Her body shook as she cried against me, pulling me closer, letting all the unsaid words be felt.
She pulled back, looking at me through watery eyes. A smile so wide and so full of life met me and I couldn’t help the reaction that came. More, uncontrollable sobs and more tears and then laughter.
‘Ace.’ She whispered as she swept my hair behind my ears. ‘Goodness you’ve become such a beautiful woman.’
A broken laugh left my lips as she cupped my cheek.
‘I’ve missed you so much.’ I whispered looking at her, taking in every moment committing her smiling face to memory.
‘Oh, sweetheart, I’ve missed you too.’
Glancing around, I looked for familiar faces.
‘Where’s dad?’
Her face softened with a sad smile. ‘Don’t you remember sweetheart? Your father was away for work this week; it was just us.’
I glanced around, the young me was skating around the lake, happily with a group of kids. I remembered them…kids from school, I missed them…
Swinging my eyes back to her, I nodded. He was gone for a few days at that point, mom was so worried the whole time. Now, I knew what she was scared of, I knew how dangerous our world was and I imagined the very real danger he was in fighting alongside Simmons. That whole part of his life had been kept from me and in the beginning, I was upset, now I understood it. I would have done the same—I had done the same.
I glanced around the park again and my breath caught, Elena and Michael were there too, sitting around the table with the other guests. I hadn’t known it then because they were using a shield to disguise themselves from me, but they were there, they’d always been there.
New tears filled my eyes as everything that had taken place over the last four years came crashing into me.
When my eyes landed on them, mom frowned.
‘What is it?’ I said, watching her face harden as she watched her sister.
‘Nothing you need to worry about right now.’
‘No, mom, something is wrong, tell me.’
She smiled again and brushed her fingers through my hair and then pulled my hand into hers. She ran her finger over the engagement ring.
‘Mom?’
‘Tell me about him.’ She urged, ‘About Illarion.’
My heart tightened, God, Ila. I missed him so much. I hadn’t really allowed myself to stop because stopping and thinking of him would have broken me and having so much on my mind, so much I needed to be on top of, I couldn’t afford that.
But she was distracting me. She was pulling me away from the frown she was wearing every time she looked at Elena and that curiosity ate at me.
‘Mom, tell me what’s wrong.’
‘He’s coming for Aaryon.’
I stepped back, she kept pulling me away from Elena. ‘I know.’
‘You won’t have much time, once he crosses that threshold, you know that Aaryon won’t understand.’
‘I’ll keep him safe.’ I said. ‘But you’re changing the subject. Why?’
‘Because I’m afraid of what it means.’
‘I don’t understand?’
She opened her mouth to speak but as she did, a heavy, gut wrenching feeling came over me, I looked around, trying to pinpoint it, there was nothing—complete silence everywhere I looked. The people on the lake were gone, the little me with the skates had vanished, my buildings were crumbling.
I turned back, my mother’s hair was billowing out around her, much like mine did when I called on the Darkness.
‘Mom, what’s happening?’
She only smiled.
My eyes shot back around. Everything was fading like it was being manipulated and distorted. I turned to her and she was disappearing. I desperately tried to take her hand and she desperately reached for me, but the world around us started to fade out, a rush of sound and wind crashed into me throwing us apart.
‘Mom!’
‘Elena….’
I screamed for her, but she was gone and the world I created was gone. The whole plane had caved in on itself and I was flung into the atmosphere, nothingness quickly surrounded me.
***
Illarion
I did it. This was it. The three sheets of paper side by side were a bittersweet reminder of what this world could be. Miraculous, giving and sometimes devastating.
Although Ace was a replica of both combined, she was still affiliated with him more than Solaris. I could tell by the Darkness, not by anything these ancient parchments told me. I’d seen and felt her power, I’d felt the same thing in Aaryon when I met him.
As the air in the room stilled and the dust particles settled, I held my breath as I moved the small blade over my hand. It had to be blood, somehow mine seemed to be a match. I held in a sharp breath as blade sliced through my skin sending a steady flow of crimson into the challis.
This was it, make or break.
I grit my teeth and squeezed my hand over the challis—the cool, marble cup filled with a thick, oozing red liquid.
I didn’t even want to know what was in this. It looked like old blood, coagulated and dead. Knowing these freaks, it probably was. Harvested from the bodies of thousand-year-old Beings.
It swished and bubbled in the bottom of the cup, staining the walls with each movement. My stomach churned looking at the contents.
Glancing down at my watch, I sucked in a deep breath, thirty minutes. I took the marble cup and swished it watching my blood disappear into the murky depths.
As the liquids mixed and combined, it began to simmer like acid. I seriously questioned whether I was losing my mind.
Preparing myself for the incorrigible taste I held my breath and tipped the challis, before the liquid touched my lips, a loud sound above me broke my concentration.
I retrieved my weapon and flicked the safety off placing the challis back down on the bench.
No one should have known where I was, who else could have figured this out?
I trained my weapon on the dark space I’d walked through earlier as footsteps got louder and closer.
