by Lynn Vroman
The rest looked like everyday people. Average. Unremarkable. One even looked old enough to be my grandmother. A few resembled the stuffy librarian from high school, while others looked like they drove minivans and were in morning carpools. They did have one thing in common. The bullets shooting from their eyes, directed at me.
Sticky, wet heat drenched my armpits, soaking my shirt. No one spoke, so different from all the commotion a few minutes ago. There wasn’t a need, though. Their eyes said all I needed to hear loud and clear.
I swallowed, wishing for some water, and took a step forward. I glanced at Winston. “Probably could’ve handled this a little better, huh?”
He shrugged, staying in between the Us and Them teams. “Eh, it’s all good.”
“Right.” Okay, who’s the angriest-looking asshole…ah, supermodel boy. “You wanna start, big guy?”
Wow, did he ever.
He lunged, fists flailing. He didn’t get far. Both Wilma and Winston threw up their hands as Farren moved to tackle the guy. Ginger didn’t get a chance to put Handsome on the ground because Winston had him slammed against the wall, immobile.
I tried not to flinch. Everything happened so fast. Farren pushed me behind him while Winston kept the guy hanging on the wall.
Wilma tilted her head, hands on hips. “Nice moves, but I had him.”
Winston smiled and dropped his hand. The guy fell to the ground, but hopped back up, moving to come at me again. Winston waived toward Wilma. “He’s all yours.”
She froze Handsome in his tracks a couple feet from Farren. “Take it easy, hot stuff. We’re not the enemy.”
No one else tried to attack. Not that they could, with Farren’s big body shielding mine and two of the strongest Protectors ever performing parlor tricks at the expense of the now furious Handsome. I moved within inches from him. “What’s your name?”
He spit in my face.
“You sonofabitch!” Farren moved like lightning, his limp unnoticeable, and punched the guy square in the jaw. Shaking his hand, he gave me a wink before using his sleeve to wipe the spit off my cheek. “And that, kid, is the proper way to give a right hook.”
Being angry would add to the tension in the room, but spit in the face…yeah, that really sucked. “Thanks, Ginger. Let’s not beat our guests while frozen, though, okay? Not exactly fair odds.”
He removed the last of the saliva. “Don’t care. He spits on you again, I’ll rip out his tongue.” Farren said it loud enough for everyone to hear. Unfortunately, the confrontation headed in the exact direction I thought it would.
Sighing, I moved to put a hand on Wilma’s arm, letting my thoughts flow. I’m gonna have to show them they can trust me.
Her subtle nod indicated she’d gotten the message.
Stepping toward Handsome again, his lip bloody, I crossed my arms, making sure to stand a little farther back, out of spitting range. “Let him go, Wilma.”
When he regained control of his body, he wiped the blood off his face, hate pouring from his eyes. “Would’ve planned better if I had known you were involved.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Yeah?”
His face was still pretty with the split lip. “Your death has topped the list for years.”
When footsteps rushed behind me, I held up a hand and shook my head. I smiled, though I really wanted to fall to my knees and beg him not to kill me. “Well, someone beat you to it–over eighteen years ago.”
He returned my smile, his blue eyes cold and lethal. “Good thing about knowing the truth is the possibility of killing people more than once.”
My arms stayed crossed to avoid showing both the pit stains and the trembling. “You’re not gonna get the chance…ah, name?”
He stayed silent.
“You want me to call you asshole, then?”
He raised a brow, the ice melting in his eyes. “Oren.”
“Okay, Oren, here’s the deal.” I moved to stand in the middle of the furious thirteen. “I get you all hate me, and I also get that Winston not telling you I was here threw you a curve.”
Oren stepped closer to the older woman, as if I had plans on dropping her to the ground.
Hmm….interesting.
I moved in their direction, his body going rigid, and instantly felt the static. A Guide. His Guide, for sure. I continued while watching her expression, not filled with rage like everyone else. “I’m only gonna say this once. I am not the person you despise. I didn’t blackmail you. And we all know what will happen if Exemplar begins to wage a war on dimensions, seeing as how you’ve made a pit stop in Arcus before coming here.”
