by Emma Dawn
The sun rose at a rapid pace and was soon blistering over our heads. In the distance, I could see the wave of water. I pointed it out to Torq. “You think it’s really water or just a heat wave messing with my eyes?”
He stared with his eyes shaded. “I see trees, too, and those are harder to make out of a heat wave.” We picked up our pace despite the sun pounding down on us. My sweat dried as soon as it beaded on my skin. I turned my clothes into loose pants and shirt, and a wrap of material I wound around my head leaving just my eyes visible. I did the same for Torq. Though, it wasn’t a perfect solution, the change in our clothes helped.
Hours later we stumbled into the oasis. The water beckoned and I dropped to my knees, drinking it in deeply. Strange how in the mountain I didn’t need food or water—not really. But here, I craved it as I worked through the different challenges. Just like Jessop had told me it would. I sat back and looked around. Torq had climbed a tree and knocked down a bunch of unfamiliar fruit. We scooped it up and I bit into it, juices running down my chin. Sweet and tart, the red flesh was like biting into a little piece of heaven.
Torq followed my lead and we ate most of the fruit.
“We need a place to hide the day away.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His skin was burnt from before I’d gotten smart with the clothes. I twisted around to look at the trees and landscape. A tent of some sort would probably be best. But nothing that was too obvious. Not with Gavin and an insane Liam out there looking for us.
I sighed, sadness cutting through the joy of food and water. I buried my hands into the loose sand around the water’s edge. To my left was a stand of tall swaying palm trees tightly clustered. I didn’t make a treehouse like I’d done with Jessop. No, that would have felt wrong.
The tent that I created was four sided and had a peaked roof in the middle. But the real trick was the outer side of the material. I stared at the spot it was in and imagined it disappearing into the landscape, blending in so well, that the casual observer would only see the trees.
Slowly the tent faded until the edges were gone from the naked eye. I worked my way toward it a hand out until I found the loose flap of the door and pull it open. “Voila.”
“Brilliant.” Torq strode up next to me, planted a kiss on my lips and stepped through. I followed him, my lips tingling, and let the door fall shut behind me. The interior of the tent looked like every desert tent I’d ever seen in a movie. Bejeweled colors, tassels and deep hues that offset the stark reality of the desert.
A section of thick blankets lay over a mattress.
Torq turned and raised an eyebrow at me. “You tired?”
His words seemed to set off a riot of fear in me. I shook my head even though exhaustion tugged at my limbs. The flight through the desert, the creation of the tent, it all made me want to lie down and just sleep the world away. To rest and refill my depleted reserves.
Torq sighed and his chin lowered to his chest. “What are you afraid of, Rose? I see it in every line of your body.”
“If I lay down with you, I will end up sleeping with you,” I said.
“And you don’t want that?” His eyebrows shot up. I sighed again.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t want it, that I don’t want you. But . . .with Mars and Jessop, as soon as . . .as soon as we did it, that was when we were forced to face the darkest part of the challenge. Call me a coward but I want to put it off for as long as possible.” I rubbed my arms, a chill having taken me by surprise. Something about this felt wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Torq’s golden eyes were thoughtful. “What if you wait, and not only do I still die, but we never truly have this moment together? How would you feel then?”
“God, don’t do this to me.” I shook my head. “That’s not fair.”
“Well, I’m not a god, but I am pretty close.” He winked and I rolled my eyes.
“You know what I mean.”
He laughed. “I do. But you are no fool, and I’d bet that you already had a version of this conversation with at least one of the others.”
“Yes, but I’m trying to make sure that I have a chance to save you, and I feel like I might have a way.” I bit my lower lip, uncertainty catching me off guard. “The whole point of this is doing what is least expected, I think.”
“Are you going to tell me what you think you can do to change this?” he asked. “I could help.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. “I don’t know if I should.”
