The Price of Knowing: A Powers of Influence Novel (The Powers of Influence Book 2)

by C. B. Haight

  Cade shifted his focus, taking in all he could see. Green and yellow grasses and tall weeds grew spontaneously around the rocks and up through the packed dirt. They danced and swayed with the rhythm the breeze provided. Standing there in his human form, Cade listened to the sound of the salty water battering relentlessly at the rock wall, and knew his own mood was one of violence, determination, and cold reality, much like the ocean.

  This would be the place. Here is where they would try to end it. This man, whomever he was, must be stopped no matter the cost. Cade knew that whatever Niall wanted with Collett, it wasn’t good, and the time had come to confront him and end his reign over people with supernatural abilities.

  He looked to her then. She wasn’t the same woman he’d met nearly three months before. Just then, she looked like an avenging hero from a storybook. She stood proud with a wide stance, her hands resting on the weapons strapped to her waist, and the picture she presented felt right.

  What was left of the reddish sunlight glinted off the multiple golden highlights in her hair, and the same wind that stirred the waves into their rhythmic frenzy lifted and twirled her unbound locks about her perfect, ivory skin. Her long, scarlet coat stirred around her legs, and showed off the tall black boots that covered the tight jeans up to her knee. The entire scene was surreal and could easily lead a person to believe the wind surrounding her was under her control. For just a second, Cade thought of the storm from her memories and wondered.

  Standing in this place, despite who they were waiting for, Collett appeared strong, and confidant. Gone was the timid confused woman he’d fought so hard to protect. Instead of vulnerable, she was vibrant. Instead of cowering, she was courageous. Even with so few of her memories restored, Collett was an entirely new woman, and by some miracle, she was his. His heart swelled with love and pride for this woman and all she had become.

  Distracted and unaware of his scrutiny, Collett closed her eyes, sensing the environment surrounding them, and Cade had a sudden, apprehension in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want her here. He didn’t want her involved. He wanted desperately to pick her up and run, and keep running until he was sure she was safe. It was killing him to take this chance with her life. Fear, something he rarely felt, twisted in his gut.

  She opened her eyes and smiled calmly at him. Her expression reassured him, and comfortable warmth settled into him. The knot in his stomach loosened. It amazed him that even here in the worst circumstances he could imagine, Collett infused him with light and hope.

  He released her gaze to look to where Jarrett stood a few more feet away from Collett. Dressed head to toe in black, his long coat, battle gear, and the sword strapped to his back gave an air of danger to his image. The Oakley sunglasses that covered his eyes made him look even more reminiscent of the hunter he was.

  Cade appraised the man he claimed as family. Jarrett’s chin was covered with dark stubble, and his hair was loose and free, shading his face. That wasn’t the only thing Jarrett kept shaded. He knew so little about his brother, and yet he finally felt connected to him. Sensing Cade’s scrutiny, Jarrett gave his attention to his twin and inclined his head.

  Behind them, Jeffery took up his position. As promised his magic kept him from being seen by everyone but Jarrett. Still, Cade knew he would be there as discussed, and he shook his head at the idea. He never would have guessed how much he’d come to rely on the young sorcerer. Collett was not the only one who had changed. One woman had turned their world upside down and created something so much bigger. There was a peaceful sense of purpose in that knowledge.

  Rederrick’s voice came through the ear buds, “Heads up boys and girls. It’s almost time.”

  The moments before the encounter seemed to move slowly. At Rederrick’s words, Cade turned his attention back to the sky. The sun had almost finished its descent, and the fiery sky was cooled, shifting into the purple and blue hues of night. Suddenly, distant thunder sounded from above and dark angry clouds began rolling in.

  “Show time,” Cade said to everyone. Reaching deep and taking a fortifying breath, he readied himself for what was about to come.

  She felt his presence. As the thunder rumbled in the sky, a sharp but familiar sensation of emotions invaded her. Her blood cooled, and her stomach roiled. With wide eyes, she whipped around to face the other direction, “He’s here.”

