by W. J. May
Of course, things hadn’t exactly gone as planned.
The gang had been ambushed. Gabriel had been shot. Rae had been stabbed. Devon had almost killed the guy who did it. They woke up a day later in the medical bay over at the Abbey, and from there they had proceeded straight to Scotland to begin training for the battle against Cromfield. The beautiful house was forgotten. The penthouse apartment was sold.
Rae ran her hand along the dusty surface of the table, lost in thought.
In a way, it was ironic that she had decided to head there of all places. She and Devon had just been talking about it the other day. Talking about how, when things settled down, Julian and Angel would be moving out so that Rae could move in. This was the place where she and Devon were supposed to start building their new life together. As a married couple, playing house for the first time. This was where they were supposed to start a family—to have kids. She’d recently made Devon promise to build a treehouse in the yard out back.
Of course, she wasn’t sure if any of that would be happening anymore…
“Don’t think like that.” She actually spoke aloud, trying to calm her racing pulse as she paced up and down the familiar halls. “You will find a way out of this. You will think of something.”
She simply had to. There simply wasn’t a way she could live without these people in her life.
And it all starts with Devon…
As discouraged as Rae had been by the visit to the house, she had been equally encouraged by Devon’s reaction to her. Yes, he had no memory of her, and certainly no reason to give her his trust, but somehow…that didn’t seem to matter.
He had defended her. Questioned her. Tried to protect her. Honestly seeking the truth.
And then there was that kiss…
As despondent as she was, Rae almost laughed aloud when she remembered the look on his face. Needless to say, he hadn’t been expecting it. He’d frozen perfectly still—eyes wide open—as she stretched up on her toes and planted one right on his lips.
It was a kiss unlike any they’d had before. For Rae it was just one of thousands, but in Devon’s mind they were kissing for the first time. He’d stood there in shock until it was over. Not really kissing her back, but not not kissing her back either.
By the time she landed back on the flats of her feet, the poor guy was completely speechless. Every muscle was locked in place, and as eloquent as she knew he could be the skill seemed to have temporarily abandoned him. When he finally did open his mouth to say something, she’d pressed a soft finger on his lips. Then she winked at him, and left.
Not exactly a home run, but at least it was progress. A chink in the armor. Something she could work with until she found a way to undermine Samantha’s ink and get her life back.
Samantha.
Just thinking the name made Rae’s jaw lock up in rage. Never in her entire life had she hated someone as much as she hated that one little girl. Probably because never in her entire life had one person done her so much harm.
Lanford had locked her in a dungeon, trying to claim her mind. Cromfield had brainwashed her mother, kidnapped her father. Simon had been a crushing weight, an albatross around her neck from the first day she walked into Guilder.
But none of them had taken everything.
Samantha had taken everything.
Her friends. Her family. Her life. Her home. Her future. Even her ink. If it weren’t for the fact that Rae had happened to bring her wallet with her to the store she would be broke right now, as well as homeless. As it stood, she had gone to every ATM in town before making her way to the bus stop. For all she knew, the girl had erased her credit history as well.
But I’m going to get it all back, she told herself firmly. I’m going to find a way to get it all back. I just need to clean up, calm down, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow morning I’ll start making a plan.
Armed with that fresh bit of confidence, as forced as it might be, Rae made her way upstairs to take a long, hot shower. As she had recently been made aware by the not-so-friendly people on the bus, she was still covered in blood, food, and condiments from her recent grocery trip. Not to mention the fact that she’d spent the last night sleeping outside on a hill. She’d be surprised if she still had all her fingers…
Considering that Devon, Julian, and Angel all shared this place, there was still plenty of room for them to spread out. While both boys had bedrooms at opposite ends of the hall, they also had their own bathrooms. Julian took the one with the walk-in shower, but Devon had the one with the tub. As far as Rae was concerned, he’d gotten the better end of the deal.
After rinsing off quickly she rummaged around in his closet, wrapped herself in a thick bathrobe, and perched on the edge of the tub as she filled it to the brim. Instead of using the usual bath bubbles she poured in a splash of his body wash instead, filling the room with the soft scent of sandalwood and vanilla. It was meant to be comforting, but by the time the smell saturated the steamy air Rae had tears in her eyes.
She took off the robe and slipped under the bubbles with a quiet sob, letting the boiling water heat her skin as she slid down as far as possible. A part of her wanted to slide under even farther still. Submerge herself until the danger had passed. Until Samantha’s ink had run its course, and she could look at the love of her life without wanting to burst into tears.
Never in her life had she felt more alone.
Never had she felt so utterly lost. It was as if there had been a glitch in time. Everyone else had kept on moving forward, but she had gotten off track somehow. She was left standing by herself, watching all the others go by.
She cried there for a while. For a good long while. She cried until almost all the bubbles had dissipated in the warm water. Then, when she felt like she could cry no more, she focused her mind on something more productive.
On kicking Samantha’s ass.
It was the only way, she decided. If Samantha was gone, then her ink would vanish from the world as well. The spell would be broken, and Rae would get to go home.
