Ajax brought his blade down toward Xander's throat with so much force that he shattered Xander's throwing axe when Xander flung it up to block the blow. "Out of my way!"
Something careened into the side of Ajax's head. His head felt like it was split open, and he fell to the ground as Rajak's flail dropped to the earth next to him. Ajax lurched to his feet, fumbled for the flail, grabbed it and hurled it back. Rajak ducked as it whizzed past his head and embedded itself into a tree.
Ajax spun back to Charles, who was trying to crawl away like some pathetic creature. "You die now, you son of a bitch."
He raised his sword for the fatal blow, then froze when Madison dragged herself in front of Charles, her hands clutching her stomach.
"Don't do it," she whispered, her voice ragged. "We need to find Ashley. Your weapon. The tablet. Only Charles knows where they are. Don't kill him, or we all lose."
Something in the depths of his fury registered her presence, her plea, and then it was gone. "He must die." His voice was gritty and hoarse, not like his own, and he raised his sword to plunge it for the final blow.
Madison held out her hand and called his sword out of his hand.
It plunged into the flat of her palm with a smack. "It's the bond. Destroying everything we care about. Killing Charles makes us lose it all. You have to stop," she whispered. "Please, Ajax, stop."
He heard Xander and Rajak trying to stagger to their feet behind him, their weapons out. He felt their strength at his back. Protecting him, covering his back. Not judging him. He felt Madison's love wrap around his heart like a soft caress, cracking the black rage consuming him.
He hesitated, confused, looking at her.
"I love you," she whispered. "Please don't make me kill you."
His heart beat for her, and he felt a flicker of humanity inside him, of hope.
Then Charles moved and his knife flashed as it headed toward Madison's throat. With a howl, Ajax called his sword back from her to take the final step toward their destiny.
Chapter Forty-Six
Madison saw a flash of metal behind Ajax as Charles's knife descended toward her throat. The sword flew out of her hand and into Ajax's palm. Then Xander's axe clobbered Charles's hand, and his knife flew off into the mud.
Charles screamed and writhed in the mud beside her, holding his hand, no longer a threat.
"Ajax! Stop!" Then she saw his eyes. Pulsing red. Rogue.
He'd crossed the line into insanity, as destiny had commanded, and she knew he was going to kill Charles even though he was no longer a threat.
She grabbed Charles's knife out of the mud as Ajax whipped his blade back to bring it down for the final blow.
"No!" She screamed the words at his blazing red eyes, her hand shaking as she raised Charles's knife, knowing she had to stop him. She was the only one left. It was up to her.
Time froze for an instant as she realized that Ajax would still kill Charles before he died from her blade. Charles would die without revealing Ashley's location, without revealing where Ajax's weapon was. They would lose it all, and Ajax would die by her hand.
As it was destined.
His eyes met hers as he brought the sword down, and she held up the knife. His gaze went to the blade, and there was a flash of awareness on his face.
"I love you," she whispered. Then she opened her hand and let the knife fall to the ground. Refusing to kill him.
His sword whizzed past her head, and she winced as it thudded into its target, her heart breaking for all they'd just lost.
Then Ajax fell to his knees in front of her and caught her face in his hands.
She stared at him through her tears. "I thought it would work. I thought if I didn't kill you, we could break the cycle—"
He turned her head and pointed to the ground. It took a minute for her to register, but then she saw that his sword was plunged deep in the earth, nothing visible but the handle.
He hadn't killed Charles.
New tears sprang, and she threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair as his body shook. She held him as close as she could, unable to stop the sobs, his arms so tight around her she felt like he'd never let her go.
She heard Kerrick shout as he approached, but she ignored them as they grabbed Charles and dragged him away.
She simply held onto Ajax as tightly as she could, until she couldn't muster the strength anymore. Until the weakness became too much.
