Descendants Series

by Melissa Wright

  Emily moved past him as Aern pressed the device in his ear, a crackle of sound preceding the answer from one of Logan’s men. “Daniels here.”

  “Where are you?” Aern said, tone even.

  There was a moment of hesitation before the voice came back through. “Sorry, boss. Locket’s orders.”

  Aern pressed the bridge of his nose at the use of his and Brianna’s code names. It would mean they were on a mission. “Is she in trouble?” At his words, Emily froze halfway through the search of her sister’s bedroom, only able to hear one side of the conversation.

  Another pause. “Negative for now, boss.” There was a pulse of radio static, the snap of popping gum. They were waiting. “Could be anything,” he added.

  Could be anything. So they didn’t know. They were following Brianna’s orders. A vision, something that had kept her from telling Emily. “Thanks, Daniels. Please,” Aern said, grateful for the hint, “keep me posted.”

  He could hear the smile in Daniels’ voice. “I’ll submit the request.” There was the click of metal, a jostled firearm, and the man added, “Over and out.”

  Emily turned in the doorway, face ashen. “She isn’t hurt,” Aern promised. “She’s with Logan.” It was all he could say without telling her the rest, without saying that Brianna must have seen something that would put them in danger. That she’d asked them to keep it a secret. That she was facing it without them.

  Chapter Ten

  Brianna

  Brianna stood in the center of a defunct manufacturing plant, trying to feel the right way to go. The broken windows and open skylights threw contrast into the space, a too-sharp juxtaposition reminiscent of monsters under the bed. It was a maze of corridors and machinery, every path leading into bright light and shadow, rusted metal and hard angles. “There,” she whispered, pointing out a massive door on the north wall. Logan stood behind her, his presence the only thing keeping her brave. He’d wanted to dissuade her, she could see that, but he wouldn’t argue with the prophet, wouldn’t stop her from fighting for what she believed in. And what argument did he have? She might not be able to swing much of a punch, but she was stronger than him. She was a shadow.

  His hand grazed her waist as he stepped beside her, gesturing for his team to check out the opening she’d picked. They were silent as they rushed forward, noiseless silhouettes that only added to her unease. The vision had come suddenly, a brief flash of Brendan and this location. It was a location that she knew, a room she recognized from her own imprisonment. It was the room Morgan had held her in, where Logan and the others had rescued her such a short time ago. And it had come accompanied with the image of another room, the one they’d left Brendan in.

  His team signaled the first space clear, and Logan moved forward. “Wait here.” She nodded, wishing the vision had given her better directions to find Brendan, fighting the memory of his face, the broken, lifeless look to his limbs.

  Another figure moved through the darkness behind her, the soldier named Fox, she thought. Her eyes followed him as he crossed the room, and she searched for some recognizable feature, some clue as to where to turn.

  Her gaze caught on an opening on the west wall. She hadn’t seen it in her vision, but something drew her closer, some barely perceptible pull.

  Logan said, “Brianna,” in a low voice. She glanced at him, aware that he was right, that she should have been staying with her guard, but she kept moving, needing to look into the room behind the opening.

  “Brianna,” Logan warned again, moving in her direction.

  She nodded, only planning on taking two more steps, just enough to see into the shadows, and then she heard him running. His footfalls were only audible for a heartbeat before the grating shhhkkk of a metal shutter blocked them out. She turned, seeing the terror in Logan’s eyes as he disappeared behind the door, and then the tracer of a small black mass when he tossed his pistol beneath the last bit of space. It slid to a stop inches in front of her feet as the barrier closed with a silence that screamed finality.

  She looked down, staring at the handgun, pulse thundering as she realized what she’d done. She’d seen security like this before. In the Council buildings. The doors were made to close fast, in case of attack, and they were nearly impervious. This was an old building, but Morgan must have had the updates added when he’d been keeping his team there, when he’d used it to hold her captive. The walls, everything surrounding her would be reinforced. Protected. She felt sick, suddenly terrified at the mistake she’d made.

