Chapter 15
Zayne
Shielding my eyes from the blinding morning sun, I walk out of the back door of Frequency.
With a coffee in hand, I sit on the picnic bench we’d installed, while fumbling in the pocket of my jacket, looking for my sunglasses.
Jesus, it’s too early for this shit, I mutter to myself as I finally slide my glasses on.
The crisp air of the morning clashes with the heat of my coffee, and I watch as the steam rises and wisps away.
In the distance, I can hear the rumble of an engine. A very distinct engine, in fact, and just as it rounds the corner, I see Knox’s Charger as he pulls in.
“You look as good as I feel,” he mutters, as he slowly makes his way out of the car, sipping his own coffee.
“That sounds promising, since you look like dogshit,”
He takes a seat next to me on the picnic bench and stares off into space. Lost in our own thoughts, we sit there for a few minutes, taking in the moment of peace. I think we both know from here on out that the destruction Jasper has planned has only just begun.
I stand up and stretch, nod to Knox that it’s time, and then I start to head to the back door of the club.
“Did you get a hold of them?” Knox asks.
“Yeah. They should be at the meet-up spot when we get there,”
“Cool,” he says as we make our way into the elevator.
“What role do you think Myssa is gonna play against Jasper? I mean, you said it yourself. She’s different, right?” he asks.
This is the question I’d sat up almost all-night thinking about, too.
I don’t understand the pull she has, not only for me, but she had a ripple effect that even Knox has felt the last few times she was here.
I built this club here because I knew it would make it easier to transition between worlds.
When surveying the land, I’d found this area has the strongest inter-crossing ley lines.
Which also makes the frequency extremely strong here.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m hoping Jess and Steph will have some answers,” I say.
We continue in silence as we make our way up the stairs to my office. Knox takes a seat in the chair in front of my desk.
“Have you heard from her today?” I ask.
“No, and I’m hoping that’s a good thing for now. I texted Vix to hold off on telling her anything, and promised we would keep her posted on what was going on,” Knox says, picking at the label of his coffee cup.
“How’s that going?” I ask.
Knox’s blank face amuses me, as he’s not quite understanding what I’m asking. I pry just a bit more.
“You and Vix.” A smirk lifts the side of my mouth.
His demeanor changes, and he looks everywhere but at me.
“We’re just friends. I wish you all would stop trying to set us up,” he huffs.
“Mmhmm.” I sip my coffee.
“Don’t we have more pressing things to deal with right now?” he says, his cheeks reddening in frustration.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose so.”
As we transition, I find myself standing in the same room I was just in a few hours ago, and I glance around to see a small group of guards awaiting our arrival.
“Oh look, the gang’s all here?” Knox nudges me with a grin.
Before I can say anything, though, the group of soldiers slowly make a path between them.
A hauntingly beautiful black-haired woman draped in a dark cloak comes closer.
Her piercing silver eyes lock on to me, and for a moment, it’s as if she can see through me, reading my thoughts and worries.
Her head tilts to the side as if questioning something, but her eyes swiftly soften, and her energy shifts to match.
I quickly avert my eyes, breaking our bond.
“Nice to see you, Zayne. It’s been quite a while. I must say, it was unexpected to hear you’d requested a meeting.” Although her voice was soft, it commanded presence.
“Hello, Steph. It has, I’m sorry to intrude, but I felt this was a conversation that needed to be done in person instead of through soldiers.”
She steps closer to me and leans in a little. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
“Let’s go down where prying eyes and ears can't hear, shall we?” she whispers.
Before we proceed, she shifts her focus to my right and nods, giving Knox the attention he always seeks when seeing her.
Knox has always had a small crush on Steph, and he knows she’s Jess’s and that Jess would crush him in a blink of an eye.
But that doesn’t ever stop Knox from laying it on thick when it comes to Steph.
“Knox, good to see you.”
“Looking as lovely as ever, Steph.” He winks.
She smiles back at him and turns to lead the way to the underground. Her soldiers dressed in matching dark cloaks, are tall and menacing. They position themselves around her, as we make our way down the stairs.
I jab my elbow into Knox’s side.
“Ow, what was that for?” He rubs his ribs.
