Diamond Sky (Love Lines Series)

by Diana Nixon

  “Look,” I pointed to the nearest window, “someone left the TV on.” We all breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Okay, I will try to get inside, and you guys stay here,” Evan said. “If anyone comes, call me.”

  He opened the door which to my surprise wasn’t locked, and slipped into the darkness.

  “I think we should separate,” Tara said. “It’s better if we are able to watch the house from all sides.”

  Christian and I shared a glance. I knew he didn’t want to leave me alone. “I’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “Keep the fire ready. Well, just in case.”

  “Okay. Be careful.” He gave me a hug and went to the other side of the house. Tara went to watch the main entrance, and I stayed at the back door that Kevin and Evan were supposed to escape through. Too bad Amanda wasn’t with us, because I desperately needed to know that Evan was okay.

  I couldn’t hear a thing. The house seemed deserted. When ten minutes passed and no one showed up, I started to panic. I reached for my cell phone, but then remembered that I had left it in Christian’s room. Suddenly, all the lights in the house turned on, and something heavy hit my head….

  Part 4

  Christian

  Chapter 13. Heroic Rescue

  When a flash of light illuminated the window above my head, I realized that we were trapped. Evan was still inside, and we couldn’t leave without him. I rushed to the back door, but Eileen wasn’t there. Neither was Tara. My heart skipped a beat, and I looked around, hoping to catch sight of one of them. No such luck.

  “Shit,” I swore under my breath and went into the house.

  The first thing I noticed was the silence. I was going down the hall, the lights were on, but I didn’t feel anyone’s presence. I opened the first door and went into the kitchen. No one was there. But there was a cup of coffee on the table, and it was still hot.

  I counted back the number of minutes I spent outside, and realized that the drink was made by someone who had been inside the entire time.

  The other door opened into the living room, where a TV set was showing one of those zombie shows I hated so much. I couldn’t understand how people could watch them.

  I left that room and saw the stairs going to the ground floor. Somehow I thought that it was the right way to go. The room downstairs was dark, but I could feel Eileen’s energy there. A few flashes of fire appeared on my palm, and I moved forward, trying to realize where the vibrations were coming from.

  “Don’t burn the house,” Evan said, showing up out of nowhere.

  “Jeez! You scared me. What’s going on? Oh, my God! Eileen!” I ran to her unconscious body and kneeled near the small bed. “What happened?”

  “There was a guard, watching the house from the outside,” Tara said, wiping the drops of blood from Eileen’s forehead. “His aura was masked, and Eileen didn’t feel him. But Evan did. He managed to catch the bastard before he could let anyone know about our presence.”

  “Where’s Kevin? And why are the lights on?”

  “He’s here,” Evan said. “On the other bed. And the house was charmed to turn on the lights every half an hour. If someone breaks into the house, the lights will be red. Kevin warned me about that before he passed out again, so I managed to change the spell, making the lights stay white. We need to get out of here, because the guard was supposed to report on Kevin’s condition every hour or so. If the Dragons don’t get his report, they will send someone else to see what’s going on here.”

  “But Eileen is still unconscious.” I touched her hand, and it was very cold, as if she was freezing.

  “I will take us out of here, but I need you, Christian, to do something too. Start a fire in the center of the room. I will charm it, and the house will explode the moment we leave it.”

  “But….”

  “It’s the only way to hide the traces of our energy. When I felt that Eileen was in danger, I rushed outside, and the spell of invisibility I was using to get into the house, broke. And now everyone can feel my presence here. As well as yours.”

  “Okay.” That was the only thing I could say, considering the circumstances. I knew that Eileen would be fine, because thanks to our bond I could share my life energy with her.

  I started the fire and stepped aside to let Evan cast a spell. Then I took Eileen in my arms and went to the other room where Kevin and Tara were.

  Kevin was too weak to move. He was shirtless, and we could see the horrible tattoo on his shoulders and back. It was made in black ink, and it was moving. Like real wings. The tiny scars were still healing, and the red shades covering Kevin’s skin sent shivers down my spine. As far as we knew the tattoo wasn’t just a drawing, it was the visual sign of a spell that bound Kevin and other members of the brotherhood. It consisted of blood that other members donated. And judging by the painful expression on Kevin’s face, his body didn’t like the effect it made.

