Gray (Awakening Book 1) (18 page)

“So what are we supposed to do?” I asked, my voice far stronger.

Ben thumped his head into the wall behind him. “You go to the White King and tell him what Gerik has done.”

I swallowed hard and nodded. It was a good idea, but would likely make the war inevitable. “I don’t know anything about the White, or the King. Would he even talk to me?” I asked the room in general.

“Ayanna is in good standing with the King. If she accompanied you, he would be likely to listen,” Dorian said, but his expression was dour.

I didn’t acknowledge his tone. I stepped in the direction of the door, tired of standing around. There was a plan. I would follow it. I would not think about anything other than the conversation with the White King, not Ben, not how his life was now bound to mine, not how his power belonged to Odin. Just the White King. Nothing else.

My body jerked in shock when I stepped onto the front porch. Three police cars were gathered on the street, the officers standing, their guns pointed at me. It seemed my storm hadn’t kept all the humans inside.
Crap.

My hands were in the air to show them I was unarmed. My heart pounded so hard, it hurt.
Breathe. Just breathe.

“Get down on the ground!” one of them shouted, though his voice hardly carried over the rain and wind.

Fury filled me. The Chief. Since his position as Guardian of the town had been taken away, he must have sent the cops to take me in.

Likely, Gerik was at the station with him. Looked like the plan to get to the White King was out. I prayed my control was strong enough to be able to fight Gerik.

With my hands still up, I asked the air to close the door of the house and hold the others inside. I couldn’t let them be hurt. If I faced Gerik alone, it was far more likely no one would be hurt, other than me. That was my prayer anyway.

My hands stayed up while I knelt on the porch, then slowly lowered myself to be facedown. It was a horrifying feeling, to know there were men with guns trained on me, ready to shoot, who all advanced on me.

The cops cuffed me and guided me to my feet, though most of them wouldn’t meet my eyes. “You have the right to remain silent, Miss Vincent,” one of them said and read the rest of my rights as he guided me to one of the squad cars.

They were lucky enough to at least have rain-gear, but I just wore a t-shirt and jeans. In other words, I was both soaked and freezing . . . again.

I shifted when they closed the door behind me, though there was no comfortable way to sit with my hands cuffed behind my back. I sat with my body half turned toward the window, so it was easy to see when London Jarvis took a picture on her phone. The girl had followed Ben to my house, seen Dorian escort the Chief out . . . what else had she seen? Had she seen the syphon of power between Ben and me? Would she understand it if she had seen?

London was not important in the moment though. She was just a stupid girl. I had far bigger problems to worry about other than her.

The air and water called out. They wanted to help, but I could not do that. I had to let the cops take me to the Chief, to Gerik. I had no idea how to stop him. I had to come up with a plan.

Being a Black elf, Gerik had the ability to communicate with stones. If he had a stone blade with him, which he would, he would be a formidable foe. The fact my blade was still at the house definitely weakened my defenses.

But no. That wasn’t true. The air and water were both my friends and the police station was built on a foundation of stone. If it became necessary, I could basically make a sinkhole under Gerik’s feet. That could work. The combination of all three elements could do a lot of damage. The problem was the other cops in the station. They were innocent. They didn’t deserve to be buried.

One of the cops glanced back at me when he got in, his eyes a little wary. “The Chief told us the truth about you. You should be ashamed,” he stated, not a spec of doubt on his face.

I didn’t answer. I had no idea what the Chief would have told them, but whatever it was, it had been bad enough to get them to send six cops all to collect me.

I kind of wanted to ask, but needed to focus. The air and water were right there with me. They eased the strain of everything, at least a little.

Air and water. Yes. I didn’t need to make a hole in the ground for Gerik. I could talk to the water in his body, ask the air to leave him. No one could live without those two things. It didn’t matter that the Black army would come for me. All that mattered was to stop Gerik.

I breathed in a slow, steady breath and let it out. Calm. I had to remember the peace Ben had made me feel. That peace was necessary to me. Ben was necessary to me.

I closed my eyes, but my mind showed me the cold look on his face when he’d seen the spear of Odin on the back of his hand. If he had known that would happen, would he have even agreed to be the dampener of my power? I was sure he wouldn’t. He had made it abundantly clear how he felt about that mark.

