Forged in Stone (12 page)

James gently pushed me back against him. “Getting rid of? That is one way to put it.”

“I don’t like death.” Death was dark and brutal. It was my greatest fear.

“And you think I do? Pretending something doesn’t exist helps no one.”

“I want to trust you. I need to. This situation is insane.” Trees with moving roots, bright colored birds and flowers? Glowing swords? I couldn’t imagine what was coming next.

“Then trust me.” He whispered the words against my ear.

“I want to trust you.”

“As I want to trust you.”

“What have I done to–?” I stopped myself. “Ok, bad question.”

He laughed. “You mean running off on me after pretending to need to relieve yourself might have made me hesitant to trust you again?”

“I was scared.”

“I realize that. Why do you think I’m not angry?”

“What’s going to happen now?”

“We talk to Charlotte and Liam. We get your ankle fixed. We get you some sleep.”

“And you?” I tried to turn around, but I realized I’d lose my balance, so quickly gave up.

“I will tape my ribs.”

“Will you still be with me?” I looked around at the dark night.

“After running off on me, you are now concerned that I will leave?”

“I’m scared.” Now that I’d admitted it once, it wasn’t so hard to say it again.

“I will not be far. You will be safe in the castle. There are few things I am sure of in life, but I am completely confident Charlotte will ensure you are well cared for, and I will personally ensure your safety.”

“What is a Guardian?”

“That is part of a long story I will share later.”

“I’m holding you to that.” I needed more of an explanation. I was tired of being left in the dark.

“Feel free. I will answer anything as long as you do not run off again.”

“There’s nowhere for me to run.” Energo was nothing like home. Who knew what other surprises waited?

“I am glad you accept that now.”

“How many days did you call me out sick?”

“A few.”

“People are going to look for me if I don’t get back soon.” At least I hoped someone would. Otherwise I was more of a loser than I thought.

“Of course they will. I bet Brad is already pacing at the front door.”

“Did you have to bring him up?”

“Is that who you are in a rush to go home to?” He shifted behind me.

“No. I am not in a rush to see anyone.”

“Then relax. At least you don’t have to worry about being bored.”

I
tried
to ignore the ache caused by the feel of Ainsley’s body against mine as we rode. I needed her. I was done denying it. She was meant to be mine even if I did not deserve her.

Charlotte would know. As the Essence she had a gift of knowing, and whether it was conscious or not she would see what role Ainsley was to play for me.

Our connection made little sense. Ainsley was not from Energo, and she had no previous contact with our people. Unless she had. Unless she was hiding as much from me as I was hiding from her. I needed to find out. But first I had to get us to safety, and I needed to get her on the mend. My ribs did not matter, but her ankle did. I knew she was in pain, and I could not stand it. She was hurt because she did not trust me enough to stay. I would earn her trust, even if it meant holding back from what I wanted most.

We neared the gates, and I sent Nathaniel off first. I did not want us waiting at the gate while they determined whether Ainsley could enter. We did not have the time to waste. I had killed two men, but I knew they were not the only ones combing the darkness for us. For her. I knew it. I knew it went beyond her time spent with me. But all that knowledge did was worry me more.

The gates stood open when we approached, and I led us right in. I heard the gates lock behind us as we raced through the empty city toward the castle door. Two men were waiting at the castle entrance. Nathaniel had already run in to find Charlotte and Liam. I jumped down and carefully took Ainsley in my arms.

“I can walk,” she argued.

“Maybe, but I can easily carry you.”

“Your ribs are broken.”

“Not a big deal.”

“My ankle isn’t a big deal either. Put me down.” She squirmed against me.

I carefully set her down. “Funny way of showing you were concerned about my ribs.”

“Sorry.” Her forehead furrowed.

“Please don’t apologize. But lean on me if you need to.”

“I plan to.” She looped her arm through mine.

I made it two steps of watching her wince before I made a move to pick her up again.

She fought against me. “No. If I am going into a castle, I will do it walking.”

“Oh yeah? Is this something you have planned out before?”

She laughed as we stepped inside. “Of course. I always knew it would happen.”

“James, what’s going on?” Charlotte met us in the great hall. Then her eyes set on Ainsley. “Oh. Hi.”

Ainsley tried to straighten up.

I kept a firm hold on her to keep her standing upright. “Hey Char, this is Ainsley.”

“I assumed that much.” Charlotte walked closer and held out her hand. “I’m Charlotte, welcome.”

“Hi.” Ainsley nervously accepted her handshake. “Sorry to barge in on you like this.”

Charlotte laughed. “My guess is the barging was not your choice.”

Ainsley nodded. “Not at all.”

“Ok, so we established that I am the one who brought us here. I will explain everything, but first I want someone to look at Ainsley’s ankle.”

“My ankle can wait.” Ainsley stepped away from me. She winced.

I pulled her back against my side so she would not put so much weight on her injury. The action shifted my ribs making me wince.

