When he finally released her from the embrace, Maya came up with a gasp and narrowed her gaze. “This discussion isn’t over.”
Smirking Jarod turned his back to her and continued down the trail, parting a few of the remaining onlookers. “It is for now.”
A few minutes later, they arrived at the medical tent and stepped through the flap to find a room full of people all huddled around a table closely studying a map. Jaron, Mikel, and Janil, along with Gabriel and a few others Jarod didn’t recognize, all lifted their heads to watch him as he entered. However, out of all the people there, one face in particular immediately captured and held his undivided attention.
With his arms folded across his chest, he exuded a cocky confidence that instantly rubbed Jarod the wrong way. “How’s the head?”
Infuriated, Jarod narrowed his gaze while struggling to suppress the overwhelming urge to wrap his hands around the long-haired man’s neck.
“Jarod.” Jaron warned, “keep it under control.”
Ignoring his brother, Jarod continued across the room toward the table. “I am in control.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Mikel mumbled as he stepped out of the path of the brooding giant.
Grinning like a fool, the long-haired man held his ground, raising his hands in an ‘I surrender’ pose. “Hey, I was just doing my job. No offense, right?”
Jarod was only a couple of strides from his target, when a tight squeeze of his hand and a sudden sense of peace, reminded him of Maya’s presence. “It’s okay, he’s on our side.” She said smiling, allowing her calming energy to flow through their clasped hands. Feeling the effects of what she was doing negate his desire to kill the smug asshole, Jarod stopped his advance with a ragged breath.
“Don’t…” He warned, fearing she would try and pull more of the darkness into her.
“I’m not,” she soothed. “Just let it go and relax.”
Doing as he was told, Jarod allowed the sense of peace to take hold, then with another deep exhale, looked down at her and nodded. Still smiling, she released his hand.
Jaron watched the whole scene intensely. “What did you do to him?” he asked, frowning.
“I just helped him relax.” Maya shrugged. “I don’t know how it works or why, but we can share in each other’s energies, or auras, as my mom would call them.”
Jaron’s frown deepened, “And it works both ways?”
“Yes.” Jarod joined in, “But not without consequences. And if she continues to pull my darkness into her, the effects will soon become irreversible.”
“And can you do this with anyone else?” Jaron resumed questioning Maya.
“No, just him.”
“Hey! It’s kind of like K and Citera’s link.” Dirik said excitedly. Jarod had been so focused on the long-haired man, he hadn’t noticed him and Citera standing in the far back corner.
“Link? What is the thief talking about?”
“Hey I’m not a thief anymore!” Dirik retorted.
“No, now he’s a gambler.” Citera mumbled under her breath. Dirik scowled in her direction.
“And where is K? We were hoping to talk to her.” Maya added, ignoring the two of them.
“Maybe you should take a seat, we have a lot to catch you up on.” Janil offered. With a weak smile, she motioned to a pair of chairs in front of the table.
Maya sat nervously while Jarod remained standing behind her. Together they listened as Mikel, Jaron, and Janil explained the events of the last month, beginning with the appearance of the Wanderers after the exhibition, and ending with them finding Citera disoriented and injured in the forest with no recollection of where she had been for the previous five days. No detail was left out, and though it pained him to talk about it, Jaron even discussed openly for the first time, his and K’s argument that lead to her loss of control and disappearance. When they all had finished, a heavy silence descended over the room, as Jarod and Maya tried to understand everything they had been told.
“So, she’s gone?” Maya asked, after a lengthy silence, “And you were hoping I could track her?”
“You did touch her at the clinic.” Citera said hopefully.
“No, she touched me.” Maya said quietly.
“Does it make a difference?”
“Sort of,” Maya sighed, knowing she was on the verge of crushing their hopes. “I mean I could have made a link, but I was so scared and nervous that day… and well, I was afraid she would know what I was doing and get angry.”
