I should have listened.
SIXTEEN
I ROUNDED THE FRONT corner of our transporter and realized the error in ignoring my brother. Jenna leaned against the door, picking at her nails. Sighing, she moved to examine the ends of her long blonde hair, tied back at the nape of her neck.
“Well, well. If it ain’t our little hero back from Tartarus and looking for revenge. My, you do love to hold grudges,” she said, dropping her hair and shifting to face me. She leaned her shoulder against the side of the transporter. “Still missing memories, or is that game old now?”
“It was never a game,” I spat.
She laughed and removed herself from the transporter, taking a few steps toward me. “Who are you trying to convince, sweetie? Me or you? Or is it the company you keep? Speaking of, how is that husband of yours?”
“You bitch!” I stomped toward her, fist clenched. Just when I swung, she twisted out of the way and slammed one of her own into my gut. I bowled over as though a wrecking ball had hit me instead. Gasping for air, I tried to grip a seam of clothing.
She twirled out of my way, laughing. “My, my, Elsabetha. You didn’t even take me to dinner before asking me for this dance.”
“I’ll … kill … you …”
“Sure you will. You can’t even dodge a hit.” She clicked her tongue. “How the mighty have fallen.”
The welling pain in my stomach subsided enough for me to stand straight. I faced her with even breathing and level eyes, keeping my energy in check. I trained for this. I trained hard for this. I refused to let her get to me.
“Tell me what you did to Noah.”
“Why? Having a few mood swings, is he?”
I clenched my jaws and took in a sharp, deep breath. Realizing I was already failing at not letting her get to me, I let it flow out between relaxed lips then shrugged. “He tried to kill me, if you must know.”
Her eyes widened. The joy that filled her made them brighten, and a smile tugged on her lips. “That must have been so horrible for you,” she said, feigning concern. “I see he didn’t succeed.”
“He didn’t. But he’s dying. Whatever you and Alexander did to him is killing him. The process is slow and agonizing. Please, tell me what you did to him and how I can reverse it. I know you had the antidote. I remember you wearing it.”
She laughed again. “Fuck, Elsa. How gullible and naive you are. The antidote was never real. You can’t recover from what Alexander gave him. Only his precious Gaia can save him now. Looks like lover boy is going to perish.”
Tears burned my eyes. “Haven’t you loved someone before? Been consumed by thoughts of them, no longer living for yourself but for them? Have your thoughts consist of them, your breaths be for them, each heartbeat is no longer your own but theirs?”
“Sadly, I have. And it was my worst mistake ever. Then Alexander found me and turned me into what I am now. And I’ve never again allowed myself such weaknesses.”
“How?” I asked. She lifted an eyebrow at me and cocked her head to the side like she wanted me to continue. I added, “How did he change you?”
“With his blood, of course. How else could I get this amount of power?”
I shook my head. “I feel sorry for you, Jenna. Very sorry for you.”
“I don’t need your sympathy! I’m better now than when I was only human. Stronger, faster, better. Better than you and your spineless Nepherium.”
I needed to keep her talking. Her attention became more directed and focused on the topic as she went on. I struck a nerve. But I had to be careful, or I would doom Noah in the process and lose my life. She had to be bluffing about the antidote. She knew more than she let on. Her energy attested to that.
“Perhaps you’re stronger. But better? Jenna, when is killing innocent people better?”
As she lifted a hand to point at me, I noticed her shaking. “Innocence is weak. Mercy is weak. Peace is over, Elsabetha. War is on your doorstep, and you’d rather waste time searching for a way to save your lover than saving the very innocence you’re so fond of. Sounds like someone is a hypocrite. If you ask me, Noah deserves the death he’s getting. It’s more mercy than he deserves, and more than you’ll ever get.”
Control over the situation slipped away. All I could see was red. “I may be a hypocrite, but I’m not a self-serving sidekick and play toy.”
“Oooooh.” Jenna giggled, dark and threatening. “Come on, Elsa. Let’s finish this dance. I’ve waited for too long, and talk is cheapening my thrill.”
I didn’t have time to think before she was on me, arm outstretched, aiming for my neck. I was clotheslined and knocked to my back. Black rimmed my vision and ringing filled my ears as I struggled to breathe. Pressure piled on my torso, like a boulder tossed on my stomach as she kicked me.
Then the pain stopped, and I struggled for enough air and for my vision to return. At first, sounds of a scuffle came to me, then with each breath in, my vision cleared a little more. I rolled to my knees then pulled myself up, sitting on them. As the sun crept over the horizon, shedding daylight to the lot, I found Jenna next to the neighboring transporter. She was on top of Justin, pounding her fists into his face.
He didn’t move. My heart stilled.
I blinked and was on her with the collar of her jacket in my hands. She laughed, taunting me. Begging me. “Do it.”
With another blink, I stood above her, my hands covered in blood and a pool of it surrounding Jenna’s head. Her sightless eyes focused on the sky above her. My heart hammered against my chest as my attention went to Justin, lying motionless.
His hand twitched. I rushed to his side, scraping my knees on the hard gravel as I knelt down.
