“Are you alright?” Slade asked her, after ten minutes of silence.
“I… I am. I think. I’ve never used this much of my gifts before. I’ve always been afraid of them but… I don’t feel afraid anymore. Is that wrong?”
“Hells no. Your gifts are a part of you. They’re powerful and should be used responsibly but I can’t think of anyone I’d trust more with that than you,” he murmured, looking out at the horizon. The sun was low in the sky, a beautiful cascade of red, orange and purple complimenting it as it got ready to hide for the night.
“My sister used to tell me that if I just used them more, I would learn to control them. Apparently she was right. When we get her back, I’ll never hear the end of it.” She chuckled and he joined her, shaking his head.
“Seems like she and Shay will get along fine,” he commented with a smile.
“Thank you,” she muttered suddenly, catching herself off-guard as well as him.
“For what?”
“For trusting me in there.” She turned away, feeling uncomfortable. Sex was a level of intimacy she could accept, even if the physical sensations with Slade went beyond anything she had ever experienced but gratitude… that was something else.
“Nothing to be thankful for. I trust you, that’s all there is to it, sweetheart.” She looked up shyly, checking his face for signs of deception but it was the same handsome face she had gotten to know and like considerably over the past few days. Had it only been a few days? It felt like so much longer.
“We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we?” she murmured, still studying him.
“That we have. Kidnap, rescue, asshole brothers, ghostly daughters… the list goes on and on,” he said melodramatically, earning himself a thwack on the arm. “Looks like you’re all flamed out. Ready to head back in to the fray?”
She looked down at herself, surprised by his announcement. She hadn’t even felt them go and yet he was right. What’s more, her clothes weren’t even singed. Another new development. Shaking her head at herself, she took his arm and allowed him to lead her back to the cabin.
Before they reached the door however, the small woman who was held hostage by the King’s soldiers opened the door.
“I must speak with you both,” she announced, walking past them and beckoning for them to follow. Slade grumbled about manners and she rolled her eyes but they turned on their heels and followed her all the same. She had a shock of white blonde hair on her head and was more visibly aged than most Immortals. Her pale green eyes shone with a high level of intelligence and self-awareness, emphasised by the lines on her face and the glow from the setting sun. She stopped at the wooden fence and leant against it, staring off into the distance. As they approached, Slade murmured to her about the woman’s actions when she had been shot and Quinn began feeling uncomfortable once more.
“I hear that you helped to heal me,” she began. “Thank you. What is it you want in return?”
The woman turned to her, rolling her eyes as she did. “Why would I want something, child?”
“No-one does something for nothing,” Quinn said with a shrug. It was just the way the world worked.
“Fair enough. In that case, what I want is for you to listen to me and hear my words. Both of you.”
“Speak your piece, we are listening,” Slade said and Quinn nodded slowly, not trusting the woman’s intentions.
“But will you hear? That is the question. My name is Kiera. I have two gifts as do many. One is the gift of flame, though it is not as powerful as yours, child. The other is the gift of future sight.” She paused allowing the information to sink in.
“I’m sorry but if that is true, why did you allow yourself to be captured? Why did you not warn Quinn about the bullet?” Slade muttered, an edge to his voice.
“Imagine this, boy,” Slade raised an eyebrow at being called a boy but she either didn’t see his reaction or just ignored it because she continued. “You see multiple futures. Each possible and running side by side. Only a roll of the dice or a drop of a hat determines which future path will be followed. Which would you choose to believe? The happiest path or the path where everybody dies no matter what you do?”
“Are you saying we will all die on our mission to Union City?” Quinn asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Would it deter you if I said yes?” Kiera asked, her head tilting to the side.
“Not in the slightest,” she replied with solid conviction.
“I see that. I also see four possible paths for your mission. Each of them end in death, though the death of whom is not certain.”
“Fickle visions of the future? Makes a damn change,” Slade growled causing the ghost of a smile to fall over Quinn’s lips.
“Hush, boy,” Kiera muttered with a wave of her hand towards him, turning her full attention to Quinn, “he does not believe, that much is obvious. Just promise me you will remember this, there are no choices when all choices are wrong. There will be no clear path, no righteous path, to follow. You can only follow what is in your heart, no matter the darkness it leads you to endure. No matter your gifts, you are not infallible. There are some with gifts greater than yours and you will have to face them, no matter which path you choose. The only thing that sets you apart is your will to do the right thing for those who need protecting. Remember this and it will save them. Oh… and don’t use the underground tunnels. Traps.” Without another word, she scurried off, along the dirt path and back into town without so much as a glance behind her. Slade scoffed but Quinn couldn’t help staring after her. A strange one to be sure, but by all accounts most seers were. A gentle tug on her hand finally brought her back to earth and, shaking her head at the curious psychic, she followed him back to the cabin.
