by A. P. Jensen
Chapter Nine
William placed his hand on the exit door and pushed it open. His other hand clamped over Jordan’s mouth. She struggled, but went rigid when she realized they were outside. Her bare feet touched freezing sand and William put his other arm around her waist and hauled her off the ground. Her bruised body screamed.
Fight, Jordan! The voice in her mind yelled.
She found the fire always simmering beneath the surface. William cursed as his clothes began to smoke. He released her and she looked around, trying to get her bearings. She hadn’t been outside in years. It was night with a full moon. There were no other buildings in sight, only endless desert. There was a jeep nearby, obviously what William was trying to drag her to. There had to be more cars, she thought and tried to dodge around the building.
William tackled her from behind. She screamed and hoped someone would hear. No one in Haven could be as evil as William. His tainted power seeped into her. It was as if he were forcing her to swallow gasoline. He flipped her onto her back and crouched over her. There was no sign of white in his eyes, they were black holes that wanted to consume her. His breath fanned over her face and tears seeped from the corner of her eyes.
“You have to come with me. You have to save me,” William whispered into her hair.
She screamed again and tried to buck him off, but it was a useless gesture. His hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air. His touch made her feel as if spiders skittered over her skin. She struggled like a demon and in her terror, found renewed strength. Jordan splayed her hand over his face and let emotion rule. Her power, that constant gnawing pain in her chest, rushed through her arm like a bolt of lightning. William jerked back as if he’d been shot and rolled away. He tossed his face up to the moonlight, face contorted in agony as fire rushed beneath the surface of his skin. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air and bile rose in her throat. She scrambled backwards, but was unable to take her eyes from him. William let out a howl as he touched his face and bits of steaming flesh fell into his open hands.
Jordan lurched to her feet and ran around the building. Sobs caught in her throat and her stomach pitched unsteadily. When she let go, she was never sure what would happen. She rounded the building and saw nothing. She raced around the third side and her feet began to numb from the cold sand. The air was crisp and thin and her breath hovered in a cloud in front of her. She ran towards another corner of the building when William came out of the shadows. Jordan dug her feet into the sand. William’s face was back to normal, but his eyes showed no mercy.
“You’re really something,” he said in a musing tone. “I don’t know anyone your age that can do the things you do.”
“William, please,” she choked.
“I can’t let you go. Do you know how special you are? In all my years, I never thought I would meet one as powerful as you,” he said with a smile.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To meet my princess. She’s a good girl.”
“You steal girls from Haven?” Jordan whispered.
William frowned. “Of course not. She’s mine, just like you.”
“What have we here?” asked a malicious voice.
William whirled around as a young man stepped into the moonlight wearing a trench coat and jeans. He couldn’t be older than twenty and he was beautiful. He was tall and thin with the face of an angel, but something about him wasn’t right. Something about him put Jordan on edge. The same instinct that warned her about William shrieked at her to run.
“What are you doing, William?” the man asked, hands tucked casually in his pockets.
William didn’t answer and Jordan felt hope stir. If this guy could control William, maybe she had a chance. The moonlight made the younger man’s silver eyes look unearthly. When those eyes met hers, Jordan’s heart sank. He may be young, but his eyes were ancient and devoid of any emotion.
“You’ve damaged this one quite severely. Why?”
“I need her, Master,” William said tersely.
“Is that so? You know no child leaves here without my permission.” Light tones with an undercurrent of cruelty.
“She can save me. I can feel it,” William said through clenched teeth.
“Really?”
The Master approached, sand crunching beneath his boots. Jordan tensed to run, but knew it would be futile. He reached out a small hand and stroked Jordan’s cheek. His silver eyes flickered.
“Well, well. And when were you going to let me know, William?”
No answer.
The Master reached out one soft fingertip and placed it on her cheek. Acid burned through her veins. Jordan screamed as the worst pain she’d ever known made her flail like a fish on a hook. Those unearthly silver eyes watched. The pain built and built until Jordan begged for death. Her eyes rolled back in her head and blood streamed from her nose and mouth before he dropped his finger. Jordan twitched on the ground.
“She’s sublime,” the Master said, looking down dispassionately at his victim.
Through streaming eyes, Jordan saw Catherine hobbling through the sand in her high heels. Jordan closed her eyes and prayed she was dying. She’d been wrong. There was someone more evil than William and he looked like an angel.
