“Look,” I said. “I don’t want any trouble from you. If you leave, I won’t hurt you.”
He laughed, yet it sounded like a threat. “You think you have some kind of power over me? You’re pathetic compared to her. She knows all; see’s all. I only have to—”
I lifted my hand to his neck and crushed his windpipe. His big body collapsed as if I had cut his puppet strings. His dull eyes stared blankly forward and his mouth was caught in a permanent gasp.
I didn’t even know this man’s real name. I’d given him a chance, but this was my family and no way in hell was he stopping me from getting them back.
Alex choked behind me. For a minute, I thought I had somehow caught him with the elements. Then I realized he was laughing. A huff came out of me as I sidestepped him. I didn’t have time to deal with his mess of a mind.
I shook my head and ran to Aunt Grace. “Come on. We have to get you all out of here.”
She stared at me in apparent wonder until I tugged on her arm. I didn’t give Frick a backward glance. He had put me through a living nightmare and enjoyed every second of it. Later, I would deal with killing him. Right now, I had more important things to worry about.
We raced down the hall, avoiding as many waves of people as we could. And to think I had been the one to start this stampede. If I had to do it over again, I might have picked a different part of the compound to blow up. Next time I would know better.
Grace screamed for us to follow her into a different hallway. This one was even more loaded with bodies. Several times I thought about drifting to Uncle John, but even if I could manage to find his signal in this tangle of people I couldn’t risk being disoriented for even a second.
We got several glares from those who were trying to get out of the building, but Alex moved ahead of us and started shoving people aside. His strength shouldn’t have been all that surprising considering he had been juiced up just like Roger, but I found myself stunned every time he picked someone up and set them aside as if they weighed ten pounds.
He had grown since the last time I had seen him, no longer the awkward almost man I had met back at school. I had been right about him. He was handsome in a boy-band sort of way, not too bulky with just the right amount of muscle. He’d cut his lanky hair into a spiky mess that worked better on him.
After turning one last corner we came to a dead end. Chains secured the double steel doors ahead of us in place. Alex grabbed one end and yanked the metal free then flung the door aside. Pretty impressive, even using Hulk standards. I followed him in.
Uncle John’s body lay in a heap in the corner. Blood crusted the floor around him, and he panted like a sick dog. When Aunt Grace screamed his name, he looked up, his overgrown hair covering half his face in a stringy mess. His brown eyes flashed anger and hatred until recognition seemed to hit him.
He stumbled to his feet, swaying as he came toward her. She ran to him and flung her arms around his neck, sobbing. He made mewling noises for a few seconds then cleared his throat and looked over at me as if he didn’t know me.
“Uncle John?” I said. “We’re getting you out of here.”
He glanced away from me and whispered something to Aunt Grace.
She shook her head then whispered something back.
I gritted my teeth and moved closer. They both shut up.
“Why are you acting like I’m not even here? Don’t you want to leave?”
Uncle John grunted. “We never asked to be rescued.”
Of all the replies he could have given me that was the worst I could imagine. Anger built in my chest before exploding. “Fine!” I whirled around and marched to the door. “I’ll leave you here then. Better hurry though, or there will be no helicopters left. Come on Jenny!”
Jenny stood by Aunt Grace, her eyes clouded with uncertainty. Aunt Grace pushed her shoulder. “Go with Rayla, Jen. Find Sarah. We’ll catch up with you later.”
That was it? This was what I had risked everything for? I just shook my head and grabbed Jenny’s hand. Again. So much for gratitude.
Alex followed Jenny and me down the hall, not saying a word. At least someone around here had some sense.
We found Creed clutching a screaming Sarah who pummeled his chest like a real champ. For a second I worried she could see the monster underneath his glamour, but Sarah would have been way more upset than this if that were the case. Either way, it didn’t seem to bother him; in fact, his expression was more amused than anything.
I took her from him and she nearly caught me in the face before she stopped herself.
“Rayla!” She sobbed into my shoulder as I carried her away from the hanger. “Where’s Mommy and Daddy?”
“They’re coming, baby. Don’t worry. You’re safe now, okay?”
She planted a good hit against my shoulder. “You didn’t come home!”
I sighed. I still owed her a present, too. “I’m sorry. I wanted to.”
She pulled away from me and studied my face, wrapping her legs tighter around my waist as if they could keep her with me forever. “Did the bad men get you too?”
I still didn’t know the answer to that question. “Kind of.” I was so glad Creed was undercover, I could just imagine what she’d be saying if she knew what he really looked like.
She hugged me, squeezing my neck until I thought I couldn’t breathe. She sniffed once. “It’s okay then.”
Just like that, I was forgiven.
If only we could all be as loving as little kids.
I’d expected some kind of fight from the Order, but none came. Other than encountering Frick, no one even cared we were going the opposite direction as everyone else.
Alex showed some true skill and managed to get a copter for us. That notwithstanding, something about this situation reeked of too easy…like we were being allowed to leave as planned. I eyed him as he climbed into the cockpit wondering if this was a mistake. Was Alex even someone we could trust? There was really no way to know for sure, but I was watching him now.
