Icarus; The Kindred (A Paranormal Romance) (14 page)

I stop him by reaching for his neck.

A sympathetic smile flickers across his lips. "This isn't going to feel good. The alcohol in your system is going to react against the blood. You're going to have to fight through the pain."

I ignore what he says and even wonder for a moment what he's talking about, when it suddenly slams into me. I cry out and grab my stomach.

Jace holds me tighter. "Fight through it. You quit Icarus cold turkey and the wounds you bore after you rescued Blake weren't exactly scratches. You can do this." He guides my mouth back to the wound, which due to my hasty withdrawal has bled all over his jacket.

I try my best to not vocalize it, but it is the only way I can force myself to drink. Jace tries to comfort me, but he doesn't understand that I'm not upset, I'm furious. At everything. At Trinity for what he's done, at Jacelynd for how he's treating me and for tricking me into being more open with him than I was ready to be. A thought about my father, the ex-cop, runs through my mind and a story he'd told me once about deceiving a suspect into confessing. Then, the reality of this man's lack of relation to me reminds me how heartbroken I am over all of this. And instead of leaving me depressed, I pull away from Jacelynd when I'm done with a renewed sense of determination.

"Do you feel any better?" Jace asks. He unzips the jacket and tosses it in the woods.

"It's still a little hard to see straight, but nothing I can't compensate for."

"Still feel like you're on something?"

I hadn't told him the drunkenness felt that way. "Have I done this before?"

"More than once. Though, not when I was around. I heard about it from Liv after the fact."

We start to walk again. "Was I trying to hide it from you? That doesn't seem like me."

"No. You just didn't volunteer some things," he says simply.

We make our way in silence. Several times I think to ask him if we can pause to rest, but his comment about Liv has me feeling like a lousy friend. Finally, I see the driveway.

"Are there cameras out here?" Jace asks.

"Most people aren't stupid enough to come here unless they're invited. Besides, this place is supposed to look like your average 10,000 square foot home in wealthy suburbia. There is a manned gate just ahead of us. Needless to say, both of us can't get in through the front door."

Jace frowns. "Why would either of us try?"

"I'm going to the main gate with the solemn prayer that they won't contact Trinity for at least half an hour. That will give me enough time to get inside, let you in from the back entrance and find Liv and Damian."

"How are you planning on doing that when you don't have your ID on you?" He asks.

I pause before elaborating. "I won't need an ID here."

"I thought you said you didn't become a mentor?"

"I wasn't a mentor. But there are few Covenants chosen to assassinate their own."

Jace mulls this over before saying, "They know you because they fear you."

"As they should," I remark dryly. "The back entrance is the pool house. Watch out, there are guards everywhere."

Jace inhales. "I'll be fine. You worry about yourself. Focus on finding Liv and Damian. I'll get myself in."

I want to question him, but time is running low. "All right. Suit yourself." We look at each other uncomfortably before I finally kiss him on the cheek. I turn and take a couple steps, expecting him to grab my arm, but he doesn't. When I look back, he's gone.

They
should question why I have walked to the gate, why I'm not in uniform and why I'm there. But I'm me and that means none of those questions apply.

"Covenant Slate," the guard says nervously, "Welcome. My apologies, I just started my shift. They didn't tell me you were coming. May I get … ?"

"This isn't a formal visit. In fact, you won't be getting an audit by me any time soon. Troy still head Covenant here?"

The guard nods and I notice that his name tag says Cov. Brundage. "Andreas Brundage?"

He nods respectfully. "Yes, ma'am."

"It's been a while since I've seen you." This kid was always nice to me. "Have you seen Trinity lately?"

Cov. Brundage notices my hands and I see the concern growing in his expression. "He was here yesterday. But, he went in through the back with … I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to say anything to anyone about his having come here."

I nod—wise to choose his fear of me over his fear of Trinity. Trinity is too far away to kill him. I, on the other hand, am here in the flesh. Fair-weather loyalty, but it will suit my purposes for now.

"What was he doing here?"

"I'm not sure, ma'am."

His eyes moved when he spoke, which isn't always a clear indication that someone is lying, but it's close enough to make me uncomfortable. "Covenant Brundage, perhaps you've forgotten who you are speaking with. I'll give you a moment to recover your tongue. Assuming, of course, that you bear some interest in keeping it in its current placement. Now, would you like to try that answer again?"

