The Compass (9 page)

“Watch those thoughts, Ali.” A glass appeared before her. “Drink, it will help calm you.”

All color left her face. “Sweet mother of God—what
are
you?” In the deep recesses of her mind, Ali heard the soft mummer of truth.
You know.

Chapter Ten

Finn uttered a few expletives. He wanted to bark at Tristan for being so careless, it didn’t matter that it had been done. With some reluctance, he followed Tristan’s lead and gave Ali the simple truth, purposely choosing the shorter version. There was no need to overload her mind with more. They would have time for that. Right now, he had to get her pass this moment. “Ali, we are the warriors of Agrona. We are five in total, and not of this realm. We are able to come here through various portals found throughout your world. As you have already witnessed—we have—unique abilities.” He held back from mentioning magick. He felt Cian tug at his mind. Brushing it aside, he finished the explanation. “We’ve come to find the Fragments, to reunite them. You are the first of five.”

Ali’s legs went numb. Ignoring the
floating
glass
, no way was she going to drink whatever was in there, her head whipped around to search for the fifth man. She looked back to Finn. He was serious. He believed every word he had just told her, and damnit, she was wavering in her determination to not be swayed.

Keeping the men in her line of vision, she inched back along the wall towards her portable phone. She grabbed up the receiver with one hand, the broom at the ready in the other. As she brought the phone up to her face, her thumb ready to dial those three important numbers, she told them what she thought of the whole situation. “You’re crazy.” She tilted her head to the side and included the group with a look. “All of you. I should have done this long before now. It’ll probably get me sent to the asylum. My defense will be that I thought I was suffering from a migraine fueled delusion.” A flash of detective Ballen arriving with swinging cuffs almost stopped her—almost. She hit the first number.

Finn let out a heavy sigh. He knew exactly what she was about to do. He could see conviction in her mind. Turning to his cousin, he shared what he knew. “She’s calling the authorities, taking a chance that a detective Ballen will be the one to come to her aid.”

Cian nodded. “We can’t have that, can we?” He waved a hand.

The phone vanished—just, vanished. Ali stared at her empty hand, flipping it over and back. The broom fell to the ground. She moved her fingers, but felt nothing. The phone was truly gone. Sensing movement, her eyes locked with Finn’s. There, she saw remorse as well as a plea for understanding. How could she give him that, when she hadn’t a clue to what was going on? What she had seen was impossible, things that only existed in books and movies. Her eye caught more movement. She reached down and picked up the broom again. She gave a warning. “Do not take another step. How did you know about the detective?”

Finn held up his hands, ignoring the snickers of laughter from Cian, and company. “Ali, we are not here to harm you. We cannot involve the authorities, too much is at risk. We have a connection.”

“Bull—try again.” Although, Ali felt a tingle run through her, that gut feeling was back. Pushing it down, she asked him again. “How. Did. You. Know?”

She had tried to hide it, but Finn saw the flash of awareness in her eyes. He felt her mind touch his lightly. Was she aware of it? Probably not, but it held great significance for what they were trying to accomplish here. Ali maybe fighting, but her mind knew. He had to exploit that. “I found you Ali. You were in pain and your soul was heavy with sorrow. Even now, your mind is reaching out to mine.”

She closed her eyes at his words refusing to believe it, but her denial was weakening. “No. That’s impossible. It was the medication. It always makes me loopy.”

“You know I speak the truth, lass.”

Hearing rustling of clothing, Ali opened her eyes. Tristan came forward to stand beside Finn. To their credit, the other two kept their distance. Though she got the feeling that if they needed to, they would be able to get to her fast. She struggled to keep them all in her line of vision. The contrast between Finn, and Tristan, was startling. She felt her resolve flagging further.

Tristan moved towards her. “I think—seeing, would best explain our situation.”

She watched him wave one hand over the other. A goblet appeared. It was different from the other one. It was beautiful. Gold etching stood out against the darkness of its color. Ali couldn’t make out the symbols, but had the feeling that the cup was very old. Tristan came towards her, holding the goblet out in front. She couldn’t explain why, but she was afraid of it—of touching it. She took a step back, the broom once again falling to the floor. Her hands went behind her.

