Transcender Trilogy Complete Box Set

by Vicky Savage

  “Me too.”

  “They tell me it was you who found me in that cave. How did you do it?”

  “I guess that magnetic pull thing works both ways,” I say. “So I just followed my heart.”

  “Can you even imagine how much I love you?” he whispers.

  I raise my head and study his face. “I’m not sure I can. In my wildest imagination I never dreamed I could love like this.”

  He holds my head against his chest and sighs. Our hearts beat in perfect rhythm. I’m at one with him again, my love, my soul mate.

  After a moment he speaks softly. “When I was wounded and feared I would die, my thoughts were all of you—the touch of your hand, the warmth of your mouth, the depth of your heart. And believe it or not, I was happy.” He kisses my hair. “I knew I could die a happy man for the outrageous good fortune of having been loved by you.”

  I marvel at his courage. I’ve shown myself to be a sniveling coward when it comes to thoughts of leaving him. “Thanks for coming back to me,” I say, holding him tightly.

  We sit in silence for a moment and he asks, “Have you any news of Damien’s men?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. There’ve been a couple of reported sightings, thefts of food, things like that, but the leads go nowhere. Damien did speak for the first time, though, to Father, when he was rechecking Damien’s jaw.”

  “Anything useful?”

  “Not really. He says if he’s not released soon, his men will come for him. In the meantime, they’ll wreak havoc on Domerica. That’s a direct quote.”

  “So he believes his men are still here and still operating on his instructions?”

  “Yes, and that scares me. We know what Damien is capable of, but do you think his men would really try to destroy Domerica?”

  “I don’t know, love,” he says, placing his finger under my chin and lifting my face to his. “But you should not worry. We will find them, I promise you.”

  “I know. I’m fine.”

  “What does your mother intend to do with Damien?”

  “She hasn’t made that decision yet, but I believe if Damien agrees to tell her where the Xtron is, she may just send him home as his father is demanding.”

  “She is in a difficult position,” Ryder says. “She is dedicated to administering swift and sufficient justice. King Philippe would probably do no more than place Damien under house arrest at the Chateau. To allow him such slight punishment would make your mother appear weak. But the return of the Xtron is essential to ensure the safety of Domerica. It is not an easy choice.”

  “I’m glad it’s not my call to make,” I say.

  “Someday, when you are queen, you may be faced with an equally difficult dilemma,” he says.

  I draw in a deep breath, processing for the first time that my decision to stay with Ryder means I’ll someday succeed my mother as queen. I can’t truthfully say it’s a job I desire or one I’m capable of. I only hope I’ll have many years to grow into it.

  Ryder gazes out the window distractedly. “What time is it?” he asks.

  “Around 10:30, I think. Why?”

  “It almost looks as though it’s going to rain.” Concern creases his brow.

  “Way too early for that.”

  He nods, but still appears troubled.

  “How are your plans for the Unicoi migration coming along?” he asks, changing the subject. “Father has sent word that our people are making their preparations and are anxious for the day when we will be free of the Uranium scourge forever. Although, I fear it is too late to save him.”

  “You never know, Ryder. There may still be hope.” My heart hurts for him. “The proposal is on its way to my mother and your father. I think it’s a workable plan, thanks to Ralston and Chimalis. I’m sure the transition will go smoothly.”

  “Where is Ralston, by the way?” he asks.

  I’m about to launch into my half-baked story about Ralston’s sudden vanishing act, when Ryder and I are nearly jolted from the window seat by a loud, rumbling noise.

  “What was that?” Ryder asks. “An explosion?”

  “It sounded like thunder,” I say.

  “What do you mean? Thunder? Inside the dome? That’s impossible!” But as he says it, the dome grows darker and raindrops begin to pelt the window glass. I stand, helping Ryder to his feet. We both stare out the window in astonishment.

  “Ryder, what’s happening?”

  A bolt of lightning splits the air.

  “It must be the Noirs! They’ve breached security at Dome Operations and are manipulating the weather. My men are stationed there. I must go at once.”

  “That’s crazy. You can’t go anywhere with your leg like that.”

  “I have to.” He grabs his crutch and hobbles toward the door. “Go find your father. Tell him to send reinforcements.”

  “No, Ryder!” I clutch his arm. “You’re still too weak. Let me go instead.”

  “Jade, you are not going. Find your father quickly. That is the most useful thing you can do.” He tosses the crutch aside, limps out onto the porch, and whistles for Tenasi.

  I run to the kitchen calling for Erica. She and the kitchen staff are huddled around a window watching the freak storm.

  “Erica! You’ve got to go to the hospital and find my father, now.”

  “What is it? What is happening to us?” she asks, her features drawn together in fear.

  I take hold of her arms. “I don’t know, but listen to me. Ryder thinks someone has sabotaged the Dome Operations Center. Find Father and tell him Ryder has already gone there and needs reinforcements as soon as possible. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she says, trembling. “Send reinforcements,” she repeats.

  “To where?” I quiz her.

  “To the Dome Operations Center,” she adds more forcefully.

