Edyn (The Essence Project Book 1)

by C. E. Smith

  I look like a warrior.

  From the tunnel to the left, a scream erupted. I dropped my hand and looked around. Other people had looked up, but nobody made a move. Another scream had me running. I flew down the tunnel and could hear the echoes of a struggle bouncing off the narrow rock walls. I ran my shoulder into a corner as I flew around it and cursed under my breath. Two more turns, and I nearly passed a smaller tunnel branching off, but heard a voice cry out in defeat. I skidded to a stop and headed towards them. When I rounded a corner, I saw a hooded man pinning a girl against a wall. I wasn't close enough to see his face but his forearm was pressed against her throat and his other hand groped devilishly under her skirt.

  "Hey!" I yelled, running towards them. He snapped his head to the side to glare at me from his left eye, giving the girl enough time to stomp on his foot and break free. She ran past me up the tunnel bawling with her arms around herself like she was trying to hold the pieces together. My eyes, though, were fixed on the man. Shaking his foot, he looked at me. He stopped when our eyes met.

  A wide grin spread slowly across his face. "Miss me, sweetheart?"

  I staggered back into the wall. It was Samuel.

  "I’ve been looking for you. I have to say, I like this new look immensely. Very sexy." He took a step towards me, and I shifted to the side. I turned my head to see where the tunnel was to get out of there, and he was on me in the same instant. He pressed his forearm against my throat as he slammed me against the jagged rock wall, just like he had with the other girl. "You know, you left me quite unsatisfied the other night. I think you ought to make it up to me."

  I grimaced and spit in his face. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head into the wall. Blackness creeped in the corners of my vision as I cried out.

  Not again.

  His face was close to my mouth, and I could feel that hot breath on my face again. "Now, where did we leave off?"

  This time rage filled me instead of fear, and I sank my teeth into the side of his face. Blood filled my mouth, and he fought away from me. I spit his blood on the ground and wiped it from my chin as he clutched his face.

  "You bitch," he hissed as he backed further away. Blood was running down his cheek and staining the collar of his shirt. It looked black in the dim light. The wound in his cheek was pretty sizable and would need a few stitches at the very least.

  Good.

  I pursued him this time and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back into another wall. I brought my elbow up to meet the side of his head and felt a satisfying crunch. Blood ran out of his ear, and he kicked my almost healed ankle out from under me. Pain lit it up again, and I hit the ground. He fell on top of me drove his fists into my ribs. I felt several cracking, and I screamed. He pinned my arms over my head, just like he had when I was drugged in his apartment on his bed. Fear surged in my stomach and burned hotter into hatred and unspeakable fury.

  "You know, you’re more fun when you’re not doped up," he sneered. "I like that fire. You know my son gets that same desire from me, don’t you?"

  I slammed my forehead into his, and his grip loosened on my arms. I pulled them from his grasp and raked my nails across his face. He rolled off me to get away. Jumping to my feet, my left arm across my ribcage, I ran at him, kicking him as hard as I could in the stomach and head over and over.

  "Stop," kick, "being," kick, "an asshole," kick.

  I wanted him to hurt, and I wanted him to never forget this so he wouldn’t try it again with anyone else. Vengeance was surging through me as he cowered on the ground trying to protect himself.

  A pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and pulled me backwards. I yelled and kicked out with both legs, struggling to break free. Pain was searing through my middle, but my emotions overpowered it.

  "Hey, enough! Enough!" Ryker yelled in my ear. "You’re going to kill him."

  "I don’t care!" I shouted.

  "Yes you do, trust me," he shouted back.

  I slowed my struggle, and he turned me to stare into my eyes. "Edyn, baby, trust me on this. That’s not something you want to have to live with. Trust me!" he insisted.

  I searched his eyes. They were frantic, fearful, and there was something dark hiding there too. Samuel groaned from on the ground. I gingerly turned around and walked up to him. Ryker grabbed my hand, but I didn’t go any farther.

