PARKER
FIFTEEN
Pacing around the small, warded room with no windows, I racked my brain to figure out how this had all gone so wrong.
We arrived at the base and were invited into the war room where Makoto was, along with the men who led this base.
They asked us to fill them in on what happened and what we knew about the situation with the tsunami wave.
They knew the others had been kidnapped, but it seemed they managed to get away, leaving the people who kidnapped them stranded in the ocean.
I was surprised they knew so much already when it had only happened a half hour before.
Then again, it was Makoto’s whole purpose to keep up with what was going on in the world around us.
Once they got the information they needed, I noticed Jay and Micah both smiling to themselves as if something was going on that I didn’t know about.
Shame burned within me, guessing it had to do with Lailah and their Bond to her.
If she figured out we were in trouble, she would absolutely need to make sure they were okay.
Since we ditched our phones, there was no other way to contact us except through the one thing that would never be taken from them.
Makoto seemed to notice this as well, giving some hidden signal.
It was too late by the time I noticed that his men were coming up behind the others.
A sharp prick to the neck and seconds later, I was out like a light, only to wake up who knows how much later in this goddamn room, alone.
How could we have walked into a trap like this?
Really though, it wasn’t until we started putting all the pieces together that it crossed my mind.
When I tried to bring it up, Jay seemed like he’d come to the same conclusion.
I had to hope that Lailah and the others were safe and didn’t figure out where we were.
If Makoto was double-crossing us, then we were well and truly fucked.
There was no way they would guess that we were here though.
I never would have even considered that there was a base here in South Africa.
Although, she had Hudson and Brayden with her and they were the logical ones in the group.
If they were trying to figure out where we would run to after the bombing, they would look to see if one was close by.
Every turn we made the Dark Lord was ahead of us.
Add in Makoto and it all made sense. That man had his fingers in all the pies and made himself invaluable to the Elementi.
The sound of footsteps outside my door made me freeze.
I tried to call on my powers but nothing happened, almost as if I didn’t have any, which made no sense at all.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself and looked inward but there was nothing but an empty void for me to fall through.
This was what it felt like when I went after Lailah when she was trapped in her dream.
This darkness was alive, lurking, waiting patiently for me to step foot in its world so it could pull me under.
Could this be the darkness that the Dark Lord was talking about?
The evil that now blemished my soul? Had the angels changed their mind, choosing to abandon me to my fate since I betrayed them and Lailah?
“Step to the back of the cell and place your hands on the wall above your head where we can see them,” a man ordered.
My first response was to tell him to fuck off, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good.
If I wanted to find a way to help the other two and get us the fuck out of this place, I needed to think smart.
Not my strongest skill, but everyone has a moment when they need to step up in life, and this was mine.
Once I did as they requested, there was a lull before the door opened and two soldiers entered.
“Keep still. If you move then we’ll have no other choice but to use the cattle prod on you,” the soldier warned as he approached.
I didn’t move or say a word as he came up and yanked my hands behind me, putting them in cuffs. “Typically, I only let women cuff me but I guess you’re cute enough,” I commented, unable to keep from saying something.
That got me a kick to the back of my knees, dropping me to the floor and my face hitting the wall as I pitched forward, unable to stop myself. “Damn, you sure know how to show a guy a good time. That’s alright, I’m good with things being rough.”
“Shut your goddamn mouth before I shock you for pissing me off,” the soldier snapped. “Makoto wants to see you. If you have any brain cells in that head of yours, I suggest you listen carefully to what he has to say.”
Things were getting interesting. I let him heave me up and drag me down the hall that had doors on each side of the hall—ten of them if I had a guess.
I’d bet everything that the other two were here as well, but the doors were steel and had a keypad entry, which I could bypass, but it wouldn’t be quick.
As we walked, I kept an eye on all the security and tried to find ways around it.
I had a feeling I was the only one who could pull it off.
Jay might know how to deal with his father and the other soldiers but he didn’t know security like I did.
As for Micah, he would sooner burn the whole building down than have the patience to organize a plan.
My journey ended in an office, where I was once again brought to my knees in front of a desk that Makoto sat behind, looking over some paperwork. “You may leave. I’m sure he won’t be any trouble since he doesn’t have his powers.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier responded, giving a slight bow before leaving.
Once he left the room, closing the door, I got to my feet, not really enjoying the feeling of debasing myself in front of a man I’d known for most of my life. “What the hell is going on, Makoto?”
He looked at me over the pair of reading glasses he wore, like I was some bothersome kid even though he had to look up at me.
“Is that how you want to start this off, Parker?” He motioned for me to take a seat in a chair that was in front of his desk.
“We need to have a chat, you and me. If my information is correct, then you are the only man out of the group who hasn’t tied yourself to a fate ending in death. ”
My brows knit together as I sank into the chair, which was extremely uncomfortable with your hands cuffed behind you. “I’m not sure I’m following?”
“Parker, you might play the fool but I know you aren’t quite as dumb as you pretend to be.
” Makoto sighed, taking his glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose.
“You’ve already figured out that I’m not loyal to the Elementi and even if you’re not sure how or why, you believe that I’m helping the Dark Lord, which is true.
I was never convinced that the Elementi were in the right and when I was only able to have one child, the angels decided to take him away from me.
Those who are Elemental Warriors give up everything in their pursuit to rid the world of demons.
Those idiots don’t realize that there will never be a world without demons in it.
Good and evil have existed together since the beginning of time.
There can never be a world without evil which means demons will never be gone.
The angels are just using us in a battle they’re tired of fighting.
They know we can’t truly win, which is why they only created five warriors at a time, with the promise of a secret weapon to end it all.
