by A. R. Kahler
She leaned down and whispered in his ear.
“Or he will die within the hour. The choice is yours.”
Then she left, locking the door behind her.
39
Tenn had mentally prepared himself for many things. He’d prepared to blow the house down, to face off against Leanna. He’d prepared to die in here, so long as Jarrett got out safe.
Nothing could have prepared him for this.
Leanna locking the door behind him brought it all crashing down. The scene had been too horrible to take in. It felt like some awful dream. But now reality was dawning.
He dropped the stone and pressed closer to Jarrett. He placed his hands on Jarrett’s cool cheeks, bit back the tears that were forcing themselves to the surface. He had to save him. He had to heal him. There had to be a way. There had to.
“I’ve come too far,” he heard himself say. “I can’t lose you. Not now. Not again.” The last word came out as a sob.
He opened to Earth and gently, gently, pressed the power to Jarrett’s skin. Maybe if he took it in doses…
Again, the power snapped from his fingertips. He let go of the Sphere as Jarrett’s starving center tried to suck him dry. Tenn closed his eyes and knew Leanna hadn’t been lying. Jarrett was going to die; no amount of power in the world could replenish what had been stolen from him. And there was nothing Tenn could do about it.
Almost against his wishes, he looked to the stone that had rolled to Jarrett’s hip.
Or is there?
He knew how to use the stone. Just a little bit of magic and the runes would activate, would start drawing out Jarrett’s magic, just like Cassandra had demonstrated not even a week ago. The memory made his head swim. How things had changed.
If Leanna was telling the truth, maybe he could do it. Maybe he could alter the runes and turn Jarrett into… into what? A Kin? Some sort of bastardized kraven? Rumor was not even the Dark Lady could create an Earth Howl that kept its sanity. Earth was a hungry, mindless Sphere.
And what if he managed?
He looked at Jarrett. He traced the curve of Jarrett’s jaw with his fingers, delicately, not wanting to hurt the bruises that marred his gaunt face. The scars seemed to stick out even more now, made him look more battle-hardened. He looked older. Too old.
Tenn tried to imagine his world anew. A different future, where Jarrett was still alive but not quite human. He looked just like before, acted just like before, only now, every night, they didn’t sit down to dinner, didn’t drink wine before the fire while reading books. Jarrett would be out hunting. And Tenn would have to ignore the blood on his lover’s clothes, would have to train himself never to ask what or whom Jarrett had had for supper.
It would be possible, that future. He could feed off necromancers or maybe even cattle or kravens or… anything. They could still be together. It wouldn’t be any different from now, right? They still had to kill to survive. Jarrett would be in control of his urges. He’d be like the Kin, like Tomás. He’d still be the man Tenn loved. Only different.
There were tears in his eyes. They blurred Jarrett’s sharp features, but Tenn didn’t wipe them away. Barely a day ago, Tenn had thought Jarrett was dead. Gone. Seeing him had ripped that open, left Tenn bleeding in the gutter of memory. For those brief, few hours, the spark had flickered—a reason to wake up in the morning, a reminder that there was more to life than killing and magic. There was love. There was the hope that love would always make everything better.
Only this time, it wouldn’t. The man he loved would die no matter what. But maybe, if he really was chosen or important, he could have a semblance of Jarrett back. He could save him. Part of him.
Tenn was shaking as he leaned in and kissed Jarrett on the lips. He closed his eyes, wove his fingers gently through Jarrett’s hair, and prayed his love could feel this. Jarrett needed to know he had fought for him. He had found him. He hadn’t given up. In the end, Jarrett needed to know that Tenn had tried everything he could to save him. Even this.
Against his wishes, Water opened and flooded between them.
In the space of a heartbeat, his reality shattered.
“You have to let me go,” Jarrett said.
The room was dark, so dark, but somehow, Tenn could see Jarrett clearly, like he carried his own light. They stood in the darkness together, hands linked. Jarrett was tall and proud, his face warm and golden. Glowing. No sign of the damage Leanna had wrought. He looked whole. Tenn sobbed in relief and fell into his arms. Tears rained unchecked on Jarrett’s shoulder.
