Affinity (The Guardians Book 1)

by K Fisher

  What he heard, however, forced him back into his own room, hand snapping away from the phone quickly.

  “Everything okay, Cae?” Tucker inquired, chips spewing from his mouth as he stopped another chip right before it reached his lips. “Do we need to go in there and check on her?”

  “Nope,” Caden said quickly, suddenly focused on the TV, face unblinking as he tried everything in his power to erase what he had just heard.

  “Are you su-”

  “Trust me, Tucker. You’re going to want to drop this one, they are having quite a fun time.”

  “Ah,” came Tucker’s grumbled response, just in time for both their heads to snap towards the wall keeping the rooms apart. There was a crashing sound and a loud thud, voices softly speaking from their room. “Still the case?” he asked, a chuckle erupting from between his lips as he imagined the security deposit Aiden and Hazel were testing out in the other hotel room next to them.

  Caden shook his head in response, the movement quick and abrupt as he reached and stole one of the small bags of chips from Tucker’s lap.

  “I don’t know what they’re into, but you can’t pay me enough to check.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Faye had been released from the ties that once held her, no longer deemed strong enough to use her Affinity to escape. Every time she attempted to use it against Danira, she was struck down twice as hard and left far weaker. It had only been twenty-four hours since she had been captured by Danira, and already she found herself wondering what the sweet release of death would feel like.

  Danira would call on her powers the moment she approached Faye in the cell, the power dancing through the air as it entangled around Faye’s body, pulling her Affinity from her mouth and into her essence. It reminded Faye of the scene from The Little Mermaid when the sea witch takes her voice. When she commented on such during the first visit with Danira, she was left in the pitch black with only the whispers of her doubts to keep her company. The next time Danira came, Faye still had enough energy to joke. By the third time, she could barely acknowledge the woman enough to poke the bear, her body felt as though she had not had good sleep in weeks, her muscles sore and tight, lips chapped and stomach turning.

  Faye could not imagine what it was like having the lengthy torture of Danira’s agreed upon contracts the others had, being slowly drained as opposed to the quick ‘hits’ of power the evil witch had imposed on her. How had Nico been able to stay so strong after being under her control for so long? In the end, no matter how curious he made her, Faye could not sympathize fully for what could only be Danira’s most pampered pet.

  Already she had come to Faye, using her Affinity to pull the power from Faye’s body, testing it on some of her minions. Although the power of allure went away after only a few hours for Danira, it felt like she had taken a bit of Faye that she would never get back each time she came to her.

  Thankfully, there had been several uninterrupted hours of deep sleep in between her meetings with the evil Danira brought to her. Unfortunately, it was all over far too soon when the sound of approaching footsteps woke the resting Faye. She half expected to see Nico with food and water once again, but dread filled her body when her eyes rested on the lean shape of Danira.

  “Back so soon? I think you’ve got a crush on my Affinity, Danira,” Faye said softly, her voice unable to rise much further with the effort she was already exerting.

  “If you signed a contract with me, my dear, I could promise you enhancements to your power, safety, and your life,” Danira’s thick accent wafted through the air, the softest hint of Faye’s allure at the very edges of each word, producing a sigh of abandon from the hurt woman upon the ground. “Unfortunately, it appears you have no interest.”

  “I thought you were using me to dangle in front of Hazel?” Faye spat, groaning as she slowly rose to a sitting position with her back against the cold concrete of the cell she was being kept in. she had tried to find out where she was being kept, but there was no way to get an idea from the very little she had been told and lack of items in the room altogether.

  “There is no need for that. I have Hazel in my possession thanks to Nico. Your little friends, along with my brother, are dead,” Danira said matter-of-factly, looking down at her long nails as she absentmindedly picked at the corner of one.

  The words snaked across the cell, settling deep in Faye’s chest as the allure solidified the fears. She had been too slow, too late, and put her friends in danger by getting captured in the first place. In some ways, this was all her fault. Had she not talked Tucker and Caden into searching for Hazel in the first place, even after Annie’s death had left them hesitant to ever go near Danira again, she had done everything in her power to assure her two best friends were well trained, well educated, and with Hazel they would be unstoppable. She had never banked on Hazel not knowing anything about how to fully harness her power, or in Danira ever truly winning.

  “Bitch.” Don’t cry Faye, do not. Wait until she is gone. Maybe she will take enough to just kill you and it will all be over and the guilt won’t hurt so bad.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow morning to finish you off and harvest my new Affinity. In the meantime, get some sleep sweets,” Danira purred, turning on her heel and starting back up the stairs on the other side of the room, leaving Faye alone in the cell. But that was her plan all along, right? To instill immense fear in Faye and leave her to tear at her own hair and sob until she gave up completely. So did that mean her friends were truly dead? Danira had not flaunted any of their Affinities towards Faye, but that didn’t mean she did not possess them.

  Faye stared at the staircase for several minutes after Danira disappeared, not fully convinced the witch was gone for real. Once she had decided she was alone, Faye curled up in a small ball, bringing her legs to her chest as she cradled them close. She cried until she could not possibly muster up another tear, then forced herself to get up and start thinking of a plan.

