Shadow Reign (Shadow Puppeteer Book 2) (19 page)

Rex’s heartbeat appeared normal and my wrist monitor didn’t show the slightest sign of stress. It wouldn’t stay that way long once Rose returned with the prism. There’d be no reason for Kelaino to keep Rex. There’s no real reason to go back, expect I couldn’t let it end like that. Rose lead Kelaino to Rex’s pack. For him and me, Kelaino and Rose needed to die.

“You look so sad,” Draken said.

I shrugged and he motioned for me to follow him into the hall. D wasn’t going anywhere. When he shut the door behind us, the stress returned. I itched at my chest trying to ease the internal ache where my shadow heart beat just to the side of my regular heart. I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave D behind.

I stepped back to the closed door. “I appreciate this, but we need to leave.”

My stomach growled and tightened. There was nothing I could do on an empty stomach. It overpowered my thoughts. Draken caught my wrist and pulled me to him. The motion drew me back into the memory of the club when I first met him. He held me so tight, unaware that a doppelganger attacked me. Unlike that night, he brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek.

“Do those cuts hurt?” he asked.

I licked my lips and tried to clear my thoughts. Now that my adrenaline was dying down, yes, my face stung. My throat ached to talk and my head and stomach pounded with my pulse. I fisted my fingers against my shirt to keep from touching the scar on the back of my ear. I trusted the wolves when they said they took it out. It’s something rebels would be cautious about.

“How did you know I was at the church?” Each word felt heavy on my tongue. It took a great deal of effort to talk now that I was so aware of my aches.

“I always knew where you were.”

I jerked out of his gentle touch. “How many chips do you have in me?”

“We both have goals that we’d do anything to reach,” he said.

He didn’t know me. I wouldn’t sacrifice others, though others kept dying because of me.

“And what is that goal?” I asked.

This time, his smile was sharp and the way his pupils flared before contracting jolted me. Those weren’t contacts and I’d never seen a Free-String Walker with eyes that could do that.

“It would be irrelevant to you.”

“I hate being used,” I said.

He closed the distance between us and caught a stray strand of my hair between his fingers. That black strand managed to make his tanned skin look pale. He cupped my cheek and it took a lot of effort not to step out of his touch. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he bothered me.

“I hate having to use you.”

My stomach pinched this time when it growled and his smile turned friendly.

“Let’s talk about strategy over food,” he offered.

It was a proposal I couldn’t refuse. I took heavy steps as I followed him through the hallways. Each section was sunny, though no windows let the sun in. The kitchen was just as impressive as the rest of the spacious estate. A sunroof took up a great deal of the ceiling. Flower pots streaming with herbs hung overhead on metal pipes that crossed just under the glass. The smell of lavender and mint was strong enough to push the residual ghosts of smoke aside.

He sat a basket of bread on the counter as I took a seat on the backless stool. It felt good to be off my feet, though I wouldn’t be sitting for long. I didn’t wait for the butter as I took a slice of bread and stuffed it in my mouth. The first couple of chews barely took the taste of smoke from my mouth.

Draken sat a glass of water down in front of me and prepared a quick sandwich. It just felt so good to have something on my stomach, I didn’t complain. I consumed two more before I felt like talking. This might be the last meal of my life and I was satisfied. I noticed he didn’t eat a thing. My wrist monitor beeped, drawing his attention.

“Who are the Reincarta holding as a hostage?”

I huffed, swallowing the rest of the water down and shoving the glass over to him for a refill. He silently took my request and filled my glass. I was nearly as thirsty as I was hungry.

“I’m surprised you don’t have spies in the mountains. Oh, wait, that’s what I was for, except you never gave me the message.”

“We don’t have the proper means to infiltrate the compound without drawing attention,” Draken said.

The monitor beeped again. Rex was distressed. I moved to stand and Draken reached across the table, stopping me.

“What’s your plan? Don’t tell me you’re just going to march in there and shoot the place up.” He nodded at my two guns.

There wasn’t enough ammo for the amount of creatures harbored in the mountains. Some of them came directly from the Underworld and were very difficult to kill. They’d never stand to the side while I challenged Rose and Kelaino to a fight.

