The Locket (40 page)

“Well, an Inducer. That’s a start, but I hope that’s not all you’ve got,” he snarled.

Kace wiped saliva running down his chin before aiming a hand at Brody, sending a ball of electricity towards him. The ball thundered into Brody’s chest before any of us could react. Brody flew through the air, crashing into the wall with a hefty thud, causing the thin drywall to collapse around him.

“That got rid of his self-righteous smile,” Kace mused.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Riley go to Brody. I grinned knowing what Kace didn’t. I watched as Brody’s chest pumped up and down more rapidly as Riley healed him.

Layken’s song began to play, filling the room smoothly as she made her way to Kace.

“Perhaps you should just listen to what Claire has to say, Kace,” Layken suggested, with precision in her tune.

Kace seized a lock of Layken’s golden hair and began twirling it in his fingers. The merciless look on his face was worrisome.

“The Siren’s song is indeed beautiful, but I am completely immune to its trance, foolish girl. You’re far too weak to seduce me, darling,” he said, jerking Layken’s hair more aggressively, crashing her body into his. Her back was to him and she eyed us, pleading for help. Kace positioned his fingers in front of Layken’s neck, applying pressure with the energy from his hand. He didn’t actually need to touch her to. The energy he used would force asphyxiation. Layken’s sun-kissed cheeks briefly lost all color. Soon the pasty white was replaced with deep purple. I heard a sudden gasp for air but it didn’t come from Layken.

Kace released Layken and clutched his own throat. He was coughing, sucking in huge gulps of air. He stood, looking at us to see who was doing it. I observed his agitation grow when he couldn’t figure it out.

I knew it was Brent without him saying anything. Brent had the ability to trap Kace’s power and use it. Now Brent used it against Kace.

I watched Kace’s eyes narrow as he stared at Brody who stood with us, completely unharmed by Kace’s attack.

“Obviously, one of you is a Healer. Very interesting.” Kace drew out the last word as though he found it trivial. “Which one of you is the Trapper?” he asked more demandingly. None of us replied and I was keenly aware of the fact his question brought with it a hint of fear.

“Who is it?” he commanded louder this time, his glare quickly turning to a glower. We remained silent. “Enough of this game,” he hissed, turning his stare on me.

Kace pounded toward me just as I heard a roar so loud the walls vibrated. Kace’s eyes pulled sideways as he came to a stop. I saw fur from an animal in my peripheral vision. Slowly, I turned my head to see a massive male lion standing next to me. The lion was at least three times the size of a one that was full grown. Brent was still on my other side, not looking surprised in the least by the animal. Quickly, I scanned the room.

“Reese?” I asked looking into the eyes of the beast. The lion brought his head to my shoulder, nuzzling my neck and purred. I saw in the soft grey eyes that it was Reese. I knew he could change his semblance but always assumed it was only to people. I never considered an animal a possibility. I assumed Brooke was enhancing the ability creating a larger version.

No more than a second later, the lion lunged at Kace, slamming him to the floor. The lion began to claw and bite at Kace’s skin. I watched Kace’s skin rip from the force of the lion’s claws and teeth as they tore into him. Bright yellow light shot out from each tear. The two separated, engaged in a stare down, waiting to see what the other would do. Not surprisingly, the wounds fresh in Kace’s skin sealed almost instantly.

The lion crouched, and then leapt through the air headed for Kace. Kace moved lightning fast, sending the lion crashing into the wall. The lion hit the floor hard, landing on all fours completely unaffected, growling deep in his throat. Kace smirked as the lion bounded towards him.

“Reese, no!” I shouted, realizing that Kace could not be harmed. He was no more than light under the shell of skin and could heal himself. There was nothing we could do to hurt him physically.

It was too late, the lion pounced again. Kace threw his hands out, sending a wave of energy toward the lion, sending the animal through the air into the staircase. Splinted wood sailed out around us and I ducked to avoid a piece. Brooke’s scream alerted me that the lion’s semblance returned to Reese. I whipped my head around to see if he was okay. Reese whimpered before tumbling down the remaining stairs, landing solidly at the bottom. Brooke and Riley ran to him. Their proximity to Kace made me nervous but Riley needed to heal him.

