His thoughts turned to the countless Wyldlings who"d already paid the ultimate price, and a bone-chilling wave of deep regret washed through him. "I can"t. I don"t know what else to say."
She shoved him backward. "I do. You just doomed your precious humans to death. I"ll slaughter them myself as compensation for the Fire you refuse to give me. I"ll torture and maim the Wyldlings as they sleep-innocent babies, children, old, young. By the G.o.ds, I"ll kill them all. Just for you. And before each life is snuffed, I"ll tell them they died because their disappointment of a protector, Gavin Ca.s.sidy, wasn"t man enough to save them."
The weight of her threat hung like a lead cape on his shoulders. Frantic, panic-stricken, he said, "Make yourself look like Zoe." He"d never f.u.c.king forgive himself for this sacrilege, but he had no other recourse.
Her jaw tensed, and her gaze cooled. Scarlet"s face melted into Zoe"s. She a.s.sumed Zoe"s stance, kissed him, stroked him.
Not even a G.o.dd.a.m.n twitch.
In a burst of flame, Scarlet shifted back to her normal form, her cheeks red with fury. "You"re useless to me. Go back to her and ponder your sins."
"If you have an ounce of compa.s.sion inside you, please don"t do this. Give me an alternative. Anything." He hated begging, but he was so fraught, he would have sold his f.u.c.king soul.
"The time for making deals is over. Get the f.u.c.k out of here. I have Wyldlings to claim." Shoulders quaking, she turned away from him.
He clasped her shoulder, and she flung his hand off. Short bursts of steam billowed from her nose with each huffing breath. The temperature in the room peaked. Staring at the back of her head, he stuffed himself back into his jeans, zipped up, and grabbed his jacket.
There was nothing else he could do.
G.o.ds help him. Literally millions of lives depended on him, and he"d f.u.c.ked up his only real shot at saving them.
Gavin Ca.s.sidy, Wyldling protector, had just signed humanity"s death sentence.
Chapter Twenty-nine.
September 20 At one-thirty a.m., Gavin dashed into Jack"s place without knocking and rushed straight into Zoe"s arms. He crushed his lips to hers with such intense, warm pa.s.sion, she thought he might throw her down on the floor and do her right there in front of Jack.
Not that she"d have minded much after he left her at the research house, wondering whether she"d ever see him again. What the h.e.l.l was going on inside his head?
His tongue dipped in and stroked hers. The hard metal of his lip ring activated the heater in her core"s thermostat, and a warm blush flushed her cheeks. Worries melted away as breaths mingled and hearts raced together. She let out a little moan to get his attention, but he kept going, apparently oblivious to her father"s eyes blinking at them.
"Gavin-" she breathed against his mouth, then sighed when he deepened the kiss with another taste of tongue. Half-heartedly struggling to free herself from his steel grip, she guessed things could have been worse.
Strong hands drifted to her b.u.t.t and scooped her pelvis toward his. Oh, h.e.l.l. Wetness pooled between her legs. If he kept this up, she might tackle him to the carpet and indulge in an all-you-can-eat rock star feast for a couple hours.
Her nerve endings lit up and called for a meeting of minds and bodies. Waves of desire flooded her as their mouths churned in an erotic ballet of give and take, hot and cold, b.u.mp and grind. She fixed her hips tightly against him. Yep, things could be way worse.
Jack cleared his throat.
Zoe"s heart clippity-clopped in an awkward stumble as she hit the brakes on the hungry hip hula. Breathless and a little embarra.s.sed she"d let herself go like that in front of her father, she drew back and wiped her mouth with the flat of her hand. Gavin angled his forehead against hers in his sweet, intimate way for a long moment. The relief was intoxicating.
Jack stepped up and scrutinized both of them in turn. "I approve." His hand swung to his mouth, and he bit into an apple.
Zoe giggled at the ridiculousness of this entire scene, opened an arm, and pulled him into an awkward three-person embrace. Gavin and Jack flinched in sync and grudgingly hugged. Zoe was grateful to share a cherished moment with her two favorite men.
