Lost Energy (15 page)

Okay, that command was getting old,
fast. "And what do you think should I do after? Maybe get a cone at Dairy
Queen?"

"If you want."

"Hey, I–"

He put up a hand, freezing my
goddamn mouth again. "If I get too close, they'll feel me. You go, weed
them out, lead them to the party, and then I'll go in and do my thing."

When his hold on my mouth broke, I
shoved him. As average as he was in height and weight, trying to move him was
like trying to topple a megalith with my hands. "Don't. Freeze. My. Mouth."
With every word, I gave another useless push.

All he did was lift his hand,
turning me into a water fountain statue. You know, like cupid, with one foot in
the air and an arm held out. Embarrassing. "Play nice, Tainted, and I'll
let you go."

My ego couldn't take another
beating. At least he kept my mouth free. "Fine. Stop it."

He waved, and I fell to my knees. I
so didn't want to face his smirk, but my current position left me at a complete
disadvantage when trying to maintain a little pride. I stood, straightened my
tank, and smoothed back my sweaty hair.

He watched with boredom written all
over his dark face. "You done?"

Deep breath in, slow breath out.
"Yes."

"Okay, take a lap."

"You know what? I hate that.
Hate. It. Say it one more time, and I'll…I'll…" Damn, I'll take another
lap.

He smiled a genuine smile this
time. "You got guts. I'll give you that." He hung an arm across my
shoulder and squeezed. If I thought he had any redeeming qualities, I'd have
sworn he tried to comfort me. "Fighting Protectors won't get your friend
out of jail. It'll just get us noticed."

Ugh! Full of all the right answers,
wasn't he? "How will you know it's clear?"

He guided my attention toward the
patio party. "Because you're going to get lost in the crowd, make 'em find
you. The chaos will distract them enough not to pay attention to the extra
static my body'll create. As soon as you're inside the bar, I'll get your
friend. Wait fifteen minutes and find your way back out on the street. I'll
pick you up."

"You only need fifteen minutes?"

He took his arm off my shoulder. "I
need five, but I can't fit you both on my bike."

Impressed, really, I tried not to ooh
and ahhh. "I'm not twenty-one. They won't let me in."

"Already took care of it."

Of course, you did
.

"All right." I backtracked
down the cracked sidewalk until the noise level quieted. Before crossing the
street, I glanced behind me. Winston disappeared, taking a huge chunk of my
courage with him.

The closer I got near the jail, the
more my nerves acted up. The tangy sewer smell coming from the storm drains
elbowed its way into my nose. Cats fought a few blocks away and a thumping base
came from a house I couldn't see. Once I made it to the courthouse, I closed my
eyes and tried to shut out everything, searching for the sound of footsteps.

None came.

I walked farther down, until I
stood by the brick wall of our small county jail. Barbed wire topped the wall,
but that was the only clue it housed criminals–or drunks spending the night in
detox. My dad paid a visit on more than one occasion.

Sneaking glances around me, I rattled
the metal gate once or twice and made sure to act as though I avoided the
cameras, anything to make it seem like a serious breakout attempt.

I listened for any stalking-like
noises, while the distant base and mewling cats kept me company. If the
bastards didn't start crawling from the shadows soon…

Lena.

Tarek's voice floated through my
brain. It didn't help me relax, though. Strain colored all his words.

Come back. Now. Things are…
pause
…things are bad.

Anxiety went into overdrive. I
wanted to scream, yell for the fuckers to come get me. Didn't happen, though, regardless
of how hot the panic bubble in my throat burned.

Then the shadows moved.

Swallowing the terror proved tough,
but I managed. They came in slow, at first. I kept my direct attention pointed
at the parking garage straight ahead, while catching four shadows coming closer
in my peripheral. I didn't want to alert them, but I didn't want to stick
around and get caught, either. All it'd take would be one zap with a taser, and
I'd be in the next portal to Exemplar.

I rattled the gate one more time
before moving toward Main. The dumbasses thought they were stealthy, darting in
and out of the shadows, hiding behind streetlamps, or acting like locals when I
turned around every so often. Christ, who were the stupid humans now?

