldn't recover."

  Ashley rubbed her head. "Do you work for him?"

  "No. I'm his prisoner, like you. I've been here for two years."

  Ashley's stomach turned. "Two years?"

  Keira gave her a grim smile. "I'm ready to leave. You up for it?"

  "Leaving?" Ashley's heart started to race. "You have a way out?"

  "Maybe." Keira glanced at the door, as if half-expecting Charles to walk in. "I talked him into letting me bring you food and check on your injuries. See if you were healing." Her face became serious, and she lowered her voice. "He's resting up."

  "Resting up for what?" Ashley scrunched her eyes closed against a wave of dizziness.

  "I heard Charles talking," Keira said. "He has plans that will require an extremely powerful Illusion from you. Very deadly. He'll hurt you worse than he's ever hurt you before to get it."

  Ashley couldn't help but shudder.

  Keira touched her hand, and Ashley flinched before she realized that the touch was gentle. It had been so long since a touch hadn't meant pain. "Listen to me, Ashley. We have to stop him. If we don't, we'll both die." Keira's eyes were hard, but at the same time, they were so laden with exhaustion and fear that Ashley's heart ached for her.

  Ashley forced herself to sit up, the urgency in Keira's voice spurring fresh hope in her. "But what can we do?"

  Keira didn't hesitate. "His weak spot is the stone. Take it from him."

  "The what?"

  "There's a stone with writing on it. I heard him talking about it, and I know it's critical, but I haven't found it. If you find it, take it. Use it against him." She reached out for Ashley's hand and held tightly. "The stone is the only chance we have."

  Ashley nodded, feeling alive for the first time since she was taken. Feeling like she had a chance. An ally. "What does it do?"

  "I don't know yet, but I'm working on it." Keira managed a small smile. "It's hard to do research around here. Not a lot of resources, but I'll figure it out." Keira's face was determined, vibrating strength that made Ashley ashamed that she'd been feeling so lost when Keira had suffered here for two years and still hadn't given up.

  "So, if we can't find the stone, then what?"

  Keira gave her a grim look. "Then we're going to wish we were dead."

  Madison watched the Order preparing to depart for the prison. Weapons were polished and tested, plans were made. They were ready and impatient, and supremely confident, pacing about the campfire as they waited for the word from Ajax that it was time to go.

  Ajax was prepping on what they'd learned about the Illusions and what to expect. Anyone who felt compromised was instructed to let the others know so they could knock him out before an Illusion could take over. He looked over at Madison. "Madison will let us know if there's an Illusion going on, but if we get separated from her, we might be on our own—"

  She couldn't do this. She couldn't let them go in there counting on her when she wouldn't be able to deliver. "Ajax."

  He glanced over at her. "Yeah?"

  "Can I have a minute with you?"

  "I don't have time—"

  "You do."

  Ajax raised his brows at her tone, said something to Xander, and then walked over. He took her arm and guided her away from the rest of the team. "What's up?"

  She bit her lip and just blurted it out. "I can't detect Illusions. I lied. I can't even control them except when you're around, and I've never been able to detect them."

  He stared at her, his face a closed mask. "All Illusionists can detect Illusions."

  "I can't." She stumbled over her words, trying to explain. "My parents died when I was young, and I didn't have anyone to train me. Maisy was human, and she only knew enough to help me stop them. And then I was trying to suppress them, and I didn't want to learn, so I never developed any skills."

  "Hell, you're serious." He couldn't hide his shock, and she saw the betrayal in his eyes, in his face, in the way he withdrew from her. "I trusted you to tell me when my instincts were being tampered with. You could have gotten us killed—"

  "I know but I didn't think you'd take me with you—"

  "Dammit, Madison!" He clasped her shoulders. She could tell he was upset, but his touch was still gentle. "In battle, there are rules. There has to be absolute trust in the people who have your back, or you're all screwed. This is the second important thing you've kept from me."

