Authors: Katlyn Duncan
“I’m up for it.”
He chuckled. “I know you are but I just need you to understand what you are getting into. If for any reason you feel unsafe I want you to tell me and I will let you go back to the Guard.”
I looked around the plane. “It seems a little late for that.”
“I needed to show the Shadowed that I was following through. It was the only way they were going to let us be. The pilot already called into the base but there is nothing stopping us from changing course.”
He had really thought this plan through. And I still wanted to prove to my father that I could take an active part in the mission and succeed. “What do I need to do?”
“Their plan is to break past Gate Seven into the After. They have tried numerous ways but they are convinced that they need a Rodas to do that.”
“But I don’t have any powers as a human,” I reminded him. I looked down at my hands, picturing the orange essence flowing through them. “I don’t think I will be able to.” Weren’t the Caeleste smarter than that? The transformation was a key part of Prognatum life. If I had been able to express it as a child who knew what would have happened if I experienced a temper tantrum. It didn’t make sense.
“Even if you aren’t able to, you need to learn whatever they are going to show you. If you are able to express your gift, you must keep it a secret. The transformation date is what is giving us time to destroy them from the inside. If they realize that you must be transformed first then they will wait to carry out their plan. Once I bring you to them, my bond with Hannah will be broken and we can use the delay to plan our escape.”
“What about Jamie?” I asked. I needed to do as much as I could while I was delaying the Shadowed. Who knew when we would be able to get out of there and I didn’t want to leave her with them.
He nodded. “Robert got too close to them and he brought her in.”
I sucked in a breath through my teeth. The pills and the trashed phone now made sense. “Why would he do that?”
“He wasn’t himself,” Jackson said with a weighted tone. “They Possessed him. She is an important piece in bringing down the Gate.”
“How?”
“That I’m not sure of. This plan has been between Hannah and Abidan. I couldn’t get too close without them suspecting anything.”
“Abidan is the leader of the Shadowed?” I guessed.
“Yes,” he replied. “And the one who started your line.”
I flinched.
He squeezed my hands. “Jamie is as safe as she can be with them. They won’t harm her. I had a chance to speak with her on the plane but she didn’t offer anything. She is unaware of my intentions.”
“If you get me close enough I will talk to her.” Another issue niggled at the back of my mind. My body buzzed with anticipation. “I saw Yera—the other Percipio— at Gate Seven. And Ollie mentioned her. Was she the one who told them about Jamie?”
He looked down at our hands. “Yera tried to protect Jamie, but she had already been identified from the night of Ally’s birthday.”
My stomach lurched. I not only played a part in Jamie’s physical injury but now her life was in danger because of me. “If Yera was an important part, why did they kill her?”
“Yera killed herself. She didn’t want to be part of the plan.”
My skin prickled. “She just left Jamie?” I took in a sharp breath. “There was a note!” I searched my pockets but I realized I must have left it in the car. “Do you think she was trying to warn Jamie?”
“Possibly, but I’m not sure it would have mattered.”
“Why not?”
“They have Robert for leverage.” He paused before speaking again. “We can’t save everyone. I know this might be difficult for you to understand but as a Guard we have to make tough decisions for the good of the mission.”
“You can’t expect me to just leave her with them?” I asked, appalled that he would think that.
“Mags, if they get through the Gate there are going to be bigger problems than Jamie and Robert. All of the souls will be at risk.”
A sinking feeling weighed in my stomach. “I know.”
Seeing my expression he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. “We have time to figure this out. I just want you to be prepared to make these types of decisions.”
I nodded. “Okay”
His mouth twitched but he said nothing. He didn’t need to. He could feel my apprehension. If Robert was able to be Possessed then there might be no hope for him. But just like I wasn’t prepared to leave Jamie, I know she would never leave her father, so I’d just have to figure out a plan to get them both out of there. Alive.
Jackson and I went over our plan numerous times. He wasn’t sure exactly what would happen when we reached the base or how much alone time we would have so he prepared me the best he could.