Her hands started to slide down his chest and she leaned into him, too exhausted to hold onto him. Her adrenaline began to subside, and a sharp pain began to pulse at her. "Ajax." Her voice sounded weak, even to her. "My stomach..." Too much effort to talk...
Ajax shifted immediately, cradling her to his side. He took one look at the dark stains on her shirt and the blood dripping off the hem, and his gut turned to ice. His hand shaking, he pulled up her shirt. "Shit." His voice broke as he pressed his palms over her stomach, trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Don't move. You'll make it worse." Xander! She's bleeding out!
Take her into a healing sleep. You have to calm down. Focus.
Calm down? Are you shitting me?
Ajax. You're a warrior. Think like one.
Ajax pressed harder against the wound, trying to find his equilibrium enough to focus.
Madison flinched, and she leaned against him, her breathing shallow. "Ashley," she mumbled. "Where is she?"
"No, no, baby. Stop talking." He carefully eased her onto her back, keeping his palm pressed to her stomach. He wrapped himself around her, his body trembling with fear. "I'm going to heal you." Xander. I'm going to need help. I can't focus.
I'm with you. Xander's strength flowed into Ajax, and a sense of warmth cocooned Ajax's mind. His heartrate began to slow down, and he settled back in the mud, wrapping his coat tightly around her. He felt her pain ease as she settled against him, letting him pull her into his healing space.
That's the way. Xander's voice was soothing. Give her peace. Take away the pain first so her body can relax. It's the same thing you do to yourself. You know how to do it.
Ajax let his mind settle, let his consciousness fall deeper into the healing trance. He wrapped his mind around hers, merging with her so his gifts became hers. But the minute he merged with her, he realized she was drifting even further. Don't you dare give up, Madison. Ashley needs you. He gave her his healing strength, showing her body how to repair itself, but there was no response. He sensed her sliding further away.
There was a ripple of impatience from Xander. Use her love for you, Ajax. Not her sister. You. You're burning so brightly for her it's making my head hurt.
Madison. Tears burned in Ajax's eyes, but he didn't stop. I love you. I can't live without you. I need you. Feel my heart. It's breaking for you.
We all need you, Madison. Xander reached out directly for Madison, using Ajax's link. Xander's healing strength flowed through Ajax, filling Madison with his power. The Order needs you. You need to come back to us.
Ajax opened his mind to give Xander more access to Madison, and then was shocked when Rajak chimed in. He'll be a total ass to live with if you die, Madison. Spare us the burden of having to kill him because he's such a pain in the butt. Rajak's power flowed into their sleep.
Ajax's throat tightened at the support from his Order members. Do you feel that, sheva? They all need you. You've won them over. He stopped, blinking back the tears as her life force became even fainter. Come on, Madison. I love you. Can't you hear me? He turned his mind to Xander, desperate and lost. I don't know what to do, Xander. Tell me what to do.
Kerrick joined them, his powers heavy with his own grief, but reaching out for Madison. His touch was stronger than the others, a gift of his own healing that worked only on Calydons, using Ajax's connection to her to bring his healing skills to her. Don't let it end like this, Madison. Not like this.
And then there was Isaac. He said nothing, but Ajax felt his presence as he
lent his own strength to the healing trance.
Ajax was completely overwhelmed as the five warriors joined together, offering their healing power to his sheva. His Order members, sworn by oath to destroy the very woman they were trying to save. Their power surged through him, so strong, so adamant that Madison not die. Warriors, demanding her recovery, allowing her no room to refuse.
And still her life force weakened, and grief roared inside him. It's not enough! There has to be more!
Ajax. Xander's voice was raw with regret. I don't know what else we can do.
Agony ripped through him, and he bellowed, holding her cold body against his as he thrust every last bit of his soul into her. Everything he had. Everything.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The stench of rotting flesh burned Madison's nose and made her eyes water. She stumbled over the dirt road, and tripped, landing next to a man with his neck twisted, his eyes staring blankly, blood caked on his throat. He was wearing tattered trousers of an ancient style, no shoes or shirt. His ribs were exposed, his body sunken, as if he hadn't eaten in months. "Oh, God." She wrenched herself to her feet, just as a scream rent the air.
