by LJ Andrews
“I can try.”
“Owen, do you really think this is the safest thing for Killian to do?” Dalia asked.
“Dalia, I’m going to get my mother. I’m not letting him go alone,” Killian said nodding toward Owen.
“Yes, but, Killian, we’ve already lost a lot of power from our side…” Dalia trailed off when Killian met her eye curiously.
“Do you not want me to go, or Infinium to go?” he asked snidely.
“That’s not what I meant,” she defended. “Of course, I don’t want you to get hurt, but you’re who Maurelle wants more than anyone. She’ll come for you immediately if she sees you.”
“Dalia, you have to understand that Marie is our family,” Owen said. “I don’t want to put Killian at risk more than anyone here, but he also has a unique ability that may be the only chance his mother has to escape.”
Dalia raised her hands in surrender. “I just was voicing a concern. Do what you must. We all want Marie to be safe.”
Killian stood next to Jean and read the coordinates she’d pulled up. They were being held on the far side of Ignisia, underneath molten caves. He smiled at Owen, then met Mercedes’ eye. She didn’t smile—she looked terrified—and he was overwhelmed with a wave of fear as he studied her expression more.
“Get ready. We’re leaving as soon as possible,” Owen said, slapping Killian on the back before rushing off to gather supplies.
Killian nudged his head at Mercedes, silently asking her to leave with him. Back inside they walked slowly, close to one another for several minutes.
“Are you all right?” Killian asked.
Mercedes stopped, folded her arms, and faced him. “I’m afraid you won’t come back. This is all getting too real. It’s one thing to talk about fighting. It’s another to go into the Trinity’s nest and meet them head on.” Mercedes quickly wiped away a tear.
Killian pulled her tight against his chest and held her for several moments. “I’ll come back. I promise.”
“You don’t know that,” she replied stubbornly.
“Mercedes, what would you do if it was Egan?” he implored, meeting her eyes. “Think of Owen. She’s not just my mom, she’s his wife. If it was you trapped, I’d die in a second to get you back.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her body shook as she tried to hold in her emotion. Finally she mumbled against his shoulder. “I know you have to go. I would do the same thing. Just come back.”
Killian kissed her softly and hugged her once more. Speron’s and Bant’s words came to his mind and filled his heart with doubt. Silently, he prayed that he would come back because he hated imagining the alternative.
Owen huddled close to Killian as they whirled through the tumultuous vortex of furious wind and what seemed like blasts of sand. He’d focused hard on the coordinates Jean had given him and hoped they would land somewhere nearby the Trinity hideout. Finally, Killian’s feet hit hard against a jagged stone and he stumbled forward, hitting his shoulder against a jutting boulder. He felt a trickle of blood ooze underneath his shirt, but he quickly forgot about it when he heard Owen cry out in fear.
“Killian, help me!”
Killian’s heart leapt to his throat and he clasped his hand quickly around Owen’s wrist. He held his breath as he watched Owen’s body flail over the jagged ledge a couple hundred feet above bubbling molten firestones.
“Hang on,” Killian shouted as the sulfur-smelling steam hissed menacingly. Killian braced one foot against a small divot in the rock and pulled hard.
Owen thrashed wildly trying to find his footing, until finally he was able to prop one knee back on the ledge and roll to safety. Owen rested on his back for several moments, staring up at the stalactites hanging throughout the molten cave. Taking a deep breath, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked at Killian.
“That was fun. Hopefully it’s not a sign as to how this trip will go,” Owen said lightly as he adjusted his weapon strap over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Killian said quietly. “I must not have been focusing hard enough…I could’ve killed you.”
Owen scrunched his forehead in surprise. “I think you’re mistaking yourself for the molten rock down there that would have killed me. I’m not seeing how you’re part of that scenario.”
Killian looked at the ground. Feeling like a small child, he tapped his toe against a loose rock. “I should’ve been more precise.”
Owen placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder and nudged him. “Stop that. You’re way too hard on yourself, and that’s going to hinder you. You brought us to the exact spot we needed to be; we just didn’t know there was a big gaping hole in the middle.”
