by April Zyon
Evernight Publishing ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2016 April Zyon
ISBN: 978-1-77233-700-6
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Jessica Ruth
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
REVEALED
Warriors of Light, 2
April Zyon
Copyright © 2016
Prologue
“How is she today, Doctor?” the middle-aged woman asked as she poised on the edge of the chair before the large, scarred, oak desk. The perfection of her looks—the perfectly lined in lips, the youthful breasts and slim waist—all spoke of a woman who’d never had to worry about money, never had to work a day in her life. She was pampered, and the way she spoke to others conveyed that message as well.
“She is still in a slightly comatose state. She hasn’t spoken since she checked herself in here. If not for the nurses caring for her and making sure she eats and showers, she would more than likely have ceased functioning by now.” This was his polite way of telling Mrs. Jensen-Worthington IV that her daughter would be dead if not for him and the staff that she paid so handsomely.
“Is there anything at all you can do for her? Anything to jump her out of this bout of silliness she’s experiencing? For just a little while?” Her ruby-red lips pursed invitingly on her porcelain white, heavily made-up face. “Please?” She fluttered her false eyelashes even as she leaned forward to show a lovely view of her twenty-grand upgraded breasts. “I would be so very grateful,” she purred as she ran a long, red nail across the chain at her neck, again pulling attention to her chest.
Clearing his throat, the man shook his head, his eyes riveted for only a few additional moments. After all, who could blame him? “Mrs. Jensen-Worthington.” At her narrowed gaze—a nonverbal reminder to call her Helena—he started again. “Helena. As much as I would love to be able to tell you I have found a perfect cure for her, I can’t. What she’s suffering from is what I would usually term severe shock and post-traumatic stress. But we both know that nothing serious, stressful, or upsetting has ever happened to Riley.”
He watched the woman sit back, his gaze narrowing this time. “Or is there something that I’m missing?”
Schooling her features, she shook her head and smiled. “No, no, of course not. I just worry for my one and only child. Surely, you can understand?”
What the doctor understood was that Helena had about two billion reasons to want her daughter out of the asylum. However, none of them would do the older woman any good until Riley was ready to break free of the madness that gripped her. It was odd, however, he thought to himself, that there were times Riley seemed completely lucid and if he didn’t know better he would swear she was putting on a show for one and all.
“I need for Riley to come out of this nonsensical tantrum that she’s throwing before the next board meeting.” Gloves were now off as Helena stood. “If she’s not standing before them, fully competent, they will liquidate her daddy’s company and put all the money from her portion of the company into charity, as per Riley’s own silly will. I can’t believe she had that thing drawn up. They’re going to declare her incompetent and sell so that they can all make a profit from what shares they all own.” She huffed. “I still don’t know why dearest Jasper didn’t leave me the business instead of that poor child. She never has been right in the mind, if you understand my meaning?”
Oh, he understood all right. He understood that she was about to lose a very large source of income as the overseer of her daughter’s trust fund and business shares. He also understood that the members of the board must have realized she would never allow her daughter out if she could help it. And apparently, “dearest Jasper” didn’t leave her a single red penny thanks to the prenuptial she had signed, if the rumor mill was to be believed.
“How is your second husband getting along? Mr. Worthington?” Harold Worthington IV was also a very wealthy man, was older than dirt and suffering from dementia and hadn’t demanded a prenuptial agreement before he wed the grieving widow, according to the court cases that his relatives had against the woman. The doctor suspected she was more than willing to knock the old man off—if his friends wouldn’t cry foul of the old buzzard’s death.
Waving a dismissive hand in the air, she shrugged. “Harry’s fine. He’s with his golf buddies now. Not that they play golf, mind you. They just sit in the country club’s den, discussing things gone by. He’s perfectly wonderful in demanding to pay for Riley’s care and is very grateful to you.”
Now he understood the bonuses for Riley’s personal care team with their last quarter’s fees and could tell that it didn’t sit right with mommy dearest. “Does it bother you that your second husband absolutely adores your daughter as well as you?”
The doctor heard her growl in reaction. “Of course it does. She’s not even pretty.” Then she caught herself. In a more demure tone, she added, “She’s known Harold for many years. They have much in common. It’s good they get along.”
He would have snorted if he didn’t think it would offend her, but he knew it would. Riley Jensen could be called many things. However, “not even pretty” wasn’t one of them. She was like a small faerie brought to life. She had the bluest eyes he had ever seen, curling, blonde hair that gave her an angelic look, and a body that women like Helena Jensen-Worthington IV paid insane sums of money to obtain—yet always fell short of the real thing.
Looking at his watch, the doctor smiled. “If you will excuse me, please, Mrs. Jensen-Worthington? I have rounds to make and then a recital for my daughter tonight.” Standing, he offered his hand to her. “As always, it’s been a pleasure,” he murmured, then pressed a kiss onto the top of her hand, more because she expected it than a true desire to.
