Dark Matter (40 page)

She gave a shake of her head and
clomped over to me. “We had a deal, Rayla.”

I flushed. “I know.” I couldn’t quite
bring myself to tell her I was sorry for running my own life. “I
may have made a mistake in accepting Gibbit’s help, but I’m here
now.”

She grabbed my arm. “And here you will
stay.” She pushed me toward the man. “Yaron, I want her bound to a
lord within the hour. If she has not chosen within that time,
appoint someone. No more waiting.”

He actually flinched under her stare.
“It will be done.”

I just shook my head. “Shouldn’t you
people have it together a little better than this by
now?”

Yaron faced me with a questioning look.
To my surprise Tabitha joined him.

“
I understand your fear
where I am concerned. Believe me, the last thing I want is to be
joined to Ainessa in any way, but I think you have missed a very
important point.”

“
We are better equipped to
handle her betrayal than you could ever be, even with training,”
said Tabitha. “Yes, young one. I know where you are headed with
this, and I think it a bad idea.”

“
I’m not suggesting that I
know everything. And no, I’m not stupid enough to think that
anymore. What I am saying is that if you insist that I bond with
someone against my will, what will stop her from trying to usurp
that union?” Images of Heath came into my mind unbidden. I tried to
block them but it was no use.

Tabitha fixed her dove grey eyes on me.
“You would risk much with your plan.”

I nodded. “Stop me if I am wrong, but
the Order gave you all a huge surprise back on that
island.”

“
Your point?” Yaron
asked.

I scanned the faces of the others. They
still held those impenetrable expressions. “That’s only one
facility among many.”

Yaron frowned. “How would you know
that?”

“
I have eyes,” I said
acerbically. I recalled the map I had seen with all those bright
pins stuck into it.

His eyes darted around as if he was
scanning the image in my head. “They couldn’t have that many
complexes. We would know.”

“
Not if they were concealing
them. Look. Have you all considered that you only knew about the
island because they wanted you to?” When I got a few questioning
glances, I continued. “What if it was all an elaborate trap that
wasn’t just set for me? Ainessa wants to ignite some kind of
germ.”

Gasps echoed around the room. So it was
a big deal.

Tabitha sighed. “She might be
right.”

“
Might?” asked one of the
women acidly.

Tabitha nodded. “My sight is limited
where Rayla is concerned. There are too many possibilities for me
to distinguish which is the likeliest.” She took my hand and closed
her eyes. “Even with her this close to me, I cannot see every
contingency.”

“
You know I’m right,” I
said. “I can’t make the best decision under this much pressure.” I
focused on the floor, not wanting to see their expressions when I
said this out loud. “I still don’t know what the Order has done
with my family, and I am worried sick about them. If I only knew
where they were…”

“
We must fetch the boy,”
Tabitha said. “He will know.”

“
Roger?” Of course. I had
been so consumed with what had been happening that I hadn’t thought
to ask him again. I didn’t really think he would willingly tell us
anything.

“
There are ways,” said Yaron
sharply.

I stared at him solidly. “No. I won’t
let you torture him.”

“
Who said anything about
torture?”

I’d just figured that was how this
whole thing worked. If Roger had been caught by the Order that was
exactly what would have happened. “What were you talking about
then?”

He shrugged. “Nothing more than a
simple mind search. It would take Tabitha moments to do it.” He
laughed at the thought I was having. “There are no side
effects.”

“
Why don’t you let me talk
to him? At least give him a chance to tell you before you try
coercion.”

The enormous doors opened. Roger
stumbled into the room, shooting a disturbing look over his
shoulder. He turned toward us calmly, scanning the group before his
questioning gaze landed on me.

“
Hi, Roger, thanks for
coming,” said Tabitha.

“
I’m not telling you a damn
thing,” he said coldly.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

I stepped nearer. “They’ll find out
what they want to know one way or another. You can at least be
involved this way.”

He shut his eyes tight. “What do you
want to know?”

I jumped right in before anyone else
had the chance. “Where are they keeping my family?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know why
you are so worried; they aren’t going to be hurt.”

“
You promised me that you
would tell me after we were married, in fact, if I recall
correctly, you said you would take me there. I’m going to hold you
to that.”

He laughed. “That was assuming you
would do as was expected of you.” He gave me a serious expression.
“You and I both know that you didn’t.”

For some unexplainable reason I felt a
blush creep up my face. “Please, Roger. We need to know what the
Order is planning next.”

He yawned, shoving his hand through his
blond hair. “I guess there’s really no point in pretending anymore.
You can have it all. The only thing I want is a promise that my
family will be protected.”

Yaron gave a slight nod. “I will send a
squadron out now to retrieve them.”

I wondered where they were going to
keep Roger’s family. I thought they didn’t allow humans to be in
the fae realms.

Yaron looked at me sharply. “We must be
willing to make exceptions when the need arises. We are not as set
in our ways as you might think, Rayla.”

Roger’s gaze bounced between the two of
us. “Am I missing something?”

Yaron faced Roger. “It will be
done.”

Roger let out a sigh. “There are ten
base camps that I know about. Well, I guess nine would be more
accurate now. The camps are used for genetic matching. Elementals
are assigned a mate based on most likely compatibility.”

“
Are there other types of
facilities?” I asked.

