Heirs of War (12 page)

"Really? What happened to me being an asshole? Cause I'm pretty sure
‘asshole’ would lean on the cold side, not hot."

"Most of the time, yeah. But sometimes I felt like I could see the old
you. The way you'd watch me..."

"Does it matter?"

She jerked away from him, pulling herself into a seated position as his dismissal made her wonder if the old him had ever really existed. "What do you mean? Of course it does. You and your band of miscreants have done nothing but make my life miserable since you dumped me. How can all you put me through not matter?"

"I mean, I'm here now. Doesn't that count for something? Doesn't everything we’ve been through today sort of negate any past indiscretions?"

She eyed him contemplatively. "Not enough to warrant sleeping with you."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" he murmured, earning him a punch in the arm. "Owe! I was kidding. Look, we don't have to do anything, okay? We just got...carried away. Life or death situation and all that. We can order a pizza."

"What is the thing about life or death situations that is so sexy anyway? Is it the idea of not being able to have sex again?"

He stood up and stretched dramatically, flexing his muscles along the way. "Nah, it's nothing to do with the situation. It's all about the god of a man standing bare chested before you."

She laughed loudly and threw a pillow at him. "You might be in hero status right now, but you are far from a god, my friend."

"Friend, huh? I'm winning you over, I see."

"Go put a shirt on."

"Mine is bloodied, remember?" H
e let out an annoyed breath. "You would think if Varrick had enough foresight to create a fake ID for me, he would have thought to pack me some clothes too."

"You'd think. You order food, and I'll see what I can do about your shirt." She went over to the sink, picking up the shirt from where she had dropped it.

"Good plan," he agreed as he lifted the receiver and dialed the front desk, who let them know there were some delivery menus in the other nightstand.

They had just decided on Chinese food when a knock at the door echoed across the room, shattering the reprieve Zelene had started to feel as her heart
sank with a sense of foreboding. She quickly turned off the dryer, where she had been attempting to dry the wet spots on Kyle's shirt, and turned to him with wide eyes. "Varrick?" she whispered.

"He would have called," he said
, eyeing the door with worry.

"Kyle?" His cousin’s
voice called from outside the door. "I know you're in there."

Zelene’s shoulders slumped with relief, but it quickly dissipated as Kyle tensed up even more.

"Shit," he hissed. He placed a finger over his lips to indicate Zelene should be quiet.

"It's Dean," she whispered. "Just let him in."

Before he could argue, the electronic lock unlatching sounded and the door opened. Dean strolled in, eyeing his shirtless cousin and the wide-eyed girl behind him. He tossed the key card on the coffee table and sighed.

"I had the desk clerk give me a key with promises not to let his boss know he had allowed a minor to pay for a hotel room without permission from his legal guardian." Dean shook
his head. His puffy cheeks gave him the appearance of always looking like a cocky jerk, though somehow Zelene was sure he was trying to look smug at the moment.

"How'd you find us?" Kyle stepped in front of Zelene.

"Your phone has a GPS chip," Dean answered as he lifted his own phone from his pocket and wiggled the small black device to add to the effect of his speech. "This allows parents to track their kids with one little app and a small fee to their plan. I thought someday it might come in handy. Seems like I was right."

Zelene hoped she was imagining the threat in Dean's voice, but somehow she doubted her imagination was causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at attention.

Kyle seemed to be feeling it too as his hand reached behind him to find her hand and give it a squeeze. "Okay, so why were you tracking me?"

Dean lifted his hands in mock question. "You didn't come home after school. I was worried."

"Chill, Kyle, he's your cousin," Zelene urged from behind him as she slid his still-damp shirt up his arms.

Dean
folded his hands behind his back in a gentlemanly stance and stepped forward. "Now, might I ask what you are doing here with young Zelene?"

Zelene’s heart flipped around in her chest. She didn’t like the way he said her name. Or the way he was looking at her as she peered around Kyle, who was demonstrating his ability to lie with ease though his grip threatened to break her fingers.

"Isn't it obvious? We decided to hook up again and wanted some privacy."

Dean laughed with disbelief. "You could have simply hung a sock on your door. You've gone through a lot of trouble for a romantic getaway. Or a tryst, whatever this is."