“You have a plan?” I didn’t need to ask. By the way he smiled, I knew he had one.

He played me like a pawn. I already lead him to Sonya, the leader of the Ardent Berserkers. I probably lead him to the Diablo’s hideout. Now, I’d take him in to meet Kelaino, but this was one fight I didn’t mind having help on.

He placed his transmitter at the center of the table between us. I knew this routine. It was obvious now, that I made a really great Trojan horse. Thanks to the reading Jose made me do, I had a number of pleasant references in my head.

“Let the Brotherhood of Elements help you on this. You remember how this works?”

I picked up the transmitter before I could change my mind and stuck it in my pocket. If I tried to be a hero on this one, Rex and I both might die. Still, Draken’s private agenda left me edgy.

“Do you work for the Brotherhood of Elements?”

Again with the coy smile. “Belen, you’re proving to have a one track mind.”

When I didn’t respond right away, he reached across the table and tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. The feel of his fingers sent chills through me. I searched his face, but I couldn’t see anything and lowering my shields wouldn’t help. He was a Free-String Walker.

“I want to know what you have planned. Who do you work with? What’s so important that you’re willing to put lives at stake?” I asked.

“I think you should sleep on it. You’re obviously distracted,” he said.

My spine tightened. I refused to be dismissed like a child. “There’s no rest for warriors.”

He chuckled. “Is that what you are, Belen? A warrior? Who are you fighting for? The werewolves? The Diablos? Yourself?”

His attention went to someone behind me before I could respond. I turned and noticed the robed man I left D with. His smiling eyes were so reassuring, but it didn’t stop the sickness that tightened in my stomach threatening to bring my food up.

I slid off my chair, but Draken took the quick steps to meet him first, pulling him to the side so I couldn’t hear anything above the soft rumble of their foreign language. Draken looked so assured, speaking with the older man. It was the Brotherhood he was taking into the caves with us and I knew nothing about them or him. I don’t like being moved about like a pawn, even if it did suit my purposes.

When I focused on my shields, I saw them, especially in the brightness of this room. The sunlight played off the strands, reflecting them back, though they were far darker after crawling from my grave. The strands rotated around me, buzzing with the very light vibration of the two talking.

Despite the fact that I’ve only done this once before, I was more sensitive to my energy now than I had been back in the caves. If I touched Draken’s shadow spirit, there was a chance he’d notice. It was a chance I was willing to take. If things went bad and I needed to control the situation, I wanted to control him as well.

I lowered my shields and reached out to both men. Warm waves of energy were sent back from the robed man and something a little more abstract came from Draken. Free-String Walkers were shells with tiny bit of energy at their core. Draken wasn’t empty like that. His energy pushed back, refusing to be touched, but every bit of space was full of that energy, just like the living.

There was no break in their conversation. They had no idea what I just witnessed. I pulled away from them, raising my shields to once again protect myself. His eyes meant something, but what? His energy was nothing I’d felt before, but that didn’t mean much since there are a number of creatures on earth that I don’t really understand. I openly believed him. I didn’t try to see for myself and that pissed me off. I couldn’t afford mistakes like that.

My heart pounded in my chest as I slid off the stool and walked over to them. It was a split decision, but I needed Draken and his team. I wanted Kelaino to suffer and I didn’t trust the spirits not to take me over if I managed to kill someone. It was a worry I’d have to deal with later.

“I want to see D, and then we should get going.”

“Very well, it’s your decision if you want to do this now,” he said.

I could tell he was pleased I didn’t make this linger longer. I wanted my business with Kelaino finished so I could deal with my growing number of issues, like him.

I
stayed aware of the two at my back as I lead the way down the hall. Their voices were low, not that it mattered. I couldn’t understand the language they spoke. When we reached the door, the robed man bowed to us and slipped away. I looked at Draken for an explanation.

“He is readying the troops,” he said.

I could imagine the transporter door opening and men in robes rushing out. Would Draken be in the lead or in the back? I could see both scenarios. At any cost, he’d win, which meant he’d be in the back to ensure his goal, whatever his true goal may be.