Creed had bowed out once we found everyone. Although I could feel him and the rest of my army watching from a distance, they didn’t move to interfere. More than ever I was sure these creatures had gotten a bad rap from people who wanted to control them. I just hoped he was still watching me in case something bad happened. In case Mr. Lambert came strolling around the corner with Ainessa on his arm again.
Aunt Grace finally stumbled out of the building with Uncle John clinging to her shoulder.
“Daddy!” Sarah cried.
Tears streamed down my cheeks. So many emotions flooded into me, but the only one I was ashamed of was jealousy.
I would probably never know who my father was. Uncle John had been a great substitute. I loved him like a father, yet, seeing Sarah reach for him like this set my teeth on edge. I would never know that kind of belonging. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know at this point. My real father could be on the wrong side of things and where would knowing that leave me other than unhappy?
Once we were all on board, Alex lifted us above the sea of green marshland. The mist of the morning still clung to the trails of water snaking everywhere, creating wisps of clouds over the velvet canopy below. Who knew a swamp could be so beautiful? Soon we were in flight, leaving the Order behind us, hopefully for good.
When we’d gone what seemed a safe distance, I unbuckled my belt and sat next to Alex in the cockpit. I had to make sure he wasn’t merely taking us to another Order facility.
“Hey,” I said with a sigh.
“Hey yourself.” He gave me a once over. “I’ve got one good thing to say about the faeries.”
I chuckled at the derogative tone he’d used. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“They sure know how to pick women.”
My brows hit my hairline. “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
He smiled. “Of the highest fashion.”
I smirked at him. “Well, then, thanks, I guess.”
He stare
d at me again. “Seriously, though, are you okay?”
I was tempted to punch him in the face. “No thanks to you.”
He bit his bottom lip. “I do kind of feel bad about not helping you, but you saw who I would have had to plow through to get you out of the tunnels.”
“Considering who you just plowed through back there, it shouldn’t have been a problem.”
“Look.” He grunted. “I told you to stay away from us, but you had to dig in deeper.”
“I did no such thing!”
After a dismissive flick of the wrist, he scratched his nose. “Whatever.”
I shook my head at the lost cause sitting next to me. “Where are you taking us?”
He glanced at the back seat. “Need to know only.”
I cocked my head and inched closer to him. “Yeah, and I need to know.”
Aunt Grace touched my shoulder. “It’s better for everyone involved if you don’t. In fact, I need you to do something for me.”
I turned in my seat and frowned at her. “What?”
“Inhale deep.” She sprayed my face with something minty.
Then the world went black.
When I woke up I could have sworn Aunt Grace had two heads. I blinked a couple of times and they thankfully merged into one. The first thing I noticed besides her blurry figure was the bleep-bleep of a monitor. It took me a minute to realize I was the one attached to it.
I ripped the oxygen tube away from my face and sat up with my fists clenched.
“Settle down, girl,” said Grace in a casual tone. “We’re almost done here.”
“Oh, no—” I jumped to my feet, fighting the woozy sway of the room. I stumbled, but caught myself on the edge of the bed. “You’re done already.”
She tsked me. “Always rushing to action without bothering to think first.”
“What did you do to me?”
She licked her lips and her brown eyes found mine. “We just needed to make sure you couldn’t be traced here.”
I glanced around the room, taking in the beat-up equipment that was probably Order rejects. “What else did you do to me?” I felt funny; and unfortunately, I knew the feeling rather well. My hands found my way to my abdomen. “You too?”
She didn’t even have the decency to blanch. “Rayla, we just need to figure a few things out. With your help, we are one step closer to understanding how the bond is created.”
My help? What was wrong with these people? I stumbled over to the cabinets lining the walls and yanked open the first door, scrambling to find what she’d taken from me. “Where are they?” It took me a few seconds to realize they wouldn’t keep my eggs in a cupboard. I whirled around. “You’re as bad as Lambert.”
Aunt Grace grabbed my shoulders and squeezed. “Don’t you ever say that to me! I raised you for heaven’s sake.”
I looked straight at her. “You could have asked me.”
Her eyes found the floor. “I couldn’t take the chance of you saying no. Not with something this important.” Her warm fingers curled around mine. “Don’t you understand? We are this close to being able to break the bond for good.”
My eyes snapped to hers again. “Are you serious?”
She gave a slight shrug, and that’s when I knew she had been more than exaggerating. “Well, we’ve come closer than I ever thought possible in my lifetime.”
“Explain.”
She released my hand and paced the room. “Your blood is different than any other Elemental we have been lucky enough to examine.”
“What does that have to do with my eggs, Grace?”
“You have a different DNA chain than we have seen. It is very likely you are part fae.”
I shook my head. No wonder Mom had had her memory erased. Funny that a troll could see what seemed to evade the fae. “Gibbit told me that months ago.”
Aunt Grace made a face. “Who in the world is Gibbit?”
“The troll I met at St. Mary’s.”
