No one questioned the council. Ever. What are you doing? “Merrin. You take issue with councilman Alman’s question?” the Chief asked.
She swallowed thickly, still unsure of why she felt compelled to defend herself. Or perhaps it was Tarquin she defended. Emotions surged within her, shifting from annoyance, to guilt and finally settling on the most peculiar and ill-placed of all. Anger. Her eyes sparked to life. “Apologies. I’m still not feeling the best,” she lied.
The Chief seemed less than convinced but decided to come to her aid. Relief flooded through her as he told councilman Alman he’d already addressed the issue.
As the council members moved on to other topics, her mind refused to settle, too busy searching the council for signs they were somehow compromised. Her toe tapped the floor beneath her in time with the finger she tapped on her thigh. Nerves wrought, she found it impossible to concentrate, grateful Skylar was doing the talking as they’d agreed.
She was in no state to form coherent statements. It would serve no purpose if she were to continue to antagonise the council. Somehow, she had to find a way to uncover who was a sleeper, and somehow, she had to find Tarquin. If only to see for herself if he really was the enemy Skylar thought him to be.
With a jolt that stole her breath, lights blazed before her eyes, a breeze stirring around her; with it, whispered voices brought comfort. Find him. He needs you.
Her heart began to thump in her chest, her veins flooded with ice and a shiver ran down her spine. The darkness clutched at her, and she knew it didn’t come from inside the room.
Somewhere out there, Tarquin was alone, and he needed her help. Her voice was barely above a croak when she interrupted the meeting. “Chief?”
The Chief raised a thin eyebrow and looked in her direction. “You have something to add? We were formulating a strategy to find the caves.”
Skylar’s frown did little to dissuade her as the words tumbled from her mouth. “I do. I want to help find them.”
His eyes sparked to life as he slowly rose from his chair. As though he had the right to do so, he calmly, and with a coolness she’d never heard before, spoke. “That can’t happen.”
With as much strength as she could muster, Merrin rose too on shaky legs and avoided Skylar’s icy fire as she looked to the Chief. “It’s my fault Tarquin left. I should be the one to go and find him.”
Skylar’s jaw worked, his eyes still blazing his anger. “Chief, Merrin spent too long alone with him. If anyone is to blame for him going back to Tartarean, the fault lies at my feet. Let me lead the search party.
They stared across the table at each other, her skin on fire at the intensity of his anger. The room had stilled as every eye watched them rage a silent battle. The Chief’s voice was resigned. “Skylar, Merrin. Nothing will be served if you continue to battle each other for blame. Templetons are rarely or easily won over. If I’d known, I would have made sure both of you were with him at all times.”
Skylar’s eyes dimmed slightly, though his posture gave away his feelings away. “Merrin is too close to him.”
Her cheeks heated at the implication, one she couldn’t even deny. The Chief motioned for them to sit, and with a last look at a glowering Skylar, she retook her seat.
The Chief steepled his fingers, his brow knotted in thought. “We must proceed cautiously until we know what we are dealing with.”
Her heart tapped too fast as she waited for the Chief’s decision, one that would leave her stranded at Evanswood or rushing to Tarquin’s side.
His eyes met hers. “Merrin. You are no longer responsible for Tarquin. Skylar, however, is accountable as a member of the council. As such, he will lead the search party, and you will return to your home.”
No!
The protest came out far too harsh. “I can’t! I can’t just go back there and pretend nothing is going on.”
She sent Skylar a desperate look, but he only folded his arms across his chest, looking decidedly smug at the Chief’s agreement.
As arrangements were made, Merrin’s anger at being dismissed grew into resentment as members of the council sent her despairing looks that all said one thing. Just a reckless girl.
Merrin’s stomach knotted the more they spoke around her, not even bothering to include her now she’d been put back in her place, as she’d been so many times before.
As Skylar began to speak of who he’d be taking and the arrangements to locate the caves they so far been unable to pinpoint, Merrin excused herself.
She no longer cared about who was corrupted, no longer worried for the Chief. He had Skylar: he’d be fine.
Tarquin, on the other hand, wouldn’t be. There was no one in that room more invested in finding him than she was.
And that was exactly what she was going to do.
Chapter 2.
Tarquin eased into the men’s quarters, the smell of sweat and blood cloying as he tried not to meet the eyes of those he remembered far too much about.
His bunk was in the condition he’d left it in: sheets neatly tucked into corners, merino wool blanket folded and waiting for the nights when the cold would near sink inside him.
No one paid him any mind, used to the comings and goings of strangers, most too distracted by whatever Tartarean was feeding them.
He slid into his bunk and lay down, lacing his hands behind the back of his head as he tried to relax. His thoughts tumbled around as he tried not to dwell on how much he loathed being back here.
There was something outside the caves now. A reason to hope. This was more valuable than memories, and yet, somehow, it felt like the light Merrin showed him had always been part of him. How was that possible?
He was still chewing it over when a cruel laugh jolted him from his memories.
His stomach churned as lewd comments came from around him. A fresh wave of revulsion spun through him as he recalled how, only a few weeks ago, he’d been just the same.
