Shine: The Knowing Ones (30 page)

Anna grabbed the lacquer box from Sam’s slack fingers. “What is this?” She grabbed Sam by the shoulders with a jerk. “What do you see?”

“It’s gone,” Sam whispered.

Anna shook her head. “What’s gone, Sam? I can’t see what you see!”

Sam turned toward the mirror again, her face pale. “Trin’s shield, so I would be safe while he was gone.” Sam looked down at the box in Anna’s hand. “Something has gone wrong. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Trin’s fingertips connected with the wall, buckling against the tiles with incredible force, breaking his hand. Pain rocked through his wrist as he choked on the water he had involuntarily sucked into his lungs. He grabbed the side of the pool with his other hand, pulling himself up, clinging to the wall, choking and trying to breathe. His shield had been broken and he was over four hundred miles away.

The other swimmers reached the pool wall and Trin was announced as the winner. He hoisted himself out of the water, heading straight for the head coach. Those in the audience watched as the Olympian swimmer spoke in a heated rush, extending his hand, his teammates looking on—a broken hand. Perfect excuse to bow out early. The coach sent him straight to the team physician. Rushing through a myriad of concerned teammates, he repeatedly assured them he would be fine and kept moving. He passed the warm-up pool, heading straight into the locker room, bypassing the doctor altogether.

Racing to his locker, he pulled out his phone and began dialing, wincing from the throbbing pain, but not caring. He put the phone to his ear and waited. No good. The walls of the natatorium were too thick. He tossed his phone into his locker, lifting his aching hand. A jolt of concentration and the fractured bone fused, healing perfectly. He changed into his warm-up pants and raced out into the hallway, dialing Sam’s number as he went. Her phone rang; no answer. He cursed, body tensing, panic cresting.
Anna!
He dialed her phone, waiting in agony as it rang once...twice...three times...

“Hello?”

He threw his head back in overwhelming relief. “Anna, where’s Sam?”

“At the dance building,” she replied. She didn’t sound surprised at his anxious tone.

“What happened, Anna?”

“It’s my fault,” she said.

“What?”
he demanded.
“What happened?”

“Sam found a box in your bag by accident,” she said. “She was going to put it back, but I made her open it.”

Trin’s features twisted in confusion. “The pendant? What about it?” he asked. She wasn’t making any sense. Trin’s head hung in his free hand as Anna explained what had occurred; that when Sam had touched the necklace she had changed. Trin paced the hallway. None of this made any sense.

“I had no idea, Trin,” she said. “I am so sorry.”

“Anna,” he said. “You didn’t do anything. The pendant—it couldn’t have been the pendant.” He put a hand to his head, baffled, frantic.

“Can she do anything to protect herself until you get back? Can
I
do anything?” She asked out of sheer desperation, knowing how ridiculous it sounded.

Trin paused, thinking, strategizing. There was still time. “When did you last see her?”

“I just dropped her off,” she said. “I’m right here at the library. Do you want me to run over there?”

He turned for the locker room. “Yes. Get over there as fast as you can and watch her. If at all possible, don’t let her out of your sight. Keep your phone on and please call me if you see anything out of the ordinary, even if you think it’s unrelated. I’m going to the airport right now.”

“Okay.”

“And Anna,” he said. “This isn’t your fault. This whole mess has been inevitable from the beginning. Get over to the dance building. I’ll call you back.”

“Okay,” she said.

Trin disconnected the call and raced back into the locker room. Throwing on his team shirt, he grabbed his belongings, stuffing them in his bag, and called information for a cab and the airlines. He bolted out of the natatorium and began booking his flight as he waited for the cab. It only took ten minutes to arrive but it seemed like an eternity. He climbed in, directing the cab to the airport as fast as possible and then sat with his agony as the driver made the ten minute trip to the airport. Each moment that passed was filled with speculation as to what might be happening to Sam. Anvil appeared next to him, remaining silent. There was nothing to say. He couldn’t assure him everything would be all right. It wasn’t.

Just then Trin’s phone rang. He grabbed it from his bag, not looking to see who it was. “Hello?”

“Trinton—I’ve been trying to reach you. I just landed in Salt Lake.”

Trin turned to Anvil in confusion. “Mikhail? What are you doing in Salt Lake?”

“I’ve come to collect you and Sam. You were right all along.”

“What do you mean?”

