Undertow (30 page)

“That’s awesome!” I said, thrilled. Could fate actually be on our side? Was it possible? Dare I hope? Except . . . “Necklace? What necklace?”

“I gave Elizabeth a necklace for her 17
th
birthday. She had it altered by a friend at school so that it would act as a key to her diary. No necklace, no words.  When she died, I sent the necklace back to her best friend, Katherine. She would have kept it in the family, and handed it down through the female line. Last I heard, the Sheas had it.”

My heart
plummeted. “Any chance the Sheas were living on the Cape last you heard?”

“Yes, and they have a daughter around your age. Nikita, I think. Is she a friend?”

“Not exactly,” I muttered. Finding the necklace would be difficult. Getting Nikki on our side, however, would be downright impossible. Game friggin over. I had better odds with the Clan.

“I’m sure the family would have kept it as an heirloom. What about the diary - is it safe?”

“Yes, it’s in the . . .” I was about to say “yacht”, but Raef squeezed my hand, a signal to not specify where it was. Raines still needed to earn his trust. “Yes. It’s safe.”

“Then that’s all I care about,” he replied.

As odd as it was, I did believe that Raines loved Elizabeth. And, while I wasn’t entirely sure on the biological grandfather part, I believed that he was telling the truth as he knew it. He could be a valuable asset to us, once he proved to the boys that he was on our side.

“Eila, you said you needed my help when you first approached me. I can get you further protection. If you will allow me, in addition to myself, there are other Mortis who were very loyal friends to Elizabeth and me. They could help.”

I felt Raef tense and glanced over to my other three friends. No one seemed ready to make that leap of faith yet. “Actually I wanted to ask you if you knew who would have bought the house and given it back to me. Our trail ends with you. We know that you kept the house in a trust for years until just after my parents died.”

“I kept the home hidden from our descendants using the trust. I was worried that if one ever returned that
this
is what could happen. When your parents died, I let the trust run out since I thought Blaine was the last of our bloodline. I didn’t know about you. If I had, I would have kept the house hidden,” said Raines. “While a few humans would have known that Elizabeth had a child, no one knew the child was mine. Only those of us, here in this room, know that information and that you are a hybrid. It is critical that information never leaves this room.”

“We understand,” I said, a pale smile crossing my face.

“Eila, you should probably . . .” started Raines, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Everyone stiffened and became silent. 

Raines, now hyper-alert, glanced to the massive bathroom attached to the bedroom. He looked at Raef and motioned to it. Raef nodded and we all moved silently and quickly through the bedroom and into the bathroom.

Kian carefully closed the door as Raef pulled me in tightly, his muscles twitching. We peeked through the crack in the door with Kian, while Ana and MJ stood back, tense and on alert. Through the crack I watched as Raines, glancing back once more to where we were hidden, walked to the door and opened it. I heard a man’s voice from the hall.              

“Mr. Raines?” asked a man, dressed in a black tuxedo. He was exceedingly handsome. Too handsome. I glanced up at Raef, a questioning look on my face. Was this man a Mortis as well?

Raef wasn’t taking any chances and mouthed the word,
phase
to MJ, who immediately started to back further into the bathroom and strip out of his clothes. I could hear Raines and the visitor talking about the party as MJ moved behind a low bureau.

He stepped out of the last of his clothes, and I watched in awe as his skin shimmered into a million, mirror-like pieces. They cascaded down his body as his form disappeared behind the bureau. A moment passed and then the huge black head of Marsh appeared from around the mahogany chest, his teeth bared.

Raef pointed to the gilded glass doors that lead to a balcony on the outside of The Breakers. Marsh bolted silently from the room, pushing his way through the doors and disappearing onto the outer balcony.

There was a sudden shout from the bedroom and we looked back through the crack just in time to see Christian’s body slump to the floor. I nearly screamed out, horrified that he might be dead. That I had just caused yet another person to be killed. Raef quickly covered my mouth however, and stifled my cry.

He yanked me away from the door and grabbed Ana as well, while Kian stayed, acting as a guard to buy us time if needed. Ana, realizing we were going to leave him, suddenly pulled away from Raef, shaking her head
no
.

She ran back to Kian, trying to haul him away from the door, but she might as well have tried to move the entire mansion, because Kian wasn’t leaving. She mouthed the word
come
over and over and her eyes welled with tears. She feared for his life and right then and there, showed her true heart.

He reached down and took her face gently in his hands, kissing her sweetly on the lips and she stilled. When he finally released her, she looked back to Raef and me, her eyes pleading with Raef to not leave the boy she loved behind.

