Chapter 20
Istand there, eyes wide with horror, too afraid to look down at the broken pieces. At all that remains of the man I love.
“Ace?”
I blink. I’m hearing things.
“Ace?”
Then someone grabs my ankle. Gasping, I look down and see Jac lying on the ground, blinking dust from his eyes.
“Jac!” I drop down and wrap my arms around him.
“You’re alive!” He pulls me to him, holding me close as I slide my hands down his back, breathing in powder from the broken stone.
It makes me cough, but I don’t care. “You’re alive!
” And then I realize something else. My hands are on his back, feeling smooth skin.
“And you’re human.”
Jac gets up, helping me to my feet. I look him up and down. His wings are gone. His eyes are brighter than before, and he’s standing in the sunlight.
“The curse has been broken,” he mutters, pulling me close again. “You did it.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I say, too shocked to form a coherent thought. “But you’re…you’re really here.”
“I am. And so are you.” He tips my head up and kisses me. “And you’re hurt. Shit, Ace, you’re really hurt.”
“I’ve been worse.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “When?” His wings are gone, but he’s still the same Jacques I fell in love with.
“I can’t recall right now.” I let out a breath. “The others!”
“If the curse broke for me, I’d assume it broke for them too.”
“They’re alone. Maybe they don’t—”
“Ace,” Jac says, pulling me back to what’s really important, which is getting the fuck out of here. “They’re not alone. And if the curse woke them…they’ll be here soon.”
“But you’re…you’re human. So they will be too.”
“Human, but still warriors. We need to act fast.”
I nod and step back, wincing from the pain. I know Jac is right, but I can’t seem to take my hands off of him. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I rest my head on his chest again, needing to be sure that he’s actually here and I’m not imagining any of this. His heart is beating, slow and steady, and I listen to it for a few seconds before pulling myself away. “Fuck, my head hurts. They hit my car, Jac. My fucking car.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
He helps me to the ground, turning and looking at the sun for a quick second.
He hasn’t seen daylight in nearly a thousand years.
“That annoying teenage boy was jogging and saw your car being pulled from a ditch. He said you weren’t in it, but he had a bad feeling and recorded a three-minute-long video of the process. ”
“Smart kid.” I lean against the wall and reach for Jacques’s hand. “Go look at the sun. I…I need to rest. When Trent comes back, I’ll play dead. He won’t be expecting this.” My eyes start to flutter shut.
“Stay with me, Ace.”
“I will.” I reach for him. “I always will.”
Jac kisses my forehead and moves away, picking through the crumbles of stone. He comes back with the biggest piece he can find and gives it to me. He keeps another big piece for himself.
And then he goes over to the window, waiting for Mr. Trent to come back.
I try to stay alert but each second gets harder and harder.
I might be strong, but my body can only take so much.
It’s been beat to hell and drugged since yesterday.
Once this is over, I’m booking myself a spa day and sleeping in until noon.
“Does Mr. Trent have powers?” Jac asks me, hands going to the cuffs around my wrist.
“No.”
Jacques runs his finger over the cuff, thinking. “An incantation was used to put these on. It can be used to take them off.” He takes my right hand in his and holds it over the cuff on my left wrist. “Can you think of a spell?”
“Just make one up?”
“Yes. All spells were just ‘made up’ at one time, you know.”
“Always the teacher,” I say with a smile, flicking my eyes to his. “Umm…okay. Give me a second.” I close my eyes again, mind wanting to check out. “Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free.” I open my eyes and look at Jac. “Does that work?”
“It’s enough to channel your energy into a specific intent. Now focus. Imagine the cuffs falling off. Say the spell.”
“Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free,” I whisper, and Jacques says the spell along with me. “Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free.”
“It’s working,” Jacques says, and I feel the cuffs loosen on my wrists. “Keep saying the spell.”
“Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free.” The cuffs start to vibrate on my wrists. “Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free.”
The cuff on my left wrist comes loose. I pick up my hand and Jacques slides it off.
“Feel better?”
I take in a breath, pain webbing through my ribs. But my head isn’t as fuzzy. “Yes.” I summon the fire, flames burning bright along my fingers, and go to melt the cuff on my other wrist.
“Wait, Ace,” Jacques says, reaching for me. I close my fist at the last second, keeping him from getting burned. “We don’t want to be detected, remember?”
“Oh, right.” The smell of burning can seep under the door, and setting off a fire alarm again wouldn’t be a good idea.
“It should be easier this time.”
I nod and hold my left hand over my right wrist. “Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free. Undo what has been done to me, unlock the bindings so I can be free.” I don’t even finish saying the spell for the second time before the cuff loosens and falls to the ground.
“Now try to heal yourself.”
“What?”
“You’re injured, Ace. You can’t fight like this.”
“I know.”
“You need to try and heal yourself by bringing in energy.” He cups his hands around my face. “Take mine.”
