The Coalition Episodes 1-4 (15 page)

CHAPTER
41

Shai

She had let her guard down for too long. She enjoyed these people too much. She had even begun to enjoy their physical contact, breaking her own personal Rule. Shai caught herself stealing glimpses of Kael, looking at him longer than the situation called for while her heart raced its warning: s
trong feelings are dangerous.

She laid in bed staring up at the ceiling. The moon shone brighter here than in Lael, and its soft light came through the window and slanted across one wall.

She didn't want to leave these people, but her time was running out. In seventeen days Elchai would come to get her unless he had already discovered her missing. What would he do? Send a search party? Come for her himself?

I have to leave, but where should I go?
  Ava confirmed that the old world of Edan had been divided into seven Sectors with Lael in the center. Conley was Sector Three but, Shai didn't know where the other Sectors were located or which one she should go to.

She had followed the trail East from Thunder Manor through the Borderless, so going west was out, she'd only be backtracking, so that left North or South. But she couldn't leave without finding the Book. Even though she didn't know what to do once she found it.

The old nurse said Kael always kept the Book hidden. After the fire he'd been looking through the ashes of the Supply House for it, but she didn't think he found it yet.

Ava told her the Watchers had started the fire. If Aliah was known to them as "Ace," then it confirmed he had another identity.
Why is Aliah here? To look for me?
Or to look for the Book?
She turned to face the wall and ran a thumb nail along a thin crack in the paint. The shadows of her fingers stretched long and skinny. A strange and dark version of her hands. She shuddered and rolled back over. Lately it seemed as though Aliah had become a strange, dark version of himself. 
Who is he really? Who is his father?

If only Remiel would appear now. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to conjure him up. She even tried chanting his name a few times, but neither the familiar colored dots appeared nor the darkening of her vision.

She finally flipped off the covers and sat up. A strangled sound erupted from her throat. A shadowy form filled the window.  She started to scream, but the figure leaped on her and smashed his hand over her mouth.

She tried to bite his hand, but her lips were pressed so hard against her teeth that she tasted blood. She gagged and struggled against him. He pushed her down and straddled her, his hand pressing her lips harder against her teeth. The more she squirmed and kicked the tighter he held her down. She could hardly breathe.

She pressed her arms against the bed and grabbed two fistfuls of bed sheet.
Just breathe…

The moonlight glinted off the man's short blonde hair and when he leaned closer to her she saw his face in the half-light.

Zev.

She hadn't noticed until then that he had one arm behind his back. When he brought his arm out she saw the glint of steel in his hand. He pressed the tip of the knife against her throat. It pricked her skin and she winced. Something wet and warm trickled down her neck. She stared at him, his face half hidden by shadows. His mouth curled into a snarl. He leaned over her, his mouth so close to her face she felt the brush of his lips against her cheek.

"Your life is in my hands," he whispered. His breath sent waves of heat down her neck as his mouth moved to her ear. "If you deliver the Book to me in Gershom I will spare your life. You have seventeen days."

She twisted beneath him until one arm became free. She dug her fingers into the flesh of his wounded shoulder. He yelled, his body contorted and she kicked him off her. He twisted sideways and grabbed her nightshirt as she rolled to the edge of the bed.

She heard fabric ripping. She grabbed the hem of her nightshirt and wrenched it from him. The momentum made her lose her balance and she fell to the floor.

"Shai, you alright?" Kael's voice came through her closed door.  Her heart leaped into her throat. Zev's face appeared at the edge of the bed looking wild-eyed and furious. Before she could move he leaped.

The door opened and Kael stepped in. The moon shone across his bare feet, his night clothes a ghostly-white.

"My room's next door. I heard you yelling..." She watched his feet come closer. She laid still, face down on the soft rug beside the bed. He got down on one knee near her head.

"Are you going to get up?" He offered her his hand. Her throat squeezed. Where was Zev? She got up on her hands and knees then took Kael's hand. He pulled her to her feet and gave her a funny look, his mouth twisted in a half-grin, eyes bright in the moonlight.

"Must've been some nightmare. You, uh, ripped your nightshirt and you must have scratched yourself. You're bleeding."

She glanced down. The neck of her nightshirt had torn several inches, exposing her left shoulder. She touched her throat where the tip of Zev's knife had nicked her. It stung, but didn't bleed much.

She turned around and scanned the room.

He's gone.

A shadow flitted past the window. She ran and looked out. No sign of Zev, just a wolf that ran across the street and disappeared into the trees.

CHAPTER 42

Aliah

The sky had turned a soft pink and began deepening to rose when he shoved his blanket, cloak, and the table knife he'd stolen into his bag before leaving the shelter. He began walking to the last row of shelters to find Shai.

