Beyond Everlight: an Urban Fantasy Novel (Fearless Destiny Book 1) Page 10

  “Get out.”

  “Kenna, I didn’t mean—”

  “Get the fuck out and don’t come back!”

  And he hadn’t.

  This was the first time I’d seen him in almost ten months, and I hated how good he looked. How unaffected he seemed.

  “Thank you for coming Kenna.” He stepped back to allow me into the room.

  “You didn’t give me much choice.” The office looked the same. Exactly the same, except . . . was that a new picture on his desk? I couldn’t see what it was of, it faced away from me—a picture for him to look at as he worked.

  “Please take a seat.”

  I sat, grateful for the excuse to take a load off.

  Blane moved around the desk and sat down in our swivel seat. He leaned back and gazed at me. “You look good, Kenna.”

  Liar. I knew exactly what I looked like—a gaunt skinny thing with dead eyes. Mirrors were not my friend. But these were just the usual pleasantries, and so I smiled and accepted the faux compliment.

  “Can we just get on with this please?”

  “Yes,” he cleared his throat, “Of course.” He opened the drawer to his desk and retrieved a sheet of paper, and held it out toward me.

  It was a list of names.

  Thirteen names.

  I glanced up at him in shock. “How can you have this? The names aren’t released until tomorrow.”

  Blane swallowed. “Just read it.”

  I scanned the names. What was he getting at? None of these names were familiar, except . . . No. It couldn’t be. I locked gazes with my ex-lover, the man who’d claimed he loved me enough to break the rules, but hadn’t loved me enough to accept my disability.

  “Vanessa Greene?” The words grated my throat.

  He swallowed again and sat up straighter. “We got married three months ago. She’s six months pregnant and—”

  Blood roared in my ears blocking out his words. I moved to jump to my feet and stumbled, grabbing the edge of the desk to steady myself.

  “What is this? Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I need your help.”

  I couldn’t breathe. I was having a fucking panic attack over the fact that my ex had moved on so quickly. God I was pathetic.

  “Kenna? Kenna! Shit. Please. I’m so sorry.”

  The pity in his tone worked faster than a paper bag to quell the attack. I breathed through my nose, shallow even breaths until my heartbeat slowed to resting pace. And then I sat back down and looked him in the face. He’d moved on, and I wasn’t going to show him how much that hurt.

  “What do you want from me, Blane?”

  Blane pressed his lips together. “I want you to . . . I need you to take her place.”

  The world seemed to stand still. I hadn’t heard him right. I couldn’t have heard him right. But the look of desperation on his deceitfully handsome face dashed that hope into oblivion. He wanted me to take Vanessa’s place as a tithe. He wanted me to give up my life for his . . . his wife and child.

  I may be broken and empty, but I was alive. I’d hacked off my own leg just so I could live.

  After the pain I’d been through, I deserved to live dammit!

  “No.”

  He slumped back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair in a gesture I recognised as exasperation.

  Pushing back my chair I made to stand.

  “Sit back down.” This time when he looked at me there was no trace of the man I’d known, the man I had loved. “This is not a request. It’s an order.”

  My mouth fell open and I snapped it shut. “You can’t order me to become part of the tithe. Besides, I’m Fearless, and my name wasn’t on that fucking list!”

  He retrieved a folder from his desk and slid it across to me.

  I reached for it, pulling it onto my lap and flipping it open. Every case I had worked without authorisation was listed, complete with photographic evidence and witness statements. And the icing on the cake was a discharge order signed a week ago. Blane’s plan was suddenly crystal clear, and my heart, which I had thought was now invincible, shattered once again.

  “You’re blackmailing me?”

  Blane blinked rapidly and fixed his gaze on a point over my right shoulder. “The government needs a spy, someone who can report on the purpose of the tithe. Possibly infiltrate Erebus’s clan, and even if that isn’t possible, to gather as much intel as possible and upload it via a secure link back to Central Office. I suggested you. You’re trained. You are no longer Fearless. You’re the perfect tithe. Your name will be switched for Vanessa’s.”

