Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) (21 page)

“Yeah, but I still don’t know where. Samael was with him. They argued with each other through a wall or something. Wherever he was still feels like a basement, pitch black. From what I heard, it sounded like Max made some sort of a deal with Samael. Something like if he let the Beast lock him up, the Beast gave him his word that he wouldn’t hurt me. I guess we know Samael doesn’t have to keep his promises.”

Mike’s eyes got wide when he said, “Wait, say that again?”

“Max said something about the Beast had given him his word that he wouldn’t hurt me. Maybe the Beast has a different definition of hurt.” My hands went to my still freshly bruised neck, softly touching the soreness.

“So, you’re saying the Beast gave Max his word, and he broke it?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but Max doesn’t know that.”

“Lauren, do you know what that means? The Beast has no hold on Max whatsoever. A broken oath is a broken oath. If he didn’t live up to his side of the bargain, Max is free. Whatever power is holding Max right now, it won’t hold. Renny, try communicating with Max. The Beast broke his oath to Max – you should be able to reach him!”

Rewsna was standing behind me nearly beaming. She was quiet for a moment, then looked back at Mike and me. “The enchantment really is broken; he can hear me and I him.” Rewsna went silent for a full five minutes, Mike and I only stared at her, waiting for news. When she looked back at us, she was delighted.

“I just spoke with Max. He is in a bank vault in an old building downtown.”

I was so stunned I hardly knew what to say, “You just spoke with him? I thought you could only talk with me? Why in the heck didn’t you do that before?”

“Lauren, don’t you see? Max had given his word to the Beast that he would come quietly, and in return the Beast promised no harm would come to you. When Samael strangled you this morning, to give himself a head start on his getaway, he broke his oath to Max. Breaking a vow is very powerful. The Beast now has no hold whatsoever on Max. The locks on the door will open freely and his mind is no longer blocked from me.”

Overjoyed at the prospect, I nearly bowled Rewsna over running to the door. Peanut was just as excited, though he couldn’t have had a clue why.

Mike, Rewsna, Peanut and I got in my van and started speeding toward the building Rewsna described. My hands were shaking so badly that if I were holding anything other than a steering wheel, I would have dropped it. It was late morning and the sun was high and humidity was already outrageous, but the thick air did little to slow me down.

We made our way to the historic building. To my amazement the door was just as Rewsna had said, unlocked. I stepped through the door cautiously, half expecting someone to stop me, but no one did. The three of us made our way into an immense marble trimmed lobby. Rewsna spoke, “He should be just through those double doors.”

I stepped to the doors finding them unsecured. Behind them stood an enormous steel door - the vault. I stole a quick glance at both Rewsna and Mike and was surprised to see no apprehension whatsoever. I stepped to the handle and pressed hard; the bolts on either side gave way freely. The door opened and light spilled through the cavernous room.

I stepped in to find Max standing in a corner, with his hands over his eyes. The light must have temporarily blinded him, and he actually winced in pain. I ran to him, throwing my arms around him, overjoyed that it was really him this time.

Max took his hands from his eyes and buried his face in my shoulder, “Lauren, we’ve got to get you out of here. He’ll be back, and I don’t want him to find you here.”

Strength poured through me when I responded, “I’m not scared of him anymore. I know how to destroy him, and it is he that should be afraid of me.” Three sets of eyes stared at me. The old Lauren might have been lacking self-confidence, but in this minute I knew the truth. The Beast was not more intelligent, he had no magical powers, no hold over my loved ones. He was pure evil, and by trying to take Max from me and tricking me into caring for him, he had crossed me for the last time.

Rewsna was the first to recover from the shock of my words. “Lauren, I think it wise that we regroup with the Council and work out a course of action that is less risky to all involved.”

The strength I had felt in my resolve to end this did not subside. I felt the power coursing through my veins, pumping ever stronger with each heartbeat. It wasn’t adrenaline or fear. It was raw, unfettered dominance, an energy radiating from the inside out. I shook my head, “Rewsna, the Beast screwed up again. I’m not sure how, but somehow I’ve taken more strength from him.” I stepped away from Max and back through the vault’s door. The three followed me.

