Damn, he could love that woman. She was as tough as any Order member, wasn’t she? Calydons beating down her door, her parents on a rampage, a soul mate needing a boost to his pathetic male ego, and yet she was calm enough to smile. No wonder she’d survived all the hell in her life. She got tougher when things fell apart, and let herself fall apart only when she had the luxury. “You are fucking hot, woman.”
Lily looked surprised, and then smiled. “You’re insane.”
“I’m the one who’s insane? How about your parents?” Gideon whirled around and caught Lily’s dad by the throat as the man charged him with a letter opener.
Okay, that was it. He wasn’t going to accept any more interfering with his ability to keep Lily safe. Gideon shoved Lily’s dad up against the wall, ignoring Lily shouting at him to put her dad down. “Listen, buddy,” he snarled. “When you and your wife showed up here, you showed the bad guys how to find your daughter.” Rage pulsed through Gideon at the thought of them endangering Lily. “And if you think I’m evil, wait until you see them.”
Even as Gideon spoke, the scent of Calydons grew stronger and the footsteps got louder. Shit, he wanted to toss the man out on his ass and let him fend for himself, but he’d felt the love between Lily and her parents when they’d walked in. Yeah, Gideon was a monster, but there wasn’t a chance on this green earth that he’d pound another nail into Lily’s heart if he could help it. He was saving the whole damn family if he could.
“So, you have two choices,” Gideon continued, spending way too much damn time talking when he should be vacating. “Either stop fighting me and let me save all of you, or I’m leaving you and your wife behind and I’m saving only your daughter. Make the choice,” he snapped. “And make it right fucking now.”
“Listen to Gideon,” Lily urged her father. “We have about five seconds. I’m going with him.”
Her dad said nothing, his gaze going frantically between Lily and Gideon. Lily’s mother had gone still, no longer trying to gouge his eyes out, but she wasn’t exactly singing his praises either.
Fuck it. “We’re out of here.” Gideon grabbed Lily and tucked her against his hip. She threw her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, total commitment to Gideon. Yeah, see? He wasn’t that bad, not if Lily was willing to trust him.
“Lily!” her mom gasped in apparent horror at Lily’s siding with Gideon.
Yeah, whatever. Gideon was so done here.
The door flew open and Calydons began to pour into the room, weapons out, their energy raising the temperature of the room almost instantly. Gideon barreled for the window with Lily in his arms.
Lily’s mom’s hand went to her chest as she faced them. “Dear God.”
“Go get her, Gideon,” Lily ordered. “Please!”
Shit. He couldn’t say no to her. He simply couldn’t.
Gideon raced back toward her parents and swept Lily’s mom up against him as Lily’s dad leapt on Gideon’s back, nearly choking him. Then Gideon charged for the window, holding his cargo securely, but his grip was tightest on Lily. He dropped his head to clear the frame, then flew out through the air.
Lily’s mom screamed. Lily’s dad swore and drew blood from Gideon, he was gripping so tightly. Lily, his courageous, confident, collected Lily, simply held onto him. She kept her gaze fixed on Gideon’s face, her body pressed up against him. He concentrated on the warmth of her body, using Lily as his anchor as he fought to control their fall, trying to balance the three weights clinging so awkwardly to him. “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he shouted at her dad. “I need to be the one to take the impact.”
He tangled his legs around Gideon’s.
“No!” Gideon shouted. “My waist.” He kicked his legs free as the ground rushed up at them. Shit. His balance was off. “Everyone stop struggling for one goddamn second,” he shouted.
For a split second, Lily’s parents froze at his command, and Gideon was able to straighten them out so his feet were hitting first. He smacked the ground hard and he staggered under the impact, fighting to keep his unbalanced, flailing load from slamming into the ground at the sudden stop. He lost his balance and they all tumbled. Lily’s parents went flying, and Gideon cradled Lily against his chest, using his arms to block her body from the ground as he rolled over her.
