by Jaymin Eve
That was not going to happen, if I could help it. “Why don’t I just give you more blood to take to him,” I suggested to my mom.
She shook her head. “My orders are to bring you to him … alive.” She stumbled, almost falling. “He won’t wait much longer.”
As she held her hand out, I centered myself, reaching deep for composure. “Okay, Mom, I will come with you.”
I tried to take a step forward, but Daniel wrapped an arm around me, lifting me off the ground and into his body. “I will not let you go with her,” he said, voice no more than a growl of fury. “Not on your own. We’re a team.” His eyes bored into mine. “You don’t have to sacrifice yourself. We can contain the blast.”
Freeing one hand, I lifted it up to press against his face. This might be the last time I saw him, and I needed to touch him. “You know I have to do this. I can’t risk all of the humans. I won’t risk them. Please don’t ask me to.”
His jaw clenched, and I could tell he was having trouble speaking through his rage. Finally he said, “Okay, here is the plan … because I can feel your energy, I think I might be able to track you. You’re going to lead her out of the school, and then stall as long as you can until I get to you.”
He was working with me. He truly meant it when he said we were a team. “I can do that, or try at least. If Laous is there, this might be our best chance at taking him down once and for all.”
He dropped his forehead down to gently rest against mine, and that action had my insides rolling. “Don’t freak out on me,” he said softly, “but I need to tell you something … I believe Emma’s theories. You and me, this is about something so much bigger than even our souls being bonded. You captured me from the first moment I saw you. I can’t … I won’t let you go now.”
My heart just about beat out of my chest in that moment. I could barely breathe, but I had to tell him how I felt. “You’re the first family I’ve ever had,” I said with conviction. “Now that I’ve found a home with you, I won’t give it up without a fight.”
I lifted my face and pressed my lips to his. If this was my last moment – again – I didn’t want to miss out on kissing Daniel. I needed to know how it was, at least once.
He parted his lips, and before I could react, he took control of the kiss, his tongue stroking mine as our mouths moved together. The life and death situation faded from my mind and I lost track of everything but this moment.
Was there a way I could kiss Daniel forever?
With a growl, he pulled away and I had to fight back tears again. It had been short and fast, not a classically “perfect” first kiss. It was so much better than perfect. It was real.
“Do not antagonize him,” Daniel warned as he lowered me back to the ground. “Stall him as long as you can. I will be right behind you.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead one more time and then released me. I shuddered, taking one last look at his face before turning to my fate. A tearful Emma and Star caught my eye.
“Stay strong,” Emma whispered. “Laous is going down this time.”
I liked her confidence, but we all knew there was a huge chance Daniel’s ability to track me would fail. Laous seemed to be multiple steps ahead of us at all times; he probably knew a way to block our connection. But I had to try. I had to hope.
As I took a step forward, there was a blast of heat at my back but I didn’t turn around. It was only as I reached my mom’s side, when a rumble shook the ground, that I looked back. Lexen, Xander, and Chase were all holding Daniel, who appeared to be fighting his resolve, trying to come after me. He was actually gaining ground, even against his three powerful friends. His marks were swirling; flames danced across his skin. I let out a gasp as he shook his friends off and fire rippled up his body. Lucky the humans had all taken off earlier, because no doubt someone would be filming him right now.
Before I could say anything or go back to him, which is what my instincts were urging me to do, my mom wrapped her bony fingers around my wrist, and then, moving at unnatural speed, had me outside in a blink.
How … what … how in the hell did she just do that?
Two minutes earlier she had barely been able to stand, and now she was moving like a … Daelighter. My head hit something hard as I was shoved into a car, and in the next breath we were screeching away. Shit. So much for stalling them. We’d expected a human to be taking me out, and instead I got…
Light rippled across my mom’s skin; it started to jiggle … like Jell-O, before it split, tears spreading across all the surfaces I could see. I almost vomited as she literally shed her skin, ripping it off in large chunks and throwing it out the window, all the while managing to keep the car on the road.