After a moment, the tangle of limbs dissolved, and she smiled at Gavin. "That was quite a h.e.l.lo after our rushed goodbye earlier. I missed you, too." She curled a stray wisp of hair around the back of her ear. "Did you find Scarlet?"
Gavin disengaged from the cozy circle and burrowed his fists into the front pockets of his jeans. The dark circles under his eyes deepened. Just like that, the big happy balloon popped, and the mood snapped back to tense as h.e.l.l. The recoil was painfully palpable.
"No. No sign of her." He shot a glance at Jack, who lifted his head. The apple chewing slowed.
Zoe straightened. Enough of this walking on eggsh.e.l.ls c.r.a.p. "Okay, I don"t know what"s up with you lately, but I want my Gavin back. The stable Gavin who doesn"t get all shifty every time I ask a question. I never know which version of you is gonna pop up. Care to fill me in?"
Jack"s eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet.
Gavin worked his jaw to and fro. "I"m still here. Just a little concerned about our situation." He faced Jack. "What"s the story with Whetu?"
Way to deflect a question.
"We moved her to your place so we can keep an eye on her," Jack said. "There"s no change in her condition. Still totally out of it. Vexx can"t even get a stray thought out of her."
Gavin rubbed his hair spikes three times in quick succession. "f.u.c.k."
There he went again. One moment, he was ready to take her to bed or lose her forever, the next, he was Mr. Agitation wearing an itchy wool sweater. She didn"t know what had gotten into him, but she wanted it out.
"Zoe"s research team will stay here so our Sentinel brainware doesn"t interfere with their sleep. Vexx, Jet, and Byrn are holing up at your pad, too. Hope you don"t mind."
Gavin tensed and scowled at the mention of Byrn. "Do I have a choice?"
"Nope. You"re stuck with that a.s.shole like the rest of us." Another crunch of apple.
"I won"t leave Zoe here without protection. The Fyres are after her. They"re sure to come back, maybe even tonight."
Jack shook his head. "I"ve got the girls covered. My Waeter Elemental friend Xanthos will monitor the house from the outside. He has a talent for blending into scenery. The dude is like the Predator. He"ll keep watch over them twenty-four/seven."
Zoe hadn"t met Xanthos yet, but she"d sensed his "presence" outside. If a little old Wyldling like her could feel him, he must"ve been really strong. Exactly what they needed, should Scarlet or the other Fyres try to mess with them.
Gavin turned to her, and the lines in his face softened. "What are you going to do about work? You lost everything in the fire."
"Not everything. Adriene, G.o.d bless her, downloaded the info from the DTAGS on one of our rain days this week and stuck the tags and camera equipment in the trunk of our car. We lost all of our data up to this point, but at least we can start over. Vexx got us a high powered computer, downloaded the imaging software we use, and set us up here." She gestured with her chin to the makeshift desk in the corner of the living room.
Jack had been wonderful in the aftermath of the fire. Without his and Vexx"s help, it would"ve taken days to scrounge the parts and labor needed to get the team back on its feet. And then there was the mysterious Xanthos volunteering to play bodyguard. And Jet loaning them clothes until tomorrow. And Byrn...well, he was good for comic relief.
"I"m glad you were able to save at least some of your work." Gavin said absently. He paced the stretch of carpet between the front door and edge of the living room. He seemed lost in his own heads.p.a.ce.
Zoe exchanged glances with Jack.
"If Whetu isn"t coming around, then we have to find the Dreamweaver. Tonight." Urgency blared through Gavin"s tone. "She"s our only other option. People are dying by the dozens, Jack. Every hour. We have to do something."
Gavin"s work as a Sentinel was taking its toll. A crazed look began a slow crawl across his face. It scared the s.h.i.t out of her. He looked like he was about to shatter.
Jack swallowed his last bite of apple and chucked the core across the room. The rim of the corner trashcan caught it, and gravity did its thing. Score. Jack wiped his hands on his shirt. "Then, into the Dreaming we go. Though, if we can"t locate the Dreamweaver, we"ll have to come up with another plan."