After seeing a sample of her skills, I’m beginning to see that she is something special but there is no way she will ever be able to defeat the Dark Lord.
She’s too soft, untrained, and well... female. ”
My stomach dropped as he talked about Lailah. Maybe he was talking about the battles we’d already fought. It didn’t have to mean she was here, trapped like the rest of us.
“Lailah is here?” I asked, trying to sound calm.
“Yes, she arrived yesterday along with Hudson and Brayden. It seems that the police are after all of you for the bombing,” Makoto commented, like it wasn’t a big deal.
“I tell you this because if you plan to run away, know they will be looking for all of you. Forever you will be fugitives and will have to live a life on the run.”
“You... you set us up?” I demanded.
“Perhaps I was wrong and you are as dumb as you seem. Yes, Parker, I set you up, but I didn’t know who would go to the meeting, so I had a team watching the hotel as well to take action once the bomb went off.”
“All those innocent people you killed!” I yelled, shooting up out of my chair. “Have you always been this coldhearted and fooled all of us for so long? God knows you’ve never shown Jay or his mother any love or kindness, so my money’s on the fact you’ve always been a bastard.”
Makoto slowly stood and met my gaze. “Sit. Down.”
“Really, and what’s going to happen if I say no? Are you going to kill me? Well, if the Dark Lord wins, we’re all going to be dead as it is, so why not speed up the process?” I challenged, feeling reckless.
“Kill you—no, that would be too simple. I would just torture Lailah in front of you so she knew that you were the reason it was happening. How do you think she would feel, knowing you once again betrayed her?”
Holy shit, Makoto wasn’t fucking around. The look in his eye told me he would enjoy every moment of doing it too. Not breaking my gaze with his, I sat back down as I clenched my jaw, hating every second of bending to his will.
“The six of you are too soft.” Makoto huffed.
“What does it matter what she thinks of you? Didn’t she kick you out of the house, rejecting you completely?
The only reason they have you with them now is to use you.
They all know they can’t beat the Dark Lord without you.
Why protect them? They’ve always hated you.
Help me deal with them and the Dark Lord will find a place for you in the new world.
Your gift of emotional and physical manipulation is something he finds valuable. ”
“I’m sorry, I think the drugs you gave me have rattled my brain. Did you just ask me to betray Lailah and the others?” I asked, wishing I had my hands free to check to make sure I was really awake right now.
“That is exactly what I said,” Makoto confirmed.
“The only reason we’re having this conversation right now is because you are free from her hold.
The Dark Lord will win this battle now that I have all six of you secure on base.
No one can get out of this place, though many have tried.
It was built to be the starting grounds to the Dark Lord’s army. ”
There was so much wrong with that statement I didn’t even know where to begin.
Makoto was never looking for the Dark Lord’s army because he was one of the people in charge of it.
No wonder the Elementi were always two steps behind everything and getting into trouble at every turn.
Makoto gave them a direct feed of information about us.
Clearly, he didn’t have the same grasp in Wisconsin because we didn’t have any staff and connected with the other headquarters that didn’t use him the same way.
Here on the eastern side of the world, he could manipulate everything.
Must have been why he dragged us out of the US and onto his turf.
“If I said yes, what would you need from me?” I asked, trying to understand what else Makoto wanted.
Makoto narrowed his eyes at me as if he didn’t really believe that I would help him.
I didn’t know what he was looking for in my expression but he grunted and sat back in his chair.
“I want to know what makes Synergy so special. What it is that the angels thought to create that would destroy someone like the Dark Lord. From what I’ve seen so far, there’s no way it could happen.
The girl only has close-range defensive skills.
Sure, she can purge a demon from a human body but it kills the human in the end.
None of that could stop the Dark Lord from doing what he wanted, so there must be something else that only activates with the other knights.
I can’t trust any of the others to show me her skills.
They would use them to try and escape or kill me.
You, on the other hand, owe them nothing. ”
“So you keep reminding me,” I muttered.
“Only because it seems like you keep holding out hope that she will take you back and forgive you. I wish to keep you from falling into that lie when there is another option that doesn’t end in death.
A smart man would look at the big picture and choose the winning team.
Are you a smart man, Parker?” Makoto asked, folding his hands in his lap, waiting for an answer.
My mind raced with how I could play this to my advantage and what I kept coming back to was that I had to say yes.
Lailah was the only person who could end all this, so if I could get her free, the Dark Lord would know he wasn’t safe.
No one knew the truth of what she could do, not even us, if I was being honest. Hell, she didn’t even know, but the angels had come to tell her that she wasn’t scratching the surface of what she could do.
If this was the way I could help her and the others, then fuck it, I’d lie the best I knew how.
If Makoto found out I was playing him, I’d absolutely die, but that was a risk I was willing to make for the woman I loved and the men who were important to her.
“You’re right,” I stated. “No matter what I do, she won’t ever forgive me.
I’ve groveled enough and my knees are getting sore from crawling back into her favor.
That’s not even touching how the guys feel about things.
Micah would gladly see me dead while the others would just watch, believing I deserved it.
I’ll do what you need me to as long as you promise me that I won’t end up on the chopping block next to them. ”
Makoto smiled, then stood, walking around to uncuff me.
He motioned for my hand, which I held out to him.
Before I could even react, he took a small knife out of his sleeve and sliced my palm before chanting a string of words I’d never heard before.
The cut burned, and a symbol was branded into my skin from the blood that pooled there.
“You’ve just made a pact with the devil.
Break it and you will lose your life. This is the only way to make sure you don’t back out of the deal, Parker.
Show your loyalty to the cause and you will reap your reward. ”
I was so fucked.