"Do you like it? I had it custom made for you this morning. I stayed there for hours. They let me watch while they made it. It symbolizes purity after death, right? You've come back from what should have killed you and you're going to be stronger for it."
"Purple lily." Niki removed it from the box and held it up, watching the flower catch the light. He slid the chain over his head then held the pendant between his fingers. "It's my own phoenix."
"I'm sorry if it makes you think about dying. I know you wanted them at your funeral, but I think they mean something more than that."
"It's perfect, Jack. Thank you. You're right, you know? I should have died at least twice in the past week. For some reason, I'm still here. I owe that to you. Our bond keeps me alive. This flower will keep blooming no matter what happens. Really, I love it."
"I'm glad."
Niki doubled over, holding his head in his hand. "I, uh . . ."
"Niki?"
"I need to lie down."
Jack comforted his friend. "Okay, yeah. I know this was a lot for you so soon."
"Come with me. I'm sorry, everyone. I'm hurting."
"Son, do you need more pain meds?" Leo asked, jumping to his feet, ready to help. "They're on your bedside table."
"Jack will give them to me." Niki pulled himself to his feet and stumbled into the bedroom. He shut the door behind them once Jack was inside with him. "I had to get out of there. They were all looking at me, staring like vultures hovering over a corpse. They look at me and all they see is that video. They see me as a victim, broken, weak. It's like they're waiting on me to die. They're expecting it. They're confused as to why I'm breathing. I get it. I should have died. I watched the video this morning."
"Niki, why?"
He sat on the bed then leaned back against the pillows. "Because I wanted to see what now three hundred million people have seen. I only remembered parts of it. It blurred together in the pain and the drugs. Jack, they drugged me. These bottles of painkillers aren't only here because I'm hurting. Dean got them for me so I could ease off of them without going into withdrawals. He's scared that I became dependent or addicted to them in such a short time. Going off of them could kill me."
"That's fine. We'll get you better."
"They injected me with drugs so I would stay awake for them." Niki took one of the syringes and filled it with clear liquid from the closest bottle. He handed it to Jack. "They didn't want me falling unconscious. Xander was the one who kept giving it to me. Without those drugs, I probably would have succumbed to the pain. In a weird way, he saved me."
"I think you need to rest." Jack took Niki's arm and felt around for a vein. He looked into his friend's weary eyes as he slowly injected the medicine. "There. I'll be here now. I'm not going away. We don't have to run anymore, now that they think you're dead."
"Jack, there's something else you need to know. I didn't want to admit it because it scares me, but watching the video this morning, it became undeniable. Xander wasn't the only person there who I knew. There was one person who watched, mainly."
He set the used syringe aside. "It wasn't Opal, was it? I thought she loved you."
"I wasn't her. It was a man. He was the one filming it. He seemed upset, like he didn't really enjoy it as the others did, but he was there. He lit the others' cigarettes so they could burn me. He kept repeating something to me in Persian, in Farsi. Most of the others thought I knew Arabic, which I do, just not as well as Farsi. They're different languages. My mother's family is Persian. Anyway, the man with the camera kept talking to me. He was saying, 'I'm sorry. I do what I have to do.'"
"He said he was sorry?" Jack asked. "Why would he apologize if he was helping them?"
"Because he feels guilty, but not guilty enough to stop."
"Who do you think it was?"
Niki growled. "I know who it was. Allen."
"No. You're not remembering correctly. Not him."
"It was Allen. I know my stepfather."
It had to be a mistake. Jack couldn't believe that his teacher, his friend, his father figure would do something like that. Mr. Allen loved Niki as his own son. "He wouldn't do that. Niki, Mr. Allen wouldn't help them hurt you."
"I didn't tell you when I told you about Xander because I knew you wouldn't believe me. I was stupid to think you'd listen."
"No, Niki . . . I'm sorry." Jack took his Time Knight's hand. "I believe you. I'm just shocked. If you say it was Mr. Allen, then I have no reason to question you."
