by Kimbra Swain
The water stirred above me, but I saw nothing. I felt a wave of coolness wash over me, and the world turned monochrome. An eerie feeling surrounded me. It felt like I floated in water. However, I felt dry. Tadeas’ strong hand pulled me from the fist of the stone ogre. With no walls in the spirit world, the fist no longer held me. He pushed us upward in the weightless space. We broke the surface of the lake, and he shifted us back.
I coughed and gagged up water. He held me tightly, pulling me toward the shore. We weren’t very far out, so we quickly got our footing. When I could stand, he let go.
He grabbed my face, “Are you hurt?”
I continued to cough up the lake water I had inhaled. I shook my head no. A trickle of blood ran out of his nose. “Are you?”
“I lost consciousness for a minute. When I awoke, I couldn’t find you or him. But in the spirit world, you give off a little light, and I could see you under the water. I didn’t even think about it being water. It felt so strange,” he whispered in my ear as he wrapped me up in his arms. The others ran down the hill toward us.
“Where is it?” Tony asked brandishing a long rifle.
“At the bottom of the lake,” Tadeas said. He guided me back to the shore. Ashley met us, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“I’m fine. Just a little water in the lungs. No big deal,” I managed to say without coughing. We all turned and walked back up the hill to the pool area. As we passed the guest house, I saw the blinds flip as Mrs. Strickland spied us from inside her abode.
Once we reached the patio, I sat down on the end of the closest lounge chair. Ashley rushed into the house. Ichiro doused the last torch, and only the moon remained to light our conversation.
“Where did he come from?” Tadeas asked.
“He probably smelled her,” Tony said.
“What?” Tadeas said.
“You smell her right?” Tony asked. Tadeas looked at me, and I smiled. I knew he did.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with it?”
“Ogres and trolls can smell a fairy or anyone with Fae blood,” he explained. “He must have lived nearby. They like bodies of water.”
“Yeah, but a lot of people live out here. Where the hell was he hiding?” I asked. I had finally managed to control my breathing. Tadeas sat down next to me.
“Must be a cave nearby,” Tony said. “Want me to look around?”
“No, we can pull some topographical maps in the morning. Talk to some of the locals and see if there have been sightings or rumors. There is a boat storage facility around on the other side of the lake. Ask around up there tomorrow, and bring our boat back to the dock,” I said.
“We have a boat?” Tadeas said.
“Why live on the lake and not have a boat?” I returned with a touch of humor to lighten the mood.
“Hell, I don’t know, Abby!” he bit back at me. Ashley returned with a couple of towels. Tadeas took one from her and wrapped it around me. He held the one she gave him in his lap. They all moved toward the house. He leaned his head to mine. “I’m sorry.”
“First ogre?”
“Yes,” he said.
“They are dumb. Big. Powerful. But dumb,” I said. “I was just afraid he’d hit you hard enough to break something. To kill you. I called out, but you didn’t answer.”
I felt him shudder. “I should have stayed back. You warned me,” he said.
“Despite my stubborn streak, you sir, have one a mile wide,” I teased him.
“Please don’t,” he said quietly.
I touched his strained face. “I’m fine. You are fine. We laugh about it and move on.”
“No,” he said and hugged me hard. I winced, because apparently, I bruised a few ribs. I spoke my healing spell in my head. I didn’t want him to know he hurt me. One day he would understand that death would stare us in the face almost daily. Granted, it rarely hops the privacy fence into a pool party, but you never know in this world. “You could have drowned.”
“I didn’t, and I have this really cool partner who can shift into the spirit world where there are no walls,” I still poked fun at it, but lighter. “You saved me again.”
“If you would stop getting yourself into situations!” he grumbled. His frustration started to wane some. I felt the tension in his arms lessen. Yet, he still hadn’t stopped hugging me.
“I’m the kind of girl that likes to have a little fun from time to time,” I said.
“I know better ways to have fun,” he said, finally releasing his grip on me.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh yeah?”
I felt what had become a familiar feeling building between us. A whole different kind of tension. The questions and doubts flooded my mind, and my hands started to fidget. I had serious thoughts of bolting for the door. Or shoving him off the chair into the pool. Anything to delay it or get away from that feeling. I saw him recognize the panic in me, and he sighed. He stood up and mussed the towel through his hair. He took off his wet shirt and threw it over the back of the chair and dried off which didn’t help me calm down. It only made it worse. I’d see far too much shirtless Tadeas for one day. He stood there in wet jeans and bare feet and instantly reached my limit of discomfort and turned my head away from him.
“Come with me,” he said offering me his hand.
When we entered the house, I heard someone shuffling up the stairs. He sniffed. “Ashley.”
“What does she smell like?” I asked quietly.
“Apples,” he responded. “And copper. It’s weird.”
I knew why, but I just nodded to acknowledge his statement. We went up the stairs to the door of the master bedroom, and he stopped. “Are you coming in?” I asked.
“Do you want me to come in?” he asked.
I paused not knowing what to say. He didn’t seem to ask for anything more than just if I wanted him there. Despite my reservations about starting up a relationship at any level with him, I still enjoyed having him close. I loved the comfort and warmth of his presence, and I ached at the chill of his absence.