"No." The word stabbed like a knife. "No other plans. This has to work. If it doesn"t, I"ll wake up Whetu myself."
"Can"t risk it. You heard Vexx. Digging around in her head could kill her. Then it"ll be impossible to find the door."
Gavin met Jack"s hard stare. "Whatever it takes, mate."
Zoe stepped between the two and laid hands on their tense arms. The second she made contact, some of the tightness in Gavin"s frame eased. Good. He was seriously freaking her out.
"Four more days until the equinox," she said. "Getting there is dependent on us keeping our wits about us. Let"s not do anything rash."
"Getting to the equinox isn"t what worries me," Gavin said. "What happens afterward is the big unknown."
She nodded. That was the d.a.m.n truth. "You guys. .h.i.t the Dreaming hard and heavy for the Dreamweaver tonight. I"ll find out tomorrow how the Waeters are faring with their t.i.thes. Last I heard, things were moving along smoothly, but something still bothers me. The Dreaming wanted our whale friend in place as the Archelemental, but I haven"t fulfilled my responsibility to get her there."
Because Zoe hadn"t finished her job, the Dreaming must"ve still expected her to. How could she convince a hundred or more Waeter Elementals to reverse a decision they"d fought over for so long?
"That"s been weighing heavy on my mind, too," Jack said. "I got a feeling this is only the beginning of a very long, b.l.o.o.d.y conflict."
Scarlet had raised the stakes tonight with the house fire, but the game was far from over. And with the s.h.i.tty hand they"d been dealt, Zoe, Gavin, and Jack might have no other choice but to bluff their way to victory.
After hours searching, patrolling, and defending, Gavin headed toward his rendezvous point near the Sentinels" castle. He fought Fyres until his Water stores ran dry, and then he fought some more. He improvised, relied on his other Elements. Air sharpened his wits. Earth provided physical strength. Fire kept him moving when he wanted to quit.
The Dreaming"s night sky lit up with a toxic orange-red glow. Wyldlings fell around him. Everywhere he went, he found evidence of Scarlet making good on her threats-instability, destruction, maimed bodies, and lots of blood.
His attempts to help the Wyldlings had failed. Even the back-up plan with Scarlet-the one he"d prayed he"d never have to enact-had bombed.
Yet he couldn"t give up.
A male cry reached him. Familiar. Gavin spun around, worry sharpening his senses.
A tormented scream.
Trevor, Just Breathe"s drummer.
f.u.c.k. Scarlet had been s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g Trevor in recent weeks.
Gavin bolted in his mate"s direction, goose b.u.mps chilling his flesh. He and the drummer had never gotten on well, but he certainly didn"t wish ill on Trevor. Especially not the kind Scarlet would deliver.
It wasn"t hard to nail down Trevor"s location. The rising temperature in Gavin"s gut suggested Scarlet was indeed the prime source of his friend"s pain.
Pulling on Earth reserves, Gavin increased his energy level and doubled his running speed. When he skidded to a halt in front of his mate, hope took a nosedive into a shallow puddle of desperation.
Scarlet leaned over Trevor"s p.r.o.ne, twisting body. Her claws gripped his throat. Fire lit her eyes. Red energy coursed from the drummer up her arm and collected in her glowing chest.
"No!" Gavin aimed his dripping blue fist at Scarlet"s face. "Let him go, Scarlet."
More screams jerked and hissed from Trevor"s lips. His back arched off the blackened ground, hips flailing left and right.
Grinning, Scarlet held on tight and glanced at Gavin"s hand. "Make me."
He strengthened his will, focused his energy on blasting her to Kingdom Come. f.u.c.k the Fire Oath. When he pumped his fist to get off a round of Water, a jolt of hot lightning sizzled up his arm, electrifying his nerve endings and knocking him to his back. A seizure grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Vision dimmed. Teeth clamped, scoring his tongue. Unbearable pain pin-balled through limbs and organs and bones, and Gavin joined Trevor in an agonizing horizontal dance through the Dreaming"s ashes.