"You mean that? You don't think I'm losing my mind?"
"No. You're not crazy. I believe you. What do we do about it? Do you want to kill him?"
"Don't say things like that. That's not like you. You're not violent."
He would be violent if it was needed. "I get violent when I have to protect the people I love. If I have to kill him, I'll do it. Watching that video, seeing what they did to you . . . it made me furious. No one will touch you again."
"Jack, I know Allen used to hurt you. He would take you to dinner and you'd be gone for hours. When he got home, he said he left you at your apartment and you were asleep. It's part of the reason I hated him so much."
Jack's stomach turned, remembering the conversation he had with Marjorie during the interrogation. "He sold me."
"That sick bastard. Who sells children for sex?"
"It wasn't for that, Niki. He sold me for my blood."
Niki petted Jack's hand as if he was picturing the events. "Your blood. Powerful Iskaydrian blood. Did you ever think it was odd that the Syndicate killed your mother and three of your grandparents because they were close to your father, but they didn't kill your father's Time Knight? A Chronomancer's Time Knight is the closest person to the Chronomancer. Why would they let him live?"
"So he could help raise me."
"That's not enough. He's been working with them."
"Are you sure?" Jack asked.
"It all makes sense. Allen was left alive because he was still loyal to the Syndicate. Something happened in November, he did something to make the Syndicate need to take action. Now they're making him pay for whatever that was by forcing him to hurt me."
"What do you want to do about it?"
"I'm not sure." Niki moaned as he scooted down to curl up on the mattress. "It hurts, you know?"
"Your injuries?"
"Yes, but that's not what I mean. I trusted him. I was a fool, but I did trust him, deep down. I don't know if I can trust anyone other than you, Jack. You're the only person who hasn't let me down."
Jack tucked the blankets around his friend. "I try every day to not let you down, Niki."
"I know. Whatever we decide to do about Allen, you're wrong about something. This isn't over. It's far from over. You're saying it to make me feel better, that I'm not slowing you down, but we still have to find Ellie. I will live to stand beside you at that altar and be your best man."
"We'll find her. If we join the Syndicate with Marjorie, I'll be able to talk my way into the labs and find her."
"After all of this, you want to side with those people?" Niki asked.
"I don't want to. I might have to. I can join them and then leave like my father."
"In case you've forgotten, they murdered your father for leaving. They slaughtered your family. They just partnered with Sand to beat and rape me with a meat hook. They left me to die in that freezer. And you want to play games with them?"
Jack leaned over Niki then took his hands and squeezed them as he locked eyes with his Time Knight. "Listen to me right now, Nikolas Valentino. If I do join the Syndicate, I will make one hundred percent sure that you are not in danger. I swear it on the graves of my family. You will not suffer for me ever again. You won't be a part of that and if they try to drag you into it, I'll leave."
"You'll die."
"And how many times have you nearly died for me?"
Niki scoffed. "This is insane."
"If you have a better plan about how to get Ellie back, I'
m listening. I'm running out of ideas and she's running out of time. When I saw her in Alvezenden, she wasn't in good shape. They've been beating her, maybe worse. I have to get her out of there."
"I know. I trust you to do what you know is right. However, the Syndicate will not stop trying to get rid of me."
"I won't let them."
After a few moments of Niki's raspy breathing, he smiled slightly. "Tell me about the kid."
"Thyme? I guess I haven't had the chance to formally introduce you two. He's a sage."
"I know what they are. Are you replacing me?" Niki asked.
"Never."
"So, what is he here for, then?"
Jack chose his words carefully so as to not upset him. "I made a deal with Olivia Morningstar in the market of Alvezenden. She bought him for me and in exchange, I told her that I would join the Zurvan Syndicate. Don't be mad at me. That boy in there was chained by his neck to a post in the ground. He was starving to death and they've been caning his hands. He has scars. I couldn't leave him like that. I wish I could have saved all of them."
"I love that about you. You did the right thing, but now the Syndicate will want what they're due."
"Yeah."
