Chapter 4
Chapter four
Jackson
Being out on open water is like being lost in a void.
There are no markers to act as a guide or tell me where I’ve been.
The deep blue ocean looks the same in every direction once the beach and cliffs are out of sight.
Now that the sun’s dipped below the horizon, taking its light with it, my chances of finding Aiden slim even more.
I’m reaching the limit of my gift before I’ll need to pass out for a day to recover. My fight against Thorne, against zombies and GE agents, plus keeping the weight of me and the door airborne over an ocean of combating wind, is taking its toll.
Even with that looming expiration, I refuse to give up, expanding my search with every loop over the area where I think he dropped. Sending out sharp whistles and waiting for the slightest sound over the waves.
It’s after one of my whistles that I hear something.
Drawing it closer, I focus on the sound of splashing water. It’s similar to the crash of waves, but too close together to be natural.
Then, it stops.
I turn to follow the sound with a burst of speed. Something bobs in the water, and then the next roll of waves pushes it under.
Aiden.
I shuck my clothes off and leave the door hovering in place as I dive into the water.
It’s even darker underwater where the moon’s glow is barely visible.
It takes a second to find Aiden’s shadow, then I swim as fast as I can to reach him.
He sinks at a steady pace, but I’m catching up with every forceful stroke.
I grab his arm, pulling him up and then dragging us back to the surface.
The door hovers in the distance, showing how far we’ve moved already, and I send it to us on a gust of wind and drop it on the water. I climb on first, an awkward endeavor while keeping Aiden above water with one hand, then pull him up and start CPR.
His body jerks after the fifth compression while I feed him air and then I roll him to his side. He chokes, then coughs, and water releases from his mouth.
I drop on my backside, knees up, and throw my head back as relief sweeps through me in a rush while he catches his breath.
I made it, little one.
Aiden returns to his back, panting and eyes closed. His body shivers hard enough that I can feel it through the door. There’s a bullet hole in his shoulder and his side, but I can’t do much for those here other than plugging them with my gift to avoid more blood loss.
Gathering the air around us, I push the water from his body until he’s dry, then do the same for myself.
It further depletes the reserves of my gift and means we’ll have to cruise back to shore slower, but I can’t have either of us dying of hypothermia.
Aiden’s too exhausted to so much as grumble at me when I dress him in my pants and hoodie to warm him up.
“The others?” His voice is brittle from the seawater, but the tone is just as commanding and in control as always.
A small smile tugs on my lips. I lean on my fist as I watch him lying there, eyes closed, chest moving in normal rhythm.
“Safe.”
He cracks an eye open to look at me. I’m sure he’s noticed we’re still adrift. I haven’t put him on my back and started flying anywhere. “What’s next?”
I look in the direction we need to go. “I don’t have the energy left to fly both of us. I’ll push us on the water, but it’ll be slow.” His eyes are closed again. “Sleep, but don’t die,” I warn him.
He grunts in acknowledgment. Now that his immediate questions have been answered, he’ll rest. Finding him was only the first step. I don’t know what other injuries he sustained besides the bruising on his back, which makes getting us back quickly all the more urgent.
Hopefully, Reid will be waiting with Cassandra by the time we arrive.
With that in mind, I whip the air behind us to start the long cruise to the beach.
“I see them!” Dane shouts as we sail toward the shore. He and Kellan dash into the water waist-deep to meet us. Dane's brow wrinkles, and he shoots me a pained look when he sees how pale and motionless Aiden is.
“He’s alive.” I don’t blame them. I’d continuously checked for a pulse during the long ride because of how still he was. “Where’s Cassandra?”
Kellan presses two fingers to Aiden’s neck anyway as if needing the physical reassurance that he’s still with us. “She’s with Reid, Tinsley, and Raegan.” He frowns, then lifts Aiden.
“Careful of his back,” I warn while standing. I’d rather ride the door to shore than return to the water.
“His pulse is weak. Let’s go.” Kellan wades through the water, keeping Aiden above it in his arms. Once we’re on land, I ditch the door and stroll behind them as they run around the curve of the shoreline to the others.
Cassandra’s head snaps up where she’s sitting against the boulder hiding Raegan. “Aiden!” She scrambles to her hands and knees and pats the sand. “Put him down here.”
Reid steps around the boulder into view. One of his twin blades is in his hand, and he’s scanning the cliff. “We need to leave. We’ve been here too long already.”
“He could be too weak to survive the teleport,” Cassandra snaps. “Give me a second to at least make sure he’ll stay with us until I can do the full healing.”
Kellan stops in front of Cassandra but doesn’t move to put Aiden down. “Check him here and heal what you need to, and then we’ll go.”
Dane moves next to Kell to watch, but I keep walking around them to where I left Raegan. I’ve done my part for Aiden. It’s up to Cassandra from here.
Now, all I want is to see her. To hold her in my arms, even if she burns me, because I almost lost her.
I almost lost her.
Blood pounds in my ears, drowning out everything but the hammering beat that calls on my demons.
