Chapter 16 Spark #4
For now, Auren would keep his silence and let Lucien do what he thought he must. It was cowardice and mercy braided into one.
"Vesperin, I’m so sorry," Lucien uttered. "I think Sabine and Talor may have played a part in Kiton’s death.
Lucien must leave. Again. It was a thousand cuts against his flesh to leave her here, but if he was to continue protecting her, he would endure any pain.
Vesperin was curled on the couch, a blanket over her lap, staring at the plain dark wall, deep in thought.
It had been two days since she’d come back from scouting the underground lab in Nova Zone 21.
Two days since she’d shared with him her understanding of Sabine and Talor’s deception.
And two days since he had revealed his hand—the first of many:
His belief that the Blackfalls had orchestrated Kiton’s death to get Vesperin alone. An easy target.
A haze of disbelief and ghost-like entrancement had befallen her in the days since. Similar to the one that had gripped her after Kiton’s death—yet wholly different. For this one held an underlying strength and determination that frightened Lucien to his core.
He passed a hand over the back of the couch, fingers tickling the ends of her hair where it was draped over it.
She didn’t jolt. "Vesperin," he murmured, careful of his words; though, the others were out—Rhyden doing god knew what, Auren reaping, and Cyrus…
Lucien was not sure where the mercurial incubus was, and that was alarming. "I hate leaving you here."
She finally turned to stare up at him, and he was shocked to find her grey eyes clear and bright. "I understand," she said simply. "You have to do what you must, Lucien." She mumbled something under her breath that he couldn’t quite catch.
"What?"
Vesperin shook her head. "Nothing. Go." Standing, she kept the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, small fingers curled in the front of it.
The lights in the flat were low, shadows pooling in the corners.
"I feel like we always leave each other.
Ships in the night." She smiled, and the edges cracked and bled.
A blanket-covered hand reached for his chest; even through the barrier, he felt her touch.
"We weren’t meant to be, anyway. Some ships may never pass, and some are meant to sail alone. "
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I am sorry, you know. For all of it. I’m sorry that—that things couldn’t be different… between us."
"Me too," she whispered. "I’ll always wonder…" She trailed off, and when she met his eyes again, there was a fire within them, so hot the flames were pure white. "Blackfall Industries will burn."
"All fires start with a spark, my V girl, and we’ve yet to find theirs."
"That’s where you’re wrong, Lucien." She shook off her blanket, and it pooled to the floor, revealing her tight leggings and large shirt.
Her bare palms pressed to the tiny bit of skin revealed at his chest, where the top few buttons of his shirt were undone.
"We know exactly what the spark is; we just have to light it. "
Understanding hit Lucien. "You do believe me, then? That Sabine and Talor may have…" He hesitated to say it, but she was steel before him, so he would be, too. "Orchestrated Kiton’s death?"
She gritted her jaw. "I do. It’s all too much of a coincidence not to be.
I’m remembering things now. Little things.
The way Kit would talk about them, how he’d hate going home for family dinners, but would do it for me, to be there for me.
It’s like, understanding that, made it all click in my head. "
"I hate this, Vesperin," Lucien shared. "So much. I hate it for you… and I hate it for him."
Her pinky hooked under the collar of his shirt, tugging. "I do too. That’s why they’ll pay."
On Lucien’s way out, Auren caught him in the underground parking garage.
In a flash of white, the Soul Searcher was before him. Lucien was used to his ways by now, but he still flinched.
"Just in time," Lucien said, voice carrying in the empty space.
"You’re leaving?" Auren hooked his scythe over his back, removing his hood.
"I have to keep up appearances."
Auren nodded, and when Lucien drew nearer, he was able to read the clear unease on his face.
"When?" the Soul Searcher asked—just one word, but Lucien understood.
"Soon…" Lucien replied. He would tell her soon, but even soon felt like a lifetime for all the secrets piled between them.
"What will you do when she knows?"
Pain filled Lucien at the thought of his plans. "Leave. I cannot be around her after everything I’ve done."
"No." Auren took a step forward. "After everything you have been forced to do, the exact thing you need is to be near her. You are her Soulbond." The word echoed, high and hollow, filling Lucien’s very being. Too loud. Too known.
"She does not need me. I am not… good for her," Lucien stressed, staring at his car parked mere feet away. Whatever Auren thought was wrong—a lie. He didn’t know the truth of how Lucien had failed her. He could’ve protected her in so many better ways. Maybe then, Kiton would still be alive.
"She does need you," said Auren. "You cannot see it, but I do—and she needs you desperately.
Tell her." His blue eyes searched Lucien’s, but he spoke no more.
Air whistled past as the Soul Searcher turned to leave, palm scanning over the keypad—Rhyden had configured their prints for it—and entering without a backward glance.
Rin’s heart was in her throat as she quickly typed away on Rhyden’s laptop.
The flat was dark, the lights set to low, and the blue screen burned her eyes.
Everything narrowed to this moment. As she typed the last word in the private search engine, she held her breath, the last few days blurring as the screen loaded.
Her lies, her planning—all culminated in these few precious, stolen seconds, while Cyrus slept on the large bed, back to her; the others were out for the night, occupied with whatever kept them busy while she was stuck here…
The screen loaded, and her fingers tapped the counter, feeling like any moment someone would come up behind her and wonder why she was searching for over-the-counter silver tablets.