“Justin, please! We have to go. Come on, now.” I shook him and tried to get him to open his eyes. He groaned in response. A sob choked my sore and abused throat. “I killed her, Justin! On Academy grounds. We’ve got to go. Please!”
“Bitch deserved it,” he muttered and winced when he tried to sit up. “Ugh. A little help?”
I slipped my arm under his and around his back. As painful as it was, I helped him to his feet. We staggered our way to the transporter and climbed in. I gathered the dosing gun and pumped a few bullets of pain killers into each of us before climbing in our seats and buckling in. As soon as we lifted into the air, I looked down at the pavement. Cadets in training suits surrounded her body and pointed to us.
“Shit,” I muttered, closing my eyes against the piercing sunlight.
“We have an unmarked transporter. There’s no way they can trace us or know who was responsible,” Justin said.
The painful tug of the transporter hitting high speed caused me to bite back against the pain. Even with the way things had gone down, I couldn’t help but realize things had turned out exactly how I knew they would.
I laid my head against the back of the seat.
“So much for protocol.”
SPECIAL DELETED SCENES
Noah’s Point of View Collected from Throughout the Story
SCENE ONE
WHEN NOAH FIRST WOKE inside the hydro-chamber, he panicked. His heart raced, and he held his breath for fear of drowning. This wasn’t a good way to wake. Considering the last thing he recalled was trying to help Elsa out of the rubble of Alexander’s burning home.
Elsa!
His mind raced with a dozen questions and scenarios to fit each one. None of them did him any good and only helped to increase his anxieties. But of all the questions that consumed him, the most prevalent of them was, is Elsa still alive?
Noah blinked against the blue-green water as pressure filled the mask that covered his mouth, making him realize where he was. If he didn’t start to breathe, the pressure would break the seal around the mask and let water in. He’d seen it happen before. Resuming breathing, the pressure subsided at a gradual pace, and eventually altogether.
Noah knew waking up in a hydro-chamber wasn’t supposed to happen. The water was supposed to remain at a c
onstant temperature to simulate being suspended without any outside forces to interrupt the therapy. Sedatives were given to ensure the patient remained asleep. Too many people drowned in the infant years of the contraption. There was talk of removing the weights that held the patient under water, but a person with air in their lungs always floated to the top, making the therapy less effective. Later, it was decided that the tank would be used for the most extreme cases. And the only ones he knew of still in existence was on Tartarus.
What happened to me?
Before he could recall the events that led up to the moment he opened his eyes, the doors to the med ward slid open. Four medics ushered in a gurney. A woman laid on it with her shirt sliced open, her chest getting pumped. Fear stilled Noah’s breaths, making the pressure increase in his mask and his breathing resume.
Elsa, his beloved compar, the love of his life, was dying right in front of him.
Elsa!
His hands reached out for her, bumping against the glass.
Elsabetha!
More medics entered the room, rushing to her side. Desperate, Noah tried to gain one of the medic’s attentions. If they saw him awake, they would have to let him out. He pounded the glass but the water created too much resistance. His fists barely made a thud.
Elsa, what’s wrong? What happened? Hang on, I’m coming.
Another medic grabbed two handles from the wall and said something that made the others take a few steps back. The medic placed the paddles on Elsa’s chest. Her body arched, lifting from the bed before falling back down.
They waited. No response.
The medic repeated the steps again without any change.
Noah struggled in the water. He needed to get to her. He could save her. Someone needed to look at him and help him out. He could save his wife!
Noah continued to hit the glass. Each time, his frustrations grew inside him and his fists pounded harder against the glass. Finally, a medic turned. His eyes connected with Noah’s. Instead of rushing to help him out of the hydro-chamber, he tapped his buddies shoulder and pointed toward Noah. While the same medic worked to revive Elsa, more medics turned their attentions toward Noah.
He watched as they talked among themselves, more than likely discussing how to approach his situation. Just when Noah thought he was going to be helped, each one returned their attentions to the medic trying to revive Elsabetha.
Anger and turmoil whipped within Noah. His muscles tensed and flexed. These were powerful emotions, much stronger than he recalled having before, but he didn’t care to worry about that. His only concern was getting to his partner’s side and helping to save her life. But the medics refused him.
They’re ignoring me?
That anger boiled over, and Noah’s fist connected with the glass once more. It cracked, spider webbing to the frame at the top and bottom before a pop hit his ears. All at once, the glass gave way, and the water rushed out with the roar of a waterfall. Noah lowered to the floor in a crouch. He lifted his gaze to the stunned group of medics, jaws slack and eyes wide.
One broke from his surprise, stepping to the alarm button next to the doors and pressed it. Loud buzzing pulsed through the ward. Red twirling lights dotted the walls, sending those not around Elsa on high alert, and rushing toward him.
Noah stood, intent on dodging their every move until he was able to get to Elsa. He almost succeeded until they managed to pin him down and shoot him with sedatives. Instead of making him complacent, it angered him even more, and he continued to struggle against them. Noah needed to keep an eye on Elsa and what was being done to her. He wanted—no, needed—to save her.
He should be the one saving her. Not some shoddy medic.