Killian released a cross between a scoff and a chuckle, feeling slightly better. His mind drifted back to his time with Laura and Richard. Richard would’ve berated him for days for not being perfect, and Laura would do her best to lift him up when the man wasn’t there.
“Killian, where is this lack of confidence coming from?” Owen asked, drawing him out of his thoughts. “You realize you have more potential inside you than any person I’ve ever met. I don’t want to cause any more stress for you, but I really need you to believe that too. If not, I don’t know how to stand confidently against this curse.”
Killian shrugged and followed Owen to look for some kind of opening to the underground lair they knew was nearby. “I don’t know. Sometimes I’m so sure of myself then this other side of me tells me I’m going to fail. It’s hard to battle.”
Owen grunted as he pushed against an odd shaped stone jutting from the wall. “My advice? Let that other voice in and start believing it.” The strange rock gave way under his force and slowly a large crack opened in the wall. “You never know what you’ll find if you believe in yourself,” Owen finished with a smile.
“Looks like this is it,” Killian said, changing the subject.
“Stay close and stay quiet. According to Jean’s research, your mother will be in a far corner of the lair. We want to stay undetected for as long as possible.”
Killian and Owen crouched low as they stepped through the crack. The walls were tight, and claustrophobia began overtaking Killian as he prayed for the narrow crevice to open wider at some point. The crack got darker and darker as they progressed, to the point Killian could only make out a faint outline of Owen’s shape in front.
“Whoa, careful over here,” Owen said after Killian had started taking his mind elsewhere to escape the crushing sensation of the walls caving in. “It starts to step down.”
Owen was right—the narrow crack opened into a staircase, still narrow, but much wider than the initial passage. The stairs opened into a wide hallway lined with colorful torches of the strange fire that changed color with each flicker.
Owen removed a long dagger from his weapon arsenal and clutched it firmly as he crept along the hallway like a silent panther. Killian followed close behind, releasing one end of his spear and calming his racing heart. The bubbling heat caressed the back of his neck along Infinium’s brand as his vision field automatically stretched around the corner.
Snapping back to their current position, Killian tapped Owen’s shoulder. “One guard is just around the corner,” he whispered.
Owen looked at him curiously, but didn’t question how he knew it. Tiptoeing around the corner, Killian watched as Owen silently wrapped a hand around the unsuspecting guard’s mouth to muffle his protests and without thought, he sliced his dagger across the man’s throat. Killian gulped as the cloaked guard fell to the floor. Owen continued on as if nothing had happened, until he realized Killian wasn’t following.
Killian was frozen next to the body of the guard as blood pooled from the gash in his neck.
“Killian, come on,” Owen urged. “I’m sorry, but they aren’t going to sit down and talk nicely with us; it’s kill or be killed. Are you with me?” Owen’s eyes were blazing as he asked the question. Killian knew his
father was right and he followed him through an arched doorway into a dark room, which, thankfully, was empty.
The trek through the winding hallways of the Trinity’s lair was tedious. Occasionally, Killian would get premonitions warning them of guards, and then Owen would do his duty, dropping the unsuspecting Trinity members like ragdolls.
Finally, they came across an empty side room with a large wooden door on the back wall. Killian felt nothing threatening emanating from the room, and Owen nodded for him to follow once he scanned the room.
Killian’s neck tingled; this seemed too easy. Owen placed an open palm on the chipped wood and began pounding the lock with the hilt of his dagger. Killian kept looking side to side as if he anticipated someone to suddenly appear. The lock broke with a loud crack at the same time Killian was slammed on the side of the head with something hard and cold.
Owen whipped around as the door cracked open. Two Trinity soldiers had entered the room; one held a sword high above Killian, who was face down on the stone, slowly pushing himself up. The other was charging at Owen.
