Channeler's Choice (39 page)

“
Oh no, I won’t regret this. We’ll finish what we started, then you’re coming with me. We have plans for you, world-changing plans,” he explained in a disturbingly calm voice.

Fear tingled across her skin, making her stomach roil. Bile stung the back of her tongue and she had to swallow hard to keep from throwing up.

“
I’m sorry I led you on, Luke, but you weren’t truthful with me either,” she said.

It was pointless to argue with him, she knew that. But it was working to distract him. One more tiny step to the side and she felt the doorknob beneath her hand. He smiled as his eyes trailed up her body. Though she was glad she couldn’t feel his energy, she desperately wished she could feel her own.

“
I understand. You did what you did because deep down you have feelings for me. You’re just afraid to admit it. We were meant to be together, Eren. Together we’re going to bring about a new beginning for the entire world,” Luke said.

The fervent tone of his voice made her stomach churn even worse and she thought for a moment that she felt her power stir. God she hoped so, otherwise she was about to be raped.

She’d rather die.

Eren turned the knob, spun and threw the door open. The last flash of Luke’s snarling face she’d seen was enough to propel her across the balcony and over it into the darkness. The ground sped toward her as she struggled to draw on the faint thread of power that slumbered in her. A mixture of adrenalin and fear finally broke through the haze that blocked her from feeling her energy. It was still dull and slow to respond, but she managed to raise enough of it to push down at the ground and cushion her landing a little. Asphalt bit into her hands and knees, leaving them stinging, but the injuries felt minor.

Thank goodness it had only been one story up. Only a few heartbeats later, she heard him land behind her, too close. Ignoring the pain in her hands and knees, she leaned into the wind and concentrated on her footing.

Most of her power still slumbered which left her only one option; outrun him.

Maneuvering around a few trees and over some bushes was easy enough, but then came a six foot fence. She leaped up, grabbed the top, and scrambled over. A horn honked and brakes squealed as she landed on asphalt. Headlights blinded her and she dove to the side. A heartbeat later a car barreled through the space she’d been in. She looked quickly left and right, then dashed the rest of the way across the street. Above her a stretched up seemingly to the sky.

During the taxi ride over she remembered seeing a park and was pretty sure it was on the other side of this row of buildings. Rather than waste time trying to find a way through or around, she decided to go over. The street was mostly empty anyways. The angry motorist had sped off. Seeing Luke out of her peripheral vision was all the motivation she needed.

She leaped for the fire escape ladder and missed. Footsteps pounding behind her sent panic shooting into her heart. A spark flashed inside her as her power struggled to awaken like a limb that had fallen asleep. It gave her enough energy to shove off the ground and reach the ladder. She scrambled up it and jumped up toward the next one. The angle was all wrong and she ended up barely grabbing the railing with one hand. Her power added just enough strength to her arms to allow her to pull herself up.

This time, she jumped for the balcony up a story and over one room to the left, praying her power was awake enough to help her reach it. A small outcropping with a gargoyle perched upon it gave her enough purchase to launch herself to the peak of the roof. She started to run down the other side before she even saw the park stretched out below. To hesitate could cost everything because Luke was right on her tail. She didn’t remember him being so fast.

There was no time to jump down balcony by balcony. Digging deep within herself, she tried to will away the dampening affect the prescription drugs had on her power. It stirred sleepily, trying to respond to her.

“
Wake up, please wake up,” she begged beneath her breath. A warm feeling started growing in the pit of her being.

Terracotta tiles slid away dangerously close behind her. She jumped for the shadowy grounds of the park. She’d never fallen over three stories before even with full use of her power.

The wound Aiden received on his hunting trip flashed through her memory. So did her grandfather’s words about not being impervious to injury until they reached a certain age.

The warmth in her gut exploded out through her entire body and her power surged on the wake behind it. She felt like a drowning victim who had surfaced. By bending her knees she was able to absorb all the impact of landing. It felt like she’d jumped three feet instead of three stories. She’d managed to clear all the trees and had landed on one of the many sidewalks crisscrossing the park. It cracked beneath the impact, yet she felt nothing save for exhilaration.

Off to the left, she could hear the soft murmurings of a couple as they meandered through the park. Not wanting to put anyone else in danger, she took off to the right, headed for the semi-cover of a line of trees. At least the increasing darkness would hide her mad flight from most onlookers. When she reached the trees she stopped for a second to try and judge how far behind her Luke was. By the press of his energy, she knew he was close, too close. The fact that she could feel his power brought tears of relief to her eyes.

Digging in to take off, she turned toward the trees and found herself face to face with Luke. A surprised scream escaped her lips as she stumbled back.

“
You didn’t really think I wouldn’t prepare for this moment did you? I’ve been running, a lot,” he said.

A chill flitted across her flesh that had nothing to do with the humid night. Then she remembered the sparring match at school. She could do this. She was stronger than him.

“
I’m done running, Luke.”

Long, dark lashes hit his face as his eyes fluttered closed. He leaned his head back and smiled. When he looked at her again, the desire that lit up his face made her cringe.

“
I’m so glad to hear that. I knew you’d come around and chose me,” he said.

Ignoring the fear that clawed at her, Eren took a step toward him. “I would never choose you. You disgust me. I’m not running anymore because I don’t have to.”

Pain flashed in Luke’s dark eyes. He recovered quickly and grinned as he stepped into her, now less than three feet away. “So you admit that you feel something for me.”

