Allegiant

by Sara Mack

  He rises, grabbing one of Lucas’ hands in the process, and drags him across the floor toward Garrett. “You wanted to be human?” he spits. “You sacrificed the Choice for a human life?”

  Garrett clenches his jaw as he pushes himself back to his knees. He defiantly stares at Kellan.

  “What you desire will not be yours,” Kellan says. “Your mentor should have known better. Now he will watch as you are destroyed, and he will know the cost of his mistake.” He looks to the others, and they step around Garrett to stand beside him. The four of them make up a line, Lucas included, although he is lying defenseless on the ground. They leer over Garrett, each of them touching one another at their feet, with the exception of Kellan, whose foot is set against Lucas’s head.

  Tears spring behind my eyes, and I lean into Dane, grabbing his shirt and twisting it in my fist. He clutches my shoulder and reaches up to shield my face against his chest. Neither of us thought we’d be witnessing a murder today.

  Even though my eyes are closed, I still see the blinding light behind my lids. I can feel it, too. Instantly, the temperature in the room increases by multiple degrees. After several seconds, it returns to normal with a cool rush of air, leading me to believe they have incinerated Garrett. Tears course down my cheeks.

  “Emma look,” Dane whispers.

  I open my eyes expecting to see a pile of ashes where Garrett knelt, but instead find him still there in one piece. My face twists in confusion until my eyes land on James. He’s holding his hands out in front of him, examining them, with a look of complete awe.

  Kellan leans down, leveling his face with Garrett’s. “Your Ward now has what you so desperately wanted,” he says with a smug expression. “What you thought you’d taken from him, we’ve given back.” He presses the palm of his hand against Garrett’s forehead. “While you rot for eternity as one of the Banished, keep this one thought close,” he sneers. “He’s human and you will never be.”

  With those words, the patio door shatters with a deafening crash. Dane pulls me to the ground and covers my body with his as shards of glass fly across the room and rain over us, hitting the floor and bouncing off the wood around me. I lift my head to see a man charging through the broken glass, arm raised, a crude weapon flashing from his hand. He’s headed straight for Kellan.

  Suddenly, the protective weight of Dane’s body is pulled from covering mine. I look above me to see him wrestle out of a woman’s grasp. “I’m not going to hurt you!” she says, her emerald eyes wild and anxious. She looks at the action in the center of the room and back to Dane. “Pick her up!”

  Dane does as she requests and heaves me off the floor by my arm. The woman moves us back from the chaos, shielding us from the battle that’s now taking place. Dane stands with his back against the wall, his arms around me, as I’m sandwiched in between him and the stranger.

  Under her outstretched arm I can see the man who came crashing through the door as he attacks The Allegiant. They dance around one another, and I notice he appears to be larger than the others. His brown hair is parted down the middle of his head, falling to his chin and catching the stubble on his jaw as he dodges a blow from Kellan. The man still holds an unrecognizable weapon – is it a knife or a dagger? – and I notice his outfit as reminiscent of another time. Suddenly, a woman with a long gray braid appears from nowhere, ripping my attention away from the man. I watch as she starts to assist him in the fight. They work together, as if they’ve rehearsed this routine, and my eyes jump to where Garrett and James once were. I find them defensively standing together near the kitchen. My heart threatens to beat through my ribs. What is going on? Who are these people?

  “My name is Madeline,” the woman in front of us answers, as if she read my mind. She looks over her shoulder. “That’s Ash and Claire. You don’t have to be afraid of us.”

  I take a moment to look at her and she’s gorgeous. Her eyes are wide, a shocking shade of green; her black hair is braided like the other woman’s and it falls past her lower back. Her clothes look almost medieval, and I notice a stunning bracelet on her wrist. It’s made of thin, knotted leather and a shiny silver amulet sits in the center.

  I hear a guttural growl and pull my attention away from her. I catch a glimpse of Abraham as Claire pulls her weapon from his side. He stands frozen for a moment then bursts into dust, literally disintegrating before my eyes. Kellan and Ethan look at each other frantically as Kellan maneuvers his way toward Lucas.

