by Lissa Kasey
“You hurt Candy,” Aki whispered, his voice coarse and low.
“Just a scratch, my love. So little blood. We have shed much more together.”
Aki dug his claws into Hyeon’s arms. The smell of his blood fueled Aki’s anger. And memories. So many disjointed images. Happiness and pain. A comforting smile in the hospital—they’d both been so different then—and later, rage at some sort of facility when Hyeon had been taken away and placed in a small tube. The coppery scent of blood made him gag and remember things he never hoped to relive.
Hyeon just laughed. “You always were so bloodthirsty. So much so, you killed the entire camp in one blow. They had no idea the dragon they were poking by taking you to the lab that day. I just wanted you back. I needed you to remember me from before, and would do anything to bring you back to me.” He waved his hand at Candy. “His dad owned that camp, you know. And he had everything. Good life, wealth, influential family. Survived an eye-dyeing surgery, though he doesn’t remember it because he was so young. And still he ran from it all just to be a whore.” Hyeon shook his head. “My family saved for years for that surgery. I was a statistic, the one who died only to be given up to be used as a project.” He ran his hands over Aki’s face. “But that’s okay, because that’s where I found you. I loved you until you killed me just like the rest. Do you remember that day yet, love? They never could find a way to stop the tumors from reforming. It always fucked with your memory. We’d spend years together at the facility only for you to awake one day and have forgotten me.”
Aki remembered more than he wanted to. A stream of violence played for him on a video screen as they pumped drugs into him to make him sleep. He’d been there a hundred times before. Unable to move, unbound but heavily drugged. This time they didn’t cut him, at least not physically. Instead they played back video of others being tortured. He watched them cut the wings off a little girl, then burn the edges so they wouldn’t heal.
Her face was vaguely familiar, though the setting was different. Much like Hyeon, Aki knew her from someplace else. He could even remember looking out of a blue haze at her somewhere so far back in his memory that it felt buried. And there was a drawing of angels on a wall….
Nothing could stop the memory of her screams.
He wanted it to end. But he couldn’t move or speak, so he used all he had left. He reached out with his mind, small tentacles of power at first, growing to an ever-expanding web as it reached person after person, life after life, tying them all together. A mass of knots wrapping their memories, everything they were in one big net.
The video shifted. They had the girl on her back, alive still while they cut her open. The doctor doing the cutting glanced up at the camera, and Aki couldn’t contain his horror. Hyeon.
The girl’s screams became his own, and with all he could, he broadcast out, “Stop!”
Everything blinked once, light dying briefly before restarting. The com screen exploded, wires fizzled, popped, and smoked, though the sound of machines still plagued his ears. His web vanished like a switch flipping off, but that was okay because he was tired. So tired. He needed to sleep. When he’d awoken, everyone had been dead.
“You killed us all, Aki. Do you remember that day?” Hyeon was stroking his hair. “I blamed you for a long time. Felt you in my head for those few seconds before I died. Thought I’d lost you for sure. By the time my heart restarted, you had quite a lead on me. Took years for me to find that you had gone as far north as City M. And in the hospital you told me you believed me dead.”
Aki shook his head. Hyeon’s touch opened more memories for him. After strapping him to a table, they’d cut off his wings, set him on fire, cut him open while conscious to examine his healing abilities.
Aki could hear Hyeon’s voice, “He’s a superior model. Nearly indestructible. Will heal anything.” Hyeon had taken part in all of that. Directed them. Something Aki had blocked from conscious thought until now. He didn’t want those memories. He didn’t want the past.
“Those damn tumors. If not for them, you wouldn’t have left that last time when there was a breakin at the facility.”
“You killed GuEal.”
“I killed a lot of people. She was in the way. Had to kill her twice before I got her to stay dead. She was just a means to make you remember. You killed more in one day than I have in my entire life.” Hyeon shrugged. “It was all for you.”
Aki remembered GuEal’s sweet smile. He’d treated her like a little sister. They played together. Acted like a family at the facility. The memories were so scattered, just flashes of pictures, sound bites of words. It always came back to the blue haze. He shook his head, trying to free himself from the memories. His back ached with every move of his wings, his head pounded, and he was covered in blood.
