The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (47 page)

“You’ve been so kind to me since I got here and you haven’t done anything that would hurt me, just like you said the first time we met here. It’s hard for me to trust people, you know that, and I had to make sure that you were being honest with me.” She hoped that her words carried the right level of sincerity. While she had always been the worst liar, the skill had improved remarkably since coming to the waypoint.

“Ellie, I, I don’t know what to say,” Mikel said. “This place where I live is full of treachery and deceit, and I know that I can play those games as well as the best of them. I admit that my intentions haven’t always been the most honorable, but meeting you made me feel something I haven’t felt in a thousand years. I can’t even believe it myself,” he said. He stroked her cheek and then her hair and Ellie felt a pit of despair grow inside of her. He couldn’t be serious. He was still playing her. Because if he wasn’t, what was about to happen was going to have horrible consequences.

To keep him from saying anything else, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and his mouth crushed hers. It was the kiss of a man who thought he was drowning. The kiss made her head spin and slowly she pulled away. His eyes were hungry and his breath came in short gasps.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“I want to see you,” she said.

“What?”

“I know you are there, behind his face,” she said, reaching up to stroke his cheek. He pressed it against her palm. “I want to see you.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said, starting to pull away.

“NO,” she said. “Don’t leave me.”

“I don’t want you to see,” he said. “And I don’t want you to be confused.”

“Mikel, it’s okay,” she lied. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Still he hesitated, but then she smiled at him and nodded. He took a step backwards. “You may want to move,” he said.

Ellie took several steps away from him. Looking at David’s face now broke her heart. She hoped that he would be able to forgive her for tonight. If their situations were reversed, she didn’t know that she could.

There was the same kind of blinding white light that she remembered from traveling the way line, and as it faded, Mikel stood there smiling at her. Behind him, slumped on the floor, she could see David’s still form.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

She could still hear Lucy’s voice in her head from their conversation earlier in the bathroom.

“
The first few minutes after he releases David are going to be the most critical. Your job is to make sure that Mikel is completely distracted. He’s going to think that he’s won, and what you don’t want him to do is turn his attention to David in any way. If he kills him, we’re all screwed. You are going to need to keep up the act just a little bit longer and give me time to do my thing.”

As much as she wanted to rush to David’s side, she couldn’t. She still had a part to play, and she wouldn’t let Mikel hurt him. She held out her hand to him. “I am so happy that you dropped the charade, Mikel.”

His hand was in hers a moment later and then he took her in his arms. “And I am so glad that you are smiling at my real face and not that weak loser who doesn’t deserve you.”

“Dance with me,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. She started to sway back and forth, and then he joined her, humming the same song from earlier above her head. She knew that she just needed to keep his back to David. “Why me, Mikel? It’s hard for me to believe that you could possibly care about me the way you say that you do. I’m sure you’ve met a million women.”

“It was your ability first. I knew someone who had the same ability once and you reminded me of her,” he said. “She was someone that I cared deeply about in my human life.”

Ellie stopped and looked up at him in surprise. “You were human?”

He chuckled. “Of course. We were all human once.” His face fell. “Her name was Gretchen. I met her the summer I turned eighteen. She was...lovely.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ellie saw the flash of movement into the room. Lucy was there.

“Well, I take that as a very high compliment then, if I remind you of someone that you once cared about,” she said.

“Met, married, and buried all in the same year,” Mikel said gruffly. “She wasn’t strong like you, Ellie, and what her ability did to her drove her insane. There was nothing that I could do but watch her deteriorate into a madwoman. Her rantings and ravings drew the wrong kind of attention in those days, and it didn’t take long before the mob arrived on our doorstep to hang her.”

Ellie’s mouth fell open. Mikel saw her expression and shrugged.

“We shouldn’t speak of these things anymore. They are depressing. But it’s what happened with Gretchen that set me on the path to where I am today. Now with you by my side, I will have no equal.” His eyes glinted dangerously.

It all happened in what seemed like an instant after that. Ellie’s shock at Mikel’s revelation caused her to stumble and as he went to catch her, he glanced over at David. Lucy was poised over David’s still form and she was chanting. Mikel’s head whipped back to her and Ellie saw betrayal and death in them.

“You tricked me,” he hissed, pushing Ellie away from him. He was across the room in an instant towering over Lucy.