"We didn't want anyone to ask questions or say anything. You know how her foster parents are. If they even think she's stepped out of line, they go off on her."

They both jumped as his phone buzzed. Zelene recognized Varrick’s number on the screen as she looked over Kyle’s shoulder. He flipped open the phone, his attention never leaving his cousin as he spoke.

"Hey man, I can't talk. Dean just got here, and he's sort of interrupting things…Yeah, I'm with a chic. Awkward. Can you call me back later? Thanks."

Zelene understood the hidden meaning of Kyle’s one-sided conversation well. Kyle was telling Varrick that he was still with Zelene, but that Dean was here as well. And for some reason, that meant they were in trouble.

Dean nodded knowingly as Kyle ended the call. "Friend of yours?"

"Yeah, which reminds me. Why didn't you call me? I could have saved you a long drive," Kyle challenged.

"Come now,
cousin
, I would have come anyway." Dean pointed to Zelene. "I'm here for her."

Zelene let out a strangled noise of protest as Dean
stared feverishly at her. Whatever game they were playing, she knew it was up now.

Dean nodded in a patronizing way. "Yes, my dear princess. I was supposed to be the discreet means by which you were disposed of. You see, we didn't want any unnecessary questions raised here that might alert anyone to our existence. Unfortunately, this one," he nodded toward Kyle, "has done a very good job at ensuring I never had a
discreet
way to get to you. Until now, of course."

"Kyle," Zelene asked in a trembling voice, "what is he talking about? Why does your cousin want to kill me?"

Kyle backed up so his body pressed against hers protectively, his arm reaching around behind her to hold her close to him. "I have no idea. But I'm starting to think he's not actually my cousin."

"No," Dean sighed regretfully, "I'm not.
The paperwork to prove I was and gain legal guardianship over you was quite easy, and I have grown quite fond of you over this past year. I really don't want to hurt you if I don't have to. So step away from Ainnir Zelene, and let me do my job. Then I'll buy you a beer or something."

Kyle stiffened with resolve as he firmed his
stance directly in Dean's path to Zelene. "Not happening. You want her, you go through me first."

Dean
didn’t look to be bothered by this obstacle. "Have it your way." With the flick of his wrist, Kyle flew through the air, crashing into the tile of the bathroom wall and sliding to the ground.

Time slow
ed for Zelene the instant Kyle was thrown across the room. Her entire world changed in the second that passed as Dean flicked his wrist, and she couldn’t begin to understand how. She screamed Kyle’s name and tried to run for him, but Dean's hand shifted to her, and she found herself slammed into the sink behind her. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"Please, Dean. Don't do
this. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I take it back, I swear."

He strolled over casually and wrapped his hand around her neck, lifting her off the ground as she clawed at his knuckles. "I'm not like the psychotic idiot they sent to your home. I'll make your death
as quick and as painless as possible. You have to understand that this isn’t personal in any way. Your death means peace for the worlds, and someone has to be the monster for the betterment of us all. I truly am sorry."

Zelene whimpered as she felt his fingers tighten around her windpipe. She had no idea what he was talking about but she hated him for it nonetheless. She hated him for what he had done to Kyle and what he was about to do to her in the name of the supposed noble cause masking what
she saw as his insanity. Mostly, she hated him for how helpless she felt as her fingers grasped the counter behind her for any kind of weapon.

Dean’s eyes widened, his grip slackening as he let out a cough and crumpled to the ground. Zelene gasped and dropped down with him. She rubbed her throat
and looked around to find Varrick standing over her. He offered her a clean hand up, his other hand dripping blood and still holding what looked to be Dean’s heart.

She fought the bile rising in her throat, forcing herself to speak. “What the hell…”

Varrick followed her gaze to the bloodied mess in his hand. He shrugged and tossed it in the nearby trashcan before washing his hands. “I was the one who called Kyle. I got here as quick as I could.”

Hearing Kyle’s name stirred her from the shock of the past
few minutes. She rushed over to Kyle, who was unconscious in the bathtub. "Kyle? Kyle, you have to wake up." She could feel his breath on her skin as she lifted his face with her hands. "We have to take him to the hospital, Varrick."

"No time," Varrick said as he pulled her to her feet.