  Eileen moved and opened her eyes, blinking from the bright light. “What happened?” she asked quietly.

  “We were not alone here. One of the brotherhood’s guards was outside too.”

  “Oh, God! Is everyone all right? Where’s Evan?”

  “I’m here, Sunshine. But we need to go. Now.”

  We stood in a circle, holding our hands, our eyes closed. Despite the amount of tranquilizers Evan got in the dungeon, he was still strong enough to cast some simple spells. Eileen was helping him too. The two of them covered us under the transparent blanket of the spell of invisibility, and we left the house. The moment we were far away enough not to get hurt, we stopped, and Evan pronounced the last words of the spell to explode the house.

  The explosive wave was so strong, that the windows of the nearest houses shattered into pieces, causing panic and screaming. People were running outside to see what was going on. We made sure no one was hurt and headed for the nearest airport, where we were going to borrow a plane. The car wasn’t an option any more, as there were too many of us, and Kevin needed more space to lie down. It looked like he was getting worse and worse.

  “I think we should call Marion and tell her about Kevin’s condition,” Eileen said. “Maybe she knows how to ease his suffering. I have a bad feeling about the tattoo. I can feel that the magic, used to create it, was dark. But there’s something I can’t understand. As if his body can’t accept the power it gives him.”

  “I don’t think any of us would be able to accept it easily,” Evan said, coming to a small, private jet.

  “This is not what I mean,” Eileen replied, touching Kevin’s shoulders. Her palms were trembling, and I could feel how hard it was for her to touch the tattoo. “There’s something in Kevin’s blood that blocks the spell.”

  “Maybe our father did something to us to save us from the brotherhood’s influence?”

  “Maybe.” Eileen looked at me, and I realized that she wanted to tell me something, but she didn’t want Evan to hear her words. I nodded, saying silently that will we talk about that later.

  Evan unlocked the door of a plane, and we got in, closing it behind us. He also made sure the plane became invisible. I had no idea how he managed to do that, but I hoped we wouldn’t be caught and arrested. He and I got into the flight deck, and Tara and Eileen stayed with Kevin.

  “Now, let’s test this baby,” Evan said, pushing all the buttons he could see on the control panel.

  “Are you sure you can make it fly?”

  “Trust me, Christian, I can make every damn thing fly.”

  Amen, I thought, fastening the seat belt.

  Surprisingly enough, Evan was right. He did make it fly. And as far as I could see, he could control the plane just as well as he could drive a car.

  However, the closer we were getting to Dever, the more anxious I was becoming. I was sure Frederick and my father would be furious to know about our small adventure. And about Evan, escaping the prison.

  My friend didn’t care about the consequences of his actions. He had full control over his powers a
gain, and there was no sense in keeping him locked up. Though I knew that Eileen’s father would gladly punish him for using his daughter as a back-up. And I still wasn’t sure what to do with Kevin. I didn’t know if we could save him from becoming one of the Dragons. The tattoo by itself didn’t mean anything. The oath did. And we were going to keep Kevin away from anyone who could make him swear it. I hoped our plan was good enough not to put us into more trouble than we had already gotten into.

  “Will you be okay here, if I go to check on the others?”

  “Sure, no problem,” Evan said.

  I knew he was glad to be with his brother again. I always admired his ability to forgive people so easily. There was no love lost between the two of them, but unlike Kevin, Evan didn’t care about the power and popularity. He cared about his family. And sometimes it felt like he didn’t have any.

  My parents treated him like a son, but we all knew how much Evan missed his own parents. And even his evil father, who ruined every good memory about their family that my friend ever cherished. No one could help him, but he seemed to be fine with what he had now — us.

  When there were only a few more miles left to get to Dever, we called Elena. She was one of those people who changed the protective spells and elements around Dever, and we needed her help to land at the local airport.

  “I hope there are no rare trees that we will destroy landing,” Evan said. His grip on the crowbar tightened, and I silently prayed for us to stay alive.