"He brought a prisoner here and dropped off Iris' son."

Damian. And
my
son. "What is his name?"

"His name, ma'am?"

"The boy."

"Lucan. He's ni—"

"Nine. I know. Thank you. Now, since I can't trust you not to tell him I was here and it's inevitable that he'll find out eventually, we have a decision to make."

"A decision, ma'am?"

I nod, unsure of how to digest that
my child
—you know, the one I knew nothing about—is just beyond the doors ahead of me. "A decision whether you'll make it home to Thanksgiving dinner next year. I could kill you now to prevent you from calling Trinity as soon as I walk away from here, or I could leave you alive to give him a message when he gets here. If you'll give me half an hour's head start you can call Trinity and tell him the reason you didn't call him immediately is because I knocked you unconscious."

He grimaces. "I don't really have a choice in this, do I, ma'am?"

I laugh. "No. You don't."

He heaves a great sigh and solemnly nods. "What do you wish for me to tell him?"

"That it isn't too late to do the right thing. And, Andreas, I'm sorry."

He seems taken aback. "For what, ma'am?"

"For knocking you out."

His lips pull into a question that won't make it off of his tongue before I give a good swift sidekick, kind of like the one I'd intended for Jace earlier, and leave him unconscious on the ground. I could go to the trouble of pulling him into the woods to conceal him, but why? The absence of someone manning the front gate is going to clue them in as it is. Besides, my instinct tells me I'm going to need my energy.

So I take his weapons, buzz myself through the gates and walk into Callmadus like I would have any other day, nonchalance on my face and arrogance in my steps. And I remain that way—urbane and collected, until a child meets me at the front door.

His hair is unruly, with the same auburn color as Jacelynd's. He even has his father's blue-green eyes. He's playing with an iPod and looks up at me like I'm detestable. This is most likely attributed to my being an adult, considering that this kid looks far more like a teenager than a nine-year-old boy.

"You look bored," I say stupidly, and shove my tattered hands into my pockets.

He grins, his mouth bearing crookedly to the left. "Your powers of perception are unbelievable. I guess you're here to share that secret with the rest of your fellow Covenant Assassins?"

I laugh because his snark tells me that this
must
be my child. And because his intelligence is a little startling. "You … um … you are nine, right?"

"All the way until I turn ten. That's generally how age works, one year at a time."

"Higher IQ than a human child," I muse. Could have something to do with how our bodies process time.

"It's that obvious, huh?" He returns his gaze to the screen in his hands. "If you're here for the seminar, you're early. It doesn't start until tomorrow."

I sit down on the front step and tilt my head toward him. "Do you see a badge on my uniform? In fact, do you see a uniform?"

"No, I thought you were totally naked until you pointed out the glaringly obvious. What does that have to do with my statement?"

"Is Trinity still here?"

Without looking up he shakes his head.

"And your mother?"

He smirks. "If that's what you want to call her. I have a few choice names, but few of them are really appropriate for use in front of a stranger. She isn't here, either. I don't know where she is and, miraculously, I don't care."

"Why do you hate your mother so much?"

"How much time do you have?"

A piece of the ice I've spent years cultivating breaks off and floats around in my chest until it finds a nice place near my lungs and freezes all the air out of them. I want so badly to tell him that both his mother and father—his real parents—are right here, now, for the first time in his life and plan on taking him away from what appears to be a rather shitty existence.

"Why
aren't
you wearing a uniform?" he asks.

"Because I'm Covenant Slate. I don't need to. Besides, I'm here to break someone out. A uniform would just get in my way."

He thinks I'm being snarky and grants me the pleasure of hearing him truly laugh. "You're Covenant Slate? I've heard of you. You're not exactly what I expected."

"Oh? And what are the rumors?"

He sets his iPod down and looks at me, his bright eyes teeming with excitement. "That you're so lethal you can kill just by thinking it. You're a legend. Trinity talks about you all the time."

Well, what he's saying is kind of true when you account for the weapons I used in Hades. "He does, does he? What
were
you expecting?" I can't help myself. "Don't say Angelina Jolie."

"No, I just thought you'd be … different. So, who are you here to break out?"

"The President. Have you seen anyone come through here the last few hours?" I ask.

"No, and I think I would have noticed the President."

"Pity. I could have used your help."

He picks up his iPod and starts to play with it again. "I did see a woman come through here."

