Black Ruins Forest (The Elder Series Book 1)

by Karen DuBose

  ****

  Jax the Elder

  I head off. I am ashamed that I have shown my powers to Niko. I should have held back until a later date. I will never get the chance to have the element of surprise again.

  I need to get word out to Isobel before it’s too late. ‘I can’t let Niko get to her.’ I know what his plans are for her and Oceana, and I will die before that happens. Walking into my office, I lock the door and go to my secret room. There are no listening devices in here. I’ve made sure. Niko’s placed three listening devices in my office, thinking I wouldn’t know. He must think I’m stupid. I knew if I ever took them out, they would be onto me. I sit down at the little table and write a letter to Isobel:

  I was forced to show my powers to Niko.

  There was nothing I could do. I would have been dead if I didn’t.

  Our plans need to change. He knows they are on their way to you. You need to stay away from them for a little while longer. I am sorry it has come to this. I love you. See you soon.

  Love always Jax.

  I send it through the magic dust she gave me, so we can communicate when need be. I hope it gets to her before it is too late.

  Chapter Ten

  “Who do you think sent the letter and text?” I ask.

  Bruno looks in the mirror at me. “I have a feeling it was an Elder, but as to who’s delivering them⸻ that I don’t know.”

  Who would be working for the Elders? Most people can’t stand them or what they stand for. The ones who do work for them do so against their will. Maybe this person is being forced to deliver messages for them. I just hope we get answers where we’re going. I look at Kiernan. He’s looking out the window, lost in thought. I put my hand in his. He turns to me and gives me a small smile.

  He pulls me closer to him, and he puts his arm around my shoulders. “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?”

  I feel my cheeks getting red. “Why no, you haven’t. I was starting to think that I was ugly,” I say, teasing him.

  Kira groans her disapproval. I look at her and stick my tongue out at her. “I’m sorry are we boring you?”

  “No, not at all. I love watching you make kissy faces to each other. Best part of my day.”

  Kiernan laughs. Kira and I both look at him with raised eyebrows.

  Kira remarks. “Is there something you’d like to share?”

  “I heard you’re feisty, but this is too cute. If Kelso was here, wouldn’t you still be saying that?” he says.

  Kira gives him a murderous look. “If Kelso was here, he would be riding on the hood of this blaster.”

  I intervene before things get heated. “Where is Kelso, anyway? I thought he would be with you.”

  The smile leaves his face. “I can’t trust him yet. He’s too weak and will spill anything I say. He doesn’t understand how to be loyal. His parents didn’t teach him about loyalty⸻or how to fight. He was left with people his parents thought would abide by that. His parents travel a lot, and they can’t always take him with them. That’s one reason he was never left in our care; they didn’t want us to teach him. They sheltered him. Now it has cost him. I have tried to teach him to fight. He gets so mad, he loses control every time. I told him a secret that I didn’t care about getting out⸻to test his loyalty⸻and he told Nessa. I can’t trust him with your life cycle. I won’t.”

  What did he tell Nessa that he didn’t care that got out? How does Kelso not understand how to be loyal? You either are loyal, or you’re not. It’s not something you decide one day, like ‘I’m going to be loyal today, but tomorrow I’m not.’

  “What was the secret you didn’t mind getting out?”

  He looks at me with a smile. “He told her that I like you and have for a while now.”

  He runs his thumb across my cheek, then my chin. He lifts my chin up so that we’re looking at each other. He gives me the sweetest kiss. I breathe in his scent. I wish we weren’t in this cramped blaster right now. I will never get enough of his sweet tasting lips.

  Pulling back from him, I look into his eyes. “I think I just found my favorite drug.”

  He laughs and pulls me closer to him. “Me, too.”

  My mom turns around and gives me a small smile. I know that smile. She approves of Kiernan. I’m glad about that, because I am not getting rid of him ever.

  I close my eyes and lay my head on Kiernan’s shoulder. I don’t know how long I was asleep or even when I fell asleep. I feel the blaster slow down and I open my eyes to figure out where we are. Bruno has pulled into a filling station. Thank you, Bruno! I need to stretch my legs out and use the bathroom.

  Kiernan grabs my hand. “Do you want anything while I’m in there?”

  “I’m going in, too. I have to use the bathroom.”

  Mom and Kira say at the same time. “I have to go as well.”

  I’m dancing in my seat, I have to pee so badly. Kiernan laughs while he gets out. I jump out of the blaster and run to the bathroom. I open the door and just about stop in my tracks. Kira and mom are right behind me, so Kira bumps into me.

  “Ouch! What the hell, Dariya?”

  There, standing in the door to the bathroom, is Nessa. What in the living Zilo is she doing here? Out of all the places she could be, she’s here? Miles from home? This doesn’t make sense at all.

  “What the hell are you doing here Nessa?” My bursting bladder temporarily forgotten.

  She looks sad and scared.

  “I want to help you.”

  How did she even know we were going to stop here, or that we even left?

  “Help me with what exactly?”

  There is no way I’m letting her help me with anything. There are only two ways she could know that we had left. One: She’s stalking us. Two: She’s working for the elders. Either way, she is not helping us.

  She shifts from one foot to the other. “I know the elders are after you. I also know what their plans are.”

  Does she really think I will trust her right now? How does she know what the elders are up to? There is something up with all of this. I am going to get to the bottom of this. Kira speaks before I get a chance.

  “What the hell are you talking about this time?” She says with venom.

  I know when Kira has had enough, and she is there with Nessa. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nessa doesn’t get her ass handed to her. I’m over her as well. Whatever happens, Nessa brought this on herself.

  Nessa narrows her eyes. “I’m not saying anything until you take me with you. I need to get away from them.”

  Kira steps closer to her. My mom gets between them and puts her hand on Kira’s chest. “I’ll take care of this. Go to the bathroom and get the things we need.”

  I’m not comfortable leaving my mother with this manipulative bitch. All we need is for Nessa to give mom a sob story to make her say, “Yes, she could come with us!”

  I step closer to my mom. “I can wait.”

  My mom turns to look at me and gives me a ‘don’t mess with me right now’ look. I put my hands up, grab Kira’s hand, and lead her into the bathroom. I don’t want to be gone too long. I need to make sure she doesn’t come with us. There’s no way I can be around her and not want to hurt her. She can come after me all she wants, but I will not sit around and let her bully the ones I care for.

  I look over at Kira. “We need to make this quick. I don’t trust her being here. I want to know why she’s here.” She nods in agreement.

  I walk into the stall. “What do you think she meant by, ‘I know what the elders have planned?’ There is no way they would tell her of all people about their plans.”

  “I don’t know, but I have a feeling she’s lying. She knows something, but it isn’t their plans.”

  We both finish using the bathroom. We wash our hands and rush out of the bathroom. Mom and Nessa are nowhere in sight. I look in every aisle. I start to get worried. Kira is getting a few things we need, so I don’t bother getting anything. I walk outside t
o see Nessa leaning against the blaster looking pissed. What the hell?

  I walk over to my mom. “What the hell is she doing here?”

  I’m pissed that she tricked my mother. How could my mom not see right through her?

  Mom stares at Nessa. “She’s going with us.”

  My jaw drops toward the pavement. There are no words I can form to make this go away. There is no way she can go with us. My vision was clear: She was talking to an elder at some point. That makes her dangerous.

  I throw my hands into the air. “You are kidding me, right? We can’t trust her. For all we know, she’s given them our location. She is not going with us. Leave her here where she won’t have the upper hand.”

  I walk over to Nessa. “I don’t know what you told my mom to get her to let you go with us, but you are not going with us. You can stay here for all I care.”

  Mom walks up to both of us and puts a hand on my shoulder. I turn to look at her, still fuming. She has a determined look on her face. Great. Just great. This is all we need⸻a traitor in the mix of things. “Let’s go for a walk and talk.”

  She isn’t asking, and I can see that. We walk over to the tree lines, so no one can hear us talk.

  “If she goes with us, we’ll know what she’s up to. We can keep an eye on her. I’ve already searched her for wires, and I took her DC and smashed it to pieces. She won’t be able to get a hold of anyone.”

  I look at her like she has grown another head. Where has this mom come from? I have never seen her act like this before. She’s always been the kind mama bear.

  Mom shakes her head and runs her hands over her face. “Do you really think I wouldn’t have searched her for weapons or anything that could cause you harm?”

  That gets me out of the daze I’m in. I didn’t mean for it to look like she isn’t capable of handling Nessa.

  “No, Mom, that isn’t it. I don’t trust her at all. For all we know, the elders are on their way here. I don’t want to endanger us any further then I already have.”

  She pulls me into a hug. “Baby girl, we are in more danger then we even know. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. We will lose people and maybe even each other. I will not change that for anything if it helps you defeat the elders.”

  She’s almost crying. I hug her back. She’s right. Things will get a lot worse before they can get better. I don’t know what we’ll find out when we get to the forest, but I hope it helps us and doesn’t destroy us. I fear she is right about losing each other. That thought alone makes my chest tight and my heartbreak. I need to do everything I can to make sure that never happens.

  Walking back to the blaster, I see that they’ve rearranged for her to fit into the third row of the vehicle. I don’t like the fact that she’ll be behind me.

  Kiernan comes up behind me and pulls me into his chest, giving me a kiss on top of my head. “I know what you’re thinking. She won’t be sitting behind us where we can’t keep an eye on her. Your mom will be back there. Nessa’s sitting in the front. We’ll all have eyes on her.”

  I turn in his arms to face him. I put my hands on his cheeks and bring his mouth to mine. The sweet taste of his lips makes me moan. He wraps his arms around my waist to bring me closer. I wrap my arms around his neck. There is always too much space between us, even when there isn’t.

  I’m about to jump on him when my mom interrupts us. “That’s enough. We need to leave.” I show my disappointment with a grunt. One of these days when we aren’t running for our lives, we will have our alone time.

  We all get into the blaster and get as comfortable as we can. We take off into the unknown. In some ways, this scares me more than the elders. At least with them, I know what they want. I lay my head on Kiernan’s shoulder while he wraps me up in his arms.

  He lays his chin on top of my head. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

  “I would tell you, but there are people in here that don’t need to know what we’re planning, if you get what I’m saying.” I glare at Nessa.

  He laughs and squeezes me. I’ll never get enough of that laugh or his kisses.

  “Yes, I get it. What do say we play a game?”

  I raise my head to see him. “What kind of game?”

  “How about twenty-one questions?”

  I shrugged. Why not? We have nothing else to do. I have no idea how far away this forest is. Plus, it will give me a chance to get to know him better.

  “We should all play,” I suggest.

  Maybe we’ll get some information out of Nessa. She doesn’t seem like she’s too willing to talk.

  Kiernan must know where I am going with this. “Ok, who wants to start?”

  I raise my hand. I’m going to get information one way or another.

  “This question is for you, Kiernan. What’s your favorite color?”

  I’m giving her room to think that she won’t be involved in this little game. What she doesn’t know is: I have a plan to out her.

  “My favorite colors are purple and green.”

  I look at him confused for a second. Men don’t normally like those color. Then it dawns on me. His favorite colors are the colors of my eyes.

  “Awe, you are so sweet.” I gave him a small kiss with a smile on my face.

  It’s Kiernan’s turn to ask a question. “This question is for Kira. What kind of trouble have you and Dariya gotten into growing up?”

  She took a minute to think about it. We’ve been in a lot of trouble. What youngling hasn’t? Please don’t embarrass me, please, I think.

  Kira rolls her eyes at him. “Unlike some people, we really didn’t get into that much trouble. We can have fun without causing drama.”

  She stares at the back of Nessa’s head. She doesn’t want her here any more than the rest of us. I know it’s taking everything she has not to beat the hell out of her.

  Kira stopped staring at Nessa and grins. “This question is for you, Bruno. What do you like to do for fun?”

  He’s quiet for a few minutes before he answers. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t said a word since he gave out orders. That’s not like him. I wonder what’s wrong? Is he either planning something or his keeping something from us?

  When he does answer it was short. “I don’t have time to have fun anymore. I have responsibilities to tend to. They take up most of my time.”

  I didn’t realize working for Moon Base took all your freedom away or he doesn’t want to talk in front of Nessa. I’m sure it’s the second option. I don’t even want to talk in front of her. Even if they are innocent questions. She tends to flip everything around to make you look bad.

  Without missing a beat Bruno asks his next question. “This question is for you, Nessa. What are you really doing here?”

  Well so much for trying to make her feel like she wasn’t going to be a part of the game. I guess Bruno has other plans. Nessa fidgets in her seat. She’s looking out the window. We all wait for her to answer. It’s almost a full minute before she turns to face Bruno.

  The attitude she gives is uncalled for. “I’m here to get away from the elders.”

  Bruno pulls the blaster over. He unbuckles his seat belt and reaches over to Nessa, doing the same to her belt. “Get out now!”

  She looks at him with fear in her eyes. I don’t blame her. I would be afraid of Bruno, too, if I got on his bad side. His dragon is trying to burst through. I give him credit⸻he does have excellent control.

  She starts to cry, like that’s going to save her. “I have nowhere to go.”

  We barely hear her when she says it.

  Bruno is barely containing his dragon. “That’s not our problem. You said you would tell us what you knew if we let you come with us. Here you are in the blaster, and you still won’t give us the information you have. So, you have two choices: either spill it, or get out.”

  He has his arms crossed over his chest, and he is giving her the death stare. I’m kind of afraid of him right now, and hi
s anger isn’t even toward me. I never knew he had that kind of power coursing through him.

  “I lied. I don’t know anything. I only know that they killed my mom yesterday. They didn’t know I was there. She wouldn’t give them information about her,” she points to me.

  Confusion courses through me. “What do you mean? Your mom doesn’t even know me. How would she have information about me?”

  Why would they go after someone who knows nothing about me? Are they that desperate to find out information about me? What am I saying? They killed my father. They will kill whomever they want to get information and not bat an eye.

  “They thought I would have told my mom everything. We’re not that close. We barely even talk. This is all your fault: my mom getting killed and me having to run away and hide!”

  I can see she wants to attack me, she’s holding back because of Bruno. I’ve had enough of this crap. She is not going to sit here and cause harm to anyone.

  I give Kiernan a nudge. “Let me out.”

  He looks at me with a frown.

  I sigh. “It’s going to be now or later. We don’t know what we’ll be dealing with later.”

  He gets out of the blaster. I follow him and open the passenger door, dragging Nessa out to the side of the road.

  “You want to fight me? Here I am! I’m so sick of you blaming me for everything that goes wrong with you. Here is your last chance to do something about it.”

  She comes at me with a sloppy left jab. It’s easy to dodge. She goes past me, and I elbow her in the back. She goes flying to the ground. She gets back up and comes at me again. This time she tries to hit me with a roundhouse kick. I block her, grab her foot, and flip her. She lands on her side. I don’t want to fight her, but she has given me no choice. I’m not going to let her think I’m weak. She should know I’m a better fighter then she is. I know she’s hurting. I get that⸻I do, but she can’t come at me and not expect me to let her do it. I’m not a mat you can walk all over.