“So there is no way we can find her?” Citera, on the verge of tears, slumped into one of the nearby chairs. Janil came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, before turning to Jaron, “You said if we don’t find her they are going to get physically ill. How long do you think we have before they begin to feel the effects?”
“Unfortunately, there is no way to know.” Jaron sighed, “In the times before it’s taken as long as a couple of months for the withdraw to begin. But with her having fed on Citera’s blood…”
“She did what?” Jarod interrupted angrily, “Why the hell would she do that?”
“We don’t know that either,” Mikel answered, cutting his eyes toward Jaron. “We found the mark after she returned and she can’t remember what happened.”
Jaron ignored his stare. “It doesn’t matter why. What’s done is done.”
“We need to find her,” Janil cut back in, purposely trying to diffuse whatever was going on between Jaron and Mikel. Shifting her attention to Maya, her eyes pleaded for her to give her any hint of hope. “Is there no other way?”
Maya sighed, “I don’t know, I mean I have been tracking people off objects, but I can’t be certain it would work.”
“It worked on the chief.” Jarod pointed out.
“Yes, but you forget, I had made contact with him in the cell. Without that contact, I won’t be able to reach as far, and from the way things sound, I am betting she is far away.”
“It’s worth a try.” Citera urged. “I can go get something of hers from her tent if you want.”
“Don’t bother, I have something of hers with me.” Reaching into his pocket, Jaron pulled out a thin silver blade and handed it to Maya. “As long as I have known her, she has worn these.” Jaron paused, feeling that familiar pain taking root in his chest, he took a moment to compose himself. “That one was found on the ground near where they disappeared… we never did find the other one.”
Maya flipped the blade over in her hand, studying the tear drop symbol intricately engraved into the handle with thorn covered vines swirling around it. “It’s beautiful,” she said, looking up to find the eyes of the room watching her closely. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Concentrating all her energy on the blade, Maya shut her eyes and searched to find even the slightest attachment or link to K that she could latch ahold to. Sweat beaded her brow and her head began to hurt, but after several long minutes of intense focus, feeling the hopes of everyone in the room riding her, Maya finally admitted defeat. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and looked to Jaron. “I’m so sorry, I just can’t feel anything. Either she is too far away, or there is nothing for me to grab ahold to.”
The expressions of everyone in the room dropped. They had placed all their hopes on the thin chance that this would work, and now that it had failed, nobody had any idea what to do next. “It’s not your fault, thank you for trying.” Jaron released a defeated breath and slumped into a chair. “I just don’t know what else to do.”
“This may be a stupid question,” Dirik spoke from behind everyone. “But if Citera is linked to K, then why can’t you use her to help find K?”
Maya opened her mouth to reject the idea, but hesitated. Turning to Citera, she asked, “You can feel what she feels?”
Citera nodded, “A little, but if I remove the block I can feel it all.”
“Absolutely not.” The stern and slightly angry voice of Mikel startled Maya and snagged everyone’s attenti
on. “We all know what happens when that block is removed. I will not have you suffering needlessly Citera, we will find another way.”
“Mikel…” Jaron began but was swiftly cut short.
“Don’t you say a single word to me.” Mikel snapped, “Everything you say is either a lie or a perversion of the truth.”
“Dad!” Citera gasped.
“What?” he asked, angrily gesturing toward Jarod. Raising his brow, Jarod crossed his arms and waited for whatever Mikel had to say. Ignoring the look, Mikel refocused on Jaron. “At least Jarod has always been honest and up front with me, even if he knew I wasn’t going to like what he said. You and K on the other hand, tricked us into believing that the two of you were looking out for our best interest and that you were bringing us here for our own protection, when the truth of the matter was you needed my daughter close by.”
“Mikel, we have already gone over this,” Janil tried to intervene, “it’s not Jaron’s fault. K didn’t want her to know until it became absolutely necessary.”
“I don’t care. We had a right to know, but it still took six more months for them to come clean and that was only because they had to.”
