Uendeligt: An Infinitely Forever Novel

by S King

  “And you think those two options are the most viable at this point?”

  “It’s either that or we kill him outright.”

  “We?”

  I glanced at him and raised a brow, “do you want Karina mad at you for the rest of your life?”

  A visible shiver went through him before he shook his head, “or we kill him outright. Sounds logical enough.” He grabbed the black and gold mask from the backseat and reached for the door handle. “By the way, what’re you going to do if he does help us and Lumi decides she doesn’t want anything to do with you after?”

  “I wouldn’t blame her,” I answered honestly, grabbing my keys and masks. “Had the tables been turned she’d be the first one I went after as soon as I got free.”

  He nodded, not making a sound or move to say anything else. We both knew how Luminous’s rage was ignited like a fucking inferno whenever someone wronged her. She held grudges until they were settled, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she had me at the top of her list right now.

  “Come on,” we left the car and made our way through the field as the hired band’s symphony caressed the air around us.

  Much like the outside of the building the inside was down in champagne gold, soft silver, and black. From the crystal chandeliers to the flute glasses on the gold draped tables, everything was decorated in elegance and celebration.

  Waiters, bartenders and hosts were dressed in all black and kept their masks in place as they were brushed by the guard members and sect leaders.

  The colors—unlike last year—were to the members discretion. Every color of the rainbow was represented throughout the room. From the darkest of blacks to the whitest of whites. So, it was no surprise when Dristan grabbed my arm and nodded to the two women standing against the bar with the same dress on.

  “Who do you think would win during that fight?”

  “Karina,” I answered, scanning the room for my own opponent for the night.

  Somewhere between the dining area and the bar Shang was hiding away. At least, I had hoped he was somewhere in the room. I remembered Slade saying the other man was something of a phantom when he was on an order. Even his guard members couldn’t get ahold of him. My only saving grace would be fate smiling down on me.

  Dristan tilted his head to the side, “whose that?”

  “Who?” I was still scanning the room.

  Hoping to find anyone else that may be of any help should the PG member not be present. We needed to find a backup plan should the first fail. There was no time to go to his mountain home and try to duke things out there. I narrowed my eyes on the crowd in front of me, he had to be here somewhere.

  Afterall, Shang was a big ass man—much like myself and couldn’t easily hide away from plain view. If he were here then I should’ve found him by now. Right?

  “Looking like he wants a fight. Center corner, close to the kitchen.” Dristan puffed out his chest like he were really about to cross the floor and throw the first punch. Granted, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did do something as stupid as that.

  Dristan was the last one who was going to be afraid to start something in the middle of the prestigious ball. And as sad as it was to say, I’d be right there at his back getting bloodied, broken and bruised right along with him. We were funny that way and moreover, tended to always fall back into our old routines—even if we had moved up in the world.

  Instinctively, I followed his line of sight and allowed my eyes to lock on the man in question. When recognition dawned on me, I lowered my voice and leaned back a. “Meet Shang Wylan.” I whispered, jerking my head toward the hallway.

  There was no way I was going to have this conversation with others around. After the night I had had, I didn’t want to take the chance of Sadvidge showing up to one of her balls. The woman had a history of planning the circus show, but never once did she attend. As to why it was a mystery even to Alexi. Frankly, I didn’t care one way or the other if she appeared at the ball. But I wasn’t begging for her to appear either. Dealing with the snarky and snide comments wasn’t something I wanted to add to my agenda tonight.

  “Meet me in the boiler room with Karina.” I said low enough for only Dristan to hear.

  “Yeah.”

  We broke apart, with me leaving the dancehall and him beelining to the bar. Something was going to happen tonight, whether it was the formation of a new alliance or someone bleeding out within a private room at the esteemed venue. The outcome would be up to a higher power but wasting time to save Luminous was one thing I couldn’t afford to do tonight.

  I kept my pace light as I nodded to several masked members standing in the hallway talking about some sporting event I hadn’t even heard of. Making my way through the halls and heading toward the boiler room. I kept my mind focused on the task at hand. If anything, Shang would more than likely only come for a fight and nothing more. There wouldn’t be any reasoning with him or bargaining.

  The thought of me playing Russian roulette against someone who had the same amount of anger towards me was stupid at best. However, I just needed to remain calm and hope for the best.

  On the plus side, should Shang decide he wanted nothing to do with helping me or Dristan. I could always find some former Gold members to take his place. Afterall, there weren’t too many people who didn’t want a high profile order.

  Then again, it was Talay who had brought Luminous in. Of course, she had help from Cá. They had thought—ignorantly—the order had been fulfilled and it was the end of the story. As soon as Luminous had vanished from sight.

  Little did they know, nothing was over until I deemed it finished. If I thought further on the subject, I had to frown. When Talay and Cá had brought Luminous in, Shang was nowhere to be found and naturally, the courts didn’t probe further as to why the notable sect leader didn’t appear to take the credit.

  Maybe I had underestimated the man who had gotten so close to Luminous when she was recovering from her wounds. And had gone missing. Maybe he was more of a gentleman than I had originally thought.

