by A. P. Jensen
Chapter Eleven
“Jordan, what a pleasant surprise,” the Master said and his perfect lips curved in a smile.
Her mouth worked, but no sound came out. She wasn’t even sure she was breathing.
“One day, you must tell me how you escaped. Right now, though, you’re coming with me.”
He held out a hand. Jordan was glued to the spot. Impatience crossed his face and he looked beyond her to Tolly House.
“We don’t have time for this. Come here.”
There was a note of danger in his voice now and Jordan took a step back. The smile on his face turned cruel and her heart pounded in panic. His hand curled and she waited for punishment, but it never came. Menacing growls made the flowers wilt and the Master froze, eyes flaring wide as Knight crept through the grass.
“A Valor?” he whispered. “But who?” Those cold eyes fell on Jordan and they were stunned. “You’re a Parker? That’s impossible.”
The growling grew louder and the Master hastily lowered his hand. His eyes moved between Jordan and Knight as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. When Knight shot forward, the Master gave Jordan an unreadable look and mouthed, until we meet again. Knight leapt and in the blink of an eye, the Master was gone. Knight hissed as he landed where a moment before a young man with blonde hair stood. Knight swiped at the vegetation with his paw and roared. Jordan turned in a circle, but there was no sign of the Master anywhere. She rushed back towards the gold path, adrenaline giving her strength and speed. She fell onto the path between the winter and spring scenes just as Cibrian called down from the floor above.
“Jordan, Aunt Kelly just called. She wants you to go home. Do you want me to come with-”
Jordan shoved the front door open and staggered onto the porch. She was immediately drenched in wet heat. The sun neared the horizon and the sky began to darken. Dark clouds stirred uneasily overhead. Knight prowled beside her, angry at being deprived of prey. Jordan stumbled down the front steps and limped to the foot of the hill and stared up at the sharp incline. Knight bowed his front half and looked sideways at her.
“Ride?” Jordan wheezed. “Okay.”
It was an awkward climb onto him, but Knight was pure muscle. She sprawled on his back and clutched fistfuls of his fur so she wouldn’t slide off as he climbed the hill to get out of the crater. Seeing the Master in this world, in Cibrian’s house, was another shock to her already shattered nerves. How did the Master know she was going to be there? Did Cibrian lure her there on purpose?
If she wasn’t so terrified, she might have enjoyed the ride. She tumbled to the ground when Knight stopped because her body was so stiff. A clap of thunder boomed overhead and Jordan covered her ears with her hands. She knelt beside the bridge leading back to Parker property. She saw a figure walking towards her. She scrambled back, a scream in her throat when she realized it was Mr. Parker. He was dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans and his face was hard and furious. Lighting speared down from the sky and hit him. He didn’t even pause. Electricity fizzed over his body and gathered in his hands. The grass sparked with every step he took, but didn’t catch on fire. Mr. Parker’s eyes glowed blue. By the time he reached the opposite side of the bridge, Jordan turned to run back towards Tolly House.
“Come here,” Mr. Parker said, voice heard even above the sound of thunder rolling overhead. “Jordan!”
Mr. Parker’s roar equaled Knight’s and it stopped her in her tracks. Her body quivered as she turned and saw him waiting for her with lightning highlighting the rage on his face. She covered her ears as thunder continued to rumble.
“Get over here. Now.”
Jordan watched Knight leap over the stream and sit near Mr. Parker. Obviously, Knight didn’t mind the electricity that encased Mr. Parker. Jordan couldn’t go to him, but she couldn’t run back to Tolly House where the Master lurked either. She was caught between two sorcerers. Again.
Kelly came up behind Mr. Parker. Jordan opened her mouth to tell her not to touch him, that he would hurt her, but she wouldn’t be heard over the thunder. The first drops of rain hit Jordan as Kelly stood beside Mr. Parker and took his hand.
Jordan screamed and expected Kelly to go up in flames.