  The battle is more evenly matched now, even though Claire is looking winded. One of the end tables and a lamp goes flying across the room, and Madeline lowers her arms from her protective embrace around us. She looks as if she’s contemplating joining the fight.

  “Go on,” Dane tells her. “We’re okay.”

  She looks at us then charges forward, pulling an identical weapon from her belt. Claire sees her coming and looks relieved. Madeline heads straight for Ethan. Beyond them, I notice both James and Garrett inching their way toward us. Dane and I look at each other and silently decide to meet them half way. We take only two steps when suddenly Claire’s body comes hurtling toward us. Both Dane and I try to catch her, but the force of her body being thrown through the air sends us sailing backward. My head cracks against the wall, next to Dane’s shoulder, as James and Garrett give up being stealthy and rush to our side.

  Garrett rolls Claire over as I right myself, and James grabs hold of my upper arms as he looks me up and down. “Are you okay?” he asks, panicked. I feel Dane appear at my shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” I say and turn to make sure Dane is all right as well. He nods as my eyes are drawn to the woman on the floor. She’s the one who needs help. She’s bleeding heavily from her abdomen, so I immediately crouch beside her. There’s got to be a way to stop the blood with my hands.

  Garrett moves beneath her and holds her head in his lap. “Claire! What can I do?”

  My confused gaze snaps to Garrett. Does he know her?

  She looks up at him and shakes her head, giving him a small smile despite her pain.

  “No!” he shouts. “You can’t die!”

  She glances around the faces that surround her until she finds mine. She stares into my eyes and gives me a genuine smile, then grimaces.

  “ARGH!” I hear another loud groan and all of us turn to see what’s happened. Madeline has wrestled a dagger from Ethan because she now holds one in each hand. He must have taken Claire’s weapon and struck her with it.

  Fingers wrap around mine, and I turn to find Claire grasping my hand. She raises her head and pulls me forward, her strength impressing me for a dying woman.

  “She wants you to come closer,” Garrett says.

  I oblige her and hold my face inches from hers. Her kind expression shatters my heart. How can she look so peaceful while bleeding to death?

  Garrett cradles her head and helps her bring her mouth to my ear. “Respira,” she whispers, almost inaudibly. “Respira.”

  I have no idea what that means. I lean back and look at her, giving her a tiny smile like I understand. I don’t want to disappoint her even though we’ve only just met.

  The fray continues behind us, and I hear something crash to the floor. My instincts tell me it’s the flat screen. I try to look, but Claire pulls on my hand. She wants my attention on her. Releasing my hand, she removes a bracelet, identical to Madeline’s, from her wrist and places it in my palm, folding my fingers over it. “Safe,” she says and her eyes grow wide. She nods, asking if I understand.

  “Yes,” I promise her. “I will keep this safe.”

  “No.” She shakes her head and rasps, “Keep you safe.”

  Before I can ask how, Garrett moves out from under Claire and gently hands her off to Dane. I give him puzzled look, and Dane’s eyes flit to the sparring combatants. I follow his gaze and it appears Ethan has the upper hand with Madeline, and he’s backing her into a corner. James and Garrett take one look at each other and decide to enter the fight. I w
atch in horror as the two of them attack Ethan from behind in an effort to give Madeline the advantage.

  Suddenly, the pressure around my hand releases, and I turn to watch Claire fade before my eyes. In one blink she’s there and the next she’s gone. My hand that clutches her bracelet is smeared with her blood, and I watch in amazement as the fresh bloodstain fades from my sight as well. It’s like she never existed. My chest feels hollow as I unfold my fingers and stare at her gift.

  “I think that’s important,” Dane says as he kneels in front of me, his face pale after what we’ve just witnessed. “You should put it on.”

  I agree. As I start to slide my fingers through the knotted leather band, an unnatural howl bellows from behind us. My head snaps around to find Kellan emitting the sound, his eyes locking on mine, his face contorted.