“Well then, that makes this clear as mud.” He flopped back on the bed, kicked off his tall boots and stripped off his top. Across his chest was a line of tattoos that drew my eyes. They were glyphs of some sort that reminded me of Egyptian writing.
“What do those mean?” I found myself drawing closer to him despite what I’d just said.
He touched the one in the middle. “Power, strength, bravery. They are symbols of how I hoped to live my life. Protecting others.” He touched another symbol that looked like an eagle. “Protecting my family.” His eyes rose to mine. “You are part of that now, Rose. You are part of my family.”
My eyes watered, and I dashed the leaky drips away. Stupid leaking faucet. “You know, I’ve never been much of a crier. I go and die and suddenly I’m an emotional mess.”
Torq reached up and tugged me down to his side. “Well, perhaps dying is making you think about all the things that are important to you. I know it did for me.”
“Is that why you don’t cover your face the way Mars did with the cloak?”
He nodded. “Warlocks hide who they are because they hold so much power that it’s easy to be seduced by it. And by someone wanting to use you. But once I was here, I realized that power was never the thing that held me to the order of the Temple of Light. My desire to protect others was.”
“Is that what you were doing out in the desert?” I asked softly.
He snorted. “No, a superior of mine sent me out here. Told me it was part of my final testing.” His eyes flickered with anger.
“Gavin.” I breathed out the name. “Were you on to him?”
“I knew something was happening in the Temple. I knew someone was trying to gain power by killing other warlocks. A number of young and promising trainees went missing. I was searching for them.”
“And he found a way to get rid of you,” I said.
“That’s what it looks like now.” His hand caressed my back, soothing me. “I thought he was a good man, one of the best. Tough, a solid trainer even if he hadn’t been mine.” Torq shook his head. “Funny how things change.”
I stared down at him, the lines of his face, the curl of the tattoos across his chest, the thoughtful turn of his eyes. Did I dare wait and hope I could save him? I felt like by sleeping with him now and saying every moment could be our last, I was admitting defeat. Like I knew he was going to die so I wanted to get my jollies in while I could. Which felt dirty and wrong on so many levels.
I pushed off the bed and strode to the other side of the tent. I flicked my hand at the floor and a mattress sprung up. I flung myself down on it and covered my head.
Because even though I was across the room, I could still feel him under my hand, could still sense the desire building between us. Partly the danger of the situation, the natural connection between us, but there was that knowledge of losing him before I truly ever had him.
“Rose?”
“Just stay on your side of the tent,” I mumbled into the cushions. “Let see if we can’t survive the night that’s coming. Both of us. Then we can get naked.”
He laughed softly. “As you wish.”
I closed my eyes and sleep, such as it was, cascaded over me. I slept the day away, dreams chasing me from the slumber. I sat bolt upright a pair of golden eyes in my face. Torq put his finger to his lips.
We’d been found.
Chapter Fifteen
Cat, Mouse, or Nope Rope?
Torq lay beside me on the bed, inside the�
�I had to remind myself—camouflaged tent. Two men after us, but which one had found us? Was it Liam in his madness as a vampire? Or was it my blood father, Gavin?
I blinked a few times, adjusting to the light coming through the material of the tent. Light then, so not Liam.
“Gavin?” I mouthed his name to Torq. He nodded and we carefully slid off the bed and to the floor. I lay there, my ears straining with Torq’s arm over my back, a solid strength I knew I could depend on.
I moved an arm and slid it over his back. He could depend on me too. Torq turned his head and gave me a quick smile.
Footsteps on the sand snapped my head around.
“I know you’re here, Rose,” Gavin called out. “Hiding will not save you. That welp of a warlock won’t be able to save you. I sent him away because he was weak. Nosy, but weak.”
I barely breathed, afraid that he would hear even that small hitch of air in and out. Torq tensed and I tightened my arm on him. Gavin was trying to draw us out. Which meant he couldn’t find us, which meant for the moment, we were safe.
