“My heart was destroyed the moment you touched the woman I loved.” My father shivered and shook. His eyes turned black.
“Blake?” Monty called from the edge of the clearing.
“You will never hurt her again!” My father screamed at Alexander’s lifeless body. “Get out of my head!”
I understood what he was going through. I had experienced an unwanted voice. Is that how it happened? He got the darkness from Emma’s Gerard?
“Blake, what have you done?” Monty walked closer.
Blake turned to Monty. “I did it to save Emma.”
“No. You did it to have Emma.” Monty’s eyes were wide with terror and confusion. “She will never love you now.”
“She will be mine.” Blake looked down at his bloody hands. It was all worth it. Everything would be okay now. Emma would be his.
“Not when I tell her what you have done.”
Rage pumped through Blake. No one was going to get in his way again. He picked Monty up by the back of his neck. “If you tell, I will kill you, Emma, and Theodore. I killed once, and I would not mind doing it again.”
The image faded out, and I returned to the present.
Nothing I believed about my father and Emma was true. He killed her Gerard out of a protective rage. It had not been spite or greed. Was it possible?
There was only one other man who knew the truth, and Monty was dead now too. I had a growing suspicion he was even more important than I originally thought.
I thought over the memory, and focused on Alexander’s fear at the end. It had not been only concern over physical retaliation. His comment about my father’s heart was significant. His fear was tied to that. It was as if someone had shone a light on things. My father’s heart was inpure. That meant he could accept the darkness. Alexander was afraid of what would happen if he killed Blake. And then everything about Gregor’s actions fell into place. I had been right. He was dangerous, but killing him would risk everything. Killing someone who could accept the darkness might mean that they took the darkness and all the power that came with it. The darkness appeared to have the ability to pass both ways: whether the Cipher was the killer or the one being killed.
Ainsley was gone. Every inch of me ached to have her back. She belonged with me, and I had been an idiot to let her go. The darkness was growing, but it would not fully take-over. Ainsley would make it to Belgard and convince Charlotte to help. There was no other way.
She would forgive me for sending her away. She would never forgive me for giving into the darkness. I struggled against it as it continued to spread through me.
“Where is the girl?” Gregor found me where I waited in the woods.
“Gone.”
“Gone?” Gregor startled. “Yet you are speaking so calmly? What did you do?”
“I did nothing. She wanted to leave, and she left.” She had wanted the opposite, but admitting the truth to Gregor would only make things worse. He had to believe me. The one benefit of the darkness spreading was I no longer had to worry about my father hearing my thoughts and trying to stop me. I had amassed so much of his power now that I could easily block him out. He only existed through the darkness—once I controlled it completely he would be gone. I wondered if he had made that realization yet.
“You allowed it?” He watched me warily.
“You are the one who feared she might distract me. She cannot distract me when she is miles away.”
“But she will die without you. You told me that yourself.”
“Not immediately.” And I had to believe there was a way to break that connection. I had only been concerned with having her with me, but breaking the connection would be the only way to get rid of the poison in her system.
“You cannot be calm about that possibility.” He paced a circle around me.
“I am not calm about it. I will get her back once our work is done.” And once she had the reinforcements to stop me. My heart might have still been pure, but the rest of me wasn’t.
“What if she does not survive?”
“I already told you it will not be for too long.”
“I am not talking about her need for you. I am talking about the dangers that lurk.” He nodded deeper into the forest.
“She is going to Belgard. She will be safe there.”
“To Belgard?” He gasped. “You allowed that? You sent our weapon to our enemies?” His nostrils flared.
“It will be easy to reclaim her when we take over the city.” Speaking the words excited me even though I knew I had to be stopped before that happened. The darkness egged me on, and it called to me in a way that was terrifying.
“Take over the city?” He stopped pacing. “We are supposed to be focused on the lost world.”
“But Energo is more powerful. We have the Source.” My words were supposed to be hollow, but they were not. My anger had merged with my father’s, and despite wanting and needing to do the right thing, I knew there was a large part of me that only wanted the opposite.
“But our father? His plans? You cannot disobey the Cipher.”
“I am the Cipher.” My being had merged with the darkness. I was unsure how much longer I could tame the power on my own. “And all I want is power. There is more power to be had if we take control of the Source.” That was a lie. I also wanted Ainsley. I wanted her more than anything.
“Then what of the gate?”
“We still need it. The army will be bringing in more corpses, we will need thousands to take control.”
“Then I will take the lost world. If you wish to rule Energo, I will take the lost world for myself. I can find my own queen.”
“You can do as we wish once we take Belgard.” I had no intentions of sharing any power with Gregor, but he needed to be watched.
Gregor narrowed his eyes. “What makes you sure I will continue to listen to you? You are changing the plans.”