  "I know! That's why I'm telling you now. I—"

  "Ajax!" Xander's shout made her jump. "Let's go."

  Ajax swore and pulled her close, his eyes burning with determination. "You're an Illusionist, which means you're perfectly capable of detecting Illusions. Just do it."

  "I can't—"

  "You can. Just as you're still fighting the bond between us and keeping us from finding Ashley, you're fighting the damn Illusions. They would work if you'd embrace your talents instead of fighting them off."

  "Dammit, Ajax! It's not that simple! I want to find my sister! I'm trying to let you into my mind so you can track her—"

  "You're not." He rubbed her shoulders. "I already showed you that I can stop your Illusions with a kiss, and I've saved your life already. For hell's sake, Madison, trust me to have your back, and let the damn shields go."

  She swallowed. "What if I end up being your worst nightmare?"

  He frowned, holding up a hand to silence Xander as his blood brother yelled for him again. "What are you talking about?"

  "What if I embrace my Illusions to help you and I kill someone? Turning me into one of those Illusionists? What then? Would you still have my back?"

  He shook his head. "Absolutely not. I won't let that happen."

  "But what if it does?"

  "It. Won't."

  "What if it already did? What if I really killed that boy with my Illusions, and not a real knife?"

  He went still. "Did you?"

  The low tone of his voice, the set of his body told her all she needed to know. That she couldn't give him the truth, not if she wanted him to stand by her side through the next six hours. But still she hesitated, wanting so badly to tell him, to hear that he didn't care, that his own past made him understand what it was like to hate yourself.

  She hated having this between them. She knew that the only way she'd be able to trust him enough to allow him to track Ashley through them was if she didn't have to worry about that secret. She needed to tell him the truth…but she was too afraid to show him who she really was.

  "Madison?"

  She looked into his eyes, felt the tight grip of his hands on her arms, and she knew she couldn't risk it. She simply wasn't strong enough to tell him something that would push him away.

  She needed him too much.

  So, she shook her head, and dropped her gaze, unable to meet his intense expression. "No. I didn't kill him with my Illusions."

  He let out a breath, and his grip softened on her arms. "Don't complicate things any more than they already are." He caught her jaw under her chin. His face was hard, and she knew he was still angry with her. He wasn't regarding her as a lover. He was looking at her as a commander would stare down one of his soldiers, because right now, battle was all they had time to focus on. "Listen to me, Madison. You can accomplish anything you want. You have to drop your fears of being intimate with me. You need to shed your hatred of what you are. Stop holding back, and you can do it."

  "It's not that easy."

  "It is." He squeezed her shoulders. "I believe in you, sweetheart. Believe in yourself." Then he kissed her forehead and turned back to Xander and his men. "Two minutes until departure."

  He didn't look back at her, and she knew she could step up and go with them, or they would leave her behind. If she went, she would be joining their mission as an Illusionist, and they would be expecting her to deliver, both in terms of Illusions to protect them or to detect Illusions. She didn't believe she could do either of them without p
eople dying.

  But if she stayed behind, forcing them to face Illusions on their own, they would be in danger as well. She was their best chance, if she could do it.

  Ajax believed in her. Was he delusional, or did he see something inside her that she refused to accept about herself?

  She looked at Luke, standing on his own, his weapons clenched in his fist. They'd opted to leave him behind, not willing to risk his exposure. Deciding he was safer here than with them.

  He looked worried and young, but there was rigidity to his stance that spoke of a strength and courage older than his years. Despite all he'd been through, he was standing tough as the warrior he was born to be.

  Despite the risk that he could die, or that others might, he was not turning away from his duty.

  At eighteen, he was more courageous than she was at twenty-nine.

  She didn't want to be afraid anymore. Not of herself. Not of who she was. Not of living.

  Energy crackled through the air, and she turned as the Order gathered around Rajak, who would teleport all of them at the same time. It would tax him, but they'd decided it was worth the risk to get all of them in at the same time to set up the ambush.

