Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5) (32 page)

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Elder Farrar stated. “I may have a solution—”

“I’m on my way,” I muttered, cutting him off and jumping to my feet, knocking sand off my body. “I’ll be there in a second.” I waved a glowing hand, cutting off the image. I grabbed Isolde, opened my Core, and pulled us through the ether. I ended up standing in the Elemental foyer wearing only a hot pink bikini, with Isolde in my arms. The night was dark outside the windows. I instantly placed Isolde on the floor and started racing toward the Shifter section of the building where it had appeared they were.

It didn’t take me long to feel the chill in the air, pulling goosebumps along my flesh.

I opened my Core again, floating then flying through the cosmos. I took two platinum handled daggers, the twelve-inch blades wickedly curved and made of pure diamond, reminding me of Arabian weaponry. These were another two of my favorites since I still hadn’t retrieved my short swords from Elder Merrick. One day—hopefully—I wouldn’t find him so intimidating.

Charging through the hallways, I started to glow dimly, ethereal, as I pulled on my power.

Icy wind whipped in a frenzy around me now.

I followed the shouts, coming to a stop inside one of the Shifter gaming rooms.

The picturesque windows were blown out on one side of the room.

There was a small force of armed spirits covered in black blood, fighting the horde of Shadows. The group of Royals were in the far corner, inside a golden protection being held together by the Mages of the group. A few of the Shadows were banging on the protection wall, shrieking loudly when it appeared to hurt them but relentless in their pursuit.

My blood boiled. I was pissed off.

I walked in a calm fashion behind the first Shadow and sliced its head off with my glowing blades. Black blood splattered my face and chest. I instantly ducked below an incoming fist from an aggressive Shadow, stabbing another Shadow in the heart, before cutting off the attacking one’s head. My movements were smooth and flowing, precise hits until the throng trying to break through the protective golden bubble was dead. Lifting my glowing eyes calmly, I wiped black blood dripping into my eyes from my forehead. I pointed a glowing dagger at King Collins’s mute form. “I know you want out but don’t even think about it.”

Elder Fergus tilted his head, his arms crossed and his amber eyes glowing. He flicked a finger at me. “Fuck the mud wrestling.” His tone was hoarse. “This is a hundred times better than the internet.”

King Collins blinked. “Seriously? That’s what you say right now?”

One simple word. “Yes.”

King Collins waved his hands up and down my frame. “She’s got black blood all over her, or whatever that shit is.”

“Not really what I would have expected, but I’m sadistic enough to say,
hell yes
.” Green eyebrows lifted. “I am a virile man, and I can appreciate a fine form when I see it.”

My lips twitched. I kind of liked this Elder. He was
very
sure of himself.

Elder Venclaire slammed a hand on his shoulder and rolled his eyes at the earth Elemental. He motioned behind me while keeping a hand firmly on Elder Fergus’s shoulder. “You might want to pay attention to what’s happening behind you, Ms Jules.”

Sin’s voice cut into the conversation, drawling in an idle tone from where he sat comfortably on the floor watching the show. “While I agree that your appearance is much better live than on the internet,” he tilted his head, “I agree further with Elder Venclaire, love.” He winked. “Pay attention.”

I choked as a sneaky Shadow’s hand grabbed my neck from behind, gripping tightly.

It took us for a ride straight into the air, my daggers dropping from my hands. I heard multiple people inside the golden protection shouting. I grappled with the hand against my throat, unable to breathe. The ceiling was coming at me far too fast and instinct had me sending a pulse wave behind me, a blast of air ruffling my wet, bloody hair. A shriek followed as the Shadow released me.

I was falling, tumbling back toward the floor.

Until another Shadow slammed against my side. It was deja vu all over again as we hit the protection wall hard. I sent a pulse wave…then I slid down the curved wall. The blood was still slick on my body. I was tumbling way too fast, side over side, and heading right for a rock fireplace.

I hit it.

But the rocks felt like silk as I sunk down into them, cushioning me before I was gently raised up even with the ground. The rocks turned solid under me. I sucked in air, holding my ribcage where the bastard Shadow had nailed me.

