Tartarean’s fingers were firm as he gripped Tarquin’s shoulder and steered him back to the chamber he’d spent almost ten years inside. “You weren’t able to gain total control over her. She must be stronger than most.”
Tarquin’s body flooded with panic at the mention of Merrin. He had to make it sound convincing or Tartarean would go looking for the girl who’d led him back to the light. Every muscle clenched as he walked beside his former master. “She was inexperienced enough to trust me.”
Tartarean’s laugh was cold. “The Chief should train them better. He’s brought it on himself.”
He nodded, shivers running the length of him as he carried on. Another scream pierced the darkness, making his skin rise. “New arrivals?”
Tartarean’s eyes slid to him, his lips pursing until they were thin and bloodless. “What was she like? This young Luminary who tried to save you?”
He paused as he considered just how much to speak of Merrin. Intoxicating. Life. Love. Everything. “She’s barely able to control her temper, not to mention she lives in a pig sty.”
Tartarean’s eyes narrowed. “Ah yes. You always liked things orderly. What was the older one’s name?”
“Skylar.”
Even saying the name made his blood boil. A flicker of amusement flashed across his master’s face. And all the reasons for leaving Merrin with the muscle-bound Luminary appeared as Lucius Tartarean, leader of the Tartarean Clan, smiled. “You made a lasting impression despite failing to bond with her?”
He worked his jaw as he formulated the words he knew would convince. “She cares even if she won’t admit it. Skylar’s arrival didn’t help.”
Lucius’ hand moved to Tarquin’s shoulder again as he squeezed. “Patience. In a few weeks she and all the other Luminary will return. The sleepers will do their jobs, just as you did yours.”
Tarquin forced a smile to match his master’s. “That soon?”
The fingers clawed at him. “That was the plan. You were the final piece in the puzzle: the Emdeth forest and its boundaries. There will be nothing left to stop the rest of the sleepers from swarming into Evanswood and taking down the rest of the council.”
Lucius spun on his heels, long legs wrapped in the black cape that billowed as he strode away, leaving Tarquin to follow rapidly. “Thanks to you, Tarquin, the strongest young Luminaries will once again be back in my control.”
Thanks to me.
Bile rose to his throat as he saw where it was Tartarean was leading him to. His lips curled into what he hoped was a cruel smile. “You caught someone you think is worthwhile?”
His master, and the man responsible for enslaving half the country in darkness, nodded. His eyes flashed in the near dark of the caves. “I believe her name is Scarlett.”
Tarquin forced away the recognition, lest it show on his face. His footsteps were faltering as he tumbled through the doorway. His heart thrashed in his chest as took in the girl strapped to the table, arms and legs tied so she couldn’t move.
Her eyes fired to life as he stepped closer, sealing her fate. Lucius leaned over and peered at her. “Luminary. You think you are strong enough to stand against me?”
The girl began to shake, tears streaming from her illuminated eyes. “I know what you are, and you can’t hurt me.”
Tarquin’s chest tightened as she looked at him, anger and fear etched on her face. Lucius pulled back and exhaled slowly, his gaze almost amused. “No, I can’t hurt you. But Tarquin can help me persuade you to give up your memories, and you’ll forget who and what you are.”
A wave of nausea rushed through him, but he nodded and stepped closer. He gripped her wrist and focussed on connecting with her.
Should he risk trying to communicate with her? He’d only attempted that with Skylar, and only to inflict a grievous injury.
With a final look at the girl, he closed his eyes and used the gift he’d been chosen for. The girl’s fear rushed through him as though it were his own. Fractured words reverberated around his head as he tried to seek the location of her family.
This girl was different. She’d not been stolen from an ignorant family and forced to give up her memories. Her family knew of her heritage. Shock surged through him as he stared down at the girl. “She’s related to the Chief. A niece, I think.”
Scarlett jerked, straining as she tried to pull away from his grasp. She issued a curse and turned so she was staring at Lucius. “You will never win. The Chief will come for me.”
