Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy) (30 page)

“No,” Caleb admitted, “but since I have Evie, and her life is in my hands, I trust you won’t do anything stupid—though maybe stupidity is part of your personality. After all, your carelessness is how we found out some of the Amaranthine secrets. You have no idea how much you let your guard down around her, do you? It was fantastic when you decided to have a relationship with her. And the night the two of you kissed the first time! We never guessed you would be that reckless. It made your bond stronger and easier to access.” Caleb put his index finger to his smiling lips and for a moment, seemed lost in thought.

“You were able to find out how to enhance your powers simply because I had a relationship with Evie?” Alex asked.

“In all the years of Daevos existence, no one has ever succeeded in penetrating the Amaranthine Society defenses. We had been working on it with our allies and captives when we heard about you and your history with Evie. Gaining access to additional powers wasn’t really something anyone believed was possible, on your side as well, I’m sure. Then again,” Caleb said, tilting his head, “no one had ever seen a connection like the one you and Evie share.” Emil and Alex both cringed, for different reasons.

“It wasn’t a coincidence we were in the mountains the day you appeared to her. We knew of Emil’s Clan and their obsession with Evie. We also knew about the history you, Evie, and Emil all share. One of our Amaranthine allies was able to find out that Evie was the soul you’ve been protecting for two hundred and fifty years. We knew she was moving to Gunnison, so we followed her. We had planned to abduct her as a way to draw you out. Your reunion made that unnecessary. The bond between the two of you was so strong when you reunited that we decided to see what would happen once you had an emotional and perhaps, physical relationship. We were glad we waited.”

I saw the muscles in Alex’s body tense all at once. Through his teeth he said, “If you hurt her, I will kill you. Torture will seem like a vacation when I’m done with you.”

Caleb gave a short laugh, waving Alex off. “That kind of emotional response won’t help you. Rest assured though, Evie is fine.”

Alex measured Caleb, his expression shrewd. “Why couldn’t I see you when you took Evie? And why can’t I find my bond with her?”

Caleb’s eyes danced. I could tell he enjoyed having information that Alex didn’t know. “Because I made sure you couldn’t.”

I had been so focused on the conversation between Caleb and Alex that I hadn’t been paying much attention to Emil. Caleb was about to start speaking again when I heard a crash and a loud thud. Emil had turned on Joshua, smashing his head into a desk. Joshua was stunned. Emil grabbed him, putting his hands on the sides of Joshua’s head and locking eyes with him. A dark red smoke immediately swirled around Joshua. Images from Joshua’s past started flashing in rapid succession through the smoke. As each image formed, it floated into the air and disappeared.

I watched in stunned silence until Caleb’s voice broke me from my trance. “Grab Emil, kill him if you have to!” he barked.

Caleb’s minions rushed toward Emil. In the chaos, Alex broke free of the two men holding him. He punched one of them in the neck, collapsing his airway. The man gasped for breath as he fell to the floor. If he was anything like Emil, it wouldn’t take long for him to recuperate. Alex kicked the other guy in the kneecap and punched him in the stomach. Alex didn’t give the guy time to recover. Alex grabbed him and placed his hands on the side of the guy’s head, locking eyes with him. The images started to swirl and rise in orange colored smoke, but Alex suddenly let out a grunt of pain and his eyes rolled back into his head. His hands dropped as he fell to the ground with the man whose soul he’d been taking, both of them unconscious. I gasped and heard Caleb cackle. Then the voice came again.

Help them.

Another punch hit my back. I jerked forward, the energy flowing through me. I moved quickly from the ledge, unnoticed in the chaos, and jumped down. I stayed to the shadows as I surveyed the scene. Joshua was sprawled on the ground, his soul gone. The two men Alex had been trying to kill were still on the ground with him, but they were stirring. That left Caleb and two more clan members as an immediate threat. We’d have to deal with the other guys as soon as they were healed enough to get up. And I still didn’t know what had happened to Alex.

Emil stood stock still, staring at Caleb. The two other men moved in front of Caleb forming a barricade for Emil to get through. “It seems we’ve discovered where your true loyalties lie,” Caleb said to Emil.

No one had noticed me yet, so I hung back, trying to figure out the best way to help the situation. “What did you do to Alex?” Emil asked.