“I read everything I could get my hands on trying to find any explanation or connection that would make sense,” he said. “Then I had another vision.” He paused. “The kindjal we saw was the dagger used to offer the first sacrifice, to create the portal.”

Trin went cold.

“I checked Gea’s records from the beginning. That kindjal was purified, sealed, and hidden right along with the portal symbol. Ashbel found it, or was more likely led to it. He used it to kill Anavi. Trinton...the entire blade is pure alexandrite. Killing Anavi broke its seal. The guardian channel reverted to darkness
that night,
and has remained so ever since. That’s why our communication is gone, Trinton. It’s why our divine abilities have ceased, it’s why Anavi can’t get through and it’s why you have been instructed not to ignite the Oracle. The conduit is corrupt, no longer aligned with the Divinity. Igniting the Oracle will open a direct line of access to
Chernobog
.”

Trin’s eyes gleamed in frenzied defeat, jaw tight, panic crushing him as he listened.

“The design is flawless. Ashbel has ripped our defenses clean at every turn, making certain every attempt we might engage in order to right things will work instead in his favor.” Mikhail’s voice darkened. “Chernobog is attempting to cross and he has enlisted Ashbel to help him. Everything is in place.”

“He can’t. It isn’t possible,” Trin begged.

“He has figured out a way. Somehow Sam is the key,” Mikhail insisted. “There is no question.
We must find Ashbel.
Our own power has been turned against us. The stone guardians no longer emit a protective veil around Ivanova. They are filled with venom waiting to erupt.”

A pained silence followed. “Sam is alone.”

“What?”

“I’m at a meet in Las Vegas. She wouldn’t come with me. She’s performing right now.”

The gravity of Trin’s words silenced Mikhail for several moments. “Did you shield her?” he asked.

“He broke it,” Trin said, vacant, hollow. “I felt it return to me in the water. I’m on my way to the airport now. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Please find her, Mikhail.” His heart shattered. Mikhail could do nothing to stop Ashbel.

“I will do everything I possibly can,” he said. “I’m on my way right now.”

Trin ended the call and fell forward into his hands. It was over. He was the only one who could save her and he wasn’t even sure of that anymore. Anvil rested a hand on Trin’s shoulder. Things were far worse than they ever imagined.

CHAPTER FORTY ONE

S
am walked into the dance building. She didn’t even try Trin. She knew he would be in the water and she didn’t want to worry him. Anna had insisted she call Trin and get him home, but Sam had refused. “He can’t know this has happened. He’ll leave and he has to be there for his team. I’ll be fine until he gets back.”

“How will you be fine?” Anna had argued. But Sam would not concede.

By the time they got to the dance building she had finally decided the absence of Trin’s shield didn’t mean Ashbel had
found
her. It simply meant she was back to where she had been before. She just needed to lay low, which was probably easier to do with Trin gone, since his energy intensified her own. Trin would be home tonight. She just had to get through the next few hours and she believed she could do that. She entered the dressing room and dressed for the show. Her phone was on silent as it began to ring in her bag. First Trin, then Anna; both attempts unheard.

She followed the other dancers up to the stage performing the first half without incident. At intermission she raced downstairs to check her phone. Pulling it from her bag, she saw several missed calls from Trin and Anna. She called Anna first. She picked up right away.

“He knows.”

“How? Did you tell him?”

“Sam, he felt it when it happened. He called me right after I dropped you off.”

Sam’s head fell forward. Of course. Of course he would know.

“He’s coming home right now,” Anna said.

“Did he finish the meet?”

“Sam, what is wrong with you? Who cares if he finished the meet! Trin sounded really upset. He’s convinced you’re in danger. Look, I’m here in the building. He asked me to keep him posted if I saw anything out of the ordinary, but I don’t know what to look for either. What are you expecting? Is it him?” she said. “Are you expecting
him
to show up?”

She put a hand to her forehead, not wanting Anna anywhere near this. “Yes.”

Anna paced. “Okay. What does he look like?”

“No. Anna, you have to leave right now,” she said. “You can’t be in the middle of this.”

“I’m not going to get in the middle of it, Sam, but if I see him at least I can let you know.”

Sam lifted her head, exhaling in exasperation. “He has black hair and green eyes, built like Trin. You’ll know if you see him. His essence is the same, only the sight of him will scare the hell out of you.” Sam couldn’t see the color draining from Anna’s face, but there was a pause on the other end of the line. “Anna?”

