The morning breeze slaps his face. And that invisible thread connecting him to Aria yanks at him, gnaws away at the edges of his conscience.
His fault. It’s all his fault. He’d kicked her out. Sent her right into the arms of those savages.
If anything were to happen to her. Just the thought of Aria in harm makes his heart slam against his chest. His jaw hardens and he grips the handlebar of the bike so hard that his knuckles turn white with the stress. But he doesn’t notice.
All he can think is that he needs to get to the Jungle. Fast. As quickly as he can. Before it’s too late. No! He shoves that thought from his mind, and focuses on the road ahead, his eyes tracking the curving white of the footpath as the bike sweeps through the sleeping city.
And even before he reaches the outskirts of the city, where the orderly apartment blocks give way to the refugee camp, he can see the blaze leaping into the air.
The stink of burning plastic, of sewage and rotten fruit hits him. And below it all that acrid-sweet smell of burning flesh – of human flesh, he realizes with horror – makes him gag as he drives into the Jungle.
He takes the bike through the makeshift high street of the camp, guiding it through the huts. Past mounds of rubbish. Discarded sleeping bags, rotting food, broken shoes half buried in the dirt. And in the background, fires burn. Stoked with torn-up plastic sheeting, they pour pungent smoke into the air.
Refugees mill around in clusters. Some of them look up as he zooms by but he doesn’t dare meet their eyes. Every time he comes here, it feels as if the conditions have worsened.
This is what he sent her back to. To live among this dirt and filth. Worse, he’d stripped her of hope. Consigned her to death.
The sinking feeling in his gut worsens and he knows then that he’s committed the worst mistake of his life.
The light from the fire flickers over the face of a man by the road. On his knees, his arms around his two children who are holding on to him, gripping his shirt. They are terrified.
She must be too.
The thought slices through his heart, the pain so sharp then he can barely breathe. It’s as if the life is slowly draining out of him. And he knows then he needs to put all thoughts of her out of his mind. He must focus on the task at hand. Must find her.
Speeding up, Jai reaches his team, huddled at the far end where the main thoroughfare of the camp ends abruptly. Gilbert’s in the lead, positioned at their head.
Coming to a stop, he jumps off, not caring when his bike crashes to the ground. Unsheathing his sword, he runs forward, booted feet pounding the road, dirt flying up behind him.
A crack of lightning lights up the scene, and what he sees makes him almost lost his footing.
Facing his team is at least twenty wolves.
In front of them, his gang of people feel tiny, fragile. And even as he’s thinking this, one of the shifters raises its face to the clouds overhead and growls. The vibrations shiver through the air, making the hair on his arms stand on end. Before the animal can take a step forward, a figure peels out of his team. Sword outstretched, she leaps into the air. Only to be flung aside by the shifter which rushes towards them.
His pulse thudding in his ears, Jai pounds through the rest of the way, adrenaline pumping so hard he sees black spots in front of his eyes. Running through a gap in his team, he flings himself on the nearest creature.
Sword outstretched, he slashes at it across its face. As it rears up, he cuts it. Again. Opening up its guts from neck to belly. And dancing aside as it screams and falls over.
Then, grasping his sword, he raises it up. Lightning flashes again, a delicate hair of light forking to his sword, through the blade, down his arm. A purple-red streak of energy zings through him.
His blood dances with the onslaught of adrenaline and something more. Something more potent that flashes through him, firing up his nerve endings, lighting him up from inside.
And it’s as if he’s done this before. Held the sword and felt its power and followed it as it moves of its own accord, his fingers still gripped around it.
Following instinct, he slams the sword down, slashing through the half-beast in front. Blood splashes out, its coppery smell twining with the electricity of the storm. Yet the shifter keeps coming. So close now, he feels its hot breath gush over his skin.
He kicks out, aiming for its head and getting it square in the middle of the forehead. Before the animal can recover he thrusts his sword between its eyes.
Even before its blood has hit the ground, he’s off and running, his legs almost not touching the earth. All there is, is a fierce push to keep going, fast. Very fast. As fast as the shifters. He knows he can keep pace with them. Cutting through the one in front, slicing the one after, onto the next, and then he stops. So suddenly he almost falls over.
For facing him is a woman. She’s not part of his team, she’s with the shifters. And even as a part of him is registering that, she’s already leaping at him, taking him down. And then he’s on his back, and she’s locked her legs around his chest.
He stares, fascinated, unable to tear his eyes away.
He can feel her powerful muscles flex through the leather trousers. She raises her sword. Then another flash of lightning illuminates her features. The shape of her face, the way she tilts it so familiar that something jogs the edge of his memory. But it’s gone and then all he can see are the golden sparks in her eyes, so bright he has to shut his own against their brilliance.
When he opens them, she’s gone. Already running back the way she’d come, tearing towards the forests in the distance.
And as if following an unsaid signal, the other wolves too retreat. As silently as they had attacked, they fade into the darkness, panting. Adrenaline still pumping through his blood, and still gripping his bloodied sword, Jai walks over to Gilbert who looks at him, a scowl twisting his usually placid features.
"And what have you been smoking?" he asks.
"What do you mean?" Jai replies.