  “No need for that, Brianna.”

  The voice came from behind her, smooth and seductive, far too familiar, and she knew he was right. A pistol would do her no good against the man who watched her. Nothing so trivial would stop whatever he planned to do. She swallowed hard, turning to face him.

  He smiled, pleased with his catch, and inclined his head in greeting. There was a sound outside the door, a frustrated growl dampened by block and metal that had to be Logan, and Brianna’s stomach dropped. Brendan wasn’t here at all. This man had thrown the vision to her, pushed it into her mind to bring them here. He stepped forward, hands slipping from his slacks pockets to slide palm-over-palm in front of him. He wasn’t just pleased, he was eager, self-satisfied.

  “You tricked me,” she said.

  He shrugged, unabashed.

  “Where is Brendan?” she demanded.

  The dark-haired man sighed. “There was some information he was close to you. He’s being held until he gives what he knows.”

  She leaned forward. “Brendan doesn’t know anything.”

  He frowned. “I am aware of that, Brianna.”

  “Then why are you keeping him?”

  The dark-haired man’s brow furrowed. “You do realize what will happen when they decide he has nothing to offer.”

  Her chest tightened, and he went on, moving closer in an even, measured pace. “What have you seen?”

  She shook her head, unable to keep up with the shift in conversation. She felt something, a vague tug, some urge to move still closer to him, though every conscious part of her screamed run.

  His pace moved him sideways, though she felt that he wanted to close the distance, to be nearer to her. He glanced at her sidelong. “Did you see the end, Brianna? Do you know how it all comes out?”

  He was GQ in her head, the dark-haired man who had shown her these visions. And to Morgan’s men, he was Jackson, the second-in-command to that now-destroyed Council. But neither was his real name, and she wouldn’t call him either. She wouldn’t call him anything. She straightened. “What do you want with me?”

  His smile returned, this time slow and sexy. He was pleased she’d decided to play his game. He was mere feet from her now, his nearness sending a shiver down her spine. His clothing was nondescript, a shapeless gray shirt over worn jeans, but he was anything but pedestrian.

  His answer was low. “You’re going to have to choose, Brianna.” His chin dropped, dark eyes piercing beneath his brow. “But you know that, don’t you?”

  She fought the urge to back away, some instinctual need warring within her to fight or to run. To move to him. “What are you doing to me?” she whispered.

  There was a muffled blast from outside the room, and she flinched, knowing it was Logan and his team, certain they couldn’t hear anything happening within the space. There was a chill in the air, a coldness only amplified by concrete and steel.

  Suddenly, the desire to move to this man was gone, disappeared as quickly as it came on. “We saved you, Brianna,” he said. “We put the bonds in place to protect you.”

  She did step back then, her hand going to her chest. There was a pistol beside her heel, the energy within her palms, but she was powerless, she could feel it. There was nothing to do, no way to protect herself from him.

  His mouth drew down on one side. “Brianna, listen to me.”

  She forced her gaze to his, made herself go still.

  “What do you think would
have happened if we hadn’t stepped in? You’ve seen it yourself.” He was frustrated, distracted by the noises coming from beyond the walls. “It would have ended badly. No different than with the Seven,” he said. “Look what they’d done to Morgan, his family.”

  Brianna deflated, the air rushing out of her as his words became solid. As the gravity of what he was saying sank in. The shadows had bound her and Emily, taken their power from them both. They’d hidden among the Seven, plotted and schemed to see their own designs become reality. They’d killed Morgan’s father, Aern’s family. Her words came in a breathless rush as she recalled Morgan’s story, remembered the man who had set things into motion. “Tarian was one of you.”

  He shook his head, disappointed. “No, Brianna.” He leaned closer, gesturing between them. “One of us.”