“Of course, Doctor. Thank you for taking time to see me today.” Helena floated toward the door, always giving him her best side to look at.
“Would you like to see Riley?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.
“No, no. I simply couldn’t bear seeing my baby girl like she is. Get her well, Doctor. Quickly, please.” She moved out of the office and down the hall, her perfume in her wake like the scent of an animal warning of danger.
The nurse shook her head and looked up at him. “No wonder Riley is a basket case. I would be, too, if I had that viper for a mother.”
The corners of his lips turned up, and he shook his head. “I don’t know where Riley gets her kindness and simplistic values from. She’s a truly amazing young woman, from all that I’ve read of her. Too bad her mother is as she is.” He sighed. “Please cancel any meetings I have tonight. Amanda has a recital. I’ll see you tomorrow, Penny.” He packed up his laptop, then grabbed his hat and jacket, heading out for the day.
Chapter One
Crazy. They all thought she was as crazy as a loon and more than half as stupid. She wasn’t. Riley knew that she wasn’t stupid … knew that she wasn’t crazy either.
Safe. She was safe here. She was warm and had food and wonderful drugs to keep her from thinking too deeply about the things she saw when she looked too far into the shadows. She was perfectly fine with them thinking she was crazy, because as long as they thought so, she got to stay in this nice, safe, white, padded room with the doors locked securely on her side. Oh, yes, crazy was good.
; Coming out of her thoughts a bit, Riley looked at the screen that took up a corner in the common room of the institute she had holed herself up in for months and felt fear frizzle her nerves. She bit her lower lip as she watched the scene play out before her. It wasn’t right. She tilted her head, questioning everything that was on the screen. It made her sick, actually. She was happy to see the image change to something else. The news story about a sinkhole in Montana was skewed. It didn’t happen the way the newscasters said it did. Why would they lie? Why not tell people the truth of what was really going on in their world?
She leaned back and sighed. There was so much danger outside these walls. She was safe here. Once more, she realized that she was in the right for having hidden away as she had. For a brief moment Riley allowed herself to think of her childhood, of her father. She had been so happy when he had been alive. He had done everything in his power to ensure that she was happy and protected from her mother. She’d realized after only a few years that her mother was incapable of love. No, that the woman was devoid of emotion unless it dealt directly with her happiness and joy. When her father died it had been the saddest day of Riley’s life. She’d lost everything when her father died, but her mother seemed to bask in the adoration of the people who sought to give them comfort from the loss.
She turned when she heard Delta, one of the few other women in the facility. “Hello, D.” She spoke very softly because Delta didn’t like loud noises.
“Hello, Riley Jensen. Your aura is off today.”
“I’m not sleeping well.” Delta was an odd one, and for the crazy woman to say something about auras was hilarious.
“You need to sleep better, because he’s coming. When he comes, you have to be ready.”
“No one will come for me.” Riley frowned.
“That’s what you think. He’ll be here soon, and you have to be ready. If you aren’t, then bad things will happen.”
Riley smiled and shook her head. “D, there’s no one coming for me.” Her mother—insert eye-roll—was the only one outside of her attorney that knew where she was.
“If you say so.” Delta stroked the air on her lap, making purring sounds as she did so. “Even Fluffy says that there is something coming.”
Riley just smiled. She might have everyone thinking that she was crazy, but Delta, God love her, really was. Riley looked out of the barred window and closed her eyes for a moment. It was lovely, the feeling of the sun on her face. The peace of the moment. All of it. She listened to her friend Delta as she spoke to herself and snorted from time to time at something the woman said. She didn’t know how long she sat there but finally it was time for her to leave the room.
Riley rose from the chair and walked out of the community room. She didn’t look back as she entered her room. Taking a seat on the lone chair in the space, she began to write in her journal.
A few hours later, she was awakened from a deep sleep by the alarms that sounded in the halls. She pulled on her robe and walked out of the room, her heart thudding in her chest. She tightened her hands around the lapels of her robe as fear frizzled up and down her spine.
She listened to the talk going on around her and shook her head.
“She tied her torn sheets up and hung them from the light fixture. Then she stepped off of her bed and … well … you saw it.”
No, that’s not right. At all. Delta was a lot of things, but she wasn’t suicidal. The woman had even painted her room with a bright sunshine field filled with animals. The room radiated happiness where the rest of the facility was cold and sterile. The grounds were beautiful, of course, which she assumed was where Delta got the inspiration from.
“From what I understand, Martin on floor two had three suicides in the last week.” The nurses began to whisper as they walked away from where Riley stood.
“That’s definitely not right,” Riley said to herself as she followed. Even if the women thought they were telling the truth, Riley knew the lies as they were told. That was the bane of her curse. She knew the truth when she saw it or heard it. The lies that mascaraed as fact were clear to her.
