Sacrifice (14 page)

What she hadn’t expected was the soft voice that called out her name for over an hour. Raphael’s schizophrenia had rubbed off on her.

The voice stopped when she stepped out the door, replaced by the sounds of crickets and cicadas that filled the still night air. Even though the sun had set hours earlier, humidity hung in the air and a fine layer of sweat lined Emma’s forehead and neck within moments. She made her way to the edge of the property and took off her shoes, rolling up her jeans to wade through the creek into the neighboring pasture. The tree line surrounding the creek would hide her from Raphael if he happened to look outside.

The creek water was cool as she stepped in, but a thin layer of clouds covered the moon, making it difficult to make her way through the murky water. Her foot slipped on a rock and she nearly fell before righting herself.

“Careful, we can’t have you getting hurt now, can we?”

Emma’s heart sputtered and she stumbled backward, splashing water all over her jeans.

The clouds parted and moonlight spilled out to illuminate Alex as he stepped from behind a tree on the creek bank across from her. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or frightened it was him instead of Raphael.

“Out for a midnight stroll?”

“Why do supernatural creatures like to stalk me in the middle of the night?”

Alex laughed. “You have
others
?”

She shook her head in irritation. She refused to tell him about Raphael’s visit at a motel pool in South Dakota. “What are you doing here, Alex? Are you here to see if I’ll join with you?”

He leaned his back against a tree, his knee bent while he braced his foot on the trunk. With his arrogant grin, he reminded her of the first time she met him nearly six years ago. Not a pleasant memory. “What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

She had no plans to move until she figured out which direction was safest. “You answer my question first.”

“Waiting for you. I’ve been calling you for over an hour.”

“That was you? Why didn’t Raphael hear you?”

“Really, Emma. You ask the most mundane questions.”

Her temper flared and a golden glow reflected off the water. “Then why were you calling me? Why are you here?”

“Checking on your progress. How’s it going with Raph?”

“You really think I’ll answer that?”

He cocked his head and winked. “Let me take a guess. It’s not going well.”

“What makes you say that?”

His smile fell. “The bruise on the side of your face, for one.”

She resisted the urge to touch her swollen lip.

“You don’t have to stay with him. The fact that you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night tells me that you’re not happy here.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That and the bruise on my face.”

“Exactly.”

“Funny, I don’t remember anyone caring about my
happiness
. I thought it was more a matter of survival.”

He shrugged. “Fair enough.” Eyeing her up and down, his grin returned. “You plan on staying in that creek all night?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” She lifted her chin. “Are you here to try to convince me to go with you?”

“No.”

Her mouth gaped in surprise.

He laughed. “You weren’t expecting that, were you?”

“Then why are you here?”

“I told you already—to check on you and see how your progress is going.”

“If you don’t want me to join with you, then why do you care?”

He raised an eyebrow with a mischievous look in his eyes. “I never said I didn’t want to join with you. I just don’t want to
now
.”

“Why not?”

He laughed again. “Don’t look so hurt. Five seconds ago you would rather die than join with me. Now that I don’t want to, you’re suddenly jealous.”

Anger fueled her power, and the glow grew denser. “I am not—”

“You’re not ready.” Alex stepped away from the tree, moving closer to the creek edge. “I want to join with you, but your power’s not strong enough yet.”

She lifted her face to look up at him. “That’s what I told Raphael tonight when he insisted on joining.”

“Then obviously you’re the more rational of the two of you at the moment.”

She couldn’t trust Alex, but he seemed the most rational of the three of them. While he said he didn’t want to join with her now, she had to wonder if his information was trustworthy. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Because you’re not going to progress with Raphael and he’s too stupid to see it. That or he’s jumped even further into madness.”

She thought Raphael had already boarded the train to crazy town.

“In fact, I would guess your powers are weaker when you are with him.”

Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

“That’s not surprising. But if you want to have a shot at survival, you’re going to have to figure out how to grow your powers and learn what you’re doing on your own.”

