Legacy

by A D Starrling

  He laid a gentle hand on Ethan’s shoulder. ‘It’s okay, boy. They won’t hurt us.’

  The Crovir twitched at his touch. He blinked as if coming out of a daze and looked at the damaged weapon in the red-haired immortal’s hand. ‘Did I do that?’

  Asgard nodded. Victor stared in dull incomprehension.

  ‘Hey, boss,’ said the red-haired immortal. ‘I don’t know whether this explains the crazy shit that just happened, but that guy has a birthmark on his hand.’

  His gaze was riveted to the pentagram on Ethan’s skin. Victor followed the man’s gaze. Color drained from his face.

  ‘Dear God,’ he whispered after a frozen moment. He scrutinized Ethan, eyes searching his features for only he knew what. ‘You’re one of them!’

  Olivia didn’t know how much time elapsed before she regained consciousness. When she came to, her gown was still damp with sweat and shivers racked her aching limbs. The pain in her chest was tolerable compared to the agony she had just suffered.

  She licked her dry lips and looked toward the end of the room.

  Jonah Krondike stood watching her from the same spot where she had last seen him. He was smiling faintly.

  Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the figures beside him.

  Madeleine and Howard sat in a pair of wheelchairs. Their wrists were strapped to the metal armrests and they were each flanked by two soldiers. Their faces, what was visible of them from where they rested with their chins against their chests, looked blood-streaked. Howard raised his head and watched her from a puffy left eye. His right one was heavily bruised and swollen shut. He tried to smile through his split lips.

  Tears welled up in Olivia’s eyes.

  A third man stood next to Madeleine. It was the immortal who had tried to kill her at the abbey and who more recently had captured them at the lake. The skin over his knuckles was raw and bloodied.

  She knew instantly that he was the one responsible for the state of her two friends. Anger surged through her.

  Krondike’s smile widened. He gave a signal to the other immortal. The latter grinned and punched Madeleine in the gut, his movement lightning fast. The woman jerked in the chair. A spray of blood escaped her lips.

  Howard cursed and struggled against his restraints. A soldier struck him at the base of the neck with the butt of his rifle. He sagged and shook his head dazedly.

  Bile burned Olivia’s throat. She masked her fear and despair, and glared at Jonah Krondike. ‘Why are you doing this?’

  ‘What, this?’ Krondike glanced at the bloodied figures next to him. He shrugged. ‘I’m just trying to make a point.’

  He looked at the immortal next to Madeleine once more. The latter yanked on Madeleine’s hair until her chin tilted toward the ceiling and slapped her with the full force of his body behind the blow.

  A snarl of rage escaped Olivia as she watched the woman’s neck snap sideways.

  ‘Stop it!’ she yelled as the man lifted his hand once more.

  Krondike raised a finger. The other man froze.

  ‘You don’t want us to hurt your friends?’ said the older immortal.

  For the first time in her life, Olivia felt hate fill her heart. She had wanted revenge for her parents’ death and retribution for the destruction this man had wreaked in the lives of the people she had come to love. She had known anger in the days that had come to pass since the violent act that had wrenched her from the first home she had ever known, and she had experienced ice-cold fury when their enemy had dared attack the man she loved. But she had never before experienced such intense, visceral loathing for another living being. It scorched her soul and made her blood boil with unfathomable rage. She made a promise to herself there and then.

  Before this ordeal was over, she would kill Jonah Krondike.

  ‘Answer me, little girl,’ Krondike said silkily.

  Olivia clenched her fists and tried to curb the violent emotions swirling through her. She would play this man’s game for now and let him think that he had won.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then all you have to do is cooperate,’ said Krondike. ‘As long as you obey my commands, I will see to it that no further harm comes to these two.’ He indicated Madeleine and Howard. ‘But if you dare defy me again, I will execute them before your very eyes. Understood?’

  God help me, if it’s the last thing I do, I will wipe your existence from this world!

  ‘I said, is that understood?’ Krondike barked.

  The man who had hit Madeleine pulled her head back farther. Olivia saw the scientist bite her swollen lip.

