Quintessence (Statera Saga Book 2)

by Amy Marie

I get out my own cell phone and quickly search the meaning of the name Dylan.

  My breath halts at the results.

  Words like wave, sea, and tide all dance before my eyes in the search results. If I hadn’t been sitting down, my legs would’ve buckled.

  I grip Char’s hand tight to let her know we’re on to something.

  “What’s Dylan’s last name?” Char asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “Irving. If he’s not the guy you’re looking for, he might know who he is,” Alex says helpfully.

  I text the info to Rafe so he can do a little research. Looking back to the other group of guys, I surmise that Dylan is our best lead. I arrange for a subtle exit call.

  Char’s phone rings and she goes through the routine saying, “Hello? Yes? Are you sure? Oh no! Yes, we’ll be right there,” and hangs up.

  I do my best to look concerned when all I want to do is laugh at her acting skills.

  “Alex, I’m so sorry, but we have to run. Thank you for the apology, and for your help,” she says.

  “Not a problem,” he smiles. “I’m glad you got back in touch. I’d like the chance to make everything up to you. Good luck finding your guy, Nora.”

  We walk away perplexed.

  Char loops her arm through mine in the cold. “What the heck? He was too nice! I wanted to hate him,” she says, teeth chattering.

  “Me too,” I say, “But it’s good to let go of all that. Though, what he said about Talbot… it makes me wonder.”

  “Wonder what?” Char asks.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe he did something to them? He said everything was hazy and he felt like he wasn’t in control. Maybe they were drugged? Maybe Talbot was trying to get them to lead us to him?”

  The idea sounds farfetched when I say it out loud, but there’s something more to the story from that night.

  “What about Dylan? Do you think he could be your guy? I mean, imagine... he was supposed to meet us that night! I wonder what happened?” she says.

  I can’t imagine. I hadn’t even met Uncle Mike or Darcy at that point. Would I have recognized the water spirit within him? Was there something that kept him from coming that night? Tons of new questions occupy my mind.

  The only clue to any answers is this Dylan Irving.

  “What time is it?” I ask, looking at the overcast sky.

  Char looks at her phone. “Only about two. We still have a few hours till sunset. Why, what are you thinking?” Char asks.

  “I think we need to meet Dylan before something stops us from finding him.” I glance around. Something’s making me uncomfortable. “Do you see anyone following us?” I ask.

  “I didn’t want to say anything, but it does feel like someone’s been watching us.” Char looks around. “I don’t see anyone though.”

  We pick up our pace back to Char’s SUV. As we reach the sidewalk, a man jumps out from behind one of the landscaped trees.

  Char and I both scream at once.

  “Guys! It’s me!” says Rafe, pulling off his sunglasses and hat.

  “Were you spying on us?” I ask in outrage.

  “Not my idea!” he says, holding his hands up.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t trust me!” Char says, her cheeks turning red.

  “It’s not him, Char. I’m pretty sure it was Darcy’s idea,” I say in resignation.

  Rafe points to me saying, “She knows her Darky. Get it? Darcy, he’s dark. Quite the delicious pun.”

  I try to hold a stone face, but can’t help but break at Rafe’s humor.

  “In all fairness to him, he really only does it out of concern,” he argues.

  “Well you didn’t have to follow his orders!” Char says, chastising him.

  “Mr. Augustine thought it was a good idea too,” he reluctantly adds.

  I roll my eyes.

  Men.

  “Well, now that you’re here, you can make yourself useful and drive us.” I say, gesturing to Char’s SUV.

  “Great. Where are we headed?” he asks.

  “That depends. We need to find Dylan Irving,” I say.

  As Rafe is searching for addresses of local water safety companies, my phone beeps with a text from an unknown number:

  Nora. This is Lilly. Meet me by the river. It’s important.

  “Okay, new plan,” I say. “You guys are coming with me to meet Lilly. Maybe she can help us find this Dylan Irving. Let’s get to the river.”