Jordan paced the princess room and examined every inch of the dimly lit grounds through the windows. She locked the bedroom door, the deck doors and the princess room doors. She knew Heath told the truth when he said his glass was indestructible. She tried everything she could think of to shatter it. She tried to melt, stomp and hurl it onto concrete from an upper level. When Kelly found her trying to destroy her house, she wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
“I’ve tried everything too,” she said before walking off.
She is one weird woman, Jordan thought. She leaned against the glass panes. Heath’s house was dark. She wished he were awake so she had somewhere to go. Was she an idiot for trusting a guy that could make indestructible glass and turn her into a marshmallow with one flare of temper? And where was Mr. Parker? He’d been gone over a week and no one mentioned him coming back in the near future. Did he just dump her here?
In broad daylight, the land was a haven, but at night it became a nightmare to survey. She fingered the pendant around her wrist. It was cold, smooth and oddly comforting as if she had some kind of safety bracelet on. The chain kept slipping off her wrist, so she geared herself up and slipped it over her head. She waited for a panic attack, but none came.
“I can do this,” she said and let the pendant rest on her chest.
The heat during the day made her drowsy and she catnapped a lot, but at night she was tortured by memories. She found herself pacing most of the night, praying daylight would come quicker so she could see her surroundings and feel safe.
She found herself thinking about Levi, wondering if he got away, if he was better off than when they’d been in Haven. I should’ve waited for him, she thought. She should have waited for him to come back to the car, but the pain had been so bad and Walmart was right across the street. She thought it was a smart move, using the crowd for cover, but she should’ve remembered that nothing stopped William. On the other hand, maybe it was a good thing she left. What if William caught both of them? Levi was better off without her, but she missed him. She reached for the connection she had with him and found nothing.
When the first hint of sunlight speared the darkness, Jordan was dressed and taking in the land. Nothing was out of place. She peeked through the glass panes of the door into the bedroom for several minutes. No movement. She slowly eased the door opened, thoroughly checked the room and repeated the process before she opened the bedroom door. Only the birds and squirrels made noise at this hour. She walked downstairs, out the back door and stuffed her feet into boots.
The day was already hot. She could feel moisture on her face and she welcomed it. She forced herself to move faster and walk further. She made it across the bridge before she took a
break. There was still no sign of lights in Heath’s house as she approached, but she didn’t care. As she sat on his porch, the sun began to rise and Jordan felt her anxiety settle. Heath and Kelly were the only ones around for miles.
The lake sparkled enticingly and she answered its call. She brushed her way through the high grass, lifting her boots high and stomping them down. Butterflies fluttered around her and Jordan kept to the shade as much as possible, though it was scarce. When she reached the lake, she smiled. It was worth the walk. The lake was a beautiful blue and she felt cooler just being near it. Water lapped gently against the shore.
Jordan noticed a moss covered statue nearby and went to stand in front of it. It was a larger than life… lion? She tilted her head to the side. It looked like a lion with a bushy mane but its body was a dark charcoal color and it had black stripes like a tiger. It sat on its haunches and there was something regal about it. It towered a foot and a half over her. The statue seemed so out of place in the middle of a pasture and it had been left here for years if the moss was any indication. The statue was cute and scary at the same time. It had round, gray ears barely visible on top of his head and its gaze mesmerized her. She felt as if she were falling into an endless blue that promised death.
Jordan shook herself and walked around the lake and leaned back against a tree. The water rippled as fish swam beneath the surface. Insects glided over the water and Jordan dozed. When she woke, she was dazed from the heat and the feeling that something was wrong. She blinked hastily and saw a man watching her from across the lake. He crouched in the high grass in a tan colored shirt and jeans. When he saw she was awake, he smiled and held his hands up in the national gesture for “I mean you no harm.” She didn’t buy it. If he was harmless, why hadn’t he called out, why was he hiding? She rose, heart pounding. There was nowhere to hide out here and she couldn’t run if her life depended on it, which it might.
“I just have some questions,” he called.
Jordan began to walk backwards. “Stay where you are.”
He didn’t and Jordan’s alarm switched to panic. Was he from Haven?
“Who do you belong to?” he asked, still coming towards her way too fast. “Usually all the families in this area are careful not to let their little ones stray.”
There was a note of malice in his voice. Jordan sprinted with all her might around the lake and heard him laugh. She cursed her weak body and for the first time, wished she had power. She didn’t even have physical strength to defend herself. She was easy prey. Jordan ducked around the statue, hands digging into its back.
The guy came around the lion, still smiling. He shoved her and she fell in a bed of dandelions. He crouched over her and examined her as if she were an animal carcass he might be able to sample.
