Eternal Flame - Book 6 (The Ruby Ring Saga)

by Chrissy Peebles

  “Was it an act when he rescued those human prisoners on the mountain? He even helped saved that woman you hated at the dinner theater.”

  “I didn’t hate her. She just didn’t like me.”

  “Okay, whatever. The point is that Jackson went out of his way to save those people. He took Victor, Charles, and me to that mountain, and we destroyed it.”

  “Defend him all you want, but Exhibits A through Z make it clear that he’s a power-hungry, baby-napping nut-job.”

  “If that’s true, we need to bring Beth in on this. She’s a tracker and researcher. We can follow him and see where he’s keeping Alexander.”

  “Uh, that’s a no-go. She’s dating him.”

  “Beth and Jackson? Seriously?”

  “Yeah. She has no idea the kind of guy she’s gotten mixed up with. He wants to cleanse the world of humans and destroy it.”

  “If what you’re saying is true—which, of course, it is—you can’t open that box, not under any circumstances.”

  “I know,” I whispered.

  “Maybe that’s why he took Alexander. Maybe he wants to use him as leverage in case you decided not to open the box, sort of like when he held Mom and Dad hostage to make you go after that key.”

  I swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t doubt that for a minute. All I know is that I need to find my son.”

  “Jackson won’t hurt him.”

  “No, but he’ll murder millions of people, perform his own hellish holocaust against the whole human race for his own selfish gains.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “If you open that box, mankind as we know it will end.”

  “I can’t be part of that. I won’t. Gosh, I can’t believe how easily he fooled us.”

  “I guess we can’t tell Beth anything,” she said. “She’ll blab everything.”

  “But I have to. She needs to know who she’s in bed with.”

  “You think they’re sleeping together?”

  “I have no idea. She’s not really the kiss-and-tell type—at least not when it comes to him. I wouldn’t have even known about them if Jackson hadn’t fessed up.”

  “Beth can’t find a good guy to save her life. First Frank, and now this jackass. I feel so bad for her. She deserves so much better.”

  “I know she does.”

  “You should take her back to Tastia or Dornia. I know dozens of available knights, and most of them have slain a dragon or two.”

  “She doesn’t want to go,” I said.

  “Too bad. I even know a prince or two.”

  I laughed.

  “On a more serious note, if Jackson had agreed to help you take down Ethano, you would’ve given him the location of our world. He might’ve come after it.”

  I blew out a long breath. “Thank goodness that never happened.”

  I could’ve been the cause of two worlds destroyed. My head throbbed as those thoughts plagued me.

  ***

  The next morning, Victor, Charles, Liz, and I went out to greet Jackson. We put my parents up at a hotel, under a false name, for their own safety.

  Jackson didn’t seem fazed, but he did bring a team of six with him for backup.

  I perfected my sleeper technique and didn’t waste a second. I threw out my arms, and the half-dozen fell like flies.

  “I didn’t expect that one,” he said.

  I met his gaze. “You underestimate me.”

  “Where are my other men?” he asked. “They’re here to keep you safe.”

  I cocked my head. “They’re taking a nap too.”

  “You’ve turned on me.”

  “I believed your lies, hook, line, and sinker. By opening that box, you almost had me start an apocalypse, complete with fire, brimstone, and demons. All mankind would’ve been wiped out. Instead of saving the world like I thought, I would’ve been ending civilization as we know it. We know what you’re up to, Jackson, and we know you kidnapped our son,” I said. “How could you?”

  Confusion washed over his face. “What?”

  “We just want him back,” Victor said.

  “Give me our son, and let us leave this world,” I demanded.

  “But you promised to open the box. I thought we had a deal.”

  “That was before I knew that you’re planning to kill everyone here,” I retorted, “before you stooped to stealing my son from me!”

  “Kill everyone? I’m not Ethano.”

  “You’re right. You’re much crazier!”

  He cocked a brow. “What?”

  “I saw your study, Jackson. I know everything.”

