“Hayden, dear, you’re making a mistake.” He slammed the staff down again, this time the top of it aimed at us. I felt the nudge slam into me and fell to the ground. Damian screamed. I scrambled to my feet.
“No, I’m not. Shifters aren’t evil, Braw. If anyone around here is evil, it’s you.” I saw Rainen running into the courtyard. Damian stood and the three of us faced the staff. The two of them pushed their nudges and I pulled them into mine before pushing them out again. Braw was slammed into the ground, his staff falling limply beside him. Brice walked to his side and checked him for signs of life. He shook his head.
The sounds of fighting made their way to us as humans and shifters alike made their way into the courtyard. One human managed to make it to me and I pulled my swords in time to block his dagger. I stabbed upward and was sprayed with blood as his throat slit open. I turned and kicked another in the groin. Jasper fell under two of them but managed to get his boot knife out and took care of them before he was severely injured. I looked around for the Maj sorcerers to make sure they were alright. It had only taken three hits of energy, but I was already feeling spent from the effort of fighting Braw. Rainen was shifted and snarling at a blond man. Damian’s opponent moved backward closer to where Braw lay.
“Damian!” I watched as the seemingly dead Braw swung the staff with the last of his strength and touched it to the Maj’s shoulder. Damian dropped to his knees screaming. My heart jumped in my throat and I tried to fight my way toward him. Everyone, shifter and human alike, cringed at the ripping sound as Damian and his wolf were torn apart. I got a quick glimpse of the sorcerer’s bloodied face before both of them slumped to the ground.
“No!” I stabbed up with my dagger and felt it tear through skin. My waves were so bright I could barely see through them. The staff’s energy started a tremor deep inside of me and suddenly I knew what I had to do. The only way to win this war would be to fight evil with evil. Another tremor rushed through me and I looked back at Jasper.
“A shlova yan.” I said it too quietly for him to hear, but knew he’d read my lips.
His blue eyes widened and the blood rushed out of his face. I turned and started running toward the staff.
*****
“Hayden! Watch out!” He watched as Ternach pushed a nudge in her direction. She stopped short, like she had hit a wall. She frowned and put a hand forward, then glared at Ternach. He shrugged.
“Damn it, Ternach!” She spun around and slashed at a human who thought to take her by surprise. Jasper made to run to her side to help but found an invisible wall in front of him as well.
“Ternach! Let me go so I can help her!”
I’m not going to live feeling what she feels because you were stupid enough to touch that staff. He looked toward Hayden and pushed another nudge in her direction. Jasper saw the two humans squaring off with her fall to the ground.
Hayden spun around and glared at him. “Whose side are you on?”
Yours, my love. I just can’t let you near that staff or I’ll have to kill you.
Jasper watched as Hayden pushed out her nudge as hard as she could. Everyone standing around her fell to the ground. Ternach stumbled back then brought his hand up to push against her nudge once again. Hayden beat him to it and her energy sent him flying onto his back. He sat up, dazed, and watched as she started running toward the staff.
Jasper was stuck in place. He willed his legs to move and growled in frustration. Ternach’s eyes met his.
“Stop her! If you insist on keeping me here then you stop her!” He thought he yelled it but maybe he’d just thought it. Either way, the white green eyes widened. Ternach stumbled to his feet, jumped over the men lying on the ground and launched himself at Hayden.
Jasper watched as he tackled her to the ground and flashed back to his dream. But Ternach was trying to save Hayden. This didn’t make sense. He growled. Of course, he’d never actually seen the immortal kill his mate in the dream, had he. Everyone, Ternach included, had simply assumed that that was what happened. Hayden rolled, pushed Ternach off and stood before running the last four steps towards Braw. A scream exploded in his head and he dropped to the ground. Around him, cats and dogs were doing the same wherever they happened to be. The humans stopped their attack, stupefied at this turn of events. A lot of them grinned while others simply looked relieved.
“No!” Ternach’s voice echoed in his head somewhere under the scream. Jasper managed to look up in time to see the immortal pull Hayden and the staff to his chest. They fell to the ground with the staff clutched between the two of them. The scream amplified and Jasper felt a tug deep inside of him. The tug pulled harder and he tried to ready himself for something he couldn’t prepare for. The only thought in his mind was that if he was to die this way that Hayden be safe because of it. He tried to hold in the scream that was making its way up his throat.
Ternach’s arms tightened around Hayden. He reached for a handful of her hair, pulled her head back and brought his lips down to hers.
Give it to me.
Jasper wasn’t sure how he could hear Ternach over all of the screaming that was happening. Hayden’s eyes widened. It took a fraction of a second for her to make up her mind and she threw herself into the kiss.
The pain that was building deep inside of him lessened. He saw Hayden’s body spasm and Ternach’s followed suit. As his pain lessened Hayden’s increased and Jasper tried to crawl to them. Hayden and Ternach clung to each other.
“Hayden!” He watched her body spasm violently. “Hayden!” He managed to get to his feet only to collapse again as a different part of him died.
“No!” He dragged himself to their side. Ternach rolled off of Hayden. His hands were clutching his head, his breathing so quick that Jasper was amazed he was getting any air at all. Hayden laid still, her chest unmoving. Both of them were covered by the black shiny dust that had once been the staff.