  “You want me to spy until I die?”

  He blinked again.

  “At least have the courtesy to look at me when you’re asking me to die, you bastard!”

  Blane looked right at me, his jaw tight. “You took on unsanctioned cases. You dealt in black market luma, and you operated a Fearless sword when signed off active duty. You either do this or you go to prison for life and your family loses any and all privileges. You cooperate and we allow your family to remain secure. We even keep Bella’s name out of the tithe lottery for life.”

  My mouth went dry. Save Bella. Protect my family . . . Oh, god. I dropped the folder into my lap and buried my face in my hands.

  Tell him to go fuck himself. Tell him what a traitorous bastard he is, then say yes.

  Because I had no choice. Not really.

  CHAPTER18

  BRETT

  S outhern Base was Brett’s new home. Central Base had felt wrong after Kenna left. Her imprint lay on everything. Memories of their time together were around every corner. He’d found himself trapped between a home that was saturated with Danny’s essence, and a work environment steeped in Kenna’s. Moving offices had seemed the easier option. He threw himself into work, taking extra shifts, working doubles, whatever it took to not go home. He’d taken to keeping his toiletry bag in his desk drawer, and sometimes he’d kip on the lounge sofa.

  If anyone noticed they didn’t make a big deal. In fact he was up for a promotion soon. All those hours he’d put in had been noticed, but even the prospect of a pay raise did nothing to lift the grey veil that had fallen over his world.

  “Hey Donohue, you check the escort rota yet?” Karl called out as he made his way across the floor.

  Brett looked up from his paperwork. How could he have forgotten about that? Oh yes, because he’d spent the last year trying not to think about the day the love of his life had been taken from him.

  His face must have said it all because Karl held up his hands. “Shit, man I forgot,” his lips twisted. “And I guess so did whoever selected the escorts.”

  Brett’s veins filled with ice. “No.”

  Karl sighed and shook his head. “Sorry, mate.”

  Brett signed into his laptop, the machine whirred and whined in protest, the screen flickering green then black before he was given the option to log it. The damned tech in this place was going haywire. Instead of making things easier it just added precious minutes to each job. Finally logged in, he checked his mail. Sure enough, there was a message containing his pick-up. Fuck this! How insensitive could the system get, you’d think they’d give him a pass for a couple of years at least. He opened the email and read his pick-up’s name.

  His self-pity melted away as he realised just how insensitive the system could be.

  “Donohue, what is it?”

  Karl was still hovering.

  Brett looked up into his concerned face, the ice turning to dangerous heat. “You remember Kenna Carter?”

  Karl nodded. “Yeah. Never met her, but I heard about what happened. A fucking travesty that’s what it was. She was your partner, wasn’t she?”

  Brett swallowed, he wasn’t ready to delve into his part in what had happened, he needed to stop what was about to occur. “Yeah, well look who my pick-up is.”

  Karl moved round to read the email. His eyes widened and then his jaw clenched. “That is out of order.”<
br />
  Brett nodded. “And I think it’s about time we stood up and let them know how out of order this kind of shit is. That could be me, or you. What happened to Fearless for life, what happened to years of putting our life on the line, doesn’t it mean anything? What’s the point if they can just chuck us away like used toilet paper when they’re done with us?”

  Karl straightened, his eyes flashing. “I’m with you mate, this isn’t on.”

  Brett pushed back his chair, his body alive with real purpose for the first time in what felt like forever. He’d failed her once and he refused to sit this one out.

  ***

  He sat in the van watching the building they’d asked him to pick her up from. A bar called Clovers. He’d been keeping tabs on Malorie, Kenna’s mum, and Bella for the last few months. The bar had been mentioned more than once. Malorie attempted to encourage him to go see Kenna, but the fact that she hadn’t replied to any of his messages or answered his calls told him she wasn’t ready for that yet.

