Secrets - [Guardian Trilogy 01] (37 page)

“What?” I stumbled backwards, shaking my head. No, I hadn’t let her die. She was standing right in front of me. The room went black. Everyone was talking and moving at once.

“Olivia, you need to wake up now,” Holden's voice was soft but insistent behind me. 

“Where are you?”

“They’ve found you. Wake up and run. Run, Olivia, run.”

“Holden, you’re scaring me.”

“Good, run. I can’t hold them off much longer—and I can’t be found here. Wake up.”

“No, it’s sad there.”

“It’s much worse here. If you can get away, you won't be as sad anymore—I promise. Run!”

Holden—his name was like a sigh in my mind. The pain of hearing him was enough of a link to my own reality. I opened my eyes.

The hotel was still dark, but not as dark as the reception. I was cold and a bit shaky with the loss of my dream where I still had everyone I loved. But l was already having trouble remembering details. Everything was fading too fast. I was supposed to do something, but what? I was so sad. . . . 

I went into the bathroom and splashed water on my face. Who was in my dream? I thought hard. Juliet, Mom, Dad . . . Holden. 

Holden
.

He’d told me something. I had to remember.
Run.
He said to run—they’d found me. What did that mean? Who’d found me? I stood silently and listened, my stomach tightening into knots. I heard nothing but the sound of my own heart. It didn't matter, if Holden said to go, I should go. Even after everything, I trusted him implicitly with my life. He’d never hurt me or allow me to be hurt. I grabbed my bag and purse, which were already packed, did the electronic check out on the TV, and left without thinking about anything besides escaping.

Twenty Six

I knew from the moment I stepped foot into her dream it was wrong. I felt the darkness just under the surface—Olivia didn’t have darkness under the surface. Despite the happy atmosphere of the wedding, the dream wasn't coming from her mind. She’d been found—was under assault, whether she knew it or not. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, probably just a dream demon trying to buy the major demon targeting her some time to get to her. Dream demons were sort of like the pets of regular demons. They only existed in the world between consciousness and unconsciousness, but they were nasty bastards to get away from once they had their claws in you. I’d never seen a play this heavy-handed for one single soul. They showed you the way your life and the lives of those you love could’ve been if it weren’t for you. You were given the option, your loved ones could have that life and happiness if you made a deal. All it cost was your soul—such a small price to pay for the happiness of those that you love. If you refused, they kept you locked in the dream until their boss could get to you and that’s when the real torture began.

Olivia was on their hit list and I felt inept. There was nothing I could do to help her short of going after the demon myself—a fool’s errand that would end in my death and just give the demon more ammunition. He hadn’t used me against her because he wasn’t aware of my existence, though I don’t know why he wasn’t. The light most humans produced was enough to identify them as human. Olivia's was brighter than most humans, though it was nothing compared to Quintus and the spotlight that surrounded him. Jinn didn’t produce any light at all; I should have been instantly recognizable. But then again, perhaps he had seen me. Maybe he didn’t figure me as a threat, or maybe he thought I was working his side.

It was only a matter of time before I lost her. I closed my eyes against the thought. Why was I trying to help her stay human? Wouldn't it be better and easier if she joined us instead of them? I entertained the idea for a moment: Olivia and me wreaking havoc on the general population, together for rest of our lives. The idea was tempting, hell it was more than tempting, but it wouldn't be Olivia anymore. I knew too much of her nature to ever fool myself into believing she could be happy like that. She’d hate me for it and we’d tear each other apart. No, I had to live with my uselessness until I could come up with a plan.

I paced around, worrying whether or not she made it out safely. I tried calling her, but her phone still went directly to voice mail causing a string of obscenities to flow from my mouth. I needed to do something. I paused for a moment to pull back my worry and anger, then I grabbed my jacket. I drove to the church where I’d found Olivia that day. I needed to see Quintus and even though churches made me a little uneasy that was exactly where I was headed. It wasn't that I would be struck by lightning upon entering—or anything so terribly dramatic—but I felt the wrongness of my being there in every fiber of my being. It was like being a knife in a room full of spoons. I hoped he’d sense my presence because I didn’t believe praying would do either of us much good.

I pulled into the parking lot and looked across the street at the cemetery. That was where she’d come out of, not the church. I stalked into the more open of the two holy grounds and wandered around the tombstones thinking, at first, of Quintus. When that didn't work, I tried thinking of Olivia hoping that would catch somebody's attention, anybody’s. Finally, I saw a man leaning against a tree on a hill towards the back of the cemetery watching me. I walked in his direction, and as I approached I recognized it was Quintus.

“What the hell? I’ve been waiting for you.” I impatiently looked at my watch.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t work for you, Jinni,” he said.

“Perhaps not, but I have information about Liv. I thought you might be interested.”

“Stay away from Olivia. Stop looking for her, or I’ll stop you.”