“I have the Cipher’s power. You have no choice but to listen.” I struggled to contain my anger. Gregor had no right to question me at all.
“I am not the enemy.” Gregor stepped back. “I am merely letting you know my intentions.”
“Let us build the army and storm Belgard. After that we can talk.” I closed my eyes. My body ached from the surge of darkness and my need for Ainsley. I opened my eyes again.
“But they may use Ainsley against you. Sending her into the place you plan to take over was dangerous.”
“Keeping her with me was more dangerous.” More dangerous than any of us could ever know.
He shook his head. “I could have watched her. Protected her.”
“And if I saw you lay a hand on her I would have killed you.”
“You would have.” Gregor wrapped his hand around his throat. “My throat still hurts from the last time I angered you.”
“It would be wise of you to learn from the experience.” I refused to let on that I understood now. He believed he was dark enough to accept the power. Just as the power could be transferred by killing the Cipher a part of it could be transferred by the Cipher killing someone else. That way the darkness never disappeared. Gregor’s need for power superseded his desire for life.
I was not sure where that realization came from but it was there. A warning that getting rid of the darkness would be far more difficult than anyone imagined. But I would never give it to him. There would be another way to stop him.
“It would be wise of you to stop worrying about me and start worrying about your plan instead.”
“It is not simply my plan.”
“So you suggest.”
“Do you doubt my words?” I stilled.
“No.” Gregor shook his head. “Blake wanted Belgard the most.”
“He did.” But he wanted more than the place. I had seen enough memories to understand that. It was his obsession with Emma that drove him. “Everything is going to work out, Gregor. Have no fear.”
“You do have the Cipher in you.” Gregor laughed.
&
nbsp; “I do.”
“And you will do what it takes to secure a dark kingdom?”
“I will do everything.”
Gregor wrinkled his brow. “Only time will be the judge of that.”
13
Ainsley
I no longer felt nervous. I had been through so much already I wasn’t sure anything could be worse. Sure there was the possibility of death always looming there on my subconscious, but that possibility wasn’t going anywhere. The bigger issue was making sure no one else in my life or otherwise was in danger.
I thought of Grace. Had the wolves found her yet? How would I even know? It’s not as if I had a phone that would work in Energo. If I had more time I would go back to Charleston before Belgard, but if James was right and my entire world was in danger, what would that do? Besides who would I even contact? I had no clue who these wolves were or how they could help. Once again I’d been reckless and gone along with something. That seemed to be happening with increasing frequency.
“Are you planning to start talking?’ Elron broke me out of my thoughts. I had promised to tell him the story, and I couldn’t put it off much longer. Part of me didn’t want to share, but a larger part of me did. Even if it weren’t for the gut instinct that I could trust him, I wanted to get it off my chest by sharing my screwed up story with someone else.
“It all started with an invitation to housesit.” That really was the beginning, and there was no better place to start.
“As in to watch someone’s house while they were away?” Elron asked.
“Yes. A former professor approached me about it. It sounded perfect. Live in a beautiful home in an ideal location rent free, what practically broke twenty-something wouldn’t jump at that?”
“Twenty-something? I assume that has to do with your age.”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Ok, continue.”
“I said yes, moved in. And nothing really happened for a while.” I was getting used to the feel of the horse under me, but I was definitely ready to get the ride over with.
“But something eventually did, otherwise this would not be your story.”
“Exactly. And yes, something major did.” Or rather someone did. I still remembered the first time I set eyes on James. I would never forget it.
“And what was that?”
“I found an attractive guy in my bed.” That was the understatement of the century. My heartbeat accelerated just thinking about James.
Elron exhaled sharply. “Oh.”
“I mean I literally found him there. I came into my room after a shower, and he was on my bed.”
Elron cleared his throat. “How did that happen?”
I hoped Elron wasn’t picturing me after a shower. Maybe the throat clearing was because of the general situation. “He thought the house was empty.”
“But it was not.”
“Nope. And it turned out he knew the people who owned the house. He especially knew the girl who had lived in my room.”
“Has the girl passed into the realm of the dead?” Once again he used that terminology.
“No. She is alive and very well.”
“Am I correct that you are hinting at something with your words?” Elron asked.
“Possibly.” I rolled my shoulders back in an attempt to get some of the tension out.
“Who is she?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. I have an open mind, and I have accepted your word so far.” He made a reasonable point. “Besides, I already have a suspicion.”
“You do?” Maybe it was more obvious than I thought.
“Yes. Clearly she is important and was in the lost world. There is only one young woman that fits that description as far as I know.”
“How do you know I am from the lost world?”
“Your speech, your mannerisms, the name of your birth place. You admitted to not being from Energo, so it was the most likely place. Besides you claim to know the Essence.”
“Charleston isn’t where I was born.”
“Where was it then?”