Within thirty seconds, my mom was gone and another woman was in her place.
Still not the weirdest thing to have happened to me in the last week.
“Who are you?” I asked, trying to place the shaved-headed woman before me. She was clearly a Daelighter … House of Imperial probably. Heavily muscled, with thin lips that were pressed together as she glared at me.
She tilted her head in my direction, expression almost bored. “I’m no one of concern.”
The bomb was gone now, too. It must have been part of her illusion. Dammit. She tricked me … I’d thought for a second my mom was alive. I’d thought I could still save her. All of that hope crashed down. I bit my lip to stop a whimper escaping.
“Get back in your seat,” the woman snapped. “Laous wants you in one piece, and I’m going to be driving fast.”
Reaching out, I snagged the belt and yanked it down just as she pressed her foot to the floor. Whatever car we were in, it was heavily modified, moving at racecar speed. “Where is my mom?” I asked, fearing the answer.
Imperial bitch just laughed. “Stupid, grubber. Your mother is dead, she’s been dead since the first time Laous grabbed her. Heart gave out and she died before we could get anything useful from her. I shaved off some skin, so we could use her cells to build a skinsuit, because Laous knew we might need her as incentive, but other than that … she was left down in Louisiana. I believe she was cremated as a Jane Doe.”
Everything inside of me went cold and numb, like I’d just been sliced with a blade, but the pain hadn’t kicked in yet. I’d toyed with the idea that my mom was dead, but I guess I never truly believed it. Because I couldn’t believe it. She was my mom.
God, Mom, I am so sorry. There was some comfort in knowing she didn’t die horribly in an alien torture chamber. That had been one of my greatest fears. Thinking of her suffering had been killing me. And maybe later, when I came to terms with what happened, I’d be able to smile at her getting one up on the aliens. Dying before they could touch her.
Laous still managed to use her, though, even in death. He really didn’t have to bother. It could have been anyone wearing that bomb and I would have left. I didn’t walk out of that school just to save my mom. I walked out to save everyone. All of the Daelighters, the innocent humans. Every single person in there.
I didn’t ask any more questions. I stared out the window and tried my best to track our path, all the while praying Daniel was behind us somewhere. I didn’t recognize any landmarks, but it looked like we were heading out of the town. It was all trees.
Daniel’s face remained a burning beacon in my mind, the memory of our kiss strong. Being away from him was making me feel weak and clammy, my heart beating far too rapidly as beads of sweat formed on my forehead and along my hairline. My stomach growled, and I couldn’t tell if it was hunger or unease, but whatever was happening, I was all out of whack.
I was going to be at a very real risk of fading away if I didn’t get back to Daniel or House of Imperial soon. The bond was too new for this sort of distance. Before I could freak out further, the bitch wrenched the steering wheel, did something with the clutch and gearstick, and let the car spin in a one-eighty degree turn before coming to a halt on the edge of the forest.
“Get out,
” she growled, not looking at me.
Unclipping myself, I stumbled out of the car and she was gone in a flash, tires kicking up gravel. Okay, then. I turned to look around, trying to determine the reason she’d dumped me here, but before I could do more than catch a glimpse of approximately a million trees, a swirl of light appeared before me and Laous stepped out of it. Dressed all in black, there was no expression on his face.
When he crooked his finger at me, I remembered I was supposed to be stalling.
“Why did you bring me here?” I asked, allowing the fear I felt to creep in my voice. No doubt this loser loved the sight of other’s fear, and I wanted him happy and relaxed.
His face crinkled, impatience shining in those cold eyes. “The network is being watched very closely, so the only way I can open a transporter is if I grab a random one. That way it’s too quick for them to get here before I’m gone. Cherise just stopped when she felt the energy. She knew I was almost here.”
Bitch was a far better name than Cherise.