Liv.
"Oh?"

"Yeah. She didn't look so good."

"Was she hurt?"

"No, but she was really pissed."

I rise to my feet. "Wouldn't you be?"

He shrugs. "I guess. I don't know what I would do if I were off the dose. Those vamps aren't all there mentally. That's what everyone tells me, anyway."

"You don't believe everything you're told?" I ask mockingly.

He huffs, and places the ear buds back in his ears. "If I did, I would believe Trinity when he says I remind him of my mother."

I smile sadly and somehow gather the courage to tousle his hair. "Trinity is full of shit. Except when he says I'm awesome. You can bank on that." I wink at him.

I've never thought of myself as the motherly type—not at all. Yet here I am feeling all weepy. I have to leave him. I can't take him with me without it being against his will—we've already seen how well that worked out when I was kidnapped—and if I stay here much longer I risk getting myself brainwashed again and leaving Jacelynd to fend for himself. Though it seems like he can handle himself better than I would have guessed. I swallow my emotions and grip the handle of the door.

"He's like a father to me. More than my real dad. My real dad left my mom and me before I was born. Hey, you never asked my name."

I have to literally fight to keep the unshed tears in my eyes from rolling like a bad cliché down my cheeks. "I know your name, Lucan. You're kind of a legend, too. Maybe sometime I'll tell you all the rumors I've heard."

"They're all lies," he laughs. "Minors can't be charged as felons in Virginia. Not for grand larceny anyway. Maybe I'll see you around again?"

"You can count on it." I smile despite the sorrow, and with a freshly broken heart I walk into the entry room.

I spent more than two years here.
I know every square inch of every room. I've had my ass kicked in more than one of them and then managed to exceed my professors and deal out equal payback when later tested. So it's no surprise that I know most of the faces that immediately greet me.

"Covenant Slate? Are you here for an audit or should I relate this visit with our newest residents?" A tall woman with long black hair steps up from the old oak desk that sits at the threshold of the main hall. Dalia.

"The girl who was just caught. Where is she?"

Dalia seems just as reluctant to tell me as Brundage was to reveal Trinity's most recent visit. And this song and dance is getting really,
really
old. I normally wouldn't be so incredibly violent—unless forced, of course—but with the weight of what I've just encountered tacked onto it, all I can do is laugh and pull out of one of the two pistols I have tucked into my belt and point it at her.

Dalia nearly trips as she backs up. So much for being discreet. "She's been taken to interrogation. For training purposes," she stutters.

This is just fantastic. "Pick that phone up and it'd better be to call Hell because that's where I'll send you. You read me?"

She nods nervously.

"Toss me your purse." She hesitates, eliciting a frightening scowl from me. "Now!" She finally does and I snatch her keys out and press them into her hands. "Listen to me carefully. Take Lucan away from here. You won't be allowed back into the city without your ID and major string pulling, so don't even try. Take him somewhere safe, and because I know you're going to want to stop and find a phone to call Trinity, let me save you the time. I will kill everyone in here if he hears so much as a whiff of my presence while I'm still here. And Dalia,
I will know.
Wait until at least," I look at the clock behind the desk, "nine."

She nods before bowing her way out of the front door. This will buy me a little time, but not nearly enough. The scrapes where I blew the cuffs off are as raw and bloody as they were hours ago. Though I was already well aware of this, it will draw attention and that knowledge doesn't sit too well with me. It gnaws at my confidence as I grab Dalia's black leather gloves off of her desk and cover my wounds.

I tuck the gun back into my belt and vow to make it to interrogation without any further fanfare. The brief trip through what appears to be a normal home and into the basement opening of the real Callmadus, to my pleasure, goes without incident.

Liv still looks pissed and now, with blood from a cut to her lip spilling down her chin, she seems helpless in addition. From the little window in the door, I can see one of the students circling her chair. I can tell it's a student because the only person not writing down notes is Dr. Swanee. Don't let his lighthearted name fool you, this dude is serious business when it comes to methods of extracting information.

I crack open the door and motion for Swanee to come outside. He does it blindly.

"Covenant Slate. To what do I owe the honor?" He comes into the hall, shutting the door behind him.

I smile. He was my least favorite professor. "Dalia had to step out for a little while and we've had an incident at the front gate. I need you to take the front hall. I'll handle treatment of our esteemed guest." I motion to the classroom.