I paused, giving them all a chance to let that sink in. They were Exemplians, and so they should get how serious the situation was without me going into gory detail.
When shoulders relaxed and the death stares dimmed, I cleared my throat. “I might have been your enemy before, but I’m your ally now. We can stop them–as long as we can be civil enough to trust none of us will cut each other’s throats.”
Oren piped in, his voice hard. “If you think the small lot of us has a chance in hell at taking down Exemplar, you’re delusional. They’ll keep coming until they get what they want.”
“Maybe so, but we can win this battle. We’ll worry about each attack as they come.” I smiled at the older woman. “And now that we have four Guides, finding the nest will be easier.”
Oren stood in front of her before she could answer. “Grace won’t be joining the fight.”
“She can’t speak for herself?”
He took a step forward, and no amount of convincing with my hand gestures prevented Wilma from coming to my side. “You touch Lena, I hurt you. Simple.” She moved to stand beside Farren, who rocked a death stare. “Listen to what the girl has to say and maybe you’ll learn something.”
Oren clenched his jaw, the left side developing a tic. He then moved back to the older woman, grabbing her hand. “Like I said, she’s not helping.”
The woman pulled her hand from Oren’s before patting his forearm. “It’s fine, Ore. I can speak.”
I nodded, not taking my eyes off Oren’s angry face. “Yeah, Ore. Let her speak.”
The older woman wagged a finger in my face. “There isn’t a need to antagonize. He’s trying to protect me, as are the people who love you.”
Ah! She had me. Lowering my gaze away from Oren to acknowledge Grace, I smiled, though my face burned. “Sorry. You’re right. He’s your Protector, I take it?”
She folded her hands, fingers bending with arthritis, and returned my smile. “That’s what he tells me, anyway.”
My insides froze. “What do you mean?”
“Oren landed on my doorstep one day, and I decided to like his company. To be honest,” she tapped her forehead, “I thought he was a might touched, you know, in the head? Never really believed his stories until your friends came to us.”
Holy… So, she was like me.
I found Avery in the crowd. “Care to explain?”
She fidgeted, her tiny hands combing through her hair and fussing with the front of her robe. “I-I made a deal…with Oren, eighteen years ago.”
“You’re full of deals, aren’t you? What’d you promise him?”
She opened her mouth, but Oren beat her to it. “She promised to help me find my Guide in exchange for my promise to not find you.”
“What?”
Avery rushed forward, grabbing my hands, her eyes pleading. “Grace chose retirement and was living another cycle in Earth. She was his Guide through three cycles in Exemplar, and he needed…um, in order for him not to seek you out, I told him where to find her.”
I shrugged my hands from her grasp, my whole body shaking and ready to explode. “So, what’s Earth? Your dumping ground? How many Exemplians have retired there?” I narrowed my eyes, so wanting to hit her. “Better yet, how many recycled Exemplians are you hiding there?”
She blinked a few times. “Umm…I–”
“That
many, huh? Why would you do that? Earth’s, what? A hotbed of unassuming recycled Exemplians? All that energy–all that power–easy pickings for those bastards! And we don’t have magic rocks there to help us! They’ll… Christ, they’ll burn it to the ground!”
She cried. “No, the dimension is too large, the largest. They’d be insane to attempt–”
“A takeover? Didn’t you tell me Earth was the next target?” I stepped closer. “Guess they’re pretty fucking insane, huh?”
Nicolette came to wrap her arm around Avery, but she stayed silent. Maybe she thought the idea as stupid, regardless of how much she cared about her Guide.
“I never thought… I assumed we’d have a plan in place. A way to defeat them before they found out! I needed,” Avery grabbed my hands again, “we needed to make sure there was enough concentrated energy in one place. Please…our intentions were good. They–”
“No. No more. Your voice makes my ears bleed.” I moved away before I gave in to the temptation to practice my right hook. “Everyone, please, who she’s talking about, who I used to be, I’m not that person. Not anymore. I want what you want. Peace. A chance to live my life without Exemplian interference.”