  Distracted by his outburst, Ethan turns and is immediately dispatched by Madeline, falling into a cloud of dust as she twists both knives into his back. Kellan’s gaze is pulled from mine; he knows he’s outnumbered. He moves quickly opposite Ash and holds him with a beam of light similar to the one he used on Lucas. He kneels and collects Lucas under his free arm as Madeline, James, and Garrett advance. I feel the bracelet slammed on my wrist and turn to see Dane’s hand around it. My eyes flash back to Kellan who’s staring maliciously at Dane and me. My pulse accelerates sending a clear warning that resonates to my core.

  Somehow, some way, I know Dane is the next target of Kellan’s beam of light. He cannot be hurt; I won’t allow it.

  Without thinking, I launch myself at Dane, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my body against his. “I love you,” I gasp and block him just as Kellan aims directly at us. I catch Kellan’s beam in the center of my back, absorbing the blow. It feels like a million knives are cutting my skin as waves of electricity course through my body. Mercifully my senses shut down, unable to manage the pain, and I melt to the floor. My world turns black, my body goes numb, and my ears ring.

  I have no idea how long I lie there until a peaceful feeling finds me. It creeps in and slowly weaves itself around my body and into my mind. It envelops my world, and I welcome it with open arms. It erases my wounds. It eases my pain. It soothes me, and I let it lure me into a deeper darkness.

  Chapter 29

  “She moved.”

  I hear a voice that I do not recognize.

  “Are you sure?” another unfamiliar voice asks.

  “Yes, her arm twitched.”

  Someone grasps my hand, and I feel my arm bend at the elbow. “Emma? Can you open your eyes?”

  They know me? I try to lift my lids, but they feel like they weigh a ton.

  “If you can’t, can you squeeze my hand?”

  That I can manage. I tighten my fingers around the hand that holds mine. In response, I hear a surprised gasp.

  “Did she do it?” a third person asks.

  The first voice floods with relief. “Yes!”

  How many people are here? I could have sworn I was alone when I went to sleep. Should I be afraid? I concentrate and pry one eye open and follow with the other. My vision is blurry, and I blink the haze away. Three faces hover over me, none of which are familiar, and my adrenaline spikes. Who are these people and what do they want? I try to lift my head, try to sit up, but my body feels stiff and won’t cooperate. From what I can tell, I’m lying in a bed that is foreign to me. Where am I?

  “Emma? Are you okay? Talk to me.”

  I meet the worried gaze of the guy who holds my hand. He’s handsome, despite his disheveled dark hair and five o’clock shadow. His complexion is slightly pale and his hazel eyes look worn and tired, as if he’s recently been sick.

  “How do you know my name?” I rasp. My throat feels drier than the desert at high noon. He looks at me with utter confusion. “Who are you?” I ask.

  “Let me try,” a voice on my left says.

  I turn my head to see another male, about my age I’d guess, with light brown hair that falls over his forehead and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. He, too, looks distraught and attempts a nervous smile as he takes my other hand in his. “Do you know who I am?” he tentatively asks.

  I have no memory of this person. I shake my head against the pillow. “I don’t. Should I?”

  His face falls at my response.

  I hear a heavy sigh from the end of the bed, so I lift my head, successfully this time, to find the third person in the room. He focuses his eyes on me; they’re an interesting shade of blue mixed with brown. “Let’s try something.” He moves from the bed to stand closer to me. “Do you want to sit up?”

  I nod and both of the men who hold my hands help me. One props a pillow behind my back while the other reaches for a glass of water sitting on the bedside table. He hands it to me and I gladly take it, swallowing half the water in one gulp. I regard the three of them over the rim of my glass as logic tells me I should be scared to be surrounded by strangers. Oddly, I’m not.

  “Do you remember my name?” the one with the interesting blue-brown eyes asks me.

  I search my brain as the three of them look at me expectantly. I want to remember for them, but I can’t. I frown and shake my head no.