"Well, there are more capable individuals who—"

"None are as qualified, Dr. Swanee. I am personally choosing you."

He stands there dumbly for a moment before awkwardly nodding. He places his hand on the doorknob, I assume to tell the class where he is going.

"No, I'll do the honors. Go," I whisper.

After Swanee is around the corner and well out of my sight, I kick open the door with dramatic flair. Everyone immediately stops what they're doing, including the trainee who is tormenting Liv.

"All right, kiddos, here's the deal."

The shining star nearest Liv doesn't seem to recognize me and seriously thinks to draw his weapon before one of his fellow classmates throws a pen at him. She draws her finger across her throat in a salient gesture for him to keep his cool.

Smart girl. I like her.

"Dr. Swanee had to take care of something. Anyone feel like telling me where we are in this session?"

"We're—" Shining Star starts to answer me, but it isn't in his best interest to speak. My patience today is riding a bit on the tenuous side.

"Shut up and sit down. You," I point to his girlfriend, "answer the question."

"We're covering hostile subjects, Covenant Slate." She sits up properly in her chair as she speaks.

I nod and circle Liv. "Thank you. Has she been given anything?"

"Truth serum." Shining Star apparently has some balls.

I whip around and pause for about two seconds before I point at him and then place my finger over my lips. Moving my hand makes everyone jump.

"How long ago?"

"About ten minutes ago," a skinny blond boy from the back of the room answers.

I close in on Liv and give her a good once over. She doesn't appear to have sustained any serious wounds.

"You know, I've changed my mind about you," I saunter over to our favorite student and pull him up, seductively, by his collar. He grins, which makes this so much more fun. His girlfriend looks positively beside herself. She probably can't decide whether to hate me or fear me and how to accomplish both without getting herself killed.

"Take her place." I let go of him to help Liv to her feet, completely understanding now why people hate it when I drink. Helping someone walk is a pain in the ass.

His face falls. "But—"

"No, it's all right. Extra credit. You want to make Covenant sooner than the rest of your fellow classmates, right?" Um, this will actually get him expelled. Or killed if Trinity gets involved. It all depends on who finds out first.

He still seems hesitant, but sits down in the chair.

"Take turns. Whoever can manage to get him to confess his first wet dream gets an automatic ten points on their final grade."

The kid looks like he's going to shit his pants. His girlfriend pipes up as I struggle to get the door open.

"Where are you going?"

The blond kid from the back practically leaps to start the questioning. I smirk, wondering if he has something for the girl.

"Not far. Why don't you go second?" I laugh under my breath as we make it awkwardly into the hall.

"There's something deeply wrong with you, you know that?" Liv coughs out.

"Yeah, I know. Charming isn't it?"

She smiles and clings to me. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me, too. Now, any idea where Damian might be?"

She shakes her head and her eyes threaten to close on me. I'm still feeling the last traces of the alcohol that I childishly decided to consume—which makes us quite a pair.

I lean against the wall to take a breath. She weighs a tad more than I do, though not by much. If I weren't impaired, this wouldn't be a problem.

Now, how did I know you were lying? It could have been the nagging feeling in my gut. Or maybe I didn't have a clue and it's the phone call I just got from Callmadus that's just now bringing this to light.

"Great," I mutter.

"What?" Liv mumbles.

"Trinity knows I'm here."
You're the brilliant one who left the door open.

He laughs.
Yes, well, you did make the choice to drink—just like I knew you would. You fell into this way too easily. You're losing your touch, babe.

It was a trap. Son of a bitch. I was bait to lead Jacelynd to him.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
And what better place than somewhere none of us can use our powers?

"Don't let him get to you, Jessi," Liv says with moderate clarity.

"We've really got to get out of here." I decide ignoring Trinity is the best way to get him to stop talking.

Footsteps, lots of them, are coming our way.

"Do you hear that?" Liv asks.

I nod.

"Where's Quinn?"

"He isn't here. Come on, you'll see him soon enough." Or our maker. I personally prefer Quinn.

I pull Liv along with me. We slowly make our way out of the wing of classrooms and into a locker room. I sit her down on one of the benches. "I can't carry you out of here and both of us together will bring too much attention. How lucid are you?"

She shrugs. "Depends on what's chasing me."