Of course, knowing Samantha, that was easier said than done…
Not only was Rae stranded without her powers, but she had been forbidden from wearing an inhibitor as well. That meant that not only had she lost the tactical advantage, but she was also completely unable to defend herself against Samantha’s supernatural wiles.
Rae could still fight. After all, she’d been trained by none other than Jennifer Jones, one of the best fighters the world had ever seen. And a certifiable psychopath. If it came down to hand-to-hand combat, there wasn’t a doubt in Rae’s mind that she could beat Samantha in a fight.
The problem was, Samantha would never let it get that far.
The girl knew she didn’t have a chance of beating Rae in a fair fight, so she would continue to play dirty. She’d simply command Rae to stop fighting her. To sit down and listen to another one of her insufferable lectures. Or worse, she’d command Rae to go after one of the others. Or make her sit back and watch as she destroyed everything Rae held dear.
That meant that Rae’s only hope was to sneak up on her somehow. To catch her off-guard long enough that Rae’s own superior fighting skills could do the rest. If the girl was unconscious, strapped to a chair, then she wasn’t going to be giving anyone orders anytime soon. Telepathic or otherwise. And if Rae could somehow manage to get an inhibitor on her skin?
Then it was a whole other ballgame…
She was just contemplating how she could manage to get her hands on such a device, when there was a sudden commotion downstairs. The front door opened and shut, and the next thing she knew the sound of men’s voices was echoing up the hall.
Freakin’ A!
With a silent shriek Rae slid all the way down in the tub, not stopping until the water came up to her eyes. Despite the warm water, her skin ran cold. And her pulse pounded in her ears with such ferocity she felt like she was having an actual heart attack.
What the heck we
re they doing here?! Gone for months, but they picked TODAY to come home?!
In the present circumstances, Rae couldn’t imagine a worse thing to have happened. If they didn’t think she was a stalker before, they sure as hell were going to think so now! They come home and she’s actually in their bathtub?! Naked?!
Every instinct in her body told her to run. To bolt for the window and take her chances on the streets of London, in the nude. But as inviting as that sounded, the wiser part of her knew that she couldn’t move an inch. She was in water. If she disrupted the surface, even a ripple, then Devon would hear it and come racing up the stairs. Without her powers, he’d catch her before she even made it to the door.
“Turn on the heat, man. It’s freezing in here.”
Rae froze dead still as she focused all her attention, trying to find out who she was dealing with. When it came to leniency, some of her friends were better than others.
“What do you expect? This place has been sitting empty for months.”
There was the sound of footsteps, followed by a metallic click. A second later, a heater roared to life. More footsteps, and the rustling of fabric as jackets were discarded downstairs.
“So, do you want to tell me what we’re doing here?” Julian asked. There was more rustling, followed by soft thuds as they took off their shoes. “And why I couldn’t bring Angel?”
“I’m sorry about that,” Devon sighed, “I just needed to get away from that house. I love everyone there to death but, it can get a little…”
“Claustrophobic?” Julian guessed.
“Yeah,” Devon laughed humorlessly, “that’s one way of putting it.”
All evidence to the contrary, it seemed that Rae was in luck. From the sounds of it, the only two people downstairs were the two boys. Everyone else was still back in Kent. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer of relief. If Gabriel had found her in here, odds were that he would pause long enough to make one raunchy joke then drop her right where she stood.
The refrigerator door swung shut, followed by the sound of clinking glass. If Rae knew anything about Julian, she would bet that he’d grabbed a beer for him and his friend before settling back down on the couch. Prepared to talk it out. Prepared to listen.
“Kent doesn’t have to be permanent,” he said quietly. “You know that we can move back to London whenever you like.”
“What, so I can live in this huge house again? Just me and the world’s happiest couple?”
There was a bitterness in Devon’s voice that Rae had never heard before. A wistful kind of longing— like an ache that never quite went away.
Julian was quiet for a minute. Then he sighed. “Angel and I are hardly the world’s happiest couple.”
Rae leaned forward in surprise, sure she had misheard. Julian and Angel were one of the most in love couples she knew. Fated to be together kind of lovers. But maybe not in this dimension?
“That’s not your fault, Jules,” Devon said sharply. “It’s his.”
Somehow, instinctively, Rae knew they were talking about Gabriel. She had seen traces of it earlier today at the house, a subtle shift in dynamics she didn’t fully understand.
“Well, maybe he’s right,” Julian muttered in frustration. “Ever since the factory, I’ve been too cautious. Hesitant. Shying away from every fight—”
A bottle clinked against the table. Hard.
“It takes a lot more strength not to fight than to go rushing in—guns blazing—like Gabriel does every time,” Devon replied darkly. “I swear, sometimes I think he enjoys it.”
There was another pause.
“You know he told Angel to leave me, right?”
Devon cursed in astonishment. “Are you serious? He actually said that?”
“Two weeks after Cromfield,” Julian said flatly. “Said that we were too different to make things work. That she should find someone better suited.”
Devon cursed again, angrier than ever. “What? Someone without a moral code? No offense, Jules—I can see how hard Angel is trying—but the last thing she needs is someone ‘better suited.’ You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to her, and they both know it.”
