The shadow’s cloaked head shook. “That was a gift. This is freely earned. There is no condition.”
Then what was the problem? The more power he had, the easier it would be to save Mommy. “Yes.”
A bright white light flashed from the figure and into Jake’s chest. He felt alive, more alive than he’d ever felt before. His entire body tingled. He fell to his knees, expecting pain from his scrapes, but the wounds on his body were healed.
“I can kill Aiden.”
The shadow figure reached a finger toward Jake.
Jake froze, holding his breath in anticipation.
The gray haze touched his chest. “It is not time for his end.”
Jake’s jaw clenched. “I want to kill him.”
“In due time, but for now you must go with him.”
“When? When can I kill him?”
“Tomorrow night. Aiden has decreed the end.”
“And then I can kill him?”
“You must fulfill your promise first.”
Jake shrugged. He could accept that.
“Now go. Aiden is coming, and he must not know that you killed Raphael.”
The shadow disappeared, and Jake ran to the street, unsure which way to go. The building behind him emitted a long groan, then collapsed, obliterating the alley and covering Raphael and Jake’s evidence. Aiden rounded the corner, confusion on his face. His eyes widened when he saw the blood on Jake’s shirt.
“Are you injured?”
Jake lifted his chin. “Not anymore.”
“Why are you alone? Where’s Raphael?”
“He’s dead. Will stabbed us with water and Raphael didn’t have enough power to fix himself.” A smug satisfaction filled him. It was all true. He didn’t lie to cover his tracks.
“Where is his body?”
Jake pointed to the debris-filled alley.
Aiden looked worried. “Do you know if Will was the one to kill him?”
“He was the one to stab him.”
Jake stared in fascination. Aiden, the man that was always so sure, was definitely worried.
“Come, Jake. We must prepare.”
Jake hesitated. “Did you see my mommy?”
Aiden’s mouth twisted, as though he was unsure what to say. “No. I couldn’t find her. She wasn’t here. It was only Will.”
Will left Mommy behind instead of bringing her to find Jake. Mommy would never have stayed away from him. Will must have made her. And Will tried to kill him.
Will was going to pay.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Growling with anger, Will shoved Marcus into a pile of rubble. “You fucking lying son of a bitch! You told me you weren’t going to kill Jake.”
Marcus tried to get up, but Will slammed his fist into Marcus’s jaw. His hand throbbed and he shook it at his side. “Get up, you fucking piece of shit.”
Rising to his feet, Marcus rubbed his jaw.
Will had never hated anyone so much in his entire life. “We’re done here. You can consider this the official end of our partnership.”
Marcus moved in front of Will, anger glowing in his eyes. “Stop and think like a soldier, not a lovesick puppy.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I told you that you can’t think with your heart. You need to think with your head. You need to find a way to emotionally distance yourself from this situation and look at it rationally. You are placing the life of a child over your own survival.”
“Are you fucking insane? You swore to Emma you wouldn’t hurt him. You liar!” Will wanted to kill him.
Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “Do you expect me to agree to die so one of them can live? Don’t think me to be so altruistic. Let there be no mistake, Will. My goal is for you and me to survive. I’ve already told you this. This is my gift to you.”
Will shook his head, his breath catching in his chest. “Keep your fucking gift. I don’t want it.”
Marcus’s face softened. “Will, listen to me. Emma isn’t strong enough to survive this. You and I both know it, and I refuse to allow you to sacrifice yourself to save her. It’s survival of the fittest. It’s not her fault, but there’s the truth nonetheless.”
“You think I’m going to kill her? Have you fucking lost your mind?” Rage overtook his senses, and he fought to keep control.
“No. I would never expect that of you. In fact, I suspect it’s impossible given your bond. I doubt you can physically hurt one another. I’ll do it.”
“The fuck you will.” A wall of water appeared out of nowhere, slamming Marcus into the debris.
The water splashed to the ground, and Marcus rose, anger narrowing his eyes. “I’ve been as patient with you as possible, Will, but the end is near and you need to accept the facts.”
“There’s something wrong with your carefully orchestrated scheme, Marcus. Won’t killing Emma kill me?”
“No, I’m counting on my belief that killing her will give her power to you.”
“So that’s why you wanted me to be The Chosen One? You planned all along for her to die so I could get her power.”
“I’m your father, Will. Can you blame me for wanting to protect you and give you every advantage I can?”
“Then why didn’t you just kill her last night when you had the chance and be done with it? You could have told me that Alex did it and I’d be none the wiser.”
“Because I can’t kill her. It’s part of the pact Aiden and I made. We can’t kill each other’s children. I could have let Alex kill her, but I know how much you love her, and I didn’t want to destroy you. I was worried you’d be too grief-stricken to fight.”
Will took a backward step toward the street. “Well, guess what? I refuse to fight. I never asked to be part of this fuckfest. I’m done.”
Marcus advanced a step. “If you don’t show up to fight, you will die. Opting out is not an option. To forfeit is to die.”