“Chapel Hill.” North Carolina seemed even farther away than South Carolina. That part of my life seemed like a distant memory.
“I have never heard of it.”
“If the world was lost, how has anyone heard of it?” It was a question I had been mulling over since I first heard the term.
Elron chuckled. “It was not lost in that sense.”
“Then how was it lost?” That wasn’t enough of an answer.
“It was left behind.”
“Meaning?” I pressed.
“It was separate, and none of our nations wanted anything to do with it.”
“Why not?” I found I was insulted even though the exclusion wasn’t personal at all. Still, it felt as though someone were disparaging my family.
“More reasons than I can recount right now. It is more important that you continue your story.”
“More important for you maybe,” I mumbled. No one ever wanted to answer my questions, but at least he’d told me something. That was better than what I usually got.
“It is important for you too. Do not discount the importance of visions.”
“I already told you a vision got me in trouble.” Thinking of the Gregor vision made me think about Grace and the wolves again. I really hoped she was okay.
We were riding parallel to a river—or really a stream. The water flowed over large rocks as It meandered along in curves alongside us. If time weren’t an issue I would have asked to stop the horse to check it out.
“But maybe it needed to happen. Ever consider that?”
“I didn’t need to be thrown into a frozen lake.” It was an experience I had no interest in experiencing again.
“Thrown into a frozen lake?” Elron asked with surprise. “You need to keep talking. There are a lot of holes for you to fill in.”
“Where was I?” My thoughts were all over the place.
“The part where you found a man in your bed.”
“That sounds far worse when you say it.” I was glad I didn’t have to look him in the eye.
“There is no judgment in my words. If you feel it, you are creating it yourself.”
“Ok, so yes. I found a man in my bed. I freaked out, but I also acknowledged he was singlehandedly the most attractive man I’d ever met.”
“Quite a statement.”
“I stand by it.” And I knew that wasn’t likely to ever change. Every inch of James appealed to me.
“What happened with the most attractive man you had ever met?”
“He wouldn’t leave. A neighbor assured me he was really friends with the family who owned the house.” I remembered my relief at finding out his story was true. I’d still been mad, but at least he had some business being there.
“I bet that was reassuring.”
“It was. Somewhat.” It seemed almost comical how upset I’d been over something so minor compared to everything else that had happened.
“And then?”
“And then we found the house broken into and a slip of parchment with my name scrawled on it.” So much had changed with a single piece of parchment. It was crazy.
“What kind of parchment?”
“Parchment with the guys’ family symbol.” This was it. I was laying out all my cards and hoping that Elron was as trustworthy as I needed him to be.
“Family symbol?” He asked. “Do you mean a crest?”
“Yes. A crest.”
“And what family are we talking about?” His voice was filled with curiosity.
I braced myself. Either Elron would freak out or he wouldn’t. He would definitely recognize the name. I was sure of that. “Mendel. It was the Mendel crest.”
Elron said nothing, and the silence was nearly deafening. I looked out into the early morning sunlight. As much as the morning signified the passing of time, I was glad for it. Things didn’t seem quite so terrifying in t
he light of day.
“Ok, the suspense is killing me.”
“I am processing what you said.”
“Could you process it faster?” My patience was almost non-existent.
“Processing that you are involved with James Mendel is difficult.”
“Have you met him?”
“No.”
“But you know of him?” Maybe James was right. Everyone assumed the worst about him.
“Everyone knows of him.”
“He is not like his—” I stopped. Was that even true anymore? He’d certainly made it sound like everything had changed. Still, I refused to believe inside he wasn’t the man I loved. James was kind. He cared deeply for those he loved, and he only wanted to protect his land and people. But on some level I also accepted that he had changed. The darkness was changing him, and I hoped there was still a way to stop it.
“Why did you stop?”
“Because the story gets crazier.”
“Crazier than you falling for the son of darkness?” Elron’s voice lilted.
“Yes.” Listening to James explain how he’d accepted his father’s help for a price had been the craziest and scariest thing I’d ever heard.
“Then please by all means continue.” There was something almost hypnotic about Elron’s voice. It had a velvet richness that wrapped around you and make you want to talk even if only to hear more of it.
“He brought me to Energo. I tried to run away. I realized I was safer here. Then we went back to the lost world.” It was strange how it was easier to refer to it that way now. “Long story short, I got pulled in by the zombies.”
“You are missing details.”
“I am.” I sighed. “Lots of details.”
“I need to know some of those details.” His voice was at once kind yet demanding.
“There were wolf shifters involved.” That was an important detail, and one that I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes. I’d never thought to ask James about Denny and Talen. Although I had hoped to find Talen back in Icentris—well that was before I’d run into Elron.
“Interesting.”
“Two types of wolf shifters,” I added.
Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles Book 3) Page 9