  Trusting her completely, they all spun. Jeffery, once behind them was now in front of the trio, still unseen. Cade and Jarrett instinctively sniffed the air, but smelled nothing but the coming rain and salty sea. They both looked to Collett with identical expressions, as if they were mirror images.

  “Be careful, there's magical energy in the air,” Cynda cautioned.

  Shortly after her words echoed in their ears, Cade and Jarrett caught the scent of burning cinder and flesh. He appeared out of nowhere and stood mere yards away from them. At his feet, lying face down, was a battered and bruised body that they all assumed was Cody.

  The man standing before them was surprisingly handsome, well groomed, and completely normal looking. Cade half expected his appearance would reflect that of his evil reputation. It didn’t. His hair was greyed, though he did not look older than 30. He was tall, broad, and perfectly manicured. He wore a tailored suit, as if he came to conduct a business meeting, instead of the hostile confrontation they expected. He looked more like The Godfather than a powerful demon lord.

  It was his strange eyes that gave him away as being otherworldly. When Cade focused on his face, he felt a chill run through him. Niall’s eyes were an unnaturally dull grayish-cloud and looked as if they were sightless or maybe glass. A simple glance from cloudy orbs communicated deadly promises and malicious intent. Cade didn’t even need empathic abilities to understand why Collett looked ill at the moment. This man was the very definition of evil.

  Niall’s lips turned up in a sickly, sinister smile then he directed his full attention to Collett. Cade momentarily faltered when he followed Niall’s line sight to his wife. Raw emotions of anger and hate rushed through him in a violent surge. Red hot rage spread through him, and he almost pounced, but Collett, pale and drawn, stilled him with a single glance. Shaking her head, she mouthed the words, “Not yet.”

  Trusting in his wife, Cade regained his self-control. The action of doing so, was more difficult to do than it had ever been for him. Anything that threatened Collett threw him off balance.

  Jarrett’s reaction to Niall’s arrival was less subtle. A lot less. His eyes began to glow, and he actually snarled. He felt similarly enraged. Even though he lacked Cade’s general temperament, his years of being The Hunter taught him some control over the wolf inside, but it was clear, he simply felt no need to disguise his disgust and intent.

  “You’re not alone,” Niall said to Collett.

  Thunder sounded again, the wind picked up, and the temperature felt as though it dropped a whole twenty degrees in minutes. Niall spread his arms out wide and spoke with a voice that grated the nerves much like fingernails on a chalkboard could, “Child, come to me, there is no need for such drama.” The words were spoken gently and his gesture was almost fatherly, but it felt eerily unholy to everyone.

  Both brothers growled, and deadly promises were reflected in their expressions.

  “Oh come now, this is too much. Call off your dogs before they get hurt.”

  Collett was having a difficult time. An image of this man standing before her flittered across the recesses of her mind. In it, he wore armor, and smiled as if they were friends. She closed her eyes in an effort to process it.

  Seeing her struggle, Jarrett warned, “Block it, Collett. Don’t let him distract you.”

  Shaking it off, she tried hard to quell the impressions she was experiencing. She couldn’t even speak to reply. She was barely suppressing the physical reactions to the taint of his presence.

  Evil poured from him in waves that battered her newly found discipline like the ocean battered the rocks below. S
he could see mists of death and misery surrounding him like a hazy, black shroud. Using the methods Jarrett taught her, she tried her best to block him, but she was not entirely successful. Flashing images jumped to her mind but left before she could grasp onto them. She closed her eyes and channeled every effort into focusing and breathing.

  Cade spoke for her, “Is he alive?” he ground out forcefully, indicating Cody with his head.

  Niall’s attention snapped to Cade, and his expression looked like one of annoyance and anger, as if speaking to Cade was beneath him. However, his words were still cool and calm, “Of course. I keep my promises.” He directed his attention back to Collett, “Though if you wait much longer he might not be.”

  “You’ve never kept a promise,” Jarrett accused with a growl.

  Niall glared at him.