With unbelievable speed, Owen threw his small dagger from the side at the attacker coming toward him. The blade lodged deep into the tall man’s chest, instantly bringing him to the ground. Killian rolled over as the large sword was slicing through the air toward him. As the blade was about to fall, the stocky soldier dropped his oversized weapon and landed hard on his knees before landing face down on the stones with a small silver arrow sticking out of his back. Owen stood directly behind him, still holding the crossbow out in front of him.
“Good shot,” Killian said breathlessly, scooting away from the dead man. He looked at the other body sprawled over the floor.
“I’m impressed,” he said.
Owen smiled, then turned and rushed through the wooden door with Killian close behind. Killian’s heart fell to the floor when he entered the room. A woman with strawberry blonde hair stood straight against a wall in a large cell. She met their faces with a terrified expression. She was thin−too thin−and almost seemed as if she wished they weren’t there. But it was what was out of the cage that made Killian’s stomach sick.
Blake smiled cruelly at him, a pool of fresh blood at his feet. Killian saw Laura’s eyes; they were misty from her tears, and frightened more than he’d ever seen. She hung upside down by a thick rope. Open wounds on the side of her neck and side were bleeding heavily. Her skin seemed pallid and Killian knew she was losing too much blood.
“Owen, get out of here,” the woman in the cage whispered with difficulty as if someone was preventing her from speaking.
“Not without you,” he said without breaking eye contact with Blake.
Killian glanced at her, his first look at his mother since he was a toddler. Tears fell onto her cheeks as she met his eye and tried to smile, but whatever was pinning her to the wall seemed to make any movement difficult.
“You’re sick, Blake,” Killian said, stepping forward.
Blake placed a dagger on Laura’s throat. “Uh, uh—watch it, Kill. You know I’m not afraid to do it. I’ve already rid the world of one Peterson, and I’ll do it again. I have a message that you can deliver to Connor, if you don’t want Laura to join her husband. Tell him to leave the barriers alone, or we’ll kill everyone who crosses us. If he leaves it, we can negotiate with one another.”
So Richard was dead, he could only assume. Killian was ashamed that he wasn’t more upset. Richard had been evil, but Laura didn’t deserve this.
“I think we’ll leave Connor to his work; it obviously bothers you, so we must be on the right track.” Turning to his foster mother he spoke more softly. “We’ll get you out of here, Laura.” She sobbed, but just like Marie, seemed unable to speak easily.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Blake snarled.
Behind them, a swarm of Trinity soldiers filled the room. Killian felt the anger swell in his chest. They’d hurt his mother; they’d attacked an innocent woman with no knowledge of this world. Thoughts of Sophia, playful Sophia, exploding with half the Praetorium. Dax’s pain fueled the rage that seemed to sear his blood. It burned greater as he thought of Blake’s betrayal, and the friendship he’d lost when the truth had come out. Gritting his teeth, he felt the tingle on his skin as the powerful energy seemed to spill from every pore.
“Get Mom,” he growled at Owen before stepping toward Blake.
Owen watched him hesitantly, but soon darted toward the cage, spurring everyone into movement. Blake raised his palms, no doubt to use some of Maurelle’s borrowed magic to attack, but Killian was ready.
Closing his eyes, he opened his arms wide, allowing the hot, fury driven energy to swell in his heart. Quickly, he pulled his arms back to the center, palms open, and urged everything he felt toward Blake. The white ripple was barely visible, but when it hit the room it engulfed everything in its path. Blake lowered his head to brace for the attack, but it still knocked him from his feet. The soldiers behind them were thrown several feet, some hitting the wall and falling unconscious to the floor, others crying out in pain from broken limbs snapping under the power’s force.
Laura seemed untouched from the blast of Infinium, as did Owen, who had broken the ancient lock on the cage and wrapped his arms fiercely around Marie. Killian ignored everyone else and rushed toward Blake, who had quickly scrambled to his feet. Killian hit him hard across the face, causing him to spit blood, then backed away before Blake could borrow any piece of Infinium.
He held his palms out in front of him, focusing with every bit of energy he could muster to place a barrier between himself and Blake. Furiously, Blake pounded against the invisible shield and his dark eyes seemed to turn pure black.
