The Dreg Trilogy Omnibus

by Bethany Hoeflich

  Mara opened her mouth to ask a question, then froze at a sharp prick in the back. Over her shoulder, Patrick grinned evilly at her, a knife poised to plunge through her ribs. “Keep walking, Impriga.”

  “What are you doing?” she hissed, trying to keep her voice even so she wouldn’t alarm Tamil, but she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling on his shoulders.

  “I’d like to say that this isn’t personal—that we’re merely following orders—but I’m going to enjoy every second of this.” He chuckled under his breath, digging the point of the knife further into her skin until it drew blood. “And don’t get any ideas about using your Gift. I’ll gut you before you have a chance to siphon a single drop of energy.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because you’ve caused nothing but pain and suffering since you arrived at Order Headquarters. Too many disciples lost their lives, including my daughter. It’s time to face the consequences, Impriga.”

  “I’m sorry about your daughter.” She swallowed thickly. It was no wonder he hated her. No apology could make up for killing his child. “I wish I could go back in time and change everything, but I can’t. You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  All doubts fled at the sincerity of his voice. So much for Ethan’s idea that Cadmus wanted to recapture her for the Order. Patrick was going to kill her. And probably Ethan and Tamil as well. He’d planned this from the moment they left Order Headquarters, no doubt. Her hands curled into fists until her nails bit into her palms. No one was hurting her boy. She’d die first. Taking a deep breath, she shoved Tamil forward into Ethan’s back. Before Patrick could react, she dove to the ground, wrapping her legs around the disciple to pull him down. “Ethan! It’s a trap!”

  She hit the ground with a grunt and rolled away as Patrick leapt to his feet. His chilling smile set her nerves on edge as he tossed the dagger to the side and whistled—the same strange whistle she’d heard earlier.

  A band of ruffians clad in furs and a mishmash of rusted armor burst out from the dark crevices and attacked. She froze like a rabbit before a fox. Were they allies? The flash of steel hurtling toward her face dispelled that idea. She ducked, feeling the whoosh of air as the knife flew by her ear. Definitely not allies.

  Ethan wrapped his arms around Tamil and pulled him behind a boulder as a rock crashed where they’d been standing moments before. Lit up in a pillar of fire, Tahlia climbed onto an outcropping. With brutal efficiency, she rained fireballs down onto Mara’s allies, forcing them to scatter. Alex drew his twin swords from his back and swung at one of the hostile disciples as the barbarians swarmed the boulders like ants on a jelly tart.

  The confined space proved to be deadly as Mara’s allies were separated and picked off one by one.

  Patrick’s lips pulled back from his teeth. He reached out and his glowing sword appeared in his hand. Eyes widening, Mara retreated until her back scraped against a boulder. Two of the disciples cut off the exit and the entrance to the valley. There was nowhere to go. They were trapped.

  As Patrick took a menacing step toward her, Mara squeezed her eyes shut and reached out with her Gift. She latched onto his energy and pulled. It swirled inside her, dark and nauseating, like a stew that had gone bad. She gripped her knees as she retched. Patrick’s sword flickered, then vanished. Ella blasted him with a gust of wind, sending him spiraling into a boulder with a thud.

  A hand reached out and grabbed her.

  Mara shrieked and called on her Gift. White sparks danced up her arms and swirled around her fingertips. She lashed out blindly at her attacker, striking him with pure energy. A bolt of energy careened to the side, hitting one of the barbarians in the chest. He seized up and collapsed the ground, unmoving.

  Alex fought against Tahlia, dodging her attacks. Sweat dripped down his face, and his boots slipped on the rock. Mara rushed forward but stopped when she realized she couldn’t use her powers without hitting him, too. Alex reached out and grabbed hold of Tahlia’s cloak.

  “Surrender!” Alex screamed.

  Tahlia spat in his face and turned to Tamil, who watched the fight with wide eyes.

  “Surrender . . . please.” Alex’s voice dropped to a pained whisper.

  She formed a fireball in her hands and drew back, preparing to launch it at Tamil.