Argent. Tablets containing tiny silver particles used as an immune booster—but the real use was to ward off vampires. It was most prominently sold at travel agencies for Sangreal. And it was exactly what she was looking for.
Rin exited out of the search window and closed Rhyden’s laptop, moving it to be exactly as she found it. She pulled up the map on her phone and searched for the nearest convenience store. A ten-minute walk. She could do this.
Tucking her Echogun under her dark hooded coat, she also grabbed a few knives—just in case. The feel of the blade against her flesh, where it was tucked in her waistband, felt like coming home.
At the door, Rin paused and tugged her hood over her head, staring at the dark flat. Her eyes found Cyrus as he slumbered. His back rose and fell steadily with his every breath.
She could be back before anyone realized she was gone, right?
Rin left, the door clicking shut behind her quietly. In the parking garage, her head swiveled, a hand on her holster under her jacket. Her footsteps echoed. Lucien had brought a few more of her things back to the flat, and she was grateful to have her thick boots back.
She followed the directions on her phone, eyes flicking between the night-tinged, empty streets and the tiny blue line on the map that led her right to the convenience store.
It was dark, windows covered with thick bars.
But not the front door. She kept her face concealed by her hood as she angled her body to the side, away from any cameras.
She grabbed her knife and flipped it until the butt of the handle was facing out.
She held her breath as she jammed it into the glass of the front door.
It shattered, too loud in the night. Since it was curfew, it was quiet, but she was still on guard for Hunters—or worse, lone Rogues.
Rhyden’s base was in a bad part of Solar City, so she was lucky the store was old enough not to have a working alarm system.
She used a sleeve-covered hand to wipe away some jagged edges in her way. Then, she carefully stepped inside, boots crunching over the broken glass.
She used her phone’s flashlight to scan the dark shelves, heading straight for the run-down pharmacy in the back, the counter covered with chains.
"Come on, come on," Rin mumbled under her breath, eyes shooting to the shattered glass door at the front of the small store, then back as she searched for what she was after. A tiny bottle, white and unsuspecting. Argent. "Yes!" she whispered.
Rin grabbed the bottle and stuffed it in her pocket. She quickly hurried out, but not before dropping more than enough bills on the counter to cover for the stolen pills—and the broken glass.
Her walk back was quiet. She stuck to the open streets, deciding she’d rather run into a Hunter on patrol than a Rogue in the dark.
The shadows were thick in the parking garage, and a chill swept down her spine. She swore the shadow following her was larger than her own—a hand-shaped silhouette reaching for her.
Rin practically ran to the door, slamming her palm on the keypad. The light blinked, and the door opened. She fell inside, breath ragged.
Freezing, her wide eyes landed on the bed. Cyrus hadn’t moved.
It had all been too easy. Now, time for the part she dreaded the most. As soon as she could get Rhyden alone—or else her whole plan would fail.
Three days later, Rin could finally put her plan into motion.
"They need me at the hospital for an emergency surgery," Lucien said to her, as he quickly gathered up his bag and hurried out the door after passing a hand over the top of her head.
One down.
Next was Auren. The Soul Searcher sat on the couch by her side, a book in hand as he read quietly under his breath, the words nearly lulling her to sleep—she pinched her thigh to keep herself alert.
He shot up, back ramrod straight as he stared off at nothing.
His scythe glowed where it rested by his side.
He dog-eared the page and placed the book down by Rin’s thigh.
Standing, he held the scythe in his hand and tugged his hood up.
Rin stared up at him, realizing the tiny Star under his lazy blue eyes glowed faintly.
"I’ve been called to reap." In a rush, Auren still bent down to gather her hand up and pressed a scorching kiss to the back of it. "I will return, Hunter."
That was two.
Rhyden was typing away at his laptop hours later, a glass of blood in hand as he worked. The small box television in the corner was set on low, and Rin was on the floor before it, stretching to work through the agitation thrumming in her veins.
Cyrus lay on the couch at her back, and every time she bent and twisted to work out her body, she heard his low sound of appreciation, turning agitated in a way she recognized.
"Dammit, doll!" Cyrus cursed suddenly.
She turned, her white hair hanging over her shoulder as she peered up at him from her seated position. The incubus raked a shaking hand through his hair as he stood roughly, storming to the door. He paused, turning back to her to point a trembling finger at her shell-shocked form.
"I’m only doing this for you. Otherwise"—his finger swung to the vampire—"I would’ve drained that bastard dry by now. I’ll be back. I have to feed."
Oh. That was what that was. Rin understood now what the tenseness in his shoulders meant. He was hungry. The shadows under his eyes were dark, making his purple gaze even more striking. The air crackled around him.
Rin unfurled from her stretched position, legs twinging as she stood. No way… It was already happening. He was leaving her here, alone with Rhyden.
She tempered the excited unease in her eyes. "Go feed," she told the incubus. "You know how to be safe?"
Cyrus reached forward and grabbed her wrist, fingers brushing over the bracelet he’d given her. "I’ve been sneaking away to feed the whole time we’ve been here, and I’ve not been found out yet. I’ll be okay." He lowered his voice. "Don’t let him bully you."
Rin swallowed. If he knew what she had planned, she doubted he’d be saying that… "I won’t."
"Be good, doll. I’ll be back in a few hours."
The door shut behind him, and then it was just Rin and Rhyden.
Alone.