He would have been interested in the new girl too, betting against his bunk mates as to who could sleep with her first. It was always the same. Tartarean treated the new girls as gifts to his loyal men, and no one ever complained about it. The girls soon forgot any ill-treatment, and because of the foul brew they took each night, so did the men.
Tarquin did the only thing he could think of to deter them from going after her or sneaking into the dorms. “As second in charge, I get first access, and I will report to Tartarean if anyone breaks her in before me, got it?”
Grunts met him, followed by a stony silence that spelled their momentary dislike for him. They accepted Scarlett was off limits with a few curses, but all were too worried about either missing the measure they had grown dependent on to risk anything. For tonight anyway.
The only way to ensure Scarlett stayed out of the hands of the men inside was to claim her as his own, but even that wouldn’t last for long. All it would take would be for one to step back outside of his three-day circle of memories and Scarlett would be at risk.
His jaw clenched as one of the senior guards appeared with the drink Tartarean demanded that they all take. Tarquin almost wished he could tonight. Maybe then he’d stop remembering every vile and reprehensible thing he’d done over the last decade inside.
But Lucius didn’t grant memories lightly. And if he was going to find a way to stop him, he needed all his memories, no matter how painful, to stay intact.
When the drinks had been downed and his bunkmates had climbed into bed complaining of injuries and the brutal training schedule, Tarquin allowed his mind to wander back to what he’d left behind.
He closed his eyes and focussed on the memories of his time with Merrin. However much it grieved him to be away from her, to not remember her would be far, far worse.
Gripped in the middle of a fevered sleep in between dreams and waking, Tarquin was startled to find a hand gripping his shoulder.
He smacked the hand away, only to have Lucius grin at him in the darkness. “Wake. I have some
thing to show you.”
A warning rolled like fire through his body at the pleasure on Lucius’ face. “What is it?”
Lucius only stalked away, leaving fear pulsing through Tarquin’s body. Still shaking off the last remnants of sleep, he stumbled in Tartarean’s footsteps.
There was only one reason to wake him like this, and that reason would never end well for whoever Tarquin was being led to.
All the hairs stood on end as he walked towards the one place he’d not expected Tartarean to lead him into. The exit.
It took his eyes little time to adjust to the starlit night outside. The air a few degrees warmer than the caves, he scanned the field and forest for who Lucius had led him here to meet with.
Tartarean’s eyes locked on the trees directly in front of them as though waiting for someone or something to burst out of them. “Did the Luminary speak to you of Onom?”
Tarquin’s skin rose in response to the odd question. One he’d never expected to hear from Lucius. What to say? Should he tell the truth? Did Tartarean already know?
Tarquin swallowed hard. “They talked a lot about the light.”
“Hmm.”
Lucius folded his hands behind his back, his eyes still locked on the trees ahead. “Even Merrin?”
A frown grew, his skin tingling as though it wanted to run before he gave himself away. “Yes. And Skylar.”
He stopped short of hissing Skylar’s name, but Lucius seemed to enjoy his obvious jealousy. His teeth were visible against the backdrop of the cave entrance. “Ah, here she is. Right on time.”
Tarquin’s heart beat a little faster as he followed Lucius’ gaze. All the breath left his body in a rush as a flash of red appeared in the trees.
He rubbed his eyes, hoping he’d been mistaken, hoping it wasn’t Merrin he’d seen lurking in the trees.
But the figure only moved closer, and not with anything resembling the stealth he knew Merrin was capable of. He forced the tremble from his voice. “How did you know someone was approaching? I thought you did away with the scouts?”
He’d allowed himself a moment of hope before Lucius spoke, effectively shattering all he’d risked returning for. “I reinstated them while you were healing. They’re right behind her, have been since she crossed the barrier. It was only a matter of time before she found us. She’s an excellent tracker, and now she’s gone rogue again for you, I can use her.”
Bile rose in his throat as he nodded too weakly. Rogue? He longed to ask the question, but his eyes were locked on her, his hands beginning to shake the closer she got.
Why couldn’t she feel them? Why wasn’t she aware she was being followed? Or could she feel him? Was that why she was moving so swiftly? Please no.
Lucius’ black eyes found his as his lips curled into the semblance of a smile. “She came to find you, Tarquin. Go to her and bring her home.”
His heart thrashed about in his chest so hard he worried Tartarean could hear it, he took a shaking step forward. What would happen to Merrin once inside? Would she suffer the same fate as the rest of the girls? There was no way he could protect her, not all the time.
His panicked thoughts were abruptly cut short as Lucius locked a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You wanted her? Go and claim her before someone else does.”
Tarquin held still, caught in Lucius grip, torn in two by what he meant. There was only one way to protect Merrin now that Lucius had seen her and now that a dozen men were directly behind her.
And that was by doing the very thing he’d promised never to do to her again.
***
Merrin froze, a black haze of awareness rippling through her body. How had she even ended up here? Her mind felt as heavy as her limbs, like she was stuck in a quagmire and couldn’t seem to will herself to move anywhere but towards the blackness at the edge of the forest.