  Alex knocked her hands away just in time, diverting the fireball to the side where it smashed into the cliff. Chunks of rock exploded, raining down into the ravine. Alex slapped a palm against Tahlia’s neck. She screamed, and her eyes rolled back into her skull. Her skin grew pale, and she fell to the earth, clutching her midsection. She wasn’t dead, but it looked as though she was in agony. Alex stood, jaw clenched and nothing but revulsion in his eyes. Mara couldn’t help the tremor of fear at the sight of him taking a Gift.

  One of the rogue disciples tried sneaking behind Alex, weapon raised. Mara shouted a warning, then latched onto his energy thread and pulled, drinking deeply. The disciple paled and fell to his knees. She broke the connection, turning to find her friends.

  Ethan stepped behind the disciple and bashed him across the temple with a rock before he could recover. He nodded at her, and the three of them stood back-to-back with Tamil protected in the middle, ready for the next attack.

  “Mara!” Ethan cried, ducking under a bolt of fire. “Can you stop them?”

  Could she? Mara touched her neck, feeling the absence of her Augeo more than ever. With the boost in her abilities, it would have been easier than breathing. She could have drained them all with a thought, giving them the opportunity to escape. But now? She struggled to hold out against a dozen disciples on her own, and in the end, she always failed.

  One of the disciples, an Ignis, launched a fireball at them. The flames swelled into a house-sized conflagration that would incinerate them in seconds. Mara channeled her stolen energy into a shield, blocking the brunt of the attack. The heat from the blaze warmed her skin as the flames licked the edges of the shield, searching for weakness. She grunted, her arms shaking as they fought to hold the shield in place. Sweat trickled down her back and her heart pounded in her chest. She had to stop the root of the fire, otherwise the Ignis would turn them into a human bonfire. But if she dropped the shield, even for a second . . .

  Her eyes traveled to where Tamil clutched at Alex’s robes, his chin quivering. No, she couldn’t let it end like this. She still had to reunite him with his father, no matter what. Mara turned back to the Ignis. With one hand, she held the shield in place. The other stretched forward, reaching for the flames. The volatile energy burned her palm like a hot coal, but she couldn’t let go. Heat flooded her body as she pulled on the energy in the fire, reducing it to a cloud of ash.

  Before he could react, Mara rushed at the Ignis. As she latched onto his energy thread, a barbarian skirted past her defenses, swinging at Ethan with a rusted sword.

  “Ethan!” Her grip fizzled out at the sickening thunk of metal on flesh. She spun around, reaching out for Ethan. He clutched his arm, blood seeping out between his fingers.

  Disciples and ruffians converged on them, hands and weapons raised. Mara gritted her teeth. She had to end this quickly before they were overwhelmed. She couldn’t fail. Not this time. With the weight of her failures fueling her, Mara dropped the shield and struck, sending a pulse of energy out, knocking their attackers off their feet. Before they had a chance to recover, she latched onto their threads, absorbing their energy. Sparks danced along her skin, encouraging her to draw more. Mesmerized by the glow, she drew more, breathing in the raw power. She felt full. Alive.

  “Mara . . . stop . . .” Ethan’s pained plea broke through her concentration.

  She immediately released her connection, blinking as the scene came into focus. The barbarians and the disciples knelt in a semi-circle, panting. They stared at her with undisguised fear. For a moment, she was ashamed. Was her Gift so intoxicating that she couldn’t resist giving into its darkest desires? But
then she’d stopped herself. The realization made her want to weep with relief.

  Ethan walked over to where Alex waited. The guardian stared at the ground, his fists clenched. Mara’s heart went out to him at the sight of his defeated look. It was easy to see Guardians as monsters, but maybe she’d been wrong. Did he struggle with his Gift as much as she did? Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

  “Will you be all right until we reach the capital?” Ethan asked him, resting a hand on the Guardian’s back.

  “Why wouldn’t he be okay?” Mara looked him up and down. Physically, he looked fine, apart from the glassy eyes and the weird way his body was vibrating like he’d spent an hour in a snowstorm. She figured the fight had taken its toll on him, but it was nothing that food and rest couldn’t fix.