“I can’t,” Tenn said. He knew what this was. He hadn’t expected Jarrett to be conscious enough, but there it was. Emotional transference. He wanted to believe this was real, that this wasn’t just a memory. He wanted more than anything to live that lie. But he knew the awful truth.
These were Jarrett’s final thoughts.
Jarrett squeezed him tight, kissed the side of his neck.
“I can still do it,” Tenn sobbed. “I can still save you.”
Jarrett pulled back, his hands tight on Tenn’s shoulders.
“You did save me,” he said. His blue eyes sparkled like the sky, wet with tears. “You saved me years ago.”
“But I wanted us. Our future. I can give us that again. I can make you a Kin.”
Jarrett smiled sadly.
“I wanted our future, too. But I can’t let you do that. You know it wouldn’t be right, for either of us. You have to let me go.”
“But I told you I’d fight for you. I can’t just—”
Jarrett pressed a finger to his lips.
“You are fighting,” he said. “And you always will. For us. For our memory. Fight for that, if nothing else. Fight for a new future.”
He removed his finger and leaned in, kissed Tenn with more emotion and passion than Tenn had ever felt before. It made his heart sing and break, all in one gloriously painful moment.
“I love you,” Jarrett said. “And I always will.”
The vision faded.
Tenn sobbed, leaning against Jarrett’s limp body. He wanted to slap him awake, wanted to see those blue eyes one last time. But he knew Jarrett had done all he could, had given Tenn more than he could have hoped. He’d had his goodbye. And now, Jarrett needed Tenn to say goodbye as well.
Water was still alive in Tenn’s gut. He reached out with hands and magic, touched the pulse of Jarrett’s chest. It was so faint, so weak. It was barely there at all.
And then, with a twist that sent his own heart screaming, he stopped the blood in Jarrett’s veins. Jarrett didn’t gasp. He didn’t shake. His body didn’t even register its own failure.
Jarrett’s death was swift and painless.
Peaceful.
Tenn shattered.
40
Tenn didn’t move from Jarrett’s side. Not until a hand brushed his shoulder, sending a current of cold and flame down his arm.
He jolted and looked back. Of course he wouldn’t be left alone to his misery. Tomás knelt beside him, wearing a black vest and a striped pink button-down shirt and pinstripe jeans, his dark hair a tangle around his ears. His copper-flecked eyes weren’t filled with their usual mirth or fire. He looked grim.
“You made the right choice,” he whispered.
“Get the fuck away from me,” Tenn said, his voice a near-sob. The fire to kill was gone, the desire for revenge extinguished. What was the point? What good would it do? It wouldn’t bring Jarrett back, and it wouldn’t make waking up tomorrow or the next day or the next any more bearable.
“He was only going to complicate things,” Tomás said flatly. He nodded to Jarrett. “Your love for him would have always gotten in the way. But now, we can focus on more important things. Like revenge.” His eyes burned with the word, his lips hinting a smile.
“Why the hell would I help you?” Tenn asked.
“Because you promised,” Tomás said. He almost sounded hurt. Almost. “Don’t you remember? You wanted revenge. I helped yo
u get it.”
“This? This is revenge?” Tenn gestured to Jarrett.
“Well,” Tomás mused, “you killed Matthias, and now you get to kill Leanna. After all, if I hadn’t stopped him, Matthias was just going to torture Jarrett to death trying to learn your location—”
“You did this?”
There was the anger. It began as a slow boil in the back of Tenn’s chest, rising up his throat like bile. He looked at Jarrett. At Jarrett’s body. “You brought him here?”
“Not exactly,” Tomás said. Tenn heard him shift, then Tomás’s hands were on his shoulders. “I merely suggested to Matthias that he might be more useful alive. And look! Here you are. Ready to deliver your part of the bargain.”
