Emerge: The Awakening

by Melissa A. Craven

  “I won’t make any decisions until I know for certain.”

  “Is this the girl?” he asked.

  “Possibly. I won’t know until I test her.”

  I’ve got at least a few hours to get this situation under control! Allie took a shaky breath. If we’re still here when she comes back, we’re screwed. Lane shoved her into a large room, leering as he took his time removing the heavy collar. As soon as the wretched thing was off, she limped away. Lane lounged in a chair by the door watching her every move. The room had high ceilings, exposed beams, and one large window. If she could get up there for a better look, she’d have more information on their location.

  “Relax, doll,” Lane drawled. “I’ll be right here until she gets back, so don’t think you can pull anything on me.”

  Allie continued her pacing. She was no longer limping. She wouldn’t heal properly for hours yet—possibly days, but the pain was diminishing.

  As she paced, she thought about Livia. An Immortal working for the Coalition of her own free will—in charge, no less! The whole situation went against everything she knew about them.

  Allie’s power flared in her chest, but she just couldn’t grasp it.

  Lane, bored with scrutinizing her every movement, lounged back and dozed.

  She moved quickly. Gathering her skirt, she jumped, kicking her bare foot against the brick wall to propel her up to the rafters where she landed feet first. She paused only long enough to take in the scenery. The river was much closer than she thought and a pungent briny scent hung in the air. There was a salt distribution center on the opposite bank. She dropped back to the floor, landing in a crouch before Lane even knew what she’d done. The simple task left her exhausted.

  If Liam couldn’t find them, she knew she could guide Aidan here. If only she could reach him! Navid was right; it was their best chance. How he knew about Aidan or her gift, she’d have to contemplate later. She sat back in a corner and focused on their connection, but she only felt a haunting, echoing silence. As much as they complained about the lack of privacy, this link was part of them now and she couldn’t give it up.

  “Keep trying to reach your power, little girl,” Lane taunted. “You and I both know you’re too weak.” He yawned.

  Allie closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths, she concentrated on breaching the barrier that separated their minds. Finally, calmness eluded her completely and in a fit of frustration, she screamed. She threw a mental temper tantrum in the corner of her mind that belonged to her best friend until something finally gave way. He was there in a whirl, their terrified thoughts mingling.

  Allie!

  We don’t have time! she shrieked in a combination of panic and euphoria.

  Slow down and give me everything. Liam can’t find you! Something has him blocked!

  She emphasized the importance of their brief window of opportunity and followed it with every thought she had since this whole nightmare began. Neither spoke as she flooded him with information, giving him everything he needed to find them. It was as easy as transferring files from one computer to another.

  You’re somewhere near the Flats. We can be there in a few minutes!

  Twenty long minutes passed until she could sense the familiar Immortals circling the building. Liam, George, Scott, and Darius were with Gregg, Jin Jing, and Daniel. She breathed a sigh of relief that none of the Complements were together tonight.

  Scott won’t let me out of the car, but I’m close. Liam and Darius will come straight for you, but the others will focus on your captors.

  Allie was distracted by the sound of metal ripping from hinges and she knew her family had arrived.

  Lane crossed the room and hauled her to her feet. “We’re leaving.” His eyes darted around fearfully.

  While he was distracted, she pulled her sai from the sheath under her dress.

  “Whoa, what you got there, girl?” he drawled, taking careful aim. “It seems some friends of yours have arrived; but I promise I don’t have a problem shooting a girl who can’t die, so put those things away and come with me. You’re my ticket outta here.”

  “I don’t think so.” Allie whirled into her best roundhouse, knocking the gun from his grasp. “How dare you touch me?” She crept closer, reaching for her solar gift, but not embracing it. “I should kill you!” She roared triumphantly when she saw something distinctly different in her gift and grasped hold of it successfully. She directed a flow of raw energy into Lane. He twitched violently as if electrocuted. His body jerked and sizzled, but she hesitated pushing her new weapon any further. Instead, she let him fall to the floor with a groan. His hair singed and the soles of his boots melted.