  Her head spun. A dark shadow crossed the floor where a caged fan threw light from the outside over polished concrete. They had bound her. But it didn’t make sense, didn’t fit. They’d been alone. And before that… “My mother,” she breathed.

  He was suddenly closer, reaching out to her as if to comfort, and her instincts flared, jolting her back. He dropped his hands. “She was smarter than they gave her credit for.” A smile teased the corner of his mouth. “She deceived them. Deceived us all.”

  The shadow crossed the floor again, and Brianna realized it was not the steady motion of wind through a fan, but the silhouette of a soldier. Logan’s men had ascended to the roof.

  The dark-haired man drew back, and Brianna felt heat from the metal shutter behind her, an unnatural, sudden warmth that told her Logan was trying his new power. Brianna’s gaze returned to the man, both of them knowing it wouldn’t be long. Logan’s team would be breaching the security of the room within minutes.

  “Not today,” he said, regret in his voice. He reached a hand up, the backs of his fingers grazing over her cheek. “The shadows will come for you, Brianna. There’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

  She stared after him, the vague aura of his power teasing the edges of her vision as he disappeared. It might have been minutes, might have been seconds, but the now came crashing back to her and she turned … just in time to watch Logan burn through the door.

  He stood, shoulders bent, chest heaving. He must have used every bit of energy he had. She’d told him that he’d know his limitations, but it hadn’t seemed to stop him from surpassing the mark. She moved toward him, wincing at the heat that radiated from the ruined doorway, bits of molten steel dripping onto the concrete.

  “Where is he?” Logan breathed.

  She shook her head, purposefully not glancing at the hidden egress in the safe room. “No, Logan.” She slipped under his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his back, and she could feel the weariness from him. “Let’s just get out of here.”

  Logan had to have understood that it was the man from her visions, that they’d been tricked into coming. But he didn’t question what the man had wanted. Didn’t ask why he’d let her go. He simply stared into the space beyond the door, and then pressed his jaw to Brianna’s hair as he gestured for his team to clear out.

  Chapter Eleven

  Brianna

  “Damn it, Brianna. What are you trying to do?”

  Brianna sighed, staring up at her sister as she stood, arms braced at her sides. The pacing was gone; nothing was left in Emily but fury.

  “You think you have to do this yourself?” Emily demanded. “What good are the rest of us if you leave us in the dark?” She leaned forward. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Brianna answered. She felt Logan beside her, and was suddenly sorry she’d used the word. He’d still not said anything about her decision to ignore his warning, but she knew it was her choices that kept getting them into trouble. She bit her lip, reminding herself that they were okay. Whatever that was, whatever had happened, things were fine now. Better than fine.

  Logan had recovered in record time, dozing off during the ride back and waking in time to find Emily jerking open their car door to confront them—all of which had happened mere minutes ago. Brianna hadn’t had the chance to decipher any of it before they were dragged back to her room. But they were okay. They would be okay. She pulled her lip free, gaze returning to Emily with a certainty she finally felt. “It was the only way.”

  Emily’s arms tightened, knuckles going white, and Aern stepped up beside her, placing a hand on the small of her back. “Brianna,” he asked, “What do you know now that we didn’t know before?”

  She’d given them the short version of events, but they were still no closer to finding Brendan, to understanding what this man wanted. “He must be afraid of the other shadows,” she said. “Or at least not want to interfere.” Her thoughts returned to his words, to the “us,” and she shifted to the edge of her seat. “But he warned me they were coming. And I’d already seen that in the visions. My visions.” Not his, not the images of the now that he was somehow sending her, but the ones that had come when her connections were repaired. The real ones.

  “So he’s a shadow,” Aern said. “What you told us before, about the feelings you were getting from him …” He crouched to her level, bracing an elbow on his knee. “Ellin said something while you were gone; something about the way he almost seemed to drive fear into her.”