Kelly didn’t flinch as lighting traveled from their linked hands and surrounded her body. Her hair flapped as if she stood in front of a fan and then the lightning winked out of existence. Kelly turned sideways and wrapped her arms around Mr. Parker’s waist. Fire burned everywhere they touched and Kelly rested her face against him.
Jordan couldn’t watch Kelly kill herself. She staggered to her feet and rushed forward. She didn’t understand why Kelly was touching him when Jordan could feel his power pulsing in the air one hundred yards away. She could feel blasts of cold and hot wind funneling from them. The grass bowed and shuddered beneath the power generated between the couple. Kelly didn’t move as rain turned into a deluge with lightning spearing across the sky. Knight pawed the ground and roared as if rejoicing in the power storm around him.
Jordan raced across the bridge as Kelly lifted her head from Mr. Parker’s shoulder. Kelly smiled. Jordan faltered to a stop as Kelly stepped away from Mr. Parker. The power making her skin tingle disappeared and the thunder overhead ceased. Jordan stood in the pouring rain, staring at Kelly with a mixture of horror and betrayal.
“It’s okay, Jordan. He didn’t hurt me,” Kelly said over the sound of the now-bloated stream.
“Leave us,” Mr. Parker said harshly.
Although he wasn’t crackling with lightning, his ire hadn’t abated. If anything, he seemed angrier. Jordan looked at Kelly who turned away to head back to the house.
“Don’t leave me,” Jordan pleaded. She had nothing left. She wasn’t even capable of crawling away. She was drained and terrified of being left alone with a sorcerer who was capable of anything.
Kelly turned back, frowning. She heard the desperate edge in Jordan’s voice and took a step towards the girl, but Mr. Parker shook his head.
“Leave.”
“He won’t hurt you, Jordan,” Kelly said before she walked back towards the house, which was a speck in the distance.
Rain mixed with frightened tears as Jordan bowed her head and waited for whatever came next. She heard squishy footsteps and then Mr. Parker’s shiny shoes appeared in her line of vision. They were covered in mud and grass and probably filled with water. He crouched in front of her. His hand reached out towards her face and she slapped it away.
“You have a death wish?” he asked in a quiet voice.
She didn’t answer.
“Why is it every time I come home you’re never on property?”
He let out a growl and slapped the ground with his hand. Since Jordan was looking down, she saw the water freeze around his hand. Grass blades and flowers frosted over.
“Are you testing me?” His voice was death itself.
She shook her head, but he wasn’t satisfied.
“Then what? You don’t have anything to keep you occupied on Parker property? You should be in bed, not gallivanting over every inch of Texas within a mile.” A pause in which he waited for a response and then, “What do you have to say for yourself?”
When he reached out again, she went rigid.
“Don’t touch me!” Fear made her voice quaver and his hand stopped an inch from her face.
“What did I tell you?” he hissed. “I promised no harm would come to you here.”
Sapphire eyes swam with tears. “How can you be sure?”
“Because I promised.”
“Sorcerers shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep,” Jordan whispered.
Mr. Parker’s eyes flared and then he looked beyond her. “How long did you and Cibrian talk?”
“Were you ever going to tell me you’re a sorcerer? That you’re just like William?” She couldn’t stop the accusation in her voice.
“I’m not like William.”
“You can lose control like him, right?
You told me the only thing that stops a sorcerer from becoming like William is a soul tie with a Grounder. Do you have a soul tie with Kelly?” she challenged.
He looked at her for a long minute before he answered. “No, I don’t have a soul tie with Kelly.”
She couldn’t stop the relief that flooded through her. The thought of someone going through that pain, of having the essence of you ripped out made her stomach ice over. She wouldn’t wish it on anyone, least of all Kelly. She was one of the only good people Jordan encountered in her life. She shouldn’t be marred by pain or suffering.
Mr. Parker blew out a breath in a white cloud. “William had a soul tie with a Grounder and he still lost control. That’s why he was so desperate to tie you two together. I won’t create a soul tie to Kelly unless I know she’s the right Grounder for me.”