She whirled to her right in time to see a young man sink a rusted iron blade into the chest of a young woman with matted brown hair, strung out down her back. The woman screamed and fell to the earth, and then the man dropped the knife and fell beside her, screaming his own misery as he gathered the young woman's body in his arms, rocking back and forth, crying and wailing for what he'd done.
Behind them stood a small shack, held together with boards and branches. Madison noticed a small child peering around the door, her eyes wide with terror. Then the child bolted out the front door and sprinted away from the cottage, dirty legs and bare feet flying as she raced down the street, jumping over dead bodies and crying and screaming in an ancient language Madison couldn't understand.
Madison staggered backward, clutching her hands to her throat. Ajax? Where are you? She couldn't hear his voice anymore, couldn't feel him calling for her. All she could hear were more screams. Of children, of women, of men. There were bodies all around her, people crying, running past her, covered in blood. It was war, it was destruction, it was death. Death from thousands of years ago. Ajax!
Bile turned in her stomach and she whirled to run, but there were people everywhere. Panicking, screaming...
Hands closed on her shoulders and she spun around, her hands going up to protect her.
"No, Madison. You do not need to fear me."
She froze as she stared into the dark green eyes of a huge Calydon warrior. His hair was black with gray streaks, cut short against his head. He was wearing blue jeans and boots, a gray T-shirt loose around his muscular shoulders. His eyes were kind, but they were also cold, so much like Ajax's. His forearms were bare, and she could see the brands burned into his skin. Spears. His grip was warm on her shoulders, real. His touch was a comfort, chasing away the horror surrounding her. "My name is Zion."
She blinked, confused. "You're dead, aren't you?"
"I am."
Oh, God. "Am I?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly? What does that mean?" Tears filled her eyes as she thought of Ajax. She'd never see him again—
"Look around you." Zion gently turned her and gestured out at the carnage around them. "What do you see?"
She swallowed hard, trying to blink back her tears, trying to steel her heart against the grief, the terror, the desolation surrounding her. "Death."
He pointed to their right. "There."
She looked where he was pointing, and her stomach turned, and she quickly averted her eyes from the woman strangling a teenage boy. Tears filled Madison's eyes, and she started to hyperventilate, sucking in the smells of death and blood.
Zion turned her away and faced her toward the fields. "The fields. Do you see?" His hands caressed her shoulders, and she was suddenly able to catch her breath again, and some of her panic eased.
She knew he was numbing her pain, and she gratefully accepted it as she stared across the fields. It was acrid and dry, acres and acres of brown, withered stalks. The ground was dry and cracked.
"The people are starving to death. Turning on their families. Killing their children." Zion's voice was hard. "Do you see?"
"I see."
Zion turned her so she was facing him. "This is what life was like when Bezoar was free. Before he was imprisoned. His taint spread across the lands, consuming all goodness and life wherever he touched. He's rising again, and now he's two thousand years stronger than he was when he was imprisoned."
Someone screamed again, and Madison cringed, looking past Zion in time to see two men who looked like brothers suddenly drop the bags of grain they were carrying and turn on each other, their faces dark with deadly intent as they pounded one another.
"Madison."
She jerked her gaze from the men and looked at Zion. "Why are you showing me this?"
"Because you are part of the new future. You and Ajax have changed the course of destiny, and the future is now open." His voice deepened and she felt a change in the air, a clarity, and suddenly she could feel Ajax's spirit again. Not just Ajax. All of the Order. Ajax, she whispered. Can you hear me?
But there was no response from him.
"The world is growing dark," Zion said.
