Carbon (The Watcher Series Book 2)

by AJ Eversley

  I pulled back an inch to look into his eyes, to read his thoughts, but my vision began to fade. I tried to blink it away, but my vision only grew darker. My knees buckled under a pain that seared through my head. Max screamed my name, holding my limp body in his arms, but he was a distant echo.

  The agonizing pain softened. As my vision focused, I found myself standing on a smooth metal walkway. I wasn’t alone. My mother stood before me.

  “He’s coming!” she said.

  “Who?” I asked.

  “He’s coming,”

  “Who is coming? Mom?” I yelled.

  “You can’t let him take her,” she said, walking backward. I tried to follow, but my feet wouldn’t move. “Don’t let him take her,” she whispered as the room faded out of view.

  I was on the floor in Max’s arms. His worried gaze looking me over.

  “Sawyer, are you okay? What happened?” he asked. His hand stroked my cheek, and my eyes found his.

  “Go find Lena. Don’t let her out of your sight,” I said.

  “What’s going on?” Max helped me to my feet as urgency pulsed through me.

  “Just go! Keep her safe!” I yelled, and though his hesitation told me he wanted to stay and help me, he turned on his heels and ran down the long hallway toward Lena’s quarters.

  I didn’t waste any time either, sprinting into my room. Chevy was there waiting. He sensed something was wrong. I strapped my belt around my waist and secured my gun in its holster before tucking my knives into my long boots.

  There was a faint popping sound in the distance, barely audible if it wasn’t for my Carbon hearing.

  He was here.

  Chapter 22

  I raced down the hallway toward the back of the castle from where I’d heard the noise come.

  “Get everybody inside the house and hide,” I ordered the servants as I sprinted past. They hurried into the house, and I ran outside.

  As soon as I had reached the dark courtyard, I sensed the change. A second energy radiated from someone, or something, hiding out here. Darkness consumed the space, and my Carbon sight took awhile to adjust. My knife was in one hand, and I pulled my gun from its holster on my hip with the other hand.

  Clouds covered the moon and the stars, making it hard to see, but I felt their presence. Staying low, I crept forward, moving closer to the energy that was building.

  A shadow moved, and I put up my guard in time to avoid the blow. My knife swung for the shadow’s face. They ducked out of the way in time, swiping in one motion at my wrist, causing my knife to drop from my hand. I sensed their movements, but another energy was building up inside of them, which distracted me.

  A wild swing came aimed for my head, but I blocked it, grabbing the attacker’s wrist and twisting it behind them. There was a muffled grunt before I felt my hand burn, and it forced me to let go. I hissed at the pain. Jumping back I raised my gun, ready to attack, as the clouds parted ever so slightly. The moon shone through just enough for me to see the face of my assailant.

  The gun slipped from my hands. My knees threatened to give out from under me, and I struggled to stand up. All the air escaped from my lungs, and I could barely formulate any words.

  “Kenzie?” I whispered, barely audible, but he heard.

  His eyes widened with some semblance of recognition, but he quickly went cold.

  “Who are you?” he asked, raising his left arm and aiming it at my chest. A power grew inside of him, stronger than I have ever felt before. It tickled my Carbon sense.

  “It’s me, Sawyer,” I took a step toward him. “How…how are you here? You’re alive?”

  “Stay back! Don’t move any closer!” he warned.

  I paused, inches from him, longing to reach out and touch him to see if he was real.

  “How do you know my name?” he shouted. “Speak, Carbon!”

  “Kenzie…” I flinched at the way he said “Carbon” with utter disgust. His body was stiff and his stance so unyielding. “What did he do to you?”

  “Stop!” he screamed. His hands ran through his hair, and he shook his head at the confusion surrounding us. “Enough games. Tell me where she is?”

  “Who?” I took a tentative step forward. “Kenzie. Talk to me, please.”

  “Where is the princess?” he yelled, flinching as I moved closer. His muscles were tense and on edge.