“You are going to pay for messing with me, witch,” he said. Lucy cried out as he shoved her out of the way.

Mikel grabbed David by the collar and hauled him to his feet. Ellie saw that David was just starting to come around, and Mikel grabbed his face and peered deeply into them. David didn’t move. “What did you do, witch?”

“I made it so you can’t use him as your puppet anymore, Mikel,” she said.

“I can kill him, though, can’t I, Lucy?” Mikel sneered. “You truly are a stupid woman. Why would you risk your sister’s life for a woman you just met?”

The blows just kept coming. Suddenly it all made sense to Ellie; Lucy’s helping Mikel but being reluctant about it and her covert attempts to help Ellie. But Ellie had the same question that Mikel did. Why would Lucy risk someone she loved to help Ellie save someone that she loved?

“Don’t hurt him, Mikel,” Ellie said, getting to her feet. She put her hand up to try to calm him. “What Lucy did just requires you to play fair. That’s all. You shouldn’t have manipulated me by using the man that I loved against me.”

Mikel looked at her and her stomach dropped. There was nothing but hatred there. If she didn’t know better, she would have said that she had hurt him. Badly. “It seems that I’m not the only one who has picked up the fine art of manipulation. You want fair. Fine, have it your way. You will get me that man’s ability,” he pointed at Henry, “and you won’t give me any trouble about it or I will break your beloved’s neck and hers to boot,” he said, cocking his head at Lucy.

She saw on Lucy’s face that she needed to buy more time. The rest of their plan wasn’t coming into play yet. “Let’s talk about this logically, Mikel. You can’t kill David. I need him, and so the waypoint needs him. You and I both know that you wouldn’t risk that. I need Lucy to help me with taking Henry’s ability and keeping mine under control. Let’s just all calm down.”

David’s eyes were open now and she saw that he was watching her. She was wracked with guilt. How much did he remember? He moaned as Mikel squeezed his throat tighter.

“Stop it!” she yelled. “Okay, I will. Just please let him go.”

Mikel unceremoniously pushed David onto the settee that he and Ellie had so recently vacated. It already seemed like a lifetime ago. “Get it,” he demanded. “Get it now.”

“Lucy.” Ellie gestured to the witch to come join her. Lucy was shaky getting to her feet, but otherwise seemed okay and Ellie was relieved. She made her way over to Ellie and then knelt down beside her. “I’d like you to help me contain it so that as soon as I have it, I don’t go any deeper.” She winced. She hadn’t said the words exactly like they rehearsed, but it was close enough.

Lucy put her hands on Henry’s still body. She closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating hard. Mikel moved so that he was standing by Henry’s head. He leaned down to their level. He glared at them. “No funny business, ladies. I mean it.”

Ellie and Lucy exchanged a look. Ellie anxiously thought about what she would do if the culmination of their plan went awry. The time had come, it was now or never.

Ellie closed her eyes and then let out a deep breath. Slow, steady, and controlled. She was in complete control. She had nothing to worry about. In her mind, she saw Henry’s body laid out on the floor, and just like with Martin, his form then looked like an X-ray. She gasped.

“Everything okay?” Lucy whispered next to her.

“Yes, I just didn’t know that it was going to look like this,” Ellie replied.  Whereas with Martin she had to do a little bit of digging to find where his ability resided, in Henry it was like it was everywhere. His whole body glowed.

“I don’t think I can do it,” she said.

“You’d better do it,” Mikel growled.

“You are going to have to do it, Ellie. Do what he says,” Lucy said. She had uttered the words that Ellie knew meant their time had run out.
If it doesn’t happen by then, there’s a chance it’s not going to.

Earlier, Ellie had asked what was going to happen if the last part of their plan didn’t kick in in time.
Collateral damage
, was Lucy’s reply.
Stall as long as you can
. Inside Ellie wept, because unfortunately for Henry, their perfectly laid plan had spun off the rails. She hoped Lucy’s Plan B would have time to work. Lucy was planning to link to Ellie and use Henry’s energy as a protection shield against Mikel if he tried to threaten them once Ellie had taken his ability.

Again it was like the thing inside of her was automatic. Like a serpent it crept down her hand and jumped the gap into Henry’s body. She heard the man moan in his sleep.

