Sacrifice

by Denise Grover Swank

Will had a headache that threatened to crack open his skull. It pissed him off that he didn’t see the guy hiding in the back of his car before he smashed a flashlight on his head. While he didn’t know who had tried to smash in his head, he had a pretty good idea why.

  Emma. God knew where she was or if she’d gone to see Alex. She might have thought Will left her and she’d moved on. Or she might be sitting at the motel waiting for him now.

  From the looks of the room he was in, he was in a place similar to what he and Emma stayed in. Dark and seedy. A man sat in the chair by the door, his beefy arms crossed over his chest as he watched a game show on the TV chained to the dresser. The other guy was in the bathroom and had been in there too long, from the irritated looks the first guy kept shooting at the closed door.

  So far during the few hours he’d been conscious, they hadn’t given him any indication why they’d taken him, although after he woke up they tossed him a crumpled bag with a cold hamburger and soggy fries. Food meant they didn’t plan to kill. Yet.

  There was a knock at the door and the man in the chair jerked upright. The bathroom door opened within seconds and the second guard emerged, drying his wet hands on his jeans.

  Will presumed it was a shift change. He’d only been aware of his surroundings for a few hours, but they’d already changed guards twice. One new guy in and one old guy out. However, the attitude of his current guards suggested otherwise.

  The man by the door looked through the peephole and jerked back, scrambling to open the door.

  Will swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting upright, his head swimming with pain and dizziness in the process.

  A man dressed in a dark suit walked through the door, casting a look of distain on the furnishings. He glanced at Will and smiled. “Hello, Will. Good to see you again.”

  Will squinted. “I’m not sure I can say the same. For multiple reasons.”

  The man lifted an eyebrow in amusement. Whoever he was, he reeked of money with his expensive suit and perfect hair. “No, I’m sure you can’t, but I daresay you’ve been an interesting find.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Of course you wouldn’t remember me.” He tilted his head to the side with a smirk. “I’m Aiden.”

  Unable to contain his surprise, Will’s eyes widened. “Aiden? As in Emma’s father?”

  “One and the same.”

  Raphael and Alex he could understand kidnapping him, but Aiden? “Why did you take my memory away?”

  He laughed. “No wonder Emma likes you. The two of you are so much alike. Direct and to the point. I did it to protect you both. You really don’t know what you’re dealing with and I plan to keep it that way. There’s much too much at stake.” He squinted and inched closer. “There is a resemblance. I wasn’t close enough before to see it.”

  Aiden’s words meant nothing other than he saw a connection between Will and Emma that he saw as a threat. Will couldn’t ignore that Raphael saw it too.

  Will grinned. “I’ve got one of those faces.”

  Aiden smiled, but his eyes were cold. “He’s a flippant, arrogant ass as well.”

  “Sounds like he’s a lot more fun than you are, whoever he is. Mind telling me what this is all about?”

  “You’re a threat to my daughter’s safety. You are a distraction at best and will get her killed at worst. She refuses to listen to reason and send you away so I’ve had to force the issue.”

  Fear squeezed Will’s chest. “What did you do to her?”

  Aiden snorted. “Do to her? Nothing, other than shake her up a bit and make her see reason. I’ve convinced her that she no longer needs you. However…” A shadow fell across his face. “She has refused to cut her ties with you until she sees that you are safe and can tell you goodbye.”

  Will looked around the room, shaking his head and sending a fresh wave of pain rippling through his brain. “I don’t get it. Why go to all this trouble? Why not kill me last night or the night you took my memory away?”

  Aiden’s eye twitched. “Are you suggesting I kill you and be done with it, William? That does surprise me. I never took you for suicidal.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” How much manpower had it taken to kidnap him and bring him here? And the round-the-clock guards? All of that took time and money. Sure, Aiden was notorious for his mind games and he was obviously loaded with cash, but this seemed like too much effort, even for Aiden. “Why go to all this trouble?”

  “Because I hope to rule eternally with Emma, and she’d hold a grudge against me forever if I killed you.”

  “Won’t she hold a grudge for forcing her to make this choice? Emma doesn’t like to be forced into anything, especially something she would never choose for herself.”

  Irritation swept across Aiden’s face and Will knew that his questions were getting too close to the truth.

  “You can’t kill me, can you?”

  “That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard. Of course I can kill you.”

  Will knew he was playing a dangerous game, but he needed answers. “I don’t think you can or you would have done it already. A half a dozen times. The question is why.”

  “I refuse to waste my time on this discussion, William. I am here to tell you that you will be seeing Emma tonight. If you care anything about her, make it as easy as possible when she tells you goodbye.”

  “And why would she do that?” But he knew even as he asked.

  “Because I’ve threatened to kill you if she doesn’t.”

  This made no sense. There was something here Will was missing, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. “And if I don’t?”

  Aiden shook his head. “You’re only making it harder on Emma.”

  Will glared, refusing to promise anything. There was no way in hell that Aiden cared anything about Emma or her feelings. “Cut the bullshit, Aiden. Why are you really here?”

  Aiden studied him with cold eyes that would have made a lesser man shrink in fear. “You know, Will, I think under different circumstances we could have been allies.”