  The small amount of recognition I saw in his eyes moments before disappeared. His anger boiled inside of him, threatening to explode. He didn’t know who I was.

  “Give me the princess, and I’ll let you live,” he said.

  “I can’t do that—” I tried to stay calm. My mom had warned me not to let him have her. I had to trust her. My pulse quickened, and my heart leaped for his. But there was no reply.

  “Then you are of no use to me.” He unleashed his powers with more strength than I’d ever seen before. It was so quick and intense that I didn’t even have a chance to move or to breathe. A small body slammed into my side, pushing me out of the way. But whoever it was, they weren’t quick enough to avoid the blast that rocked them. I turned to see Chevy’s body drop to the stone floor with a heavy thud.

  My heart stopped.

  “Chevy!” I scrambled to him, scooping him up in my arms. I narrowly evaded another attack from Kenzie and hid behind the stone wall. My hands scanned Chevy for vitals or any sign of life. Nothing.

  Something loosened inside of me as my heart broke. I shook Chevy and tried to stir him awake, but his paws fell limp at his side. His eyes were closed, never to open again. Burning rage filled me as I held him close. I tried to breathe life back into him, but it was too late. There was no saving him this time. Kenzie had killed him. How could he have killed Chevy?

  Confusion, loss, anger … it all threatened to consume me, right then and there. I couldn’t find the energy to continue. I couldn’t move or speak.

  Kenzie smashed through the stone wall, sending rocks flying while the wall crumbled around me.

  “Stop!” I screamed.

  But he didn’t, and I ducked lower as debris tangled in my hair, mixing with the warm blood that poured from Chevy. Kenzie blasted away at the stones until I had no choice but to sprint out of the way, holding Chevy close to my side. I dove behind the tree at the center of the courtyard.

  His footsteps grew closer, and his breath became a ragged pant. His energy built up once again.

  “Kenzie, don’t do this!” I choked back the burning in my throat, and I tried to stay focused.

  “Stop saying my name!” he screamed, his voice was no longer the soothing lull I’d once known.

  The tree I leaned on splintered into a million flecks of wood. My feet scrambled as I tried to make it to the castle, but I was dropped as a blow hit my leg and blood poured from a burning wound that Kenzie had given me.

  I tried to stand, but I faltered. I dragged myself with every last bit of energy, carrying Chevy, not willing to let go nor wanting to say goodbye. I pulled Chevy in close while Kenzie’s footsteps stomped behind me. I wasn’t going to make it. I kissed Chevy on the head one last time, whispering an apology I prayed he heard.

  Finally, I twisted my body so I could face Kenzie. His shadow loomed over me. Wrath consumed his face, and he looked at me as nothing but the enemy.

  “Tell me where she is.” His voice cut the air with a hideous calm. No hint of emotion. An ever obedient solider stood before me, not the Kenzie I’d known. A silent sob hit my throat, and my leg burned. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t escape.

  “Please, Kenzie. Don’t do this. Remember me.” I raised my hand in defeat.

  “I don’t know you!” he said through clenched teeth. He raised his hand to me. His powers grew inside of him.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering his smile and perfect blue eyes from before, not wanting to see him as he was now. “I love you,” I whispered before I heard a blast.

  I didn’t feel any pain, which caused me to open my eyes. A brilliant gold li
ght from Kenzie was only inches from my face, but it didn’t touch me.

  Over my shoulder, I saw Lena and Max standing outside the castle doors. Lena’s hands stretched out toward me. She struggled to keep the shield from buckling under Kenzie’s powers.

  “Get her!” she yelled to Max.

  He ran over toward me and scooped up Chevy and I in his arms, carrying us toward the stairs where Lena stood.

  “Hurry!” she yelled. She swayed with exertion.

  Kenzie tried to follow us, but the shield held him off.

  “Go!” Lena screamed.

  We were almost there and almost safe when I felt her powers falter but only for a second; but that was all he needed. Kenzie broke through, and with that brief lapse, he released his powers one more time. I heard a scream of pain only a second before I was thrown to the ground. Max lay motionless on top of me. Warm thick blood seeped from a wound on his side.