  Ethan winced. “Alex is carrying a stolen Gift inside him until we can find a suitable vessel.”

  “A vessel?”

  “Usually metal or a gem to hold the Gift, transforming it into a Deleo. Then, the surface is etched with runes to seal the binding. Unlike what you can do with your Gift—absorbing and using the energy around you—a Guardian cannot absorb the Gift’s essence into his or her body. He’ll need to drain it as soon as possible.”

  “Is that painful?” Mara cocked her head to the side, and her hand went to the pocket where she’d stashed her Deleos. She’d never wondered how they were made before. Two people had to lose their Gifts to make her cuffs. But if that’s how Deleos were created, what about Augeos? Would it be possible to make a new one, or was the cost simply too high?

  “Like having splinters jammed underneath your fingernails from what I’ve been told,” Ethan said.

  Alex waved him off. “I’ll be fine, Ethan. We have bigger problems to worry about than my comfort.”

  “Such as?”

  “What should we do with them?” Alex asked, gesturing to the disciples that had betrayed them. Patrick glared at her, his chest heaving. Tahlia curled up next to him, weeping into her hands. Mara refused to feel sorry for her. Alex had given her a choice to stand down, and she’d chosen to attack a novice instead. Now, she could live with the consequences.

  “Tie them up and leave them behind. They followed Cadmus’s orders, so they can wait for his mercy,” Ethan said, drawing out the last word with as much venom as he could muster. He tore a strip from the bottom of his robes and wrapped it around his arm to staunch the bleeding.

  “What about them?” Mara pointed at the ruffians as Alex pulled a length of rope from his pack and moved to bind the disciples. “Why did they attack us?”

  Ethan walked around the group, Reading. After a few minutes, he rocked back onto his heels, eyebrows raised. “They’re all dregs.”

  “What?” Mara spun around, eyes wide, her voice laced with disbelief. “What do you mean they’re all dregs? This doesn’t make any sense . . . Why were they helping the disciples?”

  “Tovaline had captured them last week. They were slated to be executed, but Cadmus offered them a deal—their lives and freedom in exchange for attacking us. We would have been killed, but they would have taken you back to Order Headquarters. Patrick,” Ethan said, rounding on the disciple, “was working outside of his orders.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Mara made a sweeping gesture toward their prone forms. “Free them!”

  Ethan hesitated. “It’s not that simple.”

  “Seems pretty simple to me. They were only doing what they had to in order to survive!”

  “Pardon me, Miss.” An older dreg with copper hair and a scar that crossed his cheek gave her an apologetic smile. “If you free us, we’ll just keep coming after you.”

  “Exactly, so the sooner you leave, the more time you’ll have to . . . wait, what?” Mara froze as his words clicked in her mind. “But if you stay here, Cadmus will kill you.”

  “Better to die on a failed mission with a clear conscience than have him hurt our families, too.”

  Mara turned away, eyes burning. How could they be so calm? “Please, I’m offering you this one chance. If we free you, run away. Save your families and yourselves. There’s nothing stopping you from running. We’re going to Merrowhaven, why not come with us? There’s a dreg encampment where you’d be safe.”

  “Thank you for the offer, Miss, but we’ll stay here with the disciples.”

  “And you all feel this way?” she asked, making eye contact with each of the dregs, silently begging them to change their minds. Each one shook their head and looked away.

  “Fine.” Mara turned and stormed off. She had to get out of there before she started screaming. Why wouldn’t they take her offer? It made no sense for them to sit and wait for death when they had the chance to escape.

  She found Ella pulling the bodies of the fallen into one of the larger crevices in the rock. Her throat constricted at the sight of Gifted and dregs, laying side-by-side in their final resting place. So much life... wasted. All their allies had been killed, even the Healer, Sybil. She almost looked peaceful. If it weren’t for the blood on her robes, Mara might have thought she was sleeping.

  Her eyes landed on the dreg that she had hit with a rogue blast of energy, his body twisted at an impossible angle. Her rage toward Cadmus grew, dwarfing her guilt. This was his fault. None of these people had to die.