“Hannah will be the one to train you since her abilities are similar to yours,” he reiterated.
I remembered the night at the warehouse and how she was able to take Leha’s soul just as I had taken David’s. But her black essence was a stark contrast to my orange one. When I asked Jackson about that he paused.
“Unfortunately that information is strictly concealed by the Caeleste. I do know that is how she is keeping the Shadowed alive.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, as alive as they can be.”
“I thought they were able to stay alive from feeding from human souls?”
“They do, but Hannah is the one who is able to extract the energy and pass it to the Shadowed souls. Remember how you felt when we were in the caves?”
I nodded, slipping back to that night when I could barely control the urge to take in the energy that had been stored there.
“Hannah is able to extract the energy and transfer it to an inanimate object. Unlike the Rodas who can absorb it and transfer it to the Caeleste.”
I rubbed my head where a dull ache had started to form.
“You should get some rest.” He shuffled off the bed but I leaned over and clasped his hand in mine. He turned to me, his eyes wide.
“Can you stay for a little while longer?”
He wasted no time getting back on the bed. I burrowed myself under the covers and snuggled closer to him. His fingers moved through my hair.
“Everything is going to be fine,” he said against my head. “As long as we stick to the plan.”
I sighed. “Will it ever get better?”
“Yes. Your human life is back on track and soon enough I will be free of Hannah.” His arms pulled me tighter against him.
My life was back on track, but I couldn’t help feel that it wasn’t right, my world was finally coming together but I was missing my daughter. It would have been perfect to have her alive. Father might have hated me before but I knew I had to succeed for him to even consider forgiving me for her death.
I found Jackson’s hand and twined his fingers with mine. “Can you show me her?”
“What do you want to see?”
I yawned and my eyes drooped. “Everything.”
His lips brushed against my forehead and I closed my eyes. The images flickered until they played out like a movie. Jackson’s feelings for my daughter were true, I felt it through every encounter. He loved her like I should have loved her if I had been alive. I saw her in glimpses when she was a child. Jackson had hidden these encounters from my father. When she had made the decision to find him, their meetings became more frequent. Jackson was both Tristan and me to her and my heart filled with even more love for him. I pushed myself to stay awake but I started to drift away while experiencing myself and Leha meeting for the first time.
“Mags,” Jackson’s voice floated through the darkness around me. I reached for him, but I only grabbed a blanket. I sat up quickly. My ears popped and I flexed my jaw a few times as I acclimated to the space around me.
A hand touched my shoulder. “I’m right here.”
The room filled with light and I closed my eyes quickly.
“We are landing soon. I just wanted to give you enough time to wake up. There is food at your seat.”
I scooted off the bed and stood up, smoothing my hair back.
“I’ll see you out there.” Jackson leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. I reached up and pulled him closer to me and leaned back onto the bed, pulling his body on top of mine. I didn’t know what was going to happen when we arrived but I needed him to know how much I loved him. His arms pressed against the bed as he deepened our kiss. Every inch of my body was hyperaware of his. Every touch was electric. A rumble of turbulence broke the spell.
I sucked in a breath through my teeth and allowed myself to revel in our love. He stood up quickly, his eyes wild. “If you keep doing that I’m not sure if I am ever going to leave this plane.”
I giggled and took his outstretched hand. He helped me from the bed and ushered me through the cabin, his hand never breaking contact until I was in my seat. Then he kissed my cheek and made his way to the front of the cabin to speak with the flight attendant.
The food was surprisingly delicious. I had never eaten pork tenderloin but it was succulent and the perfect texture. It was all gone within minutes of me sitting down. Jackson was still speaking to the flight attendant. So I unbuckled and made my way to the bathroom where I looked in the mirror. My reflection was not as startling as I would have expected after the rain and my nap. Twisting my wild waves back into a tight braid my hands moved expertly over my hair as if engaged in a ritual it hadn’t performed in a long time. Over a century to be exact. I focused on the movement of my fingers, in an effort to distract myself from the knot tightening in my stomach.