  Even when I elaborated on every detail of his horrible plan, he played dumb and tried to deny it.

  Tired of his lies, I held out my arms and jolted him with a volt of electricity. “Listen,” I said, “I don’t want to hurt you. Just give Alexander back to me. I’m a mother, first and foremost, and my heart aches for him.”

  He hovered in the air, and a blue hue suddenly surrounded him. His energy counteracted mine, and he dropped to the ground, on his feet. “Are we done playing games?” he asked.

  Charles lunged at Jackson, and the two of them started rolling on the ground. Charles quickly gained the upper hand and kicked him in the chest.

  Victor stormed over, sword in hand, and held the weapon threateningly over Jackson’s throat. “This is your last chance, and we both know I will kill you,” he said.

  “I’m bluffing,” he said in my mind. “But I have to make it believable or we’ll never get answers.”

  “I know,” I responded back in my mind. “Just keep up the charade. He knows your reputation. Make him believe it.”

  “Who told you all of this?” Jackson asked. “Whatever you saw in my house must have been planted. Someone is trying to set me up!”

  “Dr. Meyers put us on the right track,” I said. “I wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not, but my suspicions were confirmed when I found all those ancient scripts in your basement.”

  “Dr. Meyers wouldn’t do this,” he said. “Please make your husband stop this!”

  “She’s sorry she ever befriended someone like you. You fooled her, too, and she brought her daughter around you!”

  His gaze narrowed. “Dr. Meyers doesn’t have children.”

  “But I heard her daughter...” Before the words finished spilling from my mouth, my heart began to race. “Oh my gosh! She has Alexander. That baby was...mine!” I stared at Victor. “You have detailed notes on everyone. Does the good doctor have children?”

  Victor let Jackson go. Jackson took a deep breath and shot me an irritated look. Victor ran off to get his notes.

  “I hate not knowing the truth,” I said.

  “I hate that you don’t trust me,” he responded.

  I pointed to the sleeping guards by the door. “And I hate resorting to methods like this to get answers. Because we both know that’s not who I am.”

  Jackson didn’t try to escape and just stood there, as if waiting to be proven innocent. Victor came back and leafed through his notes.

  “Dr. Meyers has no children,” Victor said grimly.

  Liz walked into the room. “Why would the doctor steal your child?”

  “I have no idea,” I said.

  Jackson let out a long breath. “And why would she pin it on me?”

  Charles looked at me. “Did you hear anything else in the background?”

  “A low sound, like a trumpet or air horn, like on a ship.”

  “Dr. Meyers owns a warehouse by the docks,” Jackson said. “I’ll show you.”

  I stared at him long and hard, wondering if I could grant him my trust. I couldn’t be so sure this wasn’t another trick. This was a crazy man that wanted to end the world. And he needed me to do it. He wasn’t going to just let me walk away.

  “I’m on your side, Sarah. I always have been,” he pleaded. “Please trust me.”

  “Just show me where to go.”

  He nodded. “Come on.”

  We sped to t
he docks and the property the doctor owned. We searched the small warehouse and the surrounding boats but turned up nothing.

  “What are you doing here? Get off my boat!” Dr. Meyers said from the docks. “What the hell is going on?”

  I jumped off the boat and landed on the dock in one glorious leap. “Where’s my baby?” I asked. “I know you have him!”

  “What? I don’t have Alexander!”

  “I heard him in the background.”

  “You heard my niece.”

  “You said before that it was your daughter. Choose one lie and stick to it, Doctor.”

  “Oh, well, uh...I’m in the process of adopting her, because my sister ran off.” She began to open her purse, but Victor motioned her to stop. “What’s wrong with you people? Do you think I’d pull a gun on you? I’m just trying to show you. I have a picture of her right here, in my wallet.”

  Victor nodded.

  I swallowed hard when she produced the evidence; I knew then that we’d made a critical error.

  Jackson was furious with her. “I thought we were friends,” he said.

  “I thought we were...more,” she said back.