She looked down at her palms, which had blood on them from where she had touched Kyle's head. She jerked from Varrick's grip and looked up at him with disdain. "No time? Varrick he's bleeding to death. We have to help him."

"We'll call an ambulance after we leave. But we have to go. Now
."

Zelene straightened, her shoulders leveling
with resolve as she stared at him. "No. I am not leaving him."

Varrick yanked his sunglasses off and rubbed his face before looking at his charge again. She took a step back at the sight of his eyes, which were still pools of black since Ariana was still in danger. "It happens when you’re in danger," he answered to the unasked question.

"But I'm fine now," she argued.

"Your sister isn't," he snapped, his accent
thicker from frustration. "I'll explain later, but right now we have to get moving. I'm sure Dean wasn't the only one they sent here to get the job done."

"Not until I know Kyle's okay." She took a step forward, sensing his frustration and the urgency of the situation, but her main concern was the young man lying unconscious below the smear of his blood painting the walls. "I get it, Varrick. People are after me for some insane reason. I didn't exactly miss the memo with this being the second person to try to kill me tonight. But if we leave Kyle after everything he's done, after the way he's put my life before his, then we're no better than whoever it is who wants me dead." She stared up at the fierce man in front of her, her voice cracking as she began to plead with him. "I have to know he's okay, Varrick. I can't just leave him like this. Not after everything." She sucked in a breath to try to calm herself down. "I need to know he's okay."

Varrick muttered in some unknown language. "You do exactly as I say from here on out, no questions and no arguments. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Just...we have to get him help."

He nodded as he lifted the boy into his arms. "We will, but he might not thank us later."

CHAPTER TEN

"Ariana, would you please knock it off?"
Sheridan’s voice turned softer even though her exasperation was still evident. "I don't want to treat you like a prisoner, but you aren't leaving me much of a choice. You just attacked
Domrick
. He's my mother's second in command."

Ariana struggled against the hold of Sheridan’s goon, shouting her expletive-filled response from underneath the hand clamped over her mouth as she was dragged down a dingy set of stairs. She’d woken up in a luxurious bedroom, complete with its own set of guards outside her door. So what if she had bashed the second in command upside the head with
a handheld mirror? How else was a girl supposed to escape after being kidnapped? She probably would’ve gotten a lot further if the sheer size of the house she was in—as well as its medieval looking décor and lack of any sign of electricity—hadn’t left her frozen in shock.

She didn’t blame herself for that. Not too much, anyway. She
expected to be in some sort of basement, not a castle. But it appeared the basement was exactly where she was heading now as they continued to descend the winding staircase, and she continued to fight against their hold. All her struggles ceased as they rounded the corner and she realized where she was.

They had brought her to a dungeon. Barred cells lined the hallways, some empty and some with occupants, though whether or not they were alive was up for debate. Her stomach twisted and her legs ceased to work. The goon holding her wrapped his arm around her waist, hefting her into the air so her toes dragged across the dusty floors.

There was very little light in the room they brought her to, but it was enough to see the devices lining the walls. The shadows they cast only add to the threatening ambience as her heart pounded in her chest. She wasn’t just in a dungeon.

She was in a torture chamber.

Sympathy welled in her chest as she noticed that the room was already occupied. A young man, who didn’t look much older than her, was hanging from a set of chains. The bars behind him formed an ‘X’ and forced his body into the same position with his arms hanging in the air and his legs splayed apart. His dark hair fell along the line of his sculpted jaw, and he was wearing…well, to say his outfit was dated was an understatement. She’d only ever seen someone dressed like a medieval peasant on Halloween, and she was pretty sure it was a bit early for costumes. Had he been here since last Halloween? Her heart broke at the idea.

The dark-
haired prisoner leaned against the posts behind him, somehow managing to look as though he were casually standing by with a crooked grin on his face. “Welcome home, Sheridan.”

Sheridan rushed
across the room and throwing her arms around his neck. "Alec! It's been so long. What are you doing down here?" She pulled away and cocked a knowing brow. "Please tell me you weren't mouthing off again."

"You know me."

Seriously? He was talking to Sheridan as though she was an old friend instead of someone holding him prisoner. Either this guy was really messed up, or Ariana had no idea what was going on at all. Possibly both.