When a few grumbled, I held up a hand. “Wait, I get it, trust me. What happened to you, I’m sorry, truly. But who I was… Damn.” I looked at my hands. “Who I was wanted Exemplian control to stop.” After a deep breath, I met every gaze. “And I agree with her.”
A collective roar resounded, and some of the soccer moms rushed me. Surprisingly, before Wilma had to throw anyone else in the air, Oren spoke up. “I agree with her, just not with her methods. Prove you’re different.”
“How?” Anything. I’d do anything to prove it.
“We fight if, and only if, we do it together. No secrets. No blackmail. If someone wants out, we let them out.”
I couldn’t nod fast enough. “Yes, yes, definitely. I agree.”
His baby blues shifted solely on me. “And if those we fight want to join us, we let them.”
Almost anything.
“Are you insane? We’re gonna trust a bunch of murdering bastards to help us? Besides, we need their energy to repair this dimension. No way.”
“We’ll kill plenty to help Empyrean.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Those are my conditions. Accept them, or Grace and I are gone.”
Avery jumped in as I opened my mouth, more than prepared for him to leave. “He’s right, Lena. Many Exemplians do not wish to be here. There is no choice for them, either fight or be marked Tainted. What would you do?”
No answer for that so I kept my trap shut and listened.
“We can figure out a way–there has to be some way–to reach those tired of Exemplian control,” Avery said.
I looked from her to everyone in the room. “Does everyone agree to these terms?”
Most nodded, some did nothing.
“Fine.” I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent spewing any more reservations. They could save all they wanted, but whoever turned on us would become squid food. “If you don’t, you’re free to leave, though I wouldn’t go back to Earth.”
A woman, the librarian look-a-like, stepped forward. “Some of us have families there. People who have no clue how the world truly is. We can’t leave them to suffer for our decisions.” She looked around. “And you know they will all be made to suffer because of us.”
Well, finally a situation we could fix. “We can get them to Arcus. They’ll be safe there.”
Librarian pinned me with a glare. “Arcus? So they can die of starvation? Or maybe shock? Did you not hear me when I said most do not know of us?”
Stomach acid churned. Any more confrontations and I might run away crying. “We have an Arcus ancient on our side. Her presence makes the environment safer. My family’s been staying there and is doing fine. So has Winston’s.” Time for the dig, I’d think about my diplomacy skills later. “And maybe it’s time you’re honest with people you claim to love, huh? Let them know who you are?”
Her face reddened. “I’m leaving. If you all choose to stay, so be it.” She waded through the small crowd to the doors. Before storming out, she turned to me. “I have no trouble with the truth, Tainted. It’s you who had the problem, and I’d never ever trust you.”
“Had.” I shrugged, but her words had the intended effect. They cut. Deep. I cleared my throat and addressed our small army one more time. “If you choose to stay, we will help collect your families and bring them to safety once the battle is over. Anyone else wants to leave, now’s the time to do it.”
I hadn’t expected anyone else to go, but two others left. A guy who could be an accountant and the gorgeous girl. Shit. That left ten newbies. I glanced over at Winston, a grin curving the left side of his mouth. “Don’t worry about it.”
Yeah, sure, whatever.
I went to Grace and hugged her. She looked like she needed it. “I’m sorry, and believe me when I say I understand if you want to stay away from the fight.”
She patted my back and pulled away. “I’d do anything for Ore.” She gave him an adoring look, which turned his bad attitude to mush.
His face softened as he squeezed her hand. “I don’t need you to put yourself in danger.”
Her dark brown eyes, so young in a wrinkled, aged face, brightened. “I will do whatever I please, and you’ll be fine with it.” She turned to me, keeping her hand in his. “Of course, I’ll help. But I warn you, the only time I’ve ever felt the static he always spoke about is when I met her.” She pointed to Avery. “Now I can’t seem to shut it off.”