Noah managed to knock a few of his capturers away and got a few steps closer just to be stopped by the mask covering his face. He pulled it off then felt something wrap around his waist and pull him back. Noah lost his balance, falling on top of the person, seeing a sea of faces and outstretched hands pounce on him to block his sight of Elsa.
Another shot of sedative entered his bloodstream. His body relaxed as a numbing sleep took hold.
SCENE TWO
NOAH LEANED AGAINST THE wall of his cabin with an arm bent over the window frame. He leaned forward, resting his head on his arm and watched as Earth rotated into view inch by inch. The sun’s light outlined the planet he called home in a golden aura. Of all the time he had spent on the surface, there wasn’t a view that could compare to the one he saw now.
How have I not missed this view?
Of course, his following thought was of Elsa. She made things easier for him. His life wasn’t so complicated. She gave him a reason to live and something to protect. She gave his life meaning. When Elsa was next to him, he could see nothing else. The view of the Earth didn’t seem so grand anymore.
The door to Noah’s room opened and sealed with a silent hush. Rose perfume wafted into his nose at the same time her energy permeated the room, trying to blend and become one with his. He shrugged it off, like an unwanted embrace or a heavy blanket in the middle of summer. More so, it was an irritation that rubbed him raw like sandpaper against his skin.
A slow, aggravated sigh filled his lungs. He huffed it out.
“Don’t you want to turn around and say hi to me?”
“Hi, Natasha.” His callous tone couldn’t hide the annoyance he had with her presence, or her insistence in ignoring the fact that he was bound to another.
Captain Morrigan made a noise that sounded like she sucked on her teeth. “I guess I can understand your reasons for that response.”
Noah continued to watch the Earth grow in his vision, blocking out the stars. He wished he could block out the woman behind him as well.
This time, she let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ve been assigned your position in Avalon until you are fit to return home. Do you have anything you want me to tell your precious compar?”
Elsa …
The thought of her suspended everything in time. Protected in a place that remained untouched. Somewhere just she and Noah could go. He closed his eyes, conjuring her smiling face. Her bright blue eyes and thin lips. Her heart of gold that shone through whenever she looked at him in that very way. It was easy for him to fall in love with her. The most natural thing in the world. And it was … for him. Though there were clans that disagreed with his choice in a partner, there were those that supported him. Like the members of his team, and he had always thought Gaia, too.
He felt Gaia’s blessing the very first day he saw Elsa. She was new at the Academy and looked lost, fingering her schedule in her hand and turning in circles, looking for the signs that would point her where to go. He made his way toward her, words he wanted to say already on the tip of his tongue. Then someone else beat him to helping her. She sauntered down the hall, in the right direction, leaving him breathless and missing his heart.
That same night, he saw her at the Three Realms Club. Never expecting to see her in a place like that, he took a seat next to her. Noah could tell she had a bad day and didn’t seem much up to talking. But something he said made her smile. His insides turned to liquid. He loved her ever since. He never could remember what he had said to her. When it came to Elsa, words came so easily.
So why didn’t he have anything to tell her now?
He knew he should say things like he loved her and couldn’t wait to see her, but none of that felt right. He couldn’t come up with anything.
After breaking out of the hydro-chamber and being sedated yet again, he still felt … different. Something changed inside him. And it still was changing him. Even though he wanted nothing more than to be next to Elsa, there was something inside him he feared. Something dark and dangerous.
Before he could leave Tartarus, he had to figure out what was wrong with him and learn to control it.
“Well?” said Captain Morrigan. “Do you want me to tell her anything or not?”
“No,” he answered.
“Real
ly?” The surprise was clear in her voice.
His irritation with the woman had reached his limit. Angry, he turned and faced her. Emphasizing his words, he said, “I have nothing to tell her.”
She lifted an eyebrow, her lips parted and curved down at the corners. “All right then.” She turned to leave, stalling at the door. “You know, there’s something different about you. Your energy is different. I can’t put my finger on it. Either way, whatever it is, it’s good to see you, even if you still hate me.”
“You tried to separate me and Elsa. You tried to tell her our union could never be. You damn near destroyed everything.”
Looking over her shoulder, her green eyes struck his, cold as ice. “According to the reports in your file, it looks like I was correct.”
Noah shook his head. “For now, this is best.”
Natasha turned, facing him. Noah turned his back to her.
“Noah, why don’t you just tell me what is going on? I can help you.”
Noah’s hands clenched into tight fists as he spat, “I don’t need your help!”
Her energy flinched with his heated words.
“Fine,” she said. “I hope you get whatever is wrong with you worked out soon. You don’t even act like a Nepherium anymore.”
He listened as she stepped through the door. Once it was sealed and he was alone in silence, he realized a terrifying fact … one that shook him to his very core.
“I’m not Nepherium anymore.”
SCENE THREE
NOAH STOOD OUT OF sight, watching the congregation of people filter through the doors of the temple. Paulson Ellery’s memorial was turning out to be bigger than Noah would’ve expected. The man became known for his sacrifice. Though the stories surrounding the actual event had been skewed, the way he died was senseless. He deserved to be sent into his peaceful slumber with as much love as he could get.
Echoes of Memories (Nepherium Novella Series Book 2) Page 10