His feelings were all over the place and somewhere deep down inside, he got that I wouldn’t forgive him, for any of this.
Following him I kept my eyes on all the hidden security around the property. Seven cameras strung in trees all linked to one back to base monitor inside the property. I swung my eyes around the perimeter as we walked, taking in the trip sensors and motion detectors. Josh had a serious set up here, that gave me some semblance of comfort.
‘Josh has been staying with her.’ He said.
‘I’m glad.’
I followed him up the stairs.
We rounded the top floor and an opening door at the end of my hall caught my attention. I brought my eyes to the agent stepping out of the room and when Josh followed him out, my heart began to race. Ace was in there.
Josh’s eyes snapped up to mine and the tired, red eyes I’d seen days ago were replaced by tired, hopeful ones. He rushed over to me and pulled me into a hug.
‘We thought Aurel might not have gotten to you in time.’
‘He got there just in time, so I’m told.’
Aurel cleared his throat and moved aside and Josh, motioned for me to follow.
The tension surrounding the situation tripled.
Guilt was a strong emotion, it surpassed whatever shields someone tried to force up, no matter how good you may have been you couldn’t hide that emotion. And to me, they were the clearest ones to see through. Aurel was weighed down by guilt and it consumed him, Josh on the other hand was filled with an anger he couldn’t shake. He was so angry with Aurel and the others who didn’t help that it made me question whether his rage was possibly more than mine. Had he been a Sensitive, I feared what his power could do.
I glanced down as I followed Josh to the room he’d come from. I came to a full stop just outside the door and a sudden, overwhelming sense of panic consumed me.
What would I see? Would Ace look the way I saw her last? Would I recognize her? Would she look dead? My heart hammered in my chest and when I failed to move, Josh turned and pressed his hand to my shoulder again.
‘It’s okay.’ He said.
I felt my mouth go dry as I forced my eyes back to his.
‘Come on. You should see her, everything else can wait.’
Swallowing back the dryness in my throat, I followed Josh and he gave me a quick nod of encouragement before he pushed the door open.
Everyone left promptly and I was left alone with her.
Silence greeted me. I didn’t know why that shocked me as much as it did, but it froze my heart in place and then I understood. It wasn’t just the physical silence, of course there’d be no speaking, there’d be no sound, but the connection was silent, it was silent inside me. I’d grown so used to feeling her all the time.
My eyes fell on her, she was so still, her face was serene. Her short, copper hair was fanned neatly around her face, her full lips closed and her dark lashes touching her cheeks.
As I stood transfixed, the door behind me closed with a gentle thud.
Slowly I moved, my legs carrying me toward her, an automatic response I’d never forget.
I took in a deep breath and sat down on the bed beside her. I brought my hand to her cheek closed my eyes, breathing in deeply as the touch of her undid everything inside me. I swatted away the tears that welled in my eyes and looked into her face.
‘You better come back to me.’ I whispered, taking her in.
A gentle tap at the door drew my attention away from Ace.
‘May I come in?’
Elena poked her head around the corner with a gentle smile.
‘Of course.’ I got up and stood beside the bed.
‘Please sit, Illarion. We’re not on duty.’
I nodded and obliged. I repositioned myself beside Ace and took her hand in my lap.
‘I feared that we would be too late when Aurel told me about his dream.’
I nodded. ‘Josh said the same thing.’
‘Everyone was in a bad place, Illarion.’
‘It never should have gotten to this.’
Elena came to stand beside me and pressed her hand to my cheek drawing my face up to hers.
‘I can never apologize enough for the way things went.’
‘Apologies aren’t going to make this better.’
‘You’re right.’ She smiled a very sad smile and looked across at Ace. ‘I’m glad you’re both here.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Peyton and Riley are due to arrive later today.’
‘Good.’
Silence filled the space between us.
Grief wasn’t something that would go away with a few spoken words and a couple of pats on the back. Grief stuck around like a virus, like something you thought you would shift with a ton of antibiotics but a week later it came back full force. That was the pain I felt. When I closed my eyes, when I breathed in deeply, when I couldn’t eat, when I felt a breeze with the scent of the ocean, reminding me of her.
‘I just need to know what I have to do. After that, I’m done with this, all of it.’
Elena looked at me, her eyes stern but understanding.
‘Aurel has the information, he’ll walk you through it.’
Nodding, I got up and pressed a kiss to Ace’s forehead and followed Elena out.
When we left, Josh’s boyfriend took his watch by Ace’s room and gave me his word, she was safe with him. I knew Josh well enough to know if he trusted him, I could trust him.
‘Thank you, James.’ I said as we walked past.
Elena walked ahead, keeping her distance and staying quiet. Josh caught up as we reached the bottom floor.
‘We’ve set up working quarters in the basement—we’ve been tracking spikes of activity around the state.’
‘Dalca.’
‘He’s doing something, no idea what.’ Josh said. ‘But there are spikes of interference, deaths no one can explain and chatter about the weapon.’
‘What chatter?’
‘There’s word that they’re gearing up to fire.’