Then suddenly, the world around me began to darken. It went from the cool, rain scented air of West Virginia, to the dark, earthy aroma of limestone and dampness.

My heart pounded. It was a strange, horrifying feeling. Gerik sat in the Black throne, his mother’s crown on his head . . . Chief Bouchard next to him.

It made no sense. I had known the Chief all my life. He was my Gran’s best friend.

Hope had filled me when I had snuck into what Gerik liked to call his throne room. I had thought that maybe, somehow, the Chief had come to take me home.

“Why is she even alive, Gerik? You told me you were going to kill her!” the Chief roared, his expression like the angry bear I had thought of him as a long time before.

“The girl is alive because her magic can be useful to me. She has the kind of power which can destroy the White.”

“Until she turns on you. You’re taking too big a risk with her. Her magic could destroy us all.”

“She is still a child. I will deal with her if she becomes a problem. Once she kills the White, there will be no use for her.”

But it was all just too much. No way. Not a chance would I let Gerik use my magic to destroy my mom’s people. And whatever the Chief was, he had to be dealt with as well.

Since the key to my power was peace, I thought back to the last memory of my family which would come clear in my mind.

I had been nine, Kassia fourteen. It was a simple memory, of my family around the dinner table, talking about what had happened during our respective days. The feeling of peace was profound as I recalled the smiles on their faces.

I drew my magic up and begged the stones around to conceal me. The trouble was, one of the guards had seen me. He used his own magic to fling the stones away which had hidden me and dragged me out to face Gerik.

“Look what I found, Your Majesty,” the guard said, his tone gleeful.

Gerik didn’t appear surprised at all, but the Chief took a step back, either afraid or simply shocked by the sight of me.

Gerik made a negligent move with his hand. “Whip her, but leave her here while you’re doing it. I want to hear her screams.”

The guard smiled and nodded. “I will be pleased to, Your Majesty,” he said and took hold of my arm to haul me over to the chains Gerik kept bolted into the wall.

“I will never allow my magic to be used against the White,” I shouted, aware how bad it would be, so why not dive head-first into the pit of pain and misery.

In half a second, Gerik was by my side. He wrapped his hand around my throat and slapped me so hard, my ears rang. “You will do as you’re told,” he said and slapped me again before he began to use the strap on my back.

The air, stones and water called out to me. They wanted to help me. They wanted me to ask them to stop Gerik.

The problem was, the moment I attacked Gerik, that was when the guards would begin on me. I hated myself for not fighting back, but there was no other way to survive.

This isn’t survival though. This is daily torture. And you won’t last forever. Someday, he’ll break you and you’ll be the weapon he uses to kill the White.

No. You have to get away. You have to be free. You can never be a prisoner again. Never.

Those thoughts were a comfort. I could do it. I could. It didn’t matter that the Chief was not the man I had thought him to be. I would get free and tell Mom and Dad what he had done.

When Gerik had finished, he wrapped the shackles around my wrists and walked back to where Chief Bouchard stood. “Now, you said something about an informant who can tell us the weaknesses of the White,” he said as though there hadn’t been even the slightest break in their conversation.

The Chief didn’t even look at me. “She’s another of those Gray’s, but she’s lived with the White most of her life.”

“And she’s willing to turn?”

“She is.”

“Excellent,” Gerik said with a smile. He rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Let’s go talk to this creature, shall we?”

I jerked in shock. That had been the day I escaped. When the Chief and Gerik had left, I had gotten free and run. No wonder the Chief had been so hesitant with me when he’d seen me in the hospital. Dorian had taken my memories, so the Chief wouldn’t have been sure his secret of where his loyalties lay would be private any longer.

My hands clenched into fists in the cuffs. He would pay. I would make sure of it. Those two were equally evil and I would not let them get away with any of it.

My heart started to pound when the cops pulled in at the police station. There were six officers who would need to be protected when the fight began. Okay. I could do it. I could protect the humans while stopping both the Chief and Gerik . . . along with the guards Gerik would have brought with him. No problem, so I hoped.

I focused on the air, certain it would be the element which would be most useful. Ask the air to leave him and he'd suffocate. I would have to deal with the guards, but that might be the best way. It made me feel queasy to consider it, but there didn’t seem to be another choice.