“Come on, grubber. I need to get you back to my place, so I can extract the blood.”
He waved at me again, but I remained where I was standing. “Will you kill me as soon as you get my blood?”
He’d tried to kill me the last time, so I pretty much already knew the answer to that. This was just to keep the talking going on.
He surprised me though. “Actually, I’ve decided not to kill you keepers. After this last fiasco with your blood, I realize now that my original plan was very shortsighted. I might never have been able to find the third if you had died, and I still don’t know what might be required from me to retrieve the stone once I have the fourth secret keeper. With that in mind, I’m going to hedge all bets and keep the four of you alive. I have people readying right now to pick up the Darken grubber.”
Good freaking luck with that. Lexen was not a dude to be messed with, but then again, neither was Daniel. I’d forced his compliance, but in the end, he hadn’t been able to let me go. Only his friends holding him back gave the changeling a chance to drag me out – using her super Daelighter speed.
“How can Cherise…” I growled her name. “Change her shape like that? It’s not a normal Imperial power, right?” I asked, desperately searching for another topic to keep him here.
“Mix of human and Daelighter technology. With the right combination, anyone can become a changeling. The longest part is growing the skin she wore, using a human cell. Unfortunately, it’s a once-only deal. But I got what I needed, so...”
“So, where are you taking me?” Next topic of stalling.
His fist snaked out then; I hadn’t been expecting it at all, which gave him an advantage. I jerked to the side, but his knuckles skimmed my jaw and smacked me in the ear. I reacted instantly, and despite my fatigue, managed to land a right hook, followed by an uppercut.
Training kicked in, and the next time he threw a swing, I side-swept his legs, knocking him down. Laous might have the speed of a Daelighter, but he was clearly used to other people doing his dirty work. Fighting was not his thing, which gave me a sliver of a chance.
As he jumped up with a roar, I went on the offensive, jabbing and kicking, changing up my style and stance to keep him off guard. He blocked a few, but most of my shots landed, and I was excited that his right eye was already darkening, blood seeping from his nose.
“Enough!” he finally bellowed, and that’s when I kneed him in the balls.
He dropped to the ground, a groan escaping his lips, and I wasted no time in slamming my shin into his temple, knocking him out.
“I’ll say when it’s enough,” I crowed at the unconscious Daelighter.
Panic hit me then because that had been way too easy. I wasn’t sure what was coming for me now. I started to walk away, preparing to run for it. At the last minute I backtracked, deciding to quickly search him for Emma’s necklace. It was giving him way too much advantage over us.
As I hurried to his side, I noted the odd array of clothing he wore. Looked like he’d scavenged through someone’s dirty laundry to piece together an outfit. An old and faded cotton shirt that had been dark blue but was now a washed out gray. His pants were surf shorts, which he’d teamed with long socks that almost met the bottom of them. Leaning down, I quickly searched his pockets. No way Laous trusted anyone else with his precious stone. He had to have it on him. Paranoid, dickface.
In my haste to search him, I missed the giant behemoth stepping out of the transporter. The next thing I knew, a heavy blow landed on my head, knocking me forward. I was barely conscious enough to immediately vomit down the giant’s back as he hauled me up in one arm.
Light sent screeching pain through my head as we stepped into the transporter.
Daniel wasn’t going to make it in time. I was heading to wherever Laous had just come from.
Chapter 11
Mammoth man turned out to be kind of a rough ride. Thankfully, in a completely non-sexual way. By the time we reached our destination my ribs were screaming at me from being slammed across his shoulder. Laous was still unconscious over his other shoulder and I was starting to freak out about what he might do when he came to. Probably my ribs would be the least of my worries.
The transporter spat us out in a weird world. It almost looked like there was nothing around here but … clouds. Literally. Just a world of clouds. The huge scary dude dropped me not very gently onto the cloud ground, Laous landing next to me.
