“Er… Slade?” a knock sounded on the door right beside her head as Aaron’s muffled voice filled the room. Slade pulled back panting, his eyes wide and filled with animalistic need. He seemed to be battling with himself. As the erotic haze began to lift from her own mind, she felt the same internal war. She knew, somewhere in the recesses of her mind that they should stop. That they shouldn’t be doing what they were about to do, but by the hells, she didn’t want to let him go. She had the feeling, especially when she looked at the horror and regret in his eyes as he slowly came back to himself, that this particular situation would not be happening again and she didn’t want it to end.
“Slade, are you in there?” Aaron’s voice came through the door once more, with more thudding knocks accompanying it. It was the jolt Slade apparently needed to pull himself away from her. He released her hands and she unwound her legs as he took a step back. He stared at her for a moment, guilt and shame all over his face before he turned and opened the door, stalking through it without a look back. She turned as well to find Aaron watching after him in confusion. Confusion that quickly cleared when he turned back to find her standing there.
“Oh… well now, this is interesting,” he said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
She resisted the urge to elbow him in the gut and instead settled for a “Shut up, Aaron,” as she too stalked passed him, heading towards the room she was meant to be sleeping in, closing the door behind her with a loud thud. Frustrated beyond words, in a manner she was unaccustomed to, she flopped down on the large bed with the pretty flowers adorning it and resisted the urge to scream. What the hell had just happened? Not that she was a prude. She wasn’t exactly a virgin. She had had many a fling with unsuspecting men from other clans that knew nothing of her. She was partially human after all. She had needs. But, never had she felt so alive under the hands of another. And that power… what was that? Tendrils of light? What the hell did it mean? Gods, she was frustrated as hell and if she were willing to admit it to herself she would have acknowledged the hurt she felt. The look on his face when he had moved away. He had been ashamed… ashamed of being with her. Even the mightiest ego would take a blow when faced with that. His expression of horror and guilt was stained in her memory and she couldn’t get rid of it. She lay awake for hours, her body tingling and her, her mind reeling and her heart hurting. Men… mystifying creatures.
Chapter 12
Slade paced back and forth in the bathroom. What the hells had he done? One moment he had been seething at himself for the petty jealousy he shouldn’t have been feeling and then he was overcome by rage at Quinn’s confession followed swiftly by fear and longing. Fear of what could have happened to her and longing to feel her beneath him… it was too much. He didn’t think. He just acted. He just took what he wanted without a care. Though she didn’t seem to mind at the time, he was now questioning whether it was truly her. That power, similar to what he had seen in the Outlander glade, had beamed from her, crackling along his skin like tiny bolts of electricity and he had never felt anything like it. He had almost lost all control then, a hoarse groan escaping him as he fought against the urge to take her with a primal need that scared him, in retrospect. After what she had just told him… after everything he had told himself, protecting Shay, protecting Quinn and the mission ahead… and then there was… well, he felt worse than scum.
“Dad?”
“Shay…” When had she arrived? What did she know? How would he explain this to her?
“What happened? Are you alright?” she asked, clearly concerned. He released a soft laugh. A sad, self-hating laugh. She was concerned for him… after what he had almost done. By the Gods…
“I’m fine…” it was all he could manage right then.
“O-kay… well, Claren has some news…” she looked at him oddly before wafting back through the locked door. He nodded to himself. He needed to get his shit together. He’d apologise to Quinn when he could, ask for forgiveness and hope that she kept his indiscretion to herself. He was certainly going to a hell for this. By the Gods, he’d probably be taking a tour of all seven. He ran the tap in the sink and splashed his face with cold water before looking up at his reflection. His eyes were wild and unbridled with an almost feral edge and he was beyond frustrated but he was himself. Hells, he didn’t feel the need to rush to Quinn’s room and throw himself into her bed at any rate. Gods, what had he become? Taking a series of deep breaths, he steeled himself and left the bathroom. Prepared to face an angry redhead with an uncanny ability to make him hot and sweaty, in more ways than one. He walked slowly, like a man walking to his noose, until he rounded the corner to the living room. He found Aaron having a one way conversation with Shay, as he couldn’t hear what she was saying in return and she seemed quite frustrated by it. Quinn, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. He released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding and ran a hand over his face. Aaron looked up, giving him a knowing smirk and he dipped his head in shame. Aaron frowned but didn’t say anything, turning back to the map he had laid out in front of him. Slade moved forward, swallowing down his guilt and stood beside him, scanning the paper on the table. Aaron had added several more security points and cameras, patrol routes and other letters also littered the page.
“What does the S stand for?” Slade asked, his voice rough and hoarse until he cleared his throat.
“Safe. In each of these buildings there is a rebellion operative. We can find safe harbour there if we need to. I have four friends travelling up from Literdon. They’ll meet us in Aurelia tomorrow.”
“Aurelia?” Slade growled, his face contorting to anger.
“Yes. I contacted them, Slade. They know we’re coming.”
“Well I won’t be,” he snarled, crossing his arms in defiance.
“Slade… we need their help.”
