by Zile Elliven
A scream of frustration tore from her throat, and she kicked the sphere as hard as she could. With a hiss, a crack appeared in the smooth surface of the sphere, revealing an opening. She wedged her fingers into the crack and heaved, expecting to encounter resistance, but it slid open smoothly.
Small as she was, there wasn’t enough room in the sphere for her to fit inside too, but she was able sit on the rim of the opening and inspect the boy. In the dim light of the pod, she could make out his closed eyes and the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Tremors racked his entire body and caused the wires attached to him to tear at his flesh. Aeyli knew very little about first aid, but she knew leaving him in the machine was a bad idea. She needed to get him someplace safe.
The wires were the first things that had to go, so she removed them as gently as she could. Some were taped on to his skin like electrodes, while others were buried in his flesh. Her stomach rolled and rebelled as she took them out. When she was done, she pulled the boy’s body out of the sphere into her lap and held him close.
“What do I do with you now? How can I keep you safe?” Aeyli looked at his poor, battered face and stroked his brow.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to remember she was in a dream and that the real Fourteen was sleeping safely beside her, especially when her heart was telling her this boy needed her now. Aeyli had no intention of allowing further harm to come to him, dream or no.
“I will keep you safe,” she promised.
Storm-gray eyes opened and looked into hers. The room glowed brightly as the walls melted away, and the contents of the room shifted and bent in a dizzying array of colors. When she was able to make out her surroundings again, she was sitting in a field holding a very awake and adult Fourteen in her lap.
Her first thought was surprise that his sheer mass wasn’t crushing her. As soon as the thought arrived she was instantly overwhelmed by the weight of the man on top of her, and she squeaked in alarm.
Laughing, Fourteen rolled off of her, grabbed her by both arms, and hauled her on top of his chest.
Laughing.
Aeyli didn’t know what to think about this turn of events. Personally, she was still reeling from the traumatic setting they had been whisked away from. How could Fourteen be laughing?
She propped herself up on her elbows to give her enough room to see Fourteen’s face. “Are . . . are you okay?”
“I feel pretty unbelievable right now.” He stroked the sensitive skin on the inside of her arms, drawing lazy circles with his fingertips.
Her bare skin tingled with each stroke. It felt like the shapes were sinking into her skin and becoming a part of her. A heady rush of exhilaration ran through her, taking with it some of the horror of what she’d just witnessed.
She smiled at him and looked around. “Where are we, do you think? It looks like heaven.”
They were lying on a wide expanse of grass at the top of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. The sky was clear, and she could see seagulls flying in a wide circuit near the shore, looking for a meal.
“Home.” Fourteen reached out and touched her face, and the gesture was gentle, but sure.
Embers began to flare in her belly.
“This was my home a long time ago. I can actually remember some of that time now.” He smiled, and it transformed his face into a work of art.
Aeyli had never seen anything more beautiful than Fourteen’s smile. It stoked the embers in her belly and caused small flames to lick at her insides. The sensation was marvelous. “Do you know where it is?”
“Massachusetts, near Rockport, I think.” His voice was lazy, and he stretched underneath her like a cat in the sun.
This drew her attention to his attire. Curiosity piqued, she rolled off to examine him. Gone were his leather jacket and black combat pants, and in their place, a thin gray T-shirt and an old pair of jean so worn they felt soft and pliant under her fingers. When the muscles in his thigh shifted, she realized she had been feeling him up—again.
She jerked her eyes to his face, an apology on her lips, but stopped when she saw a glint of hunger in his eyes. His irises were thin bands of gray now, almost lost to the black of his pupils. The smile was gone from his face, replaced by something more predatory.
It was just beginning to occur to her that this magical place had caused most of their social barriers to pack up and leave town with no forwarding address. Currently, Aeyli wanted nothing more than to roll around on the ground with this man for the rest of the day. She managed to resist reaching out to run a finger over the hipbone that was peeking out from a gap between his shirt and pants. Barely. But when he pushed up to a kneeling position, all lithe muscles and jungle cat grace, she couldn’t remember why she had been trying to resist.
