Stormfront (Undertow Book 2) (27 page)

Christian’s private hange
r
at the airport was as polished as Torrent Road. His three jets, all a high-gloss white with North Star’s compass rose logo, sat lined up with one another. The largest, however, was lit up, and a curved staircase opened from its side to the ground, beckoning us inside.

Parked under the wings of the other two planes were several luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, Mercedes, and a gorgeous looking storm-gray
Corvette. Rillin drove his Chevelle to the back of the hanger, parking it alongside the Bentley.

“Holy cow. Looks like Christian got your exact same Corvette,” said
Ana, glancing to Kian as she walked under the wing of one of the jets, heading for the line of cars. Raef and MJ were pulling our luggage out of the truck, but Kian just stood there, staring at the beautiful sports car.  Ana ran her hand along the curve of the car as Rillin got out of his Chevelle, tossing a duffle bag over his shoulder.

I nudged Kian, “Are you alive? Earth-to-Kian?”

“That’s not a new car. That’s MY Corvette. The one Collette took in trade for the dresses,” replied Kian.

I had never met his psycho-ex girlfriend, but supposedly she wanted to rip Kian apart piece-by-piece when he stopped dating her, though she was insanely talented as a clothing designer.

“This can’t be your car – I mean, HER car, Key,” said Ana, apparently using a nickname for Kian that I had never heard before. “I mean, how in the world would Christian even know Collette?”

Rillin
headed for the jet, but tossed a glance back to Ana, “Who? Collette Lamoureux? She’s Christian’s tailor and dealer. She is incredibly talented.”

Oh dear.

Rillin dropped his duffle bag by the stairs to the plane and leaned against the handrail. “Christian said he has her traveling with Mae, for protection. How did you guys not know this?”

Kian let loose the longest, most colorful string of curse words I had ever heard in my life. Raef came up next to him, a huge smile on his face, “Hey – look at the bright side. You get to see your car again.”

“THAT’S NOT A GOOD THING!” yelled Kian, but MJ and Raef started laughing. Rillin looked at me, confused.

“Uh, Kian is familiar with Collette’s many talents,” I
shrugged, trying not to laugh.

Ana came up next to me and grabbed her backpack from the floor. “Oh she’s got talents al
l right – most of which are best used horizontally, I suspect,” said Ana, entirely pissed that Collette was somehow back in the picture.

Kian actually blushed.

Ew.

“Too much information!” I demanded, just as the pilot appeared at the top of the plane’s stairs. He was young, like Christian, and equally
good looking. He wore a full captain’s uniform, and walked down the stairs to where the six of us stood.

“Good afternoon. My name is James
, and I’ll be your pilot. Mr. Raines tells me you are headed for West Palm, and then I will be heading to Polaris with a Mr. Blackwood. Are those plans still in effect?”

Rillin
stepped over to the pilot, “I’m Blackwood and yes, those plans stand.”

The pilot nodded and shook his hand,
then he came over to each of us, making introductions and shaking hands. When he came to me, however, he stopped and took his hat off, tucking it under his arm and Raef’s eyes narrowed. “Ms. Walker. It is a true honor to fly for you. I am humbled that Mr. Raines has assigned me to you and your team. If there is anything you ever require, all you need to do is ask.”

I was entirely lost, “I’m, uh, flattered . . . I think.”

James put his captain’s hat back on his head. “Mr. Raines informed me of who you are Ms. Walker. I was part of the Northern Rebellion with him and Elizabeth. She was a dear friend. I was terribly sorry to hear of her death. She was a true hero.”

I was too shocked to say anything, but I felt Raef place his hand around my waist and pull me behind him. “Christian said nothing about having a Mortis as a pilot.”

“Mr. Raines only employs his oldest friends when it comes to specific positions within North Star, but only a few of us were comrades who fought alongside Elizabeth. Miss Walker will only be put in contact with those of us who were friends of her grandmother. Mr. Raines did specify that should you have any concerns relating to me, you are free to call him and he will assign two human pilots for your trip. If you do not wish me to be your pilot, I will stand aside without question.”

We all looked at one another, deciding what to do. Finally
Rillin stepped over to Ana, and Kian watched him carefully. “Can you read him?” he asked Ana.

Ana gave him an incredulous look. “What?” she asked.

“You are a Sway, correct? A reader of emotions and memories? Just tell me if our captain is being truthful.”

“How did you know I could . . .? You know,
freakin’ never mind. And I have no clue what the whole
Sway
thing is. Secondly, I’ve never done that with a Mortis,” she replied, fidgeting as she glanced from Rillin to James.

James just smiled, apparently fine with this option of a lie-detector test.

Rillin sighed, “Ms. Lane, I saw you read the Mortis on the beach, and he wasn’t even alive. In a matter of seconds, you took his knowledge of the crossbow and knew how to use it. If you can reload the dead, under fire, this should be a piece of cake.”

“What did you just say?” asked Kian. “Did you just say she
reloaded
the dead?”