The crunching of sandy footsteps drew closer and my heart picked up its pace, sweat rolled down my face. I didn’t dare move, didn’t dare even try to hide us better for fear that Gavin could sense me using the magic to manipulate the world.
I held my breath, the footsteps stopped, then started moving away from us. A shaky gust of air escaped me.
“We have to get out of here,” Torq whispered, his words slightly distorted against my ear. “It will be night soon and Liam will come.”
I turned my face slowly to him, a new idea forming. “Then let him come. Maybe . . .he could take out Gavin?”
Torq’s mouth dropped open. “Shit.” And then he smiled and I smiled back. We had a plan. But that meant staying in the oasis as long as possible and dodging both Gavin and Liam, then leading them to one another.
“We need to split up,” Torq said softly. “Liam is coming for me, and Gavin for you. We need to bring them together.” Even as he spoke, the light faded around us, settling into a solid dusk.
My throat tightened. “Okay. Where do I take him?”
“The water,” Torq said softly. “Take him to the water. I’ll do the same.”
I nodded, leaned over and kissed him gently. “I’m sorry I didn’t take you up on your offer, but I have to believe we’ll make it out together. I have to.”
He grinned at me. “Your faith is not something I take lightly. I trust you.”
Those words of his both buoyed me up and hung around my shoulders like an anchor. What if I was wrong? What if his faith in me was misplaced? He kissed me again, gently. “It will be okay. No matter what happens. We’ve got this.”
He pushed to a crouch and I followed suit. I shifted my clothes from the dark green to a sandy brown that would hide me better. I touched his clothes and did the same.
“I’ll go first.” He went to the doorway and in a hunched over crouch slid out and went to the right. The water was not far from us, but we had to find Gavin and Liam and lead them to the water. Easier said than done.
I swallowed hard and moved to the doorway. I pushed the flap and peeked out. To my left in the bush was movement, a flash of green cloak. I bolted forward as Gavin launched himself at me.
I had never been much of a runner before, but then again, I’d never been running for my life before either. I found that I could really haul ass when I wanted to.
In the dusky light, the trees around us loomed, the palm fronds rustling in the air above my head as I leapt between them into the thicket of bushes. I pushed my way through, knowing Gavin was behind me. Behind me and coming fast if the sound of him thrashing was any indication. I veered to my right and crouched, shifting my clothes to match the bushes around me. Gavin shot closer and I stuck my leg out, sending him down in a crashing heap. For good measure, I stood and kicked him in the knee. “Douchebag!”
I spun and ran back the way we’d come, turning to the right so I stayed in the bush but circled around to the water. I could see the glimmer here and there, could see the stars beginning to reflect in the surface. There was a shout in the distance.
Torq.
I ran harder, trying to get to him. I could help him. I would help him.
Voices—heated with anger—shot through the air.
There was no sound of footsteps or snapping branches behind me. I slowed and moved as quietly as I could toward the sound of the arguing. But . . .that made no sense. If Liam was a deranged vampire, why would he bother to try and argue with Torq? Something wasn’t adding up here.
I slid closer and closer, and finally the sounds of Gavin running from the other direction reached my ears. But so did the conversation between Torq and Liam.
“What are you doing here?” Liam asked. “I thought you were going to be moving up in the ranks at the Temple, not cast into outer oblivion.”
Torq grunted. “Look, this isn’t what you think it is.”
“No?” Liam laughed softly. “Then tell me my friend, what do it be?”
“An ambush,” I whispered.
Gavin slid out of the shadows behind Liam, a wooden spear in his hand. He rammed it through Liam from behind, dropping him with barely a sound.
“You’ve got the girl convinced you love her?” Gavin moved closer to Torq.
Torq nodded. “Yes. She’s falling for me. You were right. She’s a fucking slut.”
I bit my lower lip. He went on. “She’s strong, though. Her power will be like nothing you’ve ever seen. And watch it with that lightning. You nearly hit me.”
“I had to convince her I was after you both, idiot,” Gavin said. “She’s out there, now, scared like a little rabbit.”