Out of the corner of his eye, Killian saw Owen and Marie leave the cage and take up weapons against a new surge of Trinity soldiers. Marie was swift and agile despite her obvious malnourishment. Suddenly, Blake stopped fighting against the barrier and smiled wickedly at Killian. Before Killian knew what he was doing, Blake took one of his silver arrows he always carried and thrust it deep into Laura’s chest.
“No!” Killian shouted, losing all concentration on keeping his shield. Why hadn’t he wrapped the shield around her? Laura gasped for only a moment, before the light in her eyes faded and stared lifelessly at the room.
“Interesting you choose to protect yourself and not her,” Blake said smugly as he ripped the arrow out of her chest. Killian grabbed the spear off his back. His face was flushed with anger and he started to lunge at Blake, but someone grabbed his arm.
“Get us out of here, now,” Owen said close to his face. Glancing briefly over his shoulder, Killian saw Maurelle in the doorway. Her perfect face watched him, and her dark lips curled up into a smile. She held up a palm and Killian heard Blake stop behind him. Shivering beneath her eerie gaze, he thought of the Praetorium and getting out of the lair in one piece. With surprising force, the swirling vortex opened and ripped them away as if Infinium sensed how time sensitive their situation was.
After several seconds of suffocating travel, Killian’s face slammed hard against the tile floor of the Praetorium entryway. His parents coughed and groaned next to him. Relief flooded over him; they’d made it back, and his mother was alive. But something about Maurelle letting them go— he knew she could’ve stopped them—unnerved him. A sense of foreboding tightened in his chest. She wanted Killian dead, he knew that, but she wanted to do it on her own terms. Maurelle was coming; something told him she was ready.
Chapter 19
Darkness Rising
Killian sat on a steel chair in the clinic as a medical technician bandaged his cuts and bruises from the raid of the Trinity’s lair. Owen paced outside the white curtain as Shannon worked on Marie. It had been over an hour and he seemed as if he was about to burst.
“You did good, kid,” Owen said finally, keeping time with his pace. “Seriously, you saved us all. They ambushed us, but you got us out of there. I’m sorry you saw me…do the things I had
to do. I know it must be upsetting to see, but I hope you know I don’t kill lightly. Only when the people I love are threatened.”
Killian didn’t say anything. It wasn’t so much the dead Trinity soldiers; it was the other guilt. He didn’t get everyone out of there. Laura’s lifeless face hadn’t left his mind since they’d returned. The clinic door swung open and Mercedes burst into the room. When she found Killian she rushed toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He buried his face in her long hair, feeling a brief moment of peace.
“I heard you were back. I’m so glad you’re safe.” She pulled back and looked at him. As if sensing his pain, she brushed a hand over his cheek and smiled sweetly. “Whatever happened, Killian, you got your mom back. You did it. Are you going to be all right?”
He nodded and pulled her tight against him again.
“Killian, Owen,” Shannon said stepping out from the curtain. “You can go in now.”
Mercedes gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled at him. He followed Owen behind the curtain. Marie was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a tan tank top and baggy gray sweat pants. Her arms were tiny, and her collar bone was protruding underneath her skin. As soon as she saw Killian, a fresh wave of tears fell down her face. She leapt off the bed and wrapped her tiny arms around him. She was almost a foot shorter than he was but he bent low and allowed her cry against his neck. A sweet peace filled his heart and he felt like a small child being comforted after a skinned knee. He never wanted to lose his mother again; he’d waited too long to get her back.
“I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long,” she whispered into his ear. “I am so proud of you.”
Marie pulled back and gave him a watery smile. Killian flushed and wiped away a tear before it could fall. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
Marie placed a hand against his cheek. “I’m sorry about Laura, Son. You were so brave in there, but you couldn’t know that would happen. Please don’t blame yourself.”
Killian hung his head, not ready to forgive himself for allowing her to die. He offered Marie a fake smile. “Thanks,” was all he could muster without losing control of his emotions.