The Starborn Ascension: Books 1, 2, and 3 (The Starborn Saga)

by Jason D. Morrow

  I hold out a hand. “Give me your gun.”

  Without hesitation, the soldier stops pointing the gun at me, pulls the strap over his head and hands me the rifle. I take it from him, thinking about shooting him in the face, but I decide not to.

  A thought strikes me.

  Is this the power? Is this what the blood can do for me? Can I tell this man to do anything I want and he’ll do it?

  Noises behind me distract me from these thoughts. Three greyskins are headed toward the two of us from the other end of the alley. My first instinct is to hold up the rifle and shoot each of them in the head, but I don’t.

  I look back toward the soldier. “Distract them. Keep yourself between me and them, whatever the cost. Use no weapons.”

  The soldier does as I tell him without stalling. The greyskins are nearly on top of him. Just before they get to him, he looks at me, his anger replaced by fear and uncertainty.

  “Don’t scream,” I say.

  I take a few steps backward as I watch the soldier do everything I commanded. He tries his hardest to fight off the greyskins without any weapons, but fingernails dig into his back and teeth sink into his shoulders. The greyskins rip flesh away from the bone, all without a single scream from the soldier.

  I feel sick for only a second as I watch, but I’m so enamored by the power that I wield, it’s hard for me to remain focused on the victim as the greyskins devour what is left of him. I keep backing away slowly until I reach the corner of the alley.

  So, that’s what Shadowface wanted all along. Complete control. With this power, Shadowface could command anyone to do anything with a simple word. And if what my father says is true, the power can grow with use. Eventually, I might be able to command others without the words from my mouth. I might be able to control the minds of many people at once. The possibilities are endless.

  It’s a good thing this didn’t fall into Shadowface’s lap. In the wrong hands, this could be dangerous. Innocent people could die. I look back at the soldier whose limbs flinch as one of the greyskins bites into his nervous system.

  My enemies will die.

  I slip past the alley and keep running until I reach one of the buildings that I think has Stephen and his men fortified within. Hopefully this is where Ashley went. She knows her time is limited, but she doesn’t need to find Waverly anymore. I can finish this myself. All I need is to get close to Samuel. If I can get close to him, then I can get close to Shadowface. If I can get close to Shadowface, this could all be over in a matter of hours.

  Chapter 15 - Remi

  The road to Crestwood is familiar and long. I don’t like the fact that I’m on my way to tell Paxton about his long-lost granddaughter. First, I don’t trust the jerk. I think he’s just going to steal her away from Lydia, making me an enemy of Elkhorn. Second, I don’t think he will make good on his promise to let me back into Crestwood. But after all the stuff I’ve seen go down over the past couple of weeks, I’m not so sure I want to go back there. I’ve made myself an enemy of Shadowface, and I didn’t really mean to. I guess it’s okay that I did, she being kind of evil and all, but that doesn’t make for a very relaxing end to my situation. It simply means that I’m either going to die before this is all over, or I’m going to hit the road again and try to go it alone—which probably means I’ll be dead soon anyway.

  Gabe drives in silence as I thumb through my sister’s notebook. I would feel bad about reading it, given that it’s sort of like a diary, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve snooped through her stuff before. Only, now it’s not about cute boys she likes, but about people dying and what their possibly terrible future will be.

  The vivid detail of these futures—Ashley and Stephen; Ethan getting shot by sniper fire; Lydia and Ashley getting shot by Samuel; me giving Lydia’s little girl, Evie, away to some stranger—really kind of freaks me out.

  That last one is strange. I can only assume that Waverly lied to me about what she saw when I let her look into my future. I suppose I would have done the same thing. Trying to explain her vision would have been confusing because it’s not like she has the answers. She probably made up the vision of me walking through a grassy field because it was something I wouldn’t really question. I can’t blame her. But knowing the truth is perplexing.