  Whatever the case was for Shang not to show up during the order execution, I’d find the answer soon enough. For the time being, Shang’s assistance was more important than why he didn’t stand before the judges to get his awards.

  I opened the door and found the room empty of listening ears. The benefit of knowing Sadvidge’s mental process. She opted for only one darkened room to house all of the electricals and inner workings to the building. There’d be no other exits or ways for someone to overhear what was about to happen. With a sobering breath, I waited and studied the internal workings that held the building together.

  A few moments later the door opened, a flash of light reaching inside the room. When the heavy boots of my opponent crossed over the threshold, I stopped my internal analyzation of the room and turn around.

  “What the fuck do you want, Losett?” Shang wasn’t in the mood to play around with idle conversation. A blessing within its own right.

  I smirked, “why do you have an attitude with me? I wasn’t the one to award Talay for completing the order.”

  “No, but you sure as shit were the one who signed off on sending the Regal Guard. Weren’t you?”

  I shrugged an idle shoulder, “I didn’t think she would be found as soon as she was by your sect.”

  He scoffed and fell silent. Those black eyes of his burning with anger and the type of fire Luminous had when she was ready for a fight. Maybe that was why my woman had some type of feelings for the man standing in front of me.

  Taking a deep breath, I kept my tone neutral as I pointed out the fact of why we were here.

  “Whether I like it or not, I need your help.”

  “And?”

  “You want to save Luminous from the scientists, right?”

  His face turned hard as he stood straighter, “you sent her there after all?” A disgusted scoff and disbelieving smirk came from him. Shaking his head, he gave me a once over, “wow.”r />
  “I have my reasons.”

  “Right, one of them being the fat paycheck you get every week from the courts. The second being keeping your own neck attached to your body.”

  I grounded my teeth together and stared at him. Maybe he wasn’t so far off by calling me out for wanting to stay alive. There was a price tag to everything in life, no matter how big or small. Everyone chose what they were willing to pay. The price for keeping air in my own lungs? Handing over Luminous and hoping I could save her later.

  In a sick twisted version of fate, I could see why Shang—and Karina—had resentment towards me. This was something I couldn’t just replace and forget about it. Luminous River was irreplaceable and no matter what I was hellbent on bringing her home. Even if that meant rubbing elbows and kissing ass to Shang.

  “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that much.” He shook his head again and turned to leave, “don’t ask anything from me again.” Glancing at me over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes and said in a deadly tone. “I won’t hesitate to kill you, Losett. Judge or not.”

  “Luminous is running out of time, Shang.”

  “And who’s fucking fault is that?” He spun on me, clenching his fists. “You’re the one who signed off on not one but two orders to get her where she is. Now you want to circle back and pull her out of the flames?”

  “Shang this isn’t the time. Are you going to help or not?”

  He snorted and tilted his head at me, “do you even know where she is?”

  “A lab in Springcrest.”

  “Which lab?”

  “Whitmore Crystal.”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?” He glared at me and said through gritted teeth, “she’s already dead, Demir. Good job.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” The door opened, allowing Karina and Dristan to walk in before closing again with a soft click.

  “What’s what supposed to mean?” Karina looked at Shang before nailing me with a hard stare.

  I waved a hand at him, “let the Platinum Guard explain.”

  All eyes turned to Shang, but he was staring at me, “you allowed them to send Luminous to Whitmore and you think she’s going to be what?” He shrugged, “living her best life before facing reality?”

  “What’s the big deal with Whitmore?” Dristan asked, frowning between the two of us.

  “Nothing, they know what they’re doing.” Shang said, silently challenging me to contradict what he was saying.

  “Meaning what Wylan?” Karina was losing her patience and if we didn’t finish this meeting, she was going to blow all of us to shit and back.

  Unlike the last time, Dristan wouldn’t be able to save her from unleashing the pyrokinetic monster lying in wait for it’s turn to make an appearance. Silently, I urged Shang to be careful with his next words. Luminous would already be livid at seeing me again, but if she found out Shang was nothing more than ash now? I shuddered on the thought and focused of the PG member.

  Shang, as if noticing her outfit for the first time, frowned.

  “What the hell are you wearing?”

  “Don’t fucking worry about what she’s wearing,” Dristan snapped, stepping between his girlfriend and the PG sect leader. “Explain what the hell you know about the labs.”

  Shang, completely unbothered by the potential fight facing him crossed his arms over his chest.

  “They’ll process her and make sure she’s healthy enough to endure the tests and entire process of getting pregnant, continuing the pregnancy and giving birth. Then,” he smirked at Karina’s pale face, “she’ll be strapped down to a table while a machine inseminates her with the first round of sperm.”

  “From whom?” Dristan looked at me in question, but I was still trying to wrap my mind around everything Shang had just said.

  “Who do you think?” Shang shrugged again, “the guard member that shows the most strengths and abilities as Luminous. The scientists will go down a list of potential sires with each round.”

  “Wait a minute,” Karina grabbed Dristan’s arm and dug her nails into his sleeve as she swallowed hard. “Are you telling me…” she looked at Shang, “you’re saying she was taken in order to become a baby factory?”