My skin quivered with nervousness when they pulled into a parking place. I was about to face Gerik.
Please help me, please,
I begged the air.

The cop who opened the door shot me a stern look as he reached in to take hold of my arm. His hand wasn’t rough or anything, but it was uncomfortable enough that I cringed as he helped me stand.

“There’s five guys in there with the Chief. Be ready,” the guy, whose nametag simply read ‘Ludwig’, said only loud enough for me to hear.

I glanced over at him, unsure why he would suddenly be willing to help me when five seconds before, he’d been . . . but then it hit me. Ayanna. She had said she’d meet us at my house. She must have seen me being arrested.

Ayanna’s ability to put guys into a stupor must be the reason the cop would help me. Well, that was one small advantage. I hoped there would be at least one or two others.

My heart rate was so fast, it made me feel lightheaded as the cop guided me into the police station. I had kind of expected it to be some nasty, rundown building with nasty, rundown people all around. It wasn’t. The building was neat and clean, with well-kept officers who milled around.

I was led past several desks which had the standard computers and telephones on them, most with family photos as well. It was a poignant reminder of why it was important to be certain Gerik couldn’t have the upper hand. Those officers were human, good, honorable men with families. I would protect them. No matter what.

Air. Water. Stone. Those were my only thoughts. Focus on the advantages I had.

Okay. Ludwig led me to the Chief’s office. If he closed the door, I could in essence vacuum the air out of the space so Gerik and his guards would be suffocated.

Ugh. That was a horrible plan. The Chief was a dick-bag, but he didn’t deserve to die for it. Did the siphoning of my magic give me enough control to be able to take the air just from Gerik and his men?

Or was water a better option? The human body was made up of around sixty percent water. If I could ask the water inside them to leave, they would basically turn into Black elf raisins.

If all else failed, the stone the station was built on was also an option. They too had power over stones, so I’d have to make some kind of vortex of air to drop them into it. Ugh. Whatever happened in the next few minutes, it would be messy.

My breaths came out in ragged gasps when Ludwig knocked on the Chief’s office door. My mouth went dry as dust. It was my worst nightmare come to life.

“Come,” the Chief called, though his voice sounded like the angry bear again.

Ludwig shot me a worried look, then slowly opened the door.

Before any thought could even register in my mind, one of the guards yanked me into the room and plunged his stone knife into my side. The pain of it made black spots form in my vision and my knees felt weak. I could hear Ludwig yell, hear others begin to bellow questions, though my eyes were fixed on Gerik.

My uncle. No way. That man may have been my dad’s brother, but he had forfeited his right to that title when he’d had my parents killed. He was nothing more than a monster and he would not survive the day.

I kept my eyes fixed on him and focused on the air. Take the air from his lungs. It didn’t matter how much he looked like my dad. All that mattered was to stop him from hurting anyone else.

But the air wouldn’t respond. I couldn’t feel it at all. What was going on?

I looked around frantically and my heart sank. The Chief sat with a cold, hard look on his face, a woman perched on the desk next to him. That woman had curly brown hair, a voluptuous body and hazel eyes. She must be London’s mom, the enchantress.

If she had the ability to cut me off from my communication with the air, what else could she do? Would she simply watch as Gerik dragged me off, or killed me?

The Chief sat forward, his hands folded on the desk in front of him, his eyes boring into me. “You think you have the right to live in my town? You’re wrong. The only creatures who are permitted to live here are the ones who work for me,” and he nodded to Mrs. Jarvis.

She slid off the desk and sauntered over to me. “London tells me you had a little fun with some water on the day you came back,” she said and wiggled her fingers in a way which almost looked like she was about to tickle me.

That was not even close. The pain in my side was debilitating. My knees gave out and a keening sound escaped me before I could draw it back.

Ludwig stepped into the office, apparently to get me out.

One of Gerik’s guards stepped in front of him and a stone blade was driven into the man’s gut.

No! That could not be. I had sworn to keep the humans safe.

But as I crouched there, my hands still cuffed behind my back, my body hunched on the ground in pain, Ludwig fell. He landed directly next to me, blood bubbling from his mouth as he clutched at his gut.