  At some point in the trip, Gabe asks me what is in the notebook, but I just shrug and tell him that it’s a lot of random thoughts my sister wrote down. It’s a lie that he accepts without question. I’m not sure that he cares so much as he just wants the distraction of talking. I don’t really give him that distraction until we’re only about thirty minutes from Crestwood.

  “How are you going to explain why you’ve been gone for so long?” I ask.

  Gabe shrugs. “Things happen, you know that. I’ll just tell him that Shadowface’s raiders jumped us, which is true. But I’ll be sure to elaborate on the fact that they drove us miles and miles into the middle of nowhere until we were able to fight our way out and you happened to save my life. I’ll say that you took me to Elkhorn to recuperate and that’s where we learned all this information about Shadowface.” He looks at me and shrugs. “It’s the best I’ve got.”

  “It’s better than anything I could come up with,” I say. I bite my lower lip and look at Gabe who now stares at the road ahead of him. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” he says, grinning.

  “You didn’t have to come to Elkhorn. You didn’t have to save my little sister. You didn’t have to stay. I know you’ve only been doing what you think is right, and I want you to know that I appreciate it.”

  He keeps staring at the road. He scratches at the stubble on his chin. “You know why I did it,” he says.

  I know what he’s thinking. He’s wanting me to think that it’s because he loves me, but I know that he didn’t know Waverly was my sister before he helped her. His care for her and Ethan was genuine.

  I look away from him, for some reason feeling embarrassed. I like Gabe. I really do. But I can’t think about anything romantic right now. How stupid would that be? I always hated movies where the world was crumbling around two people but they found strength in each others’ arms.

  I’ve already tried that.

  But Gabe has been more of a help to me that anyone has in a long time. I won’t easily forget it.

  My stomach sinks when the walls of Crestwood come into view. The closer and closer we get, the less I want to be here. I hope that we are ushered in quietly. The last time the general public saw me was when Paxton declared to everyone that I killed a scout named Skip. I have a feeling that my presence will not be well-received.

  I pull my backpack up to me from the floor and unzip it. I shove Waverly’s notebook inside and then pull out the manila folder I got from the hospital—information about Jessi Paxton. I look through the pages to double-check that everything is there and I feel confident that it will be enough information.

  “You might want me to do all the talking at the gate,” Gabe says. “The scouts aren’t going to be quick to let you in, and will be more apt to shooting you.”

  “Understood,” I say, shoving the folder back into my bag.

  Gabe sets the truck in park and gets out of the cab with his hands in the air. Guards line the top of the wall, each of them with guns pointed at us. A single command would put holes all through us, but they recognize Gabe almost immediately. Mendez meets Gabe in front of the truck and gives him a tight bro-hug. He continues to wear his sleeveless getup despite the frigid air. Gabe says something and Mendez’s face turns very serious. Then, he looks in my direction. He doesn’t seem angry as much as concerned. Mendez was there the day Skip died. He knows I didn’t kill anybody. But that doesn’t mean he’s anxious to let me back in. I’m still technically a murderer as far as the citizens know. Gabe does some fast talking and instead of being turned away, Mendez has his men open the front gate.

  “Keep your head low,” Gabe tells me as he gets into the truck and puts it into
drive. “Mendez isn’t happy that you’re here.”

  “But he knows I’m innocent,” I argue.

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re a security risk. Just keep your head low; the other guards don’t know it’s you. He’s going to make sure we get a meeting with Paxton without anyone else knowing you’re here.”

  Going smoothly so far, I think.

  I hunker down in my seat and pull my hood over my face so none of the guards can recognize me. I feel like one of those convicted criminals that has to cover up as they pass by so the media won’t get a good face shot. Only I’m not a criminal.

  Gabe drives us through the streets of Crestwood, taking us through back alleys and behind buildings I’ve never even noticed before, until we are finally parked behind the headquarters building. I open the door and sling my backpack over my shoulder and follow Gabe to the side entrance that I snuck into only a couple of weeks ago. He pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the door, walking in before I do.