I rested my hand on the doorknob, blocking the entrance. “I want to talk with him alone.”

Draken’s eyes narrowed. He was thinking too hard on this simple request. Finally he nodded. “Don’t do anything stupid. I will chase you down.”

“I want the Reincarta taken out as much as you do,” I said.

My answer pacified him. He stepped back down the hall in the direction the robed man went. I doubt he’d give me much time to speak with D, so I pushed the door open and walked inside. The sweet scent of vanilla and lavender pulled me in. To the side of my vision, I caught the vanity with the mirror reflecting the room, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at it. I wasn’t ready to see if I looked as inhuman as I felt.

D sunk within the plush comforter, looking lost to the world as he stared at the black tube on the stark white pillow beside him. His fingers were curled under his chin making him almost dainty. Even awake, he reminded me of a porcelain doll. I was going to lose him. That feeling was so strong.

I pushed my worry down and crossed the room, catching at the edge of my vision, my reflection. It was almost like black wisps of smoke made up my likeness, darker in some areas before trailing off. I refused to be the progenies child of Kelaino, but it wasn’t looking good for my resolve.

Katrina’s spirit wasn’t with him in the church and it wasn’t here now. She was stuck here on this earth like so many other spirits, so where did she go? Was she trapped as a Free-String Walker now?

D didn’t look at me when I took a seat on the edge of the bed. The comforter felt nice underneath me and I fought the desire to lie down. There would be plenty of time to rest when I learned to keep the shadows from haunting me.

“What is it that you’re collecting?” I asked.

D licked his lips. “My memories. My abilities. My power.”

It felt a lifetime ago since we stood in Katrina’s apartment. D looked directly at me and said we were both incomplete. I understood that now, feeling as though a hole resided in my chest. If he was saying what I thought he was saying, he found himself. Envy sunk her claws into me.

“What do you need to do with them?” I asked.

He turned his attention to me and I wondered what he saw. My conscious was very aware of the mirror. How easy it would be to turn and look at my reflection and see what surface I presented.

“I need to swallow them,” he said.

He put a hand underneath himself and pushed upward. I wanted to touch him, to take some of his warmth for myself, but I shoved that desire down. The mindless shadow part of me wanted to take life. I couldn’t let it get in the way of my desire to protect D. When did I become such a sadist?

D picked up the tube that was just a tad bit thicker than his long, pale fingers. I watched him play with it, contemplating the balls that bounced within the plastic. I didn’t have time to babysit him when Rex was in danger. I glanced at my wrist monitor and felt comforted at the heart beat it still produced. I only prayed that it was Rex’s heart and not attached to someone who was alive in his place.

“Will you sit with me, while I do this?” This time his eyes did reach mine, but they were so clouded, I wasn’t sure he really saw me.

I grasped his wrist and gave it a squeeze. His heat called to both the wolf and the shadow within me. I released him and pulled back. He saw me as a protector. I couldn’t disappoint him, but my own shadow wanted blood and heat as much as the restless shadows did.

He dug his nails into the top and it popped right off, allowing the intense light to shoot upward. I raised my arm to shield my eyes, but the light was too penetrating. My temples pulsed with the ache and it took everything not to double up and vomit. This was poisonous to my well-being.

“D,” I croaked.

The light cut out and I dropped my hand so I could check on him, but circles of light still clouded my vision after such a bright flash. I reached for him, feeling the griminess of his clothes and the soft warmth of his skin underneath. He was breathing hard.

“D?”

I itched at my good eye, trying to force it to see, but it was one giant foggy white cloud. I slid off the bed and over to where I remembered the light switch being. I flipped the switch and pulled my eye patch off. The few candles burning in the room gave me a slight headache, but I could deal with it. D’s aura was golden. It was strange that it didn’t make my eye sensitive.

He started convulsing, but it passed quickly. He was calm by the time I was back on the bed and leaning over him. I smoothed his hair off his sweaty face. His aura wasn’t the only thing that changed about him.