FALL (The Senses) (35 page)

“Where did Waleron go?” he asked
Balen.

“To kill Zurina.”

****

Waleron stood staring at the
tree. The same one she’d fallen out of so many years ago. Where they’d shared
their first kiss. She was an innocent woman who’d teased him. He could picture
her smile so perfectly, her eyes lighting up like the brightest stars. He’d
never bothered to admire the stars before her. The moment he escaped Jasmine
that had been the first thing he’d done—looked up at the moon-lit sky and
searched for Delara’s eyes.

Delara. Don’t leave me.

He pressed his palms into the
trunk then fell forward, his forehead resting against the rough surface.
You’re
the reason I hold on. The reason I breathe.
I can’t live without you.

The bark dug into the pads of his
fingers as he held onto what he had let go of. Her. The woman he’d given
everything to and then taken everything from. Over a century ago, he’d stood in
this exact spot with her and knew she was the reason for his existence. 

He shoved away from the tree. His
Scar had been soothed by Max, but soon it would raise its ugly head again and
this time Waleron didn’t have the pills to numb its rage. His Scar could have
him if anything happened to Delara. He’d leave this earth if she wasn’t in it.
His Scar would overtake him and they’d have to kill him.

Zurina did this. A Taldeburu. A
woman he trusted. She’d sat on council with him for centuries. She knew him as
a child, had been his mother’s friend. Why would she lie to him? Why would she
destroy the one woman he cared about?

It was like ice picks were
chipping away at his insides. Drilling. Stabbing. Hitting every nerve. What did
Zurina have to gain from helping Tarek?

A sudden, swift rage tore from
him and shattered the ice to pieces.

He was going hunting for a red haired
bitch.

****

Waleron Traced to every place he
could think of and still no Zurina. She knew he was after her and would Trace
somewhere poetic. Bitch. She was the worst sort of being. At least vamps and
CWOs were cruel and without morals to your face. Zurina stabbed him in the back
while smiling. Hinting to the Wraiths that he was unstable. Trying to separate
him and Delara.

He Traced to the place it had all
begun—Zuggarmurdi. He’d been here with Balen and Danielle a couple years ago.
Humans could become Senses, but it was risky. The water sometimes rejected the
human and they’d die. For Danielle, there was no choice. If she stayed human
she would’ve died.

In order for Danielle to become a
Senses, she had to die in the Stream of Hell—a fitting name for the water
inside the cave located in Zuggarmurdi. Danielle had been panicked. No one had
ever done it before and drowning was not a good way to die. Her last words to
Balen were
bring me back
then she went beneath the surface.

Balen soon followed and Waleron
watched. Not even valium could lessen the horror of what Balen and Danielle had
gone through. Danielle’s instinct was to come to the surface, to find air. And
Balen held her in his arms, keeping her from rising. Making certain she died.
Then Balen almost died himself when he couldn’t bring her back to life. Waleron
had taken several pills all at once after witnessing that.

As Waleron stood outside the cave,
he could sympathize with Balen. Back then, Waleron had been cold. Unfeeling to
what Balen suffered. Yes, now Waleron remembered what it was like to possibly
lose the woman you love. He finally felt the pain. The love. After twenty years
he finally felt it all again.

He knew Zurina was here the
moment he entered the cave. Her scent attached itself to the stale, moist air
and her breath echoed in the emptiness. He also sensed others, maybe five men,
but they were deeper in the cave. Rogue Senses, he suspected. He was
unconcerned, not many were able to take him down.

Zurina was older than him and had
abilities even he failed to know about. She’d also learned from his mother.
He’d always thought how unusual it was that Zurina was such a kind-hearted
person while his mother had been a cold-hearted bitch. Now he knew that Zurina
had been a bitch all along.

The only sounds were the crunch
of his boots on the loose soil, the stream flowing through the cave, and
Zurina’s breathing. He stopped, seeing her sitting on the edge of the small
pool of water.

“She used to bring you here all
the time. Do you remember, Waleron?” Of course he fuckin’ did. “At night when
no one was around.” Her fingers swept through the surface of the water. “She’d
put you in here and watch you struggle to stay afloat.” Zurina shook her head,
sighing, “You cried, sinking under the water, only to emerge choking and
coughing. If you cried too much, she’d dunk you under. It didn’t take long for
you to learn, even being so young, that if you didn’t scream, she’d leave you
to tread.” Zurina closed her eyes and her voice grew colder. “I watched,
knowing the water made you weak. Like it does all Senses. I never helped you.
Never tried to convince her that what she was doing was wrong.”

She cupped a handful of water and
brought it up to her face then let it spill slowly through her fingers. “Magic.
The water was magical, she claimed. It would make you more powerful than any.
That’s why she did it. She was adamant that you’d be the most powerful Senses
in the world.”

Waleron remembered being afraid
of water for many years. Any pools of it made him freeze up and he felt like
screaming. It was his mother’s doing. Just like the swearing, although he was
beginning to kick that in the ass. He walked further into the cave, closer to
Zurina who looked completely at ease sitting on the side of the pool, her feet
wading beneath the surface.

“Why?” That was all he wanted to
know.

It was the first time she looked
at him and he wasn’t affected by the anguish he saw in the depths of her eyes.
Even sifting through the air, he could taste her remorse. It was too late for
that.

“I made an oath to your mother. A
blood oath. I was to protect you. Make certain you always had the oath to the
Goddess, and to her, as your only priority.” Zurina met his eyes. “You broke
that. Delara became your oath above all else.”

“I never broke my oath to
anyone,” Waleron ground out.

“Yes, you live the Senses. You
sacrifice yourself for them. But if it came to a decision—Xamien or Delara—whom
would you pick, Waleron? Who lives and who dies? The Taldeburu or the Tracker?”