“Bullshit, we do. We don’t need anything they could possibly have to offer,” he growled, his hands balling into fists of their own accord.
“Who?” a voice murmured behind him. He suddenly felt cold and hot all at once. Swallowing hard, he turned slowly. Quinn stood before him, her long hair framing her beautiful, angry face. He looked down, unable to bare his shame, hearing her sigh angrily as she asked her question again, this time to his brother. That hurt him, but he understood it. He had betrayed her trust, in fact he wouldn’t blame her if she hated him; he just hoped she stuck around for Shay’s sake.
“Our Mother and Father,” Aaron said from behind him, clearly puzzled by their exchange.
“You have parents?” Quinn asked, seemingly surprised.
“No, we were born from ethereal masses, suddenly transformed into the handsome men you see before you,” Aaron muttered sarcastically, eliciting a growl from himself and a sneer from Quinn simultaneously. “Yes, our parents… they can offer us help.”
“What kind of help?”
“The technical kind. Our Mother is… Tech savvy. She will have tools we can use to bypass some of Jackson’s security measures.”
“Right, okay… what are we waiting for then?” Quinn asked and Slade felt Aaron gesture towards him, picturing the eye roll that surely accompanied it.
“What’s the issue, Slade?” she asked him with a sigh and he looked up, eyeing her properly for the first time. Her hard, irritated expression softened for just a moment when they came eye to eye, replaced with a deep hurt… hurt he had put there. As quick as it came, it was gone and once again she just looked pissed off and annoyed.
“I haven’t seen my parents in five years.”
“Why not?” she asked, seemingly despite herself.
“They betrayed me,” he said simply.
“So we can’t trust them?” she asked with a frown.
“No.” he muttered at the same time as Aaron said, “yes.”
“Well which is it?” she said frustrated.
“They didn’t believe me when I tried to tell them about Shay. They tried to have me locked up in an asylum for it.”
“Oh… well, didn’t Aaron try to kill you at one point? You’ve forgiven him,” she asked reasonably. Reason he didn’t deserve. It was unsettling. He would have rather she screamed at him. Rather she called him out for what he’d done, for what he was. Instead she just stared, waiting, with that defiant calm. It was unnerving.
“Yes… but he never lied about it. My Mother acted as though she believed me and then she tricked me. Told me she had an idea about putting Shay’s soul back in her body… I thought I was going to get her back. It was a trick. A cruel trick. I walked into an ambush. Barely got away and haven’t been back since. Tell me, does that sound like someone we can trust?”
“It sounds like someone who loves you,” she murmured after a few moments. There was a sadness in her voice that he hadn’t heard there before. He frowned, considering her words. She was probably right but he wasn’t about to forgive his mother just yet. “Look, the point is, it’s not about you, or your mother. It’s about Shay and Amira. That is what we’re here for, isn’t it?” Her words seemed like a challenge and he nodded slowly. She nodded too, seeming to take some confirmation in his action.
“In that case, it shouldn’t matter what happened between you, if they can help us, they can help Shay and Amira. So you just need to suck it up and get your priorities in order,” she said, taking a deep breath when she had finished chastising him. “What time do we leave?”
“I was thinking in an hour? It’s almost light out.” Aaron replied, a smile in his voice.
“Alright, how long will it take to get there?”
“If all goes to plan, about two minutes,” Aaron said with a grin before bustling off to get things ready. In the room next door, Slade heard the holocaster switch on and ground his teeth together. Shay hurried out the room to, he assumed, see her grandparents and he was left alone with Quinn. Dangerously alone. She looked up at him, challenging him with her eyes. Her lips parted a little and her eyes wider than usual. She was… Hells, he was fucked.
“Look, about… before…” he began, clumsily, grimacing at his own ineptitude.
“I don’t want to talk about it. It happened… or almost happened and it won’t happen again. We’ll get through this, rescue my sister and Shay and then I’ll leave you to live your life.” Her voice broke on the last word and she turned on her heel and left the room. Left him just as she would again. He felt, so badly, like punching something. He was almost excited to go to Aurelia, there were a few people who caught the wrong side of him when he made his escape that would surely be looking for a rematch. He could hope anyway. He wanted to face someone who could wipe the floor with him… some form of penance. He had hurt her because he was careless, reckless and stupid. She could barely be in the same room as him without crying. She had turned quickly but he had seen the tear falling before she left the room. He had done that. Hells, he was an asshole. A very confused, very stupid asshole. He sat down on the edge of the sofa and held his head in his hands as he mentally listed every single thing he hated about himself in that moment.
After a few minutes, Aaron came back into the room with an expression that signalled surrender. Shay was not with him and Slade was grateful for that. Especially when the questions started.
“So… spill… what happened and why do you look like a kicked puppy?”
“I fucked up… I almost… Shit, I really fucked up.”
“Trouble in the equipment department? Happens to the best of us, well, not to me but, you know, sad sacks like you… sure,” Aaron muttered with a smirk. He quickly frowned however, when he saw the utter desolation on Slade’s face.
“When she uses too much of her gifts, she changes. She isn’t herself. Her gifts… presented,” Slade muttered with a sigh, explaining as best he could.