“Well, here I am. What are you waiting for?” I held my arms wide, daring him to make his move. He didn't respond, just gave me an impatient look. “That's what I thought.”

“Don't believe your life holds any value to me. However, it seems to hold some to her, and I’ll not let you take her from us even with your death. She has enough to deal with without you making things harder. If you continue to interfere, I’ll be forced to step in.”

“I’m not the one interfering, jackass. I have information about who
is
, but hey, if you don't care, I’ll keep it to myself. You should know, however, they’re after her with the big guns. She’s a priority.”

Quintus looked at me for a long moment. The calculation in his eyes like he was deciding how much trouble Olivia was worth made me want to punch him in the face. ”Why are you doing this? What do you get by helping us?”

“Killed,” I mumbled.

“What? Speak up. I can’t hear you.”

“Nothing. I get nothing, okay? I lose her and probably my life if they catch me.” I shook my head. There was no way to explain what I didn’t understand myself. “It isn't for me, and it certainly isn't for you. It’s for her. Despite all of my instincts reminding me that I’m stupid, I want her to be happy. She could never be happy like this.” I pointed towards myself.

“You surprise me every time I talk to you. I’ve known too many of your kind and have heard too much of your reputation to trust you, but you’re intriguing, I’ll give you that. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

“Don't put yourself out.” I wanted to walk away. I wanted to let him see the mistake he was making, but I couldn't. I had to do this, regardless of what I wanted. I swallowed my pride. “There’s more than just one demon looking for her. It seems to be a global initiative. I just personally witnessed a dream demon trying to lock her down.” Quintus’s frown deepened. “They don’t know about me. Apparently when Olivia was with me, he couldn’t find her. He thought you Guardians were hiding her. But they’ve found her now. I told her to run, but I don’t know where she’s going. It’s only a matter of time before he finds her again.”

“A first level demon was unprecedented enough.” He sighed. “I don’t understand how they know about her or what they would even do with her.” Quintus rubbed his chin pensively “You hid her when you were together. You overshadowed her light. I didn't know the two of you had arrived at the apartment until I heard you come in. It was nearly impossible to sense either of you.”

“Sorry if you not being able to find her then doesn’t impress me. You can't find her now, and I’m nowhere near her.”

“She’s gone too far. I don’t have an unlimited range. I’ll know once she’s back in my region.”

“Will you tell me? The safest place for her is with me, if that means they can’t find her.” A plan started to form in my mind.

Quintus shook his head. “All she has to do is make her decision, and the demon will have no power or influence over her. I’m amazed she hasn't already made it. Most people choose as soon as they’re given the offer.”

“You don't know Olivia very well, do you? She internalizes, stews, and then avoids the subject. She doesn't make decisions until she has to make them.”

“Well, that moment seems to be quickly approaching.”

“But if we can save her from it—”

“No.”

Perfect
.
Just fucking great. I’m literally doing this for nothing. I can’t even get her people to help her. Not only did she hate me on principle alone, I couldn’t find anyone to help her.
“Why do you want to torture her? Is this punishment for me?”

“I don’t expect you to understand. Do you remember your life before you died?”

“Yes.”
Every second of it and all that I gave up.
“It’s part of the deal. They like you to remember how to be human, but the memory haunts most new jinn to the point of insanity. It weeds out the weak.”

“Do the memories still haunt you?”

“No.”
But I’m willing to bet the memory of Liv will.
“My human life wasn't that great. What does this have to do with anything?”

“Guardians need to remember the road they travelled to get to where they are. They need to understand the pain and the heartache they felt along the way to help others.”

“You people are as bad as my people, but we don’t have time for a morality debate. I told Olivia to run. If you see her before she sees me, let her know what she’s up against and have her call me. I’ll be working out a plan. Her house and probably her mom's house are being watched, so she’ll need to stay somewhere else. Also tell her the last human form I saw the demon in was the reporter Juliet was dating. She needs to be leery of everyone.”

“Including you?”

“Everyone.” I rolled my eyes, annoyed by his thinly veiled test. “Will you at least tell me when she’s back?”

“No.”

I punched him square in the face, then strode off, glad to be away from the guardian. I wondered if I’d have the same automatic aversion and dislike for Olivia once she was a guardian that I had for the rest of them. I somehow didn't think so. I had a feeling I’d still keep an eye on her, even if it was from afar. I’d need to know that she was okay and that she was happy. If I made this sacrifice, I needed to know it paid off.

However, all of these thoughts of having to watch her from afar made me want her up close and personal right now even more. I was tempted to start searching for her, but if she took my advice and was in transit, she’d be difficult to locate. Another part of me wondered if she was coming back to me or back to Quintus. Exactly how much of a threat did Quintus pose? What were her feelings for him? I wished I’d stayed and hit him again. The thought had such a relaxing, “right” feel to it, I almost went back to have another go at him. I exercised restraint, however, and continued to walk away still fuming about this whole day.