“Would you have preferred for us to have left you in Vicaris to worry day after day whether or not the Patrols were going to come knocking on your door?” Jaron snidely retorted, capturing Jarod’s surprised gaze.
“You mean as opposed to worrying day after day if K is going to lose it and kill my daughter?”
Instantly the tent roared to life as Mikel and Jaron went for each other’s throats, while Janil and Gabriel stood between them and tried to mediate. Citera, sobbing, turned and huddled into Dirik’s arms, while the long-haired Full-blood strolled across the room toward Jarod and Maya who were watching the whole scene with dumbfounded expressions.
“This has been happening a lot lately.” Tyran said, stopping beside them and crossing his arms. “Ever since K disappeared, the entire camp has been on edge, divided between those who feel she is a liability and we are better off without her, and those who still believe she is the only one who can save us.” Watching the two men continue to go toe-to-toe, he shook his head then extended a hand to Jarod, “My name is Tyran by the way, and I really am sorry for the cheap shot to the head.” Tyran shrugged, jerking his head in Jaron’s direction. “I just couldn’t let you kill my friend, he can be an asshole sometimes, but you really can’t help but like him.”
Taking his hand, Jarod nodded, “Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking very clearly at the time.”
“So what do we do about them?” Maya interrupted, motioning toward Mikel, nearly on his toes in Jaron’s face while Jaron glowered down at him.
“Not much to do,” Tyran shrugged, “They argue, don’t speak to each other for a few days, then the cycle repeats.”
“But we don’t have a few days.” Citera said weakly as she moved to stand beside them along with Dirik. Wiping away the tears she looked up at Jarod then back to Maya. “The blocks aren’t working as well as they were before. And at the rate things are going, I figure a few days is all I have before they don’t work at all.”
“Have you told them this?” Jarod asked flatly, nodding toward the arguing pair.
Citera huffed, “Lot of good that will do, neither of them ever listen. Instead they ignore everything I say and then argue in front of me about what they think is best for me.”
Frowning, Jarod watched as the arguing continued to grow more heated with neither party showing any signs of backing down. Next to him, Tyran rolled his eyes, apparently used to having to wait out these disputes. “They’re falling apart Jarod,” Maya whispered beside him, “Without K to hold them together, this whole place is going to fall apart.”
She was right, and after another glance at the obvious distress in Citera’s hazel eyes as she watched her father and Jaron go after one another, Jarod had had all he was going to take. “That’s enough!” he bellowed, capturing their attention and silencing the room. “Did it ever once occur to either of you that this isn’t your decision to make?” Immediately both mouths snapped shut as Jarod continued. “Yeah, I thought not, even though Citera is the one who will ultimately be forced to deal with the consequences of this decision, the both of you assumed you would know what is best for her. But guess what, it’s not your decision to make.”
“She’s only a child…” Mikel began, but Jarod cut him short.
“No, she’s not,” he retorted, “She’s nearly grown and damn sure smart enough to know what she wants.”
“But I am her father,” Mikel continued to protest.
“And he is my brother!” Jarod all but screamed, causing the whole room to jump. “But that still didn’t give him the right to decide what was best for me!” Jaron grimaced and dropped his head lower. Taking a moment to calm himself, Jarod continued, “But this is not about me or my brother, this is about Citera and what she wants to do.”
“Dad, the block is failing anyway.” Citera sighed, looking up from down cast eyes, “And I can feel K trying so hard to keep me protected, but she is also growing weaker by the day and eventually even she won’t be able to block anymore.” Moving closer to Maya, Citera continued, “She is our last hope of finding her.”
Mikel studied his daughter closely, then with a defeated sigh, walked over and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”
“I know Dad.” Citera wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. “But we need to do this. Besides, this isn’t about just me, K needs our help…” lifting her head, Citera fought back the urge to cry again, “and right now, everything in me is telling me that if we don’t find her soon, then we will end up losing her forever.”
