Tainted Energy (The Energy Series Book 1) (22 page)

"Stop
that." He shut his eyes with a smile as wide as the ocean. "I need to
find you something to wear besides that dress, scrounge up some food, and grab
Jake’s phone while you shower."

"Phone?" I went to wrap
my body around his, wishing he'd kept off his shirt. "Why?"

"You need to call Zander."

There was that real world crashing
around my head. "And say what?"

He massaged my shoulders and kissed
the top of my head. "You're going to ask him to come over. I'll take it
from there."

"Why Zander? What makes you
think he's got something to do with it?"

His fingers worked the knots
forming in my back. "You ever feel fuzzy, dull, maybe feel like a magnet
when he's in the same room?"

Well, Jesus Christ. "Yeah?
Like I can't think when he's around." I frowned. "What's it mean?"

Relief flooded his handsome face as
he kissed me, kind of branded me, like that first time in Jake's kitchen. "It
means you're not in love with him. At least, I don't think so, right?"

"You need to ask?" My
breath was ragged, his mouth an inch from mine.

This time, his smile was almost
feral. "I wouldn't care if you were–you wouldn't be for long."

"As much as I'd love to spend
time with you showing me just how you'd change my mind if I were…Tell me what
the fuzz means."

"Guide energies are attracted
to each other, just like Protectors. That spark is pretty strong when you don't
know what it is."

"Shit. So, you're saying he's
a Guide?"

"Exactly."

Lena

W
e sat on the couch–well, I sat on
Tarek's lap–and ate Fruit Loops from the box.

Calling Zander was tough, what with
the whole awkward breakup thing the last time I saw him. He didn't seem to care.
All he said was, "Give me thirty," and hung up the phone.

"What're you gonna do when he
gets here?" I shook my head at his offer of another handful of cereal.

He shrugged, shoving it into his
mouth, letting the crunching fill the space. His eyes developed that faraway
look again.

Did he have to give every question
the VIP treatment?

"It depends." He threw a
few more pieces of cereal in his mouth, talking around them.

I slid off his lap to stretch. "I
waited all this time for an 'it depends'?"

He grinned.

Fine, I forgave the dimples. Before
I could stand, Tarek grabbed my wrist and pulled me back on his lap, giving me
a smacking kiss. His mouth tasted like sugary cereal as he made loud, obnoxious
noises moving from my lips to my entire face.

I laughed between kisses. "Stop,
stop!" Yeah, no, I didn't really want him to stop.

He nuzzled my neck. "If he's a
good guy or a bad guy, all depends on that."

I shook my head, my patience thinning
even as my body tingled. "So if he's a good guy?"

"I let him live."

Even though Zander might be the
enemy, the thought of him dying stabbed my heart. Subject change time. "Tell
me what you saw when Teenesee gave you that memory."

His lips stopped their assault and
his body tensed. Guess that was the mood-killer question. After a deep breath
in, he set me beside him. "The K stands for Kendal, a Protector who went missing
a couple years ago." A thankfully brief pause later, he continued, "She's
Mateusz's woman–the guy who told me where you were."

Crap. "You think he has
something to do with this?"

Those gray eyes went distant again.
"Guess your boyfriend will have to answer that."

I smacked his arm. "
Ex
-boyfriend
and whatever he has to say, we'll be okay, okay?"

Another kiss. He was pretty awesome
at this kissing thing.

"Okay."

My fingers ran through his long hair,
still damp from a shower. "In my dreams, your hair was short."

"Didn't really care about much
after you were taken. Haircuts weren't exactly high priority."

My fingers weaved through all the silky
strands, giving it a tug. "I like it."

"Then I guess it'll stay."

A knock on the door interrupted our
moment. God! If we could just get rid of our problems so we could get on with
forever.

Tarek stood, pulling me up with
him. His face no longer registered the sweet, playful guy eating Fruit Loops.
At that moment, Tarek was all warrior. "Answer it. I'll be right behind
you."

Nerves went into overdrive as my
hand twisted the knob. When the door opened to Zander and the fuzz settled in,
I wanted to punch him in the throat. "Thanks for coming."