“Is she alright?” Ternach was almost impossible to understand.
Jasper forced himself to his knees and put his ear to her chest. Nothing. Ternach had one eye opened, watching him. Jasper’s heart jumped in his chest. Rainen. Rainen could help.
“Rainen!” The name stuck in his throat and he had to repeat it. “Rainen!” He picked Hayden up and hugged her tightly to his chest. “Please, Shlova. You promised.” He looked around wildly, trying to catch a glimpse of the sorceress. Everyone was staring at them. It seemed that now that the staff and Braw were gone, the humans were at a loss.
“Jesus! Is she ok?” William nearly fell over as he tripped on a body.
Jasper’s voice caught in his throat and he swallowed hard trying to get rid of the pain in his chest. He managed to shake his head. “I need Rainen. Now.”
“She’s over this way.” He led the way back out of the courtyard. Rainen spotted them and limped toward them while Jasper laid Hayden on the ground. He looked into Rainen’s midnight blue eyes as she knelt across from him.
“I can’t lose her.” He swallowed hard.
Rainen took a deep breath, muttered something under her breath, and placed a hand over Hayden’s heart. He waited expectantly then frowned when she did. She shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Jasper. She’s…I can’t…I need energy to multiply it. There’s…” She shook her head and swallowed hard. “There’s nothing there. She’s gone.”
“What if you transferred energy? You told me you’d done that once.” William’s face was white and he wiped an arm over his eyes.
“I also told you I’d killed the one I took from. I’ve never done it since.”
“Take from me.” Jasper looked down onto Hayden’s face and a sob shook him. She was covered in blood, dirt, and shiny dust. “You can take it from me.”
“Jasper, I’ll kill you.”
“By the moons, Rainen, don’t you understand? If she’s not here I might as well be dead anyway! Please! You have to try!”
“Jasper.”
He looked up at Brice.
“Is she…?” He knelt beside them and swallowed hard.
“She’ll be fine.” Jasper knew he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to make his friend feel better.
“I doubt you care right now, but there are packs heading for Sageden. I overheard them talking before you showed up.”
Jasper’s heart dropped and he rubbed his hands over his face. Why couldn’t this be over? He looked up at his friend. “Are you well enough to handle it?”
Brice nodded but looked down at Hayden, uncertainty clear on his face.
“Brice. I need you to do this. I… I can’t. Take anyone who is well enough to travel back with you.”
His friend nodded. “She’ll be alright?”
“When have you ever known her not to come back around?” He tried to sound optimistic.
Brice smiled. “She is stubborn that way. Alright, off I go then.” He hesitated before moving to Hayden’s head. He frowned, kissed her softly then stood.
“Stay safe, Brice.”
Blue green jaguar eyes blinked and the big cat nodded. He leapt over to where most of their pack was assembling.
“Now, where were we?” He looked at Rainen who shook her head in disbelief.
“I think I was about to kill you.”
He nodded. “That sounds about right.” He lay beside Hayden and took her hand.
“Jasper, you understand that this isn’t like Hayden’s waves, right? This is a spell and I can’t control how much I take. The last time I tried I took every last bit of energy there was to be had.”
“Hang on a second.” He sat back up and ignored the hopeful look in Rainen’s eyes. He put a hand on Hayden’s cheek. “Shlova…” He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath. “If this works how Rainen thinks it will…” He kissed her softly and wiped her face where his tears were falling, the dirt and blood smearing across her cheek. There were a million things he wanted to say to her, yet none of them would make their way past the lump in his throat. “A shlova yan.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and lay back down. His hand gripped Hayden’s and he shook with the effort to keep his sobs under control. He closed his eyes. He tried not to think about the fact that he would never get to hold her again, never feel her lips against his. Another sob escaped him. He’d never see those green eyes flash with anger, or soften with passion. He’d never have the chance to see her with child; would never see her holding his baby in her arms. He thought of how she felt when they lay by the fireplace and she would snuggle against him. He remembered how he’d felt the first time she’d let him feel just how much she loved him. Another sob shook him as he thought about how he’d never feel that again. And yet he knew that to live and still not get to see, or do those things with her wasn’t an option.
“Get on with it.”
Rainen mumbled something under her breath and he jumped as her hand touched over his heart. He felt it quicken and pound in his chest until it hurt. Every muscle in his body cramped. He groaned with the effort to lay still. Rainen moved her hand and he felt everything flow out of him, like all that he was had been sucked away. He jerked and everything went dark.
Chapter Eleven
“We just lost Alex.” Danny sounded exhausted. Someone punched something hard and someone else took a deep shuddering breath.
“How’s Leslie doing?” Tara sounded like she’d been crying.
“It doesn’t look good.” Fillian sounded worse than Danny.
“Come on, Mel. Let’s go find something to eat. Starving ourselves won’t help.” Luke’s voice was hoarse. “Maybe there will be news on how Brice and the others are making out.”
Someone pulled a chair up to the bed. “I’ll stay here,” offered Ternach.
“Can you feel anything?” inquired Danny.