I was frozen. Shock had a firm grip on my feet, though my brain told me to go to him. I heard Brent’s voice in my mind.

Reese is okay, Claire. Riley will heal him. Don’t let your
guard down
.

He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

“One more time,” Kace commanded. “Who is the trapper?”

All of us remained silent, refusing to answer. Kace reached down and snatched Brooke by the back of the hair, tugging her into his chest. Kace withdrew a knife from his boot and held it to Brooke’s throat.

Kace figured out one of us was a Trapper and could trap his abilities if he used them. So Kace chose not to use his abilities on Brooke – opting for a human method – this way Brent could not borrow his power and turn it on him.

Kace kept the blade just above the skin on Brooke’s neck. Reese whimpered, not yet healed, but jumped to his feet and stepped in Kace’s direction with a murderous look.

“One more step and I will kill her,” Kace declared. Reese stepped back with his hands up in abeyance.

“Tell me who the Trapper is or she dies,” Kace demanded, his expression serious.

Brent stepped forward, surrendering to save Brooke.

“Let her go,” Brent told him. “I’m the one you want. I’m the Trapper.”

Kace shoved Brooke to the floor. Reese rushed to her.

“No, Brent. No!” I reacted with abandon, throwing myself in front of Brent.

Pain surged through me, sparking every cell before I saw the electricity. A loud hum rang in my ears as waves of energy rolled through me. It wasn’t painful. It felt familiar – the same feeling I got when I would lay in bed at night after spending a day in the ocean, lying there completely still but feeling the waves carrying me deeper and deeper into the water. I could feel the shove as a wave crashed through me, and then pulled harshly as the next wave released the first back to the deep abyss. The waves grew more subtle. Now, I was falling, white surrounding me in streaks. Flailing my arms, I tried to find a surface to stop my fall, but there was only air. For a moment, I thought I was in the clouds, using wings to fly. I was content. It seemed like I should have hit the bottom already but my descent continued without a landing, peacefully. My direction changed and I felt like I was going up. Then I stopped, floating in my sea of white and I knew – Kace had won – I was dead.

“Claire,” Omni’s hypnotic voice surrounded me, easing my worry.

“Omni,” I called to him, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the thick white streaks around me.

“You have not completed your purpose, Claire. You must go back,” he said softly. I barely heard his words.

“I can’t do it. I failed. You have the wrong person. I was never the one to do this,” I cried.

“Believe, Claire. Use the power you reflect in others. You are the source,” he hummed.

My journey started again. This time I rose then fell. I saw Cecilia as energy and light before me.

“Bring him to me, Claire. Ben and I have missed him,” she pleaded. I noticed a man next to her that I assumed was Kace’s son. The light faded. I wanted to ask her how I was supposed to do that but she was gone.

No longer feeling like I was falling, I realized that my eyes had been closed the entire time and the cold floor was beneath me. I squeezed hard before opening my eyes. Everyone was huddled over me. Riley’s hands were on my chest. Brent was holding my hand, his eyes glossed over with tears. He let out a heavy sign when he saw my eyes gradually open.

“Oh, thank God, Claire.”

Brent may have been more right that he knew. I was fairly certain I had died. Given my second chance, I wanted to be worthy of who the spirit world wanted me to be. More importantly, I wanted to do this for Cecilia and Ben. Their faces etched in my mind pleading for the return of their loved one. Kace was monopolized by evil during a tragic time in his life. He was weak when he made his choice. It was my destiny to show him he was strong.

“You’re back, Claire. How’s Omni?” Kace sneered from behind me.

I stood and faced him more confident than ever before. “Not happy with you.”

Believing for the first time I had power beyond what I had begun to harness, I decided it was time to put it on full display. I finally reached the pinnacle of my ability to control the mind. I remembered Omni telling me that was the only way I would defeat Kace. He could not be killed or hurt – he had to be trapped – willingly. He had to be convinced and I had the gift to do it.