There was a shift of surprise from Ajax, and she heard him whisper Zion's name in confused awe. The other men had the same response, and she realized Zion had brought them all together, and was talking to all of them. "There is a new future, and you all are a part of shaping it. You all must join together, rise, and create a new destiny. The fight is not over, and you could all still fall, but there is a chance now. The fight is upon us, and it is yours to win or lose. Ajax and Madison created a crack, and now you all must pry it open before it closes forever. Before the world descends into a darkness from which it cannot be retrieved. Xander, you must learn from Ajax and Madison, for your time has come to step forward."
Zion's energy rolled through her, filling her with light and strength. He fastened his gaze on Madison. "It's time for you to go back."
"To Ajax?"
He nodded. "You are part of our new destiny. If you die, it will break the fragile thread that is being woven. You must go back."
Tears filled her eyes. "You're sending me back?"
He touched her face, his fingers gentle and warm. "No, you have to find your way yourself. I can't do that."
"But, I can't get back! I don't know how!"
"You do." He laid his hand over her heart, and a warmth filled her. And then he was gone.
She looked around and saw the village was gone as well. There was nothing around her except sparkly blue light that bounced around her in all directions, disorienting her. "Zion!"
No reply, just the faint sound of bells in the distance, coming at her from all directions. The bells were calling to her, beckoning her, and her spirit began to drift toward them. "No! That's not what I want! I can't leave yet!" She opened her mind and focused all her thoughts, all her energy, all her love on Ajax. Ajax. Are you there? I need you to guide me.
There was no response, no sense of him, and she drifted further, the bells getting louder. She shoved aside the panic and focused on her spirit, on Ajax's spirit, envisioning them coming together, becoming one. She embraced her love for him, for all that he was: a warrior, a killer, a man of honor and courage.
I'm there with you, Ajax. I believe in all that we can be together. And she did, with every fiber of her soul, she knew she loved him and everything he was without reservation. And she knew that he loved her, despite everything she was. They knew each other's worst flaws and it didn't matter. I love you, Ajax, truly and completely, and I'm not afraid of being with you or being close. Not anymore.
And then she felt him, a nudge in her mind. Madison?
She clung to the thread holding them together. I love you, Ajax.
There was a whisper of hope
from him. I offer my life for you, sheva. Accept my gift. Take all my strength and use it to heal yourself. His voice was blurred with tears, and her heart swelled in response.
The bells began to fade, and the blue lights started to fade, one by one. I'm coming back, Ajax. Don't let go of me.
Never, sheva. Never.
Then the world began to tumble and spin. Sounds blurred and faded and grew, and suddenly the hard warmth of Ajax's body was beneath her, his arms tight around her, his lips pressed to her temple.
Ajax knew the moment her spirit had returned to her body, and he couldn't stop tears from trickling down his cheeks. "Oh, God, sheva, you're back." He kissed her and tightened his arms around her as life flowed through her body again.
There was a murmur of satisfaction from the men. She's safe now, Xander said. We'll go deal with Charles.
And then they departed, giving Ajax and Madison privacy. He opened his mind and his soul and let her feel his love.
I love you, too, Ajax. Her voice was a murmur in his mind, and he rested his forehead against hers, skin to skin, too drained to do more than simply hold her.
He managed a weak smile, his body shaking with relief. I think we beat destiny.
Of course we did. It was only a fairytale anyway. No truth to it at all.
He placed his hand over her arm, over his mark that would forever be on her skin. No truth at all?
Not a bit.
He felt her struggling to wake up, so he released her from the healing sleep and opened his eyes. She lifted her head from his chest and blinked at him, her cheeks glistening with raindrops.
Raindrops. He'd forgotten they were in the woods, and it was raining.
"You brought me back."
He wiped the moisture from her cheeks, his thumb drifting over her cold skin. "Zion brought you back. I heard him. He came back for you."
"He came to speak to all of us." She kissed him softly. "But your love brought me back. So, we beat destiny? Happily ever after now?"
He closed his eyes for a long moment. "Madison—"
Darkness Awakened Page 33