  “Why would you tell them that crap about me wanting to kill all humans? That the box isn’t even real?”

  “Because I found out all about you. Somebody tried to warn me. They left all this evidence, even an audiotape of you confessing your plans to wipe out humanity. I don’t know what happened to you, but I had to tell Sarah and Victor. They need to get as far away from you as they can. You’re a virus, Jackson!”

  “So I have another enemy. What else is new? But why would you believe it?”

  “It’s pretty convincing.”

  He sighed. “Whoever is telling you these things is a liar. They knew Victor and Sarah would check my house, so they planted all of that so-called evidence to make me look as guilty as hell. My men will get to the bottom of this.”

  “It’s too late for that, Jackson,” Dr. Meyers said, glaring at him. “We can’t trust you anymore.”

  “You can’t trust me? Or are you still just pissed that I didn’t include you at Sarah’s marking ceremony?”

  “I don’t want to lose my powers!”

  “Ah. So the cat is out of the bag. You want Sarah and Victor to leave because you don’t want Sarah to open that box. It will render you powerless.”

  “You should’ve invited me to that ceremony! Is it fair that you and your minions get to keep your powers, but I’ll be weakened. I’ve never been disloyal to you, but now I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent that damn box from being opened, even if I have to smash it to smithereens—and you along with it!”

  “Think of the greater good,” he said. “Everyone who is suffering will be healed, given a second chance at life, and our kind won’t have to feed on humans. Even if many lose their powers, it will be worth it for so many lives to be saved.”

  “So only the elite will have powers? The elite you personally chose?”

  “The elite believe in keeping peace. If everyone is empowered...well, look at what’s happening now.”

  “You’ve changed, Jackson.”

  “Not me. It’s you. You are acting like a stubborn child, acting out because you didn’t get your way. How do I know you didn’t kidnap Alexander?”

  “If I want Sarah and Victor gone, why would I take their baby? If Sarah is out of the picture, the box will never be opened, and I will retain my powers. It would make no sense for me to take their child and keep them here.” Her gaze narrowed. “You took their baby so they’d stick around long enough to open that box of yours.”

  At that point, confused and not at all sure who I could trust, I jumped back into the conversation. “I’m not sure it’s either of you...or maybe it’s both of you. I don’t know what’s going on, but I want my baby back, damn it!”

  Jackson looked at me. “I can lift the prints.”

  “You have a forensics lab?” I asked.

  “Don’t need one. I can easily analyze them in my head.” He looked at Dr. Meyers. “Show me this evidence that you received,” he demanded.

  “It’s in my boat.” She hurried over and climbed aboard. A few minutes later, she came out with a small box. “Here.”

  Jackson smoothed his hand over an ancient book, then closed his eyes. Minutes passed, and I wondered if we were just wasting precious time.

  “Well, Mr. CSI, see anything?” Liz asked.

  “I see Dr. Meyers’s prints, but I’m trying to make out the second set now.”

  “Just give him some time,” Charles told her.

  “I know who these belong to,” Jackson slowly said.

  “Who?” Victor asked.

  “Sarah’s wedding planner.”

  I gasped, floored by his accusations. “Jenna? But why?”

  “What does she have against you?” Dr. Meyers asked. “Did you sleep with her too?”

  “I don’t know what her beef is with me. I have no idea why she’d try to steal a baby.”

  “We need to pay her a visit. Where does she live?” I asked.

  “Not far from here. Come on.”

  A short while later, we arrived at Jenna’s house. She wasn’t there, but we didn’t hesitate to rummage through the place.

  When I glanced down at the printer, I saw a flight schedule. “Looks like she’s scheduled to leave the country shortly,” I said, voice trembling. “We don’t have much time.”

  I couldn’t bear the thought that somebody would take my baby out of the country and away from me.

  Jackson grabbed the paper from me and frowned. “I’ll use my connections to have the flight delayed.” He got on his cell and frantically made several calls.