"So, Marjorie is your mother?" Niki asked.
"Biological."
"Gotcha."
Jack frowned when he saw the furrowed brow. "Why are you making that face?"
"You've got Iskaydrian on both sides. Kinda rare."
"Marjorie says I'm powerful and she wants me to father children with a harem of twenty women."
Niki grinned. "Now we're talking. I could get behind that."
Jack laughed and punched Niki in the arm. "Even torture can't stop you, huh?"
"What can I say? I love the ladies. Without a doctor examining me, though, I don't know if I'll be able to enjoy that again."
"That bad?"
Niki shifted under the blankets. "It's pretty bad. Cuts and stuff. Some are deep. We'll see."
"If everyone thinks you're dead, we could take you to the hospital under a different name. Even better, the Inquisition of Purity has doctors."
He glared at Jack. "No way."
"Shay Terringer saved your life. Do you want to be impotent because you never got an injury taken care of? The Niki I know wouldn't give up his sex life for anything."
"You know too much about my sex life, Jackson." He chuckled, clutching his side. "We'll see. I have bigger issues to deal with than that, unfortunately."
Jack watched as his friend pulled back the blankets to show the sheets that were stained red. "You're still bleeding."
"It's less than it was, but it hurts so bad. You have no idea. I'm hoping it heals on its own, but I'm scared that permanent damage has been done."
"That's your body. How's your mind?" Jack asked.
"I like to not think about that. I have never felt so empty in my life as I did on the floor of that freezer. They took something from me. They changed me. I know I'm still in shock about all of this and that it's gonna hit me hard when that wears off. Promise me something."
"Anything."
"Promise me that no matter how depressed I get, promise me that you won't give up on me. Pull me back to the surface before I drown."
"Always. I promise you, Niki. I'm right here by your side. You're gonna be okay, brother."
Niki closed his eyes and turned on his side with a groan. "I'm tired."
"Get some sleep."
"Stay with me? Can you hold me like I used to hold you when you got nightmares?"
Jack removed his shirt then crawled onto the bed. He joined Niki under the blankets and put his arm around his chest. In the quiet stillness of the bedroom, he held his friend close to him, taking in every breath he took as if it could have been the last one. "You don't even have to ask."
Chapter 23
Coarse sand gritted between Jack's teeth as he stirred awake to the sound of water lapping at his bare feet. The coolness soaked into his jeans, making the denim stick to his legs. With a ringing in his ears, he sat up, rubbing his lower back where it felt like someone had hit him with something hard. When he opened his eyes, bright sunlight beat down on him and his cheeks stung with the beginning of a bad sunburn. Jack licked his lips while he took in his surroundings, wondering if he was dreaming.
A white ibis waded in the shallow water of the river that sparkled in the middle of the desert. Pale green reeds surrounded Jack like a natural barrier, concealing him from anyone who would pass that way. He felt around until his hand landed on something hard. He pulled it up and became even more confused. His sword. Durendal. It came with him, however he got to where and when he was. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep next to Niki in the hotel room.
Then the panic slammed into him. Where was Niki? If Jack had warped in his sleep and he was that close to Niki, his Time Knight could have come with him. That was especially true if he had any contact with his friend's blood. But where was he? Niki was in no condition to be time traveling. If he was lost somewhere in the desert, he could have been dead within minutes.
Jack brushed the sand from his undershirt, but stopped when he saw the rusty red smeared there. Niki's blood. So he most likely came with him. He watched the wind blowing over the tops of the distant sand dunes, the ox in a field, and the smoke rising from a fire in a nearby village. A few tan-skinned men with brown cloths wrapped around their waists dragged a large slab of stone down a winding path towards the village while a pale man in blue silk robes shouted at them with a whip in his hand.
Slaves? Jack studied the slaves, looking for any features that would tell him where he was. They had a similar facial structure to Niki. Was he in the Middle East somewhere? But the slave driver didn't fit. Who was he? Mediterranean? He looked more like Niki's father who was Italian. Where did those two cultures collide? The ibis, the river, and the peaks of distant pyramids over the sea of sand told him exactly where and when he was. Egypt during the time when Greece held power and influence. He remembered studying it in world history, but most of the details eluded him.