“He needs to wrap up his ribs.”

Charlotte smiled. “What a pair you two are.”

“We ran into some trouble near Rawlins.” I chose my words carefully.

“Near Rawlins? Nathaniel didn’t say that.” Charlotte’s eyes got bigger. Her first Gerard had been from there. He was Nathaniel’s older brother.

“Don’t worry. Everyone there is fine.”

She nodded. “Good.”

“Ok, so how about taking care of Ainsley’s ankle?”

Ainsley shook her head. “James, drop it. I need to sit. We can worry about it later.”

“Sorry I am only getting here now!” Liam ran through the front door.

“Liam, this is Ainsley. Ainsley, this is Charlotte’s husband, Liam.”

Understanding crossed her face. “Debbie’s son.”

“You’ve met my mom?” Liam smiled. “How is she?”

“Excited about your news.”

Liam smiled. “I bet. She’s been asking for grandchildren for years.”

“But you guys are pretty young.” Charlotte was close to James’ age, which meant her mid-twenties.

“Oh, we know.” Charlotte smiled. “We need to get Ainsley off her ankle.”

“You’ve been with the girl a couple of days, and she’s already injured?” Liam raised an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t his fault.” Ainsley seemed to be struggling to keep her voice even. “I ran away from him and hid. I was found by some less than friendly men.”

“Did they hurt you?” Liam walked toward her. My body stiffened. I did not want any man near her.

She shook her head. “No. James took care of them, but I twisted my ankle when running from them.”

“Took care of meaning they are no longer a concern?” Liam looked at me closely.

“Yes. I will need to do some clean up tomorrow.”

“We’ll have someone else do that.” Charlotte straightened up. “My guess is you will be needed here.”

“If you’re sure.” I was in no rush to leave Ainsley’s side, so Charlotte’s plan was fine with me.

“I need to hear everything. Think you can make it a little further into the sitting room?” Charlotte asked.

“She can.” I lifted her up in my arms again.

“James! I can walk.” She struggled against me.

“Stop squirming.” I walked quickly through the castle halls and laid her down on the couch in the sitting room. I sat down next to her and put her legs on my lap. She moved, placing her feet on the ground. I pulled her legs back. She needed to keep her ankle elevated.

“Will you be okay to talk for a little while?” Charlotte took a seat on a chair across from us. “I know your ankle hurts.” She looked remorseful as she eyed Ainsley’s ankle. I was sure she wanted to heal the injury, but she had to restrain herself. If she acted on ever impulse to help she would destroy herself. Liam gently patted her shoulder as if to make her feel better.

“I’m fine.” She tried to pull her legs out again, but I held them. She stopped struggling. I’d won that round.

“James, let’s hear your version first.” Charlotte pulled her long brown hair up into a pony tail.

“Your grandfather’s office was trashed. I found this in the mess.” I handed over the piece of parchment.

“I assume you didn’t write it?” Liam sat on the arm of Charlotte’s chair.

Ainsley stiffened.

“That is not my handwriting.” I gritted my teeth. If he sent her running again my anger would know no bounds.

“It’s not his writing.” Charlotte looked at Ainsley as she spoke. “And you mentioned running from James. You didn’t need to. He would never hurt you.”

Ainsley sat forward. “Do you really trust him that much?”

“He’s one of my closest friends.” Charlotte smiled. “Of course in the beginning I hated him, but that’s another story.”

“But he tricked you. He kidnapped you.”

“And that was the greatest gift in the end.”

“I’m confused.” Ainsley sighed.

“We’ll explain everything.” Liam tried to reassure her. “But we need to hear James’ story first.”

“That is most of the story. I knew whoever left that paper might be back. And I needed to warn you. I couldn’t leave Ainsley alone in that house.”

“I offered to leave and stay somewhere else. It’s not like I was insisting on staying there.”

“Do you know who Professor Morgan is? He is a friend of your dad’s.” I was not willing to waste any time.

“Never heard of him. Is he the one who told you about the house sitting job?” Charlotte turned back to Ainsley.

“Yes. It seemed like a great deal. Living rent free in a mansion on the waterfront.”

Charlotte smiled. “It is a beautiful house.”

“But it turned out to not be so great.” Ainsley crossed her arms.

“Because this guy showed up.” Liam nodded toward me.

“He did scare me to death, insult me, and then bring me into another world, but I meant this whole situation.”

I rested my hands on her legs. I wished the jeans weren’t separating my hands from her skin. “I admit I may have done a few things to upset her, but it was all done for the right reasons.”

Charlotte nodded absently. “James, who could have done that? And more importantly why?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Wait. Are you actually admitting you don’t know the answer to something?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes.

I ran a hand over the thick stubble on my chin. “Not exactly. More that there are several possibilities.”

“And what are the possibilities?” she gestured with her hand for me to start talking.

“Either someone was looking for something, or someone wanted us to think they were looking for something.”