Without thinking, she leaned forward, intending to claim every inch of him she could gain access to when she caught sight of a patch of scars on his arm. She hesitated, the reminder of what he had suffered clearing her head enough for her mind to present what she had been so desperate to ignore.
“Fourteen,” she began.
“Mm?” His voice was thick, and he closed the distance between them, touching his forehead to hers.
It took all the will power she possessed not to move the micromillimeters necessary to touch her lips to his. “What did you mean earlier when you said you weren’t unaffected by me?”
Fourteen nuzzled her cheek with his nose, breathing in her scent. “You want to talk about that right now? Because”—his thumb brushed across her lower lip—“I think it could wait a little longer.”
“I—” Her throat went dry. She cleared it and tried again. “I think it might be important.” Aeyli considered getting that sentence out one of the major achievements of her life.
Fourteen took a deep breath and pulled his hand away. Thunder rumbled in the distance as he sat down beside her with a painstaking deliberation. It left her wondering if he had an actual unit of measurement to go by for the proper distance to establish for a serious conversation.
Once he was settled, his face was calm, not the cold emptiness she had become accustomed to, but more open. “Let me start by saying this: when I carried you to the car at the cemetery, I saw firsthand how you affect people, and I can assure you that you don’t do that to me.”
“Then why—” she began and stopped when he held up a hand.
“You do something completely different. It’s hard to explain, so just let me talk, and we’ll see if you can make any sense of it. The room you pulled me from, it was real, not just whatever magic hoodoo is happening right now.”
“I think we’re in a dream—” Aeyli offered, and was quelled by a sharp glance from Fourteen.
“The point is that it was a real place, but I didn’t remember it before I met you. I didn’t remember any of it before I met you. The man in the uniform—the Colonel—is the one who did this to me. He killed my father, took me, and turned me into his puppet.” With a growl, Fourteen shot to his feet and began to pace.
Out to sea, dark storm clouds filled the sky and thunder rumbled once more, only louder, closer.
“I did his jobs and remembered nothing—nothing! He took it all away from me and had me at his heel like a trained attack dog.”
Streaks of lightning sparked through the clouds, looking like a network of veins in the sky. Suddenly the storm doubled, then tripled before her eyes, and Aeyli got the impression it was as aware of her as she was of it. When the thunder rolled, it was nearly overhead.
When Fourteen’s pacing brought him within her reach, her hand shot out to grab his jeans She didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish, but she couldn’t sit idly in the grass while Fourteen bared his soul.
He stilled at her touch. “But then I met you.” Fourteen bent over to take her hand in his and pulled Aeyli easily to her feet. “I felt no effect from being around you, but when I touched your skin, something broke free inside of me. I began remembering things. The memories would go away once I stopped
touching you, but after the fight in the cemetery I was able to hold on to them.”
Confusion ricocheted through Aeyli. Sure, she was relieved she wasn’t driving Fourteen insane, but relief was swiftly eclipsed by rage toward the man who had done such terrible things to him. And to her shame, it was all topped off with disappointment.
Maybe she had read too many romance novels, but she had started to believe Fourteen was interested in her—he had busted in to save her from her aunt after all. Now it seemed the situation was more complicated. Had he done it out of gratitude? Or worse, obligation?
“Is that why you stayed? To find out more about yourself?” She hated herself for asking, but Aeyli refused to nurse a crush on someone who might be using her.
The muscles in Fourteen’s jaw flexed. “Have you seen your life? Everyone you know is trying to kill you. Of course I stayed! You’re just as lucky to have run into me, you know.”
“Are you sure that’s the only reason? Maybe you wanted to find out what your real name was or what kind of dog you had when you were three!” She rubbed furiously at her now-stinging eyes.
“It’s Dane.”