  It feels like I broke in here months ago, not weeks. We walk into the dirty kitchen and through the double doors on the other side. The table that had been set against them is no longer there. We walk toward the stairs, but at the bottom, Gabe looks at me.

  “You have a tendency to get hotheaded,” he says.

  “Excuse me?” I say, but my cheeks turn red when he lifts an eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  “Paxton won’t respond to you as well if you come at him,” Gabe says. “Just be polite and we’ll explain the situation as calmly as possible.”

  “Yes sir,” I say with a tone that makes Gabe shake his head at me.

  The stairs creak as we walk up them and to the second level. The room is big and takes up almost the entire floor. Paxton sits at his desk on the other side of the room, his large hands folded in front of him, resting comfortably on the desk. His dark beard seems thicker and a little less kept than the last time I saw him. He has big, dark bags under his eyes that make him look like he hasn’t slept since I saw him last.

  He stands as we enter the room and he extends a hand for Gabe to shake. “Gabe, it’s good to see you,” he says. “We were beginning to fear the worst.” He looks at me and offers a hand, but in my normal fashion, I snub him and take a seat in front of his desk.

  Gabe lets out a sigh and sits next to me. “A lot has been going on,” Gabe says.

  Paxton sits back down, his eyes not leaving me. “I would imagine so. I am curious why you brought Remi back.” His eyes narrow and move to Gabe. “She is a convicted murderer after all.”

  Gabe doesn’t hesitate. “You and I both know that’s not true.”

  Paxton shrugs. “Why are you here?” he asks me.

  “Don’t you remember the conversation we had before you kicked me out? About your daughter?”

  Paxton’s eyes widen now and he sits a little straighter. “You’ve found out something?”

  “I have,” I say, “though I’m afraid it’s not all good.”

  Paxton’s face turns serious as if to prepare himself for bad news and he takes a deep breath. “Okay,” he says. “What have you got?”

  “Information,” I say. “Some of it bad. Some of it really good. But first, we’ve got to talk business.”

  “Remi,” Gabe says, but I hold a hand up to shush him.

  “Are you good on your word? You told me that it didn’t matter if it was good news or not.”

  “Yes,” Paxton says, “of course.”

  “What was the agreement?” I ask. “I want to hear you say it.”

  Paxton swallows, his eyes flitting to Gabe, then back to me. “I said you would be welcomed back here.”

  “And?”

  He starts tapping the desk with a finger. “And what?”

  “And that it will be as though it never happened,” I say. “You will make all this right.”

  “Yes, I believe that is what I said.”

  “Okay,” I say. “Now that I know that you’re willing to do that for me, I have to talk to you about something else.”

  “What about my daughter?” Paxton says.

  “I’ll get to that in a minute. I want to talk to you about Shadowface.”

  Paxton rolls his eyes and sets both palms on his desk. “I don’t care what you read in that journal you stole, but I’m not going to discuss Shadowface with you.”

  “You should,” I say. “If you want to know what happened to your daughter.”

  “You walk a very thin line,” Paxton says, his face turning red.

  Gabe stays silent, watching Paxton as I continue.

  “The city of Elkhorn is currently under attack by Shadowface’s men. The people there are innocent and cannot defend themselves for very long. We need your help to fight Shadowface.”

  “Are you crazy?” Paxton says. “I’m not going to get my people involved in something like that just to get information about my daughter, who no doubt has been dead for years.”

  I reach down for my backpack and unzip it, and pull out the manila folder. I toss it in front of Paxton on his desk. “There’s everything you need to know about Jessi. She died in the hospital. Specifically, the maternity ward.”

  Paxton’s eyes dart from the folder to my face when I say this. “The maternity ward?” he repeats.

  I nod.

  Paxton opens the folder, reading line-after-line, trying to gather as much information as he can. Tears come to his eyes when he reads his granddaughter’s name. “Evelyn.” he whispers. “That was my wife’s name.” Paxton wipes his face with his sleeve, finally looking up and me and Gabe. “Jessi and her mother used to be very close. But Evelyn…my wife…died seven years ago from cancer. And now…now I’ve lost a granddaughter, too.”