  “Allie!” Liam burst into the room with Darius in tow. The heavy wooden door splintered in their rush to get to her.

  “Liam!” She lunged for him.

  “God, Allie? What have they done to you?” Darius growled.

  A loud crack sounded and a searing pain ripped through her shoulder. She staggered against Liam, dazed by the gunshot.

  Allie! What’s—Aidan’s terrified voice faded for a second time that night as she fell to the floor. Liam charged past her in a cold fury. The others rushed in at the sound of gunfire.

  “That girl is my family!” He advanced on Lane. “Did you do this to her?” he demanded. When another shot fired, Liam barely grunted, completely nonplussed by the bullet in his arm.

  Lane’s eyes widened in alarm as Liam continued his advance. “Hey, I-I shot you!”

  “Why is her dress in shreds?” Liam snarled, a look of pained concentration on his face.

  “I shot you!”

  “Did you touch her? Did he touch you, Allie?” he asked, and her eyes filled with tears. “Big mistake.” He grabbed Lane by the throat.

  Allie watched as the focused look fell from his face and Liam released his control, allowing his poison to crush his victim. Lane’s eyes bulged, the whites turning blood red. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he gurgled on the bloody foam oozing from his mouth. His body seized violently from the lethal poison Liam projected at will. He dropped Lane in a shriveled heap where he continued to convulse. She could see Liam’s power diminish as the effects of the magnetic bullet finally hit him.

  He turned to gather Allie in his arms. Lifting a trembling hand to her wound, she felt the magnetized bullet scrape her shoulder. It didn’t go all the way through and the tiny shards were like blistering hot needles inside her. She almost fainted.

  “It’s alright, little one. I’ve got you.”

  A surge of emotion for Liam suddenly gripped her. “You’re my brother.” She gaped in awe at the realization.

  “It’s about time you figured that out.” He turned to join the others.

  I have a brother? How did I not see it before?

  “No!” Liam stumbled and nearly dropped her. “Not now!”

  “It’s Livia! She’s back!” Allie choked as a terrible gut-wrenching wail pierced the night.

  Still clutched in his arms, they rushed from the room where they found Jon and Ella safely under Gregg’s control. They lay with their hands and feet bound by his magnetic gift, but Jake was gone.

  Daniel’s shriek cut right through Allie.

  “Where are they, Liam?” Gregg asked, prepared for action.

  “I’m afraid I won’t know until I get this bullet out of my arm. I’m so sorry, Daniel, Jin—I fought off the effects as long as I could. If I’d known…”

  “Daniel? Where’s Quinn?” Allie’s voice trembled. She felt lightheaded from the loss of blood.

  “He’s gone,” he said hoarsely, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

  “There was so much chaos,” Imogen said. “We heard the shots and we all came running. The other guy just skated right past us with Quinn.”

  “No!” Allie sobbed. “He’s not gone!”

  “It doesn’t make any sense!” Gregg growled. “It’s like Quinn used his gift against us!”

  “Where’s my son!�
�� Daniel roared, lunging for Jon, clutching his throat.

  “Back down, my friend,” Gregg said gently.

  “They are responsible for the loss of my son! You can’t tell me you wouldn’t crush this piece of filth if it was Aidan!”

  “I would hope that if it were my child, my friend would talk me out of doing something I would regret.”

  “We have to go, son,” Jin whispered. “Do what you have to do, and let’s go. Quinn needs us.”

  “Aye, alter their memories, Daniel,” Gregg said. “I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do for Quinn right now, but we’ll regroup at the safe house and decide on a course of action.” He turned and left the room. Everyone was silently, but clearly instructed to follow.

  Before Allie could blink, Liam had her tucked in the back of an SUV wrapped in Aidan’s arms, speeding away from her prison.

  <><><>

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-TWO

  “Vince!” Allie bolted upright. “Aidan, tell me he’s alive!” she sobbed, her breath coming in great ragged gasps.

  “He’s fine, just breathe. I promise it wasn’t a life threatening wound.”

  “But there was so much blood!”