Raef made a nod to Kian, who looked back through the crack in the door. “
Searching room,
” he mouthed to Raef.

Raef looked at Ana and then gestured for them both to come with us. Kian tucked Ana tightly against him and we all silently ran out to the balcony that overlooked the water. Marsh was nowhere to be seen.

We ran along the polished limestone that was framed by massive, sweeping arches that looked onto the pounding ocean below. Once we were safely away from the room, Raef spoke up, “We need to get out of here right now! MJ is making sure our route back to the car is clear.” 

We took the corner of the balcony that rounded the side of the building and nearly plowed into Dalca. I was shocked. Everyone was, except Ana.

“Dalca? You got my message!” said Ana, “Thank heavens!  We’ve got to get out of here. We just saw a Mortis attack Christian Raines! It could be the Clan.”

Dalca looked at Ana, irritated. “Why on earth are you even here? I got your voice message and couldn’t figure out what you would be doing, heading to a party at a time like this!” Dalca was pissed.

“It’s a long story,” said Raef. “We need to keep moving.”

Dalca nodded. She actually looked quite beautiful in the black velvet gown she wore, no doubt so that she could get into the party and look liked she belonged. Well, except that she was supposed to be in either red or white, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. I was just happy to see her.

“There’s a boiler room in the cellar. It used to hold the loads of coal that Vanderbilt would bring in through a private passageway so guests wouldn’t see. We can get out that way without being seen,” said Dalca.

Kian nodded, his arm protectively around Ana’s waist, “Lead the way.”

We followed her quickly across the balcony and back into an area of The Breakers that was cordoned off as a museum, empty of any guests. We hurried down a side staircase, finally arriving in the cellar and a towering set of wooden doors.

Raef reached the doors, pulling hard on the handles, allowing Dalca and me in first. The room was very dark and hard to see.

I turned to Dalca, but something struck me hard in the back of the head, and my world instantly went dark.

23

My head was poundin
g
and my body felt stiff and cold. I managed to open my eyes, but the dark boiler room was still spinning. “What the . . .” I managed to moan, putting a hand to my throbbing head.

There was a soft light from a cluster of candles on the floor near me. The low light allowed my eyes to slowly focus and I saw Dalca standing above me, silver gun in her hand. It was pointed at the space between my eyes.

“Welcome back, sunshine,” she said in a tight, superior voice.

She was standing next to a dark-haired, imposing figure of a man with eyes as black as an eclipse. It took me a moment to recognize him, but when I did, I knew Raef and Kian had been right. It appeared that Mr. Grant, my creepy history teacher, was definitely dangerous. He stood alongside Dalca, watching me.

“Dalca? What are you doing?” I managed to ask, my voice gravelly and panic clawing at my lungs. 

I glanced around the room and saw, to my horror, Raef and Kian on their knees. Both were being restrained by three men each, all dressed in the same dark clothing. Raef’s face was cut and scratched, as was Kian’s, having obviously fought against their captors. Ana was standing, her back pinned to another man behind her, his hand around her throat preventing her from the slightest movement. Her lip was split and her eyes red with past tears.

Raef looked menacing, as did Kian. Their eyes were black and their bodies were covered in the Fallen symbols, elegantly displayed beneath the cuts. A murderous rage hummed through both their bodies, causing the black lines to pulse with each heartbeat.

I knew that the only people capable of restraining Kian and
Raef were their own kind. Or mine. These, without doubt, were all Clansmen. While each looked physically different, they all shared the same black eyes, formal stance and cryptic markings.

They were fighters. Killers. A vigilante militia and I knew what they wanted. Any hopes I had for us disappeared.

I slowly rolled to my side, attempting to sit up so I could get to my feet. The movement caused a searing pain to run through my head, and I paused on my hands and knees, trying to let the throbbing subside. Dalca grabbed me by the arm, however, and yanked me to my feet, causing me to stagger.

“HEY!” growled Raef, furious that I was being manhandled. I managed to refocus, and I was now facing Dalca and Grant.

“Dalca, what are you doing?” I asked again, glancing to Grant. She just laughed, but Grant held up his hand and she immediately fell silent.

“Eila Walker. I must say that even I was surprised that you came to the house on Main. You should know that no one gets a home for free. Payment is always due,” he chided as he reached over to Dalca’s necklace and yanked the vial brutally from her neck. A flash of pain crossed her face for a mere fraction of a second, but she didn’t move.

“You know, Elizabeth was quite the masterful Lunaterra. She took no prisoners, if you know what I mean.” He stepped closer to me and I held my ground, refusing to give him the satisfaction of my fear.

