Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (26 page)

Loki studied her flawless face as he thought about it. She offered a good bargain. Extra time for him. They were badly outnumbered here. Even more important, it
saved face
and gave him the chance to try again sometime.

A veiled challenge. He liked that.

“
Agreed,
”
he told her.
“
I hope to meet you again, Eliza. And soon.
”

He gave her the smile he usually reserved for the procurement of Vice Number One and turned away. He strode through the long grass, letting his fingers dangle among the tops of the highest stalks, and headed towards the woods,
calling whatever
remained of the weak and pathetic demon brethren to follow him.

3
8

YORK, ENGLAND

All I
wanted out of the next few days was a chance to talk to Lucy. Well, life chose against me.

When I entered
the kitchen Felicia was
there
, along with Giles, Lysette, Mai and Ceriden. Not surprisingly, Mai had barely spoken two words since Ashka murdered her friend, Vipas. I poured myself a mug, relieved that Johnny
Trevochet
wasn
’
t around.

I sat next to Felicia, hoping to get a little lift from the playful lycan. But Ceriden had her attention.

“
Big day today, poodle,
”
the vampire was saying.
“
Jade
arrived last night.
What
a luscious head of hair that girls got! So today there will be
two
elves training the Eight,
”
Ceriden fixed a long-faced stare on me, his eyes full of appraisal.
“Jade is a
huge
asset, my fashion-challenged friend.
Today
will be very interesting for everyone, I think. A day in history.
”

Felicia nodded, her
expression as
serious as I‘d ever seen. “One of the greatest.”

And that was it.
S
oon I met the newcomer, Jade, a striking elf with sharp emerald-hued eyes and medium length hair
the tips of which were dyed
dark green. I was left gawping as she walked past me and into the garden, her every movement a fluid dance.

The training grew in intensity until we were being bombarded with visions, with hints, with advice on how to mould our process of though
t, intention and reaction. Two
elves faced seven chosen humans, along with Felicia and a tired looking Belinda. Then, even Myleene came to join us. I heard Belinda whisper to Felicia that
‘
there will never be another training session of this magnitude in my lifetime
’
and when I heard this woman, who I totally respected, say something so humbling I really started to throw myself into the moment, into the day, and into my future.

Some time towards late morning Lucy joined in,
and I have never seen such
concentration on my daughter
’
s face. I think we all knew that we were part of something special, something that might never be repeated. Even Holly came out, drawn to the wondrous atmosphere that rose and spread through the garden. I wanted this day to live on in my memory as one of the greatest days of my life.

Eleanor and Jade worked their magic. Ken drew slowly upon his inner power until it seemed as if a barrier gave way, and light filled his eyes and lit his face, and the strength and poise of a great warrior lifted him. Tanya, already the best of the best, honed and sculpted her talent until even the elves applauded her movement. Lysette stood in silence-her great power was still being kept secret for her own protection- but I could tell by the sudden clearing of her usually lonesome eyes that her inner strength had increased tenfold. Devon
Summers
sat in perfect concentration, legs crossed and arms resting
upon her knees. The soft glow in
her bright eyes
fanned out
, emitting a healing power that washed away any signs of fatigue
that
crep
t
over
us. I stood for hours
.
I concentrated my entire being and fought against my inner damnation, and I never tired for one second.

Devon Summers held us all together, surprising everybody when- for one shocking moment- she sheltered us
even when Jade hurled
dark visions our way.

“
Now I see!
You are the
Healer
and
the
Shield!
”
Eleanor exclaimed, her small frame practically shaking with excitement.
“
The blanket we have been hoping for. Your healing power also protects our minds. You will defend us against mind attacks, suggestion, and even compulsion.
” Eleanor’s own
self-inflicted
wounds were still raw. “Thank the Heavens for you.”

Her words, I guessed, were meant to reassure us that Ashka and
Jondal had now been
neutered.

Kisami,
our Japanese
friend, found that he was what Eleanor called an
‘
elemental.
’
This was a supreme power. The little guy could manipulate certain factors of all four elements

Everything was coming together. That pretty much left Johnny
Trevochet
and me. Throughout that tremendous day I felt something approaching,
a feeli
ng that gave me
fleeting victory over doubt. By the time the afternoon sun began to wane, and even the curious vampires were standing around in the shade, a final rush of power sent me over the top and I stumbled into
Trevochet
’s wheelchair.

“
Crap!
”
I cried as a flood of power washed through me and clearly through him and expanded
to form
a bubble in the air above our heads

More power than I
’
d ever imagined shimmered around me. Through the faint haze I could see ever
yone watching us
. I mov
ed closer to Johnny so we stayed in contact
,
blatantly
ignoring each other but staying close, staring wide-eyed at those who would stare back at us.