Tartarean laughed and leaned closer to her. “No. He won’t. He’s no longer able to. He doesn’t hold the control you little Luminaries think he does.”
Lucius withdrew so he could pull a vial of amber liquid from the hidden pocket in his cape. He forced Scarlett’s lips open and held her jaw tight as he emptied the contents of the bottle.
She struggled and tried to spit the liquid out, but Tarquin knew better than most how quickly the toxic dose would take effect.
Lucius watched her writhing and straining with an air of detached amusement Tarquin had seen too many times before.
When she finally stopped fighting, and Lucius gave him a satisfied smile, Tarquin’s heart squeezed in his chest.
Tarquin’s feet remained rooted to the cave floor as the girl began to shudder violently. He clenched his fists at his sides and forced himself to remain as calm as the torrent of fear cascading through him allowed.
He could not allow his emotion to shine through, not even if it meant watching a girl lose her memories at the hands of the man he loathed.
Finally, when he thought his knees would buckle under the strain, and his heart would burst in horror, the girl’s screams stopped.
The fire disappeared from her eyes and her expression slackened. Tartarean leaned over, so his nose was a whisper from the girl’s. “You were strong. But not strong enough.”
He straightened, and the chilling smile returned. “She’s all yours. Do what you want with her, but make sure she can train tomorrow. Convince her she’s always lived here, convince her she needs no one else but me.”
Tartarean was almost at the door when Tarquin thought to speak past his surprise. “I’m second in command again?”
Lucius paused at the open doorway and spoke over his shoulder. “You have a gift, Templeton. I aim to use it to set things back the way they should have been. Because you chose to return, I’ll leave you with all the memories the Luminary seems to have brought back.”
As if the words didn’t make his chest hurt with longing, Lucius strode away, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. He’s leaving me with my memories intact?
Scarlett was staring at him when he thought to untie her, her eyes dull and face expressionless. “Where am I?’
Tarquin paused, wishing he could tell her the truth in its entirety, but knowing even that wouldn’t prepare her for the pits of darkness two weeks in the caves would bring her.
“You don’t want to know.”
***
Merrin’s breath was coming in too rapidly as she pleaded with Skylar for the fourth time in the day since Tarquin had abandoned them. “We should be looking. He’s been gone too long.”
Skylar’s bulky shoulders rose in a shrug, blue eyes flashing sparks. “Freckles, we’ve had this conversation too many times already. He ran away. You saw him. He ran straight past the hall when he promised he’d help. Don’t you think that’s probably a good reason not to go looking for him?”
“You don’t understand. He thinks he’s helping by leaving.”
Skylar folded his arms across his chest. “How has he helped us? The Chief hasn’t come out once since the half-light left. He forced us out of there with some cockamamie story.”
Her frustration grew. “It wasn’t a story. You saw them. Half of the council has been corrupted somehow.”
“And that’s the only reason I agreed to wait. We needed to make sure no one else was going to show up. But we can’t trust his word. You still aren’t thinking clear
ly. He’s manipulated you so much you think he’s on our side. He’s isn’t. He just proved that.”
She shook her head, desperation creeping in. “You didn’t hear what he said. What he was trying to tell me—”
“Listen. Listen to me. I’m your friend, and I’m telling you that Tarquin is not who you think he is. He’s gone back to the dark. You need to let it go. We have other, more important things to do right now.”
He jerked his thumb back to the hall, where the Chief was. “He’s not stepped foot outside since we left. Don’t you think that’s a little odd he hasn’t come out looking for us? We need to find a way to go get him and whoever is unaffected. You wanted to wait a day: I gave you a day. We move now.” He gestured to the clearing where Tarquin had disappeared.
Her voice was too firm as she tried to make her case again. “He’s trying to help. I know it.”
Skylar moved closer to her, close enough so their boots were touching. “What did he do to you to make you so sure of him?”