“What?” Her hand paused, and she peeked at his face.
“My name is Dane—my mother called me her little Viking warrior. And I didn’t have a dog. I had a cat named Charlie. He was a massive Russian blue I used as a pillow every night as I went to sleep.” Fourteen’s eyes flashed as he stepped into Aeyli’s personal space, forcing her to stumble backward. “I got it all back at the cemetery. I was planning on telling you everything then, but you took off like a—” He stopped, looking like he had bitten into something rotten.
The storm had reached the shore sending flashes of lightning from the sky to hit the water. Aeyli put her arms around herself, huddling against the storm and Fourteen’s fury. He stood before her, emotions bared, standing tall and proud in his righteous anger. Everything the Company had done to him had been stripped away, allowing Aeyli to see who he truly was. It was magnificent—and terrifying.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The storm paused at the edge of the shore. Fourteen tucked his hands into his back pockets and cocked an eyebrow, listening.
Aeyli stared at a patch of mud on her sneaker. “I shouldn’t have left like that. I—I scared the hell out of myself back at the cemetery. I knew if I stayed with you I was going to get you killed!” Her eyes shot up to meet his. “How could I live with that?”
Fourteen’s eyes softened. “You know, when I first met you, all I wanted to do was throw you on the first bus I could find, but I couldn’t. Even before I touched your skin, there was something about you I couldn’t walk away from.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “You’re so much more alive than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“So back at the cemetery when you yelled at me not to touch you?” Her voice was small.
Fourteen let out a short laugh and rubbed his free hand against the back of his neck. “I was stoned out of my mind! I wasn’t thinking when I knocked you down and accidentally touched your skin. Your magic really packs quite a punch if you aren’t expecting it. Every time I got my bearings you just rolled me under again, making me as useful as a rock. We’re going to have to be careful about that in the future.”
Aeyli smiled at his use of the word future. Now that she knew everything, it surprised her to hear he planned on sticking around. Even if, as evidence suggested, he did like her, her life was just one clown shy of a three-ring circus.
“I guess we will.” Sunshine broke through the clouds and warmed her face. The world around them grew brighter until the edges of reality softened and blurred into nothing.
Chapter Ten
Marshall
Marshall ignored the spell that washed over him as he drove down the overgrown road leading to the Blaike Compound. It was a harmless, but powerful suggestion that encouraged the recipient to find another, better-traveled road to get to the beach. If the family hadn’t insisted on having their home right next to the ocean, they wouldn’t have needed such a powerful spell to protect their privacy. But they had power and money to burn. They did what they liked.
The further in they went, the more his inner sight conflicted with the information his eyes were giving him. According to them, the road had given way to the forest, and he was now plowing his truck through a tree and heading straight for a large rock formation. His inner sight told him they were driving down a neatly maintained cobblestone road leading toward an imposing brass gate bracketed by rock walls on either side.
In the seat next to him, Adelle touched her index finger and thumb together making a circle then pulled them apart abruptly, like a popping bubble. Suddenly his inner sight and his eyes agreed with one another again.
“Thank you, Addy. That was giving me a headache.”
Jack made a queasy noise of agreement from the back.
“Make sure to replace it once we are through the gate, no point in pissing off our hosts until it’s necessary,” Marshall felt the need to add.
“Of course,” was her offended response.
“So,” he said, continuing their conversation, “the only people who have a problem with the Blaikes are the benighted. How is it any different from their usual grumbling against the beloved?”
“You’re spending too much time with the older Guard members, Marshall. Their antiquated way of thinking is rubbing off on you. Just because they can’t assimilate as easily into the Real as we can, doesn’t mean the benighted have nothing to offer the Guard.”
Marshall twisted his mouth in disgust, realizing that he’d been caught quoting the sentiments of the Council. “Ugh, it really sneaks upon a person, doesn’t it?”
“And just because you haven’t joined the council, doesn’t mean they won’t use every chance they can get to groom you for the position. You’re going to have to come to a decision soon.”