“I don’t understand,” I said quietly. I knew Ashley probably had her ear plastered to the door of her and Ichiro’s room.
“I’m not asking for anything. I have no expectations because I see you struggling with it. If anything, I just want you to decide what you want,” he said.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I want to go in there, curl up with you, and go to sleep. You aren’t ready for anything else. Until you decide, I want nothing more than to do what you want,” he said.
“You didn’t answer the question,” I said. He stood there and looked at me. He wasn’t giving me anything else. I paused to choose my words, but before I could speak, he shook his head. He kissed me on the forehead and turned toward one of the other bedrooms. I knew, even though my feelings bounced around, I didn’t want him to leave me alone.
“No, please,” I said, grabbing his hand, tugging him back to me. He didn’t turn back to face me.
“What do you want, Abby?” he said calmly.
“Just stay with me,” I said. “Is that okay?”
His shoulders slumped as his resistance to me faded. Without speaking, he went into the room with me, put on dry clothes and climbed into the bed. I went into my closet, staring at myself in the long mirror. I was losing weight and looked tired and fearful. At the moment, he had turned from me, all I wanted was him to stay.
After staring at my indecisive self, I found him lying in the bed with his back to me. Climbing in next to him, I listened to him breathe. He went to sleep before I did. For his sake, I needed to decide what I wanted, because he meant the world to me. I feared that if I chose to keep our partnership business that he might decide to leave. Or even worse, find someone else. I groaned and turned on my side facing opposite of him. My mind wouldn’t calm down. Flickers of images raced through my mind. The most disturbing picture in my imagination running wild was of a very seductive Cassidy wrapped around him l
ike a vine. I bolted up in the bed.
“Would you stop, and go to sleep,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I can’t.”
“Lay down, and go to sleep,” he muttered.
I laid back down, but I didn’t sleep, fearing what my dreams might show me. Every time I closed my eyes, the sensation rippled over me that I was drowning again. Thinking about work, I laid out all the steps I needed to take at the Atlanta office.
I thought about a man in New York City that I intended to recruit for proxy. Over the last couple of years, I had contact with him outside of the notice of Angelo Giordano. He was more than ready to take a proxy position. My mind raced through preparations that Ashley would have to make with accounts and a home for him.
After several hours of fighting my brain, I focused again on Tadeas. I wasn’t sure he actually slept or dreamed. His body was still.
I thought about Aiden and Fayola. I knew the Agency would create new identities for them, and we would probably never see either of them again. Perhaps they could start a family. All of them, my team, I wanted the best for them. If Ashley ever decided to leave, as much as it would pain me, and handicap our operations, I’d be happy for her. Perhaps she and Ichiro could steal away to some secluded beach and live happily away from necromancers, man-made earthquakes and ogres.
“Fucking ogre,” I said out loud. I clamped my hand over my mouth and cringed.
He turned over and looked at me with fire in his eyes. “Abby, I swear to God!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it aloud!”
He put his arm around my waist and pulled me over to him. “Please rest your mind, and go to sleep,” he said in my ear. My body tingled with the chill of his breath on my face. He laid his head down on my pillow, and his breathing settled again. I felt his heart beating in his chest. My eyelids fluttered, and my brain shut down. I finally slept.
When I woke up, she was already dressed, sitting in the chair across the room. Her bright green eyes watched me. “Morning,” I said.
“I’m sorry about last night. My mind wouldn’t shut up,” she immediately apologized.
I knew it hadn’t, because, feeling her anxiety, I had only drifted in and out of sleep. “Did you sleep at all?” I asked.
“Some,” she said. I doubted it was much. After the last time I growled at her in frustration, I noticed the alarm clock over her shoulder on the nightstand read 3:28 am. I wasn’t sure what time we went to bed, but she had spent several hours wrestling with her brain. I slept off and on out of pure exhaustion, but she just kept waking me up. I should have slept in the other room. Damn frustrating woman. I raised up and wiped my eyes like a child, focusing on her. She wore a pure white dress with skin colored heels. She looked like an angel. I groaned and slammed back down in the bed as my hormones went wild.
“Are you hurt at all from last night?” she asked.
“No, I’m fine,” I said. “Are you?”
“I think when he grabbed me, I bruised my ribs again. But they’re fine now,” she said. I hugged her tightly last night in the frustration of almost losing her again. I knew George had called Gabriel at the island. I had no idea how to do that if needed. I hoped I never needed to do it.
“I’m going downstairs to get some tea before we leave. You want coffee?” she asked as she stood up and the dress flowed down to her knees around her long legs.
“Yeah, coffee is great,” I said, staring at a white skirt swishing around as its wearer exited the room.
“Okay. I’ll have a cup ready when you come down,” she said cheerfully as the door shut behind her.
“Get it together, Duarte,” I said as I climbed out of the bed.
I took a quick shower and found that she had laid out a suit for me to wear. One day I’d get used to wearing suits daily, but I was tired of ties, so I left it on the hanger. Honestly, I didn’t want her to touch me.