“Then maybe I’ll take a nap and die in my sleep, because there is no way in hell I’m going to agree to let you kill Emma. Besides, I thought you weren’t able to kill her, your fucking rules and all.”
“The rules are null and void at the battle.” Marcus’s eyes softened. “I know this is a lot to take in—”
Will grunted in disgust. “Don’t you even try to use that bullshit on me.”
“Will.”
“No. I’m done.”
Will took off at a sprint, leaving Marcus behind in the rubble. He had to find Emma. He had no idea where Jake was, but he hoped the boy had healed himself.
Emma, where are you? He tried to keep his terror from his voice. Marcus admitted he couldn’t kill Emma until the final battle, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
I’m trying to find our meeting location, but with all the damage I can’t find it.
Just stay where you are, and I’ll find you.
Jake? Did you get Jake? Her tone told her she knew he hadn’t.
No, we got separated. I’m going to get you, and we’ll search for him together.
No! Go find him! You can find me later!
Emma, you’re not safe. We can’t trust Marcus.
She didn’t respond as he climbed over pieces of concrete and debris, and headed toward the parking garage. It took him several minutes until he saw her standing in the middle of the street, her face and clothes covered in water-streaked soot.
He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair, the smell of smoke and gasoline assaulting his nose. His love for her consumed him, filling him with fear. How could he protect her?
Breaking his embrace, he looked over his shoulder. “Jake might still be up that way. The last time I saw him, he was headed west. This is the edge of the destruction. Let’s circle around and then head south and see if we can intercept him before Aiden finds him.”
She nodded and started walking.
“Emma.”
She looked up at him.
“If you see Marcus, shoot to kill. Got it
?”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“He can’t kill you until the final battle, but as far as I know, there’s nothing to keep you from killing him. Do it and you’ll get his power. And save yourself in the process.”
She shook her head. “What are you talking about? I killed Alex, and I didn’t get his power.”
Will sighed in disappointment. “You’re right. Marcus must have lied about that too.”
“I don’t think so. Aiden wanted to know if it was you or Marcus who killed Alex. When I asked why it mattered, he said the one to kill him got his power.”
“Maybe you got it and didn’t realize it.”
“I’d like to think it would have made a difference if I had. We both know it didn’t.”
“Power aside, kill Marcus anyway. He confessed that he intends to kill you at the final battle.”
She resumed walking. “The final battle is tomorrow night. That was what this was all about. We have to be in Grant Park in Chicago tomorrow night at ten.” She spread her hands wide. “This is our engraved initiation.” She stepped around a pair of legs sticking out from underneath a collapsed building.
Aiden was one sick bastard. Will vowed to make sure he was dead before Will met his end.
“Can you feel Jake?” She bit her lip and cast a worried glance toward him. “I know that you can feel Raphael’s power.”
Will took her hand in his. “No. I didn’t feel him, even when he was about thirty feet away.”
Disappointment turned down her mouth.
“If he’s here, we’ll find him.”
She stopped and swiped strands of wet hair out of her face. “No. He’s gone. Aiden came to issue his invitation, offered his impromptu proposition, then got pissed that I refused and left.”
“I’m afraid to ask what his proposition was.”
“He offered to give me Jake. And to teach me how to use my power more effectively.”
“What was the catch?”
“I had to leave with him. I had to leave you.”
Will sucked in a breath in surprise. “Why didn’t you accept?”
“He said that I had to leave you. I couldn’t do that.”
He stopped, searching her face. “You chose me over Jake?”
“No, I choose you both. You and I both know I wouldn’t really have Jake if I went with Aiden. For all I know, he would have kept us separated. And how can I trust the man to really help me with my power? I don’t. He could have trained me wrong just to get me killed. If I want to save Jake, I need to stick with you to make that happen. I trust you, Will. If I’ve learned nothing else in this disaster, it’s to trust you.”
He pulled her into his arms, overwhelmed with his love for her, and crushed his mouth onto hers. He’d prove himself worthy of her trust.
Even if it meant he had to die to prove it.
First they had to get to Chicago.
Will gave her one last kiss and pulled back. “Let’s head back to the hotel, get our stuff and figure out how to get to Chicago.”
“How are we going to get there since our car is in St. Louis?”
“With any luck at all, Marcus’s rental car is where we left it. He wants me to survive and I have to be in Chicago to do it. He’s not going to put obstacles in my path, and he has more resources than I do to get there.”
“But what about me? He doesn’t want me to survive this thing.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near the inside of the hotel when I get our stuff. You’ll drop me off, then come back to pick me up.”
He was glad when his theory proved correct. The rental car was parked by the curb, several blocks away. Peering in the window, he released a sigh of relief. “The keys are in the ignition but the door’s locked.” He paused and glanced back as he stood up. “The locking system is electrical.”
“You think I can get the lock open?”
“It’s worth a shot.”
She put her hand on the car door, closing her eyes.
“Just a light touch. Too much could short out the car.”
The locks popped. “It worked.”
Will opened the door and motioned for her to get behind the wheel. “You sound surprised. You’ve done much bigger stuff than this.”