He rebounded to his feet instantly, Lily still tight against him. Her parents were groaning, her dad was bleeding from his forehead, and Lily’s mom was crying. But they were already climbing to their feet. A successful landing. Not so bad for a psychopathic bad guy, right?
“Mom!” Lily struggled out of Gideon’s grasp and raced over to her parents. They were immediately hugging and crying, a tight trio of emotion and love into which Gideon was most definitely not invited.
Something pinged inside Gideon as he watched the tears flow, as the three held each other so tightly it looked as if they’d break. A sudden loneliness spread over him, a loneliness that burned deep and black. A yearning so strong he could barely keep himself from kneeling beside them and shoving his way into their embrace, to feel tears shed for him—
There was a loud crack from above, and he jerked his gaze upward, then swore when he realized their pursuers had taken the same path he had.
The sky was raining Calydons.
*
Ana sat on the balcony of the coliseum, her body shaking and sweat dripping down her back. Frank was stretched out on the throne, his feet propped up while he studied her. “Not having success shaking the dark illusions?”
“No.” She hugged her knees to her chest, exhausted. She’d called forth illusion after illusion since she’d arrived, and every one of them had been some version of Elijah being tortured to death. It had gotten to the point where his screams were reverberating in her mind even between illusions, as if he were truly alive and being tortured. She pressed her hands to her temples, trying to drown out his screams even now.
Frank cocked his head. “Perhaps this is because you have finally come into your own. Perhaps the happy illusions are a thing of the past.”
“I’m not like that.”
“No?” The heels of Frank’s dress shoes scraped on the clay as he pulled his feet down from the ledge and set them in front of him. “You certainly seem to be like that. All I’ve heard are screams since I left you here. Doesn’t sound like butterflies and puppies to me.”
She leaned back, resting her head against the crumbling wall. “I’ll get there.”
“Where? To happy illusions? What power lies in offering cheerful emotions, Ana? None.” Frank propped his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, his body language eager. “You’re so powerful. You have a gift, Ana, and you should be embracing it, not suffering for it.” He waved his arm. “This place is your playground. Think of the damage you could cause if you learn to control your darkness and use it as a targeted weapon.”
Ana wearily lifted her head to look at him, her eyes narrowing. “Is that why you came to get me? To make me your protégé?”
“It’s what your father wanted for you.”
“Is it?” Her parents had been dark Illusionists, but they were good people. She couldn’t image her dad would have wanted her to use her talents to murder. “Why me? Why not Grace?”
“Because you’re more powerful, of course.” He studied her, his icy blue eyes cold in his face. “I will need your help when I free Ezekiel, Ana. I need you by my side.”
Her mind cleared as his words registered. Here it was. The information she’d been looking for. Anticipation raced through her, galvanizing her with fresh energy. “What are you talking about?”
Frank stood up and paced to the railing, leaning over to stare into the pit. “I’ve spent my life honing my Illusionist skills, using them to control Calydons. I’m very good at it.” He turned his head to look at her. “I forced Elijah to murder his best friend. To break through that bond was immensely difficult, and yet I did it.”
“Congratulations.” She managed to keep th
e sarcasm out of her voice, her heart racing. Keep talking. Tell me what I need to know.
“Ezekiel is a Calydon, the founder of the race, as you know. He’s the most powerful one who ever existed, except, of course, for his brother Caleb and their descendants. Ezekiel is pure evil, he’s pure domination. If I can get him to work for me, I can do anything I want.” He smiled. “I will have it all.”
Oh…she understood now. “But you fear you can’t control him by yourself. You need me to help you generate illusions strong enough to overpower him.”
Frank nodded. “Even I acknowledge it would be dangerous for Ezekiel to be freed on his own terms. I was using Nate to help collect the weapons, but as soon as I was ready for the rite, I would have killed him anyway, because he believed Ezekiel should be truly free. I will free Ezekiel, of course, but I need to ensure I can control him. I need your help.”
“If I don’t help you?”
Frank looked at her. “If you don’t help me, then Elijah dies.”