  “I swear, he’ll be fine…after a minor surgery to repair the damage to his heart. But he will recover.”

  “Surgery?” All the blood rushed from her face.

  “I did everything I could. That’s why I wasn’t there for you.”

  “She’s slipping fast!” Imogen cried. “We could be in real trouble here.”

  “She’s white as a sheet and her pulse is thready. She’s lost way too much blood.” Aidan frowned.

  “Are you ssssayin’ I’m dying?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Gen answered truthfully.

  “But…I’m Immortal.”

  “Hush, Allie. She just means there’s only so much even our bodies can take and yours has had enough. You could slip away for a while. Just to sleep and regenerate, but it could take weeks for you to recover. Trust me, you don’t want to…”

  “Stay with me!” he shouted when her eyelids drooped.

  “Gen, I need you to get that bullet out. Now! I’ll do what I can for her pain.”

  “Aidan, it’s shattered! And we’re in a moving car! You want me to operate with a pocketknife and what? Wishful thinking?”

  “Just do it! I’ll take care of everything else!”

  “He’s right,” Scott said gently from his vantage point in the back. “We can’t let her bleed out. Darius and I will do what we can to help.”

  “Allie, I need you awake for this,” Imogen said. “It’s the only way we’ll know if I’ve gotten it all. If I miss even the smallest particle, it could have unpredictable consequences. I’m not going to lie, this is going to be brutal, but I need you stay with me. You do not want to do this twice. And I need you, little brother, to keep her pain under control!”

  “No, Aidan! Don’t!” Allie cried when she realized what he intended.

  “You’re in no condition to stop me.” He lay back on the seat, pulling her against his chest. He wrapped his legs around hers to keep her still. She felt a pleasant sensation course through her body when he touched her with his gift. She instinctively resisted.

  “ALEXIS ANN, DO NOT FIGHT ME! NOT NOW!”

  “I’m NOT putting you through this! Please don’t, Aidan!”

  “You’re wasting energy, you stubborn redheaded pain in my ass! Now stop fighting and just look at me.”

  She relented, opening herself up to his calming influence. The chaos faded and her senses dulled.

  The pain began in some distant corner of her mind but quickly rose to the surface when Imogen gently probed the gaping hole. The pressure increased and she screamed in anguish when Imogen sliced through her flesh, not once, but three times.

  “Sorry! Just scoring the entry. I’ll try to move faster now.”

  Allie screamed like a wounded animal as Imogen searched for the bullet fragments, the point of her dagger scraping against bone.

  “What’s going on back there?” Liam growled, driving like a shot through the night. “Focus, Aidan!”

  “Just drive!” He held Allie locked in his powerful gaze, but his eyes filled with tears. His hands trembled as he tried to take on her pain.

  Allie was drenched in blood and cold sweat; her breath coming in shuddering gasps.

  “Hold on, baby,” he whispered.

  “Stop! Please stop!”

  “Sorry, Allie, we can’t stop now,” Imogen said as Allie kicked and thrashed her feet.

  “Aidan! You have to get her under control!”

  “Darius, help me! Hold her legs!”

  “Concentrate, Brother,” Scott said calmly as Darius crawled into the backseat to kneel beside Imogen.

  “Take a few deep breaths. You’ve got this,” Darius said. “Hey, Killer, you too. Deep breaths.” But her eyelids fluttered closed.

  “Gen, she’s dying!” Scott shouted. “She’s gray and clammy—she’s not breathing!”

  “She’s in shock! Aidan, you have to get her through this!” Imogen worked feverishly, her hands slick with Allie’s blood.

  “Aidan, keep your cool, she needs you,” Scott said softly.

  Allie’s eyes rolled back in her head. “Wake up! Look at me!” Aidan slapped her hard. “That’s better, focus on me,” he whispered when her eyes finally opened. He used his gift to force her lungs to take slow even breaths, and her heart to beat steadily.

  “Concentrate on my voice.” Aidan put everything he had into keeping her pain at bay. He was sweaty and breathless. His face paled as blood poured from his nose. He was pushing himself way too hard.