  “No!” I screamed.

  Lena regained her powers and pushed harder against Kenzie, causing him to retreat. With a vicious scowl, he turned and fled. He hopped over the courtyard wall and sprinted out of sight, just before reinforcements arrived. Lena ordered her guards to follow, but he was already gone. His energy had disappeared.

  I leaned into Max, rolling him onto his back. My hand held tight to his side, trying to stop the bleeding. His face was pale from the blood loss, and his heart beat slower. I was losing him.

  “Get the healer, now!” Lena ordered.

  There was a mad rush around me, but all I could see was Max. I couldn’t look away from his face. I pleaded for him to stir, to wake up. “Don’t leave me, please. Don’t leave me, Max.” I begged.

  Someone pulled me aside as the healer rushed forward to help him. “He’s going to need blood,” she said.

  I went to offer.

  “Human blood…” the healer said.

  My shoulders slumped.

  They carefully picked him up and carried him into the castle, leaving me sitting on the steps covered in his blood. Chevy’s lifeless body was still draped across my lap. I pulled him in closer, feeling the warmth of his strong yet fragile body one last time. There was nothing I could do for them, either of them.

  My mind was swimming. Kenzie was alive. And he didn’t remember me at all.

  My chest tightened and my breath was uneven as anger and confusion threatened to consume me. I was in a dark hole with no light to lead me out. I didn’t know where to go and I felt dizzy and lost.

  My body moved in a trance. Someone offered their hand, but I refused. Another offered to carry Chevy, but he was my burden to bear. I followed the healers into the dining room where they had Max sprawled across the table. They were cutting away at his clothes and using anything they could find to stop the bleeding—there was so much blood.

  “Miss, maybe it’s best you wait outside. We’re doing everything we can, but we need the space. Please.” Someone touched my shoulder and took me out of my trance. I nodded and stepped out of the room. My eyes never left his body as I watched them soak towels and sheets with his blood—so much blood.

  As I dropped to my knees outside of the room, I placed Chevy on the floor and kneeled over him. I draped myself over his small body, and hot tears flooded down my cheek. I hugged him closer one last time. My body shook as a sob caught in my throat. I begged him to move or wake up, though I knew he wouldn’t. He had sacrificed his life for me. This perfect image of survival and love had been taken from me. He was gone.

  Finally, I allowed a watchful servant to take him.

  “We will give him a hero’s burial; the one he deserves.” I attempted to give a thankful smile as I watched the servant leave with the only family I had left—lifeless in his arms.

  I looked back to the room where Max lay and prayed to the stars above. Please, let him live. Please.

  Chapter 23

  Kenzie

  The minute the doors opened onto the loading dock, Kenzie pushed his way through and raced down the hallway. His temper rose with every step he took. His boots clanked on the metal walkway surrounding the station. He cut across the middle of the walkway and stormed toward Coleman’s office.

  “Out of my way!” he yelled to the guard in front of Coleman’s office. The guard wisely stepped aside. Coleman sat at his desk, not a trace of guilt or concern on his face.

  Kenzie was furious. He had been exposed on the United Isles and put in a situation unprepared. And to walk in and find Coleman calm, knowing he would’ve been informed what had happened before Kenzie arrived, it made Kenzie’s blood boil.

  “You didn’t tell me there was another Carbon there—a trained Carbon!” Kenzie yelled, inches from Coleman’s face. Kenzie leaned over the desk ready to strangle the man as his temper threatened to take over.

  “I wasn’t aware there was another Carbon,” Coleman said calmly.

  “Why did she know my name?” Kenzie demanded.

  “Who did she say she was?”

  “She said her name was Sawyer. She said I knew her. Who the hell is she?” Kenzie slammed his hands down on the desk. His anger coursed through him so strongly that he nearly forgot who he was standing before.

  Coleman’s hesitated with the slightest recognition. It was only for a second, but Kenzie caught it.