  “He’s alive,” Collett confirmed softly, reassuring them. Even while he was unconscious, she could sense Cody’s fitful pain.

  “Is it Cody?” Cade asked her softly.

  Niall answered before she could by viciously, yet dispassionately, kicking the heap at his feet. The body rolled over. “See for yourself.”

  Collett couldn’t hold in her gasp at seeing Cody’s abused appearance. His face was bruised and swollen. He was completely unrecognizable, and blood was caked and dried in various places all over his body.

  Cade cursed. Jarrett ground his teeth. Both men were hoping to return the beating tenfold to Niall.

  Unconcerned with their reactions, Niall examined Cody like a kid would examine a dissected bug. He was admiring his handy work. “You know—Cade? Is it?” he began with disdain and pity lacing his every word. “She was mine before she was ever yours. You cannot possibly image the intimacies of our relationship. If you would’ve only given her back, this,” he gestured to Cody, “could have been avoided”

  Cade took a step forward and Niall’s features brightened.

  “Don’t let him bait you, Cade,” Cynda reminded him through the earbud.

  “He lies!” Rederrick added at the same time.

  Niall’s grin widened. “Yes, I do lie, but not about this.” His comment informed them that not only was he aware of all their presence, but he could hear their private exchanges through the coms.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Jarrett ordered.

  Cade felt his eyes burn. Little bumps rose on his skin, but he reminded himself Collett and Cody had to be his priority. Suppressing the transformation, he replied, “We get the boy. Then you can talk.”

  “Suit yourself. Come and get him. I am done with him anyway.” Niall chuckled as if the whole situation was amusing.

  Collett stopped Cade. “No,” she said softly. “He wants you to come closer.” Everyone turned their attention to her, but her focus stayed on Niall. “Don’t go any further. He’ll kill you. He wants nothing more than to see us all dead. Don’t you?” she accused.

  “Interesting,” Niall replied, his smile diminishing. He was surprised she could read his thoughts so easily. The information he’d been given indicated she hadn’t gained any control of her gifts yet. He realized Cody had miraculously managed to withhold that little detail from him. Even more stunning, the boy had managed to deceive him completely.

  Ready to get on with the killing, Jarrett reached over his shoulder and drew the sword at his back. The sliding steel drew Niall’s attention again, and his eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the familiar weapon. “Where did you get that sword?” he demanded.

  “It doesn’t matter where I got it. What matters right now, is what I’m going to do with it,” Jarrett said, pacing from side to side to assess Niall’s defenses.

  Niall hadn’t seen that sword in over four centuries, and seeing it now gave him pause. Jarrett popped his neck and began walking toward him. Niall grinned and shrugged the bitter nostalgia off, because it hardly mattered at this point. He had a pretty good idea of who had given Jarrett the sword, and Niall resolved to pry his old weapon from the traitor’s cold fingers after he’d killed them all.

  He threw his arms out and using the stored dark energies within, The Faction’s leader summoned reinforcements. The ground beneath them trembled as a bright light, much akin to lightning, flashed and struck the earth near Jeffery. Invisible, Jeffery barely escaped the strike because he felt the energy build around him and instinctively jumped out of the way. An extra dimensional doorway appeared in the same spot. From that iridescent opening came Niall’s demon reserve.

  Seeing what was coming forth, Cade valiantly rushed forward, changed from man to hybrid as he rushed to action, and before the first demon crawled free of the infernal doorway, he cut it down.

  Jarrett pivoted and positioned himself to defend Collett against the creatures crawling up the cliff face at their back. Two vampiric leeches made their way to Jarrett, and with smooth practiced efficiency, they were beheaded for their trouble. The body’s turned to dust and revealed the next two behind them. “I hope you can put all that practice to good use,” he challenged Collett as he struck out at the next one.

  Similar portals opened up below as well. The com link filled with chatter from Nate, Rederrick, and Delphene. “Incoming on the east side,”

  “They’re all over here, Cade,” Nate informed them.

  “Merde!” exclaimed Delphene.

