Redemption (3 page)

“He had no one in the game to swing things to his side. There are big stakes here. You were meant to be not only the prize in the game, but also the deciding factor. You were the one who was supposed to choose which elements survived. Whoever you chose would gain incredible power. Marcus never stood a chance, even though he wasn’t officially part of the game. No matter who won, Marcus’s own power would be weak in comparison. He must have created me for a shot at surviving, once the game was finished.” Will watched her for a moment. “He wanted us together. He needed you alive, which is why after I lost my memory, he told me to protect you when Kramer’s men questioned me. Tonight he said that I had to save you from Raphael.”

“And that explains why Aiden was so adamant about keeping us apart.”

“But now we’re together and joined.” He grabbed her hand. “Which is what Marcus wanted and Aiden feared, and that gives us an advantage. Together we could potentially be stronger than either one of them. Which makes me distrust Marcus even more. Obviously he wanted the power our uniting would bring, but he has to see it as a threat as well. Not to mention that you are Aiden’s daughter. There can’t be any love lost there.”

“True.”

“So that’s why we’ll head away from Albuquerque. Not that it’s a good idea to stay there with the city in chaos anyway.”

Pain flickered in her eyes, and he cringed at his remark. Emma felt responsible for the destruction even though she’d had no choice in the matter. She’d kept the book from Raphael and Alex. Thousands may have died and been injured this afternoon, but millions would be at the mercy of the Air and Earth elementals if Will and Emma had lost the book.

With a heavy sigh, she stared out the windshield. “So you really got all your memories of me back? You didn’t just say that to get me to stay?”

He squeezed her hand. “No, I got them all back. Everything.”

She was silent, watching the road. “I’m sorry.”

He glanced at her in surprise. “For what?”

“For not believing in you and me sooner. For not trusting you or your love for me.”

His grip tightened. “Emma, you don’t need to apologize to me. I had to earn your trust. I’m just glad that I did.”

“But if I’d said that I loved you sooner, if I’d just told you how I felt, I might not have lost you. We might not have been betrayed by James. I might not have lost the baby.” Her voice hitched before she continued. “Aiden might not have stolen your memories.”

“You really think Aiden wouldn’t have taken my memories?”

“Could he, if we were joined? We could have fought him together.”

“We couldn’t have joined that night by the fire, because you didn’t know to release me, and I didn’t know that I was part Water.” He turned to her. “It all worked out. Aiden inadvertently set the wheels in motion when he forced you to release me. In a way, we can thank Aiden for helping me realize who I really am and what I’m capable of.”

She scoffed her disagreement. “I’m not thanking that man for anything.” She paused. “How did Alex and Raphael not know who you really are? How did
I
not know? We can all sense each other’s presence through our power. In the warehouse, Raphael stood right next to you and he didn’t sense anything.”

“I don’t know. Maybe the mark hid my true identity. But I do know that I became fully aware of who I was when you used your power to release me to my destiny. How did you know to do that?”

She gave him a wry smile. “Raphael. Practically since the moment I met him he’s been encouraging me to release you. You said you loved me, but I worried that it was just part of the mark still in you somewhere. I didn’t want you to suffer any more so I thought if I could release you…”

“Let’s make a pact. No more leaving one another. We’re a package deal now.”

She laughed. “I think that’s a given with our joining and all.”

“True, but Raphael and Alex wanted you to join with them for a reason. We have an advantage over the others now. And in a world of narcissistic men who will go to any lengths to ensure their own survival, we have to be prepared for anything. Particularly them trying to split us up.”

“But is that possible? Our joining is for eternity.”

Will’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean they might not try to physically separate us. And for that matter, we don’t know anything about the implications if that happened.”

“I don’t want to live without you. It nearly killed me when I believed you were dead.”

“Exactly. We have no idea what the effects are of separation. Or death. We need to study the book. Hopefully, we’ll find answers in there.”

Emma shook her head. “I didn’t see anything about it, but then again, I didn’t get to read all of it.”