Waleron stepped towards her, her
words sending his rage into overdrive. “There is no ultimatum.”

“True,” she shrugged. “Not now,
but I warned you twenty years ago that you weren’t thinking clearly and again
in the Realm. Still, you refused to listen.” Her voice raised an octave. “I
told you to let her die. I warned you to let her go. You should’ve listened to
me.”

His blood ran cold. Delara had
been dying in a ditch. Zurina repetitively refused to help her, claiming Delara
was too wounded to heal. That it would be too painful. That she couldn’t do it
by herself.

“Yes. She was a threat to your
oath.” Zurina sighed. “Waleron you were never meant to love. You were born to
be a Taldeburu, to lead us.”

“Twenty years you waited. Why the
hell didn’t you just kill her yourself, damn it? Why!” He sent a blast of
energy at the wall and rocks crumbled to the dirt floor. “Tell me!”

“I’m a Healer. My oath is to
heal. I could not break my oath and assist you with keeping yours.” She tilted
her head to the side and looked at him curiously. “When did you stop taking the
pills Waleron?”

“What?”

“The valium isn’t in your
bloodstream. I’d be able to smell it if it were. You really shouldn’t have done
that. It will be much more painful for you when she’s gone.”

“What the hell are you talking
about?” Dread seeped into his skin then sunk into his bones.

Zurina laughed. “Oh Waleron. Why
do you think I gave them to you? I thought they would be enough to make you
forget her, but they weren’t, were they? But now…now you will finally be free
of her.”

His rage drove him. “Goddamn it,
I never asked to be free of her! I love her. I’d sacrifice everything for her.”

“And that is the problem. That is
why we are here right now.”

“I never asked to be a fuckin’
Taldeburu.”

She sighed. “Your mother always
hated swearing.”

“Yeah well you and my mother can
go fuck yourselves.” Waleron sent a blast of energy at her. She raised a shield
around her body and his blast reflected off of it. He knew now, it had been her
shields protecting Tarek that day.

“Don’t bother,” Zurina said.
“I’ve saved you the trouble. The rocks on my ankles will hold me under.” She
pushed off the side and slipped into the water, her fingers holding the edge.
“I know what I’ve done may seem wrong and you may not understand why, but know
that I love you like my own child. I did it to protect you from yourself. And
I’m doing this for our oath to our Goddess.” She nodded to the left behind her
and several men appeared from the darkness of the cave. “They will keep you
here a few days. Just until Tarek is done with her.”

Waleron began blasting energy
towards the darkness of the cave, but it was too late, he felt the spray of
water from the stream being dumped on him. The water took away all Senses’
abilities, weakened them, and Waleron was no different.

The five men dove on top of him
just as he saw Zurina disappear beneath the surface of the water.

He felt no emotion. Not caring
either way if she died by her own hand or his. One way or another, she was
dead. She’d chosen her oath over loyalty to him. She’d betrayed all of them
just so she’d die knowing she’d never faltered from her oath to his mother, not
the Goddess.

His body slammed into the ground
and more water was poured over him. He didn’t fight, instead his mind reeled.
His oaths. What he lived by. What lengths had he gone through to keep his? How
many had he hurt by being so unfeeling? Would he destroy lives like Zurina just
to protect an oath to a Goddess and his mother? God, what had he done?

Chains wrapped around his entire
body. A wet towel was placed over his head and then he felt his body being
lifted.

“Zurina said to secure him here
for a few days.”

“Screw her. She’s dead. My
loyalty is to the highest bidder and right now that’s Tarek. I’ll Trace him to
the island. No one leaves until I get back.”

That voice was familiar. Yet,
Waleron hadn’t heard it in centuries. But the man could Trace. With him. Only
one Senses was able to Trace with anyone. Holy Christ, it couldn’t be?

Pain exploded in his head.

Delara.

Chapter
16

Delara woke to the gold rope
around her neck. She’d been in and out consciousness for what seemed like days,
although she was unable to decipher any concept of time. At one point she swore
she’d been lying in a bed and fed water, but her mind was a fog as if she’d
been kept in a drug induced haze.

The rope was tied to a stone wall
giving her about an inch of movement in each direction. Her hands were tied
together behind her back with what felt like a thin wire. It was cutting into
her flesh, and when she pulled she felt blood surface. The worst of it was the disgusting
wet rag shoved in her mouth.

She tried to spit it out, but
ended up gagging on it, which terrified her even more. There was nothing to
stop her from vomiting and choking.

As her eyes focused and her head
cleared, she looked around what appeared to be a cellar. Dark. Damp and musty.
A loud crack sounded to her right. Her head turned and the most disturbing sound
wrenched from her throat. It came out muffled, barely audible as she stared in
horror.

Waleron was hanging from a hook
in the ceiling, arms stretched above his head, wrists manacled. His feet were
unable to touch the floor and his body swayed back and forth. Welts
crisscrossed his naked back. His skin was ripped—in some places his flesh was
hanging by a thread.

Tarek stood behind him, a leather
strap with metal studs in his hand. He raised his arm. God, no. No. Please.

Snap!
The strap crackled as it hit flesh and the chains rattled as
Waleron’s body jerked.

Delara’s scream was smothered by
the horrible gag. Her eyes were wide. The nausea. She had to look away to stop
from vomiting and killing herself in the process.

Whoosh.

Snap!

Crackle.

Rattle.

Over and over again. Fighting
against her rope choker, Delara struggled. Tears streamed done her cheeks,
useless tears that had no meaning to the man that held them prisoner.

Tarek brought the studded leather
down on Waleron’s back again. “Scream, goddamn it!” He approached Waleron,
whose face was ravaged with pain. “Why won’t you scream?” Tarek shouted with
crazed rage.