"Yes, I do. I really wish you would just behave, Alec. I hate when she hurts you." Sheridan reached out and stroked the light bruise across his cheek. "You aren't healing."

He turned his face away from her touch. "Kellen is starving me. She knows when I'm low on energy, I'm not as tough."

"You must have really made her mad." Sheridan reached behind him, unwinding the chains holding him in place. "Still, Alec, if you would just agree to help her—“

"No," Alec spat out the word through gritted teeth. "I might have betrayed my duties when I left Estridia, but I will not betray its people by helping that monster take over." He lowered himself down to the ground and let his cheek rest against the posts he was chained to. "She can torture me all she wants, but I will never help her again. And you shouldn’t either, Sheridan.”

Ariana watched their conversation, her confusion deepening so much that she was beginning to wonder if they were even speaking English. All she knew was she had to get out of here. She struggled against the man holding her, her grunts of effort muffled by the hand still clamped against her mouth.

The guard threw her to the ground, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and yanked her head up so he could smack her across the face from a better angle. She let out a whimper, tasting blood in her mouth.

Alec’s attention shifted to her. “Sheridan? Who is that girl?”

"Yes, Sheridan," a cold female voice came from the doorway. She was tall with rosy undertones to her pale skin that contradicted her demeanor as her icy blue eyes glared at the young blonde girl to her right. "Who is this girl, and why is she chained up in my dungeon? Because I told you to make sure the girl I sent you to retrieve was treated as a most welcomed guest and not a prisoner."

Sheridan dropped to one knee. She
lowered her chin to her chest, obvious terror in her every move from displeasing this woman. "I tried, but she fought us."

Ariana still rubbed her wounded cheek. “You killed my best friend and expect me to play nice?”

The woman glided over to Ariana with the grace of a serpent weaving its hypnotic dance. She knelt in front of her, inspecting her wounded cheek with a sympathetic pout. “My darling girl…What have they done to you? I must apologize for my soldiers. Their methods can be quite barbaric, but you must understand. They are used to dealing with our enemy one on one. They see opposition and they think the worst. Can you forgive me?”

Ariana pulled away from her touch. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“I want to help you, my dear. My name is Kellen. I am a Cahiran, but you might do well to think of us as revolutionaries. I’ve read about the world the Estridians sent you to, so I understand there was a great war there as well. One between the North and South?”

Ariana nodded slowly, unsure of the reason for the history lesson. “Yeah. The Civil War.”

“To free people, yes?”

“The slaves, yeah. What’s that got to do with you kidnapping me?”

Kellen rose to her feet and offered Ariana a hand up, which she reluctantly took. “I do apologize for that. It was critical that we get to you before the Estridians. You see, much like the North from your war, we are fighting for freedom and equality as well. I believe you can help us do that.”

“Don’t liste
n to her,” Alec urged, his grey eyes filled with urgency and regret as they bore into Ariana’s. "Ask yourself: Do you really want to help a woman who keeps children chained up in her basement?"

"You are hardly a child, Alec," Kellen scolded with warning.

He threw himself forward, his chains snapping him to a halt before he could get close. "I was when I got here!"

Ariana didn’t need to hear anymore. She didn’t care. These people had killed her best friend and just left her body there. She wrapped her arms around herself as she thought about whether or not anyone had found Emma yet.

Whatever the reasons were, they didn’t matter. Nothing could justify that, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to jump onto the side of people who would treat murder as just another casualty of war. There was no apology possible to cover what happened, no matter what freedoms they were fighting for.

“Not a chance in hell,”
she echoed her thoughts as she glared at Kellen. “You can’t just go around killing whoever you like and then expect to recruit their best friend. I don’t care what war you’re fighting, but now? As far as I’m concerned,
you
are my enemy.”

Kellen’s face twisted into a scowl, her
glower shifting to where Sheridan stood watching. She snapped her fingers for Sheridan to come forward. "Who is this girl she keeps speaking about, and why was she killed?"

Sheridan's head hung between her shoulders, her blonde curls curtaining her face as if her hair might hide her from the furious woman before her. "A young girl Ariana and I—I mean, a friend of Ariana's. The girl snuck up on us when I was trying to talk
Ariana into coming with us, as you instructed us, and my men overreacted."