  “I’m pretty sure those trees were not supposed to become a landing strip,” I replied.

  “Really? I didn’t know that.” Evan laughed. I rolled my eyes and started a new prayer in my head.

  Fortunately, we landed safely, and no trees were destroyed. To our surprise, Elena was the only person waiting for us at the airport. She smiled, seeing us and shook her head disapprovingly.

  “You guys are insane!” she said. Then she looked at Kevin and frowned. “He’s not supposed to be here. He’s marked.”

  “And that’s exactly why he’s here,” Evan replied. “We need to save him from swearing the oath. Where’s everyone, by the way?”

  “No one knows you are back. I thought it would be better to keep it a secret for a while. And I guess, it was a good idea.” Elena looked at Kevin again.

  “Are you saying that no one is looking for us?” Evan stared at her in surprise.

  “Well, not exactly … no one knows you left.”

  “How’s that possible? We crossed the border illegally,” Eileen said.

  “I suggest we take Kevin to the dorms, and I will tell you everything on the way there.” Elena turned around and headed for the campus. We followed her.

  Eileen felt much better now, and the wound on her forehead was almost invisible. Unlike her, Kevin looked awful. Evan was helping him to walk, but the poor guy could barely stand on his feet. He didn’t let us cover his back, saying that every touch felt like fire.

  “So what did you mean saying that no one knew we left?” Evan asked Elena.

  “Amanda called me in the middle of the night, saying that you needed my help. She said you were going to find Kevin, and that I needed to cover your backs. So I ran to the dungeon and made sure no one saw Evan’s disappearance. The guards think that you are still there.”

  “Looks like I owe you one, Dear.” Evan smiled.

  Elena nodded and added, “Looks like all of you owe me one.” We laughed.

  We left Kevin in Evan’s room and went to talk to my father. It was about five in the morning, so he was quite surprised to see us at the threshold of his apartment.

  “What is he doing here?” he asked cautiously, watching Evan.

  “He’s not dangerous, Dad. Well, at least not anymore.”

  “I can see that,” my father said, letting us in. “Should I be surprised to see you all here?”

  “We have some news,” I said.

  “That’s what I thought. So what’s the news about?”

  “We found Kevin,” Evan said. “And brought him here.”

  My father’s mouth opened and closed, and there was a moment when I thought he would need medical help. He sat on a couch and shook his head in disbelief.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Eileen sat next to him. “He hasn’t sworn the oath yet. And he needs our help.”

  “How on earth did you manage to bring him here?”

  Evan said, “We found him in our old house, borrowed a plane and came back here, taking him with us.”

  “You borrowed a plane?”

  My father looked shocked.

  We nodded, and he closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

  “You kids are going to drive me to the grave. Don’t you have anything else to play with? A plane? Seriously? How am I supposed to explain it to the others? Do you have any idea how harsh the punishment for hijacking is?”

  “Actually, no one saw us taking it,” Evan said.

  “My goodness! You charmed it!”

  “Um, yes?”

  “And you are supposed to be in prison, young man!” Dad pointed at Evan. “And you will go back there until the Keepers wake up, and then we will decide whether you are sane enough to be out of there.”

  “But, I can’t! I need to be with Kevin!”

  “We will take care of him. Now, go back to the dungeon and make sure no one sees you slipping into the ward.”

  Chapter 14. The Confession

  No matter how much Evan tried to persuade my father to let him stay with Kevin, Dad stayed adamant to his plea. Eileen had to create another illusion to bring Evan back to the dungeon, and as far I knew, he had been swearing all the way to his ward.

  When we made sure that Evan was back where he was supposed to be, we went to Frederick and told him about saving Kevin. He lectured Eileen about the danger she put herself into ‘Because of that boy’s foolishness.’ He was talking about Evan, of course. Then he told me that I was supposed to stop them and not to support their crazy plans. And after he had it all out, he followed us to Evan’s room, where Kevin and Tara were.

  “The tattoo is changing,” Frederick said, touching it carefully. “It’s becoming green.”

  “They said the color would change when I swore the oath,” Kevin replied. “But I haven’t. Does it mean someone’s making me do that remotely?”