She swallowed, heat causing her cheeks to flush. Tarquin’s kisses, the feel of him, the passion in his voice when he’d left, when he’d declared once again the extent of his feelings still caused her mind to become muddled.
She couldn’t meet his eye as she spoke. “It doesn’t matter.”
Skylar’s voice was guttural. “He wanted to bond with you, and you nearly did. He’s gotten inside your head whether you want to admit it or not.”
Her eyes snapped upwards to find his gaze piercing. “I shouldn’t have left you alone with him.”
Merrin pulled her shoulders back. “He can manipulate you too. It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
Skylar’s eyes narrowed. “You never did say what happened between you.”
Her mouth slackened. Did she really want to share all the details with her only friend? Why did he even want to know? “We kissed. That’s all.”
Skylar’s body went rigid, eyes sparking to life, no longer the warm blue she knew so well. “But he wanted to take it further.”
Her pulse quickened. “What difference does it make now? He lied to me, he manipulated me, and he’s gone.”
Her stomach flipped about as she stared at Skylar, trying to figure out why he was staring at her so seriously. “Right. He’s gone. So maybe we should stop spending so much time talking about him and act.”
Folded her arms to match his posture. “Skylar—"
His head shake was quick in coming. “Let’s go back in.”
He didn’t wait for her, just spun on his heel and started walking towards the hall of Evanswood. With a huff of frustration, Merrin picked up her feet to meet his pace, sending him sidelong glances as they approached the wooden structure.
He sent her a sly wink, letting her know he wouldn’t stay angry. “Let me do the talking, alright, Freckles?”
Her lips twitched into a half smile. “Don’t I always?”
His brow furrowed as they ascended the stairs again. “We need a story to explain why we left and where Tarquin’s gone.”
Merrin nodded, her veins filling with heat as they approached the door. “We should just tell the truth. That he manipulated us. At least until we know who we can trust in the council.”
He nodded as he pushed the door open, his posture alert, eyes searching ahead. “No one in sight. Why don’t you wait—”
Merrin was at his side before the word left his mouth. “Not a chance. If six are corrupted, then you’ll need my help.”
He paused to mutter something under his breath. Always wanting to protect me. She placed a hand on his forearm and felt the strength of his brawny arm beneath her fingers. “We need to be careful.”
Her eyes gathered moisture as she recalled the extent of the damage he’d suffered because he’d come looking for her. “If you get hurt again…because of my mistakes…”
A twinge hit her stomach at the earnestness on his chiselled face. “I’m not planning on going anywhere, and that’s why we need to stick together. You got my back, and I’ve got yours.”
For a moment they stared at each other, warmth swelling in her middle, his eyes locked on hers. Her fingers shifted slightly on his skin, and his arm went taut.
“Skylar? Merrin? Where have you been?”
At the Chief’s voice, her hand flew off his arm as though he were fire that burned. Skylar’s gaze flicked to him as he swiftly backed away.
***
Tarquin’s jaw tightened as he steered Scarlett towards the girl’s dormitory. “Training starts tomorrow. You need to take the tonic that’s waiting in your room.”
The darkness of the cave walls was only lessened by the occasional flickering oil lamp strung up on mined walls.
Scarlett’s lips parted, confusion evident as she peered into the gloom. “Why don’t I remember all of this? You said I live here?”
Tarquin’s gut churned at the lies. “That’s right.”
Her confusion only deepened as they carried on walking. Even in the low light, he could see her struggling to make sense of what was happening.
Her mouth parted, ready to ask another question when he cut her off. “It’s better you don’t ask questions. Just concentrate on what you get told to do. After a few days, it’ll all start coming back to you.”
Liar. The routine will keep her stuck in the same set of memories and endless repetition to keep us compliant.
“Never question. Ever. Just do what you get asked to do, no matter if you want to or not. You got it?”
Her frown etched deeper, her lips parting to ask another question that he couldn’t allow. If the wrong person overheard, she’d suffer for it.