“Easy does it, Ellie,” Lucy said.

Her energy curled around Henry’s and started to squeeze. She couldn’t control it. What it needed to do was too big for her; Henry’s ability was too big. If she jerked she would kill him, she knew it.

Then she heard his voice. “You can do it, Ellie. You can do anything.”

David. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. Knowing that he believed in her suddenly gave her the strength she needed to wrangle with her energy even as it wrangled with Henry’s. She knew that a grimace was on her face as she struggled and sweat broke out on her forehead. Slowly, slowly, slowly, she started to draw the energy back. It was massive, and curled tight within Henry’s body, but she coaxed it. She murmured to it. Gentle persuasion. She nodded and she felt a tingle in her right hand. Lucy was helping to contain it and separate Henry’s life force from his psychic energy, deftly pulling apart the knots as Ellie found them.

It seemed to take forever, but then suddenly the last of it slid across the gap and Ellie released the bond. She opened her eyes and clapped her hands in delight as she saw Henry’s chest still rise and fall. “I did it,” she said. Then looking at Lucy she said, “We did it.”

Lucy put her arms around her. “We did it.”

Ellie saw Mikel watching her with a glare, but she couldn’t stop herself. She turned around and saw David had leaned forward. His eyes were tired and sad, but it was him.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied. “Thanks.”

David shrugged. “I figured I hadn’t done a lot to help. And I should be thanking you for setting me free.”

“This reunion is so touching,” Mikel said, standing up. The jeweled box appeared in his hands. “But first things first. Ellie, I believe you have something of mine. Then we’re all going to sit down and have a nice chat.”

A thunderous vibration ripped through the house at that moment and the walls started to shake. Ellie heard the chandelier creaking. It was like an earthquake was coming. She reached out and grabbed David’s hand as he scrambled to the floor with her and in the other she grabbed Lucy’s. Mikel alone stood looking around in wonder and then suddenly he turned pale. Whirling around, he found Jeffrey standing in the middle of the foyer.  Then the vibration stopped.

“Mikel, I believe your guests have arrived,” he said with a smirk. The door flew open and a kaleidoscope of color shot through, bathing Jeffrey in their rays. Jeffrey bowed and swept to the side as a cloud of white mist scurried across the floor and filled the whole room. As the fog disappeared, two figures became visible.

The woman was tall with jet black hair that fell to her waist. She wore a simple white dress that accentuated her lean frame. Violet eyes regarded them coolly. The man who was with her had black hair as well, but his was shot with streaks of silver. He had a small goatee and could easily have passed for the woman’s father. He wore a gray sports coat with a pair of jeans. Any other day, Ellie would have pegged him as a middle-aged rocker. But even without seeing the pins that covered their hearts, she would have known who they were just based on the hush that filled the room.

Falla and Braz had arrived.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Falla, Braz, you’re early,” Mikel said. His voice carried none of its usual confidence.

“We heard there was a new Guardian installed here, Mikel,” Braz said. His deep voice boomed in the hallway. “Seems there have been quite a few things going on in this waypoint that you failed to bring to the attention of the Council. Falla and I thought it would be best if we came to see for ourselves.”

Mikel stepped into the hallway and as Ellie watched, she saw that the three naturally aligned themselves into the three points of a triangle. As soon as he joined them, Mikel’s clothes morphed into the familiar three-piece suit that she remembered him wearing before, only now the pinstripes that shot through the fabric were red. He turned slightly to look at Ellie, and she saw that his lapel pin was also in place. It was the first time that she had seen the official designation of Mikel’s political position, even though it was always a given. The serpent eating its own tail was identical to the one that she found in her mother’s hope chest. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that he was afraid.

“Yes, thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, Jeffrey.” Falla nodded to Jeffrey.

Jeffrey bowed slightly. “My duty is always first and foremost to the waypoint,” he said as he retreated to the doorway by Ellie, Lucy, and David. Mikel shot Jeffrey a look of pure hatred.

When Lucy told Ellie that Jeffrey was also a spy for other Council members, Ellie hadn’t believed it. But Lucy told her that it wasn’t uncommon for the three to keep tabs on each other’s movements using a very selective spy network. Jeffrey had been with Mikel for over a hundred years. There was no way that Mikel would have suspected that betrayal. The fact that he was willing to side with Ellie was a big gamble for him, but Lucy explained that on one thing she and Jeffrey completely agreed: having Mikel gain control of all the waypoints would be disastrous.

