The Solitarian: Part 1 of The Amaranth Series (15 page)

I feel the sensation of a hand caress my cheek. I jump up and grab it still holding the wooden spear in my hand. I notice that it’s my beloved Keyan before I strike.

“You can get rid of that now. We’re safe my love.”

“I’m frightened Keyan. Tarek was this close to…”

“I know, I saw.” He sighs. “And I was helpless. I was unable to do anything. You had to rescue me.” He stares at the road. “And I grabbed a pair of jogging pants for you to put on.”

I reach behind me to retrieve the sweat pants. I slide my legs into them and snuggle into my seat. “We are supposed to protect each other Keyan. That is one of the reasons you activated me. We will protect one another, no matter the costs.”

“No…I should have gotten you the hell out of there weeks ago. We stayed because I got too comfortable.”

“Don’t you dare blame yourself Keyan? We both decided to stay.” I place my hand over his. He looks at me with tears in his eyes.

“I want to kill him for touching you that way Kenna. You’re mine. He didn’t have the right.” He looks back to the road.

“He will never touch me again.”

“And…how can you ever forgive me. I entered someone else.”

“It wasn’t your fault. And trust me she didn’t get what she wanted it was very brief. I ran like a track star to get to you. I will always be there when you need me Keyan. We will protect one another, forever.”

“Forever isn’t long enough.” He smiles. “Now get some sleep my darling you’re exhausted. It’s making me tired.” I slam my head back onto the seat and close my eyes.

As I dream Keyan is all that I can think of. I feel his anxiety as he reels over the incident with Amari. He is so worried that I won’t forget about it. But I have. I wish that I had stabbed that filthy bitch. I should have stabbed her. I should have killed her. I smile when he nudges me.

“That is really evil McKenna.”

“She deserves it.” I mumble with my eyes still closed and I continue smiling. My heart flutters as I feel the way that Keyan mulls over his love for me. He is really regretful that I had to save him instead of the other way around.

I awake from my nap and we are far away from the compound. I never want to hear the name Tarek again. I spot the Welcome to Indiana sign and I sit up. How could Keyan have driven for so long without stopping to sleep?

“I did it so that you could get some sleep. You’ve been through so much…I decided to let you rest.”

“Thank you baby. I really needed that. Maybe you should stop so that I can use the restroom.”

“I’ll turn on the next exit.” He says. He whips the wheel and heads for the exit. He searches for a hotel but opts for a motel instead. He is really tired and needs to rest himself. He pulls in and I hurry inside to pay for a few nights. I get the keys from the clerk and take Keyan to the room. We both shower to wash the filth from the compound off of us. I have blood from Tarek and his whores still resting on my skin. Right after we shower Keyan hits the bed like a brick. He doesn’t even slide the covers back before he passes out across the bed. I sit down beside him and lie my head onto his back.

“I have no idea where I would be right now today if I had not revealed my love for you Keyan. Somehow a life of dangerous people and threats of death satisfy me.” I say into the air knowing whether it is spoken out loud or inside of my head Keyan hears me. He feels me and somehow that is all I think that I will ever need.

The phone rings and it startles me. I feel asleep lying across Keyan’s back. I can’t believe that he was so tired that it caused me to sleep. I don’t see how he made it all the way here without passing out like I did. The phone keeps ringing and I hurry over to answer it.

“Yes…” I say into the receiver.

“McKenna this is dad. I heard what happened at the compound. You are in some serious trouble honey. You really need to come home, now.”

“No dad. You are not going to use Keyan like a guinea pig. I won’t allow it.”

“Darling, Amari called and informed me that you have murdered the leader of the Amaranthine compound. There is an all-out manhunt for you and Keyan. Dead or alive. They even alerted the hunter that was assigned to kill you. Raven is on her way to Indiana McKenna. Come home.”

“What are you talking about? And how does she know where we are…how did you find me?”

“I never lost you. I’ve had you followed since you left North Carolina. I promise that I won’t hurt you darling. Your mother and I are worried about you. Honey please come home.”

“No.” I slam the phone down and shake Keyan.

“I know we have to go.” He sits up and rubs his eyes. I hand him his shoes and he slides them on.

I ramble through my bag and pull out a sundress. I stuff my head inside of it and grab my sandals. We swipe our things as we rush from the room and throw them into the trunk. Keyan can’t start the car fast enough before he is skidding from the lot and down the road. We’re on edge as we speed down the highway toward anywhere.

“We must leave the country Keyan. And we have to ditch this car. My father is tracking us. It has to be the car.”

“I knew that we would have to get rid of it, I thought that if we kept moving we could just…”

“Its fine babe, we can buy a new one in the next state. Right now we have to leave here Raven is close.”