  Four hours, numerous calls, a heated meeting with the head of base, and enough back-up in the form of Fearless Officers to get his boss to call up the chain to Senior Command, all for nothing.

  The list was final. The decision would not be overturned.

  Helplessness was an angry band around his throat.

  The base was up in arms, petitions were being signed, but they wouldn’t save Kenna. Kenna’s fate was sealed. The petitions were to protect future Fearless, to prevent what was happening to her from happening to anyone else. She was the springboard, the example they would use to prevent this injustice occurring again. But none of it helped him save her.

  He’d failed her again.

  He’d tried calling but she didn’t pick up.

  She never picked up.

  And now he was here, waiting to drive her to an uncertain fate.

  “You going in, or shall I?” Lisa, his partner on this run, asked.

  Brett shook his head. “We won’t need to. She’ll be out in a moment.”

  Lisa nodded, her lips pressed together. She knew the story, knew who they were picking up, knew that Kenna was Fearless, and Fearless didn’t run from possible death.

  Sure enough, the door to the bar swung open and Kenna walked out.

  Brett’s vision blurred and he blinked away the moisture. Man, it had been too long. She looked different . . . smaller . . . more vulnerable. He should have been there . . .

  Lisa moved to open her door but Brett stopped her with a gentle touch to the elbow. “Let me.”

  “You sure you okay doing this?”

  Brett swallowed. “I need to.”

  Lisa nodded and sat back.

  Brett climbed out of the van and walked over to meet Kenna halfway. Her eyes widened when she saw him and then her lips curled in a mirthless smile.

  “Well, I guess someone up there wants me to have closure.”

  Brett couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips. “How you been Carter?”

  “Legless. You?”

  “Lonely.”

  They stood awkwardly on the kerb and then Kenna dropped her guard, her shoulders drooped and she held out her arms. Brett reached for her pulling her close and squeezing gently. She was all skin and bones and his heart ached for her, for their friendship that hadn’t been given a chance to heal, and for everything that could have been and shouldn’t be.

  “I missed you Kenna,” he whispered into her hair.

  “I missed you too, and for what it’s worth, I’m glad it’s you taking me.”

  With a final squeeze, she pulled away and Brett let her go.

  It was time.

  CHAPTER19

  W e must be almost there, we’d been driving for almost an hour. The back of the van was windowless and I didn’t have the heart to switch on the television provided. I just wanted it over, whatever it was going to be. The small chip inside my ear would allow me to record everything I learned, with an auto relay every fifteen minutes back to Central Office. It was a smart piece of tech, a meld of science and magick courtesy of Shamateck. My body was a canvass of gooseflesh and I clenched my teeth to stop the chatter of fear.

  The van came to shuddering halt.

  Were we here?

  The doors opened and sunlight streamed in.

  “Kenna!” Mum clambered into the back of the van and pulled me into a hug, squeezing so tight I could barely breathe. My eyes pricked and then I was crying into her shoulder. This is what I had been trying to avoid, why I’d asked to be picked up at Clovers, why I hadn’t gone home to say goodbye.

  “Mrs. Carter? I need to get moving again,” Brett said from outside the van.

  It was a funny twist of fate, Brett being the officer to pick me up from Clovers, but it had worked out for the best. As soon as I’d set eyes on him I’d known my reluctance to see him hadn’t been because I was afraid I hadn’t forgiven him, it had been the fear of how he’d look at me. But when he looked at me, all I saw was my best friend and the man who, if he could have been there, would have taken the hit for me.

  Mum cupped my face in her hands. “Listen to me baby girl, there are so many things I need to tell you, so many things you need to know, but there isn’t time right now. One thing I can promise you is that you do not need to be afraid. Promise me you won’t be afraid.”

  Her hands were warm brands of comfort on my cheeks. Her eyes were filled with fiery determination that fuelled what little hope was left in my heart.

  Her conviction gave me strength.

  “I won’t be afraid. I promise I won’t be afraid.” And like a magical mantra, my fear evaporated.