Wait, he had wings? What happened? Where was Shane? Paris’s voice breezed through his mind. What about all the blood? Had he hurt Paris? Imagined hearing him?
Aki glared at his claws. What was he? Some sort of monster? Sweet Goddess help him. His head throbbed, blood dripped from his nose. He didn’t want to remember anymore. It hurt too much to think, even just to breathe. He pulled his claws out of Hyeon and backed away from his reach. No more memories. He didn’t want to go back there. No more camp or facility. No more lost nights of cold loneliness. He just wanted to be Misaki Itou, the sparkling jewel of the Hidden Gem, best friend to Candy, lover to Shane. Where was Shane?
Broken glass and falling. They’d fallen, hadn’t they? Was Shane okay? Blood poured from Aki’s nose. He sank to his knees and put his hands to his head as though it somehow could stop all the memories. Hyeon’s hands were on him again, filling him with more unwanted memories.
“I recorded the kids I killed. Thought to use it to bring you back to me, make you remember. And here you are. Only pain seems to bring back your memories.”
Shane had said, “Pleasure is one of the few things that reminds us it isn’t all pain, fear, and sorrow.” And wasn’t that the truth. Aki was happiest without the pain. Even if it meant he couldn’t remember his past.
“Stop touching me,” Aki whispered. He tried to find his shield, his quiet place, anything to break the tide of thoughts. Hyeon tightened his grip, hands growing claws that dug into Aki’s arms, tearing through flesh and spilling more blood. “Stop, Hyeon,” Aki cried out.
Two huge black wings sprouted from Hyeon’s back. “Let’s go, baby. You and me. We’ll find someplace new. I know how you hate the cold. Maybe we’ll find an island somewhere.”
Aki shook his head. His life was here now. “Let go. It’s over. I don’t want the past.”
Hyeon dug his talons in deeper and lifted Aki off the ground. “It’s not up for debate. You belong to me. They programmed us to be together. We have the same strains, psi and A-M. We were meant to be mates. Together forever. Come with me, Aki. I love you.”
“You don’t know what love is. I love Shane.” He had to get back, find Shane. Be sure he was okay. See that amazing smile again. Feel his kiss. “He’s my home now.”
“You really have become a whore,” Hyeon growled at Aki and shook him. “You belong to me.”
A snarl from the stairs was the only warning as something large and hairy flew across the basement and slammed into Hyeon. Aki was thrown across the room. He hit the wall hard, leg cracking and wings slapping the concrete. He slid to the ground in a heap of pain and battered wings. His left wing throbbed. Dislocated, not broken. His spine ached, and one leg was twisted the wrong way.
Across the room Hyeon fought a giant wolf, both a fury of claws and growls.
Candy began to stir, his eyes sliding open and closed several times as he tried to focus. Aki felt Candy’s swirling clouds become stronger, which was good because Aki was beginning to fade. He was tired. Needed to sleep. Wanted to find Shane, but his body said, “No more.”
CANDY GULPED at the body in front of him and had to shift his gaze several times to see beyond it to Aki. He looked dazed and
hurt. His face, chest, and arms were covered in blood. Candy must have been heavily drugged, because his best friend somehow had wings. That couldn’t be normal. Was it even real?
“Aki,” he whispered, trying to get the psi’s attention. Aki turned his head toward Candy. His nose was bleeding, pouring blood. “Goddess, Aki.”
Something with dark wings fought a very large dog. They crashed into equipment, sending bottles of liquid crashing to the floor, grotesque contents spilling free. Candy gagged at the smell. He could barely feel his limbs, but he couldn’t stay here. He had to get Aki out and to help. Goddess, was that Shane fighting an angel? What the fuck?
“Aki?” Candy tried again. Aki flinched and huddled further in on himself. Candy sucked in a deep breath and decided to try Paris’s approach. “Get up, Aki. Untie me. We have to go.”