I heard Eleanor say,
“
Hit them with images.
Try
to invoke their power!
”

Something struck at our power curtain. Something black, like weaponised midnight. I staggered, but held the flow together. Terrible visions collided inside me. My daughter draped across the steps that led up to the Empire State Building, bled dry, not yet dead but dying alone. Felicia, lost in some infernal forest, at last giving up
and lying down to die as hungry
flames surrounded her, and Belinda
,
flayed and burned and tortured by demons, the last hope of mankind passing in agony and signifying the fall of our world.

A passing thought struck me.
These visions were of Hierarchy demons! Not Gorgoroth…

   Sunlight returned as, with the merest thought, I banished Eleanor’s attack. In another second I swatted Jade
’
s powerfully thrown and well aimed tennis ball from the air with nothing more than a flick of thought.

I saw Johnny rattle all the house windows with a nod of his head.

I heard his wife, Natalie, slapping out her applause like an enthusiastic seal. Thank God she was sounding better.

In a simultaneous movement I tangled Belinda
’
s blonde hair and knocked Myleene to the ground.

“
Stop!
”
 
I heard Eleano
r say. “You are still green,
both of you. You have no mastery yet
.”
I cocked my head at her. She said,
“
It seems your power, your
combined
power, is the ability to do
anything
. By the King, we have it!
”

I shrugged at Myleene.
“
I was trying to stroke Belinda
’
s cheek,
”
I said
.

“
The power could be omnipotent,” Eleanor explained. “And somewhat lively. It will need an iron will to contain it. But its ultimate strength will come with supreme
focus
. B
oth of you
together,
concentrating
on
the same outcome
.
”

“
A perfect agreement of thought,
”
I heard Jade say.

“
Focusing on
what,
though?
”
Johnny shifted painfully and his wheelchair squeaked.

“
On Gorgoroth, of course,
”
Eleanor told him.
“
On his destruction.
When he is summoned, you two will be the front line. All else will be but well-placed distractions.
They
will save countless lives. But you two will s
end the World-ender back to
oblivion.
”

My jaw practically hit
the floor like one of those cartoon characters.
When I cast around I saw
everyone regarding us with something akin to awe. More pressure. The impact of my failure, if and when it happened, had just increased exponentially.

“With him?” Johnny said darkly. “Don’t count on it.”

Great,
I thought.
Just bloody great.

Belinda
w
as regarding me with a
smile, as if she
’
d expected something like this all along. Wow, there was faith for you.
I
’
d
harboured the belief that my power was
fake
and would doom us all in the end.

And it still might, of course. Natalie
Trevochet
was living proof. And she still lived
despite
me, not because of
me. If there was a real God, a
supreme being for Good, I wondered at his
judgment
.

Or maybe God was on holiday and the De
vil was standing in. A
fiendish jest.

I saved a longer look for Lucy. I just wanted my daughter to look away from the shadows, away from the approaching dark, and see my eyes fixed on her. I just wanted to smile at her and see her smile in return.

She didn
’
t.

****

Jondal, the Destroyer, listened intently as he heard the discreet rattle of a doorknob. He had long since given up testing his bonds. He knew there
was no way he could escape Aegis’
house without help.

But he also knew
there was one inside
who
would
help him.

And now, as he lay there in the teeming dark, dreaming his unspeakable dreams, he heard the sound of someone tiptoeing t
owards him. The person was
small
, but the shado
w they cast on the wall was
long, tall, and warped.

With no sound the shadow reached down and unclipped all of Jondal
’
s bonds.

“
You must leave now,
”
the shadow said in perfect, clipped English.
“
Do not linger, Whisperer. Go straight to New Babylon, to Loki. You will complete your duty there.
”

Jondal nodded and slid down from the table. He followed the fleeting shadow out into the dimly lit corridor. The shadow pointed ahead, then drifted away into deeper cover. Jondal opened a door and entered a darkened room.

He could smell the girl instantly. Beyond her, the window was wide open, providing the perfect escape route.

He paused by the bed. With trembling hands he reached down and touched the
girl’s
damp forehead. She was restless tonight.

Lucy,
they had called her.

He recalled how she had bled. How she ripped open her own skin at his bequest. And how he had coveted the sight of that blood.

Jondal bent over the sleeping girl and brushed her forehead with his dry, chapped lips. Her taste was softness and salt on his tongue, mixed with the sweetness of youth. And one other thing, the one added ingredient that attracted him to her.