  I spat on him again. "You monster. Don’t you ever come near me again." I crouched down, wincing as I did, so he could see me better and growled at him, my voice low, "And don’t you ever forget my face. I want this face to haunt you every day."

  I stood up with a yelp, and Ryker pulled me gently away from his father.

  He stepped in front of me, and said without looking at me through gritted teeth, "Edyn, wait around the corner."

  "No, way! I’m handling this!"

  "Do it!" he barked.

  I started to protest, but could see just the side of his face. An unholy rage burned in his eyes which quickly extinguished my own.

  That was a whole lot of nope.

  Backing away a few steps, I turned and walked around the corner with a huff. Then I leaned back against the wall and sank to the ground, peering up at the ceiling. The jagged rock scraped into the flesh on my back through my shirt, but I barely noticed, my ribs were screaming. I couldn’t get the image of Ryker’s wrath-filled face out of my mind’s eye. It was horrifying and powerful.

  To be honest though, it was pretty hot.

  I heard Ryker’s voice from around the corner, but it was so low that I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then the sound of bone cracking followed by a terrible scream filled the tunnels. Samuel’s screams continued for a few moments, and I didn’t want to imagine what Ryker was doing to cause those sounds. I was grateful he made me wait around the corner.

  "...and if you so much as breathe the same air that she does it will be the last thing you ever do, so help me God. I’ll find a way to live with your death if that’s what it takes to protect her."

  He came around the corner, and his hands were covered in blood. Every knuckle on them was busted open. He was breathing hard, and there was still a fire in his electric blue eyes. When they locked with mine, the fire dimmed, and his shoulders slumped. Ryker wiped the blood onto his jeans and stretched out a hand to me to help me up. I took it and winced as I tried to stand. My ribs were clearly broken, and I let go of his hand, falling back onto my butt.

  He dropped to his knees, and his hand went to my face, leaving a red smear across my cheek. "What? What did he do to you?"

  I coughed up blood. "Ribs," I choked out.

  Concern flooded his face again. "We need to get you home. I’ll carry you, but picking you up is going to hurt. Can you breathe okay? You might have a punctured lung."

  I shook my head gingerly. "I don’t. It’s just hard to breathe because it hurts."

  He slid an arm under my knees and another behind my back. "Okay, brace for this. On three. One, two," he picked me up before he said three, and I screamed.

  "You lied to me, jerk," I coughed.

  "Anticipation only makes pain worse. Trust me."

  I tried to stay tense against him to avoid moving as much as possible. It took a little while to reach the apartment because he was trying to be as careful as he could with me. When we arrived, he had to set me down so he could unlock the door. As he swung it open, he gently draped my right arm over his shoulders to support my weight as he helped me inside.

  "Straight to bed with you," he said.

  I didn’t protest. In the bedroom, I turned around with my back to the bed. He helped me sit down and lifted my legs onto the mattress. I winced, but it was bearable. He pulled my shoes off and went in to the bathroom. I could hear the faucet running and assumed he was washing the blood off his hands.

  But he returned with a wet wash cloth and carefully dabbed my face. "How is there so much blood on your face but only two small cuts? What did you do to him?" he asked.

  "He
had me pinned to the wall so I bit his face as hard as I could."

  He smiled smugly and brushed my bangs off my forehead. "That’s my girl. Hey," he said. "Your hair."

  I’d forgotten all about getting it done. It seemed trivial now. "Do you like it?"

  He leaned back to get a better look. "You could say that." There was that spark in his eyes again. "My vengeful little angel."

  I rolled my eyes. "I’m sure I look like Hell right now."

  Shaking his head, he said "Not at all. You look like a fighter. Who would’ve thought that knock-kneed little four year old I knew would grow up to be so sexy?" He leaned over me and kissed me gently, but passionately on the lips. I arched my back towards him in response and cried out, collapsing back onto the bed. "Sorry," he whispered. "I probably shouldn’t do that right now. You’re just so," he paused. "Irresistible."

  I smirked. "Stella said you would like it."

  His face went white. "What all did she say about me?"

  I frowned. "Not a lot. She said you’ve had a lot happen to you, but that was all for you to tell me."