  Besides, crying never fixed anything, did it?

  She paced her cell like a wildcat, trying to rid herself of some of the heartbreak and rage boiling up in her chest. Faye may have been small, but even through the weakness Davina had invoked, she was ready to lunge at the next person to walk inside her cell. Stopping suddenly, a bright flash of sapphire caught her eye in the far left of her cell. When she had first observed the corner, it appeared to be just several old crates and an old suitcase. Now, she could very clearly see a large book atop one of the crates nearest her. The book was old, the pages appearing thick and yellowed. There was a wide leather strap keeping the book shut, the strap locking on the side. The top of the book had a bulging chalcedony stone that continued to catch the light of the lamp hanging above.

  That had not been there before. Was it placed there while Faye had slept?

  The door at the top of the stairs opened and Faye took several steps away from the bars, trying her hardest to prepare for whatever would come next. When she saw Nico, she grimaced. He looked just as exhausted as ever, the baggy black shirt he wore made him appear ten pounds lighter than the last time she had seen him. Had he really lost that much weight in such a short amount of time? In his hands, Nico had a plate of food and water. Apparently they were not going to finish her off just yet, although she wished they would.

  When he approached and unlocked her cell, she noticed the black veins on his hand. “So Danira hasn’t fixed you yet? That’s not very nice.” Her voice was shaking more than she desired, but the emotions that gripped her were not something she could control.

  Faye was still gambling with attacking Nico, despite knowing there was nothing she could do to harm him, and losing terribly. When he came close to her and leaned down to put the plate of food on the ground, she knew it was her chance to do something as soon as he entered her cell. Now or never.

  “Do not test me tonight. I…ARH!”

  Nico had been taken by surprise when Faye lunged at him, her nails scratching at his fa
ce and arms. He both tried to keep her away from his skin and fend her off, the struggle between both desires causing him to fail miserably at keeping her off him. Nico was on the ground, Faye atop him as her scratches turned to fists. He finally regained his wits and grabbed for her wrists, holding her small arms in his hands as he kept her from beating down.

  Once restrained, Faye’s rage turned into sadness, tears pouring down her cheeks as she yelled wordlessly into Nico’s face. He never bothered asking what was wrong, it was clear as day what great many things that had contributed to Faye’s outburst against him. She stopped yelling, her breath coming out in heaving chokes that shook her entire torso.

  “Are they dead, Nico? Are they?” she moaned miserably, ceasing to fight him.

  Nico had been instructed to answer a certain way and finish his task, was instructed to not let on that they had failed. That he had failed. The punishment for what had happened would surely be something long term, something he did not want to think about. But the look on Faye’s face tore deep into Nico, destroying the walls he tried so hard to keep control over.

  “Nico…Nico are they dead? Please,” she begged, and he could feel his entire chest twist and break apart at her tone. She wasn’t even attempting to use her allure against him, not even trying to trick him, he’d feel it. He did not know what possessed him to break his command and speak, but he knew he’d do anything to tell her the truth and make some of the pain go away.

  “No,” he whispered. “No, they are not dead.”

  He moved her body off his own without much effort, looking down at the food that had not been spilled across the floor. He’d have to ensure some more was snuck down, what was left behind would not supplement her if Maven returned to take from her again anytime soon. Something she surely would do. Faye was limp in his hands, sitting numbly on the floor of the cell as he released her arms and rose to his feet.

  They weren’t dead, her friends were still alive. Why would he lie and tell her otherwise? She had seen it in his face, the simplest truth in a moment where he did not need to answer her. No matter the motives or direction behind Nico’s honesty, Faye felt her heart start to fill with joy. Jaded and suspect joy, but joy nonetheless.

  “Eat this food, drink the water. I will be back to ensure you do in the next few hours,” he said, walking towards the door to her cell and opening it, slipping outside before locking it behind him. Instead of heading to the stairs, he looked over to the book upon the crates that Faye had observed earlier.

  His eyes widened with what could only be recognition and he shook his head slowly, taking one step towards the book before appearing to think better about it and walking towards the stairs, instead.

  “Nico,” Faye spoke out, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to face her, confusion on his tired face. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Tucker and Caden were up long before their alarms were set, ready to make sure the rest of the team was good to go. Tucker had raided the vending machine again and quickly made some coffee back in the room while Caden did some last minute work on his little machine and most recent obsession, Hedwig. He gathered Caden out of his mechanical and technical stupor, stopping outside Hazel and Aiden’s room just before six.

  The door opened before Tucker had a chance to knock, Hazel peeking out at them from the other side. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, her ripped and torn shirt long forgotten and replaced with a clean, long sleeved white dress shirt. The shirt was tucked into her dirty jeans, shoes already on and ready to go. Behind her, Aiden was sans undershirt, his suit neatly in place over his clean pants.