“So I selected a new Guardian,” Mikel said. “It’s better for all of us to have this waypoint open and you know it. Lillian and Joseph Bradford didn’t have the right energy to bring souls here. That’s changed now. More waypoints; better efficiency. I’d think you would be thanking me.”

“Three hundred years ago, this waypoint drew the strongest psychics from across the northern hemisphere on their journeys into the Afterlife. But I’m sure you didn’t know that what with your recent appointment to the Council,” Braz said.

Ellie remembered one of her first conversations with Lucy. Of course Mikel was The Third; he had the least amount of tenure on the Council. Which likely meant that The Third also had the least influence and power on the Council. With an ambitious man like Mikel, that would have chafed. But Braz’s words left her wondering. The Bradfords hadn’t built the mansion until a hundred years ago and Lillian was the one who opened the portal. What had been there three hundred years ago?

“You gave me charge of the old and underpowered waypoints. As you can see, I’m making great progress,” Mikel said with narrowed eyes.

“I’d like to meet this unique Guardian,” Falla said. Her voice was like honey. “Peter said she was quite special. She even stood up to Dane, which I find vastly amusing.”

Ellie felt an elbow in her rib. It was her cue. Lucy started prodding her forward. Slowly Ellie stepped toward the trio.  It felt like she was walking through quicksand. Three pairs of eyes watched her. She felt the heat of Mikel’s glare. She stopped just short of them and waited.

Falla looked her over from head to toe. Her eyes widened. “I see it now. Peter’s too young to understand what it meant.” She glanced at Braz.

Braz sighed. “Lila as well. The only one who may have known would have been Dane, but my guess is that bit of magic that we see swirling around her would have made even his eyes skim over it.”

Ellie’s eyes widened. What did they see? What magic?

Falla’s eyes narrowed as she looked back at Mikel. “I suppose you knew that your new Guardian was a Ripher?”

How did they know?
Ellie wondered. Mikel shrugged and looked bored. “So what? I was looking for the right fit to take over this waypoint and Lillian Bradford led me right to Ellie. Obviously a gifted psychic medium like a Ripher is a better Guardian than a demented woman who figured out how to cast a few binding spells.”

Falla snapped her fingers and said, “Bring it to me.”

Jeffrey appeared at her shoulder and placed the jeweled box into her hands. Ellie saw Mikel’s face pale.

“I think we have a lot to discuss, Mikel. It’s been a long time since a member of the Council has committed such an act of treason against other members of the Council. You should hope that by the time your trial begins, you have gotten your story straight,” Falla said coolly.

“I didn’t. I wouldn’t,” Mikel stammered.

“Save it,” Braz commanded. “If you weren’t a Council member you would have been decimated already. Our orders were firm, however. Bring the traitor back. Put you in front of the Tribunal for trial. And in their hands, your fate rests.”

Mikel looked like he was going to be ill. Falla, however, had a small smile of satisfaction on her face. “You will come with me now, Mikel. As the First, Heaven technically has the right to hold you, but at Braz’s request we will release you to the Dark One for holding until the time of the Tribunal. I have a feeling he is none too pleased with your plotting as well. You’ve done a very stupid thing, Mikel.”

Now Mikel started to shake. Falla looked at him and then a whirl of light flowed out of her. Gold bars of glowing light encircled Mikel. Ellie almost felt sorry for him then. Despite everything he had done, that night she had glimpsed something in him that wasn’t pure evil. It was a confusing thought, but she was starting to believe everyone telling her that things weren’t as black and white as she wanted them to be.

The fog reappeared then and then the blinding bright light. When Ellie looked again, Falla and Mikel were gone. Only Braz remained, and he was looking at her with a sad expression on his face. Suddenly, she was terrified. They had won, right? What else could possibly happen?

“Hello, Ellie,” he said. He stepped forward and shook her hand. “I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that I represent Purgatory in Council matters.”

“I didn’t want to help him,” she said. “He created an elaborate plot to get me to help him. I had no idea that I was a Ripher or whatever it is that you think I am. I was just a girl trying to live her life out there. On the Other Side. I want to go home. Please tell me that now this is all over we can go home.”