  “Good girl. And hurry!” I rush out the back door, and dash for the stables. Another lightning bolt pierces the air, followed closely by the deafening roar of thunder. I’m drenched by the time I reach Gabriel’s stall. I quickly saddle and bridle him, and he’s already in motion when I jump onto his back.

  “Throw me your sword!” I shout to Peter as I bolt from the stables.

  “Princess, what’s wrong?” he calls.

  “Throw me your sword!” I shout again. He unbuckles his scabbard and tosses it to me. I catch it and wedge it between me and the saddle. I urge Gabriel into a dead run, praying Ryder hasn’t gotten too far ahead of me. I’ll never find my way to Dome Operations by myself. I know the general location, but I’ve not actually been there.

  The rain falls in sheets, obscuring the road in front of me. I can barely make out Ryder’s form in the distance. He’ll be angry that I’ve followed, but I can’t let him face the Noirs alone.

  I’m pissed at myself for telling Ralston to get lost last night. How will I get through this without him? He’d know what to do, or at least he’d make sure I came to no harm. God only knows what’s going to happen now.

  Ryder turns his horse into the hills and I follow. This new road is rough and narrow with a dense thicket of trees running the length of both sides. Wiping the water from my eyes, I strain to keep him in sight.

  Lightning rips the sky above me, and Gabriel rears up, nearly throwing me to the ground. I manage to hang on, but he’s spooked by the storm and slow to calm down. Ryder is quickly disappearing in the distance—I’m losing him.

  I pat Gabriel’s neck and speak soothingly to him. Once he has quieted, I gently urge him forward again, but by now Ryder has completely disappeared from view.

  I don’t know what to do. The rain is so intense I can hardly make out my surroundings, and the road is rapidly becoming a river of mud. I pick my way along slowly, looking for a road sign or a structure or anything that might help me to know where I am, but soon I’m hopelessly lost. I don’t even know if I’m still going in the right direction. Maybe I missed a turn somewhere. I’m about to give up and turn around, when the
rain stops abruptly, as though someone has turned off the faucet.

  Able to see again, I look over my shoulder trying to get my bearings and, as I do, all thoughts of being lost are immediately replaced by sheer panic at the sight behind me.

  Fire! A colossal fire blazes in the forest to my rear. Ferocious red flames shoot high into the air. Thick plumes of black smoke billow into the dome. It must have been sparked by the lightning, and it appears to be raging despite the previous soaking rain. It’s a disaster of epic proportions! Nothing can destroy the ecosystem or suck the oxygen out of the dome faster than fire.

  Fear tears at my insides. Father and his men will never be able to make it around the fire to the Dome Operations Center, if they were to even try. But, they, and every other available man, woman and child in Domerica will be needed to help put out the fire and save the dome.

  I momentarily consider returning to help douse the fire myself, but I can’t turn back now. I must find Ryder and the Operations Center. He’s all alone, and I’m all he’s got.

  I frantically knee Gabriel forward and swing my gaze back to the road in front of me, but all I see is the blur of a low-lying tree branch before it slams into my forehead, sending rockets of pain through my skull. My body is thrown violently backward.

  The last thing I remember is the sensation of tumbling—tumbling from Gabriel’s back and tumbling from the face of the earth.

  FIFTY

  I awaken in the quiet darkness of my room. A troubling dream flits across the edge of my mind before I can grasp the retreating wisps. My thoughts immediately go to Ryder, as they always do when I first wake. Then I remember. The fire, the storm!

  I sit bolt upright in bed, wincing at the pain in my forehead. I recall being knocked from my horse. But what happened after that? I reach for the lamp on my table. It’s not there.

  Wait a minute—this isn’t my room at Father’s house, or at Warrington Palace. This room has boxes stacked everywhere. I’m momentarily disoriented, and then dreadful recognition seeps into my brain, and a cold wave of horror shudders through my body. I know this room. I’m back in Madison, and this is moving day.

  I clutch at my chest for Ryder’s necklace, knowing it’s not there.

  “No-o-o!” I howl, springing from my bed. I fly downstairs and out the back door. It’s raining heavily, but the lightning storm has vanished. I search the sky. No sign of horsemen in the clouds.

  Winding my way through the boxes, I find the section of porch railing where I dove to the other side. Maybe if I jump in exactly the same spot, I can find the wormhole or Transcender door or whatever it was, and be transported back to Domerica. I have to try.

  I climb to the top of the railing and leap into the air, only to splat hard in the mud and thorny bushes. A cry of pure anguish breaks from my throat as the full impact of the truth is driven home. He’s gone. My love, my life. I’ve lost Ryder, forever.

  Grief, raw and wild, envelopes me. Not the dull, sickly grief I felt when Mom died, but an untamed, uncontrollable madness. I turn my face to the sky and keen like a wounded animal, the pounding rain drowning out my mournful cries. I feel my insides have been ripped out, leaving only an empty, dying shell.