Anger snapped through me. Scared my ass.
“It’s truly a beautiful thing, all that power. I’ll take it for myself now, then we’ll kill her, and you’ll take me back to the others. We’ll be at the Chalice in an hour.” Gavin sighed and then laughed. “Well, go find her and try to escape me.”
“On it, boss.” Torq laughed. “She’d die for me, I think.”
Gavin patted Torq on the shoulder and I pressed a fist to my mouth to keep from screaming at him. I’d tried to protect him. I’d tried to save him. And now he was plotting my death.
I swallowed hard, working through the emotions. This was why Liam avoided him outside the challenges . . .this was why they had bad blood.
But what the hell was I supposed to do now?
Think, think. You are smarter than these two men who want to control you, to steal your life and choices from you. You can do this. I wasn’t sure if the voice was my own, or someone else’s. It felt like a bit of both.
I watched as Torq headed off down the sandy beach around the oasis. It didn’t even matter to me now how he’d died, or what was coming for him. He could have his fate as far as I was concerned. I waited for him to disappear around the curve in the oasis, and then I stepped back. Deeper into the forest, deeper into the bush.
I moved slowly, taking my time, fighting to keep my movements as quiet as I could, leaving as little trail as I could. My muscles ached by the time I reached the outer rim of the oasis from the constant tension. Prepped to run or fight, I’d stayed in a crouch far too long.
I swallowed hard on the emotions that slid through me. Betrayal being at the forefront.
And relief that I hadn’t let him into my bed. Drawn to him, yes, but not like the others. Enough that I could deny him. Thank God for that. I stared into the desert at the mounds. I turned, searching for the firelight that would draw me back to Ivan and Liam. In the distance was a flicker of red firelight. If I were going to guess, it was a couple miles away.
And the only hope I had.
I broke from under the cover of trees and ran for all I was worth up the first slope of sand. I reached the top, jumped over and flattened to my belly. Behind me was a perfect trail leading straight to me.
“Can’t have that,” I whispered to myself. I smoothed my
hand on the sand and the footsteps filled, disappearing as I watched. I didn’t wait to see if anyone noticed me leaving the oasis. I slid down the slope on my butt, then pushed back to my feet and let gravity take me as fast as I could go.
Behind me, I covered my tracks, filling the spots I’d made. I had to get to the fire. I had to get out of here. I had to tell Liam and Ivan that Torq was the traitor. So strange after seeing the “past” Liam die, but knowing that he was waiting for me with Ivan at the fire not so far away.
Something shivered in the sand around me, rolling under my feet like an earthquake, breaking my concentration. I saw the scales of something large shiver past me on the left, moving side to side under the sand.
“Nope rope.” Horror flickered through me. “That’s a whole lot of nope rope.” I didn’t stick around to see what the scales were attached to, but I was betting that was what had killed Torq, not Liam as Torq had claimed.
He’d been trying all along to separate me from the other men, and I’d been falling for it. My anger spurred me forward, burning off the fear of the thing under the sand.
“Fucker.” I growled the word as I pushed hard up the next slope. Again, the ground shimmied and I was . . .I was so angry, I slid to a stop. “You want that one you ate before? He’s back near the oasis. Go get him, Nope Rope.” I pointed my hand back and the scales slid under the sand, away from me.
I should have known better though. Torq was a tricky one.
The sand around me slowed me down, but I was covering ground, and the fire was closer than ever before. Once more, it was Ivan’s big frame I saw first, pacing. Making me want nothing more than his arms around me. Another figure—Liam—paced alongside him.
I couldn’t help the cry that escaped me, and it was my undoing. “Ivan!”
“Rose, wait!” Torq called out behind me. I didn’t turn. I didn’t look back once. I kept moving, no longer bothering to hide my footsteps. I just had to make it to the fire first. Ivan and Liam would pull me through and then I’d tell them about Torq. Liam would believe me.