Mrs. Jarvis didn’t even flinch. Instead, she curled her fingers and blood filled my mouth as well.

I was dying. The officer and I were both going to bleed out on the floor of the Chief’s office.

But all of a sudden, the air all around acted on its own, without my request. It shoved Mrs. Jarvis back and somehow cut whatever tie she had on my magic. The water and stones waited to see what I would ask, my friends so wonderfully loyal.

I gasped for air, drooling blood on the floor, but with the end to whatever she had done, my mind cleared. I had to save the officer. He could not die.

I focused on his wounds and called on water, begged it to take the injuries from Ludwig before it was too late. I knew it would be yet more unbearable pain, but there was no other choice. He had to live. He was innocent.

It took me a moment to realize there wasn’t much pain at all. It hurt, but was bearable. When the wound passed to my body, it only took me a moment to realize the water had already taken the injury away.

Then I remembered. I was linked to Ben. He must have given me the peace necessary to take that injury away. I hoped he hadn’t felt what Mrs. Jarvis had done. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy . . . well, maybe Gerik.

I took in a long gulp of air and asked it to free me from the handcuffs. It went gleefully, pushing its way between my skin and the metal which made the cuffs expand.

I pulled my hands out of them, then reached to help Ludwig up.

He looked a little dazed, but slowly took my hand. And a raven cawed. It flew through the station and landed on his shoulder.

Holy devil-dogs, that guy was a Valkyrie.

Everybody stared at us, no one moving. A Valkyrie had just been stabbed, almost killed by one of Gerik’s soldiers. It was clear as day the piper was about to be paid.

The Chief stood up, his hand a little shaky as he pointed it at Ludwig. “You did not register yourself with me! You are in violation of the treaty!”

He gave the Chief a slow smile. “Since you were deposed as guardian of this town around an hour ago, you have nothing to say about it,” he said and the raven cawed as though in agreement.

Gerik took a step forward and pointed a finger at Mrs. Jarvis. “You will take the girl’s power,” he ordered, like he hadn’t noticed anything other than the fact I was free.

Mrs. Jarvis shot me a ferocious look, but didn’t move her hands. Since her eyes flicked toward Ludwig every few seconds, it was clear she was scared out of her mind.

Gerik roared and made a sweeping gesture toward both of us. “Kill them!” he bellowed at his guards.

Since I could speak to the air and water again, I asked the air to make a wall between Gerik’s guys and us. It was a temporary solution, but would give Ludwig time to get out.

When the wind-wall was up, I turned to look at Ludwig. I had always heard that Valkyries were female, but looked like that wasn’t true, since he was SO not a woman.

He looked like an entirely normal guy. It was crazy the number of people in town who must be immortals, living there just like the humans.

He looked from the wall, to me, then shook his head. “Your awakening is a little more powerful than the last one I saw."

I raised my brows. “Whose was the last one you saw?” I asked, just to give myself a moment to process some of the things which happened around us.

“Dorian, around a hundred years ago.” He shrugged unconcernedly, like it was any ordinary thing to tell a girl that he was more than a hundred years old. “So what’s your plan?” he asked, again in an obnoxiously unaffected voice.

I considered for a moment, trying to think of the best way to accomplish my goal. Gerik had to pay. Maybe instead of killing him it would be a better idea just to take him to the White King. Granted, I had no proof he had done anything at all, other than the Chief’s word.

That was it. I’d take both the Chief and Gerik to the White King and they could prove themselves to be guilty without my help. I’d have to do something about Gerik’s guards though.

I continued to think it over and slowly nodded. “I’m starting to think meteorologist might be a good career choice for me,” I said and focused inward.

The air and water were already doing the hurricane-like storm outside, but they were still there, willing to help me. I loved that. It was wonderful. No matter who was mad at me and for what reasons, air, stone and water were always there, always the reliable friends they had been since I was nine.

I asked the wind-wall to move and it did. It created a vortex around the guards and the witch. It was surprisingly easy. I didn’t feel drained at all, not even hungry like usual.

Then an even better idea came to me. I stuck my hand into my pocket and fiddled with the screen on my phone, grateful to hear the slight beep which indicated it had begun to record.