  I lie in the mud wishing only to sink deeper and deeper into the soil, into my final resting place. The weight of my dire situation presses me further and further into the earth. I wonder if it’s humanly possible to survive without a heart and soul, but in truth, I don’t care. Surviving would be the cruelest fate of all.

  I lie there, crying, for what feels like hours. Eventually, the rain subsides, and the sky lightens with the first rays of dawn. I know I need to go inside, I can’t lay in the mud in my pajamas forever. So I pull my sorry carcass off the ground and drag myself to my room, trailing dirty water as I go. I strip off my wet clothes, tug on a nightgown, and make a half-hearted stab at rinsing the soil from my hair before climbing back into bed.

  In the darkness I picture Ryder’s face the last time I saw him, riding off in the rain, his expression grave and determined. It’s unbearably painful to think of him, but I force myself to relive every moment of that last morning. I vow never to forget any detail of our time together.

  I think of Mother and all that she is going through. I pray she’ll be all right. I never got to say goodbye to her this time either.

  I cry until it seems I can’t possibly have more tears inside me. I cry until morning has fully broken, and I hear a muffled knock at my door. And still I cry when the door opens a crack to reveal my dad’s worried face.

  “Jade, can I come in?” He asks quietly.

  I sit up and wipe my nose with my sleeve. “Sure Dad. I’m sorry if I woke you.”

  He sits on the side of my bed. “Sweetheart, I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for all of us.” He’s trying to be so kind, but he doesn’t have a clue what the real source of my anguish is, and I can never tell him.

  “I’ve tried so hard to hold things together since Mom died.” He shakes his head sadly. “I guess I haven’t done a very good job. I wish we could stay in this house. I know how much you love it. There are so many memories of Mom here.” He lowers his head. “We just can’t do it, though, and send you kids to college. I had to decide what was best for the family. You may not be able to see that now, but I hope someday you’ll understand.”

  He raises his head, eyes brimming with tears. “I miss her so much. It’s killing me to leave behind everything Mom and I shared and worked so hard for. It’s like a part of me is missing, and I don’t even know how to get it back.” His voice breaks. “You and Drew are the only things that keep me going.”

  I gaze at my dad, and for the first time I get it. I understand the acutely unbearable pain he’s going through. He lost his wife, his love, his life. I throw my arms around his neck, and we cry together.

  “I’m so sorry, Dad. I should’ve been more understanding.”

  “You had your own grief to deal with, sweetheart. Don’t apologize.”

  “But I couldn’t see past my own pain. I couldn’t see the hell you were going through.”

  He squeezes me tight, and then pulls away to look at me. “Don’t worry about it. We’re all doing the best we can.” He wipes the tears from his cheeks.

  “What happened to your forehead?” he asks, pushing my hair away from my face.

  “It’s nothing. I just bumped my head last night.”

  “Did you clean that cut?” he asks, always the nurse.

  “Yes, Dad. It’s nothing, really.”

  “I do have one bit of good news for you,” he says, surprising me with a smile.

  “What?”

  “I spoke with Mr. Padget at the school district yesterday. They’ve agreed to let you stay at school through the end of the year, even though we’re moving out of the district. I convinced him that since you only have a couple of months left, it wouldn’t mean much to them, but it would mean a great deal to you. He was pretty nice about it.”

  “Dad, that’s great,” I say. I couldn’t care less about school at the moment, but I want Dad to know I appreciate his efforts.

  He gets up and pulls a tissue from the box on my dresser. “Okay, sweetheart, we have a big day ahead of us. I’m going to fix us some breakfast. I’ll see you downstairs.”

  “Okay Dad, and thanks.”

  * * *

  It is a big day—a very long and busy day. I’m thankful for the distraction of moving. It doesn’t keep my mind off of Ryder and Domerica, but it does keep me from crawling back into that black hole of grief and wallowing there.

  Thoughts of using my Transcender gifts to return to Domerica float through my mind, but I discard them for now. The fact is, I have no idea how to deliberately shift from one world to another, and the fear of what might happen if I do it wrong scares the hell out of me. I could get lost in the universe forever. I wonder if Asher will ever show up again. I could kick myself for not going with him when he asked.

  I’m furious every ti
me I think about Ralston lying to me, and the IUGA forcing me to go home against my will. I know Ralston thought he was doing what was best for me and the galactic order, but it was cruel not to give me a choice.

  I try to make myself feel better by recalling what Ralston said one day: “If it’s meant to be, you and Ryder will find each other.” I cling to that hope for strength every time I’m about to break down again. I believe with all my heart and soul (or what’s left of them, at least) that Ryder and I are meant to be together. So we will be. End of discussion.

  The new townhouse isn’t terrible. It’s small, but cute and clean, with fresh paint and new carpeting. It even has a tiny back yard and a matchbook-sized patio. Drew’s bedroom and bath are in the basement. I’ll inherit that space when he goes off to Duke in the fall. Dad’s room, my room, and a small shared bathroom are on the second floor. A living room, dining room, and kitchen make up the main floor. Lots of stairs to climb—but not as many as at Warrington Palace, I remind myself.