Rillin
gave him a wary look. “It’s not a putdown if that’s what you mean. Those Sway who can read the memories and emotions of a person after they have died are known as Reloaders or Bone Readers. It’s an incredible talent. Not all Sway can do it.”

Kian turned to Ana and they exchanged an unspoken understanding. Kian had told Ana about the reloaded phrase in Sula’s notes, which now finally had meaning. Sula Lane had to have been a Sway, which was probably why she was such an asset to the FBI as a profiler.

Kian touched Ana on the shoulder. “You read a dead body? I didn’t know you could do that,” he said quietly.

She shrugged. “I . . . I didn’t know either. But you were in trouble and – I don’t know. I went on instinct I guess.”

Rillin, stepped aside so Ana could see James clearly. “You can do this, Ms. Lane. Don’t over think it. Just let your instinct take over. We only need to know if he is telling the truth or not. I don’t need his entire life history.”

Kian gave her an encouraging nod and
Ana slowly reached out towards James, who bent slightly to bring his face in contact with her hand. Both of them closed their eyes and the hanger fell silent.

Kian watched her carefully and she tilted her head, as if she was listening. After a minute, she drew a deep breath, pulling her hand away from James. She swayed slightly and Kian steadied her with a strong hand.

“He’s telling the truth,” she whispered. “I could read him.”

I gave
Ana a proud thumbs up then turned to James, “Get us the heck outta here?”

“Yes
, Ma’am,” replied James.

Christian’s plane, like everything els
e
he owned, was spectacular.

It was basically a flying lounge from New York’s
fanciest hotel, with the front half containing a bar, couches, and flat screen. The back, however, was a more private sitting area with a wide, round couch. After an hour of staring at Nikki’s strange little book, which we discovered was not French but some unidentifiable language, Eila had gotten sleepy and headed into the back room.

I followed her, and as I shut the door to give us some privacy she turned to me, handing me her phone. “Can you take a picture of my kill mark?” she asked, turning her back to me and raising her shirt slightly.

I stepped over to her and slipped my fingers into the waistband of her jeans, pulling them down slightly to reveal the kill mark that sat near her tailbone. I could hear her breath stagger and the mark glowed in response to my touch. I wondered if the reaction was unique to my hand alone. I snapped the picture and handed her back the phone as she pulled her jeans back up to her hips and adjusted her top.

She looked down at the photo of her back. “It changed again. It’s longer than last time,” she said quietly. “It doesn’t seem to match anything in Nikki’s book either.”

I cupped her chin in my hand and turned her face up to meet my eyes. “Nothing matches it because you are unique. One of a kind. And I think it’s beautiful on you.”

She gave me one of her quirked smiles that I loved. “That’s just because you have
marky-things too. You get all covered with your sexy Fallen marks and I think you are so darn irresistible.”

I smiled and pulled her face closer to mine. “You find my marks sexy?”

“Maybe. Just a little.”

I pulled her in and kissed her soft lips and she sighed as I pulled her toward the couch.

A while later, Eila had fallen asleep with her head on my lap and
I traced my hand slowly up and down her warm arm. I watched out the window as the sun sank below the clouds that carpeted the sky below us, throwing pastels of gold and pink against the horizon. In the air, away from the confines of the world, I actually began to relax.

I could hear Kian and Ana discussing where we would stop and dock at night. Ana was so excited, and her happiness meant the world to Kian, who had seen her suffer too much in the past. She was also very proud of reading James
, and I was massively impressed that she read the Mortis on Sandy Neck. If she could read the dead, then her potential was endless.

MJ had parked himself in the co-pilot seat
next to James as soon as we had taken off, and James seemed to enjoy the company. All the lives which Elizabeth had touched never failed to amaze me. Both she and Eila had a pull about them that attracted the strangest group of allies, forming friendships and alliances, where hate used to dominate. They were peace, personified.

I heard the door slide open and looked up to see
Rillin, and the calm that had set over me quickly vanished.

“Can I come in? I’d like to speak with you,” he asked, so quietly that only I could hear him.

I looked down to Eila who was still deep in sleep and then gave Rillin a quick nod.

He shut the door and sat across from me, his arms resting on his thighs, as he looked at Eila. He finally turned his attention to me. “I’m sensing that you are more than just a guard to her,” he said.

“I don’t see how that is your business,” I replied, an edge to my voice.

Rillin
leaned back casually. “It’s not. I’m just trying to figure out how all of you fit together – and why you and Kian weren’t killed by her power out on Sandy Neck.”

I studied
Rillin, debating answering him. In the end, he would find out anyway, so I simply replied, “We are immune.”

He didn’t believe me. “Nobody is immune. You can build a tolerance, like a vaccine to a disease, but no Mortis is immune to the Light.”