“We can only hope there’s something in there to help us understand, but we need to be prepared to experiment with our powers and test their limits.”

“You were never fond of my experimenting with them before,” she said sarcastically.

“True, but in my defense, we didn’t know much about your power, and I was worried about your safety. But now we know we can’t survive without using our elemental sides. Plus, now that we both have power, and we’re linked, we need to learn how to work together. We’re going to need all the help we can get to save the two of us and Jake.”

Her hand tensed. “How does that work, Will?
Four shall fight, two shall remain
. How can all three of us survive? Marcus said I’d have to make a choice.”

“Fuck Marcus,” he growled. “Listen, just because he says he’s my father doesn’t mean we can trust anything that comes out of his mouth. For all we know, he told you that to psych you out and screw with your concentration. We can trust each other and no one else.”

Emma turned to face him for a moment before she returned her gaze to the road, but it was long enough for him to see the fear in her eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I think he’s right.”

“Emma, you can’t think like that. All three of us—you, me, and Jake—are going to get out of this. We’ll figure out a way. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Will.”

“I don’t.” Now he just had to figure out how to keep his word.

***

Aiden wasn’t happy.

But it was more than unhappiness. It was rage, and the walls of the house shook with it.

Jake hid in a linen closet in one of the house’s many halls, crying for his mother. He wiped his tears with the back of hand in a defiant swipe. Let Aiden yell and scream. The fact that Aiden hadn’t found him yet made him smile with pride.

Jake could hide from Aiden. And what that meant excited him.

Scrunching his eyes shut, the first image that popped into his head was his mother’s face. The fear and agony in her eyes as his nanny, Antonia, pulled him away from Mommy. Her grief had rippled off her in waves. The thickness of it still stuck in his lungs, making it hard to breathe.

He shook his head. His mother couldn’t help him now.

Mommy had left him with Aiden.

He knew she had no choice. Mommy would have tried to fight Aiden if Jake hadn’t pleaded with her to stop. Aiden might have killed her. But part of him wanted her to fight harder, to find a way to save him.

Because now he was at Aiden’s mercy.

Aiden had taken everything he loved away. Before, he would have clung to Rusty, his stuffed dog, but Aiden had burned him to ashes as a punishment. Jake would have given anything to have Mommy hold him on her lap, rubbing his hair and whispering in his ear that everything was going to be okay.

But Mommy wasn’t here and nothing was okay.

Now Aiden stomped through the house and demanded
retribution
. Jake wasn’t sure what that meant, but he was pretty sure he wanted some too.

“There will be hell to pay!” Aiden’s screaming was accompanied by crashing and breaking glass. Jake pushed even farther into the closet corner. If he pressed himself flat against the wall, surely he would become part of it and Aiden would never find him.

“
Jake
!” Aiden’s voice carried through the air and through Jake’s head.

Jake held his breath, his chest burning for release as he watched the light under the door.

Shadows lurked at the edges of the light, inching closer to him. Weeks ago, he’d been frightened of the moving shadows, but now he saw them as a comfort. They were the only things he could count on.

Maybe he could hide forever. Water had come to Jake in the middle of the night and taught him how to hide small thoughts from Aiden, and so far it had worked. How long could he hide himself completely?

Not long enough.

The door flew open and Jake blinked from the blinding light, fear crashing through his body. Aiden stood in the opening, surrounded by a red glow.

“Did you really think you could hide from me?”

Jake lifted his gaze to Aiden’s angry eyes. “No,” he answered, his voice loud and strong. He was tired of being afraid.

“Was this something your mother convinced you to do?”

He shook his head, clenching his teeth to keep his chin from trembling.

Aiden reached down and grabbed his arm, jerking him to his feet.

Jake released a squeal of pain and Aiden’s mouth lifted into an evil grin. After dragging Jake across the hall, Aiden threw open doors that lead to a balcony overlooking the vineyard. “I’ve offered you all of this and so much more,
yet you hide from me
? What was your plan, Jacob? Surely you didn’t think you could hide from me for long.”