I reached for the door handle on the double door we had walked through and cautiously opened it, making a concerted effort to turn the knob gently. When the door swung silently open, I made sure Mike, Rewsna and Max were watching, and I gave the open door a sharp tug. I felt the hinges bow under the pressure. I turned to Max and said, “That is unreal.”

Silence filled the room. I rested the door against the wall. This much power and brute strength was such a foreign feeling. I’ve seen body builders interviewed on television. I was never in awe of them or what they could do, until now. These were people who worked years to sculpt their body, concentrating all their energy on a single task. I was not one of these people. The strength I felt in my body resonated from within and required almost no concentration to unleash.

Rewsna gasped as she read my thoughts and inserted her own, “Lauren, do you understand what this means? The Council predicted your rise. We knew you would have unreal powers. I never guessed they would be telepathic and physical. If you have taken his strength from him and his power of sight, there cannot be much left.”

I nodded, but was unable to put my thoughts into words. The fear I had felt for the Beast seemed to have evaporated. My arms found their way around Max. I took his hand and led him out of the building. I could hear Rewsna and Mike speaking quickly to each other but did not care in the least what they were saying.

We all drove back to Rewsna’s house. I knew she could read my thoughts, if I allowed it, so I purposely blocked her. She glanced at me frequently but said nothing. When I pulled to the curb in front of her house, I put the van in park but did not turn off the ignition. Rewsna must have realized that I didn’t intend to stay, when she said, “Lauren, we must brief the Council and formulate a plan to do away with the Beast.”

I looked at Max’s haggard eyes and knew my priorities had little to do with the Beast. At this point Samael was no more relevant to me than a spider in a corner. I shook my head and answered, “You can do whatever you want. Max and I have some catching up to do. I’ll be at his house if you need me, but Samael has gone into hiding. We won’t find him unless we go looking, and I can assure you I have better things to do with my time for the foreseeable future.”

Mike and Rewsna exited the van without argument. I’m sure Rewsna knew any opposition would be fruitless, so she didn’t even try.

Max said nothing the entire drive back to his house. Peanut bounded happily in the back seat from one side of the van to the other, whining at cars and excited about the traffic. When we pulled up the long drive to Max’s house, I realized that the silence was awkward.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Max interrupted, “I’m going to take a shower. Make sure you call your parents and let them know you’re okay.” He stepped out of the van without another word.

So what makes a good relationship anyway? Common interests, common goals, desire that sets your pants on fire? I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but something had come between Max and me. After we returned to his house, we didn’t talk much at all. Max told me he was exhausted, and I don’t think he was exaggerating because he slept from mid-afternoon until late the following morning. When he did finally pull himself out of bed, he had a quick bite to eat standing at the kitchen counter, gave me a kiss on the forehead, and mumbled something about fixing a fence on the north side of the property. I started to get up and heard, “No, I’ve got it. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

This initial rejection and his desire to be alone hadn’t set off any alarm bells. Seth had told me he was going to stop by after work, so I wanted to straighten up the house anyway. When Max didn’t come back after a couple hours, I began to worry. By three o’clock that afternoon, I went to the barn and decided to take Max’s horse, Christy, for a ride. It didn’t take long to find him. He was where he said he’d be. I found Max’s truck right away, and, sure enough, he was repairing the fence. I offered to help, but he told me he was just about done and he’d be back soon.

Seth arrived at six, but Max still hadn’t returned. It was odd not to be fearful of some evil force lurking. Since the moment I had awoken from the coma, my thoughts were nearly consumed by fear. Samael, the Beast, or whatever it was did little to enter my thoughts since Max’s rescue. Wherever Samael was, I knew he was no longer a threat to us. So when Seth arrived, I didn’t even cringe when he wanted to be filled in with details. Seth was excited to hear all about Max’s rescue, and I was happy to have someone to talk to.