Someone knocked on the door and I jumped back, my reflexes a little too wound up.
“Mags, you should sit down for landing,” Jackson said on the other side of the door.
“Okay.” I took one last look in the mirror, preparing myself for what was to come.
Jackson’s belief in me boosted my confidence.
Back in the cabin, I buckled myself into the seat and lifted the window shade. The sky was bright blue and white puffy clouds rocketed up toward the plane. I rested my hands in my lap, telling myself that the weightlessness in my stomach was normal.
The pilot announced our descent and everyone was quiet except for the flight attendant checking to make sure everything was closed up. She took my plate and locked the tray in front of me in place, before buckling herself in as the front of the plane dipped toward the ground.
I held my breath and looked over at Jackson. He turned his head as if he sensed me and smiled encouragingly. I smiled back and stared into his eyes for the remainder of the descent. A flurry of emotions circling between terror and anticipation flowed through me until the wheels of the plane touched solid ground.
I didn’t know what I’d been expecting when Jackson said an abandoned bunker out west but what I saw as we neared the ground could be better described as desolate. The runway and small tower up ahead were the only signs of civilization as far as I could see. Scattered groupings of cacti reached up with forked fingers toward the sky.
“How are we going to escape?” I murmured.
The plane slowed until it halted and my breathing quickened. Jackson touched my shoulder and I looked up at him.
“Let’s go,” he said, taking my hand in his. “Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not.”
He squeezed my hand lightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “It’s okay to be anxious. Just focus on the plan.”
“Got it.”
The flight attendant stood dutifully at the exit to the plane as we disembarked. She nodded curtly to Jackson, her curious eyes inspecting me.
The wind picked up as we descended the steps. I held onto the railing with my free hand, making sure I didn’t fly away with the gusts. When we reached solid ground, Jackson stood in front of me, blocking the brunt of the wind. “Let’s get going. This is only going to get worse.”
Sand particles invaded my mouth so I quickly pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and tightened it so only my eyes were showing. Sand was a texture that I wasn’t particularly fond of.
Jackson had been right about the wind picking up. I gripped his hand tighter as we walked. He tried to talk to me but I couldn’t hear him over the rush of wind assaulting my ears. Soon enough he gave up and we journeyed through the desert for about fifteen minutes before the gusts of wind died down.
“It’s here,” he shouted over the wind.
I scanned the area and could see nothing but desert.
He reached down next to a particularly short cactus and scooped handfuls of sand into a pile.
I knelt next to him. “Are we digging to this place? If so, I’m thinking we might need a shovel.”
Jackson chuckled. “You might want to step back.” He stood, pulling me next to him.
Before I could ask what he was doing, the ground started to vibrate under me. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The vibration pulsed through me starting off as a low hum and rapidly accelerating until my teeth started to chatter. The sand sunk in on itself and I skipped back a few more feet. I knew Jackson wouldn’t just let me fall into whatever hole was forming but I wasn’t prepared to test that theory.
The hole opened until it was just as big as a manhole on the street. When Jackson reached down, his hand disappearing into the darkness and the vibrations started again but this time something was coming up from the hole. A piece of metal came up from the sand and I stepped a little closer, to peer down into the darkness.
“What is that?”
“That’s the entrance to the base.”
I looked down the hole which eventually stopped expanding. A metal ladder poked up from the ground, but I couldn’t see how far down it went, which didn’t calm my nerves one bit.
“You want me to go down that?”
“Yes. But, I will go first.”
“Okay.” I turned to the rest of the desert looking around. “This is the only way in?”
“This is the closest entrance from the runway. The Shadowed transport in and out of here.” He grabbed the ladder and swung his body around until he faced me. I reached out instinctively, thinking he was going to fall. “Just one step at a time okay?” The sun beat down on his piercing blue eyes and my chest squeezed. The corner of his mouth quirked up quickly and then he descended into the darkness.