  “Again, that doesn’t answer my question.”

  “You’re hardly in a position to demand answers, but lucky for you, I’m feeling generous.” He grinned. “Let’s just say curiosity. After all of this time, I had to see you for myself.”

  There was a knock on the door and a guard poked his head in the crack. “Sir, we’ve become aware of a situation in downtown Albuquerque.”

  Will’s gaze jerked to the man. Alex was in downtown Albuquerque and Emma had planned to go see him.

  Aiden shot the guard an impatient look. “Go on.”

  “Sir, they’re reporting multiple earthquakes and explosions.”

  “Anything else?” Aiden asked with a bored tone.

  “Well, no…but…”

  “Thank you. That will be all.”

  The man shut the door.

  Aiden sighed. “They’re trying to accelerate the timetable. I’m going to have to go put a stop to this.”

  “Who?”

  Aiden’s brow furrowed. “Raphael and Emma, of course.” He turned toward the door.

  Raphael and Emma? “Wait!”

  Aiden stopped and glanced over his shoulder with a curious expression.

  “The last time she met with Raphael, she barely got away and it nearly killed her. She’s stronger now, but I’m not sure she’s strong enough.”

  Aiden stared with a blank expression. “Not to worry. Raphael has more to fear at this moment than Emma. He wants to use her so it’s in his best interest to keep her alive, while she has no use or interest in him. See? No real concern.”

  Will expected Aiden to leave, but he studied Will for several seconds. “It’s very curious how much you really care about her. I took away all your memories of her yet you’re still with her. It’s as if you really do love her. But that’s impossible.”

  “Is it?”

  “It would seem that it’s
not.” Aiden walked out while three guards entered.

  Two grabbed Will’s arms and pulled him off the bed. “Time to go.”

  ***

  Emma ran out onto the sidewalk and across the street, ducking around the corner of a building. A crack split the street, creeping toward her as the ground shook in a continuous roll.

  “I want that book, Emmanuella!” Raphael shouted over the screams of the pedestrians running for cover. There was nowhere for them to run. People poured out of the buildings, onto the street and into danger.

  Emma plastered her back against the brick building. “Raphael, enough of this!” she called out.

  “This is your last warning, Emma. After this, I’m going to start making promises. Promises you won’t want me to keep.”

  An elderly man emerged from a doorway beside her, confused and disoriented. A cut above his eyes dripped blood down his face, and he gripped his awkwardly bent left arm. He staggered toward Raphael’s direction.

  Emma tugged his good arm and pulled him back. She spun him around to face the opposite way. “Go that way. Run!”

  People swarmed past her as she stepped onto the corner. “Raphael, stop this! Innocent people are getting hurt!”

  Raphael held his hands out from his sides. “Whose fault is that, Emma? Just hand over the book and be done with it.”

  She clutched the strap that she’d slung over her shoulder. She’d love nothing more than to hand it over, but she also knew that if he was willing to go to this much trouble and risk this much exposure, there had to be a reason.

  Giving Raphael the book would be a disaster.

  But would it be any worse than the disaster unfolding before her now?

  “What do you expect to find, Raphael? What do you think is in here?”

  He took several steps toward her. “I already told you, Emma. I hope to see if there’s anything about the change of rules. You have an unfair advantage if you have the information. Now be a good girl and share.”

  Her instinct screamed no.

  Raphael waited for several seconds before he pointed across the street. “Okay, time to start paying, Emma. I’m giving you three seconds to hand over the book before I destroy the building on that corner.”

  She turned her gaze to the six-story office structure. People spilled out the doors. How many were left inside? Surely, he wouldn’t really do this. Yet she had no doubt that he would.

  Uncertainty mingled with her panic. Hundreds of lives depended on her decision. But if she gave him the book, it might not just be hundreds. It might be thousands. Or millions. She gulped deep breaths, her mind nearly paralyzed with indecision.

  Maybe it wasn’t an either/or situation. She could try to stop him.

  “One.”

  The screams of the people around her filled her ears as she pulled energy from the building next to her.

  “Two.”

  It would take a lot to stop him. She let it build until it was nearly intolerable.

  “Thr—”

  She released it, pushing the mass toward Raphael. His eyes widened in disbelief as he threw his body out of the way a second before it would have hit him. The energy hit a car parked parallel on the street, exploding it in a fiery ball. The car behind it blew up, and each car behind blew up in rapid succession. Emma suspected it had more to do with the intensity of the force she used than pure combustion.

  Raphael scrambled to his feet, a murderous gleam in his eye, and raised his hand. The building he’d threatened shook violently and collapsed, filling the street with dust and horrified screams.

  Emma hid around the corner holding a hand over her mouth to smother her scream, trying not to think about how many people had just died. Choking on concrete dust, she swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. She had to get away from here. If she could lead Raphael away from all of these people, they’d be safe.

  Scanning the horizon, she looked for the least populated place to run, devastated to see that there was none. It was all buildings and people for miles.

  She had to get to her car.