Julian was quiet, but Devon was unable to let it go.
“That son of a bitch,” he muttered. “It’s bad enough he rallied everyone against that poor girl today, and now this?” His voice rose with sudden determination. “You know what? Let’s go back to Kent. I’m going to beat that smug smile right off his—”
“No, you’re not,” Julian interrupted swiftly. “No one’s beating anybody, and the last thing I need is for Angel to have to choose between me and her brother again.”
“But Jules, I can—”
“If anyone’s going to fight Gabriel Alden, it’s going to be me.”
Devon let out a frustrated sigh, but let it go. “You know when that day comes I’ll have your back, right?”
Julian chuckled. “Yeah, I figured.”
The conversation lapsed for a while as they drank in thoughtful silence, then Julian piped up again with sudden interest.
“Speaking of that girl, what the hell was that about?”
Again, Rae lifted an inch or two out of the water, eager to hear Devon’s response. That being said, it wasn’t exactly what she’d hoped.
“I don’t know,” he sounded abruptly tired. “She’s just crazy, I guess. Gabriel’s probably right. She found out about our world through some inked relative, and now she’s created some delusion where she’s a part of it.”
Crazy? That’s what he thinks? That I’m delusional?
Julian seemed to consider it thoughtfully. “You seemed awfully taken with her, considering the fact you think she’s crazy.”
“I was not taken with her!” Devon exclaimed defensively.
Julian laughed, loud and long. “Dude, I’ve known you long enough to know when a girl catches your eye. You were definitely smitten.”
“I was not—”
“Not that I blame you. She was beautiful.”
“She was crazy,” Devon reiterated pointedly. There was a rather skeptical pause, then he sighed in defeat. “And beautiful. Abso-freakin’-lutely beautiful.”
The two men laughed softly, playing the bizarre day back in their minds. While Rae silently panicked upstairs, they went through every detail. Becoming more and more thoughtful all the while.
“She certainly knew a hell of a lot about us to have just picked it up secondhand,” Julian mused aloud, drumming his fingers pensively against his beer. “I don’t understand how…” He cut off suddenly as Samantha’s ink took effect. “I guess we’ll never know, right? Crazy is crazy.”
“Yeah,” Devon murmured, lost in a similar trance. “But I don’t know, there was something about her. Something I can’t put my finger on…”
The two of them lapsed back into silence, and then one of them pushed to their feet.
“I’m going to get some sleep,” Devon said as his chair scraped against the floor, bidding Julian goodnight. “We’ll grab some breakfast in town, then head back in the morning?”
“Sounds good. Goodnight, man.”
“’Night.”
Rae leaned back against the porcelain tub, her head spinning with everything she’d just heard. It seemed that not only had Samantha’s ink effectively removed her from their lives, but it had also fundamentally rewired the group dynamic in the process.
Gabriel had become some attack dog. Julian had become a pacifist. Angel was caught in the middle. And Devon…?
Always so grounded and centered, this new Devon seemed completely listless. Aimless. A man without purpose. Something had hollowed him. Hollowed him without him ever knowing. Leaving him pining after phantom memories. Aching, with a gaping hole he didn’t even know was there.
Then she remembered he was coming up the stairs…
There was another silent shriek as she gripped the edges of the tub. Praying that he would just fall into bed, and she could try her luck
sneaking out when he was unconscious. Hoping above hope that he wouldn’t open the door and see her—
“What the hell?!”
The two of them froze dead still. Eyes as wide as saucers. Completely unable to speak.
The hands on the clock in the next room echoed loudly in the silence, adding weight to each passing second, making each one more unbearable than the last. But still…nothing.
A moment later, Julian called up the stairs. “Hey, man, you okay? Did you say something?”
Devon remained frozen, paralyzed beside the door. Time seemed to stop as he opened his mouth to answer, but then Rae shook her head ever so slightly. Her eyes locked onto his.
Pleading. Trusting. Placing her fate in his shaking hands.
He stared at her another second as the conflict warred out behind his eyes. Then he pulled in a deep breath. “Nope. I’m fine. Goodnight, Jules.”
“’Night.”
Rae breathed a sigh of unspeakable relief as she stared up into her fiancé’s eyes. He silently stared back. Not relieved in the slightest. In a damn near panic.
Alright, Kerrigan. You said there were other ways to convince him, right? Time to get started…
Chapter 4
It was a virtual stand-off. A stand-off with the highest of stakes.
Rae stared at Devon. He stared at her. She tried to appear as rational and non-threatening as possible, given her present circumstances. He forced himself not to look anywhere below her chin. Then, when the silence could go on no longer, an olive branch was extended.
“Here,” Devon said softly, handing her a towel, “you probably want to…I mean…you have to be getting cold…”
Rae took the towel as he turned around. It was a telling move, considering the Devon she knew wouldn’t turn his back on anyone who was even possibly considered a threat. Nonetheless he spun back towards the door, waiting until she’d stood up and fashioned herself a toga-style dress.
“Thanks,” she said when she was finished. “Devon, I…thanks.”