With that knowledge in mind, Riley began to formulate her next plan of attack, so to speak. She had to get out of the facility. Yes, she could easily just walk out the front door but then her mother would know she was out and that would cause all sorts of complications that Riley didn’t want to deal with right now.
It took her three days, but she was able to pull together enough information to back up her own understanding of what the truth actually was. She couldn’t just blurt out that the suicides were false. She had to have rock-solid proof, which was why she needed to get out of the facility—so that she could find the person who would be able to confess their sins. Failing that, she hoped to at least dig up more information to give to the authorities.
She called in help to slip out during the early morning hours. She knew that it would give her doctor a bit of a heart attack, but she was there on a voluntary basis. She was just simply leaving without signing out, in her way of thinking.
In the common room once more, she was watching and waiting. Soon her ride would be outside of the wooded area and waiting for her to come through. She knew that before too long she would be trying to solve murders.
* * * *
Intercepting Gaius in the hall, Hector held up a hand to stop the man. “Mercury sent them off already. He needs us on a different task.”
“Unacceptable,” Gaius snarled. “They went after Emily. All because that asshole sold us out. He will die by my hand, not theirs!”
“Quit being such a drama queen for a moment, if you wouldn’t mind. Mercury sent them off to track him down. He also gave them explicit orders to find only. They will contact you once they know he’ll be in one place. Or when they nail him to a wall.”
Gaius was practically vibrating in anger. Hector could appreciate that. The other man only wanted to protect the person that held his heart, his soul, his very life in her hands. Emily was one of the thirteen vestal virgins, a unique and sought-after woman, to say the least.
The vestal virgins were the only ones able to bond with the guardians. At least that was Hector’s understanding of it all. Apparently, something in their genetic makeup made them the perfect balance to the men who were the guardians.
Being a guardian was a huge responsibility. It took a gigantic toll on each of the men that were chosen to be part of the organization, which had been created by a goddess to protect the humans from things they just couldn’t comprehend. The strain to remain good when always faced with such evil day in and out was huge.
Many had succumbed to the siren’s call of evil over the centuries that he’d been a part of the guardians. More of late than at any other time, though. This worried them all. They were finally finding the vestal virgins, or so it was all their hopes, and guardians were beginning to turn on their brothers-in-arms.
In Emily’s case, one of the guardians they had called brother had betrayed her journey to the guardians’ mountain fortress. He’d sold the information to those they called the monsters, or evil ones. Basically, they were all that was truly wrong with the world. Literally. She’d almost been killed in the attack—badly wounded, anyway—and was still recovering from her injuries seven weeks later.
Another reason for Gaius to be so … moody. He didn’t want to leave her behind. She would be protected—their leader, Mercury, wouldn’t allow any harm to come to her—but Gaius saw it as his personal duty to ensure her safety always. An honorable and noble sentiment. If only he wasn’t so damn pussy whipped.
Focusing on his fellow guardian again, Hector watched as Gaius reined in his anger. It was fascinating to watch as he shoved it down, deep inside, so that he was the chilling and calculating warrior that Hector had always known. “Better?” Hector asked after a moment, his droll tone earning a snarl from the other man.
“If they kill him instead of waiting for me, I will see to it they forever walk with limps,” Gaius
growled.
“Yes, they realize that, I am sure. Now, we need to go.” Turning, Hector rolled his eyes only when he was absolutely sure Gaius couldn’t see him. He didn’t need to be walking around wounded.
“Where are we going?” Gaius asked once they had gotten into one of the heavily armored SUV’s.
Hector smiled slightly but got them in motion before he answered, “We’re going to the looney bin.” He smirked when he caught the sharp, stunned glare that Gaius shot his way from the passenger seat.
On the drive, he explained to Gaius how Mercury had picked up on a sudden spike in apparent, yet highly suspicious, suicides at a sanitarium. Even though they were crazy people, they had all died around specific lunar events. Three suicides had been made known to the local law enforcement, and another one had just occurred.
Mercury was pretty damn sure that the evil ones were trying to gather souls. In the depths of Hell, the more souls you had in your pocket, the more power you had. And the more power you had, the more havoc you could create on earth. As far as the guardians were concerned, someone was powering up and that was not a good thing.
Four hours later, they drew up to the structure in question. Parking well out of range of the cameras, Hector leaned forward to stare at the building.
“How are we going to do this?” Gaius asked.
Looking to the other man, Hector was grateful to note that he was completely calm. Gaius was looking around, likely noting the position of the cameras, doors, and the security on the grounds, as well as any exits from the highly protected lot of land.
“We’ll go in as military intelligence. There’s no way anyone will buy that we’re law enforcement.” Not with how they were both dressed in black clothing and dripping with weaponry. “We’ll say we received notification that…” He dug out the piece of paper Mercury had given him and read it again.