“Now, tell me which family you belong to or are you just visiting?” he asked pleasantly.
“I’m no one,” Jordan said.
“You haven’t even Awakened? Come on, give me some challenge,” he taunted. “What I’m looking for is information about Donovan Parker. Everyone wants to know what he’s up to, especially since William Stan is gone. He missed the funeral. Everyone noticed. Is he going to take William’s place?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar!”
A low growl vibrated the air around them. The man whipped around and screamed. The statue was moving. Its ears lay flat against its skull and the terrifying striped face bared its teeth in a snarl. A long striped tail whipped through the air and claws extended, digging into the dirt. The cat’s hungry gaze fixed on the man and it bared its fangs, showing a mouth that could clamp around a human torso. Powerful muscles rippled and then bunched as the cat leapt.
The man ran and the beast gave him no chance. In two leaps, the creature took him down. Jordan got shakily to her feet as the man shrieked. The tree behind her uprooted itself and swatted the beast. The lion turned, hissing and spitting. Roots whipped out, pinning the creature to the ground. It let out a howl of pain as vines wound around its neck. The guy rose, tan shirt now pink with streaks of blood.
“What the hell is it? Oh my God, it’s a Valor. But who-” He stopped when he saw the beast tear through the vines and roots like string cheese.
Jordan didn’t look at the beast. Her full attention was on the intruder. She wouldn’t let this ass get away with this. She had no idea what the beast would do to her, but she refused to stand by and watch this man choke it to death. She reached within herself for her hibernating power, which was trying to repair itself. She felt a spark and her heart sputtered, but she didn’t stop. She pulled on that one thread and felt her body go up in flames. Strength poured into her weak body and she leapt into action. She went for the guy whose eyes bugged out in fear, but before she could get there, the beast attacked him again and they tumbled into the high grass and out of sight.
Jordan’s heart stopped. She gasped, clutched her chest as it beat once more and then gave out.
“You little idiot.”
An angry, familiar voice snapped at her. She was being carried. Her chest felt as if a horse trampled over her and she struggled to breathe as if she were having an asthma attack. She squinted against the sun at a livid Mr. Parker.
“One, you shouldn’t go past the stream unless there’s someone with you- it’s past the property line. Two, why the hell would you pull on your power when you’re still recovering from your severed soul tie? You almost killed yourself.” Mr. Parker’s hands were gentle despite his tone.
“Happened?” It was the only word she could say.
“Kelly said there was a nasty reporter by the lake. It’s been a while since they’ve dared come here, but they’re desperate for information, so they’re getting brave. He’s dead, by the way.”
She remembered the statue and jerked in Mr. Parker’s arms as he walked up the back stairs of the porch. She looked around and there it was, a nine hundred pound cat over ten feet long. She didn’t know what to think. Its body was thick and muscled and its eyes glinted with satisfaction. Kelly gave it a wide berth, but it didn’t even glance at her because its attention was riveted on Jordan.
“What is it?” Jordan asked hoarsely.
Mr. Parker set her on the porch with her legs dangling over the side. New pain burst in her chest and Jordan let out a muffled groan. Kelly put her hands on Jordan and a second later, the pain eased slightly.
“I can’t heal your heart completely. It has to recover,” Kelly said and her eyes narrowed. “Heath got to you in time. Your heart wasn’t beating. Don’t do that to us again.”
Kelly walked into the house, uncharacteristically solemn and quiet. Jordan felt stupid and uncomfortable. Mr. Parker tensed as the lion/tiger prowled closer. The moss that once covered its body was gone. Instead, thick gray fur shone in the sun with each step.
“How?” Jordan asked, unable to look away from it.
“You tell me.”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“That creature has been a statue over a thousand years. It’s been in my family for generations. It’s our Guardian.”
“Your what?”
He waved his hand. “Every family has a symbol that represents them. For some it’s a creed, an heirloom or in our case, an animal. Once we bond with a certain animal, they’re always loyal to us. They watch over us and will be there when we have need of them. Valor’s,” he shot a sharp look at the beast easing ever closer to them, “fought beside our family members in wars only remembered in books.”
“I don’t get it.”
“What I know of Valor’s is what they look like and I only know that because this statue was in my grandfather, then father’s house. I dumped it by the lake fifteen years ago. Legend says Valor’s obey the one who calls to them.”
“I-I didn’t call anything,” Jordan stammered.
“Apparently, you did. You’re the only one that can control him now,” Mr. Parker murmured.