  “Whoa, nix the light show,” Ella said, her eyes widening.

  Mara realized she had let her energy manifest, swirling around her arms. She banished it with a thought. “Sorry.”

  “Well, that’s it,” Ella said, rubbing her hands on her pants.

  “We’re just going to leave them like this?” Mara asked, incredulous. There was no protection from the elements or scavengers. It didn’t seem right to let them out in the open.

  “It’s not like we can bury them—the ground is solid rock. There’s no wood for a pyre, and I’m not dragging Silas all the way to the coast for a proper funeral raft. The best I could do was slip a coin under his tongue and hope his sea god will find him here.”

  “No, this isn’t good enough. Stand back.” Mara walked in front of the crevice, hands outstretched. She wasn’t sure if this would work—weeks had passed since she’d been able to manipulate rock—but she had to try. She reached out for the steadfast energy within the rocks. It took a few tries, but she finally latched on. She lifted a few man-sized rocks and stacked them on top of the crevice, then rolled one in front of the opening.

  Ella whistled between her teeth. “I can see why Cadmus wants you so badly.” She wrapped an arm around Mara’s shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. “I’m going to go find our packs. Probably best we head out as soon as possible.”

  Mara nodded as Ella walked off. Without thinking, she pulled the Deleos from her pocket and moved to clasp them around her wrists.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Ethan asked, sneaking up behind her.

  “I-I need them,” Mara stuttered. She couldn’t trust herself to stay in control without the Deleos, could she? Sure, she had been able to stop when Ethan told her, but then she’d called on her Gift unintentionally when talking with Ella. What if she did it again and hurt someone? Her hands closed around the cool metal, cradling the cuffs to her chest. “I’d like to keep them on a little while longer.”

  Ethan’s face softened, and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Mara instinctively leaned into his touch.

  Then he snatched the Deleos from her hand and threw them over the boulders where they fell out of sight with a clatter.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Mara . . .”

  “I need them! Don’t you understand? Without them, I could hurt someone . . . kill someone!”

  “Mara . . .”

  “I can’t go through that again. What if you hadn’t been here to stop me in time? What if I—”

  “Mara!” Ethan said sharply. “You are one of the strongest, most compassionate people I know, and your Gift is an extension of who you are. How could it be any
thing but beautiful?” He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers brush her cheek. “If I thought for a moment that you were capable of abusing your Gift, I would have restrained you myself. Don’t allow your fear to color your actions.”

  Mara gaped at him. No one had ever talked about her Gift that way. Most people viewed it with fear, or worse, with desire. They only wanted to use her for their own benefit. But Ethan . . . did he truly value her for who she was? “Ethan, back there . . . Patrick said that his daughter died during our attack on Order Headquarters . . . that I killed his daughter. Is that true?”

  “Yes.”

  She closed her eyes. “Do you think… when we reach Merrowhaven, I mean… would you make a list of everyone who died that day?”

  His gaze felt heavy on her as if he were weighing her request. He didn’t have a chance to respond.

  “I didn’t know, I swear!” Oona’s voice rang out in the ravine.

  Mara jerked. Where had she been during the fight? She and Ethan exchanged a loaded look before rushing back to the group. Alex, Ella, and Tamil hovered around Oona, who had plastered herself to a rock to avoid being impaled on Alex’s sword.

  “So you claim,” Alex growled. “Why should we believe you?”

  “Why would I lie?”

  “What’s going on here?” Ethan asked in an even tone.

  Ella pointed at the Avem. “We found her slinking around the ravine, looking pretty guilty to me. I say we tie her up and leave her with the rest.”

  Oona snorted. “Is wanting to stay out of the way a crime?”

  “Self-preservation is definitely one of your strongest traits,” Mara said, crossing her arms. “Where did you go during the fight, Oona? Did you know about the ambush?”

  “We can solve this mystery fairly easily.” Ethan stepped forward, holding out his hand and wiggling his fingers. Oona rolled her eyes and placed her hand in his. Mara tamped down a flare of jealousy seeing their hands clasped together. She blinked. Where did that come from?