Jake jerked his arm from Aiden’s grasp and clenched his fists at his sides. “I hate you! You took my mommy away! You promised to give her back to me! You promised!
You’re a liar!
”

Aiden’s eyes widened in surprise.

Burning filled Jake’s chest and rushed through his body, pooling in his palms. “You can’t keep me here! You can’t make me stay! I’m going to go find my mom and if you stop me I’m going to kill you!” The heat in his hand felt like fire and Jake flung out his fingers.

Thunder rumbled and clouds swirled overhead. The dolphin-shaped hedges around the fountain burst into flames.

A slow smile covered Aiden’s face.

“
I hate you
!”

Flames licked at the bottom of the drapes. The wind blew in a gust that made Jake stumble.

Aiden began to chuckle.

“Don’t laugh at me.” Jake growled through gritted teeth, the pressure in his chest continuing to build in spite of his release.

The chuckling stopped and Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “So stop me.”

Thrusting his hands forward, Jake forced his energy toward Aiden. Lightning shot from his hands, the bolts striking Aiden’s chest and arcing off in all directions, sparks flying.

Aiden smiled and Jake grunted his frustration, reaching one hand into the sky. Fat raindrops pelted the balcony, stinging Jake’s skin with their force.

“Is that all you’ve got,
little boy
?”

Fury burned white-hot, dotting Jake’s vision as he rushed Aiden. His shoulder slammed into Aiden’s thighs. Aiden’s mouth gaped in surprise and he tripped backward, the balcony railing stopping his momentum.

But Jake pushed harder. Aiden’s weight shifted backward, over the railing.

Jake released more power. The wind pushed Aiden with greater force.

“Enough!” Aiden’s voice filled the air and echoed through Jake’s head.

An electrical jolt shot through Jake and he flew backward six feet, crashing into the concrete spindles. A sharp pain stabbed Jake’s back and his breath released in a whoosh.

Aiden loomed over him, moving faster than Jake thought possible. Rain continued to pour from the sky, dripping into Jake’s eyes as he looked up.

The eerie red glow surrounded Aiden and shone from his eyes. “You haven’t seen my full power, Jake. Would you like to now?”

Fear swamped Jake’s head and he sucked in his breath and glared. He hated Aiden.

The glow faded and the anger on Aiden’s face softened. “Turns out you’re more like your mother than I anticipated.”

Jake wasn’t sure what that meant, but he’d rather be like his mother than Aiden.

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Aiden said.

In the struggle, Jake had let down his wall, allowing Aiden back into his head.

“Do you know what’s coming, Jake?”

The rain puddled around him, soaking through his jeans as he cowered on the balcony floor.

“I’ll tell you what’s coming. A storm, far larger than anything you or Alex could ever create. Disease and pestilence. Fire and wind and mass destruction. For something to be reborn, it first has to die. The world is about to see its rebirth, Jake, and you are going to be instrumental.” Aiden took a step back. “You’ve had your fun. You’ve shown me your true potential, but don’t
ever
try that again or you will wish you hadn’t. Is that understood?”

A lump filled Jake’s throat as he nodded. Resentment brewed deep inside him.

“Good. Go dry off, then get ready for bed. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we need to get an early start tomorrow.” Aiden spun around and left Jake in the rain.

He clung to the concrete spindles, staring at the smoldering bushes, rain drops sizzling as they landed. He had created that. He’d made fires, and a storm and stinging raindrops. He’d finally done it. But after a short moment of pride, the full weight of Aiden’s words sunk in. Aiden planned to destroy the world and he expected Jake to play a part in it. Jake’s temper tantrum had only proved that he was capable of helping with the destruction.

He’d given Aiden exactly what he wanted.

The enormity of his fear and guilt rooted him to the floor. His eyes sunk closed and he called to his mother, no longer worried that Aiden would find her. What did it matter now? 
Mommy, I need you. I’m scared.

Jake only encountered silence. A void.

It was as though she didn’t exist.

Desolation swept in and mixed with his fear. Jake was truly alone.

Chapter Three