He told me that Amanda was fine. She had told him to tell me “Hello” from her, but he said she was a little too wierded out from Samael’s visit to their house and didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about it. Seth shared with me again the events of their near attack. I could hear his excitement screaming through as he relived the adrenaline rush. Seth sat on the couch perpendicular to the one I sat on. He reached out and took my hand in his. “I know I owe you my life, Amanda’s too. If you hadn’t called to warn me about Samael, we’d both be dead right now.”

I nodded, because I knew it was true, “You don’t owe me anything. I’m just glad I caught you before he knocked on your door.”

“Hopefully you don’t slap me for what I’m about to say, but there are some things I need to ask.” Seth was still holding my hand, and he began stroking the top of my hand with his thumb. I had a strange vibe from him but didn’t want to jump to conclusions. “So that whole time we were dating, we really weren’t, right? I mean, you knew that you were supposed to be with Max, and I was supposed to be with Amanda, right?” I nodded that this was the case, even though I didn’t find out about Amanda until after Max was already in my life.

“So, you were never remotely attracted to me? We were really just friends, and I was too dense to see it?”

“I don’t know if I would say dense, but I don’t believe either one of us was really in it for a long-term relationship, at least not a physical one.”

“You’re wrong.” Seth’s eyes left mine, but his hand held mine tight, “Lauren, you were all I ever thought of, the only one I ever wanted, at least until I met Amanda. Don’t get me wrong, she’s great and everything. I do love her, but I don’t have that same connection with her that I had with you.”

I took in a swift breath trying to figure out how to react without overreacting, “Seth, your connection with Amanda is different than the one with me. We’re very close friends; you two are supposed to be together.”

He shook his head, “She can’t finish my sentences; she hasn’t known me my entire life. She is wonderful and I do love her, but if I had to choose between you two – she knows exactly what number she would be.”

“I hope it’s first choice. Amanda is the one to share your life with.”

“She’s great, but we both know she is the one I settled for, because I couldn’t have you.” Seth’s eyes left the floor and found mine again.

“Amanda is pretty amazing. I don’t know that you settled. You are supposed to share your life with her.”

“When Max stopped coming to see you at the nursing home, I was there. Most of the time, three days a week. I knew all your nurses. I knew when they changed your meds. I read books to you. Amanda never once complained. She’s pretty smart. She had to have known that I wanted to spend time with you, even if you weren’t all there. Initially she came with me, but after a while she figured out my time with you, was really my time with
you
. I’m sure it hurt her, but she never once asked me to stop.”

“Seth, you know how I feel about Max, why are you telling me all this?”

“Because I promised myself, if you ever did wake up, that you should know that I never really gave up on us. I was ecstatic when you woke up and Max wasn’t even in the picture. I thought I had time to ease into your life, give you a chance to see that we could be something more. Once you woke up, Max came back and poof, you were gone. I never got to tell you anything. Then when all of this craziness happened, it only made me want you more all over again. Lauren, I would give anything to be with you.”

Seth was still holding my hand and his was shaking. My mind was nothing but a whirlwind of responses, to my embarrassment not all of them were negative. I started to answer when I noticed Max standing just inside the door staring at both of us. Hate radiating off his skin, I expected his rage to engulf us all when he said, “Don’t mind me, I’m going to go shower.” Seth dropped my hand and Max walked down the hallway. I heard the bedroom door slam shut.

“Seth, I don’t think of you that way. I never have.” I could see the hurt on his face. He sat up a little straighter, bracing himself. “You need to go home to Amanda.” I stood up and followed Max.

I could hear the front door close and knew Seth had left. I turned the door handle to the bedroom, but it was locked. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. Standing there in the hallway, I didn’t know what to do. I waited for several minutes dumfounded. What could I have done differently? I didn’t know Seth was going to say any of that. What had Max heard? Did he think Seth and I were reconnecting right there in front of him? He couldn’t think that. He couldn’t believe that, right?

I walked back to the living room and waited, and waited, and waited. Max never came out of the bedroom. At nine I was a nervous wreck and again went to the bedroom. The door was still locked. This time I knocked louder and called to Max through the door. He didn’t answer, and he didn’t unlock the door. I tried talking to him through the door, but he ignored me. I started to walk away, but something inside me said not to. I knocked one more time. No response.