A threatening hiss nearby drew his attention to the water's edge. Giant jaws with razor-sharp teeth rose out of the water to snap down on the white bird. The crocodile dragged the squawking ibis under the glittering surface, turning it crimson with a violent splash. Eyes wide with terror, Jack scrambled to his feet and took off running with his sword in hand. He was not going to end up as crocodile food.
He raced away from the crocodile-infested water, checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. In that instant, he collided with something big and fleshy. With ringing in his ears, Jack stumbled backwards and regained his footing in the sand. Three men in red tunics with leather straps wrapped around their waists cackled hysterically as they dismounted their camels. Before Jack could come to terms with what was happening, he was surrounded. He drew his sword and held it at the ready, even though he had no idea how to actually use it effectively.
Jack swung Durendal at the heavy-set man, but missed. His thin arms were not used to combat. In that instant that he was unaware, the muscular one lunged to his right, kicked the back of his knees, then hit him between the shoulder blades, dropping Jack to the ground. Before he could catch his breath, the sword was pried from his grasp and two men stood on his hands, keeping him prone and vulnerable.
The men laughed at him as the leader held up Durendal in the sunlight. Jack pried his hand free then reached out for his sword, but a foot in his back kept him pinned in the sand. He listened as they spoke to each other in a language Jack couldn't understand. When the leader said something, the men hauled Jack to his feet then kept him there as the dark-haired man approached. The fat fingers poked at his lips while the other hand forced his jaw open. Jack squirmed as the man inspected his teeth and lifted his tongue. After a few moments of prodding, the leader's fingers left him. He flinched when that same hand smacked him across the face.
The tip of the sword pricked the sk
in on his arm. He recoiled, but a strong hand seized him by the back of his neck. Jack whimpered when his clothes were sliced off of him and thrown into the river, leaving him stark naked and petrified. One of the men took out a long piece of white fabric and wrapped it around Jack's waist, tying it securely in the front. He froze when the hand on his neck tightened to brutal levels and another man stepped close and seized his ears. He yelped when a sharp pinch pierced through his earlobes. When the man stepped away, Jack felt the weight of earrings hanging from his newly pierced ears.
A hit to the back of his head sent him stumbling forward where his forearms were caught in thick leather bindings up to his elbows. He could only watch in fear as they were laced closed then attached to the saddle of the largest brown camel with a hearty rope. A matching rope was looped around his neck and secured to the saddle as well. The realization of his fate grew like a hot stone in his stomach. Jack was a slave.
The slavers mounted their camels again then started into the desert. Jack's heart pounded loudly. His mouth grew dry. The leather bindings bit into his arms and his shoulders ached from being pulled on relentlessly. Sweat poured down his body, drenching the cloth around his waist. His bare feet blistered on the blazing sands and bled when they slipped on jagged rocks and pieces of wood. He panted as he walked fast enough to keep up with the camel, his whimpering sounds drawing the taunting laughter of the slavers.
For two hours, Jack panted and mewled as he struggled to keep up with the camel under the midday sun. Blisters formed on his reddened shoulders, causing his skin to peel and bleed. Eventually, and much to Jack's initial relief, the slavers stopped their camels beside a secluded oasis where palm trees grew along the banks of the pale water. He wavered on his burnt feet, backing away from the slavers who approached him.
The ropes binding him to the camel were untied before he was shoved into the dark sand. Jack writhed in pain and spit out sand, his lungs burning nearly as bad as his reddened skin. A kick to the side and a fist twisting his hair forced him up on his knees. The man with his hand in Jack's brown locks dragged him, screaming, to the water's edge before stopping in the mud. The man barked something at him and twisted his hand, drawing out a whining sound from Jack, who reached up in a futile attempt to remove the slaver's hand.
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