  His expression relaxed. "And I will, I promise. It’s just not pretty so I don’t want to ruin anything right now."

  "That’s okay. She did tell me the two of you were very close and had a lot of," I hesitated for effect, "fun together."

  He brought his hand up over his eyes, and let it slide down the side of his face. "She would say that, wouldn’t she?"

  I laughed and it hurt, making me cough. I rolled over in pain as I did, and blood dribbled onto the sheets from my mouth. "Shit," I muttered.

  He rubbed his hand in slow circles on my back. "I should have gone back and killed him the other night after I got you home," he whispered.

  With eyes burning, he stood up and marched across the room to his dresser. Swiping his arm with significant strength, he smashed a glass off of it in a fit of rage. The glass shattered before it hit the floor. "This is my fault," he said through gritted teeth.

  "No," I choked out, "It’s not."

  He spun and venom filled his voice. "Yes it is, Edyn! If I had gone back there that night and taken care of this, you wouldn’t be lying in our bed bleeding and broken!" There was fear in his eyes, and loathing. I realized he was terrified of losing me, and he hated himself for allowing this to happen. If Samuel had killed me, I knew Ryker would never forgive himself.

  "Hey," I said and wrapped an arm protectively around my ribs as I rolled onto my back. "Did you just say ‘our bed’?"

  His mouth fell open, and he gave me a look before closing his eyes laughing softly. "Yeah, I guess I did. What about it?"

  "Well," I began. "You are practically a stranger. I mean we’ve been together how many days now?"

  He shook his head smiling to himself. "Well I guess it’s your bed then, and I’ll camp out on the couch." He turned to go, and I reached out to him.

  "Don’t you dare," I said. "You get back here. I'm good at sharing."

  He came and sat on the edge of the bed. "What do you need, my love?"

  I made a face. "Your ‘love’?"

  "Yeah, well." He shrugged. "Too soon?"

  I thought about it for a moment. "No, I guess not. What the Hell? I’m in ‘our bed’ with a man I just started dating in the last few days, living God only knows how far underground in a cave—"

  He cut me off. "It’s not a cave! We have electricity and indoor plumbing!"

  "Whatever," I said. "What I’m saying is how can things get any crazier from what my life was like last week?"

  "Point taken. So, you’re fine with ‘my love’ then? If you’re not, I’m sure I could always say ‘my darling’ or ‘my heart’s desire’ or—"

  I interrupted him. "Alright, alright. Point taken. But we probably should change these sheets now that I just got blood all over them."

  He shrugged. "It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had blood all over my sheets."

  I narrowed my eyes, about to ask what he meant.

  "Part of my past," he said with a dismissive wave. "I’ll tell you about it later. Now, get some rest. Let your body start to heal."

  "Fine, fine." I rolled my eyes. Breathing hurt so I figured trying to sleep through some of the pain wasn’t a half bad idea. "Stay with me?"

  The corner of his lips kicked up, and he got into bed with me. "Always."

  7

  I was starting to get cabin fever again after another few days of forced bed rest by Ryker. My ribs, I knew, wouldn’t heal very fast, but other than that I felt fine. Having not been Topside in over a week, I was missing the feeling of the sun on my skin. Ryker told me we could go up there, but he would send a friend there first to scout things out and make sure Jophiel wasn’t around. When his friend returned, he told Ryker that his connections said Jophiel had headed farther south. We figured it would be safe if we kept close to entrances to the Circle just in case, and stayed far away from my house.

  In spite of it all, I wanted to know how my mother was doing. Ryker sent his friend to go check on her again, and when he came back, he said she seemed fine physically, although he could tell she was very worried. I wanted to get word to her that I was alright, but Ryker thought if Jophiel came back he might find a way to track me from it.

  Since I really was just wanting fresh air and sunshine, Ryker took me to Piedmont Park. It had been around for ages. There was an old water feature there that supposedly used to shoot water thirty feet up, but it had stopped working when my mother was a child. Some playground equipment still stood and was sturdy enough to use. The colors were faded and the exposed metal was rusted, but it was sound. You could see by looking around that it was once a beautiful place to spend the afternoon. Now it was run down and overgrown. We’d played here a few times as kids together, and it looked much the same, just a little more worn.