“Jess will have your soul if he catches you flirting with Steph.” I scowl.
“I’m not flirting. I just said hi, take it easy, man.” He scowls back at me.
“Besides, I like someone else,” he casually admits.
“Oh, now you wanna confess your love?” I laugh.
He shrugs, and I shake my head at him as we continuing through the passageway.
The underground bunker has grown significantly since we were last here. It seems more recruitments have been added, which in turn has created a need for expansion.
The large room we walk into looks as though it’s straight out of a movie.
Maps are draped across the walls, and the long table that occupies the middle of the room is surrounded by large, engraved oak chairs currently occupied by a group of people heavily engrossed in conversation.
As we approach, they turn their attention our way, pausing their discussion and the man at the head of the table stands up.
“Zayne!” Jess bellows as he stands tall, then his 6’6” frame walks around the table to greet us.
His long brown hair is pulled into a half ponytail, flowing in the air, his silver gaze meets mine, dancing with excitement.
His hand is already stretched out to grasp mine, and his other grips the top of my shoulder firmly.
“It’s good to see you.” As he lets go of me, he turns in Knox's direction, and his grin falters.
“Knox,” he barks. “Have you flirting with Steph again?” he scolds, towering over him.
Knox’s eyes widen, and his throat bobs as he swallows hard. Steph stifles a laugh as she looks in amusement.
“I…uh…well…” Knox stumbles.
Jess, failing to keep the facade up, buckles as he begins to laugh.
“Knox, I’m kidding.” He slaps Knox on the arm.
Knox's shoulders instantly relax, and the look of relief on his face is priceless. He glances at me with a half-cocked grin, and I give him the universal facial expression of, “I told you so.”
Jess puts his hand on Knox’s shoulder. “C'mon on, let's go talk somewhere private.”
We follow them to an adjacent, much smaller, room which houses only a small round table with chairs. Old, tattered papers are scattered across it.
I take a seat across from Jess, and Knox sits to my right.
Steph closes the door and perches next to Jess.
Jess rubs his forehead as the warm and enthusiastic welcome fades from his face.
The facade, no doubt, is to keep people calm.
His worn features and weary eyes looking back at me tell me he’s been through many sleepless nights.
Signs that this battle has been taxing. It must be exhausting to have the lives of so many looking to you for guidance.
His duty to find the solution to end this undoubtedly weighing heavily on him.
Especially since doing so means bringing an end to his own brother.
And how, exactly, do you end an immortal?
“So, you’ve requested this meeting in person—I’m assuming you’ve come with news?” he asks.
I waver for a minute. I don’t know what role Myssa will play.
Or if she will have any. The pressure of bringing hope to them makes me question if this was the right decision.
At this point, it is all we have, though.
Something, or someone, has to be better than nothing, right?
Confident in my decision, I sit up straighter.
“We have met another Original,” I say.
A glimmer of hope flashes in his eyes. He shifts his shoulders as his interest peaks.
“It has been quite some time since we’ve seen another Original besides you and Knox. Have they crossed over yet?”
I nod in confirmation.
“Her name is Myssa.” My muscles tense as her name leaves my lips. I can see Steph out of the corner of my eye she is fixated on my words and her unwavering stare is making me nervous. I know she’s trying to read my body language, to see what effect Myssa has on me.
Jess and Steph know about my past—Steph found me that night in Aetheriem. The memories are etched in my mind and I can recall them as easily as if it happened yesterday.
The devastation in his eyes as he looked at me. The helplessness I’d felt watching as it happened still haunts me. A phantom pain still lingers, and I absentmindedly trail my fingertips across my chest. The collateral damage of his decision.
Jess stands and begins to pace, deep in his own thoughts.
“That explains the current shift in the frequency. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that Jasper and I are the only immortals in Aetheriem who can sense those changes. So, if I felt it…” He trails off as he stops and turns to look at me.
“Jasper already knows,” I whisper, watching the small flame of hope in his eyes extinguish. It doesn’t take long for fury to appear in its place. His nostrils flare, and the composure he’d had earlier now unravels. He grips the back of the chair so tightly, his knuckles turn white.
“What does that mean, exactly?” he seethes.