I counted three guys and one woman.
They all looked ridiculous, with their contego suits so obviously on and under
their summer clothes. Unfortunately, their tasers were probably in their hands
waiting for a clean shot, too.

After rounding the corner to the
world of drinking and college co-eds, I picked up my speed, heading straight
for the patio with Christmas lights decorating the four small trees surrounding
it. The foursome followed, crowding the door a few feet behind me.

A big, bald guy with tattoos from
his skull to fingertips demanded ID from everyone in front of us. Waiting set
me on edge. The one thing keeping the Protectors' tasers from shocking my back were
some half-dressed girls, who spent time ogling the people set on killing me.
Granted, they were okay looking, but their eyes were dead. Why couldn't the
bubbleheads see that?

The bouncer's face turned all
slack-jawed as soon as I hit the head of the line. He moved to the side, his
milky brown eyes glazing over. "Go ahead."

"Thanks, buddy." I rushed
inside; the heat from all the bodies packed in stealing my breath. It didn't
take much effort to blend in with the crowd.

Didn't take much for the Protectors
to find me, either. I stood in the middle of the dance floor, swaying a bit as
the four of them flanked me from every angle. They all nodded to each other
before moving forward. Nothing better than feeling like the fox in a foxhunt.

I made eye contact with one of the
guys and smiled, wagging my finger. The action stopped him, exactly what I'd
hoped for. He searched the crowd to find his buddies. If they thought I'd
trapped them, maybe they'd take their time trying to get me.

That worked for a while. They stood
stalk still, other people bumping and grinding against them as they danced. The
woman looked ready to yank my head off, and I'd bet she was more than capable
of doing it. They all kept a vigil on the room, checking the exits, the bar. I
swayed to the music, trying to act as if I knew exactly what I was doing. Smiling
hurt my face, but I forced it to stay there. Even with the body odor masked
with flowery perfume stinking up the place, I managed to put on a decent
I-got-you show.

When they realized nothing was
happening, they moved in like a machine, my shaking head and wagging finger not
working in the least. We played this game for about ten minutes, five minutes
short of Winston's proposed time for me to get back outside. I snuck deeper
into the crowded floor, but they kept coming, heaving people out of their way,
elbowing those who gave them shit about it. They had me, all four blocking
every direction. The single option left was to start a fight.

I had no problem with that.

Before Girl Protector reached me, I
knocked some drunken chick to the floor, causing her friends to come to her
defense. As soon as the first idiot got in my face, I punched her, bloodying
her lip. Her scream reached over the loud music and her flailing hands managed
to smack Girl Protector against her ear hard enough for the woman to lose focus
on me.

There was my out. I had to jab a
few more girls who felt the need to defend the crying drunk on the floor, her
short skirt now showing her dislike for undergarments. By the time I made it
near the exit, an all-out brawl broke out. All four Protectors were stuck
navigating fists and ducking flying glasses.

Once out, air rushed into my lungs.
Why anyone thought drinking in a crowded room with strangers was a good time, I'll
never know.

"Hey!"

I whipped around to find two of the
guys storming my way. Thankfully, the revving sound of an obnoxious crotch
rocket filled the background. Smiling, I flipped them off before turning for the
street. Winston barreled down the middle, running every traffic light. I had no
fear hopping on the back when he stopped long enough to let me swing my leg
over the other side. I waved at the assholes, smile in place, but when one
smiled back, the hairs on my neck stood at attention. He pointed at Winston and
nodded before heading back in the bar for his friends.

I leaned in close to Winston's ear.
"What the hell?"

He sped away, not bothering to
answer, dodging drunks, both driving and walking, until we zoomed into the
parking garage across the street from the courthouse.

Seriously.

Right across the street.

As soon as the bike stopped, I jumped
off, searching all the dark corners. "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe a little." Winston
cupped his mouth and spoke in the direction of the elevator. "It's safe. Come
on out."

In seconds, Farren's bright red
hair glowed in the dim light as he stalked over. He scooped me up and twirled
me around. "Thank God."

I smiled. "There's no such
thing."

He squeezed me tighter. "An
expression, kid, shut up."

"Don't call me kid."

Farren set me down, keeping an arm secured
on my shoulders. He nodded at Winston, but the cool act didn't hide the awe
flooding his face. "Hey, ah, thanks, man."