“Right… so you think you took advantage?”
“I know I did, Aaron. She told me she was attacked yesterday and I… well, she was vulnerable and I just tried to take what I wanted.”
“How do you know she didn’t want it too?” Aaron asked reasonably. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t know her too well but, you can cut the sexual tension between you two with a butter knife.”
“No… she… she doesn’t want me in that way. She… she was almost crying in here, Aaron. I did that. She said once we’ve dealt with this mess and sorted out Shay and her sister, she’s gone and I… I don’t blame her,” Slade murmured dejectedly.
“Do you care for her?”
After a moment, Slade answered with a solemn, “yes.”
“So… fight for her. You know, better than most, that life is a fickle thing, even for us immortals. How much regret would you carry if something happened and you never got to tell her how you felt?”
“Not as much as I would feel if I ever see that look of pain on her face again, I know that.”
“Oh, shut up. That’s a coward speaking,” Aaron said, moving to roll up the map with a shake of his head. “This isn’t about her… it’s about you. You’re afraid. Afraid to feel anything again. I understand it but… it’s just cowardly,” he finished with a sigh before leaving the room. Maybe he was right but it didn’t matter. Even if he was a coward, as Aaron had put it, she didn’t feel the same anyway. At least not when she wasn’t on a high from her gifts.
Less than an hour later and he had showered, dressed and internally shouted at himself at least a hundred times. He stood in the living room, waiting. Shay hovered near him and Quinn sat on the sofa opposite, avoiding eye contact. Aaron came in holding a large cotton bag full of papers and oddly shaped crafts. He walked to the centre of the room and placed a small metal disk on the floor, pressing a button on the side. A large invisible energy field bloomed from the circular device, the ripples in the air and the visual distortion it caused, the only way to know it was there.
“What is that thing?” Quinn asked curiously, spying it with apprehension as though it was liable to jump up and bite her.
“It’s a transporter. Essentially, a molecular portal, really. It has a twin, you see? Another disk, like this one, and they are calibrated to each other. As long as both disks are activated at the same time, you can walk through and find yourself at the others location,” Aaron explained, as though he were reading from an instruction manual.
“Right but… how?” Quinn asked, standing up and regarding the small metallic disk like a wild animal, poised to strike.
“Oh… well, um… probably best you don’t know. It’s perfectly safe, I assure you,” he said with a weak smile.
“Can I go through that thing?” Shay murmured and Slade repeated her question for Aaron’s benefit.
“I hadn’t thought of that… she should be able to,” he said, biting his lip, a little more anxious than he had been before. Just then the invisible force field began to glow a bright purple and before he had a chance to object, Shay floated towards it. He reached forward as Quinn shouted for her to stop but his hands passed through her arm as she leaped into the portal with a shrug. He cursed loudly, preparing to jump in after her but Quinn beat him to it. Not a moment had passed since his daughter disappeared into the purple ether but it felt like an eternity as he watched Quinn dive in after her. He followed suit without a second thought and then he was… floating.
His body felt weightless as he hurtled through time and space in a purple vortex of discomfort. He felt the sides of the… whatever it was… pushing against him, suffocating him in a claustrophobic vice but he didn’t care. Where were they?
“Shay?” he shouted, though his voice didn’t seem to carry more than two feet ahead of him. He looked around him, his head turning a thousand times slower than he intended. It felt like forever before he finally caught a glimpse of Quinn’s bare foot. She was reaching out for a pale, shimmery figure. Her fingers falling short of Shay’s arm as they hurtled through the purple abyss. He felt, rather than saw, that they would be through on the other side soon, at least he and Quinn would be. He heard a muffled battle cry as she tried aga
in to get a hold of his daughter, perhaps coming to the same realisation, but still her fingers fell short. He fought against the current that was propelling him but it was no use. He was stuck in the in-between. He roared against the purple prison holding him, feeling impotent and useless. He watched as Quinn stopped reaching for Shay. She was giving up. How could she just give up? No sooner had the question circulated his mind that realised he was very wrong. All at once a group of blackened tendrils flew out of her, reaching for her, leaping towards his daughter. He released a silent scream as he watched them make contact, upon which they began to glow brightly, the shadows turning to brilliant white, shining beams as they gripped hold of Shay… and then he was falling. Falling and tumbling, except he wasn’t, his feet his solid ground and the purple haze rescinded as the bright morning sun bore down on him with a wicked vengeance. He fell to his knees, coughing and spluttering as he fought the urge to throw up his breakfast. Bleary eyed, he looked up to see Quinn, floating just above the ground, Shay curled into a small, ethereal ball beside her. He staggered to his feet, half crawling towards them as Shay unfurled on the ground. She had extricated herself from the beams of light before he reached her and was staring up at Quinn in awe. He finally made it to her, half of him wanting to hug her in relief and the half wanting to strangle her for being so stupid. Before he could say a word, he followed the direction of her eye line to see Quinn. Her eyes were brilliant white orbs and the tendrils of her power wrapped around her lovingly as she looked down on Shay.
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