Redemption (6 page)

Aiden’s mouth pinched tight.

“Alex and I never stood a chance, did we?”

“You always stood a chance. You had millenniums of chances.”

“I’m not slinking off into the shadows, Aiden. I’m going to fight to the end.”

Aiden shrugged. “You can try.”

“So why did you create a new Emmanuella?” Raphael’s voice caught on her name. He cleared his voice. “After centuries and centuries, why replace her?”

Aiden began to pace. “Marcus. He demanded it.”

“Since when did you give into anyone’s demands, let alone Marcus’s?”

“He offered me the one thing I’d coveted since the beginning as a prize. His power.”

Raphael shook his head. “
Why
would he do that?”

“To end the game. To restore order to the world, he said.”

“And you believed him?”

“Of course not. But his offer intrigued me, as did his terms. I agreed to let his son enter this final round, but in return Marcus requested that I create a new daughter.”

“So when you figured out Will was Marcus’s son, why didn’t you just kill him?”

“Years ago, Marcus killed Emmanuella when she was a small child, before any of you were aware of who you were. He told me that he would kill her every cycle unless I agreed to let him enter his own son at some point. We vowed then that we wouldn’t kill each other’s children. I can’t break that vow.”

“Which is why you couldn’t end Will.”

“I figured Marcus’s son would appear the next cycle, but several centuries went by and nothing. It may have seemed that Marcus forgot, but I knew better. Marcus was plotting.”

“What does he want, Aiden?”

“What we all want. Not just to survive, but to rule with more power. Marcus has been outcast for a very long time. He wants back what he thinks is his.”

“With his son.”

“You’re sure Emma and Will joined?”

“I’m surprised you missed the light show. You’ve lost your upper hand, Aiden.”

“Emmanuella is still my daughter.”

“Who bears no love for you, only hatred. She loves Will, and will do anything for him. Perhaps she’ll be fonder of her new father-in-law than her own daddy.”

Aiden’s stare landed on Jake.

Jake froze, having forgotten that he was no longer hidden.

“I have someone she loves more than Will. She
will
fall in line.”

Raphael’s gaze moved to Jake and he walked toward him, stopping several feet in front of Jake with his hands on his hips. “So this is Jake.”

Jake lifted his chin in defiance, electricity sizzling on his skin. “You tried to kill my mother.”

Raphael’s eyes widened and he chuckled. “Only by accident.”

“I’ll kill you on purpose.” Jake glared, raising his hand.

Raphael laughed until Jake sent a ball of fire toward him. Raphael ducked in time to avoid contact.

“Enough, Jacob.” Aiden’s voice boomed. “There will be a time for that, but not today.”

“Feisty little guy, isn’t he?” Raphael asked.

“That was a very minor demonstration of what he’s capable of. Do not underestimate him.”

Raphael cocked his head, studying Jake. “He resembles Alex.”

“In looks only. His disposition is more like his mother’s.”

Raphael’s eyes narrowed as a smile lifted his mouth. Jake didn’t trust him.

“So why are you really here, Raphael? Surely, there’s more than your need to gloat.”

“I’ve come to make you an offer.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Aiden looked amused. “And what could you possibly have that I want?”

“Information. You’ve shut yourself up here with Emma’s son and I’m out in the world
seeing things
.”

Aiden watched Raphael for a moment. “Go on.”

“I can track down the two of them to see what they’re up to so you won’t find any surprises when they show up for the final confrontation.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

“You and I unite our power.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “I have men to keep track of Emma. They report what they find.”

“But they didn’t tell you about Will or their joining.”

“They would have.”

“Would they know what they saw? Would they understand that Will and Emma’s joining has tipped the balance for all of us?”

“Their joining means nothing.”

“How can you say that, Aiden? Their joining means everything.”

“To you and to Alex, of course it does. But it means nothing to me. Emma will do anything to save her son. Her bonding to Will is an inconvenience, but the bottom line is she will have to choose. Will or Jake. We both know the choice she’ll make.”

Raphael’s gaze pierced Jake. “Do we?”

Anger bubbled in Jake’s chest. Mommy would always choose him. Wouldn’t she? Or would Will make her pick him?

“You underestimate a mother’s love, Raphael.”

“And you underestimate the strength of Will’s.”

“Then we shall agree to disagree and see how it all plays out in the end.”

“What about our arrangement?”

“We have no arrangement. However
,
you
have
provided key information my men failed to report. If you find out something else, come to me with it and we’ll revisit the idea.”

“You seriously think I’m going to just come back and hand you information without a guarantee that you’ll help me?”

“Yes.”

“You fucking—”

“Language, Raphael. Need I remind you that there is a small child present?”

“I know for a fact you’ve killed countless household staff in front of him, but you don’t want him to hear coarse language? That’s rich.”

“Killing is a necessary evil. Bad language is not.”

Raphael took several steps closer to Jake, bending over to look into his face. “I’m going to see your mother soon.” Raphael grinned. “Is there anything you’d like me to tell her?”

Jake gritted his teeth to keep from crying. He wanted to talk to Mommy himself, not give a message to Raphael. Would Raphael try to hurt her again? “Tell her I tried to kill you for her.”

Raphael laughed. “Anything else?”

I love you. Don’t forget me
. “No.”

Raphael turned his back and looked over his shoulder. “I’ll be in touch.”

Jake watched Raphael walk away, cringing with fear. Aiden had found him listening to their conversation, and he wasn’t about to let that go unpunished.

Aiden sat in his chair and crossed his legs. “Jacob, come sit with me.”