I willed my voice into the minds of each of my friends. When they replied, I looked at Kace to see if he was aware of our silent conversation. He seemed unfazed so I quickly filled them in on my plan.

Before we began, I spoke to Brent in his mind.
I love you
.

He replied in my mind.
I love you too. Let’s end this.

“You know you won’t get that chance again, Claire. One redo a lifetime,” Kace interrupted the mental conversation I was having with Brent.

“Thankfully, I won’t need it, Kace,” I declared, nodding at Reese who nodded back before duplicating my presence over and over again in the room. Kace spun confused, trying to figure out which one was the real me. I mentally told Brooke to focus on me. I felt a jolt of energy within as she enhanced my powers. I had an anthem of my own that Kace was going to hear. I hoped this would work. If Kace was immune to my song, my plan would fail.

“Kace,” I called, singing. He looked at me in a very endearing way, like I possessed him. It was definitely working. He was not exempt to my tune with Brooke defining the pitch so perfectly.

“Do you want me to tell you who else I saw while I was away?” I sang the question, letting each word roll smoothly from my tongue.

I prepared myself for a blow from him or some other aggressive act but he was completely entranced, lost in my voice.

“Yes, Claire,” he answered softly, mesmerized by my words.

“I saw Cecilia and Ben. They are beautiful, Kace. They miss you much. They want you back,” I continued singing.

Kace stepped away from me. For a second I thought my record stopped. It was just a skip. “I don’t believe you,” he said, eyeing me guardedly.

I went to him and placed my hand over his heart, the hum beneath his skin surprising me. Choosing my words carefully, I spoke to him like he was broken, which I guess in a way he was. “I’m telling you the truth, Kace. Would you like me to show you?”

He nodded skeptically.

I thought I saw a tear roll down his cheek when I placed my forehead to his. I replayed the memory so he could see for himself. We watched as Cecilia and Ben asked for his return and said they missed him. I heard a sob escape his throat and the memory shifted, showing him a glimpse of the future. Cecilia and Ben were running towards him with their arms out crying and yelling how much they loved him. They were overjoyed that he was finally home. Kace smiled at them in my vision, genuine and full of love.

The film continued to play – a movie of Kace’s past. He was a kid standing up to a boy who pushed a girl down on the playground. I felt his growing discomfort but he was too far in to pull away. Another memory was of Kace stopping and giving a loaf of bread he just purchased to a man sleeping in the overhang of a shop. Next, was Kace yanking his brother off Cecilia. Her face was bloody and bruised. The final picture was Kace sitting next to Cecilia on a bed holding tiny, newborn Ben in his arms. Kace leaned down, gently kissing the boy’s head and whispered that he loved him. The visions stopped. Kace fell to his knees and I fell with him.

“You were a very good man once, Kace. Be that man again. Go home to your family. They need you more than The Shadow does. Don’t you want to go home, Kace? Don’t you want to be with them?” I sang softly, pleading to his love for them.

“Yes, Claire. I want to be with them so much. Please, please send me home,” Kace wailed, throwing his head back. His chest jerked forward violently. He raised his chin accentuating the curve between his chest and neck. His chest tore open and darkness shot from the hole, billowing out like smoke through a chimney as his body trembled, revolting against the release. It seemed like hours passed but I was sure it was only a few minutes. The darkness turned lighter as rays of sunshine were leaving Kace’s body.

“Now, Brent,” I shouted. Brent instantly came and stood beside me. He held his hand out like I had seen him do before, trying to absorb Kace but nothing happened. I saw the darkness half way up the rays as though the light was shadowed on top. The ray of light switched directions and started back toward Kace’s body bringing the darkness with it.

“Brooke, release me. He needs you,” I yelled over the hum from the energy leaving Kace’s body. Brooke turned her focus to Brent immediately increasing his pull towards Kace. I continued telling Kace to go to his family, reminding him how important they were to him. The light began to filter towards Brent’s hand. Kace’s image turned to a silhouette of energy before joining the rays of light and spiraling into Brent’s waiting hand. Brent continued to pull long after the light had vanished.