“William already had a soul tie to someone else?” Jordan was horrified. “What happened to her?”
“She died when he severed his tie with her.”
“He killed his Grounder and then made a soul tie with me?” Jordan was numb with shock.
“You’re soaked through. Let’s get you into a bath,” Mr. Parker said and rose.
Jordan didn’t move. When he reached for her, she pulled away. “I can’t live in the same house as you, I just can’t. I’ll always be wondering if you’re going to lose control. I felt William’s power. It was relentless and evil. It consumed him.”
They stayed silent for several minutes as the rain fell around them. Knight watched patiently, fur sleek and wet.
“Are you sure I’m your daughter? I couldn’t save William, so I’m not a Grounder,” Jordan said.
“Anyone who wasn’t a Grounder would have died the moment William channeled his power through them. What Kelly does for me, she absorbs my power like you did for William. You’re a Grounder.” There wasn’t an ounce of uncertainty.
“I don’t have all the elements,” Jordan said stubbornly. “This is a mistake.”
“It’s not a mistake, Jordan. I wish it was.”
She got to her feet and faced him. Water dripped off the sharp planes of his face and black eyes tracked her every move.
“You never wanted me.” He didn’t correct her. “Mr. Penn forced you to take me, but I can do this on my own. You don’t have to do anything.”
Mr. Parker’s eyes flashed up to the sky where lightning appeared for a split second. “I offered you my protection, my name. I won’t take it back.”
“Now you want to be noble?” Jordan spat and his brows rose. “I needed you when I was seven and mom died. I needed you when I was being passed from home to home like a disease. I needed you when I was cornered and beaten. I don’t need you now.”
He didn’t seem affected by her tirade. “You need me. Less than half of the sorcerers on this planet have a Grounder. Every one of them is going to come looking for you. You won’t be able to escape them.”
Her worst fears were confirmed. She didn’t move fast enough to avoid Mr. Parker’s hand. He grabbed her arm and dragged her across the pasture. Her boots were caked with mud and she was shivering and numb. Her legs were too heavy to lift and Mr. Parker shot her an irritated look before he put an arm under her knees and picked her up. She struggled, but he was determined to get them back to the house and she was so tired. Rain filled her boots and weighed them down. By the time Mr. Parker shouldered into his office and walked up the stairs to her room, Jordan thought she would freeze to death.
Mr. Parker took her into the bathroom, set her on the lip of the tub and turned on the taps. He grabbed several bottles of oil and poured them carelessly into the hot water. The smell of peppermint and lavender filled the air. Mr. Parker left without a word.
She undressed and water pooled everywhere. She tumbled into the tub and scooted beneath the faucet. It took several minutes for the shivering to stop. Her hair was caked with leaves, mud and grass. She cried silently. She was overtired, over exhausted and over this world she’d been dumped into. She wanted to stay in the tub for all eternity and ignore the world outside her bathroom, door but she didn’t have a choice.
When she walked into the bedroom, it was empty. She paced the room, swaying with exhaustion, but she couldn’t settle. Her father was a sorcerer and Kelly was his Grounder, voluntarily. She saw the Master of Haven in Cibrian’s house and he’d known exactly what Knight was, the Parker Guardian. The Master was obviously a part of Mr. Parker’s world. Levi was alive and would be here in about eight hours. She checked her clock. He would be here around midnight. She had to leave, there was no other choice.
Jordan got into bed. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on her door. She pretended to be asleep as Kelly came in with Knight. He settled on the bed, smelling of vanilla shampoo. Kelly set a cup of peppermint tea on the nightstand before she left. Jordan lay there, mind on overdrive, waiting for eleven o’clock. Kelly came in again and left food on the nightstand. Once again, Jordan played dead. She didn’t want to talk to Kelly. Why would Kelly agree to be a Grounder for Mr. Parker? She obviously loved him, yet he didn’t return her affection. Mr. Parker never showed any emotion and channeling his power had to be painful, but Kelly did it willingly. Why?