“But if I leave, won’t he find me again?”

“Yes.”

“Then how can—”

“You need to learn to mask your power. How do you think I found you in the creek? You glow like a freaking nuclear power plant. Raphael has you hidden with his own power, but once you left his property, his protection stopped.”

“So how’d you know he brought me here?”

He twisted his lips into a grimace. “Raphael is a creature of habit. He’s predictable.”

“So how do I learn to hide from him? Will you tell me?”

Shaking his head, he laughed. “Not yet. If I teach you how to hide from Raphael, you’ll be able to hide from me as well.”

“Then how can I make progress if I’m stuck here with that lunatic?”

“By what you’re doing right now. Try to sneak away and practice on your own.”

Emma took several steps toward the creek bank. Alex stood less than six feet from her and here was her chance to see if Alex had an effect on her or not. Both times Alex touched her had been before he knew his true identity. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Have you got any pointers?”

It was either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. What if he could control her too? The fact that he didn’t want to join with her now boosted her confidence. Nevertheless, she was about to touch the man who raped her six years ago and possibly hand over her free will on a silver platter. She stepped onto the bank and wrapped her fingers around his wrist before he realized what she was doing.

His eyes flew open at the spark between them, followed by a flow of energy. Only she didn’t lose control, she felt more powerful. Alex jerked his arm away and backed up several paces.

The power disappeared and she found herself craving more. No wonder Raphael wanted to touch her. What the hell had just happened?

Alex took small, shallow breaths. “You’re stronger than I thought.”

“What happened?”

He paced, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Alex!”

He stopped, spinning at the waist to stare at her. “Raphael exerts an influence over you.”

“Yes! How does he do that?”

“Everything is cyclical. The circle of life and all that bullshit. The world must have checks and balances. Everything has a counterbalance. Raphael is yours.”

“So he’s stronger than me?”

“No, not necessarily stronger. Think rock, paper, scissors. Each possesses equal traits, but has power over another. All are kept in balance.” His eyes were wide. Not only was he surprised, he looked frightened.

“I’m your balance,” she whispered.

He lifted his chin and his eyes held hers. “Yes.”

“I can control you.”

His mouth contorted before his face became expressionless. “In theory.”

“Which is why Emmanuella always picked Raphael in the later years. He controlled her.”

“Yes.”

“But Raphael said she picked you in the beginning.”

“She had an advantage with me. But we loved each other as well and I would have willingly given myself to her.”

“You make yourself sound like a martyr. You would have benefited.”

“A martyr? On the contrary. I know you find this difficult to believe, but I’m capable of loving someone. I loved her. In the beginning, anyway. But I grew to resent her and the power she held over me. Then over time Raphael developed an obsession with her that went far beyond survival and the game. He stole her time and time again, convincing her that she was destined to be his until she not only believed it, but remembered it with each new reincarnation.”

“‘You’re meant to be mine,’ that’s what he keeps saying,” she whispered.

“Exactly.”

“So why did you kill her all those times?”

“Because I knew I never had a chance and I refused to be exiled to the shadow world.” His mouth lifted into an evil grin. “The fact that it pushed Raphael further and further into madness every time was an added incentive.”

“So I have you to thank for that?”

He lifted his hands from his sides and lifted his shoulders into an unapologetic shrug.

“So if Raphael is my balance and I’m yours, who is Raphael’s? Who do you have influence over?”

He hesitated then looked away. “Water.”

“Water?” Why hadn’t she thought about it before? Fire. Air. Earth. Water. There were
four
elements.

“He was one of us many years ago.”

“So water is a
he
? Where is he now?”

Alex scowled. “Water was outcast long ago.”

“Why was he outcast?”

“Water never participated in our game. And with most of Raphael’s and my power, Aiden was strong enough to send him away.”

“So he became a shadow?”

“No, but he hasn’t been seen for about a century. Every so often he turns up and tries to stir up a bit of trouble, and slinks away.”