His dark face, so familiar, the
face I saw almost every day for three months, had worry all over it. In that
southern drawl, he said, "Of course I came. You all right?"

"She is now." Tarek
opened the door wider, yanking Zander in by his overpriced sweatshirt.

His brown eyes grew so wide the
whites of them took over. "You're not supposed to be here."

Tarek's smile scared me a little. "Neither
are you." He shoved my ex onto the couch.

Zander's wild eyes whipped from me
to Tarek, his usual put-together self gone. "I can explain." Ah, and
so was that stupid southern accent.

"You sonofabitch!"

My giant's hands grabbed hold of my
waist as my fists flailed inches from Zander's face.

"Let him talk, love. If we don't
like what he says
then
we can kill him." His deep voice, so calm
and quiet, had the boy on the couch curling into a ball.

Tarek gave me a light kiss before
loosening his grip. He then went to grab two stools from the kitchen bar,
setting them in front of the couch. With a gentlemanly wave, he gestured toward
the seat next to him. Wondering about this new Tarek, I straightened my T-shirt
and sat, keeping my eyes on him.

"Now," his smile stayed
in place, "let's start with an easy question."

Tarek's
cool attitude didn't fool Zander. I just hoped there wouldn't be a puddle on
the cushion when he got up.

Zander's
brown eyes found mine, and a slight twinge of empathy sliced through my anger. "I
swear I didn't come here to hurt you."

Words
froze in my throat. What to say to the boy who for three months pretended he
was my best friend?

Tarek
slapped Zander hard enough to get his attention. "Don't talk to her, talk
to me." Some of that calm evaporated for an instant before Tarek
straightened and swiped the hair from his eyes. "Who's your Protector?"

The only
answer that question received was a room full of silence.

Tarek
crossed his arms, tucked his feet in the rungs of the stool, and kept on
smiling. "Probably shouldn't make me ask again."

Zander's
bottom lip danced as his eyes filled. "He'll kill me if I tell you."

"And
I'll kill you if you don't. But not here. No, that'd be too easy." He stood,
taking Zander with him. A slit in the atmosphere opened at the tips of his
raised fingers. "You think Arcus is the worst dimension?"

Zander
began to yell, but the slit grew larger, the wind stronger. "Okay, okay!
Put me down, close the portal."

Tarek
threw him back on the couch, closing the tear. Taking his seat with elbows
resting on his knees, Tarek said, "Talk."

A tear
escaped before Zander could swipe it away. "My Protector is dead." He
hesitated. "Mateusz Fuchs, the Synod's authority commander, took over
after."

The
temperature in the room lowered as Tarek sat back. His smile was gone, replaced
by a sort of smirk as he kept his eyes on Zander's anxious face. He didn't say
a word, and I didn't intend to break the silence.

Tarek
managed to do that all on his own.

He
stared at Zander for a second, not moving. Next second, his chair went flying
across the room, hitting the little breakfast bar in the kitchen. The wooden
stool splintered off in a few pieces and scattered over the new carpet. There
wasn't any yelling, but Tarek went to stand by the window as his back heaved
with deep breaths while he watched the morning traffic.

Forget
this!

I slid
off my stool after shooting Zander a sneer and went to put my arms around Tarek's
waist. Resting my cheek against that strong back, I said, "We'll be okay,
remember?"

The
crazy breaths stopped after a minute, and his hands covered mine. "Sorry…about
the chair."

I smiled
against his back. "I'll give it a proper burial."

The rest
of the tension finally left those wide shoulders. "Funny."

He
turned and kissed the top of my head before moving to stand in front of the
couch. I took my seat and waited to find out what happened next.

That
calm slipped into place, but Tarek's smile didn't give an encore. "The
dead Protector…Kendal, was it?" When Zander nodded, he continued, "You've
got three minutes to tell me why I shouldn't kill you."

"Casimir
has Kendal's energy…h-he offered a trade."

"A
trade? For Lena?"

"No…Wilma."