  “But you haven’t,” I say.

  “What do you mean?”

  “In Elkhorn, they call her Evie.”

  “You mean…the child…she’s alive?”

  I nod again.

  “She’s in Elkhorn?”

  “Your flesh and blood.”

  Paxton jumps to his feet immediately, his fingers wrapped around the tangles of his hair. He starts pacing the room, so Gabe and I stand from our seats, watching Paxton from a distance. “My granddaughter is in Elkhorn? All this time she was so close. I never knew.”

  “She has been well taken care of,” Gabe offers. “She seems healthy and bright.”

  “She’s a beautiful child,” I say.

  Paxton smiles at us. He seems almost like a different person. In the lapse of a moment, he went from hard-nosed leader of Crestwood to a tender, lovable grandfather.

  “I have to see her,” he says.

  “She’s been under the care of a woman named Lydia,” I say. “She was a nurse there when Jessi died. She’s been with Evie ever since.”

  “The feelings within me are so strange,” Paxton says. “Part of me grieves for the loss of my daughter, but the other part of me is filled with joy about little Evie. Oh, I wish there was a picture of her.”

  I take a step forward. “Paxton, we don’t have much time. Shadowface is attacking Elkhorn right now. Little Evie is in grave danger. Honestly, I don’t even know if she is still alive.”

  Paxton’s jaws are set firm.

  “We came here to talk to you,” I say, “because you have the manpower to help out over there. If you can help us, there may still be time to stop Shadowface and save your granddaughter.”

  “I can’t just do that,” Paxton says.

  “Why not?”

  “You don’t understand,” he says. He brushes past us and sits down behind his desk again. “Being a part of Shadowface’s network is a lot more than just getting supplies and being cared for. It’s becoming part of a colony system. Shadowface is building something big and if we’re not a part of it, then we will be left to fend for ourselves. To leave Shadowface is to doom Crestwood. We’ll be fighting raiders and greyskins until the day we die.”

  “But your granddaughter,” I say.

  Paxton s
cratches his forehead with a finger. “You know, Shadowface is becoming less and less of a secret every single day. Word is starting to get out, and not just here. But I think Shadowface wants it that way. He has even told us that he wants to meet with all the settlement leaders in the coming months to reveal his identity. Says he’s tired of living in the shadows, but it was the only way he could work for a time. But I don’t know what to do. I can’t just abandon my people to live without food and supplies. I can’t leave them out of the network that will save so many lives in the future.”

  “What if you help Elkhorn in secret?” Gabe says. “We’ve got plenty of soldiers.”

  “Yeah, it’s not like you have to go under a Crestwood banner,” I tell him.

  “What, and leave Crestwood defenseless?” Paxton shakes his head. “Can’t do that.”

  “So, you leave a few people behind,” Gabe says. “I’m still leader of the scouts, I can determine who stays here and who goes with us without compromising Crestwood’s defenses. We don’t even need that much assistance, but a surprise attack from out of nowhere will be a tremendous help.”

  “But in the event that any of our men are captured and questioned, they will mention Crestwood. We would be implicated.”

  “Then don’t get captured,” I say.

  Paxton shakes his head and sighs. “I can’t do it.”

  “Think about your granddaughter,” I say. “Think about little Evie. If you don’t do something, she will die.”

  Paxton looks up at me, a serious look on his face. I can tell that he’s torn in two. He hadn’t expected to be bombarded with all this information today, yet here we are.

  “It’s a simple decision,” I press. “Help us out, and save Evie, or say ‘no’ and Evie goes to the grave along with your daughter. You’ve outlived a wife and a daughter. Don’t outlive a granddaughter, Paxton.”

  He drums his fingers on the desk, and I know that he wants to help us. I understand the constraints he has, but I’m not going to sympathize with him. I don’t want to make it an easy choice.

  “How much time do I have to think about it?” he asks.