“I know.” I feel a surge of guilt wash over him. He feels as if it all is his fault. But how could it be when my dad took me to Palasca. The purpose of our trip was for me to find Keyan and I did. I found him. He knows this and constantly blames himself. He has to let that go. We are in this together now. The past is where is should be, gone. I turn to see if he will answer my thoughts and he doesn’t respond. His heartbeat doubles but that is the only response I get.

After a few hours the gas gauge is reading ‘feed me’ and my stomach is calling out as well. So we have no choice but to pull over and oblige. Keyan enters a service station and I wait in the car for him to return. I turn the radio on and flip through the stations. I stop when I hear ‘Tonight is Yours’ by my fav pop singer Glow. I close my eyes and senior prom floods my memory. The soft lavender dress that my mom picked out was gorgeous. It was strapless with a shimmering sweetheart bodice. It flowed effortlessly to the hem which covered my silver seven hundred dollar shoes. Rylan looked equally as good in his black designer tux and black shoes. We were the couple of the night. He won prom king and Laine won Queen. The theme was ‘A Night in Italy’ which really seemed romantic. Rylan more than expected to seal the deal. But when I refused he just held me all evening in the bed across from Laine and Greg. It was one of the best nights of my life. I will never forget it.

Instantly I feel sad for Rylan. He patiently waited two years for me and I dropped him for the first more interesting man that came along. I sigh. I’m a total bitch for that. Suddenly I hear someone yell. I snap out of my daydream and quickly look behind me. I see Keyan screaming at me. Instantly I feel his panic. I scan the lot and I spot her, dressed to kill. She caught up with us faster than we expected. It’s Raven. She runs full speed toward him with her jeweled dagger clutched tightly in her hand. I jump out of the car and Keyan’s panic grows stronger. It hits me like a canon. Out of nowhere I hear his voice inside of my head.

“Run my love! Get into the car and go!” I shake it off and sprint toward him. I’m blindsided when a dark skinned woman tackles me to the ground.

We roll around in the dirt. The rocks dig into my skin as my back presses against the gravel. She has her hands around my throat. I feel my air being cut away. I gather up the strength to slide my knees up between us. As she is choking the hell out of me, I lift her into the air and toss her. She lands behind me. Her hands rip away from my neck and I jump straight to my feet. I spot Raven fighting with Keyan. A tall dark haired, fair skinned man is running to help her. I scream to him.

“Watch out Keyan!” He turns and the man is holding a dagger with black ties hanging from the handle. He kicks Raven in the stomach and takes a defensive stance toward the man. As I’m watching the woman grabs me by my hair and throws me back to the ground.

I scramble back to my feet and crouch down to ready myself for her next move. When she snatches her blade from the holster, she holds it at her side, I feel a sharp pain in my hand. I turn to see Keyan bleeding from a jab of the man’s dagger. I anxiously turn back to the hunter that is in front of me. Tears start to pool and fall from my eyes.

“You are an abomination!” she yells. “You actually volunteered to be infected by that filthy freak of nature. Once we kill the two of you we will be legends.” She lifts her chin with pride.

I want to knock the cockiness right out of this bitch. “You are an abomination. You kill just because you are told to. You are an embarrassment to the human race!” I spit into the dirt to make my words sound tough.

I certainly anger her, because she decides not to utter anymore words. She charges me with her blade in hand. Right before she reaches me I feel a sharp surge through my side. Keyan is hurt.

“Nooooo!” I cry out. He is hurt and he is in a lot of pain. They are getting the best of him. He needs my help.

As the woman lunges at me all I can do is mimic her movement. I plant my feet firmly on the ground and spring myself into the air. I reach out in front of me and wrap my hands around her throat. As we fall to the ground she slices the knife into my chest. As soon as she yanks it out I roll over onto my back. The pain disappears as soon as I feel it. I place my hand over my chest and there is no blood and no scar. I glance at it and there is nothing there. How could I have healed so quickly? I look back up and this bitch is driving her dagger right toward my eye. I attempt to block it and she drives it right into my right eye severing my life-ring. The only way that I can be killed and I don’t even have the good sense to block her. As I feel the sensation of immense pain I hear Keyan screaming.

“McKenna!” saliva soars from his lips as he watches my life end. “No love, no, no, no!” he yells with tears streaming from his gorgeous blues. I feel my life slipping away. The anguish that Keyan feels is making things worst. The whore that just ended my life walks away with a smile as bright as the morning sky. She has murdered an activated aboriginal. The life is slipping away from me. I feel all of the fire that flows through me as my life-ring breaks like links in a chain. I can’t close my eyes and give in to the after.

Keyan is sobbing as Raven and the man holds him up. The cocky woman that just ended my short life as an Amaranth approaches. My body jerks about. I don’t understand what is actually happening to me. Maybe this is the way that an aboriginal dies. My brain is on fire. I attempt to scream but the flame consumes me. I see bright colors before my eyes. My breathing stops. The world around me becomes a blur.