"Oh,
shit." Tarek's soft curse had me stiffening. "Offered a trade with Mateusz?"

Zander's
throat bobbed. "Yes." A small sob escaped. "He's been trying to
get Kendal's energy out of there for two years." He took a deep, shaky
breath. "The Warden said if he had Wilma's energy he'd give back Kendal's,
and I'd be able to take her somewhere, let her start over, have some peace."

Tarek
scrubbed his head, anger radiating from his large body. "Wilma's ener–so,
what you're saying is Mateusz promised Casimir Wilma's energy. And you–"

"I'd
do anything for Kendal." When Tarek's lips pursed and his eyes shot fire,
Zander rushed on. "Mateusz needed me to make sure Lena was vulnerable so Casimir
could get to her. Kendal's energy isn't strong enough to do it without some
help. I…I told him Lena's schedule…and about her dad." He turned to me. "But
I got to know you and things changed."

      Tarek said, "So, Mateusz
used persuasion on her parents an–"

"Got
inside my head!" I jumped off my stool and slapped Zander across the face.
"You made sure I stayed weak, scared?
Things changed?
"

"You
weren't supposed to find out! I love you. I swear I do. After you went to
Arcus, I tried to make him leave you alone, but he kept saying it was the only
way to get Wilma there. He promised you wouldn't get hurt!" He looked to
Tarek, pleading. "He's the one who told you where to find Lena, right? Why
do you think he did that?"

When
Tarek didn't answer, Zander went on. "Because he wanted you to get rid of
me when I told him I was done. I even sent Cassondra messages to let her know
someone was messing with Lena. He wanted to kill me when he found out, but it'd
be a sure way to get a Tainted."

Zander
stood, grabbing my shoulders.

I jerked
away. "Don't touch me."

After
that, his voice sounded tired. "I wanted it to end. But then Wilma was
gone, a-and I thought maybe somehow Casimir had her, and everything was fine…"

"Sit
down." Tarek crossed his arms as Zander sat. "What about your energy?
You ever think about your own being Tainted?"

Zander
held his head in his hands. "I don't really care. I wouldn't have chosen
to go back to Exemplar after this cycle, anyway." His head lifted. "And…there's
one more thing. I found Lena's Tainted decree the last time I went back, after
she broke up with me. It said Mateusz was her accuser. After that, I was
definitely done."

Tarek
began to pace. "
That piece of…
."

Zander's
eyes pleaded with mine as Tarek ranted under his breath. "I'm so sorry,
Lena. I never wanted you to get hurt."

"How
old are you, really?" Stupid question, seeing as it didn't really matter,
but I wanted to know.

Shock
colored his face. "I…eighteen."

"Like
really eighteen or…"

Tears
then hovered in his eyes. "No, really eighteen." He swiped an
escaping tear on his cheek. "This is my first cycle."

Now I
did feel sorry for him. Only eighteen and his life was pretty much over, all
for a Protector who didn't care about him. I thought of Wilma.
Would I do
the same thing?

Yes, in
a heartbeat.

Tarek
stopped his pacing in front of the couch. "You do realize what would
happen if Casimir had Wilma's energy, right? Her energy would create a
floodgate between dimensions." The pacing continued as he spit out the
next question. "And what the hell could be gained by Kendal going to
Arcus?"

Zander's
face fell as he rubbed his eyes. "I wasn't thinking–I just wanted Kendal
out of that place. And…and Mateusz said Casimir promised her that they could
live in Arcus during their next cycle and still remember everything without the
pressure of being an Exemplian. I guess that's why she kept giving him strong
energy. He said it was the only way for his dimension to sustain humans."

"You
have any idea what kind of shit pile this is turning into?" Tarek
eyeballed my stool, but at my warning glance he kept his arms at his sides. "Wardens
can't make memories stay with the energy, you know that."

"Yeah,
but what if…I mean, Lena dreamed about you. Explain that."

Tarek
shook his head, his lip curling, not bothering to explain anything. "Casimir
knows where Lena and Wilma are. Using Mateusz or some other asshole, he'll keep
trying until they're both his."