  Chapter 9

  We pull into the park that was once Eleanor’s property and make our way down to the riverbank. Walking through the trees, we come upon Lilly crouched at the water’s edge.

  She turns at our arrival, but gives a dark look at my company.

  “I thought you’d meet me alone,” she says, standing stiff.

  “These are my friends, Rafe and Char. I was with them when you texted. They know all about you and what you are,” I say bluntly.

  Lilly’s brows shoot up. “And what part do they have to play in this?” she asks, eyeing them.

  “We’re just here to help Nora,” Char speaks up, crossing her arms.

  Is this really going to be a standoff? “Okay guys. We’re all here to work together. Lilly, what did you need to meet me about?” I ask.

  Lilly takes an extra moment to eye up Char before turning to me.

  “I have a lockdown on one of the elemental souls. I’ve been watching him for a few months, trying to figure out if he would live up to his potential. I think he’s ready to find you.”

  “That’s great!” I exclaim. “Actually, we think we have a lead on one as well. Which soul did you find?”

  “The elemental soul of water,” she says.

  I turn to Char and Rafe. The look of shock on their faces mirror my own feelings.

  “Where is he?” Rafe asks.

  “I will lead you to him. He doesn’t know what I am yet. I thought we could tell him together,” she says.

  We follow Lilly’s directions along William J. Day Boulevard, south of the city, and park in front of a harbor view business called Poseidon Protection: Aquatics Safety and Security. As we approach the building, something whispers in my mind. I stop and look around.

  “What is it?” Char asks.

  “Nothing,” I say, not wanting to alarm them. “Let’s get inside, we don’t have much time before dark.”

  Inside the building, the reception area is empty.

  “Hello?” Rafe calls out loud. “Where is everyone?” he asks us.

  I glance at Lilly in question. She shrugs and moves to open a door leading to the back offices.

  We follow a corridor that dead ends at another door labeled: Dylan T. Irving.

  “Look!” Char whispers, squeezing my arm.

  Lilly signals for silence and opens the door.

  A man hidden behind the back of a large chair sits turned away from us.

  “Dylan?” I ask.

  The chair turns with a slow creak.

  The lifeguard occupying the seat is familiar.

  “Alex!” Char and I both exclaim.

  “Where is Dylan?” Lilly demands.

  Alex’s movements are mechanical. His eyes are vacant. Something is seriously wrong.

  “Dylan’s time is about to run out.” He tilts his head with a hollow smile.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Char shouts, but Rafe pulls her back behind him.

  “Alex,” I say. “What do you mean?”

  “Just. Like. Gabriel.” As Alex says each word, I hear Talbot’s voice.

  His words. His eyes.

  He’s being controlled somehow!

  I look at Rafe with meaning. In an instant, he jumps over the desk to attack Alex.

  “Char, get out of here! I think there might be a bomb in the building. Go to the car and call Uncle Mike and Darcy. Be careful, Talbot is near. I think he’s controlling Alex.”

  Char turns to exit the office, but the door is blocked.

  Not again.

  TJ is
there, staring at me with menacing, hollow eyes. Funny, he could still pass for being drunk.

  He steps toward me, pushing Char to the ground with one shove. He slaps me across the face, and moves to put his hands around my neck.

  Lilly moves in my peripheral vision as I’m struggling with TJ’s violence. She takes a trophy from the desk and smashes it over his head, cutting his scalp and spilling blood. He falls to the ground, hopefully just unconscious.

  Char gets up and I move her out the door as Rafe still struggles with Alex.

  I turn to Lilly. “He’s here somewhere. But there must be a bomb. I’m going to search. Help Rafe, then get out of the building!”

  “I’ll help you search!” she tries to stop me.

  “Help my friends and get out!” I give a Darcy-like command and there’s a quick flash of light.

  Lilly stares at me in shock, but snaps out of it and complies as she moves behind the desk to help Rafe.

  No time to wonder what just happened.

  I move down the corridor opening every door. Each room is empty.

  Char comes back through the front door in a rush.

  “Nora! Out back! Under the dock. I hear something!”