  When we arrived, a mother was trying to gather her children. Her son, who couldn’t be more than seven, chased around his sister who was a little younger. She squealed, and he laughed as he kept up the pace. Their mother was exasperated, begging them to hurry up because the bus was scheduled to arrive any minute.

  I watched the children for a moment while a small smile played at my lips. I hoped one day to have a few of my own, and tried to picture it. When I did, I saw Ryker standing there next to me.

  "What are you thinking about, beautiful?" he asked.

  I turned to look at him. "Just the future." My eyes darkened. "I just hope I live that long."

  He pulled me close. "Of course you will. You think I’m going to let anything happen to you?"

  "You can’t save me from everything, you know," I said.

  Brushing a piece of hair out of my face, he looked deep into my eyes. "Sure I can."

  I laughed. "Well it’s a nice thought anyway."

  "I mean it," he said. "I will lay down my life protecting you if that’s what it takes."

  Leaning my head against his chest, I said "I know you will, and I will do the same for you."

  He sighed. "I wish you wouldn’t."

  I pulled back to look at him and saw the frown on his face. "Well, too bad. You don’t get a say in that. I’m not about to let something happen to you if I can stop it."

  That dark cloud passed over his eyes again, but he didn’t say anything more. Wanting to lighten the mood, I took his hand and started walking along the path to the swings. As a kid, the swings were always my favorite. Sometimes I would lay on my stomach and pretend I was flying. I couldn’t do that today because of my ribs, but I made a mental note to come back and do it once I was healed, as silly as that was.

  Sitting down in one of the swings, I scuffed the toes of my sneakers in the gravel. Ryker moved behind me and put his hands just above mine on the chains.

  "Want me to push?" he asked.

  "Sure," I said. "Just go easy. I’m not sure how much it’ll hurt."

  As with nearly everything he did with me, he pushed me gently. I could feel a bit of soreness from my bones, but no
thing that would make me tell him to stop. I swung my legs forward and back as he pushed me, toes skimming the ground here and there. We didn’t say anything, but didn’t need to. It was peaceful and hot, but the shade made it nice. A light breeze danced on my skin as I moved through the air.

  I turned my head to the right, and when I did, I saw a girl sitting completely still on a swing, staring at me. Digging my feet into the gravel, I roughly came to a stop, wincing as I did. For a moment she didn’t move, and I recognized her as the same girl that had bumped into me on our Job Selection day, the one that haunted my dreams. She hadn’t aged one bit. I could barely hear Ryker’s muted voice in the background asking me what was wrong. Slowly she raised one finger to her lips, and there was a flash of white.

  I fell off the swing as I threw my arms over my face. The light was blinding. When I landed, I expected to hit the gravel but found a hard, smooth floor like marble beneath me. I lowered my arms and squinted as the light started to dim.

  What the Hell?

  I was sitting on the floor of a white room. There were no visible doors or windows, and I couldn’t see a source for the light.

  "Edyn," a soft echoey voice spoke behind me.

  I spun around and saw the girl. She was a dark contrast to the brightness around us. Army green cargo pants covered her legs, and she wore a faded black shirt. Her hair was as dark as mine but shorter, and without the red.

  "Edyn," she said again.

  "Who are you?"

  She spread her hands wide. "Don’t you recognize me?"

  I nodded. "Yes, but I never knew your name."

  "My name is Mariah. I need you to come find us, Edyn. Come save us. Find the Tomb."

  Puzzled, I said, "Save you from what? Who else is with you?"

  Her voice started fading, and the light in the room faded along with her. She reached out her hand towards me. "He’s killing all of us. Save us, Edyn. You and Ryker..."

  The room went totally black, and I couldn’t see anything. Panicked, I started crawling frantically, searching for a way out. Dizziness washed over me as if the room were spinning.