Tenn’s thoughts were a roar in his head. He couldn’t make sense of them, of anything. There was only rage. Tomás had brought Jarrett here, all so Tenn would follow. All so Tenn would help enact whatever fucked-up revenge Tomás wanted against Leanna. Tenn would kill him. Here and now, the bastard would die. He opened to Earth—
And the door opened. He jerked his head just as Tomás yanked his hands away. Tenn caught one of the incubus’ wrists. The bare flesh burned and froze Tenn’s palm, but he didn’t let go. Not when he was this close. Tomás didn’t try to pull his hand away.
Leanna stormed in, Justin right behind her. She took one look at the room before her eyes narrowed on Tomás.
“Brother,” she said. Her voice was flat.
“Sister,” Tomás said. “How pleasant—”
“What are you doing here?” she said, staring at Tomás warily. No, it wasn’t fear on her face. It was consideration. A very unpleasant surprise. “You know you aren’t welcome in my home. Not after your… transgressions.”
Tomás chuckled. “Ah, yes. Poor Stephen and Killian. Still, they were quite fun while they lasted.”
Leanna’s grim face darkened even further.
“You will leave,” she said. It wasn’t even close to a question.
“I’m afraid not,” Tomás said. He leaned over and squeezed his caught hand on Tenn’s shoulder. “Didn’t you know Tenn here has been helping me?”
Leanna didn’t even spare Tenn a glance.
“Get the boy out of here,” she said to Justin. “Lock him in the basement.”
Justin stepped forward, but before he could wrest Tomás from Tenn’s death-grip on his arm, Tenn growled. He was still open to Earth. And he wasn’t going to lose Tomás again. Not after this.
With one whip-quick lance of power, he seared the tracking rune onto Tomás’s heart. Tomás cried out and yanked his hand away. He stared at Tenn with a snarl on his lips and rubbed his chest with a free hand. Tenn couldn’t help himself. He smiled.
“What the hell was that?” Tomás asked.
“A going-away present.”
Justin gave Leanna a wary look, but she just nodded in a dismissive way. Tenn closed off to Earth and let Justin haul him to his feet once more. Tomás glared at Tenn. Tenn’s hand burned, but he didn’t favor it. He wouldn’t give Tomás that satisfaction.
“Wait,” Tenn said, just before they reached the door. He had just noticed something. The sky outside the window was starting to lighten.
“What?” Leanna asked.
But he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Tomás.
“Why do this?” Tenn asked. He was past the point of pain. That rage had died down. Jarrett’s form never left his sight, but there was nothing he could do to save him. Not now, not ever. Jarrett was safe. In his own way. “Why did you bring me here? If it was to kill her, why not just do it yourself?”
Tomás’s fierce look of indignation took on its usual elfish grin. “Oh,” he said. “That.”
Leanna’s jaw was clenched, and Justin was clearly torn between following his mistress’ orders and watching this play out. Tomás sighed dramatically and walked over to an armchair in the corner, settling himself down and crossing his ankles. Leanna looked ready to spit fire, but Tomás’s grin was all comfortable mischief.
“I crave revenge,” he said. He was looking straight at Leanna.
“I fail to see how this,” she said, gesturing to Tenn and the corpse in the corner, “is revenge. I have precisely what I sought. The one who can speak the language of the runes…” Tomás started miming her with his hand, rolling his eyes. Leanna snapped her jaw shut.
“Oh, yes, sister. You have the chosen one,” he said, making air quotes. “Too bad you’re going to die before you can use him to create more of us.”
Leanna actually laughed at this.
“What? You believe this boy can kill me?”
“No,” Tomás said. He pointed to Jarrett’s body. “But I could easily bring you to a similar state. And then it would be nothing for Tenn to finish you off.”
“Coward,” Leanna said. Tenn could practically hear her nails digging into her skin.
Tomás chuckled.
“I am many things, but a coward I am not. If I killed you, the rest of our brethren would be up in arms. What would our goddess say? I’d have the entirety of the Dark Lady’s army at my throat. But if a Hunter kills you? Well, no harm, no foul, as they say.”
“Why me?” Tenn asked. He didn’t mean to say it, but the words pulled themselves from his lips.