Head lowered, Jake moved to the chair next to Aiden, placing his hands on his knees.

“Do you know what your mother has done?” Aiden’s voice had a softer tone than Jake expected, and he looked up in surprise.

He shook his head.

“Your mother has joined with Will. They have united their power and their souls forever. It’s an unbreakable bond. It’s like they were married, only permanent. There’s no way out of it.”

Will loved Mommy and would try to protect her. That was probably a good thing if Raphael was going to find her.

“Do you know what it means for
you
?”

Jake was afraid of that part. What
did
it mean? Raphael thought it meant Mommy picked Will. He shook his head again.

“Your mother will be forced to make a choice when the final battle occurs. Only two can survive, Jacob. Your mother will be forced to pick you or Will.”

Was Aiden right? Would she be forced to choose?

“Your mother loves you. She’s proved this many times to me. She’d do anything for you. You know that, don’t you?”

Jake bit his lip to keep it from quivering, then nodded.

“Your mother would never purposely pick Will over you, but Will forced her to make a choice that gives him an advantage. Will took advantage of your mother.”

Jake doubted Will would take advantage of Mommy. He loved her.

“He may love her, but he’s going to make sure that things work out in his favor.” Jake had let his guard down and Aiden was back in his head. “Will tricked her.”

“Will loves Mommy. He would never trick her.”

“I know your mother. She loves you with everything in her. If she knew that the joining could affect your survival, she would have
never
agreed.”

“Is Will going to kill me?”

Aiden tried to give Jake a reassuring smile but it looked wrong on his face. “All the rules have changed. Thanks to Will’s father, Marcus.”

Aiden said that Marcus had been planning this for a long time. The night Marcus came to Jake’s room, Marcus knew. He knew it all. He knew Emma and Will would join. He knew Jake would be left with no one. Why had Marcus taught Jake how to hide his thoughts from Aiden? Why did he tell Jake that he was the most important player in the game? Will, Alex, and Raphael all wanted Emma. Mommy was the most important.

“She will still choose you, Jake, of this I’m sure.”

Jake looked up at Aiden in confusion. Why was he pretending to be nice? He was acting like the Aiden who he used to know, the Aiden who visited him in his dreams before the Bad Men took him.

Aiden’s face softened and he smiled. “I’ve been too harsh with you, Jacob. With all of this end-of-the-world talk bandied around, it’s easy to forget that you’re only a little boy. A boy who’s lost his mother.”

Tears sprang to Jake’s eyes, and he sniffed angrily.

“You have nothing to worry about, Jake. Will’s tie to her will make the choice much harder on Emma, it’s true, but in the end she will choose you. I’m most worried that Will has added to her stress. She’ll need all of her concentration and focus. I’d hate to think that Will has distracted her and…”

Aiden didn’t need to finish his sentence. Jake knew. And he knew what he had to do.

Chapter Five

Emma groaned in frustration. She’d been studying the book for several hours and so far she’d found little difference, or anything to help.

“Maybe you should take a break. You look tired.”

“I don’t have time to take a break.” She slammed her palm on the open pages. “Our lives depend on what’s in this damn thing.”

Will reached over and rubbed her neck. “I know, but if you’re tired and frustrated, you might miss something. Just take a few minutes to clear your mind then go back to it.”

“How the hell am I supposed to clear my mind? We’re going to die, Will, if I don’t figure out how to change this.” Even as the snide words left her mouth, she regretted them. Will was as stuck in this mess as she was. It was unfair to take her frustration out on him.

She had no idea how they’d get out of this disaster. The math didn’t stand up. By her count there were seven players, seven of them who had elemental powers. That meant three wouldn’t participate in the final battle, a fact that Aiden was counting on. Aiden had planned all along to be one of those three. So who would be the four? There was no way Will would agree to stand on the sidelines if she were to battle for her life, but if there were some way to trick him into it, and some way to have Jake sit out as well…

Perhaps joining with Will hadn’t been the best decision. Before they realized Will was the son of Water, she had to only get herself and Jake out the situation her father had created. But now that Will’s powers had been revealed, he could be forced into the ring. And they had to consider their mystical bond. They had no idea what it meant if one of them died. After Will’s demonstration last night, it was clear that her powers were weak, weaker than his. Aiden planned to force her to fight, to be one of the four. Even if she could figure out a way to get Will to stay on the sidelines, he still might die. Because of her.

She had to come up with something within two weeks. It seemed totally hopeless, but she couldn’t watch them die. She’d spend every spare moment getting stronger and scouring the book for some answers.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m just scared. We have no idea how much longer we have to figure this out before the end and we
hope
the answers are in this gibberish.”

“We should have at least a couple of weeks. We’ll figure it out. Why don’t we look at what we do know?”

“Yeah. Okay, that’s a good idea.” She took a deep breath and flipped to the page with the joining words, her biggest concern at the moment. “The joining words are here. I didn’t know them until I read them in the coffee shop, but then it was like they were burned into my brain. When we joined last night, they were just there.”

Will put his hand on the book. “Maybe there are some other kinds of oaths in there that can help us.”

“I think we should study the joining words more. They may have a clue or insight to help us. Maybe they have another purpose.”

“Their purpose was to bind us.”

“But the words mean something, Will. They obviously have power.”

“The power to bind us for eternity. They did their purpose.”

Emma wasn’t ready to dismiss it.

With echoes from the beginning of time

To the last ray of light from the stars at the end

I join my heart with yours

onto an endless path that winds through infinity

and sears our souls and power into an unbreakable bond