Downstairs, I found Ashley and Ichiro standing in the large living room. They stared at a large set of double doors off to the side of the room.
“Morning Where did she go?” I could feel her close by, and she was anxious.
Ashley nodded to the doors. “She has a visitor,” she said.
“Who?” I asked, walking to the door. As I put my hand near it, I felt a surge of static electricity and backed up.
“Gregory,” she said. “You can’t get in there. He warded the room to keep us out.”
“I can feel her. It’s faint, but she’s anxious,” I said staring at the door.
“You can feel her emotions?” Ichiro said.
“Yes, more and more every day, I can feel her,” I admitted.
“That’s unusual, Tadeas. Most soul bonds aren’t that strong,” he said.
I spun around to him. “What do you know about soul bonds?”
“Well, I’ve been doing some research on it, in case the two of you had any questions,” he said.
“We have a ton of questions,” I looked back at the door. A surge of dread washed over me, and I wanted in that room. “But not now, something is wrong. What did he say?”
“Nothing. I was telling her how great that dress looked on her. He walked in the room out of nowhere. With one look, she followed him in there like he ordered her, but he never spoke a word. He didn’t look happy,” Ashley said.
“The dress is great,” I mumbled.
“You are welcome,” Ashley said.
“Thanks.” I was too busy wondering if I could get in on the spirit side. I was going to try. “I’ll be right back.”
“Tadeas, even if you get through, you will regret it,” Ashley said as I ripped open the spirit world and walked through ignoring her warning.
The ward shimmered before me, but it didn’t look intense on the spirit side. Pushing through it, I was in the office. My suit burned along the edges. Quickly, I patted all the singed bits. Rushing as I pulled back on reality, I materialized in the room with Hyperion and Abigail.
An unseen wave of force smashed me against the wall. The rush of her feelings, which were tempered by the ward, flooded over me. It was much worse than simple anxiety. She was panicking and deeply afraid. She leaned over in a chair opposite of a large desk and looked to be unconscious. As I turned to Gregory, anger rushed over me.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded.
“Tadeas Duarte, have you forgotten who I am?” his voice boomed in my head. He did not move his lips.
“Abby, look at me, what’s going on?” She didn’t budge.
“I’m taking her with me. You can stay here and handle the Atlanta problem,” he said.
“No, you will not take her,” I said even though I knew, there was no way I could stop him.
“If she dies, then I have no one to take my place,” he yelled in my head, and my nose started bleeding. “With limos exploding, ogres, and her losing grip on the darkness, I can’t risk it anymore.”
“You are a selfish prick. She doesn’t want your job.” Probably a poor choice of words, because those were the last that I spoke as my airway started to cut off. “Abby, he’s going to kill me.”
“She was created for a purpose, but when she steps into this world, it seeks to destroy her. I will not let it continue, and you cannot have her,” he said. I didn’t understand because I thought he liked me. I sat in his damn chair.
“If you kill me, she dies,” I managed to choke out.
“What?” he screamed out loud this time and the whole house shook.
“We are bonded. If you kill me, she will die!” I gasped as my vision darkened. “Abby, I can’t fight him. Please answer me.”
Without a word, he released me, and I slumped to the floor. Crawling over to her, I gently leaned her back in the chair and supported her head. Even though she was unconscious, her panic did not subside even after Hyperion released me. “I will not let him take you from me,” I said trying to calm her. He stood behind the desk watching me.
“Abigail Sophia Dave
nport, wake up,” he said.
Her eyes fluttered, and she was shocked to see me there. “Tadeas! You are bleeding.”
I wiped it on my sleeve. “It’s nothing. I had to know you were okay,” I said. She looked at my suit which was crisp on the edges where I pushed through ward. She gritted her teeth and turned her attention to him.
“Open this door and let us out now! I thought you came here to talk. Where did you think you could take me that he couldn’t find me?”
“I had no intention of letting him live,” he said.
She jumped out of the chair, and I pushed myself up off the floor. “That would have been the ultimate irony. You kill him and kill me in the process. You deserve it for this,” she ranted at him. “Don’t ever touch him again. I had no intention of signing that contract, but now I’m going to burn it.”
I stayed back and let her rant at him. Each blow she leveled seemed to diminish his will. Also, I had no desire to be within firing range of her.
“The network is failing, Abby. My power is dying. Someone has to take it, and it has to be you,” he grunted out.
“I don’t want it. I can’t even use what I have now without getting to the point of exhaustion and losing grip on all of it. So, find someone else,” she said, and I saw the kindness return to his eyes. I reached up to grab her arm. She jerked it away. I think, it was just instinct, because she quickly relaxed her arm and stepped back to me.
“Abigail, I begged your mother to have a child. Much like Lianne created Cassidy. I begged her, and she brought you into this world for me. You have so much power on your own, and I am so proud. What will this world become if we don’t hold it together?” he asked sadly. It was a burden he’d carried for eons.
“I will continue to fight even if you aren’t here.”
“It will be for nothing. The world will crumble. The land will fall into the seas, and the waters will consume the living,” he painted a familiar vivid picture.