  ‘Yes,’ she whispered, dropping back on the bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Victor Dvorsky, the head of the Bastian First Council and leader of the Bastian race, glared at Asgard. ‘You’re an asshole, you know that, right?’

  Asgard scowled. ‘I’ve been called worse things by better people.’

  Ethan sat in the executive chair across the aisle and observed the bristling men curiously.

  ‘Wow. The legendary Asgard Godard, huh?’ muttered the red-haired immortal beside him.

  His name, Ethan had learned, was Anatole Vassili.

  Ethan raised an eyebrow. ‘Legendary?’

  Anatole grimaced. ‘Well, the story goes that old man Godard was grooming his son to be the next leader of the Order of Bastian Hunters and, by default, the de facto ruler of the Bastian race. That was until the heir to the Godard dynasty decided to pull a vanishing act. His disappearance became the stuff of myth over the centuries that followed, particularly when rumors of possible sightings across the continents started circulating. Victor’s father, Roman Dvorsky, took over Tomas Godard’s role after the latter abdicated his position in the sixteenth century.’

  Victor directed a cold stare at the red-haired immortal. ‘What are you still doing here?’

  ‘I’m your bodyguard, boss,’ Anatole replied in a hurt tone. ‘I’m meant to be at your side.’

  ‘Isn’t there something you could be doing?’ said Victor. ‘Somewhere else?’

  Anatole scratched his head and looked around the interior of the jet. ‘Well, no, actually.’ His pale eyes glinted with a mischievous light as he looked at the three immortals. ‘Besides, this looks too good to miss.’

  A resigned expression washed across Victor’s face. He sighed.

  In that moment, Ethan decided that he would trust Victor Dvorsky. That the leader of the Bastians could tolerate such lip from one of his subordinates indicated the immortal was not the narcissistic, power-hungry dictator the Crovir had thought he might be. Perhaps he could be reasoned with. It was also evident from the way Victor Dvorsky’s men acted around him that they would gladly lay down their lives for their ruler, and not just because they served him.

  ‘You know very well my father considered you his son more than he ever did me,’ Asgard said bitterly.

  Surprise darted through Ethan. This was news to him.

  ‘Fathers and sons will always have their differences,’ Victor retorted. ‘I’ve had plenty with mine over the years. Besides, you were as stubborn as the old guy.’ His knuckles whitened on the table that stood between them, grief and anger warring on his face. ‘Do you know how much Tomas wept when he thought you were dead? The last sighting we had of you was in 1582! He had already lost Catarine by then!’

  Remorse flashed in Asgard’s eyes. ‘I…didn’t know about Catarine.’

  An old hurt made the Bastian leader look haggard. ‘Tomas and I were there on the day she died,’ he murmured after a short silence. ‘We were too late though. Both she and Balthazar had already perished in the most brutal of fashions.’ He closed his eyes for a moment, as if unable to bear his recollections. ‘The only silver lining to the whole ghastly affair was that we managed to save Lucas.’

  ‘Lucas?’ Asgard repeated, puzzled.

  A sour smile twisted Victor’s lips. ‘Yes, Lucas. Catarine’s son.’

  Asgard paled. ‘What?’
He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before stammering, ‘I—I have a nephew?’

  ‘Not just a nephew,’ said Victor. ‘You have a niece as well. Lily had a daughter before she passed. Her name is Anna.’

  Asgard sagged in the chair.

  A wave of sympathy coursed through Ethan. He had rarely seen the Bastian look so shocked.

  ‘Hey, don’t forgot the other guys, boss,’ said Anatole quietly.

  Asgard stared dazedly between the two men. ‘What other guys?’

  Victor sighed. ‘There are a couple of other immortals out there who have a…distant relationship with you, of sorts.’ A frustrated sound escaped him. ‘God, if I had known you were alive, I would have dragged you from whatever hole you were hiding in and brought you home myself! All the heartache and misery Tomas and Lucas lived through could perhaps have been avoided.’

  ‘That would have been a difficult task to accomplish,’ Asgard said in a haunted voice.

  ‘Why?’ barked Victor.

  ‘Because I was trapped in ice for nearly four centuries.’

  Victor went deathly still.

  ‘Is that why you haven’t aged?’ he said after a while.