How long had she been travelling? Hours? Days? How did I lose all track of time? When she’d snuck out of the hall, avoiding Skylar and the questions that would follow, she’d been so determined to find Tarquin, she’d barely slowed down. Except to drink from the well behind Evanswood.
As if drawn there by a strange compulsion, Merrin’s legs seemed to be propelling her forwards as though she were pulled by an invisible string. Scattered thoughts bashed into her mind as she took another step closer.
Why did she feel like she was swimming in a fog? With no warning of anything, with no whispers on the wind warning her of approaching danger, she’d followed her instincts and headed through the dense forests at the back of Evanswood Hall.
Her only thought as she’d passed the boundary into Riverdale was that she had never ventured out this way before. For some reason, the Chief had declared the area off limits and until today she’d never bothered to think why.
But as she took another few rapid steps forwards, a bolt of understanding shot through her, muddling her thoughts even more. Blackness crept in from all sides and swallowed her whole. Cold crept through her body, sending a current of alarm to penetrate the fog.
Shadows seemed to move in the still night, joining together as though creating tricks that messed with her frazzled state even more. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited a moment; she attempted to still her body as she tried to orientate herself.
But her legs seemed to be moving against her will, her entire body conspiring against her as she tried to turn back the way she’d come.
What force was strong enough to physically compel her to go in one direction?
The answer slammed into her chest as shadows gathered together in the shape of a man. Her heart began beating too fast, veins heating as Tarquin appeared like an apparition on a moonlight night.
Whatever surprise or happiness vanished when he came close enough for her to see his face. His face twisted into a ferocious scowl as he grabbed her arm. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
She had little time to speak let alone think before he pulled her to him and kissed her roughly. Heat blazed through her body, drowning out the fog she was beginning to understand. Tarquin’s thoughts melded with hers as she lost the ability to move. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please understand. Please forgive me.
As his lips left hers but with his hands still on her, Merrin knew in one horrific moment of belated insight that Skylar had been right.
Tarquin was so much worse than she could have ever feared. And she’d run straight back into his arms.
***
Sweat began to drip down Tarquin’s spine, dread curling around his body as the scouts began to trample everything from the grass to flowers to bushes in their haste to reach the caves.
His eyes darted around in the encroaching darkness as he prepared to defend Merrin. Her eyes were wide in fright, but she was still held firmly in his grip, physically and mentally.
Unable to move, to defend herself or exact the level of pain he knew she was capable of, there was only one way to ward off unwanted attention.
He dipped and grabbed her around the back of her knees, carelessly flinging her over his shoulder as he shouted at the closest scout to back off.
Tartarean’s voice carried to him from where he stood in the field, surrounded by mindless scouts. “Back to the cave. Take your measure and wake your replacements. The border must not go unguarded. More may come looking.” More?
As one, the scouts marched towards him, eyes black and gazes dull as they heeded Lucius’ instructions to return.
One was so eager in his compliance, he jostled Tarquin as he passed. A warning hiss erupted as he righted himself, terrified he’d lose his grip on Merrin and place her in the path of the incoming scouts.
When the men had disappeared, leaving him standing alone in the field with a limp Merrin dangled precariously, he looked to Lucius, praying to Onom that Lucius would just walk away so he could do the same.
But could he? Could he walk away from those inside the caves? Could he walk away from his calling?
Merrin’s hip bones began
to dig into his shoulder as he jostled her, trying to decide what to do. For her, it would almost be worth it. It would be almost worth it to try to run, steal her away, back to the messy hut where’d she’d first taken him. It was almost too tempting.
Lucius’s footsteps towards him and the leery smile on his face was enough to sink any hope he’d stand a chance.
As though reading his mind, Tartarean eyed Merrin. “I knew poisoning the well would be an effective tool, but I had no idea she would also drink. What a delightful turn of events.”
Nausea began to rise in his gut, his head light as he understood what Lucius was saying. “You laced the well?” So that’s how he’s controlling the council.
Lucius only smirked. “Ger her inside. She’s strong, perhaps even stronger than the Chief’s niece, but when it wears off I’ll need you to convince her to stay.”
Tarquin’s stomach muscles clenched as he took a step backward, indecision near crippling him. Tartarean’s gaze turned cool. “Did I make a mistake allowing you to retain your memories? Would you like to forget her?”
Bile rose to his throat, but he forced the words that would convince his master he was no threat. “No. But I’m not sharing her with anyone.”
His hands began to shake, his palms slippery as he protectively tightened his grip around Merrin. Lucius stared at him; a black mist seemed to be drawing together from out of the shadows, causing a wave of panic to flow through him. The slightest whisper tickled his senses bringing with it a sense of awareness and peace. Together you are stronger.
Emboldened by the whisper from the light, Tarquin took a step towards the caves. “There’s an alcove near the kitchens. Let me take her there, so we have privacy.” Let him think I’m as depraved as he thinks I am.
Lucius narrowed his eyes, black settled around his shoulders as though he’d called it. Slowly, he nodded his head. “Yes. Far more civilised. And you are no longer an uncouth hunter are you, Tarquin? You are so much more now you’ve been woken up.”
Illuminate: Upper YA Paranormal Romance Page 17
