by Melissa West
I rush forward, wrap my arms around his neck, and, taking one last fleeting look at his face, allow my lips to find his, desperate to soak in every ounce of him. I let his scent, his touch, his everything, overcome me, all of it enough to make me wish I could lose myself in this moment and never wake up. I grip the bottom of his T-shirt, eager to pull him closer, but instead of the feel of soft cotton, his shirt feels cold, damp.
“Jackson, what…?” I bring my hands around so I can see them and gasp. They are covered in blood.
I race around to the back of him, preparing to lift his shirt, when he grabs my wrists, holding me at a distance. “What are you doing?”
My eyes flash with anger. “What happened to you?”
He looks away. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. Look at my hands, Jackson. That isn’t nothing—that’s blood. Your blood. Show me your back.”
He laughs uncomfortably. “Minutes home and already you’re trying to take my clothes off.”
“This isn’t funny. Let me see it.”
He takes a step away from me, keeping his back away from view. “See what? You’re acting crazy.”
“The cipher. Let me see the cipher.”
As soon as the word leaves my lips, Jackson’s entire demeanor changes. “How do you know about ciphers?”
“Mami told me. And that doesn’t matter. Let me see yours.”
His face morphs from fear to anger. “When did you see Mami?”
Suddenly my words feel reckless. It should have been Mami to tell him, not me. “Jackson…”
“Why have you seen her?”
“It’s…she’s…”
“Just tell me!”
“She’s helping, okay? She came to see me. She wanted to help. I didn’t—”
Jackson advances toward me. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done involving her? He would hurt her just for talking to you. If he finds out she’s helping you, he’ll…” He rakes his fingers through his hair and turns away from me. “I should never have… This can’t be happening.”
Now that his back is to me, I can see the damage to his shirt in plain view. The blood starts with a large blob at the top left around his shoulder and trickles down in a red river to the bottom of his shirt, where it meets another large blob. I reach out for his back, touching the top blob easily. “What has he done to you?”
Jackson whips around quickly, taking another step away from me. “I don’t have time for this. I’m grabbing a shower and then you’re going to tell me everything. Understand?”
“Jackson—”
“No. There is nothing right about this. Nothing.” And he turns for the shower before I can say another word. The water starts up and for a moment I consider going in the house, but that was the old Ari. In less than five hours we’re starting a rebellion. I’ve lost communication with Earth. And on top of all that, I have to right my mind with the fact that I am going up against the most powerful Ancient in existence. I understand that Jackson is angry, he has a right to be angry, but we don’t have time for anger, not when we have no guarantees that we can say we’re sorry later.
And it’s with that in mind that I step into the shower, fully clothed, shutting the door and blocking it, so he can’t escape. I draw a shaky breath, forcing my eyes to stay on his face.
“Are you insane?” Jackson shouts, making sure to keep his back against the shower wall.
I inch closer, my hands out like I’m trying to calm a wild animal. “Look, I refuse to fight. Not now. Not ever. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Mami. She asked me not to, likely to keep you protected. She loves you so much.” I drop my gaze for just a second. “I love you so much. Which is why it hurts me to see you hurt. It hurts me to know that he’s hurting you and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. You won’t even let me see it. I just… Please…let me help you.”
“You can’t help me,” he whispers.
I am to him now, and if before I thought I knew pain, it was nothing compared to this. Jackson’s face shows all the horror that I know he’s endured. He looks like a lost child, the pain on his face so intense it makes my insides ache. I place my hands on his arms, and I can tell he’s trying hard to stay strong. “Actually…I can. I should have told you this sooner. I don’t know why I didn’t. I just…”
“What are you saying?”
My eyes meet his. “I can heal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Emmy taught me. I’m nowhere near as good as her or the other healers. But if you’ll let me, I can show you, I can try.” I start to turn him around, nodding reassurance when he hesitates. And then Jackson’s back is to me and I want to cry, I want to scream, I want to stab Zeus in the chest and watch with joy as he slowly bleeds to death. Because every visible bit of skin, every inch, is covered in markings, some put in so deeply they look more like scars than tattoos. There are too many to count, many crossing over each other so his back is more green than the tan of his skin. I swallow hard, my eyes lifting to his left shoulder where a fresh cipher bleeds down his back.
“Why isn’t xylem healing it?” I ask as I move my fingers easily around the wound.
Jackson flinches as I touch the edge of the cipher, which looks like a sun with a dagger through it. “Ciphering is an old form of medicine. For a cipher to work, it has to heal on its own, once the skill or virtue becomes a part of us. Originally, they were used to gauge when the sickness they were intended to medicate no longer ailed the patient. Now, I think Zeus just enjoys knowing that we’re suffering in the name of greatness. A healer can…”
I close my eyes and rest my palm over the cipher, feeling its energy, feeling the pain it inflicts. I concentrate on each of its lines, the smooth curve of the sun, the jagged edges of the dagger. I let it pierce my mind through and through until it feels as though the cipher is a tangible thing within me that I can control, move—erase. I open my eyes and lift my palm from his back, a triumphant smile on my face. “Heal?”