The sticky feel of his power started to crawl over her. Lashing out with her own, she shoved his power back. The force sent Luke flying. He landed hard in the grass. Not willing to let him go this time, she stormed up to stand over him. Instead of the pain she had expected to see in his eyes, they were filled with desire.

“
I’m stronger than you are now. You don’t scare me,” she said, hating that her voice shook a little.

He grinned. “Bummer, that part was so exciting.”

Disgust gripped her and she turned her head away so he wouldn’t see how he had bothered her. Something dark flashed before her and suddenly he was pressed against her, his arms wrapped tight around her.

“
Hurt me all you want. I like it,” he said.

Power surged into Eren’s hands and she struck him in the sides with it. His eyes widened as a cry of surprise and pain slipped from him. The pressure of his iron grip released her and he fell to the ground at her feet.

“
Oh yeah, well how do you like this?” Eren asked as she slapped her hand against his forehead.

Puzzlement wrinkled his brow but he didn’t move away or fight her. Reaching inside herself, Eren turned her power into the force she had felt back at the high school, and started to pull his energy from him. It wiped the last fuzziness of the drug affects from her and gave her such a rush that she swayed. Luke laughed with delight, though he sounded exhausted. It was enough to make her stop and step away from him.

“
How does it feel to have my energy inside you?” he asked, his words slow and forced. Eyes slipping closed, he slumped to the ground.

Fire worked its way up from Eren’s stomach and she vomited into the bushes. Once she was finished she turned his power to healing energy and dumped it there as well. White flowers popped to life all over the bush, filling her nose with a heady scent that threatened to make her vomit again.

“
I’m so sorry about him. He is a bit overzealous when it comes to you. I’m afraid he’s completely smitten, my dear,” came a strange, male voice with a Romanian accent.

His energy was dark and heavy with power, the energy of a channeler. Eren spun toward the feel of that energy.

A tall man with dark hair and eyes that glinted with red energy stood behind Luke’s prone and still form. In a casual suit and expensive shoes, he didn’t appear threatening, but his energy gave him away. It was so strong that it made the air hard to breathe. Though he looked to be in his late twenties, he had to be at least a hundred years old, probably more from the pressure of his power. There wasn’t anyone in Spruce Knoll that possessed such strength.

“
Are you from Stefan’s Society?” Eren asked.

The man threw his head back and laughed; a deep, throaty sound.

“
God, no. My name is Nicolai Tepes.”

Those words sent a chill through Eren and she took a step back. The last name was familiar. “What are you doing with Luke then?” Gauging his power, she wondered if she could fight him. She doubted it.

A terrible smile spread across the man’s thin lips. “I’m Luke’s employer and I’ve come to collect him. He won’t bother you again. At least not until it’s time, that I promise.”

She didn’t want to ask but she couldn’t stop herself. “Time for what?”

The man’s eyes widened, lighting his face up with the red glow from his eyes. He hefted Luke onto his shoulder as though the boy weighed nothing. “The dawn of a new world, of course.”

Voices sounded behind the man, drawing his attention. Eren turned and ran, pouring all the energy she could into her legs. Thunder crashed overhead, releasing a torrential downpour. It instantly made the grass slick so she veered onto a sidewalk. The rain was falling so hard she could no longer feel whether or not anyone was behind her. Rather than let it scare her she used it to motivate her to go faster.

The sidewalk led her into the complete darkness of the trees. Coming around a tree, she nearly ran right into someone. They were directly in her path and she was going too fast to stop. It was impossible for the man to go that fast, wasn’t it? She tried to veer around him but he reached out and grabbed her.

Panic seized her and she began to scream and struggle. It took a few seconds for her to recognize the voice that kept repeating her name and even then she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her. She was sure it was Luke until she looked up into a familiar pair of hazel eyes. Her struggling ceased as she stared in disbelief at him.

“
Aiden?” she asked in a choked voice.

“
Yeah, E. Are you alright? Is he here?” he asked, his arms tensing around her.

Eren whipped her head around and looked over her shoulder. Luke and Nicolai were gone. It was like the stormy night had swallowed them up. Shaking her head, she succumbed to tears, wrapped her arms around Aiden, and buried her face against his neck. For a moment it didn’t matter what he’d done, only that he’d come for her when she needed him the most. He didn’t repeat his question or push the issue. He just picked her up and started back toward the hotel. Sagging against him, she let the feeling of his energy comfort her, if only for now.

The adrenalin started to settle and reality set in as Aiden set Eren down on the bed. He sank to the floor at her feet, not quite touching her, but no more than a breath away. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t ask the question that burned at the back of her throat like bile. Why had he come here when he’d already chosen Bridget? She could think it, but the words wouldn’t come out. With him here she was no longer afraid of Luke, but she was afraid of what Aiden was going to say.

“
Everything Bridget said was a lie. I never even kissed her. That night you saw her hugging me she threw herself at me. She wanted you to think she’d seduced me so you’d come here by yourself. Luke was blackmailing her to get between you and I. It didn’t work, E. I hated her from the beginning and I never touched her,” he swore.

Of all the things for him to say, she hadn’t expected that. His head dropped as if the words had exhausted him. Really looking at him now, Eren saw tears making tracks down his cheeks. The truth of his words rang through her soul and she gasped as one of the worst pains she’d ever known released its grip on her.