  Every warrior put a hand on Rajak's shoulder, then Ajax turned and held out his hand to her. She took one last look at Luke's young face, and she knew what she had to do.

  She could be the woman she'd been her whole life, hiding from who she was in hopes of avoiding killing someone.

  Or, she could be the woman she'd always yearned to be. A woman who accepted and embraced who she was. A warrior who was no longer afraid of herself.

  Ajax touched her mind. I believe in you.

  She met his gaze and felt his warmth cocooning her mind, and she realized she wanted to believe in herself as well. For once in her life, she wanted to be proud of herself.

  So, she walked over to him and set her hand in his, and, for the first time ever, she stopped hiding from who she was.

  Madison stumbled as her feet reformed on the hard earth, and only Ajax's grip kept her from falling. She glanced around as the men closed tight around her. They were in the Columbia Gorge, a huge area of cliffs, mountains, and water, like a miniature Grand Canyon. Huge walls of old red clay rose before her. There were no windows and no doors. Simply clay. Little pieces of it were crumbling, falling to the ground.

  Bezoar's prison?

  It looked like clay, bound by magic. Magic that was being destroyed?

  She glanced around, saw acres and acres of dying vegetation. Leaves were brown and spotted, plants were curled with disease, and the pungent odor of death and rot permeated her nostrils. Even the ground was crusty and rancid under her feet, and she felt her skin crawl.

  Kerrick was already at the prison walls, testing them. "The walls are weakening." He jogged out of sight around the structure while the other warriors got into position. Weapons ready as they reached out with their senses to assess for threats.

  The team took inventory of their surroundings, talking quietly until Kerrick jogged around the far corner of the prison, his clothes covered in clay as if he'd been scaling the walls. "The prison's still intact. He's got to still be in there."

  "He can kill this much vegetation, and he's not even out?" Liam gestured at the dead plants. "This guy so needs to have his off-campus privileges revoked."

  Kerrick had a flange mace in each hand, the spiked mallet tight in his fist. "There's something else going on here," he said. "I felt it on the other side of the prison, but I couldn't identify what it was. I'm thinking we're not the first ones to arrive."

  The warriors immediately fanned out, and she sensed a humming in the air as their adrenaline kicked in.

  "I don't sense anything," Liam said, and the rest of the warriors echoed his statement.

  Xander looked at Ajax. "It's your deal now. What does your spidey sense say?"

  "Madison." He took her hand, and pulled her to him. "I need to know if there is an Illusion inside me."

  "I can't—"

  "Close your eyes."

  She stared at him for a minute, saw the determination in his face, knew this was her moment. Either she stepped up, or she spent the rest of her life hating not only who she was, but also the fact she hadn't been brave enough to do what it took to find her sister.

  She shut her eyes and leaned into him, resting her hand against his chest. If he found out the truth about her...then he did. She wasn't going to endanger all of them, including Ashley, by being afraid any longer. I can do this.

  His warmth enveloped her mind immediately. She felt his strength and his courage, and she held onto it, refusing to think about anything except how wonderful he felt.

  Relax your mind. His voice was calm yet forceful, a warrior who expected his team to obey him. Focus on the beat of my heart. Try to match your own heart to my rhythm.

  She concentrated on the thud of his heart under her palm. The steady rhythm, strong and reliable.

  "That's right." His voice softened, his fingers began to trace small circles on the back of her hand. "Keep it up."

  She pulled his steady heartbeat into her mind, let the pulse echo through her body. She concentrated on her own heart, trying to match up with his. They were off, beating irregularly, and she concentrated harder. Then one beat was together, then another, and then her heart was beating in perfect synchronicity with his, so she couldn't tell there were two.

  A sense of utter rightness filled her, and she felt his satisfaction. There was a whisper in her mind, and then she felt Ajax fill her with reassurance and a sense of power. She realized he was infusing her with his warrior strength.