Aki jerked, trying to stand but unable to as his left leg was broken. Shit. “No, sweetie. Don’t stand, crawl over here. Watch out for the glass. Take that big piece right there. Careful not to cut your fingers. I need you to free one of my hands.” Candy kept whispering soft things as Aki dragged himself across the floor to Candy’s side.
Aki kept mouthing something, but no sound left his lips. He worked at the rope that tied Candy down but kept muttering.
“I can’t hear you, sweetie. Cut faster. It’s okay if you cut me. We need to get you out of here.” And to the ISS, fast.
“Love Shane,” Aki whispered, and Candy finally caught the words.
“You love Shane? That’s good, sweetie. I know he’s crazy in love with you. Wants to make you his princess, tower of glittery shoes and all. That dog over there fighting the wing guy is Shane, so let’s hope he wins, okay?”
Aki paused, eyes blinking through confusion. “Shane?”
Candy nodded. Oh, there were his limbs, tingling unpleasantly. Ow, ow, ow. “The big wolf is Shane.” Aki dropped the glass and crawled toward the fight. “No, Aki. Come back. Oh sweet Goddess, you really do have a death wish.” Candy pulled at the rope that Aki had cut partway through. It gave a little, and he continued to work at it, hoping he could get free fast enough to save Aki from himself.
HYEON DUG claws deep into Shane’s back. The wolf howled in pain, and Aki screamed with him. That was his Shane. Hyeon was hurting him. Aki dragged himself toward the fight. He had to stop them. Get Hyeon away from Shane.
“Hyeon?” Aki called, his voice quiet. He tried again, “Hyeon!”
Hyeon paused, hands in the process of tearing Shane open, to glare at Aki. The wolf howled and twisted, trying to break free of the ruthless talons.
“Let’s go,” Aki whispered. “You and me.”
Hyeon threw the wolf aside. “You’ll go with me?”
Aki nodded and held out his hands. “Let’s go now.” Hyeon stepped forward and pulled Aki up into his arms. Aki bit back a cry of pain as his broken leg and dislocated wing protested the movement.
“I knew you’d come around. I knew you’d remember how much you love me.” Hyeon carried Aki out of the room and out the back door, where he flapped his wings heavily before lifting them off the ground. “We’ll go someplace safe so you can heal. That nasty wolf shouldn’t have hurt you so badly. Once you’re all better, we can search the world for the perfect place.”
Aki didn’t care. His life, everything he loved, he’d left behind in that house: Shane, the man he’d hoped to share forever with, and Candy, his best friend and brother of his heart. Aki rested his head on Hyeon’s shoulder and let go of all the shields. What was the point anyway? If he couldn’t touch Shane, he’d rather not touch anyone. Maybe the memories would kill him. He could only hope.
Hyeon flew them up into the darkened sky, guiding them out of the city. The mass of trees approached and with it more pain and memories. Aki was still bleeding, felt it gushing from his nose with every pump of his heart. But all he could think about were Hyeon’s claws in Shane’s back, ripping his lover up and threatening to kill his best friend. The memory of their time in the facility was flawed. Gaps in time and changes to Hyeon made Aki pull away long before they’d ever been separated. Had he ever loved the man? It all felt like a lie, something someone told him was once the truth and he’d accepted it because he couldn’t remember.
“That’s not true. You love me,” Hyeon said. “I can read your mind. Remember? Do you want me to go back and kill them? The wolf and that senator’s kid?”
But threats wouldn’t make Aki love him. He felt Hyeon in his head and strengthened the connection with ease, much like he had the web in camp so many years ago. He realized in that moment there was no other choice and sought out that place inside Hyeon’s head. The man’s quiet place was filled with blood and gore. Corpses in various shades of decay all made up a shrine of which Aki was the centerpiece, covered in blood, wings of crimson.
Aki shook his head; weary from blood loss, he had to find something to hold on to. The web wasn’t strong enough because he was too weak. But if he could step beyond the barrier….
The soft waves of movement led him to the center of the shrine. He touched the face of his double, which stood suspended and motionless. The door to the other side of Hyeon’s mind was himself. Aki had never felt so odd, stepping into and through himself.