  Emma took off running, the plume of dust hiding Raphael, but she felt him behind her. His energy and his anger. The ground shook and she looked over her shoulder as he emerged from the white cloud. He raised his hand and a crack in the asphalt shot toward her, sucking cars abandoned on the road down into the crevice.

  Struggling to maintain her balance, Emma pushed a ball of energy toward him, knowing it wasn’t enough to do him serious injury but would hopefully slow him down. It landed at his feet, throwing him off balance, granting her enough time to gain some distance.

  The parking lot was two blocks away.

  “I’ll destroy this city, building by building, block by block, until you give me the book,” he called after her. He stood between two cars, one with the driver’s door standing wide open. The back tire of the other hung over the edge of the crevice.

  Absorbing electricity from the sources around her, she focused on igniting the gas tanks of the two cars. The explosions rocked the ground, sending plumes of dark smoke into the air and engulfing Raphael. She held her breath in hope that she might have defeated him.

  Until he walked out of the haze toward her.

  He raised his hands toward the buildings on her left and the ground pitched and bucked, the buildings collapsing like brittle gingerbread houses. An explosion quickly followed.

  Emma lost her balance on the quaking ground and fell to her knees as the structures crumbled. She scrambled to her feet and took off running toward her car until another building collapsed beside her, blocking her path.

  She spun around to face him. “Raphael, stop. I’m begging you. You’re killing innocent people.”

  “No, Emma, you are killing innocent people.”

  She wondered how right he was. She should just give him the book and stop his madness. She slipped the strap off her shoulder, holding the bag to her side.

  Raphael moved closer, a smile spreading across his face. “There’s my girl.”

  Her hand fumbled with the zipper as fear shot down her spine. Was this really the right decision?

  “Emma, don’t give up.”

  She stopped, sure she had an auditory hallucination. “Will?”

  His relief filled her. How was this possible? “Emma, I don’t know how but I can feel that you’re scared. Just don’t give up.”

  “Raphael wants the book.”

  “He’s destroying Albuquerque for the book?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then do anything and everything you can do to keep it from him.”

  Raphael stood about ten feet away.

  “Stop right there,” she shouted. “That’s close enough.” Will was right. She couldn’t give it to him. If he wanted it this badly, God only knew what he’d do with whatever was inside it. But how was she going to keep it from him without getting more people killed? “Back up, Raphael. You’re making me nervous.”

  “That’s too damn bad, Emma. Now hand it over.”

  Emma pulled in power and held the backpack out at arm’s length with her right hand. She held her left palm toward it. “Back up now, Raphael, or I’m going to burn it up.”

  Panic filled his eyes. “You wouldn’t do that.”

  “I’ve already read it all,” she lied. “I’ve got nothing to lose.”

  Raphael backed up two steps, his arms out to his sides. “Emma, don’t do anything hasty. You don’t know that you’ve found out everything you need.” He reached a hand toward her, palm up. “Just let me look at it and I’ll hand it back when I’m done. I promise.”

  “I’ve learned better than to trust one of your or anyone else’s promises. Your promises mean nothing to me.”

  He nodded his head, hand extended. “Fair enough. I deserve that. Just don’t destroy it. You still need it.”

  “Why? What’s in it?”

  “Let’s look at it together and I’ll show you.”

  He was bluffing. “First tell
me how you know something is in here. Surely, you’ve read this or a copy at some time if it’s so important. The chain-link fence at the Vinco Potentia compound wouldn’t be enough to keep you out.”

  Sirens wailed in the distance, adding to Emma’s anxiety. This had to be over before the police showed up or more people would get hurt. Raphael would probably kill them all.

  “You’re right. I have seen it before. But after the rules changed, I went to the compound the day I left you back in Tennessee, and found that it was gone.” He took a step forward. “Emma, you don’t understand. The book holds the rules. The sovereign rules. If the game changes, the rules will appear in the book. I don’t trust Aiden to tell them all to me. In fact, I think he purposely has withheld key information. I needto know what’s in there.”

  Emma watched his face, fairly certain he was telling the truth.

  “Emma, can’t you see that my survival depends on the information in that book?”

  “Which is why Alex wanted it too.”

  A wild look filled Raphael’s eyes. “Yes! Exactly! The one with all the rules has a better chance and knows all the loopholes. All I’m asking for is a fair chance.”

  He was right. It wasn’t fair to fight a game that you didn’t know all the rules to. Her arm lowered and relief covered his face.

  “That’s it, my love. Just hand it over.”

  She remembered his words in the coffee shop. What good is power if you can’t use it? Raphael deserved a chance at survival, but did he deserve a chance at controlling the world?

  “Well, isn’t this cute, you two, playing in the street together,” Alex called from down the block. He was an odd sight, picking his way through debris in his expensive loafers and pristine dress pants, shirt, and tie.

  “Alex.” Raphael held his hands out to the side, grinning as he turned to face him. “What a pleasant surprise. Or should I call you President Alex now?”

  “Ha! Just Alex for now. Perhaps His Royal Majesty later. I haven’t figured out what my title will be.” He looked over at Emma. “I take it we’re both after the same thing.”

  For once, Emma knew it wasn’t her they were talking about.

  She lifted her chin. “How’d you know where to find us?”