She shrugged. “Smart troll. What else did he happen to tell you?”
“He warned me about going to Altasia.”
She gave me a speculative glance. “We’ve been briefed on the basics, but what exactly happened between you and the lord of water?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to go there yet. Besides, she was evading. “I’m not telling you anything until you explain what’s going on. I’ve been dealing with way too many secrets these days, and I won’t stand any from you.”
Grace smiled like a proud mother. “That’s my girl.” She continued to grin at me.
I sighed. Yes I was an adult now. Whooptido. “Well?”
“I’m just so glad you’re here.” She gave me a side hug. “The real reason is I couldn’t chance the Order getting ahead of us again. We’ve come so far, but without some way to gain the upper hand we will fail and they will have total control. I can’t let that happen. I love you, and I’m sorry; but with everything we’ve learned about you already, we had to act when we had the opportunity. I’ll explain everything else over dinner.”
Seems I missed lunch. My stomach growled. And breakfast. “Sounds good.”
We sat at a rickety table staring at each other for a few minutes before Aunt Grace began her story. “I’ve done things I’m ashamed of, Rayla, and not coming for you when I had the chance is one of them.”
I shrugged. “I understand. You had a lot of people counting on you.”
She shook her head, a grave darkness shadowing her eyes. “It was more than that. We really had no way of knowing if you would be any different than other Elementals. I honestly thought there was no point in coming for you with the lords already after you. No one has ever been able to resist compulsion like you have. We’d run blood tests in the beginning, but we recently acquired sophisticated equipment that will allow us to gather better information. We also needed to have a failsafe in case something happens to you.”
“That’s why you took my eggs?”
She nodded. “Everything hinges on you.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“Nothing…unless the worst happens. It was Alex’s idea. He’d learned what the Order had been working on and thought we should have a back-up plan as well.”
Alex? There was always the possibility that he was just trying to cover the rebellion bases, yet wasn’t there another way?
I swallowed hard, trying to absorb what she was telling me. If my hunch was correct, she had probably pilfered her sophisticated equipment from the island the Order abandoned. It was possible. A few buildings had been standing when the dust settled. “Are you sure he’s not still part of the Order?”
She laughed. “Alex Wayne hates Lambert more than I do.”
“I’ve been told Order members hold key positions for you. He could be a double agent.”
“Nonsense. We are aware of the rumors, Rayla, and we are dealing with them.” After a brief pause, she stood up. “Come with me. I need to show you something.”
I followed her down the dingy corridor. We were underground again. I could feel the weight of the earth around me, yet it no longer pushed in on me like a coffin. Jett would be so happy about that.
We entered a dark room with a gurney set in the far corner. Jessica lay there with tubes sticking out all over her body. I raced over to her. Aunt Grace was right beside me, pulling me back.
“Do not wake her. She is still having some…difficulties.”
I swayed on my feet and stepped back, not taking my eyes off the fragile girl in front of me. “How did you get her?”
“We had a little help, but I can’t tell you about that right now.”
My voice overflowed with my frustration. “I thought you were going to tell me everything.”
She shushed me. “I made a promise, and I won’t break it. You will find out when he is ready to tell you.”
He? Oh my heavens. One face came into my mind; the only face I couldn’t seem to keep out of my mind. He was a rogue of the highest order
, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he was helping the rebellion just to piss someone off. “Was it Heath?” I waited for her to answer, but she just stared at me. I didn’t know why I jumped immediately to him, but somewhere in the recesses of my mind lay his thoughts. After all, I had nearly bonded with the man. Maybe this was just me sorting through our connection.
A deep voice came from behind me. My heart exploded into a frantic beat from the familiar sound. “Why would the lord of fire steal another man’s bondmate only to return her to the mortal realm?”
I turned slowly and raised my eyes to his. No mocking rested in his gaze; in fact, he looked away from me.
“Exactly,” I said. I shook my head at him, taking in his leather gear and the small smirk on his lips. “Why would you do such a thing?” My heartbeat pounded in my ears. This was just too weird. I would have never thought a fae lord would purposely help mortals fight his kind.
He whispered, “Can you think of no reason?”
There was only one thing that really made sense. But I’d been denying it for months now. He’d done it for me, because he cared about me, because he knew how much I wanted Jessica to have her life back. As the thoughts streamed from my mind to his, something broke. A barrier I had erected, not to keep him out of my mind, but to keep me out of his. I had been so afraid of him. No that was wrong. I was so afraid of how I felt about him that I didn’t want to complicate things by knowing his mind. Once freed from the barrier our souls connected briefly before he pulled away. In that insanely short time, I knew him. It would take me an eternity to sort through all this information, but I couldn’t wait that long.
I flung myself at him and peppered his face with kisses. He laughed and pulled me tighter, pushing me up against the closed door. He braced my back and lifted. I wrapped my legs around his waist, preparing for the best kiss of my life.
“Ahem.”
I clamped my eyes shut and groaned. How had I forgotten Grace was in the room? I lowered myself to the floor and Heath gave me a look that told me we would finish this later.
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