He tried to lift his head, but a disruption of neurons forbade him. Trevor"s cries dwindled beside him. Scarlet stared down her nose, foot propped on Gavin"s heaving chest, feigned pity forged into her features. She tsked. Trevor moaned and then silenced.
The Fire binding him to Scarlet prevented any further action. He couldn"t fight her. Trevor lay dying next to him, his aura bleeding out. She"d stolen his Fire. Not a hint of red. All Gavin could do was stare.
Scarlet leaned into Gavin"s face, close enough to kiss. She swept his hair and slid a hot hand down his cheek. He recoiled, shivered. Bile oozed up his throat.
"I told you Wyldlings would suffer if you didn"t make good on your vow. You did what you had to, and so did I. Now, would you like to try f.u.c.king me again?" She slapped his b.a.l.l.s and squeezed.
He gritted his teeth and tensed. Unable to fight the intense pull of her Fire, he retaliated in the only way he could. He spit in the b.i.t.c.h"s face.
Eyes searing red, she snarled and sloughed the glop away. In a split second, she straddled him, bucking like a wild horse, claws digging into his neck. "I will have you, Gavin. I"ll kill everyone and everything you care about if I have to. You may not love me, but you belong to me."
He imagined throwing her into the nearby dream ocean, choking the life from her as the Water boiled away her skin. Tossing her gelatinous remains to the sharks like chum.
Again he tried in vain to free himself from her grip. Fire held him captive. He was pretty sure Trevor had stopped breathing. Desperate, he yelled as loud as he could, "Jack!"
Scarlet squeezed. Gavin flailed and gasped for air. "You can"t hurt me either," he eked out.
She bared her teeth in a vicious snarl. The Fire raged within her, igniting her aura with a shock of white, and she wrenched her hand away. Incendius must"ve zapped her like he"d done to Gavin moments before. Gavin grasped his bruised throat and laughed hoa.r.s.ely. Hurt too much to try anything else.
The pounding roar of a speeding train split the air. Scarlet looked up, and fear glazed her eyes. Gavin"s Dreamsense told him another Sentinel was close. Had to be Jack.
"Kill her," Gavin shouted. G.o.ds, please!
Scarlet stabbed him with a deadly glare, then poofed in an explosion of flame at the same moment Jack lobbed a Water bomb big enough to put out a house fire. The shot caught the tail end of the blast. Gavin prayed it did at least a little damage to the b.i.t.c.h.
Muscles still trying to recalibrate after the debilitating zap he"d sustained, Gavin managed to roll to his side and crawled to Trevor"s limp body.
Jack raced over. "What the f.u.c.k happened?"
In excruciating pain, Gavin looked for signs of life. Anything. "She sucked Trevor dry. s.h.i.t, I gotta return to Realis and take him to a hospital."
Trevor barely breathed. A hand-shaped burn covered his neck. His aura was almost unreadable. f.u.c.k.
Jack nodded. "You"d better hurry. I found what looks like the Dreamweaver"s Songline, but it"s badly damaged. It"s not much, but it"s all we"ve got. I"ll start tracking the Songline and see where it leads. Catch up with you in Realis later."
Trevor"s body shimmered and faded. Gavin hoped he was just returning to Realis rather than the alternative. He swallowed hard. If Trevor died- A thick, slow wave of healing energy rolled into Gavin from Jack. Some strength and control returned. The green spectrum of Jack"s aura dimmed a bit. The bloke had shared some of his Earth. "Thanks, mate. I owe you."
"Forget it. Now hit the road." Jack pointed a thumb at the Veil.
Looking through the ghostly membrane, Gavin tracked Trevor"s wilting trail to a familiar lounge room in Realis and found him face down on the floor where he"d likely pa.s.sed out last night.
Gavin returned to his body at home and sped on the Harley to his mate"s house. Luckily, Trevor only lived a few streets away. He burst through the door, wrenched Trevor over, and searched his neck for a pulse.