Roger rolled his eyes with a shake of
the head. “I was getting to that. You know you really should learn
some patience.”

All I said in response was,
“Well?”

He began pacing the room. His shoulders
were set tight and he seemed extremely uncomfortable. I supposed it
was because what he was doing would be seen as a betrayal in the
worst way.

“
The Order is split into
different divisions.” He turned toward me. “What you experienced
was a relatively simple set up. Most of our, uh, their, facilities
are high-tech. We’ve been meaning to update the island, but it
never seemed the right time. Besides, we knew there was a
possibility the fae would intercede with you involved. We also knew
that Ainessa’s plan might not work.”

“
What do you mean by that?”
asked Yaron.

“
She told us that if she was
able to lure enough of you to the island, she might be able to
obtain enough power to ignite the germ.”

“
So it is true,” Yaron
breathed. “We had hoped the rumor had been fabricated to scare us
off. This changes everything.”

Not in my mind. The only thing that
mattered was stopping the Order, and to do that we would all have
to work together. I could tell Roger was stalling, but I wasn’t
sure why.

“
Where is my family being
held,” I asked, wanting to skip to the part I was most concerned
about.

“
See. That’s the thing.” He
smiled sheepishly. “I’m not sure that they are where they were.” He
scanned the group of fae leaders. “There are really only two
possibilities for what has been done with Rayla’s family. They are
either still in Okefenokee—”

“
Swamp!” I sputtered. Images
of huge alligators and bugs the size of small cars dominated my
mind.”

“
It’s not as bad as you
might think. If Rayla is done interrupting?”

Right. I nodded.

“
Or they have been moved to
a secure location that only Lambert knows about.”

“
Which is the most likely?”
asked Tabitha.

I had almost forgotten she was even
here. Her face was ashen. Her expression grim.

I walked over to her. “What is it? What
do you know?”

Her strange gaze attached to mine.
“Nothing at the moment. Your worry cannot help your family. I
suggest you calm down and let us get through this.”

I spun on my heel and took Yaron’s
empty seat. I got some strange looks as if I had just done
something sacrilegious, but I ignored them.

Tabitha turned toward Roger. “Please
continue.”

“
I think Lambert will most
likely use them as bait. He knows Rayla will never stop until they
are safe. He has the advantage.”

Yaron clasped his hands behind his
back. “The more I come to know about these people the more I come
to understand our mistake.”

The rest of the council nodded in
agreement. Yaron’s companion stood. “Do you think it wise to follow
Rayla’s suggestion? She has a point about Ainessa, but the humans
are unpredictable and have shown themselves to be unstable. What if
they were to kill her? Then what would we do?”

I felt my blood vessels constrict. Mr.
Lambert would do whatever it took to get what he wanted, including
killing me to use my body in the name of science if it came down to
it. I could see him attempting such a thing if he thought he wasn’t
going to win. But Ainessa would most assuredly do the same thing if
she thought I was out of her reach.

“
You make our point for us,”
said Tabitha. “If you are bound, you are protected from death until
you are returned to the mortal realm for good.”

Even though I didn’t want to admit it,
I knew they were right. I would be taking an unnecessary risk if I
went back unbound.

I wasn’t about to let the lords try to
rescue my family without me, either. It was my family that we were
talking about. I had to make sure they were safe.

The question that had been looming over
me for weeks now came barreling into my mind again. How could I
choose one of them? Should I pick a lord I knew I wouldn’t have a
strong connection to, or should I pull a name out of a
hat?

Tabitha stood in front of me. She
reached toward my hand. I almost pulled my fingers back, but I let
her close hers around mine. She gave me a quick smile then pulled
her hand away.

“
None of the lords will
allow you to exclude him. I do not think it wise for you to choose
right now, either. Your heart is still undecided.”

I wished she’d tell me something I
didn’t already know. Maybe it was better to let them handle it.
What was I thinking? I couldn’t just let them choose my future for
me.

“
Why not?” asked
Yaron.

A scowl began to spread along my lips.
I needed to be in control here.

“
That is such a mortal
sentiment,” he said evenly. “Control is nothing but an illusion.
Anyone who will tell you differently is lying to you.”

“
Maybe so, but what else is
there?” I hissed.

Every head in the room snapped toward
me. I hadn’t meant to call attention to myself, but that was what I
had gotten. I might as well make the best of it. “Who of you would
like others to make your choices for you?”

Tabitha released a slow breath.
“Disaster follows this path.”

What was she saying? My heart
constricted with my veins. My chest was so tight I could barely
breathe.

“
There might be another
option,” said Yaron softly.

Everything inside of me waited for him
to speak. I didn’t dare hope. Not yet.

Tabitha groaned. “How would that help
us? She would still be vulnerable.”

“
Not necessarily,” he
replied. “If she is receptive, she will have more protection than
we could hope for without a full bonding.”

I felt like screaming at them to let me
in on their conversation, but I kept quiet. For the moment at
least. If they didn’t start including me soon, I was going to turn
around and walk right out of the room. I hadn’t even gotten to
address the Elementals that were waiting for word.

Tabitha motioned for me to stop. “There
is no need for that, Rayla. We already know your desires and we
will agree to your terms on one condition.”

I nodded.

“
You give wholly of yourself
when the time comes.”

I glanced at her then Yaron expecting
one of them to explain further. Neither seemed eager to be the
first to speak.