Caleb curled his lip into a sinister grin. “The souls of my Clan members are spelled. Any Amaranthine member who tries to take our souls will be hit in the stomach with a lightning-like pain so intense that they become unconscious.” He frowned. “We didn’t anticipate a threat from other Daevos members, but I imagine traitors like you are in the minority. My preference would have been for the Amaranthine member to die when they attempted to take one of my Clan’s souls, but our Trackers don’t have that kind of power yet.”

Emil blinked. “So you really are the one who’s been taking Trackers?”

Caleb looked at him like he was an idiot. “People have underestimated the powers of Trackers for years. They can do so much more than find silly bonds. With enough of them, we could rule the heavens. Even the Goddesses would have to bow to our whims.”

Emil gave a dry laugh. “You’re insane. It will never work.”

Caleb laughed and gestured to Alex on the floor. “It already has.” He looked back at Emil. “And now, we’ll take care of you.” The two men in front of Caleb stalked toward Emil. Emil grabbed a broken leg from the desk where he’d thrown Joshua as the two clan members circled him. Emil was surrounded. One man motioned to the other, and they both attacked at once. Emil used the leg of the desk to smack one of them in the side of the head while he flipped around and kicked the other. Emil pushed the splintered side of the desk leg into the neck of the first guy. He fell to the ground, blood flowing from his carotid artery.

It was then that I noticed the Clan members who had attacked Alex start to rise from the floor. I knew I couldn’t kill them, but they could be hurt. I’d taken a self-defense class in high school and ran through the basics in my head, hoping my beginner skills would be enough to slow them down—and keep me, Emil, and Alex alive.

The guy Alex had punched in the neck seemed to be moving the slowest, so I targeted him first. His back to me, I rushed him and wrapped my arms around his neck, cutting off the air supply to his already fragile wind pipe. He gasped for breath, drawing the attention of the other Clan members and Caleb. I heard Caleb bellow, “Who let her out?” I wrapped my arms tighter, knowing I’d soon have Caleb and another clan member to contend with. Before either of them could reach me, the guy I was holding around the neck went limp in my arms. I let him go and he dropped to the floor in time for me to be jerked into the arms of the other man. He embraced me tightly. His arms wrapped around my body holding me below my elbows so I couldn’t lift my forearms and break free.

I glanced at Emil. He’d also been subdued. Caleb walked toward me, fury radiating from his body with every step. “How did you get out?”

I blew hair out of my eyes and answered, “Your security system could use some work.”

Caleb’s face was pulled back in a snarl as he came closer. He stopped inches from me, running his hand down my cheek, lifting my chin to meet his eyes. “That. Was a mistake. Now that I know you’re going to be a problem, I’ll make sure your life isn’t as easy as I’d planned for it to be.”

He nodded to the guy behind me. “You know where to take her.” He turned to the man holding Emil. “Kill him,” Caleb said.

As soon as I heard the words, I felt another punch and the pulsing energy from my soulmark started again. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew I had the power to defeat Caleb and all of his Clan. Instinctively, I closed my eyes, concentrating on the lily on my back. The power increased rapidly, a hum emanating from my body. My skin started to tingle and I felt like I was vibrating. I opened my eyes and concentrated my energy toward the guy holding me and thought,
release
. Instantly, he loosened his grip. I looked at Emil, focusing my energy behind him. The guy holding him let go, and Emil quickly stepped away.

Caleb’s mouth fell open in shock as I lifted my hands. To be honest, I was pretty surprised myself, but I didn’t have time to think about what was happening. The only thing that mattered was that it worked. I needed a way to immobilize the men. I shifted my gaze to each Clan member and as I did, I thought,
freeze
. As soon as the thought entered my head, each man stopped as if paralyzed in place.

When I got to Caleb, the urge to command him to
die
was overwhelming, but I knew death wouldn’t be enough, and since he was a Daevos member, I wouldn’t be able to kill him anyway. Caleb’s soul needed to be taken, and I didn’t have that ability. I made Caleb freeze in place as well. Emil gazed at me with wonder.

“Evie, are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded. “I don’t know how long I can hold them like this. I need you to take their souls.”