“So why not team up with him and beat Aiden in this grudge match?”

“For one thing, like I said, he hasn’t been seen for at least one hundred years, so I wouldn’t know where to even look. He shields himself perfectly. If he’s still around, he’s either very far away or turned off his power. And second, he’d never side with either of us. There was never any love lost between any of us and there’s the fact that I have power over him. Let’s just say he’s no fan of mine. And while Water would enjoy nothing more than defeating Aiden, he’d never side with either of us to do it. When I said ‘stir up a bit of trouble,’ I meant that he showed up every so often and tried to kill Raphael or me. But I guarantee if he showed up for the battle, all chaos would break loose.”

“He never tried to kill Emmanuella?”

“No.”

“But he could control Raphael?”

Alex hesitated.“Yes.”

“Then I have to find Water.”

He shook his head with a derisive laugh. “You think you can find him after all this time, when we haven’t seen him in ages?”

“Have you looked?”

“Well, no…”

“You say he hates Aiden?”

Alex’s mouth lifted into a smug grin. “
Hate
isn’t a strong enough word, which is why he’d never talk to you. He’d kill you first. You’re Aiden’s daughter.”

“Then I’ll just have to convince him that I hate Aiden even more. Besides, he never tried to kill Aiden’s daughter before.”

“Emma, that’s crazy.”

“Any crazier than anything else going on? Is it any crazier than the wacko nut job in the house who tried to kill me with a sleeping pill overdose? I refuse to let that man have power over me. Is there any other way to stop him?”

“Well, you could stay away from him.”

“I’d love nothing more than to stay away from him, but you won’t teach me how to hide myself, and if I leave, he’ll just find me.”

“Did he really try to kill you?”

“Which time? The sleeping pills or this afternoon?”

“Gods be damned. He’s crazier than I thought.” Alex covered his face with both hands and rubbed his eyes. “You can’t leave him yet. You need to grow stronger so you can defend yourself if he finds you, not to mention you’ll need to defend yourself against Water if you go through with that crazy scheme and find him. Just keep practicing and I’ll be back in two nights to check on you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why would you help me?”

“I haven’t hid my motives. I hope you’ll agree to join with me later. If I help you, you might help me.”

“I won’t promise anything.”

“I know, but at this point, I’m willing to take my chances. Besides, between you and me, you’re the one with all the power until we join. Literally.”

She nodded. “Okay, so tell me what I’m doing wrong. Raphael said I need to be able to do small things with my own energy, then I can use other energy sources for bigger things.”

“He’s right. What’s your own source of power?”

Hesitating, she considered her options. She worried revealing too much could give him an advantage against her. Alex claimed she had control over him, but what if he lied? Or what if he hoped to glean information to use against her as leverage? At this point, she didn’t have a choice.

“Anger. I use anger.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Extreme emotions work, but be careful with that—you can also lose control just as quickly as you gain it.”

She knew that to be true from firsthand experience. “So what else can I use?”

“Honestly, it may be too late to change it. In the past, Emmanuella always used her core energy, which, while fairly even-keeled and reliable, isn’t as strong as an emotion. That must be why you’re stronger than she was.”

“So can I find my core energy?”

“You can try, but I suspect you’re already hardwired to use anger. Is it difficult to generate?”

“Anger? Generally, no.” She snorted. “So why isn’t my power as strong around Raphael? Because he has control over me?”

“Partly. I suspect with his erratic, irrational behavior that he’s also made you afraid of him and your fear inhibits your power.”

She bit her lip, refusing to answer.

“The only way you’ll be able to use your power to its fullest around him is if you are fighting him.”

“He tried that this afternoon. It didn’t work. Not effectively anyway.”

Alex sighed. “The problem is we’ve never reached this point before, and even if we had, you would have already reached your full powers. The old rules stated that the one’s presence could stunt the growth of the other. What Raphael probably didn’t tell you was that the stronger of the two stunted the growth of the subordinate. Raphael’s presence could literally be stunting your development.”