  “Hazel, what’s on your neck?” Caden inquired, adjusting his glasses as he leaned forward and peered at the faded, black vein on her neck. Aiden made an unhappy noise as the two entered their room. The door closed behind them and the investigating began. This time, Hazel did not let Caden get into her personal space, folding up the top of the dress shirt until it perfectly hid the one black vein.

  “Let’s talk really quick. Tucker, Caden, I know we are desperate to get your friend, our friend, back. But Danira has the upper hand. At this point, we don’t have a safe place to go to that she isn’t aware of, and she could be tracking us here at this very minute. But she’s not. She wants us to come to her, which means our attempts to get Faye back will be walking into a trap. So if we’re going to walk right into one, we should have a backup plan.”

  As Hazel talked, Tucker walked over to the bed to take a seat and listen, stopped himself, remembering what Caden had heard them doing the night before and, with a glare in the bed and sinful sheet’s direction, he made his way over to the side table to sit on the chair there instead while Hazel continued.

  “I don’t think she knew where I was staying with my adoptive parents, otherwise she would have taken me when I was really young, right? Which means she has limited places she has ever actually interacted with me. I think… I think she may be waiting at one of those places, and I have a pretty good idea which one. I was attacked and relieved of my job just before she found a way to put me into the spell. Where did you all find me when she captured me? My body, that is.”

  “Faye tracked it to some demolished building. You took off there one day while we were watching you, laid down, and we saw the spell take over. Do you remember going there, or why?” When Hazel shook her head, Caden continued. “She led you there and probably hoped she’d get a chance to pick you up and keep you in her care while the spell worked to get into your head and slowly drain you. That’s her calling card. The Affinity for life does not necessarily mean you can save lives and bring life. In Danira’s case, it means she’s like a succubus, slowly draining the Affinities around her to keep herself alive through the years. Fast drains she can use for a limited time, but if she drains you for years? She gets to keep that little Affinity after everything. We’ve seen the ones she has collected so far.”

  “Like Pokemon, but for powers,” Tucker murmured, folding the blank pages of the notepad on the table absentmindedly.

  Aiden was over by the window, cracking the blinds as he peered out into the sunlight, keeping an eye out for them as they spoke.

  “I don’t remember what brought me there…or anything else, truly. I just woke up and I was in the building with you all. Like Faye said when she found me, Danira must not have been banking on you all breaking into her spell. So here’s what I am thinking. Aiden is going to be close by, but not close enough she can sense him…just to see wherever she takes us or for when things inevitably go wrong. If she sees him with us, that’s our last element of surprise. Nico probably told her he ran into her brother, I don’t see why he wouldn’t, which means she will be planning for him. I want her to think his appearance was only temporary like it has been in the past.”

  Aiden appeared less than pleased at being asked to keep out of the action until necessary, but it was clear it had been a discussion previous to the one they were currently having, for he said nothing to fight Hazel on the subject. Tucker, however, spoke up quickly.

  “So we’re just going to go to one of these places she tried to attack you and hope she shows up? Nico can sense Affinities, I’m sure he can get an idea of where Aiden is hiding, unless all of us being so close by somehow confuses that. Also, Caden isn’t exactly the best fighter and I’m not looking forward to starting a losing battle, especially when he,” he jerked his head towards Aiden, “isn’t going to be around to help out.”

  “Tucker, I know we don’t know each other well, but I’m not saying my words are law. We just need to get something planned before we run there. I was thinking Caden could look ahead, see if there’s any there maybe phone signals close by. He’ll be able to reach out and get help as long as we have a phone or device hidden among us. It’s either we run in, try our best to get Faye and get away, or we let Danira kill her. At this point, we don’t have much strong points to work off of. As for Aiden, all we can do is try to hide him I can put him b
ack in the spirit realm for now, if necessary.” This received a grunt from Aiden, but no actual words.

  Tucker looked like he was about to open his mouth and speak further, but closed it, shaking his head before standing from the seat, leaving the ripped notepad behind. Caden took a sip of his coffee and nodded towards the door. “Well, I suppose we are going to head to the place we found you, first. Something tells me that’s close to wherever she’s hiding.”

  “I doubt she’d be setting up her tent in the middle of the city for this,” Hazel murmured, ignoring the confused gazes from her team as she grabbed for one of the bags of pretzels Caden and Tucker had brought with them.

  “Going to tell us about the mark on your neck yet, Hazel?” Caden reminded her.

  She and Aiden exchanged looks and Hazel shook her head, looking at the two of them. “Nothing good, but is it possible to tackle one thing at a time and destroy Danira? After we get Faye back, if we get Faye back, we can figure it out.”

  “Alright,” Aiden said, turning from the window to look at the three of them as they swallowed down further questions. “Hazel’s right. It is time.”

  “This is where you all found me?” Hazel said softly, vaguely aware of her voice coming out in a squeak as she stared at the leveled land in front of her. The area in which her community home, the orphanage she was attacked in, once stood.

  “Yeah, this is the place,” Caden responded, walking over to the fence that surrounded the demolished area. The fence had different signs hanging from it describing the business building that would soon replace it, along with the contact information for a company that was building there in the future.