His eyes hurt like they'd been washed with sand and he smelled briny. There was no time to wash. He had to find Shai and leave Conley. Heading to Kent, where Elchai was, seemed to be the safest option. Since Elchai and Samael were enemies, Elchai would likely offer protection. He didn't relish the thought of seeing Elchai, but he had too many things to worry about, like Zev, who was still out there somewhere. His sudden appearance at the Manor pointed to something disturbing. What if he was working for Samael? If he found Shai before Aliah did, then Shai would be delivered to the enemy. Exactly as Samael wanted.

He rubbed his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. He was already in trouble without entertaining those kinds of thoughts.  He could almost feel the breath of his pursuers on the back of his neck. He thought of the stories that circulated around Lael. The stories of Samael's Hunters-- wraiths that chased the souls of the wandering Borderless who had no pendant for protection.

Aliah cursed himself for being afraid of such a thing, but a shiver still ran up his back like he'd passed through a cold shadow.  Sileas's death proved that Samael was capable of anything.
What if Samael realized I’ve left Lael and he already sent out his Hunters? The death-spirits will suck the life from me.

"Leaving?"

Aliah spun around. Ava stood behind him. Her long hair, free of its braid, rippled in the breeze like a black cape behind her.

"Yes. I...uh, don't want to complicate things around here. You're in the middle of re-building and I told you I only came to find Shai."

"Go home, Ace." Ava narrowed her eyes the way her brother did. "Shai doesn't want to see you. She's with Kael right now. We will look after her. Just... go home."

Aliah frowned. "I thought you understood why I need to take her with me when I leave. It seems like you're doing everything you can to keep me from her. You and your brother. But there's something you don't know. Something that doesn't involve you."

"Oh, I think it does. When you stepped onto Conley land, took what doesn't belong to you and started that fire, you involved me. Shai came to me, and if she says she doesn't want to see you then that's good enough for me."

Aliah's pulse throbbed in his neck. He stepped in front of Ava. The scent of sage and lemongrass swirled around her on the breeze, making him dizzy.

He searched her face, looking past the steely eyes and set jaw.
She’s vulnerable.

He dug into his tunic pocket and pulled out Eliana's pendant. It was his last hope. He stepped close and skimmed her arm with his thumb. He heard her inhale sharply at his touch, then exhale slowly while her shoulders dropped a little. He spoke softly, keeping his eyes steady on hers.

"Ava, just give this to her. I need you right now.  Please do this for me. And tell her I won't leave until I see her."  He coiled the chain into Ava's palm and let his fingertips brush hers.  "And tell your father and Arlie I'm sorry...  for what happened."

Her face softened. "I don't know who you really are, Ace, Watcher of Lael, but I wish... I wish things were different between us." She closed her hand around the pendant. "When you leave, I'm sure Arlie will come out of hiding, and I'll let him know your regrets." She smiled a little. "And I'll make sure Shai gets this. But whether or not she sees you will be up to her."

Aliah watched her walk away. His fingertips tingled where he'd touched her. He hoped the memory of their contact would linger on her skin for a while.

When she'd touched his birthmark earlier he felt something pass between them that he thought only existed between him and Shai. Something powerful and frightening. And the hunger he saw in Ava’s eyes compelled him to act on his impulse.

He hoped it worked.

CHAPTER 4
3

Shai

Breakfast was awkward as Shai sat at a long table in the Dining Room, slowly stirring a steaming bowl of oats and cream. Ava's bowl sat beside her untouched, her father's needs coming before her own. Kael's dark head bent over his breakfast across from Shai. His eyes never quite met hers every time she stole a glance in his direction.

"Want to talk about last night?" He spoke into his bowl making his voice sound as thick as the porridge he hunched over.

"There's nothing to say." Shai continued to stir the cream in her bowl, staring but not really seeing.

Kael dropped his spoon on the table, the loud clang startled Shai. "Nothing to say? C'mon Shai. I'm not stupid. I know about your friend Ace. Don't forget I studied the Division history. I know who he is." He looked at her with fury.

"No, Kael. You don't know anything at all." Shai pushed back her chair and took her half-eaten breakfast to the sink. She felt Kael's eyes on her.

"I know more than you think. I know you're running. Away from everything you were taught to believe. Away from that guy who thinks he owns you."

Shai laughed. "That's what you think I'm doing?" She wiped her hands on a towel. "Well, you're half right. I
am
running. Running from being chosen to be the mother of the next Leader. Running from a life in Lael, which isn't a life at all." She twisted the towel in her hands until her knuckles turned white. She'd never admitted it before-- the deep dissatisfaction with her life and the yearning for something more. She'd often felt it, but crammed it down, shoved it deep inside until only an achy-numbness remained.