They are torturing Keyan. I want to help but I assume I’m watching all of this from the afterlife. My body is as still as a corpse. I feel nothing, no pain, no love, no anguish. I no longer feel Keyan. I see everything that is happening but I don’t feel him anymore. In death our connection is broken. Or maybe he has given up, maybe he wants to die as well.

“Come on! Kill me! I don’t give a shit anymore.” He yells. Raven steps aside and the man follows. They allow that bitch that killed me to speak.

“I want you to see my face before I plunge my knife into your eye like I did your mate. You are the last of this species. I am going to enjoy this Keyan McGrath. Then after I end your miserable existence we are going to take your lifeless bodies back to the headquarters to show the rest that they are next. Eliminating you will break their spirits. Their messiah is dead.” She cackles.

I am willing myself to get the hell up and help him before he ends up like me. That stupid slut is hurling threats at him and he is just there, slumped over like a ragdoll. I want to help him. I have to help my love. He can’t die after being really alive for only a short time. He hasn’t had the chance to live. He has been as close to death living in that god forsaken cave. I have to give him the strength that he needs to get up and fight. I’m begging my limbs to react. Maybe I can speak to him like his parents spoke to me.

Miraculously my finger starts to wiggle. A sensation travels up through my belly and into my brain. This time it feels like an electric surge. My hand jerks. I lift it to touch my right eye. It is fine. There is no blood and it is completely intact. I begin to breath. My chest rises and falls. I gasp and my body springs forward. I sit straight up and gasp for air. I clutch my chest. Without thinking I stand and hurl myself toward the trio. Right when the bitch lifts her hand to strike. I grab it and twists it behind her back. I quickly grab the knife away from her and plunge it directly into her eye. I rip it out and particles fall to the ground. I slice her throat and her body falls limp. Keyan’s body stiffens. He, Raven, and the other hunter are wide eyed. They look at me as if they’ve seen a ghastly creature of the night. Maybe I’m a ghost.

“Let him go Raven!” I scream at her with a thunderous roar.

“How…how…how are you alive?” she stutters. The man releases Keyan’s arm and swings his blade at me. It slices into my arm but I don’t even feel it. Keyan is in a state of shock as I step toward the man with ease and serenity. I reach in and grab the dagger from him breaking his hand. He steps back clutching it in the other. His eyes are filled with unbelief. Not knowing what to do next he shouts.

“I saw her kill you. This is not possible you should be dead! What the hell are you?” he turns and begins to jog. Soon he is sprinting away from the scene.

I glance down at the other falconer’s bleeding corpse. “Let him go Raven. Or I will torture you until you beg for death.” I embody a certain level of power. I know now that I am faster, stronger and smarter than she is. I step forward. She releases Keyan’s arm and steps away.

“I will not run from you McKenna. He did something to you. You are something else.” Her voice quivers. “I have to kill you.”

“And how will you do that?” I lift my arm where the man sliced and there is nothing. She gasps in horror. She reaches behind her back and removes a broadsword. It is long, flat, and is as sharp as a razor’s edge. I approach her, not knowing exactly what I’m about to do. She runs toward me and swings the blade. The blade slices through my neck. Like soft room temperature butter it slides across. There is no blood and my head is still attached. Keyan yells.

“Oh my god McKenna!” she drops the sword and falls back onto her bottom.

“My god what are you?” I lean forward and lift the sword from the ground. From now on when The Order sends one of you to murder us I will murder every one of you. If you come for me you will die.” I lift it into the air and Keyan stops me by grabbing my arm.

“No love. Don’t. She isn’t worth it.”

“She tried to kill you Keyan. They killed me.”

“I know but let’s just go.” He grabs my arm and pulls me toward the car.

“I want her dead Keyan.” I yell. “All she is going to do is follow us and keep trying to kill us.”

“Love we have to go. Please?” he pleads. I follow as he leads me back to the car. When we get to it he stops and turns me to face him. “I saw her sever your life-ring. How is this possible?” I look at him and he is stunned by what he sees in my eyes.

“Oh my god! Your life-ring…It has changed McKenna. It is gold and is circling your pupil. It doesn’t have an end. It’s an eternal circle love. How?”

“We need to go see my dad and find out.” I toss the sword high into the air and it lands standing straight up in the grass. I notice that the clerk from the service station is calling the police. He is in a state of panic. “Get into the car Keyan. That guy is calling the cops.” I look back to Raven who is sitting on the ground, eyes as wide as an owl. “If you decide to come for us, I will kill you next time Raven.” She slides back away from my glare. I turn my back to her and open the car door. She props herself up on her knees and begins to follow after the falconer that fled. I watch as she disappears into the distance.

