Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) (33 page)

His white blond hair looked so much like Lily’s, and she thought of her friend.
I hope you’re someplace safe, Lily. You were so right about Frank. I don’t know if I can stop him.

“This is your victim,” Frank said. “You will practice on him until you can control his actions with your illusion. I want you able to make him fall to the earth sobbing, because you have generated such sorrow inside him. I want you to make him dance and sing, because you have generated such happiness in him.” He snapped his fingers and two more Calydons stepped out.

Both of these men were scarred, and one was limping. They looked beaten and battered. Weak. Vulnerable. “These are your foils. Any stray illusion will affect them, because they are too weak to fight. I want to see your victim bow to your illusions, while the other two weaklings remain unaffected.” He looked at Ana, challenge glittering in his eyes. “One day, Ana. That’s all you have. Then Elijah dies.”

She knew she had no choice. She had to buy time for herself. Was Elijah really alive? She had to find out. She had to find him. The only way to do that was to play Frank’s game. Ana clenched her fists against the urge to berate him for his insanity. “I’ll do it.”

“I knew you would.” Frank turned away and began to explain how to do what he wanted, and Ana barely listened to him.

She was thinking about what he’d said.
Elijah was alive
.

She caught Frank watching her, and something about his expression made her stiffen. What if he was lying? Frank was all about illusions. Maybe she wasn’t hearing Elijah scream at all. Maybe Frank was making her think she was. Maybe the truth wasn’t a truth at all.

Even the men below, her victims, might not even really be there.

It could all be lies.

Or Elijah could be the one down in that pit. He could be her blond victim, waiting for her in the bowels of the earth, disguised as a stranger. She stared down into the pit, and tried to summon her ability to detect illusions, but she couldn’t access it. She looked at Frank. “What did you do?”

“You really think I would allow you to shield yourself against illusions while you’re here?” He waved around the cavern. “This is my world, Ana, and you’re a part of it. Join me. There’s no other option.” He smiled. “And trust me, when you finally learn to embrace your dark side, you will understand what it’s like to truly be alive.”

Ana ignored him, stepping forward to peer into the pit.
Elijah? Is that you?

And then she heard it.
Ana.
A faint, faint echo of her name in her mind. Elijah’s voice. So weak, so far in the distance, and she knew, with absolute certainty that he was alive, and in unbearable pain. Tears filled her eyes, and her chest screamed with agony for his suffering.

And then there was a humming in the pit and the wind began to rise, and she knew one of her illusions was starting to rise, brought on by her stress about Elijah’s fate.

“That’s it.” Frank clapped her shoulder and faced her toward the pit. “Here is your first lesson in learning to control it.”

She spun toward the pit, her fists clenched.
I will find you, Elijah.

Then the illusion burst free, and all her attention was focused on trying to control it.

For now.

The minute Frank was gone, Ana was going to find the warrior who’d offered his life for hers.

Gideon rolled to his knees and hurled both axes, taking out two more Calydons closing fast on Lily. But there were dozens streaming past Gideon, taking advantage of the fact he’d stopped to fight. There were too many for Gideon to stop.

Crap. They had to run. It was their only chance.

With a roar, Gideon leapt to his feet and charged through the throngs in a dead heat to reach Lily first. He dug harder, his legs pistoning on the cement as he ran, gaining ground to reach her first. Lily looked back, and her eyes widened with horror as she saw the throng closing on her, then her gaze met Gideon’s.
Behind you, Gideon!

Gideon put on a burst of speed, and a sword whizzed by his head, the blade nicking his ear. He tucked his weapons, not bothering to try to take down the other Calydons, knowing Lily’s only chance was for him to make it to her first and outrun them. Her parents were screaming as her dad fumbled to unlock the car, the shadows growing darker as the mob closed in on them.

Gideon reached the front of the throng and knew he was going to get to her first. Unless there were Runners, he’d be able to outrun them. He
had
to outrun them. There was no other option.

Then he felt a shift in the focus of the Calydons closest to him. They turned their attention off of Lily and directed it toward him. They were going to try to detain him, so the others could get to Lily.

“Oh,
hell.
” Gideon got his axe up just in time to block the sudden blow from his left, and then suddenly all the Calydons near him attacked, blades flying fast and hard, dozens of them, teaming up, slashing, stabbing, chopping. He was surrounded, and he threw his axe straight up as a Flier came hurtling down from above at him. The assault was relentless, like a frenzied mob, and he fought desperately
. Lily!

There was no reply, and anger roared through him. Adrenaline kicked into overload and Gideon went on a rampage, cutting down everyone he could reach. But more kept coming.