"Fair enough. Listen carefully to me." I point to a door behind us. "This is a service entrance. It's rarely used. It's full of spiders and all kinds of creepy shit. Do you think you can make it through there and out to the side yard?"

"She could, but she won't be doing it alone." Jace's voice is a comforting, if not mildly irritating, sound. I turn to see him resting against the wall of showers.

"This was a trap. Trinity knew we were coming."

"I'm not surprised." He's as calm and reserved as usual. "I found Damian. I need you to get Liv—"

"No. Liv can do this. You're not going out there alone."

Liv watches in mute amusement as we argue.

"I'm sorry, this isn't a discussion," Jace says politely.

I nod. "Yeah, I know. I'm coming with you regardless of what you say."

Liv starts to open her mouth but Jace catches it and waves her silent before she can say anything.

He steps closer to me, and though my pride doesn't really want to mention this, I feel mildly intimidated. He leans into me, grabs me tightly by the front waistband of my jeans and whispers into my ear, "Those gloves covering your hands don't change the fact that you aren't in any position to continue this. The only glove big enough to cover the wounds you risk sustaining if you stay here is a body bag. I'm not arguing this. I'm asking you to
please
trust me. Like you once did."

As he pulls away, I gasp. His eyes are smoldering and I don't mean in a sultry, lascivious way—I mean they are blazing like green flames, dampened only by the brilliant white that encircles his pupils. It only lasts for a fleeting moment before they return to their normal color.

"There are—" I start.

"Trust me," he says articulately.

"Okay." I quietly relent and turn partially when he takes my arm. I am still facing away from him when he speaks.

"Liv, go on ahead and stop. Jessi will catch up with you in a second." He waits until Liv has stepped beyond the rusted door before continuing, "Is it so hard for you to believe that someone else could care about your well-being? That I have no ulterior motive?"

I don't answer him right away. "Have you ever woken up from a dream that you can't remember the details of? Just the feeling of it is left? I know what you are saying is true, but my life has been anything but the beautiful picture you've painted for me. You keep telling me you understand, but I don't think you do." I turn and face him. "Our
son
is here, Jacelynd. I spoke with him, and it doesn't matter that I have no memory of his birth. He's my child and every part of me knows him. Do you have any idea how hard it was to send him away from here—to Trinity, for his own good? When all I want to do is get him as far
away
from Trinity as possible? I don't know how to trust anyone and I'm doing good to get where I am as it is. You're hiding something from me and at the same time asking me to forget what little of a life I know and ignore what is now instinctual for me by placing all of my faith in you. How can I? You lied to me when you let me believe I could be wounded by sunlight. You lied to me when you let me believe I was talking to Trinity."

He seems to register what I'm saying but I can't really tell with him. His expression gives nothing away. "He is here? Our son?" he asks softly.

I nod and though I don't invite them, tears come quietly and without fanfare. "He looks like you."

Jace exhales and kisses the top of my head gently. "The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you." He strokes my hair as he speaks. "We'll find him, I promise."

I bury my face in his chest, mainly to regain my composure, but all it does is wrench embarrassing sobs from wherever my pride has run off to. Why am I falling apart now? Why can't I ever do this kind of thing in a private place, like a normal person? Say, at the grocery store. In the produce aisle. Not while we are fighting for our lives.

Jace reaches down and pulls the gun from where I have it tucked into my belt behind me. I hear him release the clip and slam it back in place. "Do you realize this isn't loaded?"

"What?" I look up. "I took that from the guard at the front gate." I pull out the second pistol and check it. Sure enough, it's empty. "
Trinity
. I don't know how, but he knew I'd go through the front gate. Jace, he's anticipated our every move."

"He hasn't anticipated
my
every move, I promise you that." After a brief show of uncomfortable restraint in Jacelynd's eyes, he unbuttons his shirt, and not in a come-hither kind of way. More in a life-shattering-news kind of way and my insides turn. He presses his hand on his chest. "This isn't a tattoo. This is a promissory note. Payable to the guardians of the gate."

"A promise for what?" I ask, horrified.

"My immortal soul—in exchange for the powers to both find you and rival Trinity. I'm only sorry I waited so long. That's why your dreams changed a year ago. I've spent a year trying to remind you of who you really are. Of us."

I don't have anything intelligent to say, but this isn't the kind of revelation you respond to by gawking at in silence. "When you said you'd given your life for mine, you were serious."