“Yeah, bigger stuff. But even then it’s flaky.”
He walked around to the other side of the car. Marcus agreed with her and there was truth in her statement. Will had about thirty hours to figure how to make her strong enough to survive.
“I want you to drop me off at the hotel and I’ll tell you when to come back and get me. If you see Marcus, shoot to kill. I mean it, Emma. No guilt. The man plans on murdering you tomorrow night. If I thought I could have killed him this afternoon, I would have done it.”
“I expect Marcus is long gone. If he can’t do anything to me now, he’s not going to waste his time trying.”
Will hoped she was right.
***
She dropped Will off at the front door of the hotel and drove away, trying not to think about the fact that tomorrow night this would all be over. Everyone involved in this thing knew that she was the weakest of them all. She was walking into almost certain death. Had she made the wrong choice not going with Aiden? Should she have spent the last day of her life with Jake instead of Will?
No. Will was her life insurance policy. He was her provision for Jake after her death. She would tell him all the things she wanted Jake to know and remember about her. She’d make sure he knew Jake’s favorite foods and how he liked to be read to before he went to sleep. She had no doubt Will would be a wonderful father to Jake. She only wished she could see it.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. If she had to die, at least she’d had the chance to have real love. She’d never put much stock in it before, considering it a fairy tale until Will showed up and shook up her already chaotic life. She tried to imagine what their lives would be like if by some twist of fate they all survived, but try as she might, she couldn’t see it. Maybe that was because it was never meant to be. Will’s love was an incredible gift she’d take with her to the hereafter. If there was one. Maybe she’d fade into the shadow world.
I’m ready. Be on the lookout for Marcus.
While she was watchful, she didn’t expect to see him. Why waste his time when he could easily do away with her tomorrow night? She pulled up to the hotel and found Will waiting at the curb, bags in hand. He tossed them into the back and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Where to?”
“North. Up 71 Highway to Texarkana to Little Rock.”
“This is going to be a long drive, isn’t it?”
“Not as long as you think. We’re going to rent a plane in Little Rock and fly to Chicago. We’ll get there tonight and be able to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Isn’t that expensive? Do we have enough money?”
“We do now. I picked the lock to Marcus’s room and borrowed some of his. He’s all about me getting my inheritance. I might as well get some of it early. I already called the airport, and they’re holding a plane for us.”
Will looked up Grant Park on the laptop, trying to determine where the battle might occur. “I want to check it out tomorrow morning, then lay low until tomorrow night.”
“Okay.” She thought she’d be more nervous, but it seemed surreal.
In less than thirty hours, she’d be dead.
***
Emma was exhausted by the time they landed in Chicago. She and Will hadn’t talked much on the trip. She’d tried to bring up the subject of Jake’s fate after her death, but he’d cut her off every time, refusing to discuss it.
Will rented a car and they checked into a hotel downtown, about a mile from the park. Emma stood at the window, looking out onto Lake Michigan. That was good. Will would be next to a large body of water. He’d have plenty of energy to draw from. She could use the electricity from the city.
Will came out of the bathroom and stood behind her, bringi
ng her firmly against him and wrapping his arms around her stomach.
He patted her tummy. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. I was only sick this morning, so that’s good.” She watched the lights of a boat out on the lake. “When I was pregnant with Jake, I was sick all the time. It was horrible and near impossible to go to class. But I managed.”
“And I’m sure you managed with straight As. The word impossible isn’t part of your vocabulary.”
She knew where he was headed. “Will…” She paused and rested her arms on top of his. “I think you know, better than anyone else, I’m never going to give up. Especially when it involves Jake. But we have to face the facts, Will. My odds aren’t the best.”
He tried to pull away, but she turned around and looped her hands around his neck. “Please, Will. I need you to hear this.”
Anger flashed in his eyes. “No. You say you’re not giving up, but even talking about it is giving up.”
“No, Will. Talking about it is being practical. People buy house or car insurance and hope to God they never have to use it. But they’re prepared if they do. How is this any different?”
Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “I can’t… I just can’t think about the possibility.”
“Will. Please. I need to do this. I’m begging you.” Her voice broke. “I need to know that if something happens to me, you’ll take care of Jake.”
His eyes opened, full of love and pain. “You know I would. How can you even doubt that?”
“I don’t. You told me in Colorado that you’d find him for me if I’d died from the infection, but I need to hear it again. I need to know that you’ll love Jake and raise him and not let him forget about me.”
“Emma.” He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering a moment before he moved to meet her gaze. “I will raise Jake, with or without you. I will love him as though he’d been mine since birth. I will always talk about you with him, whether you’re in the next room or you’re…not.”
Biting her lower lip, she fought her tears. “Thank you.”
“You have to promise me that you won’t give up. No matter what, you have to fight as hard as you can, and we’ll pray for a miracle that will allow all three of us to survive. I need you, Emma. I need you more than anything I’ve ever needed in my entire life. You’re my reason for living. Life without you is pointless.”
Redemption (The Chosen #4) Page 28