Marshall grunted noncommittally.
“But to return to your question, yes, these rumors come from the seedier aspects of our society. That’s why I haven’t acted on them, but they still bear keeping in mind. From what I’ve heard, the Blaikes are ruthless in their dealing with the benighted, and it’s gotten to the point where most people refuse to deal with anyone in their family.”
“Whereas the beloved can’t stop singing their praises. Sounds like a case of sour grapes to me,” Jack drawled.
“What I’ve failed to mention is that a significant enough portion of their contacts in the benighted have gone missing recently.” Her clipped words let Marshall know he needed to tread lightly here. If Adelle took up a cause, she’d tear through friend and foe to see justice served.
He nodded slowly. “That’s more serious. Why am I just now hearing about it?”
“Because they were all skeezy enough to have found their end in a dozen other ways.” Adelle conceded, blowing a stray hair away from her nose grumpily. “I was planning on looking into it after we finished our original assignment, but that’s all shot to hell now.”
“Hold that thought.” Marshall pulled the truck up to the gate and stopped. His windshield became translucent and an animated domino mask greeted them. “Welcome, Guardians. What business brings you to the Blaike house today?”
Marshall slipped into guardian-mode. “We are here for an audience with Matriarch Elanor.”
The mask’s delicate features took on a semblance of friendly sympathy. “It pains me to tell you this, but our beloved matriarch is away on a restorative holiday. She hasn’t been feeling well as of late. Perhaps another clan member could help?”
“That will do. Let us speak to Stella.”
“Oh dear.” The expression in the mask’s face became strained, if still pleasant. “I’m afraid Mistress Stella has had a bit of an altercation today and is in the infirmary. She isn’t available either.”
“I’m not afraid of the infirmary, are you, Adelle? Jack?”
Adelle shook her head.
Jack lean
ed forward and poked his head between Marshall and Adelle. “Who doesn’t love a trip to the infirmary? I can’t remember the last time I got to see gauze and sterile pads. People covered in sores and blood, that’s where the fun is!” He attempted to put an arm around Adelle’s shoulders.
“Jack,” Adelle said in a warning tone.
Without missing a beat, he aborted the motion, instead choosing to invade Marshall’s personal space with a heavy elbow on his shoulder. “Why, just the other day I said to myself, “Self, a good jaunt down to the infirmary is just what the doctor ordered.”
“Jack, no one likes you. You know that, right? Your mother paid us to pretend to be your friends,” Adelle declared, brushing invisible wrinkles off the sleeve of the shoulder Jack had dared to touch.
“The infirmary is really only for family members.” The gatekeeper ventured tentatively.
“Nonsense. Guardians are welcome everywhere in magical society. Now clear off before I unmake you.” Adelle snapped her fingers, and the mask flinched in fear.
Marshall sighed. There was a reason he was in charge instead of one of his teammates. Unlike Jack and Adelle, he could be relied on to interact in beloved high society without a handler. Neither one of them had the aptitude nor the desire for diplomacy.
Quivering, the mask stuttered out, “P-p-please follow the road to the main steps, and someone will greet you s-s-shortly.” It dipped itself in an approximation of a bow and vanished, leaving the windshield transparent once more.
“I can’t take you two anywhere.” Sometimes Marshall felt more like a parent than a leader. Not for the first time, he wondered if his team did it on purpose to make him feel necessary.
“The way I see it, they are either stalling for time or are being rude. In any case, I’m not putting up with it.” Adelle squared her shoulders as if readying herself for a fight.
“I’m just here to be eye candy.” Jack added helpfully as he settled himself into the back seat once more.
“If the stories you told me are true, hurrying things along isn’t a bad idea. But, Addy, you can’t just storm through life threatening people when they’ve pissed you off. It’s a bad idea to rub people’s noses in the fact that guardians have so few restrictions. That’s how revolutions start.” Marshall pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly.