Ignited (The Lost Keepers Book 9)

by AR Colbert

  The noise from the hall grew louder, and I heard gasps along with the shout of a man in power. “Move over!”

  Tate turned from the window, an unreadable expression on his handsome face. I couldn’t even fathom what he might have been thinking as his father entered the room, along with Osborne and the small group of guards who’d accompanied him out earlier.

  “There!” Osborne pointed to me. “That’s the girl I warned you about. She led Rasputin right to us. If there’s anyone to blame for Titus’ disappearance, it’s her.”

  We were standing in a room with the leader of the Manticorians and a gang of witches flying outside the window, and all Osborne could think about was throwing me under the bus.

  What a vengeful idiot.

  I snorted. Al took the words right out of my mouth. But no one else found the situation funny at all. Tate’s father looked at me for a moment, but he was much more interested in Rasputin.

  “Hello again, your majesty.” Rasputin’s voice dripped with condescension.

  “Where’s my heir?”

  Rasputin grinned. “How should I know?”

  “I’ll ask you one more time. Where is my heir?” The king’s voice boomed, shaking my bones. Even the witches took pause at the authority he commanded.

  “Titus is missing?” Tate stepped forward but his father held out a hand to silence him. The gesture made me angrier than it probably should have.

  “Listen to me you crazy old man. I am backed by some of the greatest guardians of Agartha. Hand me my son and I will let you leave, never to return. Don’t, and I will allow my team of fire-wielders, shapeshifters, and sirens to do with you as they please.”

  “We both know that cannot happen,” Rasputin replied, calmly. “They have no power here. And I do.”

  “So do I.” I sent a blast of magic toward the old man, finally catching the king’s attention. Rasputin stumbled, losing his balance, but he didn’t fall like Peter. I wasn’t sure if my powers had already been somewhat used up or if Rasputin was simply powerful enough to withstand them. It didn’t matter, though. He was off-balance enough to provide an opening for attack.

  “Go!” the king shouted, and his guards seized the opportunity to lunge for Rasputin. Some tried their powers and confirmed that they did not work under the wards. Others went straight for the man with fists and knives.

  Rasputin played the same party trick he’d done with Osborne earlier, disappearing and reappearing at random across the room. It was infuriating, and the Agarthians grew angrier with every dodge.

  I joined Tate and Al near the window, helping to fight off any other witches that tried to join in on the fun while Osborne grappled with Peter in the living room. All the while, the old Olympian woman stared blankly into dead space, her eyes black and unmoving, completely indifferent to the chaos taking place around her.

  One large swipe of my power through the air took out an entire wave of the witches, buying us a moment of time to survey the damage in the room. Tate’s father paced, barking out orders as the guards tried again and again to take Rasputin down.

  I expected the Maticorian to destroy them all within minutes, but he surprisingly made no moves to injure anyone. He simply dodged their attacks, grinning with every move.

  Peter was a different story, however. With his powers strengthened and Osborne’s powers dead, he easily overcame the younger man and made straight for the king at his first opportunity.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Osborne said, running to save his leader from harm. Peter swatted him away easily.

  The king tried to fight back as well, but it was no use. Peter wrapped the king in a stranglehold, red faced and gasping for air. No one stood a chance next to Peter’s strength and finesse under these circumstances. No one except me.

  “Let him go, Peter. He’s just looking for his son. You know what it’s like to care about your son.”

  Peter sneered. “My son turned on me.”

  “That’s not true,” I said, stepping closer. I saw the crazed look in his eyes and knew we were treading on delicate ground here. “It’s not too late for you to come back to us, Peter. Come back to Atlantis. Back to our people. Show them you can do the right thing. Just let the king go and you’ll be recognized as a hero—the man who saved the annual convention.”

  He yanked harder on the king’s neck. Tate’s muscles were coiled, and he was ready to pounce on the man at any moment. But he saw the look in Peter’s eyes just as well as I did. One wrong move could mean disaster.

