Lust (23 page)

Violet took her hand. “You’re

nearly an Allure.” She looked into

Daisy’s eyes. “You’re feeling all the

emotions of the people who were

once here.”

Tears streamed down Daisy’s

face. “I can feel the pain and

anguish. It hurts so bad.”

“That part will go away. You

won’t be able to feel it soon.”

“She’s not becoming an Allure.” I

pulled Daisy into my arms. “Let’s

get out of here. You heard her, it’s

hurting her.”

“One day we’ll tell you the

story,” Hugh spoke softly. “It’s not

one we have time for now.”

“No, not if you want to get her

to the Elders in time. I can barely

sense the human in her anymore.”

Wyatt started to move down the

deserted street.

I followed with Daisy tucked

securely under my arm. She sobbed

lightly, and I would have done

anything to stop her pain.

“Remember these feelings are

old. They aren’t happening right

now.” Violet kept pace at Daisy’s

side.

“That doesn’t matter. They feel

real right now.” Daisy buried her

face in my side.

“Eventually you will understand

time for what it really is. The pain

you’re feeling won’t be there

because you can’t feel it in that

way. It’s a totally different

sensation.”

“But someone felt it. Someone

felt this way.”

“A long time ago. Way before

your time.” Hugh caught up.

“That means nothing to me.”

“Then fight through it. Getting

upset isn’t going to help anything.”

“I’m trying.”

“You’ll be fine once we enter the

tunnel.”

“Violet.” There was a warning in

Hugh’s tone. “Don’t promise her

that. The tunnel might be worse.”

“Worse?” Daisy pulled her head

up. “No. I’m not going through it

then.”

“We have to. There are no other

entrances near here.” Wyatt’s tone

was cold. From what I knew of

Dragos they could feel, but then

again I didn’t even think they

actually existed.

“Let’s get it over with.”

We continued down the worn

stone road until Troy turned down a

small alleyway.

I sincerely hoped they knew

what they were doing. We moved

down a sharp decline and walked

underneath a bridge. Troy led us

into what looked like an old storm

drain. Wyatt and Hugh followed.

Violet hung back with us.

“Are you ready for this?” I

brushed some hair away from

Daisy’s face.

“Yes. We have no choice.” She

marched into the storm drain, and I

followed holding on to her hand.

Violet followed right behind me.

The pipe was dark, but there

was enough light inside that my

night vision worked. That was a big

plus. The Dragos had no problem

finding their way, so evidently they

had night vision too.

Daisy whimpered.

“Are you okay?” I tightened my

hold on her hand.

“It hurts.”

“I told you.” Hugh sighed.

Violet nodded. “I didn’t think

they’d be as strong in here, but

they are.”

“Think of all the people who

tried to escape…” Hugh called back.

Daisy slunk down the floor, and

I fell to my knees next to her. “Are

you all right?”

She started to sob. I picked her

up in my arms. The only thing that

was going to help her was to move

forward. The rest of the group

seemed to understand, and we

moved twice as fast the rest of the

way through the pipe. We turned

and entered a slightly wider tunnel.

“What was this tunnel for?” I

hurried along behind the Dragos.

“Originally to move supplies,”

Troy explained.

“And later?”

“Escape and smuggling.”

“I really wish someone would

tell us where we are.”

“Considering Daisy’s condition, I

wouldn’t worry.” Violet’s words

were pointed.

“Agreed.”

We continued down the tunnel until

we reached a floor to ceiling gate

that completely blocked our path.

“Please tell me one of you has

your key.” Violet pointed to the

large padlock.

“I do.” Wyatt inserted a small

crystal key in the lock and pushed

open the gate. All I could see was a

hazy light, but I followed them

through. As soon as Violet stepped

through, she closed the gate behind

her. We were still in a tunnel, but it

had light seeping in through small

cracks in the surrounding pipe. I

already felt more comfortable, and

Daisy’s body felt less tense in my

arms.

We continued through the

tunnels until more and more

sunlight filtered in. We finally

reached the end and walked out

into a valley full of bright green

grass. We were surrounded by

mountains, but one stood out from

the rest. I craned my neck to take

in the massive mountain that was

so tall the peak was obscured by

the clouds.

“It’s 30,000 feet above sea

level.”

“That’s twice as high as the

highest peak in Colorado.” My brief

stay out there had made me

appreciate mountains more.

“It’s taller than Mount Everest.

We weren’t joking about this being

a tall mountain.” Violet looked up

and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”

“It is.” Daisy looked around. I

still held her firmly in my arms. I

didn’t want to put her down until

she was ready.

“We have to leave you here,”

Violet spoke carefully and directly

to me. She did that a lot, but it

wasn’t going to help her this time.

“No. I’m not leaving Daisy.” I

hadn’t come this far to be left

behind.

“If it helps, I’ll stay with you,”

Hugh offered.

“That doesn’t help. I’m staying

with Daisy.”

“You can’t.” Wyatt transformed,

his large wings spanning out behind

him. “You must be invited first.”

“Get me invited before she

goes.”

“Owen,” Violet touched my arm.

“Look at her.”

I gazed down at Daisy’s tired,

yet absolutely beautiful face.

“She’s running out of time.”

“I can’t trust you.”

“You have to right now.”