  Out the back door, there’s a dock along an inlet for water safety vehicles. The black water is frozen underneath.

  I stop and listen for a moment. Some sort of thumping is coming from the darkness under the planks.

  “Char, make sure Lilly gets Rafe out. All of you go to the car and get ready. I’ll get Dylan, then we’re getting out of here.”

  With tears in her eyes, she hugs me and runs.

  I look to the ice under the dock and shiver. Another loud thud prompts me to hurry.

  As careful as I can be, I ease myself down onto the ice.

  “Dylan?” I ask into the darkness.

  A muffled affirmation responds.

  “Keep making noise, I’m coming to you.”

  I army crawl under the dock, following the echo of his grunts and muffled moans. My hands push aside objects that I’m glad I can’t see. Did something just move?

  Finally, I hit a solid form.

  Feeling blind in the darkness, I reach my hand up to a face. My fingers find a gag and remove it.

  “There’s a bomb!” he cries.

  “I know,” I say, much more calm than I feel. “Where are you tied?”

  “By my arms, behind the pillar.”

  I try to stretch my arms behind him, but can’t reach.

  The ice beneath us creaks in warning.

  I take a deep breath and hold it.

  My hands reach again for his bindings, but it’s difficult without seeing in the dark. I fumble the knots and huff in frustration.

  Fail.

  Another loud crack below us halts my breathing again.

  “Just get out of here,” he says. “The destructor said the place will blow by sunset.”

  I’m caught off-guard. He knows the destructor? Does he know me?

  “Dylan, I have to get you out of here. My name is Nora.”

  It’s so dark. We’re going to die, and I don’t even know what he looks like.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I recognize you somehow. I can’t see you, so I guess it’s just your voice. But I know you,” he says. “And I know you need to get yourself out of here.”

  “No. Not without you.”

  “Something’s telling me you need to survive.”

  But I ignore him. My fingers struggle with the bindings again. I let out a breath of ultimate frustration.

  This time, the ice creaks, then snaps. Our legs tangle, sinking in the freezing water.

  We’re almost out of time and now I’m out of breath, shivering against the cold stabs of shock. I close my eyes and push every ounce of energy from my body into my hands.

  Suddenly, they feel warm.

  Dylan lets out a muffled curse.

  I ignore him and continue. My warming hands move with grace, and the rope begins to give. In seconds, his bindings are loose.

  We slip further into the water and my limbs shut down.

  Dylan grabs hold of me. “No. Take a breath.”

  I struggle at first. What is he doing?

  “There’s no time. C’mon!” he implores.

  As soon as I gasp, we’re both under the water, moving away from the dock.

  Seconds later, a muffled explosion.

  Dylan grabs me under the protection of the water and moves me.

  Destruction radiates around us, vibrating under the water. I’m so numb, I can barely hold my breath. How can he move in this freezing water?

  The explosion breaks up the ice at the surface. Dylan swims for one of the holes, dragging me along behind him.

  We pop back up above the broken surface.

  I wipe my eyes with frozen hands and search the shore, desperate for any signs of life.

  From this distance, I can only see the remains of the building.

  My teeth are chattering as Dylan pulls me from the water.

  I glance up to the sky. The sun has set.

  Can my heart freeze if I’m already frozen?

  “D-Dylan! T-The d-destructor!” I can barely get the words out in my shivering state.

  “Nora!” A scream from the distance.

  “Ch-Char! R-R-RUN!”

  Chapter 10

  “We have to move. We need to get you someplace warm.” Dylan doesn’t even seem to be phased by the subzero temperature as he hauls me to my feet.

  I hadn’t registered his accent until now. I’m not sure where it’s from.

  No time to dwell on it. My fear for Char, Rafe, and Lilly is shutting down my senses. Or it could be shock from the cold.

  My numb jaw shakes uncontrollably. I try to force words out, “M-my f-f-friends!”

  He looks over to the smoking remains of the building.

  “Wait here,” he says.