  We all rushed back to the car and sped to the airport. When we got to Gate B, I thought my heart would explode when I saw my precious baby boy in her arms. I burst into tears at the sight of him, and intense joy flooded through me.

  In a rage, Victor started to run toward her.

  I pulled his arm back. “Don’t spook her,” I said to Victor in his mind so the woman couldn’t hear me. “Please give my son back to me, Jenna,” I said.

  “He’s mine now.”

  I gazed at Jenna, dumbfounded. “Why would you steal Alexander from me?”

  “To keep you from opening that box, of course. They said I can keep Alexander until he’s old enough to control his powers.”

  “So there are no creatures in the box? Ones that come out of a mysterious portal?” I asked. “No plans to wipe out mankind?”

  “We would have said anything to keep you from opening it. Our team worked hard to set Jackson up. We even got Dr. Meyers to fall for it hook, line, and sinker.”

  I blinked. “Why did you turn on Jackson?”

  “Don’t be so naïve, Sarah. He’s playing on the losing side, and I choose to align myself with winners. No one wants to be stripped of their powers. It isn’t fair.” She let out a long breath. “Besides, when I found out the truth about your murdering husband, I knew he needs to be put in his place.”

  “What has Victor ever done to you?” I asked.

  “He killed my sister, and I’ll never forgive him.”

  My jaw dropped. “You must be mistaken. Victor isn’t—”

  “Don’t tell me what Victor isn’t! I overheard Jackson talking about one of his visions, and he was kind enough to confide in me.” She looked at me hard. “My sister was nine months pregnant, and your tyrant of a husband mercilessly murdered her!”

  “Victor would never kill a pregnant woman!”

  She gazed at Victor. “We both know that’s not true.”

  Victor swallowed hard.

  I looked at him. “Victor, you didn’t...did you?”

  “Ethano’s mother was nine months pregnant when she died,” he said, “but I didn’t directly kill her. I killed my father in self-defense, and she died with him, when he took his last breath, because they were bonded by the ring.”

  “Why did she put th
at ring on?” she shouted.

  “My father told her to put it on her opposite hand, and the bond took immediately. The bond was so deep because they loved each other so much.”

  “What was she doing over there anyway?” I asked Jenna.

  “She pissed off the blue-ringed immortals, and they were going to kill her. She said she found a way to disappear forever. I assumed the immortals had killed her, but she had somehow found your world and married Victor’s father. She was happy and pregnant with her second child when she was murdered.”

  Liz looked at me. “So now we officially know how Ethano paralyzed our powers. He’s part blue-ringed immortal, with powers passed on to him from his mother through the blue ring. Ethano is the only person who can do that. We thought he was blessed with some special gift, but now it all makes sense.”

  “Is that what your kind does?” she asked Victor. “Wait for women from our world to venture into yours, then seduce and marry them? You’re exactly like your father!”

  “It wasn’t planned,” Victor said. “Sarah just came into my life, and I am a changed man as a result.”

  “Bullshit! I took Alexander to make you pay for killing my sister and nephew, for taking their lives. I wanted you to mourn him the way I grieve for my beloved family.”

  “Hand the child to me, Jenna,” Victor said. “Jackson’s men have you completely surrounded. There is nowhere to run.”

  “Looks like I lost this round,” she said, then slowly handed the baby to Victor.

  I couldn’t fight back my tears of joy. Getting our son back was a miracle. I just wanted to hold him and tell him how much I loved him. After Victor placed a kiss on his head, I grabbed him and held him close. “You’re okay, baby boy,” I said.

  Immediately, like frat brothers on a pizza at a keg party, Jackson’s men pounced on her.

  “Where are you taking me?” Jenna demanded to know.

  “To an immortal prison,” Jackson said. “A trial will be held once all this is settled, but for now, you will be detained.”

  “You should thank me. I kept Sarah and Victor around for you.”

  “You left and betrayed us, chose the side we’ve been fighting against. I am glad they haven’t left yet, because we need to open the box, but this was not the right way to go about things, Jenna.”