Chapter 18
Several hours had passed since the seer had dropped her drivel all over them and Slade was starting to feel confident in their chances. After disposing of one plan to utilise the tunnels, just to be on the safe side, they had a solid plan of getting in and out of the city utilising the portal disks they had used to enter Aurelia. Slade shook his head as he looked the small silver disks over once more. His Mother truly was a marvel. Using simple tools and electrical energy harvested from willing Immortals she had been able to create a number of gadgets he should have known better than to think impossible. In all truth, he would have felt better walking but it would have taken days and they only had until the following sunset. Shay had popped in and out, confirming this over the last couple of hours. Even in her ghostly form she looked exhausted. He started to reach for her, where she hovered beside him but stopped himself when he realised what he was doing. Soon, he thought, giving her a soft smile instead. Once they entered the city, it was a stealth mission with Shay leading the way, warning them of any hazards or patrols. Dax, Colt, Kieron and Diana, the female rebel, would each be wearing the King’s soldier’s uniforms they had arrived in and they had also salvaged three more from the fallen soldiers in town just in case they were spotted. He smiled as he remembered Quinn’s face when Dax had handed her the uniform she was to wear. She wasn’t happy, at least, not until she saw the boots that came with it. One of the female soldiers had roughly the same size feet. The smile beamed from her as she hurried off to put them on. Just about to go into battle, face certain death, and the woman loses her mind over new shoes… figures. Getting into the King’s fortress was proving to be the difficult part of the plan. Shay’s information was limited as most entrance ways were coated in silver. That would mean that they would be vulnerable going in as any gifts would be rendered useless, so the way in needed to be carefully scouted. Of course, with their primary resource for sneaking around and remaining unseen not functional in this situation because of the literal silver lining, they had hit a wall. Leaving them with only one unsavoury option. Interrogation. He, Quinn, Colt, Dax and for some reason, Kieron, had walked to the silver laced cell the Kings soldiers had brought with them. Colt and Dax had placed the three soldiers from
the tavern who had been lucky enough to continue breathing inside when he had carried Quinn to the house. The memory of her limp body, covered in her own blood, still fresh in his mind gave him a gut-wrenching shiver and he felt the need to grip her hand. Just to check she was still there, still with him. She looked up, her grey eyes glowing brightly, her hair taking on a purple hue in the moonlight. She really was a beauty… how the hells had he gotten so lucky? She squeezed his hand lightly as she turned towards the small prison cell the soldiers had conveniently brought with them. He smiled inwardly thinking that they probably hadn’t imagined it would be their own holding unit by the time the night was through.
“So, we kill one and then the others will talk, right?”
“Moron,” he heard Quinn mutter, causing him to raise the side of his mouth. “No. We do not kill one unless we have reason to. They are prisoners of war, but they are still people. We will treat them as such,” she said louder, though by the look of the scowl on Kieron’s face he’d heard her first comment anyway.
“And how do you suggest we make them talk?” he asked, no small amount of acid in his voice.
“We ask them nicely,” she quipped, a large fake smile on her face as she flipped her hair sarcastically. “I’m not above torture if the situation calls for it, but it should not be a first resort. People will say anything to stop pain or avoid being next on the chopping block. We need to be smarter,” Gods, he loved the way this woman thought. Brains and beauty. And power… lots and lots of power. His woman was not one to mess with. His woman? He caught himself thinking it and not for the first time. It was too early to know if this thing that had developed between them would go far but he had every intention of finding out. So for now, and hopefully a lot longer, she was his woman. Whether she knew it or not.
“Sounds good to me,” Colt muttered, throwing a hate-filled sneer in Kieron’s direction. Definitely a story there, Slade thought to himself, I wonder if he’d be willing to share it…
A minute later and they were standing outside the silver panelled box holding three angry looking soldiers, two men and one woman.
“Try the woman first. The men might be willing to protect her,” Kieron offered, eliciting an eye roll from Quinn. She looked up at him and he nodded, releasing her hand. He watched with an awe-filled smile on his face as she closed her grey eyes and opened them again a moment later, a mixture of black, white and red. Black had taken the place of white, a moving, almost sentient red, the colour of wildfire, had filled the grey of her iris and her pupil was a stark white. The change had occurred when she had threatened Kieron the first time. He had thought then, as he did now, that it was the most amazing, most mesmerising thing he had ever seen. He could stare into those eyes forever if only she’d let him. At least that’s what he had planned when the mission was over and Shay and Amira were home safe. Soon.
Quinn turned back to the cell, shadows coiled around flames, dancing over her figure, teasing at the body beneath her clothes. He shifted himself uncomfortably, internally berating himself and his manhood for having the worst timing whilst he forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. Quinn walked around the outside of the cell, well actually she floated or at least walked on the air beneath her feet because it sure as shit wasn’t ground. Her eyes focusing on one soldier and then the other and then the last. She gave a shiver as she focused on the last soldier, her lip quivering in anger.
“That one,” her many voices announced and Colt and Dax were ready to oblige. It amused him a little, how quickly she had won their support, which she undoubtedly had. Particularly Colt. Dax, it seemed, would go wherever Colt went. The two seemed as close as Brothers, maybe even closer. Colt on the other hand was headstrong, proud and apparently had a lot of respect for the pint-sized immortal with the red hair. Not that Slade could blame him. The woman commanded respect and not just because of her power. Only Kieron seemed to be missing that.