Only top-level initiates were allowed full memories. Everyone else blindly followed orders with little interest in anything other than finding pleasure and satisfying the most primal of urges.
Those memories were the worst. He almost wished those ones hadn’t come back. Perhaps that was the best punishment Lucius could think of? To allow him to recollect every vile and abhorrent thing he’d ever done while living here?
His jaw clenched so tight, his teeth ached as he led her to the end of the corridor. Blackness seeped into his body, threatening to dislodge the beautiful light he’d not so long ago clung to.
He saw a bewildered Scarlett to the curved section where the rest of the girls were located. Girls he knew far too well. Girls who he’d practised manipulating at Tartarean’s cajoling.
A dozen eyes fell on him, searching him as he stepped inside the room. He cleared his throat and tried to remain as calm as the torrent of brutal memories washed over him.
Was it any wonder Tartarean forced them to drink the tonic each night? No one with any sense of right and wrong would continue to do the things Tartarean demanded.
All in the name of compliance. But it ran deeper than that. By controlling memories, he controlled every aspect of those in his command.
Lack of memories was what kept them from questioning. Anything further than a few days, and they might start to recollect brothers, sisters, and mothers and fathers.
Homes filled with love and warmth instead of the dark and cruelty of the caves.
Memories were what gave Tartarean power. And as a dozen blank expressions met him, Tarquin knew precisely what he needed to do to stop Tartarean.
The only question was how?
***
Chills ran down Merrin’s skin as she stepped through the door, her heart skittering in her chest as all eyes shifted to where she and Skylar stood. All the nerve endings seemed to respond as the Chief met her eye.
For a moment her breath caught in her chest, only Skylar’s presence calming the storm of awareness that threatened to buckle her knees. A dense fog seemed to cloud the room, as though the air had been sucked away. Her eyes flicked around the council members and her alarm grew.
“Apologies for disappearing. It seems Tarquin wasn’t who he appeared to be. I’m not sure if we can trust a word he spoke.”
With S
kylar’s words, Merrin reluctantly took her seat at the table. The Chief seemed to take her actions as a call to restart a meeting that had obviously been paused in their absence.
The Chief held her gaze, a fire in his eyes as he placed his palms on the table. “A pity. I feel Tarquin had much to convey.”
His eyes shifted from the wizened leader to the council members. How many of them were sleepers? Like Tarquin had suggested? Unable to wake but unaware they were being used and controlled?
Her throat grew thick. Even thinking about Tarquin’s suggestion seemed to stir something inside her, a longing she’d never known lurked underneath the bravery she tried so hard to project.
Before Tarquin had arrived, her life had been so perfectly ordered there had been no room for wondering. Her mission had been foremost, but now, as she looked around the table at the council she was supposed to bow to, unfamiliar feelings of rebellion stirred within her.
As though a tether were attached to him, her heart tugged towards Tarquin. Wherever he was, even though she had no way of knowing the location, was surely somewhere she needed to be also?
He was most certainly in danger of falling back to the darkness he’d dwelt in deep in the caves where the stolen were held captive. Where he probably ran back to.
So focussed on her thoughts of him, she missed the shift in conversation. With heat flushing her cheeks, she smiled uneasily at the council member who’d asked a question. “I beg your pardon?”
The councilman’s eyebrows joined together. Below them, his eyes hinted at his irritation over her lack of attention. These were men and woman used to commanding the room, and until a few weeks ago, she’d have been more ashamed of herself. But now, as she heard the question again, she wasn’t sure she cared to be admonished by them.
“Why did you bring him here if he was not fully engaged in the light?”
Why? Why had she? Why had she run towards him, so sure he was Luminary, so sure she was in the right, even when she’d not bothered to ask permission to track him?
“I was called to do so. I listened. What was I supposed to do? Let him go back?”
Skylar sucked in a breath through his teeth. His posture rigid as he met her gaze, his subtle head shake enough to see her error.
Illuminate: Upper YA Paranormal Romance Page 16