Then suddenly there was a shout he recognized as belonging to Gabe, one of his Order members. One of the ones who Quinn had said was on his way to kill Lily. But Gabe was Order, and Gideon sure as hell hoped that would take priority.
What side are you on, Gabe?

Yours. Quinn made you and Lily sound too valuable. Zach and Ryland are here, too. We’re coming in from the outside, but the next time you have a party, you really ought to screen your guest list better.

Gideon grinned, and fought with renewed strength, taking down warriors as he felt their attention shift outward, to the threats coming at them from his team.

It took twenty minutes before the four of them were the only ones left standing. Bodies were everywhere, blood streaming down the street, even as the bodies began to disappear, the extremely old ones vanishing almost instantly. The young ones would take weeks to be reclaimed by the earth.

All the Order members were bleeding badly, and Ryland had a deep slice across his throat that he was pressing his palm against to stem the flow of blood.

Sirens began to wail, and Gideon jerked his head around. The street was empty. All pedestrians had fled... Even Lily’s parents’ car was gone. Hope sprung in his chest. Had they made it?
Lily? Are you safe?

Silence.

Gideon’s gut began to turn.
Lily. Talk to me.
He reached out over their connection, and felt a pulse from her. She was alive, but unable to respond. Which had to mean she was unconscious.

They’d gotten her.

Bile churned in Gideon stomach, and he shoved it aside, ruthlessly crushing his emotions and retreating into the singular focus of a warrior. He lifted his face to the sky and opened his mind to her, reaching out to determine the direction she’d gone.

Sirens were growing louder, and his team was already piling up bodies, moving so fast that a human would barely be able to discern their movements.

But Gideon didn’t move. He turned south, searching. His mind was racing, his heart was pumping, and he had to force himself to be calm. To sense the vibration that was Lily.

He heard the hiss as Zach knelt beside the pile of bodies and called in the wind, oxygen and heat. Gideon glanced over as Zach laid his mouth on the shoulder of the body on top of the pile. For a moment, nothing happened, then the shoulder of the dead Calydon turned black, smoke began to spiral, then the body exploded in a flash of flames. Gideon and the others stood back, but Zach remained in the fire, letting the flames consume him as he fed the fire with the very oxygen that sustained him, until the entire stack of bodies was burning with a flame so hot it was as white as pure snow.

The flames shot so high Gideon couldn’t see the top, even with his enhanced eyesight, then the flames exploded, feeding on the blood strewn over the pavement. Gideon checked his location to make sure he was standing on clean pavement and shielded his eyes against the explosive white glow.

Then the fire vanished.

Gideon dropped his arm and the pavement was clean, devoid of any sign of the attack. The fire had consumed the blood until there was nothing left. Zach was pale and shuddering as Gabe helped him to his feet.

The police cars spun around the corner, lights flashing.

Gideon whirled away and headed down the street, letting his mind soften, thinking only of Lily, her scent, her energy, and her aura. He brought her essence into his soul, until his blood began to hum with her energy, until her blood came alive within him.

Suddenly he felt her presence.

Gideon turned to the south east, his entire being thudding with the power of his connection to her. She’d headed toward the desert, and she was moving fast. He’d never catch her on foot.

“We’re all in separate cars.” Ryland was right behind him. “We’ll go after her.”

“No.” Gideon ‘s pulse was racing, and he was so strung out, it was all he could do to focus, to be strategic. “You need to head to Nate’s place and find the marker that will tell us where the ritual is occurring.”

Gideon quickly explained the situation, keeping his mind focused Lily, on keeping that link active. “I have no idea what it is, and I never got a chance to ask Lily what form she thought the information would be in. Hell, for all I know, it’s more shit she’ll have to translate.” He cursed as he felt her continue to get even further away from him. “I gotta go. You guys good?”

Ryland tossed Gideon his keys. “Go get the girl and meet us at Nate’s so she can seal the deal. We’ll be in touch.”

Gideon snatched the keys out of mid-air and sprinted for the black Explorer parked down the street, his whole body vibrating with Lily’s energy. He held his focus tight as he leapt into the truck, jammed the keys in the ignition and peeled out.
I’m coming, Lily.
He shoved the thought at her as hard as he could, hard enough to penetrate her mind, even though she was unconscious.
I swear to you, I’m on my way.

Empty words, if he was too late.

* * *

Lily jerked back to consciousness as her head smacked into something hard. She moaned, cringing against the pain as hands grabbed her and roughly shoved her to the side. She tried to catch herself, and felt the deep bite of cords around her wrists and ankles as she tried to move. Dear God. She was bound, just like before. “No!” She screamed and her eyes snapped open in horror.