Kael walked over to her, took the towel from her, and held her hands in his. Their warmth comforted her, but also unnerved her.

He whistled softly. "Wow. I didn't know that.  I'm sorry." The softness in his voice hurt. She didn't have the energy to sort through emotions she'd avoided feeling her whole life. Anger was less complicated and fear was familiar. This feeling in her stomach was different. It frightened her. Made her feel like a sleeping giant was lying coiled up inside her. If it woke up she feared she'd never be able to control it.

Kael put his hands on either side of her face. The intimacy of his touch sent waves of heat racing down her back and into her toes. She resisted the impulse to pull away.

"Kael, I..." She started, but he slid his thumb over her lips.

"Shai, I know about you too. Where you're from. I know that Lael teaches you to believe that you won't be accepted until you've kept every Law and Rule. I've studied the Laelite ways. I can even say I understand it, sort of." He moved his thumb from her mouth to gently touch the tiny wound on her throat. "But what you believe doesn't change what I believe."

Shai's face flamed. Her legs threatened to buckle. "What do you believe?" She whispered.

"I believe that one day you'll trust what you feel right now." He moved closer. His mouth was suddenly against her neck, then along her collar bone. His hands on the back of her head and lacing up through her hair, pulling her gently towards him. His chest against hers. Her heart beating with his. His mouth worked its way up to her ear, each warm exhale made tiny shivers run up and down her arms.

When his lips touched her cheek she moved her hands around to his back without thinking. Her fingers curled into his shirt, her knuckles pressing against the hard knot of his back muscles. She breathed through slightly parted lips, the smell of his skin and hair made her too light-headed.

His mouth was at the corner of hers, sharing her air. And then his lips met hers. Soft and sticky-sweet. The room spun and she closed her eyes. She moved her trembling hands from his back to his chest, felt his heart beating, almost as fast as hers. Felt him inhale. Felt the sleeping giant open one eye
. Oh no. Stop!

She pushed Kael lightly at first, then with a sudden urgency. He broke away and she opened her eyes. Their hands still on each other. He smiled and she stared at his mouth, not believing what had just happened.

"Um. Wow, I don't uh... you've never been kissed have you?" He sounded breathless.

She licked her lips, but the feeling of his mouth on hers remained.

The sound of someone coming into the kitchen made them leap apart.

"Oh. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Ava's face looked flushed, her eyes red-rimmed and bright. "Ace asked me to give this to you, Shai. He's waiting to see you. He won't leave until he does apparently." She dropped something on the table then turned to go.

"Ava!" Kael called out and started after his sister. "Wait! You... didn't eat. It's getting cold."

"I'm not hungry." The sound of her retreating footsteps echoed down the hall. Shai wondered how she had never heard Ava approaching.

Kael stood silent near the door of the kitchen for a moment then turned around. "Shai, I have to go talk to her. I'll see you later."

When he'd gone she picked up what Ava left on the table: a silver chain attached to a slender, silver tube. Eliana's pendant. Holding her breath, she pushed the cap off. The pale yellow grains of Eliana's Essence were still there.

Her head seemed too heavy for her shoulders. She leaned against a chair and exhaled sharply, waiting until the room stopped spinning. Eliana was still alive and Aliah had come here to let her know. He'd been wanting to see her to tell her that and all this time she'd avoided him because she suspected him of having ulterior motives
. I have to thank him.

She returned to the bedroom and pushed her few belongings into a linen bag she’d found. She slung the long handle across her chest and let the bag hang against her left hip.

She held Eliana's pendant in front of the bedroom window, the sun glinted off the pale stone on the front, so similar to her own. She put it around her neck with trembling hands. She knew that by doing so she'd become responsible for Eliana's life.

She stepped into the hall and suddenly felt strange. She was torn. She felt alive with Kael's touch and didn't want to leave, but she also knew it wasn't safe to stay here. She forced her feet to move through the hall and out the front door. Voices coming from the side of the house gave her pause.

"I don't care, Kael! You can't tell me not to get involved with him then go and kiss her!" Ava sounded frustrated and angry. Shai's heart hammered. The ‘him’ could only be Aliah.  Her mouth went dry. Kael mumbled something in response. "Well if they're so dangerous why'd you do it?" Ava's voice rose higher and louder with each word. Footsteps sounded, coming closer. Shai hurried away.

"I have a plan, Ava. Trust me!" The ice in Kael's voice made Shai sick. Kissing her was part of his plan?
I should never have let him touch me.

The memory of his kiss burned her cheeks.

She began to run. The pendant bounced against her chest, keeping time with her heartbeats. Reminding her that not everything Lael believed was wrong.