“How long have you been sensing this?” Jaron interrupted, his concern apparent in his tone.
“A while,” Citera answered solemnly, “But it became much worse a couple of nights ago.”
“Then we better get this going,” Jarod joined. Grabbing an extra chair, he placed it in front of Maya’s and motioned for them both to sit. Maya sat first, followed by Citera who glanced up at her, “How do we do this?”
“Can you remove your block?”
Citera swallowed hard, but nodded. They all watched silently, as she closed her eyes and scrunched her brow, intently focused on dissolving the block that kept her from being bombarded by K’s unstable emotions. Several moments had passed before she finally released a ragged breath and nodded once again to Maya. “It’s done, but she must have hers up, because I can’t feel much other than the hopelessness she has been emanating since she disappeared.”
“Then we will use that.” Placing the small blade in the flat of her palm, Maya held out her hand, “Now place your hand over the blade and concentrate on your bond with K.” Citera did as she was told and placed her hand over the blade in Maya’s, then Maya covered them both with her other hand.
Closing her eyes, Maya pushed her energy into Citera, focusing on her core. As she had expected, Citera’s aura was as bright as hers had once been. But just like Jarod’s darkness had taken up root within her, K’s darkness had latched itself to Citera. The difference was that where Jarod’s darkness had actually mixed with her own aura, diluting and dulling her light, K’s had instead intertwined with Citera’s, moving in a continuously swirling pattern with her aura but never mixing and never dulling Citera’s own aura. The two contrasting sides actually seemed to be feeding off each other, constantly shifting and adjusting to balance each other out. “It’s so beautiful.” Maya whispered, “I’ve never seen anything like this, my mother should see this.”
“Maya, can you find K?” Jarod’s steady tone broke through her thoughts.
“Yeah, sorry.” Maya mumbled, refocusing on the task at hand. Using the blade grasped between their palms as a point of reference, Maya latched ahold to the dark swirling energy to attempt to trace it back to its source. And to her amazement, a path presented itself almost immediately.
“I think it’s working,” Maya gasped, hurriedly following the direction the darkness was leading her down. However, it didn’t take long to realize that things were not going to be as easy as she had hoped. And after several long and exhausting minutes, with no sign of the end of the dark path in site, Maya could feel her energy becoming strained by the distance. “She is too far away, I don’t think I am going to have enough strength to reach her.”
No sooner than the words had left her mouth than a heavy hand fell on top of hers and Citera’s. “Take what you need.”
Nodding, she spread her pull to Jarod’s hand, using his power and strength to further her reach. “It’s working, I can feel her. Oh my stars I see her!” Maya smiled, then frowned. “What is going...”
With a piercing scream, Maya jumped from her chair, and sent it crashing to the floor. Jarod caught her right before she joined it, “What happened? Are you all right?”
Gasping for air, Maya’s arms trembled as she pressed her hands against her chest. “Jarod I swear she came right at me. She saw me! That’s not supposed to happen… it couldn’t have. But I know she did!”
Kneeling down so he was eye level with her, Jarod gently grasped the sides of her arms and forced her to look at him. “She probably felt you in the link Maya, it’s all right. But did you get a chance to see where K was?”
Still trembling, Maya faintly nodded. “Yes, but I don’t recognize the room, and where ever it is it’s far away.” Citera, not seeming phased by whatever had upset Maya, picked up the fallen chair, so she could retake her seat. “Then can you describe for us what you did see?”
“I saw her, I mean I think it was her.” Maya paused, knitting her brows together, “I mean her hair was black and straight, and the scars were gone, and her eyes weren’t blue they were dark brown, but I know it was her.”
“It was her, Maya. She was wearing a mask when she disappeared, you just described her perfectly.” Jaron joined, kneeling next to Jarod he continued, “She was dressed in black fighting gear when we last saw her, was she still wearing that?”
Forsaken (The Shadow Chronicles Book 3) Page 10