Colt and Dax pulled a large, muscular man from the cell and slammed the door behind them, pushing him to his knees in front of Quinn. It didn’t much matter, his size was on par with Slade’s so he still came up to her shoulders. Still, it didn’t affect how intimidating she was. Had it been him in that position, his balls would have shrunk to the size of raisins.
“What is your name, Soldier?” Quinn asked him, her multiple voices strong and confident.
“L-Liam.”
“Liam, why are you here?”
“This is ridiculous,” Kieron muttered with a sigh, earning a dirty look from Slade and Colt.
“I was ordered here. It was a mission.”
“I am aware of that, Liam. That is not what I meant. Why are you in the Kings army?”
“I… I had no choice. Not many of us do,” the soldier admitted, his broad shoulders sagging a little.
“Your heart, it is pure. You do not relish the kill.”
“I don’t… I mean I… I try not to…” the soldier cut off, glancing towards the cell that his fellow soldiers were watching from.
“Taking a life, especially an innocent life, tarnishes the soul. Did you know that?” she asked, thoughtfully.
“I guess. I mean I hadn’t given it much thought.”
“Do not lie to me, Liam. I can see your soul. I see the pain you have suffered and I see why you joined the Kings army. I am not asking you questions I do not know the answers to. I am offering you the chance to find a new path.”
“I… I have done terrible things,” he muttered, a single tear rolling down his broad cheek from a light hazel eye. Slade took a moment to assess the soldier once more. He was easily the biggest soldier in the cell, his visage a domineering one, but his skin was clear and youthful, no battle wounds or signs of internal decay that comes naturally with hard living. Hell, he knew all about that. Despite his size and obvious strength, this man was just a boy.
“The things you have done, you did not choose. None of these things have ended an innocent life, why do you torture yourself?” Quinn asked, tilting her head a little.
“I… that family… I could have saved them.”
“You tried.”
“Not hard enough.”
“But you did try.”
“And they died anyway.”
“There are men here who cannot say the same, and they are on this side of the cell,” Quinn paused, looking purposefully at Kieron before continuing. “The question remains, what will you do now? You are at a crossroads, Liam. You have only two paths ahead. One is uncertain and full of danger, possibly death, but it is honourable. The other is set, a course for misery and pain, not yours but others. You may survive it but at what cost? The choice is yours.”
“But… the… I joined the King because…”
“It matters not. That is not my secret to tell but if you do decide to share it, you will not be judged for it here. Not without my defence at your side.”
“And Alex?”
“I will do my best for him when we enter the fortress.”
The soldier nodded thoughtfully and after a moment began to stand to his feet, Colt and Dax drawing their weapons as he did, but with a nod from Quinn, they replaced them and took a step back. Slade had taken a step forward to be safe but he hadn’t really thought she was in any danger. Still, he didn’t take a step back when the others did.
“My sword is yours,” the soldier said, bowing his head. The other soldiers started shouted, banging their fists against the reinforced glass in anger. Quinn turned towards them, tilting her head once again.
“These two are not good souls. They deserve death for their actions.” She said it coldly, simply without emotion but Slade could see the slight tensing of her shoulder line and the whitening of her knuckles as she nonchalantly balled her fists. Her comments did nothing to quieten the soldiers’ fury however.
“Want us to take care of them?” Colt asked, not questioning how she knew the things she did. In fact no-one had questioned that. He didn’t doubt she knew them but what gave him pause
was how she knew them… she wasn’t a seer.
“No. There is no honour in killing an unarmed man… or woman. However, they cannot be allowed to escape. We need someone to keep watch.” All eyes turned to Kieron in a sweeping motion.
“Hells no. It is not happening.”
Ten minutes later they arrived back at the cabin, everyone minus Kieron who had finally agreed to stay for the first two hour watch. Liam had walked awkwardly with them, keeping his head down and his hands in front of him. Probably to appear as least threatening as possible, Slade thought, someone should probably tell him to give up the ghost in that department. The kid was doomed. Before entering Quinn stopped, her gifts not fully rescinded yet, her eyes still a startling mix of black and white.
“I have accepted you, Liam. Of course, I cannot say the same for everyone. I will tell you that should you be brave enough to share your story. You will not face any bigotry here,” she murmured, a look of warning at Dax and Colt who both seemed mildly offended.
“I understand. If I share, and no-one threatens to… well, you know, could I… I mean, I could be valuable… could I join the mission?” Colt had given the soldier a rundown of what they planned without sharing any specifics and hinted at what they needed to make it work on the walk back.
“Personally, I don’t have a problem with that, but the decision will be made by the group,” she said, nodding and he realised there was a reason she had asked Kieron to stay behind. Perhaps she was a seer after all. Or just smart. Either way, she made one hells of a leader. And she was a leader, he realised, his blood running like iced spiders as the thought registered properly. Without realising it, and before their very eyes, Quinn had become the new leader of the rebellion. At least, the rebellion here in Aurelia. How and when the hells did that happen? The seer was right though. At least about that. Did that mean she would be right about Shay’s cure? His heart rate sped up as hope surged anew inside him. Quinn took his hand, unaware of his conclusions, as the last of her gifts rescinded entirely.
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