In Hyeon’s mind everything was scattered. The world was a stained-glass puzzle of images messed up with colors bleeding all over each other. Nothing was solid or clear, even when Aki tried to grab a particular memory. Nothing like Paris’s had been. Something was wrong inside Hyeon’s head. The man tried to shake him loose. Aki felt Hyeon tugging at him, trying to erect shields. He even felt them lose altitude, though he couldn’t see beyond the swirling disjointed images inside Hyeon’s mind.
Aki cast out a net, unperceivable but strong, just like in the camp when he wanted it all to stop. It grabbed all the memories, reined them, bound them together even as he began to fade. He pulled at that web as Hyeon drove him out, yanking it all with him, the memories and everything tied to them. Like the slamming of a door, it all stopped. The last thing Aki remembered was the ground approaching as they fell.
TWENTY-NINE
SHANE HURT, but he’d live. Wouldn’t even let the doctors put stitches in him. He’d never been so glad to see the ISS show up. Candy had allowed the treatment. Paris paced and reprimanded anyone within hearing distance, but Shane just wanted to find Aki.
“Got a report of an angel falling from the sky outside the western edge of town,” Taylor said to Shane. He had arrived with the rest of the ISS. They were buttoning up the area to hide it all, but Jack knew what Shane wanted. “We’re sending a team out.”
“I want to be there.”
“They’re dangerous, Shane. That thing nearly killed you. Hell, Hansworth says Aki nearly killed you.”
“He was trying to get away. I think he knew that Candy had been taken.” Shane took the scrubs one of the ISS EMTs offered. “I followed him here.” He’d shift again if he had to just to find the kid. He was probably going to have nightmares for the rest of his life about that black-winged bastard flying off with Aki who just looked broken.
“Aki came for me,” Candy spoke up from his seat in the emergency vehicle. “But he went away with Hyeon because he was protecting Shane. The last thing he said to me was ‘Love Shane’.”
“Fuck,” Shane growled. “Either take me out there or I’ll shift right here and go running after him.”
“We’re already doing a lot of damage control because you went after him the first time. There have been more calls into the police tonight about a wild dog on the loose than they’ve ever had.” Taylor shook his head. “Let the ISS find him. Candy said he was injured. He’ll need medical attention anyway.”
But that was part of what Shane feared. Aki was part of this AP project that no one wanted known. Would he just vanish? Would the government make sure there was nothing left to find?
“Fuck.”
“I’ve got a car headed that way,” Paris suddenly said. He po
inted at Taylor. “Keep Candy safe. Get him back to the Gem.” Shane glared at the senator but followed him to a car. After they were moving and Paris had given directions to his driver, he spoke again. “The Gem guard Claudius is dead. Throat slit. Probably by those talons.”
“And that thing has Aki.”
Paris nodded. “The ISS is proceeding with extreme caution. I’ve got one of the original scientists from the project who is supposed to meet me at the ISS. But be aware that the plan is to bring them both in alive.”
“And then what? Will he be locked away? He’s not a science project, Hansworth. Not anymore.”
Paris sucked in a deep breath. “That will depend on Aki.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence, finally pulling over by a mess of emergency ISS vehicles that blocked the road outside town. They got out just as two gurneys were being carried out of the woods, both covered head to toe. Shane felt his blood turn to ice. Paris had said these things were indestructible. Virtually indestructible.
Paris held out a hand to stop the gurneys. “Status?”
“DOA for both. Had to untangle the larger one from the trees.”
“Continue to exercise extreme caution. One per vehicle, guards in both. Back to the ISS main lab, not the morgue,” Paris told the group.
“But they’re dead, sir.”
“Do it anyway.”
Shane stared at the smaller body on the two gurneys. The white covering covered in blood. No sign of the wings. Shane wanted to touch him, run his fingers through Aki’s hair, stare into his pretty face one last time, and wasn’t that just how life worked out? Just when he’d found something to give him a reason to really live, it got ripped away. Was it so wrong that he’d wanted to give Aki some happy memories?
Paris put a hand on his shoulder. “Go home, get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning.”