Tristan kept coming, smiling gently when she ran out of space to escape. Carefully, he reached for her hand. His touch was warm. Without speaking, he wrapped her hand around the globe of the glass, and then reached for the other. When the goblet was secure, he spoke to her, his voice quiet and kind. “Feel the life within, Alina.”

Before she could ask what he meant, the cup began to vibrate. Ali squeaked and would have dropped it—but the swirling liquid inside of it held her captive. Soon, images appeared, there was no sound. A woman, dressed in a flowing gown of gray, held a sword. Her hair—the color of midnight whipped about her face. She battled an unseen opponent, her purpose clear; she had to destroy her enemy.

The night sky was alive with flashes of light. Then, the scene changed. The woman was weak. In her hands was a Star, it was so bright, so vibrant. It trembled, as if it knew what was happening. She brought it to her lips, and then it was severed into five pieces. Then she turned, her lips forming words. Though no sound emerged, Ali heard them all the same. It felt as though her soul had just been torn from her. Her hands began to shake.

As the woman prepared to scatter the pieces, a black shadow raced over the ground, its aim was the woman, and the shards of the Star. It leapt, coating one piece. With the last of her strength, the woman blasted the tar-like substance, eradicating as much as she could. When she could do no more, she cast out the pieces, watching as they were swallowed up by the darkness.

Then she turned, and spoke directly to Ali.
Alina, the darkness will try to defeat you, you will doubt yourself—who you are. Have faith my daughter, the Light is strong in you. Help him find what he has lost—you are our Compass, find your sisters.
Ali watched as the light dimmed in the woman’s eyes. Coldness settled in her soul, pain exploded in her head. The goblet fell to the floor shattering. She heard shouts from the men, but she couldn’t answer. The pressure in her head was soon matched with one in her chest. Breathing was a struggle. Voices, there were voices in her head. Her system was bombarded with wave after wave of emotion.

Through the chaos of it, one voice emerged; it separated itself from the many. It was seductive, whispering promises, cajoling her to come meet her destiny. It played on her desire for peaceful life, showed her how it could be if only she submitted. She wanted that, she wanted to be normal, to live her life on her terms. She didn’t want to continue hiding from the ghosts of her past. No longer able to withstand the onslaught, Ali folded onto the floor.

Finn rushed towards Ali, ignoring Cian’s and Drake’s shouts to stay back. When he had seen her crumble to the ground, only one thought occupied his mind, he had to get to her. Just as he was close enough to touch her, he was thrown back by a blast. The source of which appeared between him, and Ali. Constantine. Finn growled at him. “Get out of my way. She suffers and I cannot allow it.”

But Constantine held firm, his massive size providing an effective barrier. With his arms crossed over the expanse of his chest, he met Finn’s glare with one of his own. “You must not touch her. There is darkness within her, it tempts her. We cannot help her. She must find her own way out.”

Obvious to the commotion outside of her mind, Ali was caught in a torrent of bedlam. She struggled to find an escape. It felt like she was being torn in two. The dark, seductive voice became more insistent, demanding that she heed it. As much as the slippery notes of the voice intrigued her, somehow, she knew that it spoke falsely. She moved away from it, putting as much distance as she could.

A light appeared, bright and warm. Leaning towards it, she heard the woman from her childhood once again. She saw herself walking towards it, desperate to embrace it. The hiss of the other one cursed her, it promised to siphon the life out of her. She ignored it, and continued towards the light.

Breaking the surface, Ali lay on the floor. When her eyes opened, it was to five concerned faces. Wait, five? Her gaze latched onto the new one. His eyes were—strange, they were silver and were a stark contrast to the inky darkness of his hair. Though he didn’t speak to her, he made her feel defensive. Striving for calmness she didn’t feel, Ali questioned Finn without taking her eyes off of the new comer. “Finn, there are only five of you right?” The collective sigh of relief from such huge men would be comical had she not been on the floor. “Move back, you’re crowding me.”  All but Finn obeyed. Ali arched a brow, which he ignored. She let him help her to sit up, and then she pushed his hands away. “I’m fine now, thank you.”