  He leans forward, placing both hands against the bed, as he asks, “What’s the last memory you have?”

  I think back. My mind is foggy is some areas and crystal clear in others. “Falling asleep in my apartment.”

  The three of them regard each other, sending silent messages between them that I don’t understand. I look down and notice a unique bracelet on my wrist. I don’t typically wear jewelry. “What is this?” I ask and hold out my hand.

  Interesting-eyes asks another question. “Do you know what a Guardian is?”

  I give him a blank look as I questioningly state the obvious. “Someone who guards things?”

  Everyone around me looks dumbfounded and let down. I wish I could cooperate more, but who are these people? An uneasy feeling starts to build in my chest the more I come to and take in my surroundings. Last night, I was in my apartment at school; now, I’m in a tropically decorated bedroom surrounded by strange men. Someone needs to start giving me answers.

  “What happened?” I ask.

  All three sets of eyes dart to one another as if debating whether to share knowledge that I don’t have. It makes me angry. “Tell me!”

  The one who’s been asking questions looks defeated. “Erasure,” he says.

  His answer makes no sense and it frustrates me. “What is that?”

  He draws a heavy breath. “Your memory has been erased.”

  Look for the final book in The Guardian Trilogy:

  Reborn

  Coming early 2014!

  ###

  About the Author

  Sara Mack is a Michigan native who grew up with her nose in books. She is a wife and a hockey mom on top of being trapped in an office – which now has a window! – forty hours a week. Her spare time is spent one-clicking on Amazon and devouring books on her Kindle, cleaning up after her kids and two elderly cats, attempting to keep her flower garden alive, and, of course, writing. She has an unnatural affinity for dark chocolate, iced tea, and bacon.

  Connect with Sara and The Guardian Trilogy:

  On Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sara-Mack/377965205649175

  On Twitter:

  http://twitter.com/smackwrites

  Blog and Email:

  http://smackwrites.blogspot.com

  smackwrites@gmail.com

  Check out Spotify for the Allegiant playlist:

  http://open.spotify.com/user/smackwrites/playlist/59c59dpcIYfsZwMoTRK3Uc

  and Café Press for Guardian & Allegiant merch!

  http://www.cafepress.com/IndieFriends

  Excerpt from Reborn

  Book 3 of The Guardian Trilogy

  Prologue

  Do you dream in color or black and white?

  The last few nights have brought me brilliant, prismatic dre
ams. I’ve never dreamt like this before. My hope is that the odd images will continue and reveal the missing pieces of my past. I need to know what I’ve been told is true by seeing it for myself with my mind’s eye. It will be easier for me to accept my new reality through my memories because right now things are just…

  Unbelievable.

  Garrett says the blast from The Allegiant’s hand should have killed me. He owes my survival to the charm I wear around my wrist; a bracelet given to me by someone I don’t remember. I play with it now, turning it around and around, as the airplane descends. After three days of living with complete strangers in a foreign place, I’m almost home. The familiarity of it beckons me. I keep telling myself I’ll be able to think clearly – remember more – surrounded by what I know.

  As the wheels of the plane touch down, relief courses through my body. I’m here; I made it. I can pick up where my life left off and things will make sense again.

  I hope.

  *****

  My phone chimes. Welcome back! Check your email.

  I read the cryptic text from Matt as Dane lounges on my couch flipping channels. He hasn’t said much since our neighbor’s arrival, and I can tell he’s trying to relax but failing miserably. I feel bad for him and want to make it better. Why does his being upset bother me? He’s practically a stranger.

  “Who’s on the phone?”

  Dane’s question breaks my train of thought. “Um, Matt,” I say quickly as I redirect my attention and open my email. “He sent me a message.”

  His note is the first in my inbox.

  Em –

  Glad to hear you’re back! Attached to this are the forms required for the internship you asked about. My dad signed off on everything. I would have sent them sooner, but I didn’t know when you would be back in the States. I hope you’re still thinking about working for us – I don’t make a great receptionist and Sheila is about to explode! Let me know your decision when you get a chance.