  Asgard nodded.

  Victor rested his elbows on the armrests of his chair and steepled his fingers under his chin.

  ‘Start at the beginning,’ he said coldly. ‘And this time, leave nothing out.’

  Madeleine blinked and opened her eyes. Air hissed through her lips at the pain that lanced across her face. It was followed by a low groan as she began to feel the rest of her injuries one by one.

  ‘You okay?’

  She looked toward the source of the voice.

  Howard sat against the wall opposite her. His hands were shackled to an iron ring above his head. He looked like hell.

  No wonder I didn’t recognize his voice, Madeleine thought weakly. She saw the blood coating her own clothes and hid a grimace. You probably don’t look so hot yourself, Black.

  ‘How long was I out?’

  Howard dropped his head against the stone wall. ‘A couple of hours. They checked our bullet wounds before they brought us back here.’ His voice turned wry. ‘Guess they wouldn’t want either of us to die from an infection now, would they? After all, we appear to have become useful bargaining chips in Krondike’s insane game.’

  Madeleine became conscious of the throbbing in her flank. She squirmed on the hard floor. Metal jingled above her. She carefully turned her head and looked around the gloomy cell. It looked to have been carved out of solid rock. Sorrow filled her as she studied the dark corners.

  Is this the kind of place my father was tortured and killed in?

  Despair twisted her stomach with her next thought.

  Was this how Asgard lived for ten years, chained to a wall like an animal?

  ‘Hey, don’t give up,’ Howard said sharply from across the way.

  Madeleine closed her eyes for a moment. ‘What makes you think I’m giving up?’

  ‘Well, you’re looking kind of maudlin.’ Howard made a face. ‘I gotta warn you, I don’t do crying women.’ He paused. ‘Not unless they’re crying in pleasure, obviously.’

  Madeleine stared. ‘Really? Right here, right now? You’re making sex jokes?’

  ‘Well, it sure beats sitting here thinking, “Oh God, oh God, we’re going to die.”’

  She sobered at the cold reality of his words.

  ‘Howard?’ she said after a while.

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I’m glad you’re here with me.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Madeleine bit her lip. ‘Just in case we don’t make it out of here, I’m also glad I met you.’

  Her confession was greeted by a suspicious hush. She squinted into the shadows. ‘Are you crying?’

  ‘No!’ came his choked denial. ‘Besides, we will make it out of here.’

  ‘You think?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Howard hesitated. ‘I think the two of you will anyway.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  He exhaled loudly. ‘You see, as the two love interests, you and Olivia are bound to survive. Me? Not so sure. I’m the lovable sidekick and best friend to one of the heroes. I could easily end up with a bullet in my skull.’

  Madeleine decided to ignore his “love interest” comment.

  ‘You’re an immortal,’ she said dryly.

  Howard grunted. ‘Well, yeah, but I’ve got a limited number of lives, remember?’

  ‘Have you ever died?’ she asked after a while.

  He was quiet for some time. ‘It was before I met Ethan.’ He shifted against the wall. ‘What can I say, I was a cocky eighteen-year-old.’

  ‘Howard?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘You’re still cocky.’

  ‘I resent that.’

  A comfortable silence stretched out between them.

  Madeleine finally asked the question that was troubling her. ‘You felt it, didn’t you?’

  He didn’t reply right away. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘That fleeting thought that didn’t belong to us.’ Madeleine scrutinized Howard. ‘Olivia’s thought.’

  He watched her mutely.

  ‘It must be because she connected with us somehow, when she protected us at the lake,’ Madeleine added. ‘She said she could get into other people’s minds, didn’t she?’

  ‘Yes, but not immortals. And not yours either.’

  ‘She’s different now,’ said Madeleine insistently. ‘Asgard said so himself. That Ethan and Olivia augmented each other’s powers by virtue of their bond as soulmates. You’ve seen with your own eyes how Ethan’s abilities have grown. The same surely applies to Olivia.’ She bit her lip. ‘Which means she could project her thoughts into someone else’s head. I think that’s what she did unconsciously in that lab.’