  Madison. His voice drifted through her mind, an intrusion that felt natural, not threatening. Follow the thread that binds us. His voice was comforting, luring her along, and she let her consciousness drift toward him, toward the dark pulsating energy that resonated with his essence.

  It was as if she were traveling through a black tunnel, with safety on the other end...almost within her reach.

  She took over their connection, plunging past the place he'd brought her, burrowing deeper inside him, through the layers of darkness and isolation until she found what she knew had to be there. A faint glowing light that she knew was honor. A warmth associated with Viktor and Xander—friendship and loyalty.

  This was the place inside him she wanted to be. It felt like home. It felt safe. This was what drove him, what he protected.

  Is there an Illusion?

  She softened her mind's eye, until she was no longer seeing Ajax. She focused on searching for the humming energy of an Illusion. For a moment, she thought she caught the faint vibration of an Illusion, but she couldn't be sure. Each time she tried to tap into it, it slithered out of her grasp, like an elusive thought.

  Then she got to his stomach, the emotional center of the body.

  It was glowing with a deep iridescent orange light, wrapped tightly around his core. It was pulsing with feelings of peace and contentment, coating him with a sense of safety, overriding his natural ability to sense danger.

  I found an Illusion.

  Triumph exploded inside her. She quickly focused on the tangled web and opened her mind to Ajax, letting him see what she was seeing. Letting him see the truth, that the feeling of peace and safety were nothing more than an Illusion. She felt the moment his brain registered the truth. As soon as he saw through it, the Illusion blinked out, stripped of its power.

  The link between her and Ajax broke, and suddenly she was back in her own body.

  For a moment, she stared at him, waiting for his reaction. Had he seen her secrets? Then he smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "Good job," he whispered. "I knew you could do it. I'm proud of you."

  He was looking at her with such pride that her throat tightened. With his help, she'd accomplished something she'd never done before. She'd embraced who she was, and Ajax recognized what she'd done. That he'd been a part of it.

  He brushed his mouth over hers b
riefly, paused, and then he deepened the kiss. It was a gentle kiss, not one of desperate need or suppressed violence. It was a kiss of tenderness, his lips soft, a caress that made her entire body tremble. Her heart ached for him, and she slipped her hands around his neck, kissing him back.

  For a moment, the world fell away and it was just them, the softness of his lips, the warmth of his hands on her back.

  Then he lifted his head, his dark eyes shuttered. "Thank you for giving me back my battle instincts." His words were so heartfelt and genuine that her eyes became misty.

  He brushed his hand over her cheek once more, then turned toward his men, his entire aura brimming with the self-confidence of a warrior who'd just been given back his ultimate weapon. "The threat's coming from over the ridge. Top-level threat. I think it's Faulk. Split approach from the southwest and northwest. I'll come in straight from the west to draw attention, and you guys come in from behind."

  "Faulk? Shit." There were rumblings of surprise, but the team's complete faith in Ajax's battle instincts was evident in the way the warriors moved out instantly.

  But Ajax didn't leave. He caught Madison around the waist and pulled her close, kissing her hard. Her body instantly heated up, and she returned the kiss, her mouth desperate for his. He broke the kiss too soon, his face grim. "Be safe."

  She nodded, realizing this was the first time he'd gone into battle since they'd begun to bond. Would he be distracted by her? "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." She managed a tight smile.

  He paused, as if he were going to say something, then he turned and sprinted away, disappearing over the ridge, leaving her behind.

  The moment he was out of sight, she was consumed by loneliness, as if her soul had been ripped right out of her body. The brand on her arm began to burn, and she pressed her palm against it, her chest aching at the thought of Ajax in battle, of him getting hurt. "He's not going to get killed," she whispered. "Everything is fine—"

  There was a sudden crack, so loud it sounded as if lightning had exploded right beside her, and the whole sky lit up with black light...as if hundreds of Calydon weapons had been called out at once.