“Why would someone do the latter?” Liam asked.

“Because they were sending a message.”

“Maybe they wanted you to freak out and bring me here. Ever consider that?” Ainsley pulled her legs away again. This time I was distracted and allowed her to.

She had a point, but there were problems with the theory. “And in that case we walked right into it, but that still begs the question of why they would want you here? It does not make sense.”

“You said my dad had something to do with selecting Ainsley to house sit?” Charlotte rested her arm on the armrest of the chair.

“Not exactly. I think he went to Professor Morgan and asked him if he knew someone who could watch the house.”

“That makes no sense. The house sat empty for eight years.” I once again pulled Ainsley’s legs up onto my lap.

“I thought it was funny when they told me about it.” Charlotte seemed to be lost in thought.

“When are your parents getting back?” Talking to Stan would probably be the easiest way to get to the bottom of the mystery.

“Before the baby is born.”

“What? Why would they leave for so long?” I had trouble imagining Emma wanting to take a vacation while Charlotte was pregnant.

“Because they know they won’t want to leave once the baby gets here.” Charlotte crossed her legs.

“Congratulations by the way,” Ainsley said softly. “I forgot to say that.”

Charlotte smiled. “Thanks. It hasn’t really hit me yet.”

“Yes it has.” Liam put a hand on her back. “You know it’s happening.”

“Knowing something is happening is different than it actually hitting you.”

“Completely different.” Ainsley smiled.

“What’s the plan?” Ainsley asked. “When am I going home?”

“You cannot go home until I know it is safe.” I did not try to soften my words. She needed to understand how dangerous the situation was. “Those men are not the only ones.”

“We need to figure out why Ainsley was targeted, and why Blake’s followers are suddenly coming out of hiding. They’ve laid dormant for years.” Liam moved to standing.

“I can try to go undercover. Find out what I can.” I didn’t want to leave Ainsley, but I had no other ideas.

“Absolutely not!” Charlotte jumped out of her seat. “You are far too recognizable. They could kill you.”

Liam put an arm around her. “Relax, he isn’t going to do that because he won’t want to leave Ainsley.”

“You aren’t ditching me.” Ainsley gave me a stern look. “You promised you wouldn’t.”

“You are determined to go home. I’m trying to find the quickest way to make that happen.”

“There are other ways.” Liam looked toward the doorway. “I need to call the Guard together.”

“The giant Guard.” Charlotte laughed.

“The Guard? My guess is that has something to do with Guardians and James’ glowing sword?” I looked directly at James. “Don’t forget explaining all of that to me was part of the deal.” Unsurprisingly, Ainsley still wanted answers to her questions.

“How about I do the honors?” Liam suggested. “I was the most out of the loop when I found out, so I think I can explain it in the simplest terms.”

“Be my guest.” Talking still hurt my ribs a little, so I had no problem letting Liam explain this part.

He pulled a chair over right next to the one Charlotte was in. They both sat down. “Right now you are in Energo.”

“But the city is Bellgard?” Ainsley shifted on the couch.

“Yes.” Liam nodded. “Energo is run by the Essence.”

“And that’s Charlotte?” Ainsley looked at her.

“Yes. That’s Charlotte.” Liam took Charlotte’s hand. “And I’m her Gerard.”

“And what do those terms mean? Essence and Gerard?”

“The Essence is like a queen, except it’s not just a title. Charlotte has all sorts of supernatural abilities that help her keep things in order,” Liam explained proudly.

“What kind of abilities?”

“I can manipulate the elements.” Charlotte explained. “It sounds cooler than it is.”

“That sounds unbelievable. Literally unbelievable.”

“Show her something.” I crossed my arms.

“Sure. I’ll be right back.” Charlotte dashed out of the room and returned with a glass half full with water. “You see this?”

“It’s a glass of water.” Ainsley rested her hands in her lap.

“Exactly.” Charlotte put it down on the table. She appeared to focus on it, and moments later the glass shattered, but the water remained in the shape of the glass.

“Wait, that’s ice?” Ainsley hobbled off the couch to look at the remains of the glass. “You just froze the water?”

“Yes. I can do things like that.”

“Can you too?” Ainsley looked at Liam.

He shook his head. “Nope, but I’m connected to Charlotte. I have the enhanced strength necessary to protect her.”

“Cool. A world run by a super powerful woman.”

“That’s a great way to describe it.” Charlotte grinned. “Liam is strong as he explained, and as my Gerard, he is the leader of my Guard. The Guard is the group of men tasked with protecting me.”

“So still some sexism.”

“Yes. You can’t have it all, right? It isn’t my choice or anything. A greater power decides who’s on the Guard, but we don’t have to go into all that today.”

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be explaining this.” Liam jumped back in. “An Essence is supposed to have ten Guardians, but Charlotte ended up short changed.”

“They are all great, so no complaints.” Charlotte smiled.