  He was unable to hide his unease this time. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘I’m saying that if you sensed what I sensed from her, then you know she’s putting herself at risk by fighting Krondike on her own.’ Madeleine paused. ‘I hope she doesn’t do something stupid.’

  ‘Well, let’s hope Ethan and Asgard get here before that happens,’ muttered Howard.

  Madeleine gazed blindly at the floor. ‘Do you really think they can save us?’

  ‘They have to. The alternative is too horrible to consider.’

  Madeleine pulled a face and winced when her bruised muscles protested. ‘You mean our deaths?’

  ‘No,’ Howard said in a hard voice. ‘The stakes are much higher than that.’

  Victor Dvorsky studied the immortal sitting across from him. ‘That’s quite some story.’ He concealed his alarm behind a neutral tone. ‘I have heard of the Krondikes. They were a very old family of nobles. Again, I presumed their bloodline had died out centuries ago.’

  Asgard Godard grunted. ‘It’s the truth. Jonah Krondike is still alive.’ A muscle jumped in his cheek. ‘My father also refused to believe me when I told him of my original suspicions. If he had, maybe things would have turned out—differently.’

  Asgard had spent the last hour and a half recounting one of the most incredible tales Victor had ever heard. As the former Head of the Bastian Counter-Terrorism Section and the current Head of the Order of Bastian Hunters, he had heard plenty of those in his immortal lives. If what Asgard said was true, and Victor had no real reason to discount his words despite the sibling rivalry that had existed between them, then the immortal societies were very likely about to face their greatest challenge yet. He pushed his apprehension aside for a moment and scrutinized the Crovir immortal across the aisle.

  ‘You are the first-born son of Jakob and Irena Knezevic?’

  Ethan Storm dipped his chin, his eyes steady.

  Victor’s gaze dropped to the Crovir’s hand. ‘I had heard a little of the Knezevics’ abilities but had never seen them for myself. We thought the last of their bloodline had perished.’ He hesitated. ‘From your earlier demonstr
ation, I presume you can manipulate metal?’

  Ethan shared a cautious glance with Asgard. The latter shrugged.

  ‘Among other things,’ the younger immortal admitted grudgingly. ‘I can influence water, earth, air, and fire as well.’

  Victor felt his mouth go dry. Wait till I tell Dimitri.

  Asgard startled in the opposite seat. ‘You can do fire?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  ‘Since when?’

  ‘Since, well, a couple of nights ago,’ Ethan mumbled.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ said Asgard accusingly.

  ‘We were otherwise occupied, remember?’ snapped Ethan.

  A chuckle broke the tense moment. Anatole was grinning.

  Asgard scowled at the red-haired immortal. ‘What are you laughing at?’

  ‘This is great!’ Anatole started counting on his fingers. ‘We’ve got the guy and his lady wife who can’t die, the guy who can heal and gift life, the scary chick who could beat all our asses combined, and now these two. Elemental Boy and Psychic Girl.’ His grin widened. ‘It’s a regular superhero squad!’

  Victor ran a hand through his hair. ‘Is everything a joke to you?’

  Anatole’s smile faded. ‘Well, no. Rats aren’t. I don’t like rats.’

  ‘What does he mean?’ said Asgard. He was staring at Victor, his face ashen. ‘Do you know other immortals with supernatural abilities?’ He glanced at Ethan. ‘Is that what you meant earlier when you said he was one of “them?”’ He leaned across the table and grabbed Victor’s arm. ‘Tell me!’

  Victor looked at him, surprised by the strength of emotion in his voice. ‘Why?’

  Grief burned brightly in Asgard’s gaze. ‘Because the last time I saw Natalia Ashkarov alive, she told me of a recurrent vision she’d had in the months leading to our meeting. It was about a group of immortals who would possess incredible powers, the likes of which our races had never seen. Some of them wouldn’t have been born at the time she made the prediction.’

  Shock resonated through Victor. ‘Natalia said that?’

  Asgard nodded, his expression numb. His grip relaxed on Victor’s sleeve. ‘Yes. They were among the last words she spoke to me. She also said that these immortals would bear marks that would identify them as the special beings that they were.’ He looked at him beseechingly. ‘Do you know the identity of those other immortals, Victor?’