His face level with mine behind the golden protective wall, Elder Fergus hissed in a quiet tone, “I agree with them. Pay fucking attention.”

“Thanks for the save.” I glared at his squatting position.

Must be nice back there, all protected…and still giving orders.

A head tilt to the side. “Go get your weapons before another Shadow grabs you.”

“Fuck off,” I groaned, holding what was definitely a bruised rib as I got to my feet. “You’ve read the report, then?”

“I have,” he murmured, his voice eerily calm as he straightened with me.

“Wonderful. I think I’ll go fight now.” I brushed sticky, wet hair out of my face and moved around the protection wall, grabbing my knives from the ground. I assessed the situation and a small grin lifted my lips. I stared at the bookshelf at the side of the room, pretty sure I could climb to the top easily. “And I do believe I’m going to fly again.”

I sliced through Shadows until I reached the edge of the room.

The other spirits fought, and I climbed onto the bookshelf.

I dove straight into the air and rode the mass of swarming Shadows.

I killed each and every one I came into contact with.

Once my weapons had been safely put away inside my treasure trove, releasing the evil wasn’t any easier than it had been before. I had been hoping it would be, praying it was some type of game, or even spell, that Jacob Angel had been playing on me. But instead I knelt on the ground, forehead to the carpet, and gripped my hair as I screamed bloody murder. Tiny black insects of madness were bubbling under and directly over my skin, trying to keep control.

“Get the One,” Roselle ordered someone. “She’s too young to handle that much.”

“No!” I shouted, my voice sounding demented. I slammed my hands onto the ground and shook my head, lifting on my hands and knees to stare blindly at the floor. “I can do this.”

Roselle squatted directly in front of me, lifting my chin. I ground my teeth together to keep from attacking her, and she stated softly, “The fact you’re able to control it at your age is a remarkable feat, Ms Jules, but you won’t be able to process as much as you took in.”

“Walk. Me. Through. It.” I leaned my forehead again on the ground, my body trembling as my Core pulsed erratically. “I can do this. Just walk me through it.”

She sighed then leaned down. “Try pulling it through your Core in smaller doses. Concentrate on one part of your body instead of the entire mass. Start with your arm or your leg, rope it in, and ease it through your Core…slowly…gradually.”

Focusing was a feat in itself. I aimed at my arm, working through the darkness there and dragging it through my body like it weighed a ton. I screamed, unable to hold it in. The pain of fighting the evil was building up inside me like a bomb wanting to explode. But I pulled the darkness through my Core, even as I heard multiple masculine voices shouting from inside the protection. And I exhaled. Stars escaped past my lips onto the carpet. It was a purity being released, the equal and opposite of the evil that had run rampant throughout the world.

“There you go,” Roselle murmured, petting my head softly. “Try it again with another body part.”

I did, over and over again, the agony excruciating.

But I still did it.

I fell onto my side, my body trembling in exhaustion and remembered pain.

My body was soaked with sweat, and my tears were only just starting to dry on my face.

Roselle continued crooning softly to me, wiping hair out of my face. She stated loudly to the enraged group behind the protection, “You won’t understand this, but what she just did is amazing. It’s something you should be proud of her for.” A gentle smile down at me. “And you should be proud of yourself, Ms Jules.”

My voice was a mere croak. “I am.”

She flicked a hand at the cursing group. “You can come out now.” Her gaze went to Reese. “Don’t bother trying to make them forget. The One already told me half of them have protection against it, and I saw Elder Farrar a half-hour ago adding the protection to the rest.”

Sin was rapidly scooping me into his strong hold, crushing me against his chest. “Are you all right, love?”

“Hurts…tired…” I mumbled, letting my head roll to rest against his shoulder.

King Collins’s right hand was on my forehead, running gentle fingers through my sweaty hair, but his contained fury was barely masked. He barked at Roselle, “Can a Mage help her with any of the lingering pain?”

Roselle stated simply, “She is very young to have done what she just did, but what she’s experiencing will fade in time.”

King Collins’s eyes glowed down on me. “It’s possible you should have taken the help.”

I blinked blurrily. “I wouldn’t have known if I could protect you all, if I were alone in the future, without attempting what I just did.” I closed my eyes. “Sin…bed…”

“Okay, love,” Sin whispered, hefting me closer against him.