“Because,” Tomás said, “I want the whole world to know of your power. That way, when we rule as one, we will have no problem making them kneel at our feet.” His sneer twisted.
“Get the Hunter out of here,” Leanna said. She didn’t take her eyes off Tomás, but the flick of her wrist toward Justin was indicator enough. “I’ll deal with this traitor.”
“Perhaps you will,” Tomás said. “But, dear sister, there are two things about this boy I have come to expect.”
“And what are those?” Leanna asked. Justin had already begun dragging Tenn away. They were nearly out the door when Tenn caught Tomás’s final word.
“Twins.”
Above them, on cue, thunder roared. Even Justin paused.
Leanna was at the window in a heartbeat, one hand pressed to the pane. Tomás didn’t take his eyes off of Tenn. His smile spoke volumes; it made Tenn’s blood run hot and cold.
“How did they—” Leanna began.
“Go undetected?” Tomás asked. He winked at Tenn. “You’ll have to ask our weak little friend over here. Apparently he has a few tricks up his sleeve.”
“The runes,” Leanna hissed. “Of course.” She opened to Earth. Tenn knew without a doubt that she was trying to find the twins’ hiding place. And he knew she would never succeed.
“Bingo,” Tomás said.
“Why is he still here?” Leanna yelled. And it took Tenn a moment to realize she was talking about him.
“Sorry,” Justin said. He began dragging Tenn back down the hall. Tenn struggled, but the guy’s grip was tight. Justin didn’t tell Tenn to stop. He just raised one hand and punched him in the side of the head. The last thing Tenn saw before blacking out was his own blood splattering across the white carpet.
41
He woke to thunder.
The chair he was tied to shook and nearly fell to the side. It probably would have, too, if Justin hadn’t been there to hold it steady.
“Impressive,” Justin said. He stared up at the ceiling, and it was then Tenn realized they were back in the basement. The rafters rained down wafts of dust with every tremor, and the fluorescent lights swayed back and forth. Even from down here, he could feel the great amounts of energy being thrown around outside. Every Sphere—Air and Fire, Water and Earth, which meant Leanna was fighting back. Not that it would do much good. “Your friends are powerful.”
Tenn felt something cut into his wrists and ankles, and a quick glance down proved his fear. He was tied to the chair. He opened to Earth, but before he could sever the bonds, Justin sniffed. It was enough to rip the breath from Tenn’s lungs. He let go of the Sphere on reflex. Another fucking breathless.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,�
� Justin said. “There are many ways to die. Your cooperation will determine yours.”
Tenn could only gasp.
Another explosion shook the house, this one echoed by a rumble that seemed to come from the pits of Hell. A light in the corner exploded in a shower of sparks. Still, Justin didn’t flinch, and his hand on the back of Tenn’s chair kept him from moving.
Tenn gritted his teeth and twisted his wrists behind him, hoping he could maybe loosen the bonds. Justin chuckled.
“What did I just say about cooperation?” He glanced down at Tenn before reverting to his skyward glance. He did, however, tap his throat with his free hand. “I can sense every movement you make. Struggling will just make it worse.”
A sick feeling settled itself in Tenn’s gut. He closed his eyes and focused on the runes he had inked into his friends’ wrists. Sure enough, only one of them was back on the hillside. The other—he was ninety percent certain it was Dreya—was heading toward them. Barely a hundred yards away. He hoped she was flying and staying off of Leanna’s radar. If Leanna was just attuned to Earth, she would only be able to sense Dreya’s location if her feet were touching the ground. Then again, Justin seemed to have been granted a sort of sixth sense from his drained Sphere, and he wondered if all breathless shared it. It wasn’t something he wanted to find out.
Tenn knew in that moment that Dreya was coming to find him. While Devon was throwing around as much magic as he could to distract the guards and Leanna, she was coming in for the rescue mission that he had failed in. He glanced up at Justin, who had barely moved a muscle since Tenn had woken. Even if Dreya did make it into the house, there was no way she’d make it past Justin. Not if she was going for the element of surprise. Which left one shaky alternative.