A look at Elena conformed what Josh was telling me.
‘We need to find out what Ace is planning, if the realms colliding and opening thing has anything to do with this, we’re screwed.’ He added.
‘What’s are we looking like for time?’
‘Take a look.’ Josh pointed to the window.
As my eyes found the horizon and registered what they were seeing, I slowed and stepped up to the glass.
The black, starless night was erupting with electrical storms unlike any I’d ever seen, lightning cracked all over the backdrop and tore through the night.
‘It started an hour ago,’ Josh said, ‘We’ve been tracking media outlets, police radars. No one knows where it’s coming from or what it is.’
‘There’s no thunder…’
‘No, it’s not a normal storm.’ Elena said.
I looked back at them both. ‘It’s Dalca.’
Chapter Forty-Seven
Ace
Blasting through planes like that was like hitting maximum speeds on a rollercoaster, backwards and upside down, after eating a full meal with your eyes closed and a bottle of bourbon to boot.
My brain felt like it had been scrambled with eggbeaters and then those pieces were stuck back together with scotch tape.
It was nasty. Sickness welled in my stomach and each movement that involved anything other than standing perfectly still, made me want to gag.
Troy chuckled beside me, and somehow his face was less green than mine.
‘I’m sorry for pulling you through that quickly. I had no choice.’ Aaryon said. ‘But you’ll get used to it, Troy has.’
‘Yeah, and I’m not a badass Divine like you.’
‘Shut up.’ I moaned.
I pressed my temple with more force. Still no luck.
‘Maybe just give me some warning next time.’
‘We have to keep moving.’
I guess that was the most
I could hope for.
‘Where are we going?’
‘My plane is compromised, so is yours.’
‘Solaris isn’t helping?’
‘She’s trying, but the Source still answers to Dalca, we have to do whatever we can. He’s worked out what we’re doing. He’s been causing some trouble on your Earth.’
‘What kind of trouble?’
He turned his steely white gaze toward me.
‘There are electrical storms all over the eastern seaboard, a plane has come down due to the interference, we don’t know what else.’
‘Oh God, he’s trying to break the barrier.’
‘Yes, with you as his host on Earth he had that link, now he’s got nothing but your strength up here which is precisely why we cannot allow him to get to you.’
‘He wants to open a doorway.’ I said, finally understanding it all.
‘Yes, and that doorway will allow him to control the Source on Earth, he’ll stop at nothing once everyone who is responsible for the weapon, is dead.’
‘That’s millions of people…’ I whispered. ‘I did nothing by killing him…’
‘You slowed him down.’ Troy said. ‘You did good.’
My nerves of steel were getting rattled beyond comprehension.
‘We have to move the timeline up.’ Aaryon said.
‘Okay.’ I breathed out. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’
‘Are you okay to move?’
‘Yes.’
He pressed his hands to my arms and stepped closer.
We were out of options; I couldn’t stay here and wait for Dalca and I couldn’t idly stand by as he kept causing deaths on Earth.
Beside me Troy smiled, ‘We’re going to be okay; I promise.’
‘Just look into my eyes.’ Aaryon nodded.
I focused my attention on them. In the bright, white reflection I saw my own eyes, a complete opposite to his. They were black and full of Darkness, full of determination to fight and win.
‘Ready?’
‘Ready.’
***
Illarion
Elena left me alone with Aurel and for the first five minutes, we sat silently, neither of us wanting to say what was on our minds. But I couldn’t bring myself to listen to anything he wanted to say even if he did, so as we continued the silent treatment, I spoke, breaking the quiet chain.
Thankfully, Peyton and Riley arrived right on cue and saved me from the agony of having to look at Aurel.
‘What did she tell you? Start from the top.’ I asked when everyone was seated.
Aurel looked down at a notepad he’d been writing in and motioned toward it. I swept it up and flicked through. These were Eliza’s notes.
‘Ace told me that she could come back to her body when she learned how to control her planes.’
‘She saw you, so she must have learned some control.’
‘She couldn’t hold it together, the world she created in my dream began to crumble.’
‘But she held on enough to speak to you?’
‘She said she tried to find you, but you must have already been in the Tomb.’
I leaned back in the wooden chair.
‘I went to see Eliza as soon as I woke up, she knew where you were and she said that if you broke through the wall, you’d jeopardize Ace’s ability to fight Dalca.’
‘Right. But Dalca hasn’t found her yet.’ I said, more to myself rather than asking him.
‘Chances that he will, are strong. Look at what’s happening out there.’
A news broadcast from the other room reported another plane falling from the sky. The storms were getting worse.
‘Ace said Aaryon is keeping her hidden, but each plane can only hold as well as her ability to form it. She isn’t ready to hold her own yet.’
‘Okay, how do I get in to speak to her?’
‘I think we need to put you to sleep, see if she can break through.’
‘Do it.’
Aurel nodded, motioning to the door, seconds later a young nurse came in followed by Elena.
‘This is Lara, she’ll administer a low dose of sedative to put you into a comfortable deep sleep.’