  Brianna nodded. “I think he was trying to give me direction. But Emily and I, we’re immune to sway.” It was what made them special, what allowed them to fight Morgan. Why the prophecy had chosen them. And that wasn’t all lies, was it? At least some part of the prophecy was coming true, with or without the shadows’ help. “It was like I could feel him try to push me, like somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew what he wanted me to do. But I didn’t have to.”

  Aern exchanged a glance with Emily, whose arms went suddenly slack at the loss of tension.

  “What?” Brianna asked. “What is it?”

  “I thought it was the bond,” Emily said. “It just… it felt like the bond.”

  “It had been getting stronger,” Aern explained. “And then, after you repaired new connections”—he shrugged—“it just feels like it’s moving through the bond. Emily and I, we can sense what the other is feeling.”

  “It’s like you said,” Emily added, “I know what he wants, but I don’t have to do it.”

  Logan leaned forward. “He came alone, and with Morgan’s men he took a command position. He isn’t hiding, this is something else. If they’re searching for Brianna, they’ve had her in their possession twice that we know of and they’ve not acted on it. They’re holding Brendan, questioning him. Whatever this is, whatever they’re waiting on, they’re afraid of the outcome.”

  Aern nodded. “Because the shadows wouldn’t have planted Brianna and Emily here if they were both immune to the sway, if they couldn’t control them.”

  Brianna went still, remembering the dark-haired man’s questions. Did you see the end, Brianna? Do you know how it all comes out? “Or because they have their own prophets,” she breathed. “Because they can see something I can’t.”

  Logan’s arm went around her waist. “Then why aren’t they interested in Aern or Morgan?” he said. “Why Brendan? What does he know that they don’t?”

  Emily’s foot twitched as she fought the urge to resume pacing. “Could be an assumption. Brianna was with Brendan longest.” She gestured toward Aern. “While we were running across the city, she was at the Division. Maybe they don’t have as many spies as we think, maybe their information is outdated?”

  Aern ran a palm over his chest, considering. “This Jackson was with Morgan the whole time. He could have gathered every scrap of intel with his sway. Anything they had.”

  Was he a spy, working for the men in her visions? “Then why would he warn us?” Brianna drew her jacket up tighter, though the room was warm. “What would he have to gain if he was reporting to them?”

  A shadow passed over Aern’s face, a memory of the comrades he
’d lost to Morgan’s rule. “Not everyone has the option to choose, Brianna.”

  And there was that word again. Choice. She straightened. “Okay, so what’s left? They want us because we can’t be affected by the sway?”

  “Maybe that’s what we’re missing,” Logan said. His gaze shot to Aern’s. “Morgan was able to use his power on a shadow, to control her.”

  Emily looked sick. “That’s right. Even before she’d given him the extra control.” Her hand dug into the material at her waist, wrapping around the handle of her blade. “He turned our mother, Brianna. Used her.”

  But Brianna wouldn’t believe those men were afraid. Not after the visions she’d seen. Not after the images of death and war. “He said she tricked him.” Her eyes met Emily’s, confessing all of the doubt and worry she’d been pressing back. “He said she was smarter than they gave her credit for, and she’d deceived them all.”

  Aern’s focus was still on Logan, and Brianna realized she’d missed the implication. “You mean that’s why they’re staying clear of Aern and Morgan?” Because they could turn a shadow with their sway. They were the only ones strong enough among the Seven; only the pair of them left that were of the dragon line.

  The man’s warning was back, his promise that they’d saved her, that she and Emily were somehow comparable to Morgan, to Aern. That there was something special enough about the two of them to cause a disruption, to put their lives and the lives of their family in danger. “It’s the prophecy,” she said. “They want us because we can destroy their power. And because we can create it.” Her gaze came up to meet Aern. “In you.”

  In the Seven.

  Emily’s grip came free of her blade. “She tricked them, Brianna. She put us here to hide us.” She paused, taking a breath, and there was no question it was shrouded in relief. “From them. From the shadows.” Not from the Seven. Not from Aern and Logan. She stared at Brianna. “So what do we do now?”