“Kian and I are immune. We have been since Elizabeth’s death on October 14
th
, 1851,” I replied as Eila sighed in her sleep. She rolled over, tucking her face against my stomach and her back to Rillin. I pulled a blanket higher on her body as she fell back into a deep sleep. I didn’t like him in her presence while she slept. I felt that only I should be with her in such a vulnerable state.

Rillin
glanced to Eila and back to me. “You seem to know the date well.”

“I should, since Kian and I were there, the night she died inside her own Core Collapse. She killed herself and Jacob Rysse, but he
r energy somehow made Kian and me immune,” I replied.

Rillin
shook his head, “You two should have been dead. Elizabeth should have killed you that night. Hell, a Core Collapse would even kill me. Who turned you two?”

“I have no clue. Neither does Kian.” The question of who made the two of us into Mortis was one mystery I held no hope of solving. The fact that neither Kian nor I could remember who turned us, however, was puzzling, especially since we were both turned on the same night, as if deliberately.

Rillin was quiet for a moment, but when he finally spoke he seemed more concerned, “Is that what happened inside the Breakers? Did she cause a Core Collapse?”

I didn’t want to remember that night. It was too hard, too vivid, but I answered him, so Eila wouldn’t have to later. “Yes. We had been cornered by followers of Jacob Rysse who wanted to try to turn Eila into a Mortis.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why would they think a Lunaterra can be turned? Genetically it is impossible and trying it would trigger a Core Collapse. That’s what happened, right? They tried it and her body went into self-destruct?”

I looked away from
Rillin and out the window, trying to block the memory of Eila’s ragdoll body in my arms. “I did it. They were going to shoot her in the head with the gun you recovered. She didn’t think they would make me attempt to turn her, but they did. I’m the one who nearly killed her.”

Rillin
said nothing, his gaze falling to the floor.

“I think about it, all the time. She said we had no choice, but it haunts me,” I said, stroking back her hair from her cheek.

“You love her.”

I set my jaw tight, tension twisting inside me. “I just want her to have a life. I don’t want her to be a slave to her family’s history, or ours.”

Rillin crossed his arm, “You want her to have a full life with whatever time she has left. I get it.”

Fear started to crawl into me, and I narrowed my gaze on
Rillin. “What do you mean
with the time she has left
? She is only turning eighteen, not eighty. She has her whole life ahead of her.”

Rillin
looked confused for a moment, but then some sort of awareness crossed his face. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” I breathed, my hand stilling in
Eila’s hair.

“The Lunaterra had been inbreeding for years, trying to keep their line pure. Eventually health problems cropped up. They had to start having babies younger and younger because their lifespan had become so stunted.”

I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. “How stunted?”

“Twenty to thirty years, max.”

My world seemed to crumble around me. Eila may only have a couple years left to her life and suddenly every second seemed even more precious than before. She had so much she wanted to do, so much left to experience, but vicious Fate would rip her from me.

“Raef – listen to me. Eila is several generations out from the
pure-bred nonsense. At this point, she is more human than Lunaterra, so she may very well live beyond the typical lifespan of her kind. Although, the fact that she is more human than Lunaterra, does make her ability all the more unusual.”

I looked at Eila, a spark of hope forming that she would be able to live to a ripe old age. “What do you mean?”

“Well, to be able to command the Light, Lunaterra need to be of pure blood. Eila is far from that, and yet she not only called the Core, but she managed to survive it. Not even Elizabeth was able to survive the Core Collapse. That leaves me with only one possible explanation.”

I was getting uneasy, as
Rillin seemed a bit too smart for his own good. “Do tell.”

“I believe Elizabeth did not conceive a child with Captain Walker, who was boringly human,
but someone else. Someone who was neither human nor Lunaterra. To survive the Core, Eila would need a powerful ability to heal. Combine that with the scar on her chest, and Christian’s protective instincts over both her and Elizabeth, and my guess is that a certain billionaire achieved the unthinkable with a mutual friend.”

I didn’t respond and kept my gaze level as
Rillin drew a breath, “Raef, that mark on her chest is a soul scar. A Lunaterra shouldn’t have one, but a Mortis who is struck by the Light and manages to survive, acquires one permanently. You didn’t cause that scar – her own body did.”

My jaw ticked with tension, “You’re covered in soul scars, aren’t you? That’s why you have so many – from sparring with Lunaterra.”

Rillin nodded and leaned forward, “Eila isn’t just the last of her kind, Raef. She is the only one, ever, of her kind. I am going to be training someone who is unlike anyone I have ever trained before.”

Any hope I had of keeping
Eila’s heritage a secret disintegrated with Rillin’s accurate appraisal. “You can leave us now,” I replied coldly, my eyes never leaving his. I was done talking.

“I will, but I do have one last question.”

I was so not going to answer any of his damn questions anymore. He needed to go soak his head before I went and snapped it off.

“Where’s your scar, Raef?”

“I don’t have any scars,” I replied, confused as to what he was talking about.

Rillin
got to his feet, but leaned down near my face and the look in his eyes made my entire body coil on edge.

“Exactly,” he replied.