While I was in no mood to entertain the idea of putting my trust in these people again, I had to do it to see Ace.
‘We should get you comfortable.’
‘I’m fine here.’ I said. ‘Do it.’
She opened her mouth to argue but Elena promptly shook her head. ‘It’s fine.’
I leaned back in the chair and pulled my sleeve up.
***
Ace
A soft and calming presence filled me, bringing a smile to my face before I even saw him. He was standing at the altar, where we were going to say, ‘I do’, where I knew without any doubt in my mind, that he would be the only man I’d ever love. As I neared, I walked quietly and cautiously, afraid to startle him.
He was sedated, and as soon as he’d entered that state of mind, I felt him like I was standing right beside him. Aaryon gave me a short break from the plane hopping to speak to him, it wasn’t just a social visit, all our lives were depending on it.
I looked over at him, he was nervous, I could tell in the way his shoulders were squared just that much tighter than usual.
He turned slowly as though he was afraid, almost like he was afraid it was just a dream. I knew it was, we both did, but in my reality and in my world, dreams meant a whole lot more than a mind’s desperate musings and eagerness to make sense of the world.
‘Ace….’ His voice broke as he cautiously moved toward me.
‘I’m here.’
I closed my eyes and let out a long, broken breath and leaned against his chest.
‘This dream…’
‘It’s my realm, it’s real.’
‘It worked.’
‘Yes.’ I smiled. ‘Sedative dreaming is a powerful thing.’
‘Is this easier for you?’
‘Yes. Much easier, you’re more relaxed, you’re less likely to be jolted awake.’
His eyes widened as he looked around, taking it all in.
‘We don’t have much time.’ I said. ‘I saw what he’s doing. People are dying.’
‘What do I do?’
‘I’m going to find a tear he’s already made and push it open, when I do, you’ll have a few seconds to act, no more than that. The bad news is, the fabric of that time will be delicate, Dalca will be able to come through too.’
‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Sure? No, but there’s no other way.’
‘Where?’
‘By the way the lightning storms have been tearing up the sky over New York, I’m betting somewhere there—’
I quickly looked around and then back at him. He was getting stronger; he knew what I was doing.
‘What is it?’
‘He’s close, I can’t hold this much longer, Ila, but you’ll have a shot, take it.’
‘Wait, what about the blood? The warrior’s prophecy?’
I couldn’t tell him, not now. I closed her eyes and then stepped closer.
‘Just find me, pull me back.’
His gaze swept over me, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. All I wanted to do was stay right here, embrace this moment and let it replay over and over because I feared that once this was it, I wouldn’t be able to see him again.
But this wasn’t about us. It was about the whole world, as dramatic as that sounded.
‘There’s something important you need to know,’ I started, ‘Dalca controls the Source and I need to get the power back.’
‘You’re talking about the Source that controls everything, life, spirit, elements?’
‘Yes, right now, he’s got his hands on it, that’s what he’s planning on using to target everyone on Earth, that’s why he needed me.’
‘How do you get it?’
‘No idea, I’m working on it, but promise me that when it comes to it, you’ll help me. Whatever it takes.’
>
‘You know I will. But Ace, there’s something else.’
‘What?’
When he didn’t reply, I moved closer to him, bringing both hands to his biceps.
‘Ila, what? What are you not telling me?’
‘I saw something in the Tomb, something I didn’t understand. Something about you and your DNA.’
I furrowed my brows.
‘The Tomb was a hub of information. When I started etching the genetic codes to compare yours and theirs, I saw something. Ace, your DNA is an exact match to them.’
‘No, that can’t be right.’
‘It is.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You and Dalca have the same blood, the same way that Aaryon and Solaris do. You are all the same entity, either side of the same coin.’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘You’re wrong.’
‘I wish to God I were.’
‘You must have read something wrong, misunderstood.’
But the truth settled in my heart. I knew he wasn’t wrong and he hadn’t misunderstood. He was never wrong.
My shoulders sagged in defeat but Illarion moved quickly. He tilted my chin up with his finger and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
‘Solaris started just like you Ace, she was a Divine Sensitive, a horrible thing happened to her and she pushed herself so far she transcended, she found a safe place and that place became the Sun.’
‘Who am I then?’ I whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
‘You’re them, Ace, you’re Aaryon and Solaris.’
‘I don’t understand…’
‘I checked and re-checked the information. It’s not wrong.’
‘What happened to her?’
A lingering silence filled the space between us.
‘A lot like what happened to you.’ He said softly, brushing my hair behind my ears. ‘A very long time ago.’
My heart sunk, a lot of what we’d known was wrong, fairytales hidden under a sprinkling of lies changing the world as we knew it.
‘Someone hurt her…’
Illarion nodded.
‘So Dalca knew her story. And he did what he did to replicate the same event.’
‘He must have known you were the one, the Divine that matched him perfectly. The others before you and him, didn’t match the way you two do.’
Oh my God. I pressed my hand to my lips and shook my head. That was it. Everything, all the sick and twisted things he did, made sense.
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 52