“You can put me down.” Daisy

ran her hand over my chest. “I can

stand.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I set her feet down gently on

the ground next to me. “I don’t

want to make you do this on your

own.”

“She won’t be alone. I’ll be with

her.” Violet caught my eye.

“I can do this.” Daisy seemed to

be telling herself.

“Of course you can.” Violet

nodded. “But we need to go now.”

“She’ll be safe.” Wyatt gestured

for her to move toward him.

“One minute.” She slowly

walked toward me and kissed me

lightly on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Tears welled in

my eyes and threatened to fall. I’d

never felt so strongly about anyone

or anything in my life.

“Always and forever.” Tears

streamed down her face.

“Always and forever.” I forced

myself to stay strong for her.

Fighting and insisting I go would

only slow things down. Violet was

right. She was running out of time.

Wyatt and Troy took off with

both of them, leaving Hugh,

Glendale, and me in the valley.

Watching Daisy fly off with Wyatt

was one of the most difficult things

I'd ever done. I was supposed to be

with her, to protect her, but instead

I was helpless.

"She's tough," Hugh glanced up

to watch them fly off.

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

"No, but you should have. I have

plenty of advice to give."

"None that I want."

"If things don't go your way

today, you'll need it. I know how

you can move on."

"I'm not moving on. Daisy is

going to be okay." Losing

confidence wasn't an option. She

was going up there to face powerful

creatures like none we’d ever seen.

If she could do that, I could stay

strong.

"You are not as bad as I

originally thought." Hugh sat down

on a boulder that stuck out of the

thick grass at the foot of the

mountain. Another one stood next

to him.

"Is that because your

expectations were low or because

of something I've done?” I stayed

standing.

"A little of both." He patted the

boulder. "You should sit too. We are

going to be here a while."

“That's just another reason to

stand. I can't sit for long.”

"We'll see what you are saying

in a few hours."

"Hours? You think it's going to

take that long?”

"Absolutely. Just hope it’s not

days."

“We don't have days."

"Exactly." He looked off into the

distance.

19

DAISY

Flying with Wyatt was terrifying. I

always felt safe with Owen, but

Wyatt didn’t put me at ease in the

same way. He kept flying higher

and higher, and all I could do was

close my eyes. Owen was down

there somewhere. He was waiting

for me to come back to him as a

human. I could do this. Everything

would be fine if we could stop the

change. We’d make it back home,

and I’d see my family. Owen and I

would make a life together.

I opened my eyes again,

expecting to be close to the peak

already, but we were only about

halfway up. My ears hurt and my

eyes burned, and I was already

having difficulty breathing the thin

air.

“You alive?” Wyatt asked over

the wind.

“Kind of.”

He laughed. “At least you still

have your sense of humor.”

“Just barely.”

“It’s something.”

I closed my eyes again and

thought of Owen. Soon I’d be back

in his arms, and this experience

would be a distant memory.

Thankfully Wyatt didn’t talk to me

again. I could barely breathe, so

talking wasn’t going to work well.

Finally, what felt like hours later,

he landed. I stumbled out of his

arms, and nearly fell to the ground,

but he caught me at the last

second. “Take a moment. Regain

your equilibrium.”

“You make that sound easy.”

We were surrounded by clouds on

all sides. I could barely see

anything other than what was right

in front of me. My breathing was

labored.

“You’re mostly Allure, so it

should be easy.”

“Mostly, but not completely.”

“Things will be easier for you

after the change.”

Troy landed with Violet beside

us.

“So I’ve heard.”

“Daisy, you stay here with Troy

and Wyatt. I’ll be back.” She started

to walk away.

“Wait!” I followed after her.

She turned back around.

I stared at her with my mouth

hanging open. “You’re just going to

leave?”

“I have to get us an audience. It

will be easier this way.”

“So what are we supposed to

do?”

“Wait.” She headed toward a

spiral staircase that wound further

up the mountain. I guess we

weren’t fully at the peak.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be

alone.” Troy smirked. He really

wasn’t my favorite person. Wyatt

had been standoffish in the

beginning, but I liked him a whole

lot more.

“Great.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Violet hurried off.

“So, what should we do?” Troy

kicked a rock off the side of the

mountain. An image of him kicking

me off the mountain ran through

my head, and I stepped further

away from the edge.

“I’d never hurt you.” He looked

at me funny. “Don’t be so

dramatic.”

“I never said you would.” I

straightened up as tall as I could.

“I’m not worried.”

“You were thinking about how

I’d want to toss you off this

mountain.”

“I was not.” I crossed my arms.

What the hell? Was this guy reading

my mind?

“Ok, sorry. More specifically you

were worried about me kicking you

off the mountain.”

“How?” I was at a loss for

words.

“Did you have to tell her

already?” Wyatt groaned. “Now

she’s going to be all paranoid and

try to hide her thoughts, which will

only make them louder.”

I rested my forehead in my

hand. “I already had a headache.”

“Get her some water,” Wyatt

instructed Troy. “Use the fountain.”

“You get it yourself.”

“She likes me better. You heard

it as well as I did.”

I was mortified. They’d heard

me think that too? I felt blood

rushing to my face.

“Don’t be embarrassed. It

happens.”

“I’ll be right back.” Troy walked

off the same way Violet had gone.