If I’d died …
If the Vladul had gotten their hands on this key? What would they do with a cure? Would they deploy it? No. They’d hoard it. Let the world rot while they thrived.
I’d almost failed everyone because I hadn’t known what I was carrying. But no more distractions. No more detours. The cure had to come first. If what Noah had told me about the Vladul was true, that they bred humans like cattle, then Tobias would be alive. He would be a prisoner, but he would be safe because the Vladul weren’t infected. He’d be food, but he’d be taken care of because they needed his blood, just like Noah, Ash, Logan, and Jace needed mine. He’d be safe until I could come for him.
But the cure had to be my focus now. It was the key to healing our world and resetting the balance.
A soft sound behind me had my head whipping up. Ash filled the doorway behind me. His pale eyes raked over me.
I turned away from the lonely bed. “Are the others on board?”
He nodded.
So we’d be leaving in two days. Back out on the road. “I should get some sleep.”
Ash glanced at the bed, then held out his hand. I slipped my palm into his and let him lead the way.
To be continued …
Join Eva as she continues her adventure in For the Power - book 2 in the For the Blood series.
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For the Power
Chapter One
The road ahead had once been a motorway but was now overgrown and littered with stationary vehicles. Ash steered the van expertly between them, and up ahead Jace wove between the cars with ease on his motorbike. Logan snoozed on a mattress in the back of the van while my eyes scanned the road for possible trouble, but at this speed, in the daytime, we should be safe from the Feral.
We’d been on the road for a couple of hours and were getting closer to the coordinates for the first bunker, but we’d have to go off-road to get to it. Another half hour and then we’d have to go on foot. We’d made sure to leave early to ensure we reached the bunker in good time, to ensure that if something went wrong we had enough time to find shelter for the night.
It was strange traveling during the day when Tobias and I had spent so long with the moon as our guide, running, always running. It was strange not to have a knot of tension in my chest the size of a grapefruit.
Tobias’s face came to mind, his lopsided grin and sparkling green eyes. The way he always knew what to say to defuse a situation. The way he’d held me when we’d finally fallen asleep at dawn, managing to make me feel safe even though the world waited to swallow us alive.
I’d failed him.
I’d failed to get him away from the Feral. I’d allowed the Vladul to have him, and now I was driving in the opposite direction from where he was.
For the cure, Eva. You’re doing this for the cure. Dad’s voice in my head again, reminding me of my purpose. Of the mission, the goal, the be-all and end-all of it all, and yes, Tobias would understand.
Ash’s hand cupped my knee and squeezed before settling back on the steering wheel. I glanced across at him, at his sturdy profile, the slope of his nose, and the slight pout of his beautiful lips. He’d cut his hair before we left, shoring it down so it was a golden buzz cut. It accentuated his stone-cut features.
Ogre…yeah, I could see the strength in the lines of his body, the bulk of his biceps, and the bulge of his thighs as he shifted gears and pressed down on the accelerator. But the word ogre brought to mind an ugly, monstrous creature, and Ash was anything but ugly. His features were brutal, yes, but there was a compelling symmetry to his makeup, and an undeniable charisma to his presence even though he never uttered a word.
“Like the scenery, Eva?” Logan drawled from the back of the van.
“Great, you’re awake.” My tone was pure sarcasm.
Logan chuckled. “I’ve got to give it to you, you don’t faze easily—no pretty blush, no embarrassment at being caught ogling.”
Wrong, so wrong. I was just good at hiding my embarrassment, but he didn’t need to know that. “Oh dear, are you jealous I wasn’t ogling you?”
Ash didn’t take his eyes off the road, but the corner of his mouth curled up slightly, telling me he was tuning in to the conversation.
Logan let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Oh honey, you couldn’t handle this.”
“I wouldn’t want to.”
The satcom radio on the dashboard crackled and Noah’s voice filled the van. “How’s it going? Over.”
I lifted the radio and pressed down on the button. “We’re almost ready to go off-road. Over.”
“Good. It should be quiet in the daytime. Call me when you reach the bunker. Over.”
Logan’s breath was hot on my cheek. He reached for the radio and I let him have it, but he hung between the seats, his body too close, his scent too strong. “How’s Gina? Is everything okay on your end? Over.”
Like he cared. I focused on the road ahead.
“She’s fine, Logan. We’re fine. Call in when you get to the bunker. Over and out.”
The radio went dead. Logan threw it into my lap and then retreated into the back of the van again. Noah had sounded almost curt when speaking to Logan; there was definitely tension between them, and something that Jace had alluded to came to mind. Something that suggested that Logan had a reason to have issues with Noah. The Fangs had secrets that I’d probably never uncover, and that shouldn’t bother me. They weren’t my problem, they were a temporary stop in my journey, they were a convenient helping hand to get to where I needed to be. This was an alliance that was necessary to save us all.