Jaw clenched, Finn gave her some room. She was pale despite her claims of being fine. It annoyed him that she dismissed his assistance. He shouldn’t feel that way. She was a Fragment, yet, he cared. These were dangerous thoughts. He reached down and brought forth reserved concern. “You gave me—us, a scare lass.” He said, not liking how his voice sounded too emotional, or how he had stumbled his words. Her laugh was a high pitched nervous sound.

“Yeah, well, I scared me too.” Gaining her feet, Ali walked slowly to the sofa. “God, I feel like my insides have been through a shredder.” She rubbed her chest to relive the lingering heaviness. “It’s like there something sitting right here.”

Finn exchanged glance with his comrades, then concentrated on Ali. “Can you tell us what happened?”

His question was an expected one. However, Ali wasn’t sure if she wanted to go through it again. Yet, she must if she wanted to understand. “I saw a woman in battle. I knew her, but she looked different. Tired, she was so tired, but she had to do something—there was a star. It was so bright and it pulsed as if alive.” As the memory came back to her, Ali felt herself grow light. The men in her apartment fell away as she continued the retelling. “The star was scared, but she had to protect it, so she broke it—there were five pieces. A black, inky shadow came. It covered one piece. It wouldn’t come off. She cast pieces into the darkness. Voices, a few of them, all talking at once, I couldn’t understand. One stronger than the rest tried to get me to follow—it spoke of my destiny. Then she was there again, just as I remembered as a child. I have to find the thing that he has lost, I am the compass.” The memory drifted from her mind. Ali shook her head as if waking from a deep sleep. When she saw the expressions on the men’s faces, dread settled around her heart. “What?” The new guy was the one who answered. And he sounded—Russian? Sure, why not. Nothing else seemed to make sense.

“The glass showed you the past—
your
, past.”

Okay, whoa, that was
not
what she had expected. She really didn’t know
what
to expect since all of this was one giant sci-fi movie. “My past—I didn’t see my parents, or myself. The only thing remotely familiar to me was the woman, and up until now, she lived in my childhood imagination.”

“It was your original beginning.”

Her mouth fell open. “Just who the hell are you?”

Her head whipped to the left when Drake provided her with a reply. “We’ve been asking that same thing for centuries. His name is Constantine.”

“Cen-centuries?”  Her eyes scanned the group of five. None looked older than their thirties. “You’re kidding right?” Their expressions didn’t give anything away. “You’re not kidding.” Oh boy, she really jumped into the deep end. Perhaps a double dose of her meds was in order. However something told her that she was way past the capabilities of modern medicine. Maybe she was crazy after all.

“You are not crazy, Ali.”

She laughed at Finn’s proclamation. “Tell that to my parents.” Her scepticism began to shift into guarded acceptance. “So, according to you,” she looked at Constantine. “What I saw in the glass was part of me—of what I used to be.” God that sounded so insane. Her gaze shifted to Finn. She tried not to let his intense gaze get to her. “You tried to kidnap me in order to protect me from the creepy guy—Lugus.
He
wanted to take me to someone named Mikel, who I’m guessing is a major baddy. Agrona, the woman who sent you here, the one who came to me as a child, somehow sent a shattered star from your world—wherever that is—here to earth, and it concerns me. Oh, and there’s magick involved.” She thought back to the vanishing swords and floating cup, and took in a breath. “How am I doing so far?”

Tristan flashed a smile. “You’ve managed to sum it up beautifully.”

She felt oddly—proud. “Thanks, I think.”  She had fallen down the proverbial rabbit hole. All she could do now was hang on the best she could. Then, something snagged in her head. She looked at Finn. “Fragment, the man last night called me that, and Drake,” her gaze went to the brawler. “Also called me that, but I’m a compass, whatever that means.” She had a pretty good idea, however, she wasn’t about to voice it out loud.

“Ali.” Finn’s voice reached her. “So much has been thrown at you. For that I am sorry. I wish there was a way for us to do what must be done without placing you, and the other Fragments in danger.”