Anna’s voice dropped. “I’ve seen him.”

Sam’s heart fell to the pit of her stomach. “What?” she whispered. “What do you mean you’ve seen him?”

“He was outside our dorm the day you freaked out in rehearsal, standing across the street, looking at me,” she said. “I could feel him staring. I couldn’t look away. He reminded me of someone. Now I know it was Trin. He reminded me of Trin.”

Sam’s voiced brimmed with hysteria. “Where are you right now, Anna?”

“I’m by the front entrance—” Anna’s voice cut off in a clipped cry.

“Anna?”
A desperate moment of silence passed. “Oh, Sam...
he’s here.”

Sam gripped the phone, heart hammering, throat tight. Anna ducked into an alcove, peering past the column. “He’s outside in the parking lot...” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He’s looking right at me. He knows I know you. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. He knows who I am...”

“Anna, don’t move,” Sam said. ”Stay right where you are. I’m coming upstairs.”

Anna’s voice quivered. “Okay. Sam...”

“What? What is it?” Sam begged, racing for the stairs.

“Please hurry.”

“I’m coming!”

Anna looked toward the stairwell at the far end of the hall in anticipation of Sam’s arrival. The hall was dark and empty, leaving her utterly helpless against the monster outside. She turned her head to see if he was still there. Insidious green eyes stared back, inches from her face, gleaming above a sinister grin. Her scream cut off as his powerful hands, at either side of her head, snapped her neck with effortless precision. Her lifeless body dropped to the ground at his feet just as Sam rounded the corner.

The warrior stood at a distance in the corridor, his energy exploding throughout the hallway intimidating every exposed surface in its path. An unrecognizable shriek rose in Sam’s throat as she collapsed to the floor, reaching out in vain for her beloved friend in uncontrollable sobs.

Ashbel stood, imposing, incomprehensible, his aura a confounding tapestry of pain, hatred, torture, and sorrow—energies collected from countless unspeakable events in human history, stolen and implemented into an impervious wall of anguish no one could hope to fight, elements jamming into each other like a dark halo of misfiring synapses.

His eyes rose from Anna to Sam, gazing upon her, owning her. His mind clamped down on hers like a steel trap. The endless stream of tears flowed as she stood against her will, his narcissism on display as he prolonged her unspeakable agony, witnessing the death of the only sister she had ever had, the only one who understood and supported her. Sam was broken, just the way he wanted her.

A blast of familiar energy tore through the environment from behind her. The powerful current hummed, electrifying every molecule as it reached its target—Anna’s lifeless body on the floor. Sam turned. A large man stood at the end of the hall, regal, fearless, his beautiful energy ripping through the atmosphere.
Mikhail.
Her fists clenched, chest heaving with desperate hope.

The Elder moved toward Ashbel. Sam watched, confused, terrified. Ashbel’s eyes gleamed, rising fury spilling from his hollow eyes as he ramped up his venomous assault. Mikhail zeroed in on Ashbel like a hunter to prey. Ashbel’s insidious aura pitched, fragments of
warped energy dropped like cinder from its construct, shooting to Anna’s body, locking in Mikhail’s shield. Ashbel’s jaw tightened, eyes wild as his aura gleamed, intensifying. Mikhail hedged, wincing in pain, but continued, undaunted, tearing at Ashbel’s aura, dismantling it bit by bit, each fragment joining the new aura building around Anna. Mikhail worked faster, eyes strained, clenching his jaw in a mix of pain and determination.

Sam’s chest heaved with heated breath, unable to understand Mikhail’s actions but knowing it was killing him. Anna had died because of her, and now Mikhail would die too. A fire ignited within her. Mikhail dropped to one knee in exhaustion, still extracting and placing Ashbel’s energy onto Anna, expending enormous effort to withstand the crushing energy Ashbel unleashed to destroy him, sucking the life from him.

Fiery blue lit Sam’s eyes. She had watched Anavi die. She had watched her best friend die. She would not stand by and let Ashbel kill again in her presence. Harnessing her anger, pain, and rage she locked in on Mikhail, focusing. Shimmering golden light sprang up in her aura, dancing around her like tiny electrical currents. The frenzy of light grew, spreading, reaching, finding Mikhail, swallowing him up.