I could hear the guards swear and call out in fear inside the whirlwind, but my eyes were fixed on Gerik. “Why did you do it? Why did you kill my parents?” I asked, honestly curious to know what excuse he would use for what he did.

Gerik sneered, his arms folded as he glowered at me. “I was meant to be King,” he said like it all should have been obvious to me.

“So you had my dad murdered for the crown?”

“I had Eames killed because he was Mother’s favorite. All the time, even after he left, after he betrayed his bloodline she spoke of him. I was tired of it all! And that White elf woman deserved to die. She was already blemished, then dug her claws into Eames and defiled him as well!” he shouted, his nostrils flared, his eyes bulging. “But then you were brought to Svartálfaheimr, even though I told that fool of a White mercenary to kill the children as well. You came to my homeland as though you were an ordinary Black elf, instead of the abomination you are.”

Rage bubbled up inside me, but I fought it back. I had to focus on getting his full confession. “So you murdered the Black Queen as well, just to get the crown.”

“My mother was a fool!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. His hands flailed at the air like an insolent toddler. “To allow you and that other disgusting Gray elf to remain in our land was too much.”

I took in a slow breath of air and nodded. “Okay. I think that’s enough monologuing for you,” I said and asked the air to make another vortex to imprison the Chief and Gerik.

Ludwig looked like he wanted to throw up, but slowly he made a motion to the others. “Are you just going to leave them there, or do you mind if I place some binding runes on them to—”

But it seemed Gerik had no intention to be taken anywhere. He used his own magic to crack the foundation of the building and draw up a stone barrier between us.

I jerked, startled that he was able to work around my magic. I did not realize he had that kind of capability. He’d never shown anything like that before.

Then the barrier changed. It no longer separated me from Gerik. The stones morphed into a wall of blades.

I brought my hands up and pleaded with the air to help me. A gale force wind whipped and most of those blades were knocked down . . . most.

I heard a gasp behind me, certain one of the officers had been hit. I had to keep an eye on Gerik though. There was no telling what he’d do next.

The Chief let out a horrified sound and tried to back away, to be as far as possible from all of us.

With his teeth bared like a rabid dog, Gerik took hold of the Chief’s shirt and plunged the stone into his chest. “Cowards deserve to DIE!” he bellowed, his rage as ferocious as ever.

I gasped, horrified. The Chief didn’t even react. He simply fell to the ground, dead where he lay.

Gerik wasn’t done. He advanced, that bloody blade pointed at me. I stood frozen for half a second, then asked the stones and air to work together.

A pit formed between us, but Gerik was able to call stones forward for him to walk on. It was an impressive display, but it didn’t matter. I had always been stronger than him and we both knew it.

Ludwig took a small step back, his eyes sad as he went to transport the Chief’s soul. “I hope you win, Shayla,” he said and was just gone.

I squared my shoulders and called on the elements, determined to indeed win. Gerik was a selfish little boy who had been jealous of his brother. I was often jealous of Kassia, but even the idea of having her killed because of it made me want to throw up.

Gerik raised his stone blade to cut my throat, his eyes demented by rage.

I asked the stone to turn, asked the air to force it around. Both complied. They were my friends. They wanted to help me.

Gerik stopped, his mouth open as he stared at his blade. “How dare you! I am your King!” he raged at the stone.

The blade remained where it was while the air guided it forward. I wanted to plunge it into Gerik’s chest for all the horrible things he’d done, for the deaths of my parents, for all the times he’d tortured me. I wanted to . . . but no.

I was not a murderer. Justice, not revenge, like Kassia’s father had said. I didn’t want to be a monster like Gerik.

He shot me a look of loathing and suddenly, the ground under me cracked. The foundation of the police station was nothing more than dust.

I slipped, then began to fall, my eyes fixed on Gerik as he forced the stones back overtop me. It was like I was nine again. He forced the stones. I asked them. Would they listen to me?

The air cushioned me, my body simply floating in the pit Gerik had made. The stones floated past me like they were nothing more than sweet little old ladies out for a Sunday afternoon stroll. I couldn’t let Gerik win though. He had to pay.

I looked around at the stones and smiled. “Will you guys do me a favor and break through so I can face Gerik again? Please be careful though. Hurting humans is the last thing any of us should want.”