Winston returned the nod, having no
trouble with the cool factor. "You all go on, tell your people I'm done."

I stepped forward, not ready to
give up yet. "I hate to admit it, but we need you. Christ, the things you
can do..."

Anger brewed below his cool surface,
shooting from his eyes. "That Protector? The one who pointed? He knows who
I am, and now Exemplar's going to have all their satellites pointed here until
they find me." He dragged a hand through his dreads. "Remember how I
told you Shaina is everything?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, well, those bastards
aren't going to stop until they take my everything. If that happens… For
y'all's sake it better not happen." He started the engine, the sound
ricocheting off the cement walls, piercing my ears.

I held onto his arm and yelled over
the engine, his threat loud and clear. "Bring her to Arcus. We can keep
her safe."

"'Bye, Tainted." He
zoomed from the garage, never looking back.

"Well, shit, there goes our biggest
help." I turned to Farren. "We need to–what's all this?" I
pointed at his crazy smile and wide eyes.

"You know who that is?"
He jumped–literally jumped up and down like a girl at a boy band concert. "I
feel like a goddamned princess right now. He walked in, opened the cell…while
all the guards stood there doing nothing. One even held the door open for us on
the way out."

"You're a nut, and all I know
about that guy is he's rude and froze my mouth for hours."
Okay,
fifteen minutes, but…

"That guy…
that guy
is
Winston fucking Candell."

"Yeah?"

"
Yeah
? That's it? He's
the most… He makes Wilma… He's been the Protector for half the top Synod heads.
I heard they executed him for treason, marked him Tainted. And he's been living
here? Right beside us? Our goddamn neighbor?"

Holy hell. But he was gone, off to
save Shaina from…damn. I hated that Winston made me like him, even if he just
promised he'd kill us if Shaina were hurt. "Well, we can't depend on him."
I hesitated. "Tarek said there's trouble."

Farren dropped the fangirl act and
returned to Protector mode. "Let's go."

I strapped my bag tighter to my
back and wrapped an arm around his waist. Farren held me with one hand and
reached the other to the ceiling. The wind carried us through the silent hole,
the pressure something I'd gotten used to. We landed on the front step of the
castle.

Before I let go, the door ripped
open and Tarek snatched me from Farren's arms, holding me tight as his mouth crashed
down on mine.

This
. And like Winston, I'd fight until
my last breath.

ANCIENT

E
veryone charged out after Tarek.

They went unnoticed.

I stayed lost in my giant,
memorizing the way he felt…tasted. He didn't seem to mind my rudeness because
he carried me almost to the edge of the tree line, away from the
million-question inquisition. Farren could fill everyone in.

Squid in the nearby trees whined like
our presence disturbed them. Screw them. If we had to endure their fishy smell,
they could deal with us making out.

Tarek kissed me one more time, slow
and soft, until my legs tingled. When he pulled away, his palms cupped my
cheeks, his gray eyes never leaving mine. "I missed you."

I'd been gone for about a day or so,
but…yeah, too long. "Missed you, too."

He smiled, his dimples making my
swollen heart hurt. "Good."

Before we could forget the world,
the world barged into our space.

"Lena!" Mom wrapped her
arms around my back, which forced Tarek to release my face. I had to clamp my
mouth shut to avoid letting a disappointed moan escape.

I turned into her arms to find Jake
behind her, his face pale with worry. "Hey, Jake."

He squeezed the arm I had draped
around Mom's shoulder. "A lot's happened in the last couple hours,"
he said.

I looked around him and noticed Avery
and Nicolette.
This can't be good.
"Ladies."

Avery didn't have the same calm
demeanor as when she ambushed us at Dad's house. Lines on her face were deeper
and if she had rung her hands any tighter, her fingers might've fallen off. Nicolette
had the same bitchy face as before, but this time an undercurrent of fear
softened her features.

After a hesitation, giving her
Protector a quick glance, Avery came forward, the tears hovering in her eyes
now noticeable. "We are in exile, Lena. Cassondra…she knows I came to you.
We barely escaped…"

Nicolette pulled her Guide into her
arms. "They reviewed the satellite feed. Seems the cameras are always
shining on you."

Oh, no.