  Shang lifted a sarcastic brow as he looked at Luminous’s sister, “you didn’t know?” As if to drive the nail home, he looked at me and Dristan. “It would seem these two already knew about it?”

  Internally, I cursed him from hell and back. The son of a bitch had known what was going on from day one thanks to his elevated guard status. What was worse, he knew just from looking in Karina’s eye that she hadn’t known the entire truth behind Luminous’s capture.

  Dropping her hand from Dristan’s arm, she took a step back. The earlier wave of nausea passing only to be replaced with anger and hatred for the man standing beside her.

  “You fucking knew.”

  Dristan closed his eyes for a second before looking at her the same way I had looked at Luminous when I told her about Slade’s death.

  “We kept it from you so you wouldn’t—” Karina’s fist flung out catching Dristan in a sucker punch.

  “If something happens to her, I swear to God, I’ll kill everyone in this room.” Turning her storm blue eyes on Shang she lowered her voice. “Are you going to tell us where this lab is, or can I just go ahead and blow you up now?”

  For a moment, Shang simply smirked at her before he realized she was too serious to be anything remotely close to joking. The smirk fell and a frown appeared.

  “It’s not going to be easy getting to the labs and getting in—”

  “Don’t worry about getting in, can you get us there or not?” Karina snapped, knocking Dristan’s hand away from her.

  Shang sighed and nodded, “yeah. I can get us there. But after she’s out and able to breathe fresh air.” He motioned around the room, “I’m fucking done being a guard member,” he turned to me. “And you can take that back to your judge buddies while you’re at it.”

  Little did he know, I was working on my own exit plan from the courts. After everything I had seen, done and been forced to swallow. Leaving was the only option I could afford to take. But the plan wouldn’t come without a heavy price. One I wasn’t too excited paying.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I finally said, leveling my eyes on him. “Now tell us what we need to get to the labs.”

  §§§§§

  Why I decided to use my Hummer as the transportation vehicle for this suicide mission, I hadn’t known. Maybe because I didn’t want to deal with covering my identity from an Uber driver. Or because it was going on five in the morning and renting a car was out of the question.

  Either way, I leaned into my seat after turning on the extraction mode and continued driving through the mountains. Karina was silent beside me while Dristan was staring Shang down.

  The truck had been uncomfortably silent since we came up with our plan and agreed on a mutual goal. Get Luminous out and blow the lab sky high. For once it seemed like the four of us would be able to get along for the most part, but the thing is. I didn’t think either Dristan or Karina were going to be able to stop fighting long enough to get Luminous out of the lab.

  Then again, the two of them seemed to always figure out their problems in the most unique of ways. Why or how, I didn’t know. But at least, I could use the excuse of driving to avoid the fight they would ultimately drag me and Shang into. The two of them would ultimately demand we take sides.

  “What are Russian Heart bombs?” Shang decided to break the silence within the truck.

  Karina glanced over her shoulder, “do you want to find out personally?”

  I scooted closer to the door not wanting to get in the middle of her temper. Not that it mattered. If the woman decided she was going to pull the pin on one of her infamous bombs, then I’d die along with Shang and Dristan.

  “Let it go man,” Dristan mumbled from against his own door.

  “There it is,” K
arina bolted upright in her seat and narrowed her eyes on the white building.

  As the sun broke across the tree tops, I slowed the truck to a crawl. This was the moment of truth and I couldn’t think of anything else outside of how I was going to convince Luminous to forgive me enough to get in the fucking truck.

  “Let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Karina didn’t even wait for the gearshift to fully reach park before she got out.

  “Aren’t you going to stop her?” Shang looked at Dristan.

  Obviously Luminous didn’t bother telling her savior about her sister and the temper radiating through the other woman’s veins.

  I’ll admit I had to hide my laugh at the dumbfounded look on his face. Through the mirror, the man who had played the tough guy act in the boiler room was now watching the woman who would be the main source of demolishing this building. And half the mountain along with it.

  Dristan made a face before grabbing Karina’s explosives bag and shook his head, “she’s fine.”

  Chapter 17 Dark Horse

  Seventy-two hours of relentless testing. Everything from blood draws, hair sampling, ability trainings. Brain imaging, body scans. I had been subjected to test after test and was still forced to remain somewhat coherent enough to put on a happy face during the entire thing. Blowing out a hard breath, I went through the unofficial itinerary that had become an extension of my life.

  The only comfort that was offered to me was the realization of the last task I would have to go through in order to pass the tests of the scientists. A psychological evaluation.

  To say I had had enough of the scientists and their bullshit was an understatement. I was done when I was placed in a solitary white room and stripped of my clothes within the first hour of being here. From there, things just began in a rapid blur and didn’t show any signs of slowing down any time soon.

  As if that weren’t the worst of everything being done to me, I had the luxury of four sterile, white walls. Thanks to my accommodations being voided of any windows and very few outside exercise sessions, I was pushing the hell out of losing my fucking mind. Then again, what else was supposed to happen when I was confined to the four walls and a bed? Hell, if I were being honest with myself, I’d admit I was somewhat happy to see the orderlies coming through the rectangle cut out in the west facing wall.