Jackson peeks over his left shoulder, to where the cipher used to be. “How did you do that?” He starts to turn back, but I stop him so I can heal the four other ciphers on his back, each either scabbed or still bleeding.
“How many do you have?” I ask as I trace my fingertip over a tiny one in the center of his back that looks like an eye.
Goose bumps rise on his skin as the eye begins to disappear. “I stopped counting when I received my fiftieth.”
“Fifty? How are there even fifty skills or virtues worth having?”
“Some are duplicates. I guess Zeus felt those skills were especially lacking.” He shrugs as though it doesn’t matter to him, but I hear the hurt in his voice. Regardless of what he says, he wants Zeus’s approval.
I trace a darkened heart under his right shoulder blade, breathing in and out easily, no longer needing to close my eyes to heal him. Just seeing the wound is enough. “I’m sorry he’s done this to you.” I make my way to the small of his back where a large compass bleeds down over his backside. My eyes drop to the tight contours, and I have to remind myself to keep breathing.
Jackson turns around so he’s facing me. “This, what you did, it’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
“No, I’m not. I’m reckless and prideful and selfish. And I’m scared, Jackson. I’m so scared.” I feel tears welling in my eyes and for the first time I don’t try to blink them away. “I should be focused and ready. I should be brave. But I’m not. I’m afraid of so many things right now that I can hardly breathe. I…” I swallow back a sob, knowing if I allow myself to break down now I’ll never get the strength back to do what I have to do.
“Shh…” Jackson brushes my soaked hair back and places his hands on either side of my face. “There’s a reason why everyone comes to you, Ari. Why Emmy came to you. Why Mami came to you. We know that you can succeed where others have failed. So you may be afraid, and that’s okay, but you should know that the rest of us aren’t and it’s because of you.�
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My lip trembles. “But what if I can’t—”
“You will.”
“But it’s Zeus. He’s—”
“You will, Ari. You will.”
I raise my eyes. “What if I fail?”
“You won’t.”
And as though his words are a spark, igniting my body, my lips crash into his, each touch and caress and kiss slowly taking away my fear. I know I have things to do, plans to make, but for now I want this moment. After all, there are no guarantees that I will ever get it again.
Jackson slips his hands under my wet shirt, pulling me closer to him, deepening the kiss, before moving down my neck. He pushes the edge of my shirt off my shoulder and continues his trail over my collarbone, his lips warm, his touch soft. I release a small moan as his hand cups one of my breasts, and with it, all thought is gone, replaced by passion.
Jackson yanks my shirt over my head and lifts me up so my legs wrap tightly around him. He edges to the wall of the shower and takes turns kissing my lips, then my neck, then my breasts, and back until I’m sure I’m going to explode.
He sets me down gently and pulls away, as though to ask permission, but the words never leave his lips. Instead, he slides his hands down the curve of my waist and grips my hips. His eyes drop to my pants and then back to my face and then before doubt can seep into either of our minds, he unbuttons them and slides them down, pulling me to him again, now nothing between us, just skin against skin, and I know that this moment will remain etched into my mind for the rest of my life. I love him with such an intense need that for the first time in my life, I feel whole, I feel right, I feel as though every flaw I have is now erased, filled by him. He is my perfect opposite, and now I know I don’t have to do this on my own. I can lean on him, and he can lean on me, and together we can succeed. Not alone. But together.
Jackson turns the shower off and we towel each other dry, our eyes unable to leave each other’s. I rise onto my toes and kiss his lips, then his cheeks and eyes. I feel as though I could stay here forever, kissing every inch of his beautiful skin, but the time for me is gone, and now I have to give myself over to my mission.
It’s time for final planning. Time to kill Zeus.
Chapter 27
I take my time getting dressed while Jackson grabs us some vitamin tonic from the kitchen. I dress in all black, fitted clothes, making sure that I can move easily in them. I have no idea what going up against Zeus will entail, but I’m not ruling out combat fighting and something tells me Zeus is much tougher than his age would suggest.
I run through potential scenarios as I open the weapons drawer in our closet, torn between using the gun Jackson gave me originally, the RES gun, or choosing something else entirely. Various knives and guns shine brightly back at me, all eager to be used. I grab a small knife from the stash, pulling it from its sheath. It’s nothing special, a standard six-inch fixed blade, one side razor sharp, the other serrated. I strap it to my right leg and walk around, checking to make sure I can still move easily. Satisfied, I return to the drawer and select one of the force field guns I saw the RESs training with a few weeks ago. With Zeus, immobilizing him will be key.
I slide the gun into my left boot and test my ability to move again. All feels good, so I start for the door, and then hesitating, choose another gun just in case. Dad always said you can’t have too many guns, and if nothing else, at root I am my father’s daughter through and through.