"Which means what? They see
everything I do." I swallowed. "And who I do it with."

She nodded. "If you're doing
it in locations they know you frequent."

Shit. Winston.

Tarek broke the silence building
around us. "Let's get inside, go over some options." He nodded toward
Belva, who stayed glued to Farren. Ginger didn't seem to mind, his arm tight on
her waist. "Show Lena some good news first."

Belva left Farren and walked to the
forest's edge. As soon as she raised her hands, a chorus of squeals greeted us.
When she closed her fists, the squealing stopped abruptly. And after she pushed
her fists forward, rustling trees created gusting winds as the giant animals
rushed deeper into the woods.

Only after my friend turned to me
beaming did I realize my mouth hung open.

She rested her hands on her hips. "Neat,
huh?"

"Neat?" I snuck a glance at
Farren, who was as slacked-jawed as me. "How the hell'd you do that?"

She shrugged and pointed to Avery,
who let out a shaky breath before saying, "She is an ancient."

∞
∞ ∞

"Is that all I'm gonna get?"
I forgot about Avery's unfortunate predicament and drilled her for answers when
we all filed into what was now our main room. The fire roared, but it felt nice.
Being outside for even a few minutes in shorts and a T-shirt didn't exactly
scream pleasant.

"It's complicated, Lena. Not
something I've ever witnessed. Honestly, I thought it a myth."

Still not answering the question
. I went to stand by the fire,
Tarek right beside me. "What's complicated? That those things listen to
her or that they understand her little hand motions?"

"Well…both, I guess." Avery
sat on the couch, motioning for Belva to sit next to her. It took a few tugs on
Belva's part for Farren to release her arm. When she sat, Avery took her hands
and turned them to show her wrists. "Come, look."

I had to squeeze in by Farren, who
crowded Belva by squatting in front of her. "What are we looking at?"

Avery leaned forward and pointed to
the tiny identical birthmarks on each of Belva's wrists. "She's marked.
You see?" At our nods, she continued, "This is where Arcus's people
had gills. They could breathe underwater, as well. When I noticed how the
animals reacted to her, I asked to see her wrists. I never thought it true, but
there you have it."

I rolled my eyes, so ready for her
to get to the point. "Have what?"

Avery patted Belva's hands and
stood. "It has been whispered for centuries that Arcus used to be highly
evolved, the people who belonged here able to communicate with the wildlife.
But there was a mutiny, which resulted in Exemplar depleting the dimension of
its human energy."

What a nice way to put it. "You
mean, they came in and annihilated an entire population."

"Y-yes. But that was before my
time. I had nothing to do with it."

Tarek piped in. "She's telling
the truth. There are villages not far from here in ruin, long past the point of
decay."

Well, shit.

What she said sank in, creating
enough fear to make my lips numb. "That's what they're planning on doing
to Empyrean, aren't they?"

She swallowed, her eyes filling
with tears. "I believe so. Cassondra has declared war. Empyrean is the
first target. Earth is rumored to be the next."

All I could think about was Wilma
and Teenesee.

No, that wasn't true.

I thought about all the people in
danger because of the power-hungry greed of a few. "Why Earth?"

Avery went to Nicolette and curled
herself in the Protector's arms. Nicolette held her close and encouraged her to
continue. "Cassondra has infiltrated my personal files. She…she has
discovered that I've been sending Exemplians accused of treason there to hide."

Oh. My. God. "So the people on
the list…?"

"Many can be found there. The
Warden, Cheveyo, has promised to keep them safe, hidden, until…until…"

I moved to get right in her face,
causing Nicolette to go on the offense–which caused Tarek, Farren, and Jake to
circle me.

"Careful, Protector."
Tarek's voice remained as soft as usual, his calm in place. He didn't need to
yell.

I ignored everyone and pinned the
Guide with a glare. "Until when?"

Avery's hands shook as she placed
them on Nicolette's arm. When her Protector stepped aside, she faced me
head-on. "Until we were ready for the rebellion."

Panic. "Is Winston in your
files? Does she know he's there? If they're watching me, they probably saw him,
and if he's in your files…"

She nodded. "I-I would imagine
they now know about him, yes."