“You are like her – an elegant statement of hidden violence. You and I, Ms. Walker, are not so different.”

Like hell we weren’t.

I looked over to Dalca and for the first time, really saw her. It was only then that I realized Mae and I had indeed been given a gift for the house. 

“The witch ball,” I said slowly. “
You
gave Mae a witch ball that you said would protect the house, but that was how the Bridge Boy got in, wasn’t it?” I asked, angry that my home had been violated so easily.

She looked at me and smiled darkly, “Very good, Eila. It was a nice housewarming gift, I think. Quite generous of me, really, after buying you the house in the first place.”

Oh god
. Now I understood. Dalca was the buyer and was working for the clan. For Grant. She wanted me to return and, looking at our company, she was decidedly not playing for the good guys.

I glanced at Ana who had tears running down her face. Kian looked at her, enraged that she was in the hands of a man that was no doubt ruthless.

“Eila, I’m so sorry,” cried Ana. “I had no idea, I couldn’t read her. I thought it was just because . . .” The clansman holding her gave her a rough jerk and she fell silent. Kian threatened Ana’s guard with decapitation when he had a chance. The guard just smiled.

I looked back to Grant, who was inserting Dalca’s vial into a hypodermic needle that he had pulled from his coat pocket. The powdery material slowly swirled into the solution, creating a muddy liquid. “Dalca. How could you side with them?” I asked, anger rising inside me.

She snorted, “I am a devoted admirer of Mr. Grant and his work. I intend to help what is left of the Clan return to their status as the superior ruling class with the help of your power, once turned. For my service, Mr. Grant has agreed to give me immortality.”

I glanced back to Raef, and his eyes connected with mine. He looked enraged and tortured all in the same moment. I watched Grant ready the syringe and the steel needle reflected in the candlelight.

I thought back to the dream Elizabeth had kept sending me, and I knew I was right. Jacob Rysse wanted to turn Elizabeth. He wanted her as a Mortis with limitless power. Her uniqueness led Rysse to believe she was changeable and Elizabeth played into his selfish hands. She knew she could take him out by luring him in and I intended to do the same. I needed to repeat the past, but let them think I wasn’t.

I knew what happened that night, but they did not. They were guessing at what Rysse had done. They wanted the diary so they could understand what Elizabeth had planned. They needed me to return so they could have a chance at getting into her home and securing the book.

Elizabeth may not have shown me how to live, but she had given me the details on how to die. I decided to gamble it all, hoping I was right and I swallowed back my fear.

“That’s what is left of Jacob isn’t it? After Elizabeth fried him,” I asked, coldly. It was a guess, but one I had to gamble.

Grant paused slightly as he loaded the needle and glanced at me. “You’re not as stupid as you appear,” he said, stepping closer.

Dalca smiled with anticipation as he pulled one of my arms roughly from behind my back and extended it in front of me. He was going to inject me with the solution. That was their best guess on how to turn me, but I needed them to think it was the wrong way.

“Big, bad Jacob Rysse isn’t half so scary when he’s been reduced to dirt. Quite ironic too, since he was dumb as dirt when he was still kicking.” 

Raef looked at me like I had lost my mind. I was deliberately pissing off a Clansman, which, to me anyway, seemed like a sure-fire way to keep him from thinking clearly. Well, and probably get slapped.

Grant’s hand ratcheted down tighter on my arm, but I kept my voice from cracking in pain. “Rysse got himself killed and blew his chance with Elizabeth because he did it wrong – just like you are about to do as well.”

“Don’t act like you know what you are talking about, girl,” hissed Dalca, but I got Grant’s attention. 

I used his momentary pause to plow forward. “He tried to turn her, you know? He knew he could, but he did it wrong and you are about to make the same mistake.” I was hanging onto my bravery by my fingernails, forcing away the idea of death.

I glanced at Raef and his eyes grew wide with alarm and understanding. “Eila! DON’T!” he begged, suddenly realizing what I was doing. Grant glanced at him and then back to me while Dalca looked furious at the delay.

“How would you know?” asked Grant, a lethal tone to his voice.

I pulled on every last thread of those damn confidence jeans and spoke directly to him, without flinching. “Because I have seen it. Elizabeth showed me in visions. And, because . . . I have the diary.” 

Dalca looked stunned and Grant shot her a look of pure disgust.