I smiled, loving her immediately, and gestured to Oren. “We’ll help you.”
“Good.” She yawned, hiding it behind a hand. “I do need some rest, however.”
I jumped, ready to do whatever she wanted. “Absolutely! Um…” Okay, forgot this wasn’t my place.
Teenesee strode to the door, showing no signs of weakness. If the people in the room knew her, they’d wonder about her silence during the whole conversation. Her secret was safe, though. No way would we mention how frail she’d become. “Come, everyone. My home is your home. Rest tonight. In two days’ time we will begin to take back my world.”
Everyone filed out, some with a shell-shocked expression. Hopefully, no one would have a change of heart once sleep helped clear their mind.
Before Avery left, I called to her. “I expect you’ll have an answer to how we’re supposed to find the sympathizers soon? If not, I don’t see any other option but killing them all.”
Her face paled, and it looked as though a small breeze could carry her away. “I will come up with something.”
Nicolette glowered at me before the two escaped through the doors.
Oren spoke up when Wilma, Farren, Winston, and I remained in the room. “So, we start the nest search in a couple days?”
I kept my eyes on the door, not bothering to look at him. “If everything goes right.”
“We’ll all probably die before finding it. Not a doubt in my mind they’re watching our every move.”
My gut dropped to the floor. The way he said it, as if the outcome were inevitable, scared the living shit out of me. “You always a pessimist?”
Oren sauntered toward the door. “No, but I’m always a realist.” He looked behind him. “We aren’t the first to go against Exemplar, and we won’t be the last.” He disappeared up the stairs, taking a huge chunk of my confidence with him.
I turned to Wilma with a snort. “You believe that guy?” I made my voice deep and curved my arms like a gorilla. “We aren’t the first and won’t be the last… Prick.”
She didn’t give the reaction I wanted. No, “screw him,” or “he’s a dumbass.” Instead, she hugged me until I could barely breathe. “I love you more than anything or anyone, Lena. Always remember that. Whatever happens, as long as I’m breathing, no one will touch you.” She hurried to the door, letting it slam shut.
Shocked, I stood there with my
hands out staring after her. “Winston? We’re gonna be fine, right?”
He hopped off the edge of the couch. “Nothing’s ever guaranteed. But what you’re doing…how you handled those people…I’d be proud to die beside you. Have a little faith. We got pretty good odds.” He kissed my cheek, his lips warm on my cold skin, and left after a wave to Farren.
The pain in my chest squeezed and ripped until I swore my heart would explode. The way Wilma reacted… So not the confidence she’d been feeding me lately. My complete gullibility up until that moment surprised me. I could die, and I’d never see my family again.
Oh. God.
If I only had a couple nights to live, I wanted to spend at least one feeling alive, remind myself I had something worth living for–and worth dying for.
As if he could hear my thoughts worlds away, Tarek’s voice penetrated my brain. Come to me. Please.
Yes, yes I would.
“Let’s get some rest.” Farren grabbed my elbow and led me to the door.
All the color drained from his face, his fingers cold and shaky on my elbow. I stopped, refusing to take one more step. “Wait. Just wait for a second.”
He bent his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
I moved his hand away from his face and made him look at me. “We can leave. Right now. Go to them.”
He tilted his head. “But everything you said…now you want to run?”
“No, not run. Escape for the night. One night. I can’t… If I die… Please, Farren. Don’t you want to see Belva? One more time?”
A little bit of color came back to his cheeks and his eyes brightened. “Wilma won’t let that happen.”
“We won’t tell her. Anyway, she’ll know I’m gone as soon as I go through the portal.”
He shook his head. “She’ll be pissed.”
“She’ll understand.” I ran to a large map in the corner of the room sitting on a marble pedestal. Our light came from the raging fireplace. Thick iron shutters blockaded the bay window. The soft glow was enough.
“Look, right here.” Dimension coordinates appeared where my finger touched the thick paper.