  “St-stop, Aidan!” she begged. “Pl-ease don’t!”

  “Don’t you know…I’d do any-thing for you, Allie?”

  Gen carefully removed another particle and a burst of clarity shot through Allie’s mind. She drew a ragged breath. “Gen, you got it!” The pain was already receding and her mind cleared, but she was miles away from healed.

  She shook violently, heaving great gulps of air into her lungs. Aidan’s hold on her mind shattered and he collapsed in a sweaty heap.

  Aidan?

  He didn’t move but she felt his relief at the return of their connection.

  I’m fine. Just rest, baby.

  You too, schnookims. She managed a weak smile. She knew he couldn’t help the way he thought of her.

  You’re teasing me now? He reached for her hand, brushing a kiss across her cracked and bleeding fingertips.

  It’s how I roll.

  Imogen finished bandaging her shoulder with strips of Aidan’s shirt and promptly slapped him across the face, bursting into tears.

  “OW! What the hell?”

  “That’s for making me torture you both!” she sobbed.

  “Don’t.” Allie reached for her hand.

  “You’re too young!” she shook with sobs. “Too young to be living this life already!”

  Allie felt Aidan’s gift touch her once more.

  “Stop. You’ve done enough. I’ll be fine.”

  “Save your arguments for someone else.”

  “Please, take it easy, little one,” Liam said anxiously, reaching back with his injured arm to grasp her hand.

  “What’s going on? Where are we?” Allie asked.

  Liam was driving slowly out of downtown, crossing the Lorain Avenue Bridge into Ohio City. Allie looked up just in time to see the Guardian statues—one of her favorite features of the Art Deco city. That she could focus on such a normal thing at this moment was proof that she was still in shock.

  “Liam? You got shot!” Allie cried, but he barely flinched as Darius worked to extract the bullet lodged in his bicep.

  “How are you not screaming like a banshee?”

  “With age comes perspective. Pain and I came to an understanding a long time ago.”

  “Show off.”

  “We’ll head back to the marina soon,” Imogen said
. She absently brushed Allie’s tangled damp curls from her face. “Once we get to the safe house we can figure out our next move.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Where’s Lucien?” Allie asked.

  “He’s meeting the others to go look for Quinn. I can’t help but worry. He’s still so young.”

  “Gen, you’ll always worry as long as your husband is three hundred years younger than you,” Darius teased.

  “I hardly notice the age difference anymore, except on nights like this.”

  “My lady’s out there somewhere, and she’s way older than me. I am one hundred percent okay with that.” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows devilishly. “Liam’s girl is nearly two thousand years younger. That wait has got to suck.”

  “Sometimes the wait isn’t so bad,” Liam muttered. “We’re here. Let’s do this quickly.”

  “Aidan,” Allie said as he carried her on board the boat. “If Liam’s my brother and he’s your uncle…does that make me your—”

  “Nope. Not unless you bond me as your nephew and I promise, I will not reciprocate.”

  “Good,” she sighed. “That would be creepy.”

  “I can feel him,” Liam said suddenly. “Quinn’s in the air; somewhere to the west, but not far. I won’t be able to pinpoint his location until they land, then we can do something.”

  “Call Lucien on the burner phone so he can get everyone organized,” Imogen said.

  “Will we get him back?” Allie asked.

  “We’ll certainly try,” Liam promised as he headed up to the fly deck.

  “I’m going up with him.”

  “No you’re not. Sit,” Aidan snapped.

  “Don’t baby me.” She glared, anger flashing in her eyes.

  “Sit!” His eyes flashed right back at her. “You’ve just had a barbaric surgery, and you’ve been beaten so badly I wouldn’t recognize you if it weren’t for the red hair and smart mouth. Now, sit!”

  “I need to be with Liam.”

  “She’s just bonded him,” Darius said. “It’s only natural she wants to be with him now. I’ll take her up.”

  “You’re looking a little green, sweetheart.” Liam frowned when Darius helped her up the stairs.