My palm itched, and when my hand
curled into a fist, I had to fight to keep it off her face. "Do you
realize what you've done?"

"I–"

"You put Winston's girlfriend
in danger!
He threatened us
. Why would you have me reach out to him?"
Farren's warning hit my frontal lobe again:
Protectors are hard to kill,
still had to pay, though
. "If they kill her, he'll come for us. I know
it. And…and all those people… I thought you cared!"

She flinched as though I managed to
hit her. "I do care." Her voice grew weaker as she went on. "Winston
knew what I was doing when I sent him there–saved him! I-I assumed he'd seek
out others, build an army. Help the cause."

I shot all my hate through my eyes
and stepped closer until our noses almost touched. "Well, you assumed
wrong."

Tarek reached for me, gently
pulling me away, and spoke to everyone in the room. "We need to calm down,
think things through. If Lena's right, Winston will be here if Protectors come
knocking on his door. Soon." He nodded to Farren. "You make sure
everyone stays in this room. I'll go to the woods. I'll feel him as soon as he
opens a portal. Maybe I can hold him off long enough for you to get everyone somewhere
safe."

Wait, what?
Tarek worried about Winston? Like
he
really
worried
about him? So, so bad. "I'm going with
you. Maybe I can talk to him, try to reason."

Tarek shook his head. "You
have no idea what he's capable of."

"Where would Farren take them
that was completely safe?"

His silence answered the question
loud and clear.

"Exactly."

He sighed and closed his eyes,
bowing his head. "Fine. Come with me, but if he–"

"I know, I know." I
tilted his chin until he met my eyes. "We'll be fine." No, we
probably wouldn't be.

He clasped my hand in his before
talking to everyone one more time. "
We're
leaving. Farren, if you
hear the doors flying off the hinges, go. Take them to Earth, somewhere remote.
Find Cheveyo, ask for his help."

Farren stood, pulling Belva up with
him. "If he won't help?"

Tarek sighed. "Damn, I don't
know."

∞
∞ ∞

Tarek refused to let go of my hand
as we barged through the woods to the cabin. He refused to speak, too. I tried
to reassure him a couple times, but a few grunts and under-the-breath cursing
were all he gave in return. The river, which had been calm this entire trip,
now raged, white foamy water sloshing over the banks. The sky darkened to a
deep purple, and the animals stayed hidden. Not even the squid tried to make
their appearance known, Tarek's emotions creating too much chaos.

Tarek didn't need to say anything.
His world spoke for him.

Once we reached the cabin, he threw
the door open, not bothering to shut it behind us. He finally released my hand
and paced the small room, running his fingers through his hair, causing it to
tangle.

I had no idea what to say. Seeing
him like this, losing it. Definitely new.

Words lodged in my throat and
swallowing a few times didn't loosen them up. Saying everything would be okay
wasn't a lie I wished to keep repeating. We both knew nothing would ever be
okay again.

I stood helpless for a minute
longer and went to block his path. He almost rammed into me, putting his hands
on my shoulders to stop his momentum. His arms folded me close. No words passed
between us.

No words were needed.

The river grew quieter.

He scooped me up and carried me to
the bed. With gentle hands, he caressed my hair, his mouth finding mine.

I could allow us to drown out the
world and all the danger we faced because we needed to remember what it was we
were fighting for.

This.

Always this.

As we lay there, our fused mouths performed
all the communicating necessary.

Purple light from the brightening
sky flooded the room and the river quieted.

∞
∞ ∞

Tarek curled against my back,
stroking my arm, his fingers trembling. After hours of silent calm, his shaking
fingers were all that remained from his earlier rage. I turned into him,
nuzzling his chest, hating we had to stop hiding soon. Always too soon.

I planted a kiss on his heart
before breaking the magic. "Have you heard from Wilma since the last time?"

His big body tensed. "No."
He groaned before rolling over me to get up. "It's not like her…the radio
silence for this long, even when she's upset. I've tried contacting her, but…"

"…no answer. She hasn't
contacted me, either." My mouth turned dry. "Do you think she's…?"

He knelt in front of the bed and
gathered my hands in his. "No, of course not." He kissed my fingertips.
"Anyway, you'd feel it. The bond you two have, it breaks when one person
dies unless…"