I hid behind the column separating us.
‘Illarion!’
Christ, why in God’s name couldn’t I catch a break.
When he stepped through the door, he held up his hands in surrender as soon as he spotted the gun in my hand.
‘What do you want, Aurel?’
‘I need to talk to you, and you need to listen.’ He said.
I stepped closer tightening my hold on the gun.
‘You need to leave.’
‘Illarion I need you to listen.’
‘Get out.’
‘Please.’ He stepped closer until the tip of the gun was flush against his chest. ‘I need you to hear what I’m saying.’
‘I’m not coming with you. Whatever you’re doing here, I don’t want to hear it.’
‘Ace needs us, she needs our help.’
My heart stopped. I couldn’t use my power down here but the look in his eyes was sincere, he wasn’t lying.
‘Talk quickly.’ I muttered, withdrawing my gun and holstering it.
He held out his hand and when he opened it, my brows knotted in curiosity, a tiny pink petal sat in the palm of his hand.
My eyes shot up and before I could question him, he placed it beside the challis.
‘Ace came to me in my dream. We were in your garden, she told me she was in her own plane, learning how to control it, staying hidden from Dalca.’
‘I don’t understand, she said she had to work with him.’
‘Aaryon told her there was another way, he told her that while she’s in there, she needs to get strong and then she can fight Dalca here and in her plane.’
‘I need to be there.’
‘No,’ he shook his head. ‘That’s where you come in, you cross that threshold and you break down her barrier, Dalca gets in.’
He paused.
‘Aaryon is looking after her, he’s keeping her safe from
Dalca, and if you do this, you’ll ruin any chances she’s had of succeeding.’
‘If I don’t, I’m letting them win.’
‘You’re not listening. She’s with him, she’s safe. But if you do this, whatever walls they’ve built to keep Dalca out, will crumble. She’ll die, for real. She hasn’t mastered her control yet. She needs Aaryon.’
I was silent.
Aurel stepped closer to me and pressed a hand to my shoulder.
‘Please.’ He whispered. ‘Once you step through that door, she loses.’
I looked at the challis, my one sure ticket to finding them. I stepped back running my hand through my hair. God, I was so close.
‘Illarion.’
Pressing my hands to the back of my neck, I turned back and looked at him.
‘What am I meant to do?’
‘Come back to America with me, we’ve set up a command base and you’ll be close to her there.’
This was beyond anything I’d anticipated.
‘Brother.’ He whispered. ‘We have to let Aaryon and Ace do this, they know what they’re doing.’
‘I have to help her.’ My voice shook with each painful breath.
‘You will but we have to get back to America, she needs you. She can come back to her body, but only you can do it. We have to hurry.’
Chapter Forty-Five
Ace
Islammed into the concrete beside what I recognized as the remains of the Agency, the Agency we’d blown up last year. They never rebuilt. Too many lives were lost at my command and no one wanted the memories.
‘Mom?’ I screamed out, looking around, everything was gone, I was alone and my body ached like never before.
As my breath was ripped from me and the pain registered, I let out a long and painful cry hoping that I didn’t just break every bone in my body.
Curling to the side, I pressed my palm flat to the ground pushed myself up. My breath came out in quick bursts, it always sucked getting winded, but this was a new experience even for me.
Up ahead, Aaryon rushed toward me followed by Troy, a dark and dangerous look was etched onto his face and when he neared me, he offered no explanation as he gripped my arm and pulled me to my feet. In an instant, we were rushing through planes, my insides churning with the intrusion until we finally stopped.
He released his hold on me and my vision doubled making me stumble, barely catching myself against a park bench.
‘My mom was trying to tell me something!’ I screamed, ‘Why did you pull me out?’
‘I didn’t pull you out.’
‘Then what the hell was that?’
‘Dalca is getting stronger.’ He said, ‘And Illarion is playing a dangerous game.’
My eyes snapped up to his, through the hazy double vision and the wicked headache, I could make out the concerned expression on his face.
‘You know…’
‘Yes.’ He stepped toward me. ‘Illarion is strong and I’m not at all surprised that he would work this out. But if he breaks in, we all lose.’
‘I can’t reach him.’
‘No. But I sincerely hope your friend managed to talk him down.’
‘Aurel?’
‘Yes. He’s with Illarion now and given that you’re still with me. I would imagine he succeeded.’
‘So we’re safe then?’ I dared to hope.
‘He’s already broken the first layer. It’s weakened the hold of the seal, Dalca can break through if he knows where you are. You aren’t safe anywhere now. We have to keep moving.’
‘How do we stay hidden then?’
Troy gave me a knowing look.
‘What is that? What is that look?’
‘You and Troy are going to hold this veil up, together you can keep this while I keep you hidden.’
‘We can do that?’
Troy nodded. ‘But first, we have to move you somewhere safe. Then, it’s you and me.’
Aaryon took hold of my arm again and before long, what I’d felt earlier started to ripple through this plane again. My eyes darted around and much like before, the buildings started to disappear, the ground beneath us began to crumble. Aaryon’s eyes found mine and before we were plunged into the darkness, he gripped my arms and pulled me out of this realm, into his.