"Didn’t you notice how you moved? You were almost as fast as—"
"The shifters," Jai completes the statement.
He’s been so caught up in the thick of battle that it hasn’t really registered. He knows he’s ramped up his speed. It’s almost as if the sword has become part of him and urged him on. And he’s flowed with it, given himself over to it. For a few seconds there he’d seen the world with clarity, seen the wolves move; been able to anticipate their next move.
This has been the singular best battle of his life and he isn’t even winded. Instead he feels energized, as if he’s plugged himself into a power source that has replenished him, sharpened his senses. And it’s because of the sword.
The sword.
It begins to sink in, just how much he needs the sword. That now that he's realized it, it's going to change his life. Then, it begins to rain, and he pushes it out of his mind.
Time enough to think about that later.
Right now he’s running out of time. And that sends a burst of fear through his gut. Panic clogs his throat. Makes it difficult to breathe. It’s as if she’s calling out to him. He knows then that she is in danger. She’s in the Jungle, in trouble, even now as they speak.
"We must find her," he says, his voice sharp with worry.
Turning towards the ramshackle huts that make up the Jungle, Jai takes off at a half-run, sword still in hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
I'd made my way out of Jai’s apartment and, once on the street, the tears had come. I hadn't stopped them. Had let them flow, trying to wipe away the hurt left by this man. The gaping hole he’d carved out where my heart should be. And then the tears too had dried. Leaving behind a fierce anger. An intense fury that I’d allowed myself to feel anything for him. Yet…Jai had cared for me. I knew that. Just not enough to trust me. To let me stay.
Not that, that had never been a possibility either. And yet, somewhere, a part of me had wanted to believe that he’d definitely f
ind a way for me to stay. But he hadn’t. Of course not.
And still, I couldn’t steal his sword. I had taken it, only to find I couldn’t leave with it. Not when it was his legacy; the last thread that bound him to his mother’s memory. I just knew there was a role for the sword to play in his future, in this city’s future. I only had a hint of how powerful the sword could be. But I already knew that if it fell into the General’s hands, he’d only use it to destroy the city. Destroy everything Jai and his family had spent all these years building.
And no matter that my sister’s life was at stake, I still could’t leave with it.
I’d stood outside his bungalow, dazed. Bewildered. Wondering what to do next. And only then had the consequences of what I’d done hit home.
I didn’t have the sword.
And now Lily would die.
Unless I found a way to rescue her.
I had to get her.
Couldn’t leave her behind.
Couldn’t face up to Vishal either.
And I had to find Lily today. Now. Before Vishal figured out what was happening, that I wasn’t getting him the sword.
But how do I do this? Who could I turn to?
Even as my mind whirled with questions, I was already running, running till I was back at the Jungle. And at the main thoroughfare of the refugee camp.
Who to turn to? Who can help me find Lily?
And then I’d seen him, a figure in the distance, in the small clearing that served as a gathering place of sorts. It was Aki the de facto refugee leader holding his weekly meetings.
He didn’t like to be called a leader, and he's not a refugee either. Aki was from the city. Just he’d decided to turn his back on the Council and everything they stood for. He'd moved to the Jungle to help the refugees.
He knew every nook and cranny of the Jungle. Rumor had it he even knew the whereabouts of the shifters.
I’d walked towards him without even realizing what my intentions were going to be. Forcing my way through the small throng of people, I’d reached the front of the crowd. And had stood there panting, sweat running down my face. Whispers of terror sparked off my skin, and my face must have conveyed my desperation. For he’d stopped midway through his speech. He had looked at me and I could tell from the way his eyebrows furrowed that he’d known something was wrong. That I was in trouble.
He’d dispersed the meeting and heard me out right there. And it had all come tumbling out. How Vishal had taken my sister. How he’d blackmailed me into trying to get the sword from Jai. And that if I didn’t save Lily, if I didn’t get out of the city in the next few hours … I would lose her. I would probably be killed by the shifters too.
It had come as a surprise to him that Vishal and the shifters were already working together. He’d suspected that they were already in touch, plotting something but not that things had already reached this stage of their working together.
He’d said he had an inkling where Lily was hidden. For he had his own alliance with the shifters. He’d allowed them to use an area adjoining the Jungle to house some of their own. And in return the shifters had temporarily agreed to stop attacking the camp.
I was shocked by what he said. My mind trying to take in the consequences of what he’s told me. It dawned on me that there were wheels within wheels here. The politics between the shifters, the Council and the refugees was an explosive triangle. And my sister was right in the middle of it.
More than anything I’d wanted to just take Lily and leave. I'd asked Aki outright if he'd get us out of the camp and on a ship home.
And he’d agreed. It was in his interest to help me. And not only because he wanted to save a little girl’s life. It was to his benefit to unsettle this alliance between the shifters and the Council.
He’d been very curious about the sword too. And I told him what I knew: that the sword was special, probably is a potent weapon. That there was no telling what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. But even then I had no inkling of just how powerful the sword was. Of the role it was going to play in the future of this city. In all our futures.
If I had known perhaps I’d have never left.
Perhaps I’d have gone back and told Jai about the true nature of his uncle.