A haze of numbness seeps through my skin, settling in my chest as the need to spill blood becomes a driving force within me, making my muscles twitch and tremble to act on it.
To kill anyone who threatens her. To seek out Charles and burn him alive.
Even if he heals, I’ll do it over and over again.
I won’t stop until he’s so tired from the pain that he purges Kell’s gift so he can finally end the suffering.
As soon as she’s in my view, my vision tunnels until all I see is her.
Her expression is peaceful as she lies half in and half out of the tide pool.
I crouch beside her, scooping her into my arms and holding her so tightly that her heat sears through her clothing and my shirt to scald my chest and arms. I don’t have my hoodie to protect me this time, but I welcome the pain.
It cuts through the apathy and pins me to the present moment.
I have her.
She’s safe.
Lifting her, I bury my face into the crook of her neck where her pulse thumps steadily, then breathe her in on a long inhale.
The crunch of boots snaps my attention up. I tighten my hold on Raegan as a small burst of wind curls and spins protectively around us, stirring her hair and mine.
Reid pauses when he notices the breeze, his steely gaze taking us in before meeting mine. “Ready?”
I release the surrounding air and nod just as the others round the boulder to join us.
“Bring us straight to the Loft,” Kellan directs, still holding Aiden whose face has color and is breathing more noticeably. Good.
“Unless you have a picture of it, we’ll have to land in the elevator,” Reid replies.
“Close enough.”
“I’ll call Cibrina to meet us there,” Dane offers, lifting his already-ringing phone to his ear. “We got them. Meet us in the Loft.”
Reid holds out both arms. “Grab on.”
A second later, the elevator bounces beneath our sudden weight as the world tilts.
I use my gift to keep myself upright while Kellan shoulder-checks the wall to avoid falling with Aiden.
Dane and Cassandra each manage to right themselves without falling and then Dane shifts to the control panel to bring us to the Loft floor.
He handles the security measures to open the doors until we file inside.
Kell lays Aiden down on one side of the U-shaped couch while Cassandra kneels on the floor next to him. “I’ll heal the rest now,” she says, placing her hands on his chest and closing her eyes.
I sit with Raegan curled in my lap, refusing to let her go. Holding her is the only thing keeping me from losing control.
Dane opens the door for Cibrina once she arrives.
“I’m glad they’re both safe. How are they?” she asks, approaching the back of the couch.
“Cassandra said she would be able to heal all of his injuries,” Dane answers. “Rae’s weren’t nearly as bad, but she overdid it with her gift again. They’ll both need time to recover.”
“It isn’t safe in the Tower now that Charles has been here,” Reid remarks, reminding us that Charles can teleport anywhere he’s been before.
Kellan crosses his arms. “He gave the Guild until the end of the month. As far as he’s concerned, Aiden and Raegan are dead. They should be safe up here.”
“I’ll send out a search party for them on the beach. It should buy us more time,” Cibrina adds.
“The safety for the Guild doesn’t extend to Dane,” Reid argues. “He could come back for him.”
Dane makes a sound of frustration and drags his hand through his hair.
Cibrina pinches her chin in thought. “What if we found a way to block his teleportation? And those portals?”
Kellan’s brows raise. “That’d make things a helluva lot easier.”
She nods. “I’ll get to work looking into that as well.”
“We’ll help you,” Tinsley offers, volunteering Reid with her hand on his.
He looks less than thrilled but doesn’t say anything to counter her.
She’s only just returned from being with GE—and Vera.
Raegan knows more about what happened with her, but we haven’t had the time to catch up on those details before the Tower had been attacked.
Only Raegan's apparent trust in her after their private conversation is keeping me from reaching for a knife.
Just as Cibrina turns to leave, Dane steps between her and the door. “Wait.” He shifts uncomfortably, gripping his hair in one hand and staring at the floor. “Is Vera... I mean... where...”
Cibrina places her hand on his arm. “She’s covered on a bed in the infirmary. Next to Harvey,” she adds, looking across the room at Kellan.
The room grows quiet at the reminder of a fallen Guild member.
“I’ll come downstairs to help finish cleaning up,” Kell offers, breaking the silence.
Dane fists his hands. “Cremate both of them. So no one like Royce can use them after death.”
Cibrina gives him a curt nod.
Cassandra stands, pushing red curls from her face with a soft sigh. “Aiden should make a full recovery with rest. I’ll be in the infirmary if you need anything.”
“Make sure you get some rest, too,” Cibrina tells her, and Cassandra smiles.
“I could say the same for all of you. It’s the middle of the night.”
Kellan looks at me.
“I’ll keep them safe,” I promise, standing and jerking my chin at Aiden. “Get him in bed.” I’m not letting either of them out of my sight.
The others leave while Kellan and Dane help get Aiden partially undressed and into his bed. I do the same for Raegan on the other side, placing her next to Aiden before sliding under the sheets beside her.
No one will disturb them so long as I’m here.