  “N-no.” I struggle the words out. Unzipping my soaked coat, I remove it and search the pockets. I grab the lighter and pepper spray, holding on to each as if our lives depend on them, and they do now. I stand to follow him, body shuddering.

  He looks at the makeshift weapons in my hands and shakes his head, confused.

  We make our way along a stone wall that supports the neighboring yacht club’s deck. With our backs against the wall, we creep around a corner and Dylan stumbles into a shadowed figure. Their bodies interlock in a quiet struggle.

  I raise my weapons just as a second figure pipes up from behind the first.

  “Nora! Thank God!” It’s Char.

  Rafe unwraps his arms from Dylan after recognizing us. The two nod to each other in the way that guys do after a misunderstanding.

  “W-what happened to L-Lilly?” I ask in a teeth-chattering whisper just loud enough for Char to hear.

  We’re outside. At night. We haven’t risked this in months.

  “She saw the sun set and ran,” Char sneers quietly, just to me. “We let her go. We weren’t leaving without you two.”

  “What h-happened in the b-building?” I ask Rafe.

  Char and Rafe are both quiet.

  “Alex and T-TJ?” I ask.

  Twilight lights reflect off Char’s eyes as they fill with tears. She can only shake her head.

  “They were inside when it exploded. We barely got out in time,” Rafe answers with a thick voice.

  My throat clogs with confused emotion at the senseless deaths. I nearly choke as I’m still shivering.

  “We need to get going. It’s dark, and she’s freezing,” Dylan says looking at me, and then around uneasy.

  “The car’s that way,” Rafe points and whispers, so quiet, he seems afraid to disturb the dead.

  We make our way between buildings, toward the street. In the moment that it takes for the steam of my breath to reach in front of my eyes, everything changes.

  Char is thrown into the wall with the sound of a sickening thud.

  Before we can react, Rafe is dragge
d around to face me and Dylan. A cloaked figure is half hidden behind him. The figure’s black-gloved hand holds a golden-hilt dagger with the blade pointed directly at Rafe’s right carotid artery.

  Why is Talbot hiding behind the cloak? Is he trying to hide the scars from the burn? Despite my mind’s irrational questions, I hold up my lighter and pepper spray before I can even process them.

  “Let him go,” I say, voice dead calm considering how cold I am.

  The destructor’s grip tightens and a small drop of blood slides down Rafe’s neck.

  Rafe sucks in a breath with a hiss.

  “Don’t move,” I just barely make out Dylan’s whisper from right behind me. There’s a deep rumbling further back behind us as the water at the shore starts crashing over the broken ice.

  The sensation of Dylan’s breath tickling the back of my neck is the only indication I have that he’s up to something.

  No, it’s not his breath. It’s something in the air, humming around us.

  Above our heads, there’s a bone-chilling snap, and several icicles as large as weapons wedge between Rafe and Talbot. In the moment’s confusion, Talbot holds his hands up to block the stab of ice, as Rafe dives out of the way.

  Dylan steers me to the side towards Rafe. I huddle down over Char. I chance a quick look at Dylan, his blue eyes are nearly glowing.

  The rumbling of water is as deafening as Niagara Falls, and Dylan’s hands begin to glow.

  What’s happening?

  I can’t believe my own eyes, but just as he moves his glowing hands toward Talbot, I’m forced to turn my head away from the rush of frozen water plunging through the air laced with bits of deadly razor sharp ice.

  “Get Char!” I yell to Rafe over the thundering noise.

  Rafe cradles Char’s unconscious form in his arms.

  He nods to me, and I scream Dylan’s name, reaching a hand out to grab his leg.

  “Let’s go!” I shout and the frozen waterspout dies down just long enough for us to escape the destructor.

  We rush to hop in the car and speed away before Talbot can recover from the attack. As we’re driving away, I reach over to check on Char. She’s breathing, but has a large bump on her head.

  “Is she okay?” Rafe asks, his voice high in panic. He looks at me in the rearview mirror.

  “I think so. J-just knocked out,” I reply, still shaking from the cold.