But I didn’t. For all I could think of then was that I had to rescue Lily. Terror gripping me, making me almost faint with worry, I'd followed Aki’s instructions. And he hadn’t let me down.
He’d created a diversion, set a few of the shifter-homes in the hills on fire. Enough to distract the shifters guarding my sister.
Leaving the coast clear for me to go get Lily.
And now armed with my sword and the gun that Aki has given me, I race through the alleyway. Towards the far end of the Jungle, from the opposite side to where we had stayed. It’s one area of the refugee camp that is sparsely inhabited. For it adjoins the area where the shifters have been spotted. Their lair is just beyond the hills. And as long as I’d been at the Jungle I’d given it a wide berth.
Now I cast nervous glances toward the darkened hills, wondering if the shifters are watching me as I creep up the alleyway. But nothing moves. And I keep going, not looking back. Until I reach the little hut just ahead. Finding it unguarded I send up a silent prayer of thanks.
Aki’s diversion has worked. They had gone to check out the fire, leaving her temporarily unguarded. Beyond the hut, the fire rages, and the scene is chaos. People running to put out the flames, rescuing their meagre belongings, trying to save their lives and those of their family.
Like I am.
Running to the door of the hut, I fire at the lock, shattering it on the first try. When I burst in, it is to find Lily standing in a corner, back to the wall. Her little fists up, mouth trembling.
She’s scared.
But ready to fight.
And in that moment I am so proud of her. For a few seconds she seems unable to believe what she’s seeing. And then her brow clears, her hands drop to her side and she runs to me, hurling herself at me. Dropping to my knees, I hug her tight once, before jumping back to my feet. Hauling her with me, I race out of there. Towards the vehicle that Aki has arranged to take us to the docks. And from there on a ship back home.
Home.
Can I even call New London home, when I am leaving behind the one person who makes me feel safe?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Followed by Gilbert, Jai runs past the burning huts, cutting through the camp to the far end, where the people from New Britain are clustered. Reaching the first of the huts he raises his hand to knock, only to realize there is no door. As he hesitates, the cloth curtain is pulled aside and a woman steps out. Her graying hair is tied back in a bun and her eyes above her sunken cheekbones are shadowed.
Seeing the leap of fear in her eyes, he rushes in to ask. "Ariana…is Ariana here?"
Her eyes fall to Jai’s naked sword and, realizing his mistake, Jai begins to sheath it in its scabbard. But it’s too late.
Starting visibly, she steps back, letting the cloth fall back in place.
Jai stands there, rainwater streaming down his hair, down his collar. His boots sink into the increasingly slimy earth and his heart clutches with desperation. How is he going to find her in this place?
That Aria is in the Jungle he has no doubt. But where is she? How is he going to find her among the huts that stretch out in the darkness.
Despair crawls in his belly and as he wonders what to do next, a movement behind the curtain makes him look up.
"Here." The same woman steps out and offers them an umbrella. It’s old, tattered, a large beach umbrella which at one time must have been brightly colored. "Take it," she says.
As he hesitates, Gilbert takes it, thanks her and opens it up.
It’s wide enough to shield them both. Jai wants to thank the woman as well, but she’s already gone.
"Come on," Gilbert urges and Jai follows him to the next home.
By the time they come to the t
enth home, they are both soaking wet, despite the umbrella shielding them from the worst of the deluge.
Gilbert is shivering so badly he can hear his teeth chatter.
Jai turns to him. "Go home. See to your wounds," he says.
Gilbert brushes aside his concern with an impatient gesture, "If only there was an easier way to doing this, rather than going from door to door. Did you not ask her where her hut was?" he asks as if unable to stop himself.
"No. I. Did. Not." Jai bites out the words, swearing to himself.
So, he’d liked her. A lot. And yet he hadn’t even bothered to find out exactly where in this hellhole she lived. He has been too busy lusting after her. Trying to hold back from touching her. Hell, he’s been too busy trying to pretend she wasn’t even there.
And at some point he’s actually succeeded in ignoring her completely.
Succeeded so well that he’s put her out of his mind. Almost.
If he doesn’t find her in time, if something has already happened to her. He fists his palms at his side. Anger flares, and he clamps down on it, balling that sick feeling into a tight fist that lodges in his chest, making it difficult to breathe. He must keep going, keep looking for her. Find her.
The curtain at the doorway to the next hut is pulled aside, even before they can call out a man stands framed at the door. He’s Jai’s height, broad shoulders, graying beard. Clear blue eyes peer out from below a wide forehead.
"So you’ve finally come?" he asks.
Jai stares, taken aback.
"Jai, isn’t it?" That piercing gaze turns on Gilbert, then back on Jai.
Next to Jai, Gilbert tenses and reaches for his sword. Jai puts a hand on his shoulder, pressing down till he stills.
"Ah! You have more sense than your friend here." He tilts his head and his eyes sweep Jai from head to toe and back. "I should have trusted Ariana’s choice," he says.
"Ariana?" Without realizing it Jai takes a step forward, bringing him close enough to see the lines around the old man’s eyes. "Where is she? Is she safe?" Jai bites out, his voice sharp with worry.
Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 133