“Him?”
“You woke him, so he’s your responsibility now. Great.” Mr. Parker said ungraciously.
“I didn’t mean to,” Jordan said irritably and then glared at him. “What are you doing here?”
Mr. Parker blinked, nonplussed by her tone, which had more emotion in it than she’d ever shown him. “I live here,” he pointed out.
Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits of blue. “Did you find Haven?”
He glared. “That’s not important.”
“Not important?” Jordan fired back.
The Valor raised his head and Jordan got to her feet. Was it just this morning that she’d been worried about him? Wanting to see him? She must have been dreaming.
“You’re gone for over a week and you just so happen to pop up the day I have an incident-”
“An incident?” he shouted and went face to face with her. “Your heart stopped for over two minutes. If the reporter survived, he could have watched you die.”
“Did you find Haven?” Jordan asked, hands clenched at her sides.
Neither of them noticed Kelly watching them from the kitchen, a smile on her face. She sipped iced tea and listened to father and daughter bicker.
“Yes.”
Jordan felt equally horrified and relieved. Horrified because that place really existed, with the Master and kids being caged and tranquilized like animals. Relieved because someone from the outside world now knew about it. She didn’t know a lot about Mr. Parker, but she had the feeling he wouldn’t let the Master continue his sadistic games.
“D-did you see the Master?” Jordan asked and couldn’t stop the quaver in her voice.
“It was deserted.”
Jordan stared. “Deserted? That’s not possible. Maybe you found the wrong place.”
“It was the right place. I didn’t see a soul. It looks like the warehouse has been deserted for years.”
“That can’t be.”
“We’re not discussing this now.” He waved his hand dismissively.
“But, Haven’s a real place. Maybe I can go with you.”
“No.”
He looked so forbidding, Jordan nearly took a step back.
“You’re staying here. I have enough to deal with without coming back to find out you can’t even stay within the parameters of the property. The first time you wander off on your own, you try to commit suicide.”
“I wasn’t-” Jordan tried to interject.
“Then what were you trying to do? Do you know how to defend yourself using your power?”
She remembered the way she melted William’s face and couldn’t meet his gaze.
“You don’t have control of your power, so calling on it when your body can’t handle it is stupid.”
His words felt as if he were jabbing her with knives. She hated that she cared what he thought and that he was right, but she’d be damned before she let him know it.
“None of us have the time to babysit you. If you need something, ask for it, but don’t cross the bridge without Kelly, Heath or my permission. You got me?”
Jordan’s ears were red with mortification and anger. She met Mr. Parker’s gaze and didn’t respond. Heath came across the bridge and the Valor whipped around, ears turned towards the sound of his footsteps. Heath faltered to a stop.
“Call him off before I have to,” Mr. Parker commanded.
“What do I have to do with-”
“Tell him to stand down and mean it. He won’t listen if he can sense your fear.”
Jordan opened and closed her mouth. The Valor eased into a crouch. His tail brushed restlessly through the air as he eyed Heath.
“Just do what I said,” Mr. Parker snapped.
“Stand down,” Jordan murmured.
“Louder.”
Jordan swallowed. “S-stand down.”
The cat turned, head tilted to the side as if judging how serious she was. He sat on his haunches, a less intimidating stance. There was an audible breath of relief from Heath who turned and walked back across the bridge to the safety of his own house. Mr. Parker and Jordan glared at each other. The Valor leapt onto the porch and stood beside Jordan, bumping her hand with his head in a clear indication that he wanted to be stroked.
Mr. Parker’s jaw twitched as he examined his unwelcome guests. On a sound of disgust, he turned and walked away. Jordan felt her legs quiver. She walked down the steps and was grateful the Valor kept pace beside her because she had to lean on him for support. She walked to the shade of a nearby tree and sat with her back to the house.
The Valor curled around her and Jordan ran her hand absently through silky fur. She shouldn’t feel comforted by the presence of a beast that could kill her in one move, but she did. She looked at the cat and it turned its head. Jordan stared into eyes the same shade as her own and didn’t feel so alone. The cat snuffled in her face and seemed to be drawing her scent into its lungs. Once more, she found herself mesmerized. There was something beautiful about this creature even though she could taste death being so close to him.
She didn’t know what to say and the Valor didn’t require any explanations. It seemed that no matter how much she talked to people, they never understood her, but this creature looked into her eyes and understood all the things she couldn’t put into words. The Valor lay his head down on massive paws and dozed.