Her commander's hand snapped out, gripping her around her throat. "You have failed me, Sheridan. I instructed you to make sure the girl was on our side and to make sure no harm came to her whatsoever." Kell
en tightened her grip, pulling Sheridan closer so her hot breath singed the girl's cheeks with her words. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."

Sheridan clawed weakly at the hand
blocking her airway. "Because I'm your daughter," she answered with a sob.

Kellen released her, watching the young girl drop to the ground. "That is your only saving grace." She bent forward. "For now. Do not disappoint me again."

Sheridan nodded, clamping her mouth shut as her lips quivered with the sobs she struggled to hold in. Her shaking hand rested protectively on her neck, rubbing it as though she might be able to ease the burn. "Yes, Mother. Please forgive me."

"Get out of my sight," Kellen sneered as she turned away from her
daughter, not paying attention to the way the girl scurried away in fear. "I'll deal with her later. As for our new guest," she gave Ariana a malevolent smile, "you will find there are other ways to coerce you into doing what is necessary for me. I'm certain that, after some time, you will find my requests to be reasonable."

"You just threatened to kill your own daughter in front of me," she pointed out as she turned back to the woman in front of her. "I think the chances of you ever looking like t
he good guy after that are slim-to-none. You really should've done your homework before choosing to kidnap me. You can ask my parents. I'm pretty much a stubborn selfish brat."

"Oh, you are going to be so much fun to break."
Kellen threw a glance to Alec. "You two might have a lot in common, my pet." She turned to the two guards standing on either side of Ariana. "Unchain her and follow me. There's something I want her to see."

Ariana jerked away from the guard's touch. "
I'm not going anywhere with you." Her eyes widened as an invisible force wound its way around her neck. Her hands frantically searched for the object choking her, but could find nothing. She gasped and choked as she clawed at her neck, fearing she was about to die.

"Kellen!" Alec cried out, pulling against his restraints. "Don't! Leave her alone! Kellen!"

Ariana felt her heart try to jump from her chest as she realized Kellen had been choking her without touching her. She could find no other rational explanation for what had just happened to her, though this explanation was not one she would consider rational under normal circumstances. "How did you do that?" she panted as she rubbed her neck.

Kellen had turned her attention to Alec. "You seem awfully protective of our new guest."

"She's an innocent young girl," he half-whispered, half-pleaded to her. "What possible reason could you have to cause her harm?"

"Your need to protect her has nothing to do with her innocence or age, though I'd wager she's not much younger than you." She grabbed Ariana by the arm and marched her over to him, thrusting her wrist in front of his face. "You wanted to know who she is? This is who she is. And why your blood is burning with the need to protect her."

Alec stared down at the five pointed star on Ariana's wrist, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "No," he breathed, "this can't be."

Kellen ran a finger down the Ariana's cheek, tracing the lines her tears had created and relish
ed in the fear and confusion now churning in the girl’s deep-set eyes. "Though I do find it odd you didn't have such a visceral reaction when I killed Nandalia right down the hall from where you slept."

Ariana could see the realization of Kellen's claim wash over Alec's face, though she had no idea what any of this meant. Kellen left him to his thoughts while she dragged Ariana down the hallway, leading to the prisoners' cells. A curt nod had one of the guards fumbling with a set of keys to open the one they stood before. The door was thick wood with no windows or bars to allow any light. The hinges groaned as if in protest, allowing the putrid smell of death to waft out.

Ariana began gagging, and even the guards showed their distaste for the acrid air, but Kellen remained unmoved.

"Look," she ordered the girl. When Ariana didn't respond, Kellen made a clucking noise with her tongue before pushing her inside. "I will lock you in here if I must, but you
will
look."

Ariana turned to the corner of the cell, where the flies were buzzing around what she thought was just a pile of clothes.

"Turn her over," Kellen commanded the girl once more.

"That's a person?" Ariana asked weakly, fighting the nausea as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Yes, now turn her over," Kellen repeated with impatience.

Ariana turned her head from side to side and back
ed away, her every movement felt like slow motion. She clutched her abdomen as the contents of her stomach flipped. She noticed she felt warmer, too, and realized the warmth was isolated to her arms. She tentatively touched her wrist, yelping in shock at the heat. Crying out as the sweltering grew more and more intense, she fell to her knees and steam began to rise from her skin.