Emil put his hands on the head of the man closest to him and locked eyes with him. The memories started to circle and rise in a haze of green smoke. Emil worked his way around the room as I held the Clan members in place with my mind. It wasn’t long until Caleb was the only Clan member left.

I wanted to ask Caleb questions, but I also didn’t want him free. Instead I released the muscles from his neck up, allowing him to speak. His face was red and he seemed angry, but there was a sly undertone in his expression—like he had a secret he wasn’t going to tell. He directed his comments toward Emil. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted. You are a traitor and a fool. You will be caught, other Clans will be told about this,” Caleb said in an authoritative, calm voice that was more menacing than a scream.

I was furious at what Caleb had done to me and Alex and Emil, not to mention the Trackers he said he’d been abducting. Anger radiated from me as I continued my hold on Caleb and watched Emil stalk over to him. Emil grabbed him by the arm and Caleb didn’t even flinch. “Five of your Clan members are dead, Caleb, and you don’t have a shred of remorse.
No one
will find out what happened here today.”

Caleb chuckled. To me he said, “If you trust Emil to keep his word and continue to help you, you are even more of a fool than he is.”

Emil wrapped his arm around Caleb’s neck. “Tell me where you’re keeping the other Trackers.” His voice was threatening as he held Caleb in a head lock.

Caleb was livid, but couldn’t move to struggle against Emil’s hold. “You have nothing to bargain with, thus I have no reason to tell you.”

“You’re right,” Emil admitted, “I will kill you regardless, but the method of your death is up to you. Tell me where they are, and it will be much less painful than it could be.”

Caleb’s lips curled into an ominous smile. “They’re around.”

Still holding his neck, Emil grabbed Caleb’s right arm. He started to pull the arm backward as Caleb yelled. It seemed the paralyzing I’d done didn’t numb a person’s pain—good to know. Emil pulled Caleb’s arm until his shoulder popped out of its socket. Caleb screamed. “Where?” Emil asked through his teeth.

Caleb took a few deep breaths. He forced another smile through his pain. “You’ll never find them.”

Emil let him go. His arm hung limply at an unnatural angle. Emil glowered fiercely, leaning over him only an inch from his face. Emil took Caleb’s left arm in his hand, fracturing it below the elbow. He waited for Caleb’s screams to stop and said, “I don’t know what you’re capable of and I won’t take chances with Evie’s life. Tell me now, or die forever.”

Caleb’s lips formed a hard, determined line. “Forever is such a subjective word. Trust me when I say I’m not afraid of you.”

Emil gave Caleb a disgusted look, but his gaze softened as he glanced at me. “The Amaranthine might be able to make him talk. I can try to get them here. Do you think you can hold him frozen?”

I was shaking with power, but I wasn’t used to the new force inside me. I knew I couldn’t stay at this level much longer. “I don’t know,” I answered, but even as I said it, I could feel my energy becoming more unstable.

Caleb watched and started to laugh. “She weakens even now. When I escape you, her death will be my motivation. Remember that. I will not give you, or anyone else the answers you seek.”

Emil fumed, rolling his hands into tight fists. The anger compounded with each passing second. “Then you’ve made your choice.” Emil moved over him and grabbed the sides of his head, locking eyes with him. A jet black smoke, darker than anything I’d ever seen, started billowing out of Caleb’s mind, filling the room. An eerie smile formed at the corners of his mouth. Through the darkness, I could barely make out the images from Caleb’s memories as they rapidly floated into the air. Like his Clan members, the pictures simply disappeared. Soon, Caleb’s soul was gone, but the evil smile stayed on his face even after Emil removed his hands and stumbled away.

Emil bent at the waist, taking several deep breaths. Then he stood, met my eyes, and held my gaze as he reached me in three long strides. He swept me into his arms, holding me tight. I pressed into him, molding myself to his body, thawing my soul with his warmth. Emil let go of me enough to put his hands on my cheeks and search my eyes. I stared back, the shock of everything that had happened eclipsed by the man standing in front of me and the feelings raging inside me. I wanted to kiss him, feel his body wrapped around mine, enveloped in his essence. I leaned up, my eyes still locked with his. He moved his arms around my waist as he slowly inched his mouth closer to mine. My eyes fluttered shut, Emil’s breath sweeping a hot path over my lips—