“I’ll inform the One what’s happened,” Reese stated, before a flash of white light erupted behind my closed eyes.

A soft afghan was draped over my body, and efficient hands were tucking it in around my body inside Sin’s hold. Directly next to me, King Collins mumbled gruffly, “Keep her warm.” More tucking. “And maybe make her some soup if she starts to feel too ill.”

Sin’s words were dry. “I know what to do, seeing as I’ve been taking care of her for the past twenty-three years.”

“Just remember the damn soup,” King Collins muttered. I started to doze, sleep taking me under as shivers racked my body. But I still heard him as he pulled the blanket up close to my neck. “And if she gets worse, tell me immediately.” A snap of fingers accompanied by clipped words. “And don’t forget the damn spirit guards, since she’s not able to protect herself.” More snaps. “Frost. Farley. Get your asses over here before they leave.”

“I think he’s got it,” King Zeller stated calmly. “Let’s go have a drink, Jack.”

King Collins added, “Wait, one more thing—”

“Yes, it’s time for that drink,” King Zeller interrupted, his voice sounding slurred as I went under, unable to stay conscious a second longer.

I was down and out for five days. It was embarrassing as hell. I just laid in bed, my entire body aching like an elderly Com’s. My joints were inflamed. My muscles throbbed like they were torn. Even my short fingernails hurt.

And I had a headache to end all fucking hangovers.

Sin also informed me that I was a whining baby.

He did make me soup though, between massaging my aching muscles. While keeping the blinds down and the curtains closed. And he supplied me with endless aspirin.
And
kept everyone out of the room.

He was my Sin. And it was obvious he needed a break by day four.

When I blinked open my eyes and groaned, holding my head, I was staring up into brown patient eyes gazing down on me. King Collins sat on the side of the bed. His lips slowly quirked, and he kept his voice low in the darkened room. “Sin went for a drive…and he was still wearing the same clothes he had on four days ago.” My blink was sluggish, and I stared at the aspirin and water he held. “He told me to give these to you when you woke up.”

“I haven’t been that bad,” I grumbled, but I moaned when I lifted my arms to take the medicine and water from him. His eyebrows lifted, and I mumbled, “Whatever.” I blinked, staring at the pill and water. “Can you help me sit up so I can take these?”

His lips didn’t even twitch as he stated steadily, “Of course.” Bending, he placed his arms underneath mine, carefully lifting me until I was upright enough to take the pill. My hands shook as my body recoiled from the movement, while my head pounded a fierce beat at my temples. “Easy, easy,” he crooned, holding my back steady. He quickly grabbed my hand over the glass before I spilt it all over myself.

I guzzled it, completely parched.

After he placed the empty glass on the nightstand, he helped me lie back down. He pulled the blanket higher on my shoulders, leaning over me, and brushed hair off my face with careful strokes. “Was it worth it?”

“Yes,” I murmured, my eyes already closing again. His scent was comforting. “I can do it on my own now.”

He hummed quietly. “Doing it on your own isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

I sighed, but I found my head leaning toward his touch. “Shut up.”

A soft, deep chuckle. “You are one unique Prodigy.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Being ill, I missed the sedated spirit using my Primal Diamond to track Philip Masterson.

And the champion being shot in the head.

The One had pulled him back through the ether when he felt the spirit’s life force falter, but it had been too late. He was dead at the shot. His suicide mission, what he had begged me for after I had double-checked he was sane, he had gotten. A quick death for a noble cause.

The One had obtained the information we needed from the pull and instantly informed the Royals in the room. Philip Masterson was in Miami, Florida. The One left shortly after in respect for the dead, taking the man’s body back to the Temple and trusting the Royals to do what was necessary.

Before the mission I’d handed over the Primal Diamond to Sin with a direct look. I wasn’t sure how Sin had managed it, but somehow in the mayhem when the body had been pulled back through, he had retrieved it. The spirit had duct taped it to his hand so there was no chance of dropping it. Without remorse, Sin had returned the Primal Diamond to me, stealing from the dead.

Hours later, the mission didn’t feel like such a noble cause.