  “I don’t know who she is. Did you recognize her at all?” Coleman’s eyebrows rose with suspicion, studying Kenzie’s response.

  “No,” he lied. Kenzie did recognize her. She was the girl in the vision Russo had showed him. The girl with the amber brown eyes that felt so familiar, and yet he couldn’t figure out why. But something inside of Kenzie cautioned him not to reveal that.

  “Good, then she clearly was lying to you. You are my second-in-command. She will have heard your name before and used that information to trick you.” Coleman marked something down on a sheet in front of him before his gaze fell back on Kenzie. “You were unable to get the girl?”

  Kenzie took a deep breath and sat, recognizing the end of that conversation. He wasn’t about to learn anymore about this girl named Sawyer. “The other Carbon, she is much stronger than you lead me to believe, and she had help.”

  “I did not think she could use her powers as she has, but now we know what to expect.” The side of Coleman’s lip rose ever so slightly into a snarl. “And next time I expect you to finish the job.”

  Kenzie stiffened at the sharpness in Coleman’s tone, knowing he had tested his patience a bit too much already. “What do you have planned, if I may ask, sir?” Kenzie shifted back into an obedient solider as his rage dulled.

  “In due time,” Coleman said. “But everyone has a weakness, that I am sure of.”

  Kenzie was still furious on the inside, but he knew his place in this regime. He couldn’t afford to lose Coleman’s trust. Though his demeanor was calm right now, Coleman was capable of ending Kenzie’s life in an instant should he choose. He wasn’t a man to push too far.

  Kenzie stood to leave, but curiosity caused him to turn back to Coleman. “Sir, who is this Carbon you seek, the one this Sawyer is protecting?” Kenzie had been wondering for days, but until this point the girl had been just another mission to obediently execute. It wasn’t until Sawyer came in the picture that he wondered who this other girl was to Coleman and why he had to have her.

  “The girl is my daughter.”

  Chapter 24

  There was so much blood, and he was so pale.

  The healers rushed around Max as servants brought in towels and sheets—anything to stop the bleeding, but there was so much blood. My face was swollen and burned from the tears I’d already shed while I watched the healers work on Max, but I had no more tears left to cry. I couldn’t look away from the scene for fear that if I blinked, I’d lose him.

  “Miss, you should let us take a look at your leg.” A healer startled me, but I didn’t take my eyes off Max.

  It was already starting to heal. The wound had clotted, and though there was blood all down my leg
, it wasn’t fresh.

  “No, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

  Max barely moved while they worked on him. His body still and unconscious, almost like he was sleeping. I counted his breaths to make sure they still came. The only time he woke was when an ear-splitting scream of pain escaped him. They were cutting into the wound, trying their best to repair the damage done by Kenzie’s blast. And then his body would still, and his eyes would close once again.

  I still didn’t understand. All this time he’d been alive? I could only assume he was working for Coleman, but why? He didn’t even recognize me. He tried to kill me and would’ve if Lena wasn’t there. She sat alone at the other end of the table watching Max, looking as though she felt the same weight of responsibility that I did. If she had only held on a little longer, this wouldn’t have happened. It wasn’t her fault. I wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. The truth was that I was a curse to those closest to me.

  In this war, many would die, many who I loved and cared for. And with each one, a little piece of me would die along with them until there was nothing left of me but pain, rage, and vengeance. There was no escaping death. It followed me, as it follows everyone, waiting for an opportunity to strike and make its presence known. I wasn’t the only one that death haunts, but I couldn’t help feeling alone.

  ~

  What felt like only minutes turned to hours. Anthony and Captain Lankey returned having heard about the attack. Anthony kneeled down beside Lena and took her face in his hands. He whispered something to her. She stroked his hand, and he wiped away the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

  “Are ya alright, Miss Sawyer?” Captain Lankey said, taking me out of my stare.

  “Yes, I’m fine.” I returned my attention to Max. They’d finally stopped the bleeding, but he’d lost so much blood.