  “Atlantis doesn’t care about me. They won’t care about you, either. Rasputin was right. Your only option now is to join us. They’ll slaughter you for that aura. Once they know who you really are, you’re dead.”

  “That’s enough.” Rasputin appeared inches away from Peter and placed a hand on the man’s arm. “Not another word. Let me speak with the king.”

  He’d no more than finished his sentence when Osborne came sprinting at him out of nowhere. He’d intended to strike the king, but his target vanished, as he’d done so many times before. And Peter, misinterpreting Osborne’s move as an attack against him, struck as well.

  The crack of Tate’s father’s neck under Peter’s massive arm was sickening. His body went limp instantly, and Peter dropped him to the floor.

  “No!” Tate yelled.

  Something clicked within me. Time stopped. The room went silent. Motionless. I walked slowly over to where the king lay dead on the floor and shook my head. Surely there was something I could do. If I could stop time, perhaps I could reverse it, too.

  I tried. I tried again and again to find a rewind button until the tears streamed down my face. Nothing worked. I looked up to where Tate still stood with his face twisted into shock and grief, and I felt broken. Useless. What good were my powers if I couldn’t use them when it mattered?

  I looked back at Rasputin then. He was still like the others, but there was something about the expression on his face that left me feeling uncomfortable. I got the sense that I was being watched. That he knew exactly what was happening.

  The feeling threw me off, and I willed time to kick back into gear again. Rasputin fixed his gaze on me and winked. Then, in a flash he was gone.

  He’d left the premises entirely this time, along with Peter and every one of his witches. They were all just… gone.

  All that remained was the damage they’d done. Broken glass lay on the floor beside a dead king of Agartha. The guards nursed light wounds, and Osborne dropped in despair down to the king’s side.

  My heart ached for Tate and his loss. But more than that, it ached for the loss of this world as we knew it. Rasputin was on the loose, the king was dead, and strange power pulsed through my veins. I was pretty sure I’d created an impossible bond with Tate that would one day kill me. And despite myself, I stood in that messy suite silently wondering just what exactly my connection to Rasputin really was.

  What if he wasn’t lying? What if he really could help me?

  Chapter 10

  “What have you done?” Osborne stood and wiped his forearm across his wet nose. “All of this for her? Your father is dead, Thaddeus. Dead! Your brother is missing. And it’s all because you were too weak to carry out a simple task. You should have killed her the first time.”

  Tate was still too shocked to respond, staring down at his father’s lifeless body. A couple of the guards gathered around to console him while the rest went to do crowd control on the Keepers that curiously gathered around the entrance to the suite.

  “You’ve got it all wrong, Osborne,” I said, trying to calm the warrior soul rising up again in my chest. “You got the king killed. You frightened the man who had the king’s life in his hands. You attacked when you should have paused. War is about more than taking every life in sight. It’s about knowing when to strike and when to hold back.

  “It’s also about having the spine to do what needs to be done. Tate is too weak.”

  I was on him like a flash
of light, my arm pressed against his throat, holding him to the wall. “Do not disrespect him. He is stronger than you know. And from where I stand, it looks like he may be your new ruler.”

  Tate glanced in my direction. “What?”

  Osborne cursed loudly. I released him from my hold and turned to Tate. “If it’s true that your brother is missing, I assume that leaves you in line as the next heir to the throne, right?”

  “We’ll bring it to the council,” one of the guards said, resting a hand on Tate’s back. “They’ll tell us how to proceed.”

  “What happened in here?” Gayla’s voice exclaimed from the door. A moment later she pushed through the crowd of nosy onlookers, followed by Dom. “Oh, Everly!” She rushed forward and threw her arms around my neck. “You’re glowing.”

  “We heard Rasputin was here,” Dom added. Then, noticing the king, she gasped and threw a hand up over her mouth.