Heck, who was I kidding, secrets bugged me. Not knowing bugged me. Not fully understanding their dynamic was like an annoying splinter, but instinct warned me that the direct approach of simply asking was out of the question in this case.
I propped the radio back in its spot on the dash. It would keep us tethered to Noah on this long trip, because unlike regular radios it used satellites in space to bounce signals. Tech stuff I didn’t completely understand, but Noah had explained the bunker still had access to the satellites in space and he tapped into the correct frequency to make sure the satcom worked.
Up ahead Jace revved his engine, flying ahead of us. We’d barely spoken this morning. The awkwardness after he’d almost allowed Logan to drain me dry still hovered between us, and when he’d said he’d be riding his bike there was no denying the relief I’d felt. It didn’t matter, though, this relationship was a partnership, not a friendship. We were all here for the cure, and they’d protect me for as long as it took to get it. They’d protect me for as long as they needed my blood.
Cynical much?
I ignored the inner voice because this wasn’t Dad. This was the suppressed part of me that liked to make connections. The part that had decided Tobias couldn’t be left behind, and the part that had been overridden by pure instinct under the bridge when the monster had been about to devour us.
They kept Gina around even though she’s infected. Maybe it’s not all about the blood. Maybe it could be about friendship. The cure is out there, you did what you were supposed to. No need to keep the walls up.
My inner voice was right, but the thoughts sent fear shooting through me. To open up and make friends, to let people in, to care meant the possibility of loss and pain and grief.
But if we cure the world…
Yeah, if we cure the world.
Ash turned his head sharply to look at me, a question on his face. I shook my head and fixed my gaze on the road, on Jace’s weaving form, and pursed my lips. Of course he could sense my fear, the spike in my adrenaline. But he had gone back to eyes-on-the-road mode now, thank goodness.
“What are you afraid of, Eva?” Logan asked casually from the back of the van.
Damn Fangs and their extrasensory abilities. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
Up ahead Jace’s bike swerved sharply to the left, toppled to the side
, and skidded along the ground. My hands slapped the dash, and a cry fell from my lips. Ash accelerated. But Jace was off his bike, waving his arms in the air and jumping up and down, lips moving in warning.
“What? What’s he saying?”
And then my gaze fell on the thing glinting in the middle of the road—a chain of barbs.
I grabbed at Ash’s bicep. “Watch out!”
He slammed on the brakes, but the van was going too fast. We weren’t going to avoid it, we weren’t going to—
Several loud pops and bangs assaulted my ears and then the van swerved sharply to the right, whiplashing my head to the side and jarring my teeth. The seatbelt snapped taut, slamming me back into the seat and holding me there.
“The fuck?” Logan moaned from the back of the van.
Shit, he didn’t have a belt. I unsnapped mine and made to climb into the back to help him, but Ash grabbed my arm, his eyes on the road ahead.
“What?” I tracked his gaze and froze.
Jace was no longer alone. He was surrounded by huge, powerful-looking guys carrying clubs, axes, and in a couple of cases, machetes. Shaved heads and square jaws greeted us, their amber eyes glowing bright in their faces.
Logan’s breath tickled the side of my face. “Fuck this, we can take them.”
He was right. There were eight of them and four of us. Easy pickings.
I reached for the sword and sheath at my feet. “Let’s do this.”
Ash unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door release just as several more figures poured onto the road around us.
Logan cursed softly.
“Or maybe not?”
Grab your copy of For the Power now!
Other books by Debbie Cassidy
The Gatekeeper Chronicles
Coauthored with Jasmine Walt
Marked by Sin
Hunted by Sin
Claimed by Sin
The Witch Blood Chronicles
(Spin-off to the Gatekeeper Chronicles)
Binding Magick
Defying Magick
Embracing Magick
Unleashing Magick
The Fearless Destiny Series
Beyond Everlight
Into Evernight
Under Twilight
The Chronicles of Midnight
Protector of Midnight
Champion of Midnight
Secrets of Midnight
Shades of Midnight
Savior of Midnight
Chronicles of Arcana
City of Demons
City of the Lost
City of the Everdark
City of War
For the Blood
For the Blood
For the Power
For the Reign
Heart of Darkness
Captive of Darkness
Bane of Winter
The Oblivion Heart
Novellas
Blood Blade
Grotesque – A Vampire Diary Kindle World book
About the Author
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes High Fantasy and Urban Fantasy. Connect with Debbie via her website at debbiecassidyauthor.com or twitter @authordcassidy. Or sign up to her Newsletter to stay in the know.
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