Ana tensed. “What? He’s already dead. I saw Nate—”
“Illusions, Ana. You, of anyone, should know not to trust what you see. Elijah is my backup plan, so I couldn’t very well let him die, could I? Nate almost blew it by killing him, but I managed to bring him back.”
Ana stopped listening to Frank, her lungs so tight she couldn’t breathe. Elijah was alive? Elijah! Can you hear me?
There was nothing but the faint echo of his screams, and the hair on her neck suddenly stood straight up. “You’re torturing him right now.” She lurched to her feet, bile churning in her stomach. “He’s really screaming.”
“He’ll keep screaming until Ezekiel is freed and in our control.” Frank’s eyes flashed. “By tomorrow at sunset, you need to have control over your illusions. I want you to be able to target one person at a time and to be able to control their emotions, the way I can. I’ll show you how to do it, and then you’ll practice until you’ve got it.” He stood up. “I have things I need to prepare for the ritual. Your friend, Lily, for one. Do you have any idea where she might be? I thought she was at the mansion, but the reports I’m getting indicate otherwise.”
“Is Elijah here? Is he nearby?” Ana whirled around, searching the darkest shadows of the coliseum, as if they could be hiding a massive Calydon warrior.
“Ana!” Frank grabbed her wrist and spun her to face him. “Trust me when I say your only chance to save him is to help me. You’ll never find him. Practice and get it right. You have one day, and if you fail me, Elijah is dead.” His eyes glittered. “And I’ll make sure he truly dies by your hand this time.”
She stared at him, her stomach turning to lead at the threat in his eyes. “You weren’t really friends with my father, were you?”
“I was his best friend for years. I am your godfather.” Frank’s eyes hardened. “Then he found out about my plans for Ezekiel, and my plans to use you, and he tried to stop me. He said I was taking things too far. So, I killed him. And your mother.”
Ana’s legs started to shake. “That was you? You murdered them?” She’d been in the woods that night, and she’d heard enough of the battle to know that someone had come for her, and her parents were protecting her. They’d died trying to keep her safe, just like Elijah had, and too many others. And how had she repaid her parents sacrifice? By turning herself over to the very man they’d died to protect her from. Shit, I’m so sorry.
“It was me.” Frank leaned into her space and caught a lock of her hair. “Don’t worry, Ana. You have nothing to fear from me. I value your talent, and I still regret that your parents had to die. I honor their death by raising their daughter to the highest levels. You’re like me, Ana. I was never gifted with dark illusions, and my family thought I was useless because of it.”
She stared at him. “So, we’re the same because I was born to do happy ones?” Seriously? Was he that crazy to think they were similar?
“Yes.” Anger flickered in Frank’s face. “My father and brothers were Calydons. They were disgusted by the fact they’d spawned a male who wasn’t a Calydon.” He shoved up his sleeve and shoved his arm into her face. There were deep grooves in his forearms, like someone had used him for carving practice. “This is what they did to me and to countless others. They were sadistic bastards, like all Calydons, and they deserved to die.”
Ana lifted her chin. “You’re wrong. All Calydons aren’t evil—”
“They are!” Frank’s face twisted in insane, twisted fury. “They killed Mary! Do you understand that? My dear sweet Mary, the only one in the entire fucking world who realized that I wasn’t a piece of shit. My father came home one night and found her with me and he killed her in a rage. My brothers came home and had to kill my father to stop him, and they blamed me! Me! For the fact my bastard father went insane!” He strode across the balcony and leaned over the edge, presiding over the arena below. “I had no abilities to defeat them back then. I didn’t understand my power, so I came here and practiced.”
Ana knew then what he was saying. “You came here with my parents. My father taught you how to tap into your illusions, even though they were different from typical dark illusions.” Dear God, her father never would have helped a man like Frank if he’d know what he was like. Yes, her parents and Grace had been cursed with dark illusions, but they had been good people. Wonderful people. Loving parents.