  She leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I’ll see you soon,” she whispered, and then Brett was helping her back out of the van, the doors were closing, and we were back on the move.

  ***

  I climbed out of the van. Brett, tight-lipped and moist eyed, led me to a line-up of twelve others. There were more men than women this time round, most were in their early twenties, but there were a few that were probably a year or two shy of thirty—shitty luck to be chosen when they were so close to being exempt. We eyed one another and exchanged shaky smiles, united in our predicament.

  The gate loomed before us; a rip in our reality so high that it reached up into the clouds. They’d built pillars to mark its location, and the Twilighters had etched the pillars with runes infused with luma, so no matter the time of day the gate was always visible, always glowing. The surface of the portal was as smooth as glass, reflecting the city behind us. Guards were stationed at either side, armed to the teeth. I moved toward the line-up but Brett gripped my elbow.

  “I’m here, Kenna, for as long as they let me.”

  I took my place in the line-up, and we began to move toward the portal. Brett and Lisa made up the rear—our escorts to ensure we crossed over. I was the last tithe through, and the only one not to vomit my guts up as soon as I came out the other end.

  Around me humans emptied the contents of their stomach, while Twilight guards, dressed in midnight blue, their golden hair tied back in long braids, passed around buckets. It looked like this was a normal occurrence and yet I was unaffected. I turned to see Brett wipe his mouth with the back of his sleeve and shake his head.

  “Well, they didn’t tell me that would happen.” He eyed me. “You’re not sick?”

  I patted my stomach. “Iron constitution.”

  This side of the gate was a simple field filled with swaying blooms and the smell of sweet grass. The sky was as clear as crystal, and motes of pollen floated on the breeze. In the distance lay mountainous terrain and a winding path that led goodness knew where. I cocked my head, listening to the melodic hum that carried itself on the gentle breeze and inhaled the heavy scent of magick. My eyes stung for a few beats as my olfactory system adjusted. Unlike on the human side of the gate there were no guard stations, only a few horses grazing peacefully to our left.

  One of the Twilight guards caught my eye and rais
ed a brow. I shrugged and he smiled and ambled over. “You don’t feel sick.”

  “She has an iron constitution,” Brett said.

  “I guess she does.”

  “Your people don’t guard this gate?” I asked him.

  He looked perplexed. “Why should we? No Twilighter would choose to live in the human world, and if they did we would not wish to stop them.”

  Someone yelled and the tithe broke into a frenzy.

  “Run!”

  “Stop!” Lisa shouted.

  I glanced at Brett but he was already on the move. Long legs carrying his powerful frame across the lush green grass after the idiot who’d thought he could get away. Lisa was busy restoring calm to the remaining tithe, her hand hovering at the hilt of her blade. The tithe was vital to the treaty. Thirteen or no deal.

  Shielding my eyes with my hand I squinted at the dots on the horizon—Brett and the runaway. The dots merged.

  Looked like Brett had him.

  “It isn’t right, this isn’t fair,” someone said.

  But it was the only way to protect the majority. We had no choice and they all knew it. Even the guy who’d run knew it. You could see it on his face as Brett led him back—the downturned mouth, the slump of his shoulders—it was defeat and acceptance.

  The Twilighter guard sighed. “There’s always one.”

  “So what happens now?”

  “Now we head to the tavern.”

  There was a beaten track up ahead, but the guards herded us in the opposite direction. Brett walked beside me to my right, and a Twilight guard strolled along to my left.

  “Why aren’t we taking the road?”

  “It leads to the kingdom of Twilight.” The guard’s face was solemn.

  “But this is Twilight, right?”

  “Yes, Twilight is ruled by three monarchs, the most powerful of which is Orin, the Twilight king.”

  “He named his kingdom Twilight after your world?”

  “He has the power to do so.”

  There was an undertone to his words, something I would have latched on to and teased out if I hadn’t been taking a stroll to an uncertain fate. My stomach quivered and I blew out a breath.