  “I don’t think so,” Eileen said. We all stared at her, puzzled. “I think someone’s trying to save you. Only red tattoos make you a member of the brotherhood. But yours is becoming green, and it means that someone’s trying to stop the magic used to create the tattoo. Green is the color of life, and someone’s sharing his life with you to reduce the powers of the spell subjecting you to the Dragons.”

  “I haven’t thought about that,” Frederick said, looking at the tattoo again. “But she’s right. The tattoo I saw on the dead man’s body found in Norfield a couple of months ago, was muddy-red. There were no shades of green.”

  “So that’s what you wanted to tell me?” I asked Eileen. “But you didn’t want Evan to listen to our talk. Why?”

  “Because he could have jumped to the wrong conclusions.” Eileen hesitated, looking at Kevin. “Evan still thinks that your mother is alive. It started the moment Tara told us about the mestaphia. And we all know that the flower was Elizabeth’s personal invention. And though I know he tries not to let these thoughts get deep under his skin, I know the hope still lives in him. Amanda told me that, but I never dared to ask him about it.”

  “This is impossible,” Kevin said. “We saw her body. We….”

  “Why don’t you tell us the truth, Kevin?” Eileen said, crossing her arms. “You were not in the hospital the night the car accident happened. So where were you?”

  Kevin’s face turned pale. “How did you know?” he asked in a barely audible voice.

  “Because the guard who was watching you in Bradburt, was one of the policemen who came to your parents’ house that night, to tell them about y
ou being attacked by the strangers.” Eileen didn’t let Kevin ask his next question, because she knew what that question would be about. “And yes, I saw Evan’s memory about that day. He didn’t recognize the guy because of the cap he was wearing today. But I did. Because I still remember his eyes, watching Evan intently while the other policeman was telling him about you. Of course I’m not going to tell Evan a word about that. But I want you to tell us the truth. Did you have anything to do with your parents’ death?”

  Kevin swallowed, and more drops of sweat ran down his face. “Not exactly,” he said, looking straight into Eileen’s eyes.

  “He’s telling the truth,” Frederick and I said in unison. There were no traces of lies in his aura.

  “Then how can you explain the fake policemen?” Tara asked. Even now I could see how hard it was for Kevin to be with her. He was too weak to control the colors of his aura, and bright-pink sparkles were readily seen. Unbelievable, but he still loved her.

  “When I found out the truth about our father, I desperately wanted to kill him. I hated him for what he made our mom go through. And I wanted to see him suffering, because I couldn’t stand seeing my mother so weak and helpless. I made a plan. I found people who were involved in my father’s affairs. They were the members of the brotherhood. And they hated him too. That’s why they agreed to help me. According to the plan, they were supposed to hit his car hard enough to hurt him, but not to kill him. I put some poison in his whiskey, knowing that he would drink it. He always did that before dinner. Then he was supposed to sit in the car and go to the hospital. Alone. I could have never imagined that my sick mom or Evan, who I thought never really cared about me, would go with him too.”

  I saw a tear, rolling down Eileen’s cheek. She was there now, in that memory. And she remembered every single moment of it. So I came up to her and pulled her into my arms. She didn’t say a word, leaning willingly against my chest.

  “When I came to the scene of the accident, and saw what I had done, I panicked. Evan wasn’t there, but my parents were. Both dead.” Kevin stopped and closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears glistening there. “And then I ran away. I was running as fast as I could, until I got to the house of one of those people who had been helping me. Daron never let me in, pretending he didn’t know me. And here I realized that I was alone in my agony. I couldn’t come back home, and I had no other place to go. So I went back to Siena’s bridge and faced the consequences of my failure. I followed my parents’ bodies everywhere. I was the one to take off Dominic’s ring. I thought it would be better to get rid of it. But the Dragons were following me. They made me give them that ring, and said they would give it back if I agreed to work for them. And so I did. First it was Alexis, whose orders I was assigned to follow. When she was arrested, she sent me a letter, saying where I could find the sapphire from my father’s ring. And I bought it. I went to Norfield and found a small package that she left for me. The stone was there, but as you already know, it was fake.”