“No. Nothing. I thought maybe it would come back in time, but it seems I am officially human.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “I suppose it’s better than being dead.” There was a brief silence. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”
There was a snort from somewhere nearby. Any change? Dodge must have poked his head inside the doorway.
“Rainen’s been moaning and groaning, but other than that, no.” William must have been by her bed.
Ternach’s chair fell over as he stood quickly. “Did you see that?” More beings moved closer. “Come on, Jasper. Do it again.”
He focused on his fingers and willed them to move. He was rewarded with pain that shot up his arms. Once the fingers remembered what they were doing, he moved on to his arms and legs.
Someone ran to the door. “Luke! He’s waking up!” Tara ran back to the side of the bed.
Jasper tried to move his head and groaned.
“Take it easy, Jasper.” Danny must have been pulling a wave over him. Every part of him was hurting. He concentrated on breathing then cracked open one eye to look around. The light blinded him and he closed it again.
“Hayden.” The word refused to come out. He licked his lips and tried again. It came out as a cough. The pain of the sudden movement tore through him and the darkness took him again.
*****
He could feel her curled against him and he sighed. He refused to push past the darkness and every once in a while he would dream. He rolled over and pulled her close. Hayden’s hair tickled his nose.
“He’s moving again.” Danny.
Couldn’t they just leave him alone? He didn’t want to wake up. It was peaceful here and Hayden was with him. He kissed the back of her neck. She turned and he felt her hand on his face, smiled when her lips touched his. She snuggled into his chest.
“Jasper?” Her breath was hot against his bare chest.
“Hmm?”
“Why won’t you wake up? There’s nothing wrong with you anymore. The healers took care of that. You just need to wake up.”
He felt his throat tighten. “I don’t want to,” he whispered and pressed his lips to her forehead. Somewhere past the darkness he could hear people moving about. He pushed deeper into the dream.
“Can you tell me why?” Her fingers ran along his arm and he shivered. He hugged her tightly.
“Because I’m alive.”
She chuckled and he fought the urge to open his eyes. If he opened them, he’d wake up and she’d be gone.
“You’re cracked, you know that? You’re alive. That’s the perfect reason to wake up.”
He shook his head. “Rainen said she would kill me if she saved you.” He felt tears fall down his face and she brushed them away. “I can’t live without you, Hayden. I don’t want to live without you. If I stay here, then you’re with me.” He kissed her softly and pushed past the dream and deeper into the darkness.
*****
“Jasper.” Hayden’s voice sounded in his ear and he smiled.
“Hello.” He pulled her close.
“Hun, everyone is worried. I’m worried. You can’t stay like this.” She kissed him. “You need to wake up. You’re wrong, you know. I’m not dead.”
He frowned and swallowed hard. “That’s not nice, Hayden. Tricking me won’t work.” He listened for the others outside of the dream and noticed it was quiet in the room. He wondered what time it was. She grunted.
“And he calls me stubborn.” Her hands cupped his face and her mouth pressed against his. A shiver ran through him as her tongue pushed past his lips. He groaned and pulled her close. His heart sped up and his head reeled. He remembered the others.
“For as much as I’m enjoying this dream, Shlova, I don’t want the others seeing the consequences of it.” He smiled and pulled away.
“There’s no one in the room.”
He felt her sit up and when she lay back down against him he groaned at the feel of her bare breasts against his chest. She kissed him hungrily, moving from his mouth to his chest to his belly. She untied the laces on his pants and pulled them off before kissing her way back to his mouth. He caught his breath as she straddled him.
<
br /> “Touch me.” Her breath was hot in his ear. She groaned as his hands found her breast and he pulled her up so he could suck on them. He kissed his way up her throat and found her lips. Hayden scooted back and both of them moaned as she helped him slip inside of her. She sat still with him fully sheathed. He shivered. The feel of her against him, around him, was almost too much. His throat tightened and he felt the tears try to push their way past his eyelids. What should have been a great dream was just reminding him of what he’d just lost. He rolled over and pulled out, crushing her to his chest.
“I can’t.”
“Jasper…”
He shook his head. She put a hand on his face and he leaned into it.
“Can you… can you show me how you felt when I was alive?”
He shook his head again.
“I need you to. I need to feel it.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Because I love you. I want you to love me.”
He swallowed hard. “I do love you. More than anything in any world, I do.” The tears won out and he wiped his arm across his eyes.
“If you love me, you need to wake up. Do it for me, Jasper, please.”
“I can’t. I can’t do this without you.” A sob shook him and she pulled him close.
“You don’t have to. I’ll always be with you. I promised, remember?” Hayden’s voice was tight and he heard her swallow hard.
“That’s not the same.”
“If you can’t wake up for me, then do it for the others.”
He frowned.
“Luke can’t lose you, Jasper. He just lost his son; he can’t lose his brother too. And what about Nina? You promised her you’d come back. Tyler will need help adjusting to losing Trent.”
He shook his head. “How am I supposed to help them? Who’s going to help me?” He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to fight. I love you.” He kissed her softly. “I’m tired again.” He pushed himself out of the dream and deeper into the darkness.
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 32