Scrambling back, I got my first real look of my attacker and had to swallow down my unease. His face, and the skin I could see leading into his dark shirt, looked like someone had taken a blowtorch to it, melting and burning and scarring. I felt a pang of sympathy for whatever he had been through, but at the same time, I was not going to let my guard down. Not at all. He was working for Laous, which made him the enemy.
Lying on the ground made me feel extra vulnerable. The urge to get up was strong, but I was afraid I’d get knocked down again. I focused on inching away from Laous. Being this close to his slimy ass was giving me the creeps. The giant watched me but made no move to stop me from shifting out of Laous’ reach.
“I … sorry I hit you.”
I was startled by his gruff apology, his voice raspy, words stilted, like he hadn’t used them in a long time. Clearing my throat, I wondered if maybe I could use this to my advantage. I desperately needed an ally; maybe he also needed one.
“That’s okay,” I told him. “It only hurts a little.”
I pressed my hand to my cheeks and winced. Okay, so maybe a “little” was kind of an understatement. He followed my movements and his face dropped, eyes downcast.
“Where are we?” I asked, wanting to keep him talking.
He looked around, as if he was only just noticing that we were in this weird cloud world. I couldn’t see any end from where we stood, but with everything white and fluffy, it might have all been an optical illusion, making it next to impossible to tell the size of this place. I mean, was this in Overworld? Or was it somewhere else altogether? It didn’t feel like we were in Imperial, because my energy had not returned.
“Safe place,” mammoth man finally said.
“What’s your name?”
I startled him with this question. His mouth opened to form a silent mime of the word “name.”
“What do I call you?” I tried again, not sure how much he understood. He spoke broken English, but I sensed that was not because he didn’t know the language.
He straightened. “I am called Rao, Rao Imperial.” He pointed down to Laous, who I was pleased to see was still unconscious. “Father.”
I blinked a few times, trying to see an ounce of similarity between the two men. Rao was twice as wide and a foot taller than his father. More like Daniel, who until now had made everyone look scrawny. Rao might be the one Daelighter who was bigger than him.
“Daniel never said he had a cousin.” I tried to keep the surprise from my voice. Hopefully they called them cousins
here also.
Rao shook his head. “Secret.”
I swung my head around and nailed Laous with my bitchiest glare. Piece of shit asshole of a father. Hiding Rao away. I wanted to ask him why, but I was afraid it was about his face, and then I was afraid I might stomp on Laous’ throat. Which might get me hit again.
“Daniel is a good man,” I said to Rao. “He would have been a great friend to you. Laous should not have kept you apart.”
His eyes glittered at me and I realized they were a golden brown. I hadn’t noticed before now, because he was so tall and tended not to look directly at me. The color was like Daniel’s, but less cinnamon and more gold. Truly beautiful eyes.
When I told him that, he started to shuffle his feet, and my instincts were to hug him tight, but that was not going to happen. I didn’t hug strangers who had hit me, no matter how much they tugged at my heartstrings.
Laous stirred beside me and I sucked up as much energy as I could, jumping to my feet. As I expected, I wobbled like crazy once I was standing; my legs just didn’t want to hold me any longer. Heaviness pressed down on me, like darkness seeping into my soul, and I ached. My eyes burned as I fought back tears.
The weariness was one thing, but this … depression … which was closing off my mind and sucking away all will to live, was the most worrisome of all. I knew what I needed, what my body needed.
Daniel. This was the side-effect of the bond he’d mentioned.
“He won’t hurt you now,” Rao said, distracting me, and I realized he thought I was shaking because his father was waking.
I tried to smile. But there was nothing happy inside of me, so it no doubt looked more like a grimace. “I need to get back to House of Imperial,” I mumbled. “I am tied to that land, and not … strong enough … to be … away … yet.”
I was back on my knees, but at least I was about six feet from Laous, who had his eyes open, right hand rubbing across his forehead. Rao blocked my view, his strong hands sliding in under my armpits as he lifted me up.