Feeling confident with my selections, I peek around at the clock. Ten thirty. Jackson went to get the tonics nearly thirty minutes ago. Worry slices through my insides, and I’m out the door, running through the hall. “Jackson? Jackson, where are you?” The common room is empty, the kitchen dark. There are no sounds through the house, no hints at all that he’s there somewhere, doing something and just lost track of time. I make my way into the kitchen, unsure of what else to do, and freeze. The kitchen looks completely untouched, except for two cups on the countertop, one knocked on its side, its orange contents still dripping to the floor. I feel my chest constrict, my lungs unwilling to suck in a breath. “Jackson…please,” I call, but I know he won’t answer. He’s gone, and only one person could have done this.
He knows. Knows all of it maybe. Which means Jackson isn’t just gone, he’s being used as bait.
The thought sends my body into turbo mode. I head back to the weapons’ drawer and shove another couple of knives and a gun into my boots and pants, anywhere I can think to hide one. Forget going in stealth-like. This changes everything.
I run into Vill on my way out, my mind so focused that I don’t hear him calling my name until I’m halfway down the front steps.
“Ari, what’s wrong? What happened?” he asks as I turn.
“They have Jackson.”
“Who?”
“Zeus. He took Jackson.”
“I don’t understand.”
I sigh loudly. “Look, I don’t have time to explain. Zeus took Jackson. We have mere hours before the plan starts. And I have to somehow find Jackson, release him from whatever hold he’s under, and kill Zeus. So as I was saying, I don’t have time for this.” I set off down the street, Vill now on my heels.
“Wait, you can’t just—Ari, wait. I can help.” He grabs my arm to stop me and I wiggle free, growing more frustrated by the second.
“You know Zeus, Vill. You know what he’s capable of. I gave the order to start our evacuation plan already. Everything is in motion. We only have a few hours to get Jackson out of there. Do you understand what I’m telling you? I don’t have time to create a new plan. There’s only time for action.” I start back for the bridge, when I feel his arm on me again. “Don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want that, but I will if you try to stand in my way.”
“I know where Zeus likely took him. I can help if you’ll let me.”
I stop, seeing for the first time just how worried he is over his cousin. “Okay, talk then. But you’ll have to talk as we walk. You think he’s in the Castello building?”
Vill keeps pace beside me. “Yes. I’m guessing in one of the holding cells in the basement. They aren’t used anymore, but they were built to question captives back when Zeus was waging war against the other regions. There’s a back entrance.”
“Good thinking.”
“Yeah, what were you going to do? Walk through the main entrance, point a gun, and demand Jackson? I’m sure that would have worked perfectly.”
I don’t look over. “Honestly, I haven’t given a lot of thought to how I’m going to get him. All I know is that I have to. There’s no telling what Zeus will do to him.” I swallow hard to keep my thoughts in check. I don’t want to think of what horrors Jackson is enduring right this second, all because of me. He won’t kill him, but death would be merciful compared to what Zeus might do.
I pick up my speed. “Do you think Zeus is with him?”
“Oh you can count on it.”
“Good.”
We slow down as we reach the Castello building and edge around to the back, though I’m sure Zeus already knows we’re there. Vill holds the back door for me and we go down a set of stairs that remind me of Jackson and my break into Parliament headquarters. It feels like years ago since we were there. I remember thinking that everything was so complicated, so intense. That day was a chocolate covered rainbow compared to what I’m walking into.
The basement level of the building has the same look and feel as the Vortex, all gray and business. Vill points down the long hallway in front of us, ignoring the six doors on the right and left along the way. “At the end of the hall is a containment room. It was once used to get information out of hostages.”
“And you think Jackson’s there?” I ask, lowering my voice, though I’m not sure why. If Zeus can see us, he can also hear us.
“One way to find out.” Vill is at the end of the hall before I realize it’s a setup. I call out for Vill just as the containment door opens and a guard exits, knocking Vill out wi
th the butt of his gun. Another guard steps out and then Zeus appears from the shadows.
“Would you believe he said you wouldn’t come?” Zeus says, his hands behind him as he walks slowly toward me. “I assured him your love was stronger than that, but he claimed you wouldn’t be so foolish. He is too young yet to realize that love is tantamount to fool.” His head jerks. “T-tantamount: equivalent in seriousness to, virtually the same.”
“You’re insane.”
He smiles. “Greatness often mingles with insanity. They are, after all, old friends.”
“Where is he? What have you done with him?”
The smile deepens into an evil grin. “In time.” He continues forward as I reach behind me for the guns strapped to my back. “Admirable, but I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He looks over my shoulder and I turn to see two more guards closing in on me. “See, I knew they would at some point ask you to kill me. Honestly, I’m surprised they had to ask. But what fun would it be to simply watch you try? I had to give you a reason to succeed. Hence, my grandson. Nothing ignites the passion to kill like threatening someone we love, wouldn’t you agree?”
“How would you know? Like you’ve ever loved anyone in your life.” I glance between the two guards, the intensity of the situation causing my senses to heighten. And then the decision is made before I’ve consciously accepted it, and I’m in motion, to Zeus before he can respond, whipping a knife from my boot, securing him from behind, and placing the knife to his neck. The guards all start forward. “Make a move and this knife finds its home in his throat.”
“I find it humorous that you feel you have the control here.”
“Well, I am the one with a knife to your throat.”