  “You need to get out of here,” Tate said softly. “Osborne will try to blame this on you and you’ll be locked up without a trial. Let me explain what happened and maybe get a telepath to confirm it. The guards will have my back. Find Sean to protect you until I finish up here—not that you need any protection.” He tried to smile, but the pain of losing his father was still fresh.

  “Was there a seer here?” Gayla stood stone-still in front of the couch. Her eyes had gone dark and her expression was unclear. “I can smell the magic in the air.” She spun slowly, as though searching for something, then knelt before the coffee table. “Look.”

  We gathered around to see what she’d found. Drawn out by an ancient finger dipped in the water of the condensation on the table were three words: The Firelake Blade.

  “What does it mean?” I whispered. I couldn’t smell the magic as Gayla could, but I felt it. Something old and powerful hung heavily in the air. It called to me in the way the tablet’s pieces did.

  “I’ll explain later. Get to Sean. I’ll meet you at the apothecary as soon as I can.” Tate ushered me to the door, but I made sure to give Osborne one last steely look before leaving. It was a warning. Chase after me, and you’re done. Judging by the clenching of his jaw, I think my message was received.

  “Move, people.” Dom led the way, pushing a clear path through the crowd full of gaping Keepers. Whispers filled the hall as we made our way through. Word about the fight had spread fast, and it seemed like everyone from the convention had made their way over into the hotel. So much for keeping my glowing white aura a secret.

  Millie and Devon spilled out of an elevator down the hall just before we disappeared into the stairwell. “There you are!” she rushed forward with tears in her eyes. “Hurry, let’s get out of the building so Devon can get you back to safety.”

  We hurried down the stairs and Devon wasted no time teleporting Millie and I into the back room of her shop the moment we stepped foot on the sidewalk. He left again, and a moment later returned with Gayla and Dom.

  “Millie? Is that you?” Abby peeked through the curtains, startled to see such a large group of us suddenly sitting around the table in the back of the apothecary.

  Millie did a poor job of playing it cool. She tried to smile, but her hands were still visibly shaking. “We had a break between sessions and decided to come back here for a pit stop. We came through the back door. Sorry I didn’t say anything when we arrived.”

  Abby looked skeptical but didn’t have time to respond before Sean popped his head through the curtain as well. “Do you mind taking over up front, Abby? There’s a woman looking for natural arthritis relief and I’m not sure what to suggest.”

  She frowned. “Alright.”

  The second she was gone, Sean fixed his gaze on me. “Holy cow, Everly. You’re glowing like a light bulb. What on earth happened?”

  Millie fixed us all some kind of calming herbal tea while I explained everything that took place with Rasputin and his Manticorians. I told them how the Agarthian king died, and Titus apparently went missing. But I left out the part about Tate and I, and our possible new… bond? I wasn’t even sure what to say about it. I just knew that something was different.

  “How many people saw you?” Sean asked, waving his finger up and down. “Looking like that…”

  “A lot,” I admitted. “They’re already talking. Osborne will probably tell them I’m working with Rasputin, but Tate thinks the other guards will defend me. I just don’t know.”

  I watched Millie’s expression as we discussed Rasputin. There was still a nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that he may be more connected to me than I’d ever guessed. But I was afraid to voice my question aloud. Millie gave no indication that she knew anything more than I did.

  “Everly!” Abby called out from the front of the apothecary. “You have a visitor.”

  I ran through the front door, feeling the warmth in my chest before I ever saw him there. Tate stood just inside the door, looking only slightly disheveled despite all the action that had taken place earlier. Through the window I spotted Al as well, watching through the glass with those sharp yellow eyes.

  “Hey.” My feet moved of their own accord. Tate walked forward as well, that invisible rope yanking us together. The only difference was that neither of us fought against it now. We met in the middle of the shop, and Tate slid his fingers into my hair, pulling my face up to his. He kissed me, and again I felt like the world shifted around us. His touch fed the power within me, physically strengthening me as our mouths moved together as one.