Braz sighed and looked around the foyer. “This place needed a Guardian. Mikel was right about that at least. It is a waypoint of great power. With that comes great responsibility. I know that you would like to return to your old life, and if it was possible I would gladly send you there. But you’ve been touched by the darkness now, Ellie. You’ve been here too long. I can’t allow you to go back.”

The tears welled in her eyes then, but she wouldn’t let them fall. The finality of his words ripped at her soul. Mikel had condemned her to a life in the Afterlife. “Does this mean I’m dead?” she asked.

“You are not dead. Not yet. There are many circumstances around what happened here and with you that the Council will need to discuss once everything is balanced again. For the time being, you will continue to stay here and do what Mikel told you do. Jeffrey and Lucy will remain as your advisors and help keep you safe. I fear that times are growing uncertain, and there are others who would try to hurt you if they knew you were here.”

Ellie didn’t think Braz’s revelations could get any worse. Braz looked over her shoulder and proved her wrong.

“As for the matter of David, I’m afraid that he is going to need to come with me.”

“What?” Ellie exclaimed. “Why? He hasn’t done anything wrong! Besides, I need him. He and I give the waypoint the energy it needs to stay open!”

David appeared at her side. He turned her to face him. “It’s okay, Ellie. He’s just doing his job.”

“What are you talking about?” Ellie grabbed him and hugged him tightly. “I don’t understand.”

He stroked her hair and hugged her back. “You did what you had to do. I don’t want you to beat yourself up about this too.”

Now she couldn’t hold the tears back. She let them slide down her cheeks. She didn’t care about appearing strong anymore. “Why, David? Why?”

“He isn’t supposed to exist,” Braz said. The words echoed throughout the hall. “A soul unaccounted for is like a ticking time bomb. Mikel was but one of a multitude who would look to exploit such a loophole in the fabric of our existence. David can’t stay here. His presence puts all of you in danger, and in the vicinity of a waypoint with an open portal, it puts the Other Side in danger as well. You make a point in that up until now more energy was needed to maintain the waypoint and keep it fully functional.”

Ellie realized then that Mikel’s master plan had backfired entirely, on her. “Oh my God,” she whispered.

“Well, whoever you call master,” Braz said wryly before his expression turned serious again. “The Council does not condone the taking of psychic abilities in any way, shape, or form. But I have it on good authority that you’ve recently taken an ability that increases your own by a magnitude of a thousand. Such a thing makes you alone more than sufficient to feed the waypoint on your own.”

Ellie started to shake. “No, no, no, no. I can’t lose you too. I can’t do this without you, David. I just can’t.” She clutched him tightly.

“Shhh,” he said. “You’ve been doing great, Ellie. I know you didn’t know I was there, but I was watching. You are amazing. The way that you’ve adapted and grown since you’ve been here. You are going to be a force to be reckoned with as a Guardian. Trust me. I was lucky to have you in my life for the short time I did. You are going to be okay.”

Ellie wept against his chest. It was like she was losing her parents, Roni, and Jake all over again. David rocked her in his arms and held her. Finally she started to quiet and gain control over the overwhelming sadness that had taken hold. She couldn’t keep him there. She knew it.

She looked up at him and David smiled sadly at her, then kissed her forehead. “I love you, Ellie.”

“I love you too,” she said softly.

Reluctantly, she released him. As she started to turn away, Braz touched her arm. “Ellie, may I ask you a question?”

“Yes,” she said, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. She was angry, but she intuitively knew that it wouldn’t be smart to say something out of turn to a Council member. If this was her life, she needed to not draw any more attention to herself.

“Your parents. Their names didn’t happen to be Garrett and Milla, did they?”

Ellie’s expression said it all and Braz frowned.

“Why? What did my parents have to do with the Afterlife?” she asked. Taking a stab at what she thought she knew, she continued. “I know they were from here. Tell me what that means.”

“This isn’t a subject for now,” Braz replied. He was clearly troubled. “I will visit again, Ellie, and we will talk more. But for now, David and I need to be going.”

Ellie almost started to weep again but she gulped down a deep breath of air instead and nodded.

As the fog filled the foyer, she saw David mouth the words again.
I love you
.

Then the two were gone. Lucy gathered Ellie into her arms and Ellie started to cry once again.