  All hell broke loose, literally. The abyssal creatures rushed in to keep the friends from rallying. Surrounding them on all sides, they forced each group to defend their various positions,.

  On the east side, Cynda and Rederrick were pushed up the incline as the lesser demons advanced toward their leader. They weren’t so hard to dispatch, being lesser imps and fiends rather than the massive and greater-demons they’d encountered before. But there were simply too many of them. When one fell two more replaced it. The couple fought with every step. Rederrick swung his sword with practiced efficiency. He used his strength and skill to slash and stab at anything that got near them so Cynda could concentrate solely on her magic.

  He shouted to Cynda, “Were losing ground here. We’ve got to pull back and gather together!”

  Nodding, Cynda chanted rapidly to cast her next spell, “With my will and my might, I ask the powers to steal their sight. Take from me to steal from these, rob them of what they can see.” She felt the drain on her energy immediately, but knew there was little time.

  Tingling magic collected around the demons. Cynda knew it would only buy them a little time. Grabbing Rederrick by the arm, she began pulling him along as she shouted above the noise, “We have to make a break for the bluff. They need us, and we can’t stay here!”

  Trusting her completely, Rederrick sprinted toward the bluff with her, but kept his eyes on the chaos behind them as he followed. The demons stumbled about blindly, bumping into one another, and a couple of them even wandered off the cliff, plummeting down to be grabbed by the cold, swooping waves of the ocean. His wife’s creativity never ceased to amaze him.

  On the west side of the cliff face, Nate and Delphene fought viciously against the sudden onslaught of creatures called forth by Niall. The demons pressed hard against them as well. They battled back with sword and claw, fist and teeth, but as one enemy fell there was always another to take its place.

  They were surrounded and could not see a way to make it to the ridge where the rest of their friends were gathering. One demon let out a guttural growl and clawed at Nate’s leg as he made a sweeping kick toward it. The fiend’s claws tore through clothes and skin alike, and Nate felt a sharp burning pain that caused him to cry out. Delphene, who battled in her hybrid body, pivoted to defend him. Sweeping out with her long reach, she grabbed the offending demon by the head and used her supernatural strength to toss it over the cliff. While she did this, another winged imp leaped upon her, and dug its claws into her back.

  The advantage against her didn’t last long. Nate quickly dispatched the creature with a dagger between the eyes. He caught the dagger as the imp turned to dust and moved on to the ne
xt one. Another demon that Delphene set upon screamed out as she ripped through its thin wings, and its dark ichor spilled on already slick earth beneath their feet.

  Nate and Delphene continued to work in tandem for some time, taking out one demon after another, but their strength began waning. They could not go on like this for much longer, and knew that they were only fighting now to give their friends the best chance possible.

  The battle that Cade, Jarrett, and Collett faced was no better. Using fang and claw, Cade fought tirelessly at the doorway that Niall had created. Blocking the entrance, the close quartered combat would not allow for his sword, but with his natural weapons he wreaked devastation among the enemy in his effort to keep any more demons from entering the field. Blood trickled from various places on him, and the constant attacks were taking a toll. Even as a werewolf with extraordinary healing ability, Cade’s body wouldn’t be able to keep up with the constant barrage.

  At one point, Cade was thrown back and three of the hellish beasts made it through only to meet Jarrett’s blade and fall to ash. Jarrett skillfully engaged any within range of his brother and Collett. More creatures made their way to the top of the cliff, and fell to Jarrett’s wrath. He almost seemed to relish in it and was so skilled few made their way past him to Collett.

  As they came at her, Collett battled ferociously, but she was struggling. The problem for her was not the few stray demons that made their way past Jarrett or Cade. Collett also fought a mental war against a sudden torrent of images jumping randomly through her mind.

  There were bitter flashes in her mind of another battle, a different sunset, and a powerful storm. She kept getting pulled into the past while she battled fiercely for her future. Frustration plagued her. She wanted to remember so badly, knew it was coming back, but she tried to push it away because it was so confusing. Not to mention, she needed to focus on staying alive and keeping her friends safe.