  “Ahem.” Millie cleared her throat. We pulled away to find our friends all gawking along the side of the wall.

  I didn’t care. I stared into his golden eyes, which reflected the same relief I felt. I needed that… needed him on some deeper level I didn’t yet understand.

  “You’re safe,” he whispered.

  “I am. But it’s time to figure out where we go from here.”

  Chapter 11

  “I always knew you two were gonna get together eventually.” Gayla grinned, then clarified. “Not like through a vision or anything. You’ve just got chemistry.” She did a little shimmy.

  Dom was less enthused. She stood off to the side with a frown, slightly shaking her head. She knew I thought there was something more to my connection with Tate, but she didn’t believe it. It was understandable, considering everyone else in the history of the world who tried to bond with a member of a different Keeper race met certain death. But this was… different.

  “What happened after we left?” I asked.

  Dom cleared her throat and gestured toward Abby—the human who was supposed to be oblivious to all things Keeper.

  “It’s fine,” Tate said with a shrug. “My powers are working fine again. I’ll erase all of this from her mind when we’re done.”

  Abby furrowed her brows, but made no comment. Sean looked wistfully in her direction, stepping a little closer in case she became afraid by what was about to be revealed.

  “We went straight to the council. They’d already heard about what happened, of course. I think all of New York knows by now. And it’s true. Titus is gone. Apparently Osborne made some calls after we ran into him earlier. He raised the alarm about you being in the building. He was still convinced that you were connected to Rasputin, so he had my father send out all the available guards to search the perimeter for him or any of the other Manticorians. They wanted to stop him before he tried to enter the convention.”

  “So that’s where they were going when we went up to your room?”

  Tate nodded. “But Titus went missing somewhere between the time we spoke with Osborne and when my father arrived. They suspected he’d gone out in search of another hit, but all of his usual spots were empty. He’s a master at sneaking away, so it’s not terribly unusual. There’s a chance he’ll still turn up…” He frowned.

  “But you don’t think so?”

  Tate shook his head. “No. I saw the way Rasputin grinned when my father accused him of taking Titus. I think it�
��s all connected, somehow.”

  “Why?”

  “Maybe Rasputin knows about this.” Dom stepped forward, motioning between Tate and me with her hand. “If he really does want you on his side, and he knows that you’ve got some kind of bond with Tate, maybe he was deliberately trying to put Tate into power. It makes sense, if he thinks it will get him closer to his goals. And I’m sorry about your dad,” she added to Tate.

  “Well, it worked. The council moved to make me the interim ruler, until Titus can be located.”

  “How do you feel about that?” I asked quietly.

  He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s done. But there is some good news to come of it. That message on the table back in the suite about the Firelake Blade? I can get you there now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The Firelake is in Agartha.”

  “No.” Millie stood. “There is no way you’re getting her involved with that.”

  “Why? What is it?”

  “There’s said to be a blade at the very center of the lake, but the entire thing is engulfed in blue flames. Thousands of lives have been lost in an attempt to retrieve the blade. I won’t allow you to be next.”

  “Why would so many risk their lives for a blade?” I didn’t understand the appeal.

  “Because whoever wields the blade is invincible. Or so the legend says.”

  “But we don’t even know if it’s real!” Millie threw her hands into the air. “No one has ever seen it.”

  “It’s real,” I said. “And I’ll get it.”

  “Woo!” Abby clapped from the corner. “If anyone can do it, it’s you!”

  We all turned to stare at the mortal girl.

  “What? You really think I haven’t picked up on things in my time here? I don’t understand all of it, but I can tell by the way people look at Everly that she’s special. I might not be some powerful being like you all are, but even I can sense that something big is going on.”

  We exchanged looks, none of us knowing how to respond to that. Dom rested her gaze on the girl for a long while, presumably reading her mind. “She knows a lot. Like… a lot a lot.