Dalca was coming.
***
Illarion
Aurel sat on a step, his eyes dropping before he bowed his head and pressed his palms over his neck. I heard the exasperated sigh before he brought his face up and looked at me. This was going to be one long and painful wait. There were no earlier flights and we had to stick it out here until we were cleared to move.
‘Illarion.’
‘You don’t need to say anything.’
‘I do.’
I shook my head. ‘There’s nothing you can say.’
‘I messed up.’ He began, shaking his head but keeping his eyes focused on me. ‘I know there aren’t enough words for what I’ve done…for the pain I’ve caused.’
‘You’re right.’ I said flatly, keeping my expression blank. ‘Tell me what Ace told you, what do we need to do?’
He didn’t argue, instead he nodded and got to his feet.
‘She said we had to keep her body preserved, when she learns how to transcend, she can come back to it.’
I looked through him. He was hiding something, something big. I swallowed the anger and kept my voice even when I spoke to him.
‘What are you not telling me?’
Aurel’s eyes flared, he was trying to hide something.
‘You better start talking.’ I shook my head, running out of patience.
‘I went to see Eliza.’
Feeling the nerves inside me start to coil again, I nodded for him to continue. The only times I’d had any interaction with her, were bad news. I didn’t know if I could prepare myself for more of that right now.
‘What did she say?’
‘She said that the battle that is coming is bigger than we anticipated, it’s got to do with the two realms colliding and the Legion coming for her.’
‘What does that mean?’
Aurel shook his head. ‘I asked her the same thing, she couldn’t give me an answer.’
Eliza had been known to say some crazy things, but she was never wrong. Even if she had partial information, it was paramount to the whole picture and the whole picture in this case, was the world’s fate. I couldn’t afford not to take everything seriously and explore all the avenues she told us.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned heavily against the wall behind me.
‘Elena has contacted Alex and the others; we’re going to need all hands on deck. Whatever Ace is about to do out there, it’s going to affect us all and you’re the key to it.’
‘How?’
‘Your blood, that’s all she said. I don’t know.’
‘The warrior’s blood spiel?’
‘No, that’s the next part, that’s where Ace comes in—her blood will open it and her blood will close it.’
‘So we have to stop her from opening it?’
‘Yes, I guess, how, I don’t know.’
‘And if it opens?’
He didn’t answer me and he didn’t need to. I ground my teeth and looked away; it didn’t matter because it wouldn’t get to that. I wouldn’t let.
‘When we get back, hopefully she’ll be able to come through and give us more information, for now she can only reach us in dreams.’
My heart scattered. I hadn’t prepared myself for the possibility that I’d ever see her again, I hadn’t readied myself to feel anything again.
Aurel knew what I’d done, he’d seen it back at the Agency hospital when I shut off. He also knew how little patience I had after everything we’d been through, so his demeanor wasn’t his usual self and I knew, deep down it probably never would be again. The things we’d been through weren’t something you could forget. I certainly wouldn’t and no matter what happened after today, I’d n
ever forget the pain he caused Ace.
‘Come on.’ He said softly, glancing at his phone. ‘We should get going, we’re clear.’
I gave the challis a quick look and something deep inside me stirred. I quickly collected it and looked around. I needed something to transport this in.
Aurel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial.
‘Thanks.’ I nodded pouring the bubbly blood and Celestial DNA mixture into it.
I followed him outside and his rental was parked beside mine. And as we took off, I allowed myself a moment, a brief moment to hope that I would see her again.
As we walked, my mind wandered back to the visit Ace and I made to Eliza. My stomach dropped. She’d seen it and she’d warned us. She’d warned me when I took the files from St Augustine’s years ago. They told me that I would walk a path I wasn’t ready to walk, the path would lead to death and in my fear and desperation to keep her safe, I tore the sheets out and left her at the cabin.
That move cost me her life, that move set in motion the path we were now on, I was responsible for everything she went through, I was responsible for this tangent timeline. And I had to fix it, whatever it took.
Chapter Forty-Six
Illarion
The long flight was thankfully silent. Aurel got the point and refrained from speaking to me unless it pertained to something I needed to know about what we were doing.
As the plane landed and taxied, we took our minimal belongings. My smuggled blood mixture which I’d managed to clear through customs with a little compulsion.
I breathed in deeply as we walked out onto American soil and into his car. A few hours after that, we pulled up to Elena’s house.
It’d been so long since I’d come here. If I remember the last time, it was not long after Ace and I got engaged. Elena hosted a dinner party, a sort of celebration and memorial for Michael. It hurt to think what she’d been through and it cut me up to know what she was going through now.
We pulled into the driveway and stopped beside two Agency Hummers. I spotted Alex’s truck just off to the left and Matt’s beside his.
Aurel stepped out of his car and glanced back at me and then turned his attention to the house. He was increasingly uncomfortable and a part of me was satisfied with that response.
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 51