We waste no time hopping into the car. Keyan starts the engine and speeds out onto the highway. I watch as the man runs out to check on the hunter. He bends down beside her body and they disappear from my view.

We drive as fast as we can back toward Myrtle Beach. It will take the remainder of the day to get there. Hopefully we make it before the police catches up with us. I flip the mirror down to grab a peek at myself. There are no marks from the constant attempts to murder me today. I turn my neck from side to side. Not a scratch. It’s amazing. I look into my eyes. I spot my new and improved life-ring. It is beautiful. It looks like a shiny gold wedding band. It circles my pupil just as Keyan stated. I tilt my head and move in to get a closer look. My eyes have even changed in color. I see a hint of gray inside of the brown of my alluring new peepers. Keyan glances over at me and reaches for my hand. He takes it and kisses it ever so gently. That is his signature ‘I’m glad to have you in my life’ move. My head drops away from the mirror and I think about dying.

“Did you die?” he asks.

“I think I did. I mean I felt like I died. But I felt my strength return to me with a surge of extreme power. I’m just as confused.”

He sighs. “I thought that you were dead McKenna. My heart was broken. I wanted to die.”

“I know. I felt it. The moment that you gave up I couldn’t feel anything else. I thought that I had left you alone in this world.”

“I did as well. But you’re alive and unharmed. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“I’m more than alive Keyan. I’m something else.” His eyes remain on the road and he speeds toward home.~

I watch as we enter Myrtle Beach, NC my home. I haven’t been here all summer. The little time that we spent here a month ago was horrifying and unforgettable. Keyan heads straight to my father’s warehouse. It’s around 3am and the streets are deserted just like they were when I left. Keyan takes the back road that leads to my dad’s underground lab. My heart starts to pound because I don’t know whether he is going to help or hurt us. We pull in front of the building and he shuts off the engine. He sighs and looks over at me.

“Are you sure that you want to do this?”

“I’m positive. He is the only person that can explain what the hell is going on. All of the questions that we had before can be answered now Keyan. We will stick together no matter what.” He nods and agrees that we won’t separate again. We get out and approach the building that we ran away from not so long ago.

I walk up to the door clutching Keyan’s hand in mine. The garage door raises when I mash the button. It is quiet. Maybe I should have went home first. My dad will most likely be tucked snuggly in the bed next to mom. I decide that we should go up to the mating suite. I doubt that Amari is there. And if she is I will finish what I started at the hut of sluts. Keyan smiles as he hears my plotting thoughts. I dial my father’s code into the back elevator and it buzzes, loud. I think back and try to focus on the numbers. I’m positive that it was 33215, so I punch it in one more time. It buzzes and I step back.

“Of course he changed it McKenna.” I suck spit into my teeth making a smacking sound. He giggles. When I decide to just go back to the car and head home, five huge men rush toward us. I take a defensive stand.

“No love let’s just let them take us. We can have them call your dad.”

“No. what if they try to tranquilize us?”

“Look guys…” Keyan says raising his hands into the air. “This is McKenna Duvall, Dr. Duvall’s daughter. Can you call him and relay the message to him that she needs his help immediately?”

One of the men step forward and his face has the hint of healed scars and fading bruises. I recognize him as the guard that I totally banged up with the fire extinguisher. He frowns. “I remember her very well. He rushes toward me and grabs my arm.

“Don’t even try to hurt us. It will be a big mistake.” I say as he drags me along. Keyan follows behind and two guards grab him. He waves a badge and the elevator opens. They watch us like hawks as we descend. When the doors open there is a handsome young man standing there in a lab coat. He has his arms folded.

His hair is short and blonde with a spikey hip shape to it. His eyes are the brightest hazel color. He has on a pair of khakis pants, white dress shirt with a brown and cream tie. He appears to be about 18 or 19. I wonder what the hell he is doing down here.

“McKenna!” he steps forward and hugs me. Keyan attempts to rip his arm away from the guards. “I thought that you were dead.” He sighs and rubs his hand down the back of my head then releases me. I’m totally confused about who this guy could be.

“Ummm, do I know you?” I say pulling my arms together and folding them to shrug.

“Yes. You’ve known me all of your life dear.”

I frown. He is seriously mistaken. I have never seen this dude in my life. I look over at Keyan and he is as puzzled as I am.

“Look closely darling.” He leans in and I recoil.

“Don’t get any closer to her. And that is not a request sir.” Keyan says so politely.

“Keyan calm down. Can’t you feel me?” I lean in and look into his eyes. He has a spiral life-ring. Our Amaranth radar is completely broken.

“You’re Amaranth…okay?” I say sarcastically.

“No Kenna. It’s me…Jacques. Your dad?”

“Dad? How? What have you done to yourself?”

“I will answer all of your questions after you answer mine. What happened in Indiana? I thought that you died. Your mom is very upset. She packed up this morning after your chip went offline.”