“Yes. Your father showed me that the ability to manufacture emotions in people with illusions is actually very powerful.” Frank was staring down into the pit, a grim smile on his face, as if he were watching some Calydon shrivel and die beneath his power. “I went back and murdered my brothers. Every one of them. I made them pay for being who they were.”
Ana pressed her hand to her mouth as bile churned in her belly at the sadistic pleasure in Frank’s voice. “So, why now? Why all these others?”
He spun back to her, his eyes glazing with frenzied power. “Do you really need to ask, Ana? All Calydons have a dark side. Eventually each one will go rogue and murder innocents. Even the precious Order has a standing order to murder the mate of other Order members. What kind of heroes murder innocent women?”
Ana hesitated, realizing that his argument made sense, in a perverse sort of way. The Order and Calydons in general weren’t exactly angels in disguise. The Order had been ready to murder Lily in cold blood simply on the chance that it might slow Frank down. But how could Ana condemn them all, when she bore the brands of a man who’d given his life to save her? It was more complicated than how Frank saw it, even though there was an element of truth to his words. “They aren’t all evil—”
“Aren’t they?” He strode back over to her. “You know they are, Ana. No one can stop them, especially the Order. I can take them out one by one, but there’s too many for me.” He grinned. “But Ezekiel is more powerful than all of them. He is the ticket to destroying the monsters that his own insanity spawned.”
Oh, dear God. Frank was going to free Ezekiel so he could wipe out the entire Calydon race? “You can’t control him like that,” she said. “He’s too powerful—”
“No, I can’t control him, but together, we can handle him.” Frank’s finger touched her cheek, and Ana recoiled sharply.
Yes, she understood the horror Frank had faced having his father murder his true love, and his brothers killing his father. Yes, it was awful, and she got that, and she wasn’t blind to the failings of the Order and the darkness of Calydons in general. But Frank was wrong! The answer wasn’t to unleash the worst evil in the history of the world to unilaterally wipe out an entire race. “I won’t help you—”
“You will, and your parents will be so proud of you.” Frank smiled, his eyes softening with genuine pleasure and love that was so perverse coming from a man talking about mass murder. “They will be smiling from the Afterlife to see you take over the legacy they rejected. It is how it should be, my dear.”
He bent his head, as if to kiss her, and Ana stiffened and pulled back. Anger f
lickered in his eyes. “As you wish, Ana. Tomorrow night will come soon enough.” He turned toward the pit and waved his hand. A Calydon stepped out from one of the tunnels, his shoulders broad and his head thrown back. He fixed a glittering stare on Frank, his face cold and impassive.
His white blond hair looked so much like Lily’s, and she thought of her friend. I hope you’re someplace safe, Lily. You were so right about Frank. I don’t know if I can stop him.
“This is your victim,” Frank said. “You will practice on him until you can control his actions with your illusion. I want you able to make him fall to the earth sobbing, because you have generated such sorrow inside him. I want you to make him dance and sing, because you have generated such happiness in him.” He snapped his fingers and two more Calydons stepped out.
Both of these men were scarred, and one was limping. They looked beaten and battered. Weak. Vulnerable. “These are your foils. Any stray illusion will affect them, because they are too weak to fight. I want to see your victim bow to your illusions, while the other two weaklings remain unaffected.” He looked at Ana, challenge glittering in his eyes. “One day, Ana. That’s all you have. Then Elijah dies.”
She knew she had no choice. She had to buy time for herself. Was Elijah really alive? She had to find out. She had to find him. The only way to do that was to play Frank’s game. Ana clenched her fists against the urge to berate him for his insanity. “I’ll do it.”
“I knew you would.” Frank turned away and began to explain how to do what he wanted, and Ana barely listened to him.
She was thinking about what he’d said. Elijah was alive.
She caught Frank watching her, and something about his expression made her stiffen. What if he was lying? Frank was all about illusions. Maybe she wasn’t hearing Elijah scream at all. Maybe Frank was making her think she was. Maybe the truth wasn’t a truth at all.
Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) Page 25