“Jacob did the same thing that you’re about to try,” I said, nodding towards the needle. “Elizabeth convinced him to inject her, knowing that was the way to kill him by triggering her power. If you want to turn me, you need to force a stolen soul through me. Doing so will corrupt my DNA. It would have worked on Elizabeth, but Rysse did it wrong.” I shut my brain down, not thinking about the next few minutes. I couldn’t or I would lose my nerve.

“Eila! STOP!” demanded Raef, desperate.

Grant looked at him, taking in his reaction. Taking it as a possible confirmation that I was speaking the truth, so I quickly continued, refusing to look at Raef.

“If you do as I say, it will work. If you inject me, however, you will lose your only chance to have me as your best weapon. Your last chance to turn an heir of Elizabeth’s unique bloodline into a Mortis.”

“Why would I believe you?” asked Grant suspiciously, still holding out my bare arm.

If he injected me, it would probably kill me, but I might not throw off my power as Elizabeth had. I would be dead, and my friends would no doubt be killed. But if I copied Elizabeth, I should react as she had and hopefully incinerate Grant and his men. And if I was right, Kian and Raef should be immune thanks to Elizabeth. I was dead no matter what, but I might be able to save them and Mae would be safe.

I knew then that my destiny had never been to survive. 

My destiny was to end the Clan.

I swallowed hard and willed myself to look at Raef, his agony clear. I drew a ragged breath so I could speak without crying.

“Because I have fallen in love with my protector and if you turn me, I’ll help you do whatever you desire, because I will be with him. Forever,” I said, a tear escaping my face. “He hates being a Mortis, so he doesn’t want me to turn, but I will do anything to. . . ,” I swallowed hard, “ . . . stay with Raef. I don’t want to die. You must spare them all and in return I will do whatever you ask of me.”

Raef buckled over, the pain of knowing what I was attempting to do far too devastating.

“Don’t listen to her!” said Dalca, angrily. “She lies. There is no proof that she is telling the truth! Don’t be a fool! Don’t be an idiot. You can’ . . .”

I didn’t even see Grant move, but one second Dalca had been yelling and the next second she was on the floor, her neck at an odd angle and her eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling.

“She had outlived my good favor,” said Grant, as if he had just tossed an old pair of socks.

I had to swallow back my fear and nausea and not look at her body lying on the stone floor. Grant bent down and pulled the gun from her still curled fingers as my heart hammered in my chest.

“I see this as a gamble either way. As such, we will do it the way I see best,” he said placing the needle on the edge of the massive, unused boiler behind him. It was larger than the engine of a steam train and towered above us, a black, gothic beast.

“But, seeing as this is your idea, I am not going to use one of my men to test your theory. Instead, we will use him.” A chill went through me as Grant pointed to Raef.

“Never,” growled my beloved guard, his marks becoming even more intricate.

Grant sighed dramatically and pressed the muzzle of the gun hard to my head, cocking the barrel. I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about the bullet passing through my skull.

“You have exactly five seconds to change your mind or I put a hole in her head, since injecting her will supposedly kill her anyway. Five, Four, Three . . .”

“WAIT!” yelled Raef and I opened my eyes, looking at him. He slowly got to his feet, the trio of Mortis still holding him tightly. He looked at me as though his heart was shattering. The muzzle of the gun was still pressed tightly to my temple, but my history teacher was no longer counting.

“Let him go,” Grant commanded, looking at Raef. “Do something stupid and I will kill her.”

Raef looked at me, agony covering his beautiful face. In that moment
I knew my fate, as did he. All the rage and desperation that surrounded the two of us seemed so distant. But history was not to be denied. I was certain that in my death, they would survive, but one question remained: could Raef bring himself to kill me?

The clansmen let Raef go and he walked slowly over to me. Kian, sensing imminent failure, looked away to Ana whose tears raced down her face. I stepped forward slightly to Raef, unafraid of my beautiful angel.

He looked over to Grant, who still had the gun to my head. “I’ll do it,” he said quietly.

I knew it took everything he had, every ounce of strength, to form the words. Grant stepped back a few feet, but still had the gun aimed at me.

Raef reached out slowly, cupping my face in his hands. My throat tightened, sadness and fear starting to claw inside me. A tear ran down my face and onto his hand and his own eyes started to pool.

I reached up to his hands holding my face, “I love you, so much. Forever. It’s going to be okay. I’ll just . . . see you on the other side. Okay?”

The pain on his face was hard to look at, but I held his gaze and he nodded slightly.

“On the other side,” he said quietly and then pulled my face to his and kissed me as he never had before, love and pain ricocheting through his powerful grasp. It was everything he ever wanted to share with me. It was his entire heart in one, earth-shattering kiss that scorched my soul.