“Jac, no. You need your energy.”
He kisses me softly. “I’m human now, Ace. Fighting was never my strong suit. But you…you’re a fighter.”
“Will it kill you?” My heart starts to race again and the same fear courses through my veins. “I thought I lost you just minutes ago, Jac. I’m not losing you again.”
“Don’t take all of my energy and I’ll be fine. Just a little tired.”
I look into his dark eyes and nod. “Okay.”
He takes my hands and places them on his chest. Then he rests his forehead against mine. I exhale and close my eyes. I’ve never taken energy from something before. I’m not sure how to do it.
Using the same method I use when I pull in energy from the air around me, I almost immediately feel Jac’s energy rushing into mine. It’s intense, like the best caffeine rush I’ve ever had. I pull in more, until my ribs stop aching with every breath and my head doesn’t throb anymore.
Then I let go.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, bringing my hands to his face.
“Yes. You…you should take more.”
“That’s more than enough,” I say, though I know I’m far from being able to fight. “I’m still counting on running on adrenaline when push comes to shove anyway.”
He gives me a small smile. “That’s the Ace I know.” The smile disappears from his face. “Someone’s coming down the hall.”
“You can hear that?”
He nods and slowly moves away. “Be ready,” he says, and picks up the rocks again.
I hold mine in my hand and lie back down, pretending to be dead.
I listen as hard as I can but can’t hear anyone out in the hall.
As a gargoyle, the guys had better-than-human hearing. They could see in the dark as well.
Did some of the powers remain?
The door opens and Mr. Trent steps in. “What the—where are your wings?”
“I take on a human form during the day,” Jacques says. My hair is over my face, covering me enough to be able to slit my eyes open and watch what’s going on.
Jacques is by the window, looking down at the city.
“But once the sun sets, you’re a monster again, correct?” Mr. Trent asks.
“Yes. Your monster.”
“I see you took care of the witch.”
“Yes.” Jacques lowers his head.
“Good. Now, follow me. We have much to do before I send you out tonight.”
“Out?” Jacques questions.
“Yes. Out. You are under my control now and will do what I say whether you like it or not. Now come with me.”
Jacques twitches, acting as if he’s trying to resist Mr. Trent’s orders. He strides past me, going to the door.
“Get rid of the body,” Mr. Trent says to someone. “Shame she was so difficult. Powers like hers could have really come in handy.”
“You never could have controlled her,” Jacques snaps.
“I know,” Mr. Trent says. “Hence why I ordered you to kill her.” His voice gets quieter as he moves out of the room.
I lie still, waiting and holding my breath.
Charles comes into the room, muttering to himself about doing all of Mr. Trent’s dirty work.
He drops a brand-new blue tarp on the ground, still folded-up and wrapped in plastic.
He puts on rubber gloves, and I know this isn’t the first time he’s disposed of a body for Mr. Trent.
Carefully, I start bringing my arm up while Charles’s back is turned. He drops a bottle of bleach onto the floor and lets out a sigh, sounding annoyed.
“At least there’s not much blood,” he mutters to himself, turning back around. I freeze, holding my breath and trying as hard as I can to ignore the stabbing pain it’s causing my lungs.
He crouches down, picking up the tarp and opening the packaging. As he lays it down next to me, I squeeze my eyes shut, pull in as much energy as I can, and spring up.
“What the hell?” Charles exclaims, falling backwards and landing on his ass. Fire surrounds both my hands, and the piece of stone closed in my grasp glows red with heat.
“Like I said.” I take a step closer to him and he tries to scramble away. “You guys messed with the wrong witch.”
I reach forward with my free hand, bringing the flames closer and closer to his face. Right before the fire touches his flesh and burns him, I close my fist and put out the flames. I’m low on energy, hurting bad, and won’t be able to hold my own in my current condition.
I put my hand on top of Charles’s head and pull from his energy. He reaches up, trying to swat me away. I bring my other hand—the one still surrounded by fire—closer.
“Flinch and I’ll burn you,” I say through gritted teeth. Whimpering, he falls still and I pull in more energy. His body starts to slump down but I don’t stop, not until I can take in a breath and feel no pain.
Charles’s eyes flutter, and he feebly attempts to reach a walkie-talkie clipped to his belt. I swat his hand away and lower him to the ground.
“Sleep,” I say, knowing he’s so depleted of energy he has no other choice. I take the walkie-talkie from his belt and reach inside his jacket, finding a key ring. “Okay,” I say, and step back. I put out the fire in my other hand and set down the rock, which is still glowing red.
I cover Charles with the tarp and edge toward the door. I’m not exactly sure where I am, and I don’t know the layout of this place. I need to stop, think, and come up with a plan, but I also don’t have that sort of time. Someone will find out I’m alive sooner rather than later.
The doorknob rattles. Well, shit. I guess sooner is happening right now.