The Reckoning (The Sentinel Series Book 4) Page 4

  As I landed next to a battered Spitfire, I stared in horror at what was about to unfold. Cain’s hands glowed white as he stood behind Adam, ready to unleash his wrath on my brother. I quickly ran forward, shielding both me and Adam as I threw him to the ground. White lightning shot over both our heads and Adam registered what had happened, that I had saved him. He looked over at Cain and back at me in shock and then vanished from under me. I looked up just in time to see Cain, furiously bearing down on me.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he growled. ‘If Adam’s here, you need to get as far from here as possible. He could have killed you. I could have killed you.’

  ‘Cain, listen—’ I tried.

  But he didn’t listen, he grabbed a fistful of my T-shirt and before I could say anything else I found myself back in my bedroom at the fort. A second later, all my Guardians and Seth arrived, coiled ready to attack.

  ‘Don’t let her leave,’ Cain growled to Eli, he turned away and vanished.

  All the Guardians not part of my personal guard left apart from Trey, he always seemed to include himself in the personal guard business and no one minded. Eli trusted him so everyone else did too. Well everyone apart from Isaac, but Isaac trusted no one.

  I quickly reached out for Quinn’s bond too and pulled him to me. He arrived and looked at me in confusion, his eyes turning to concern when he saw the burnt shoulder of my top.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Quinn asked, moving towards me.

  I nodded.

  ‘What happened?’ Lucas asked.

  ‘Adam, he was at the deserted airport.’

  Quinn’s eyes widened. ‘Waiting for you?’

  I shook my head. ‘No it was a big shock for him to see me. It was purely coincidental that we were both there.’

  ‘Did you fight?’ Lucas asked.

  ‘No, at first we just stared at each other, then I think he realised it was too good an opportunity to miss, me standing there unprotected when he wanted me dead so much. But I couldn’t fight him. I still think that at the end we join forces, that I need him to save the world.’

  Eli shook his head. ‘That’s a lot of hatred to put aside between now and then.’

  ‘I know, but I saw it. It was a prophecy, I know it was, of us standing side by side as we try to save the world.’

  Cain appeared in the room and seconds later Matthias and Leon arrived.

  ‘Did you see him, did you…?’ I trailed off.

  ‘No, he wasn’t there.’

  ‘Cain, you can’t kill him, I had a prophecy of us saving the world together. I think I need him.’

  ‘I know you do, but you’re wrong. There is nothing good about him, he’s evil and he’ll stop at nothing to see you dead. We need to get to him first.’

  ‘What if I’m right, Cain? Killing him could put the world in jeopardy.’

  ‘I don’t think you are, in all of our prophecies it’s always you, only you. Adam doesn’t appear at all,’ Leon said, stepping forward to check on my wound. I watched him, his eyes filled with concern.

  ‘Just because you can’t see him doesn’t mean he’s not there, the Oraculum are not as all seeing as we hoped.’

  Leon nodded. ‘True, but I’d expect that at least one of us would see him, would see the part that he needs to play and we haven’t.’

  I shook my head with frustration.

  ‘How come he was there? It’s a bit too coincidental that of all the places in the world, he turns up exactly where Eve is,’ Seth said.

  Matthias shifted awkwardly. ‘That place was my suggestion actually, it’s always so deserted. It used to be used by other members of the Oraculum. When it was voted that Adam should be incarcerated, Sebastian and Samuel used to take him out of his cells, unbeknown to the rest of us I hasten to add, and train him. They thought that they couldn’t turn their back on something so powerful, that it would be a good idea not to put all our eggs in one basket, not pin all our hopes on you, and that at least if you did not reach the end of the world we would have a backup plan. For years they brought him to the disused airport and trained him in his powers.

  ‘But Adam grew so powerful, so quickly, and his thoughts were evil, Sebastian could see that,’ Matthias continued. ‘I think he got scared that Adam was getting out of control, that he would soon be too strong for the Oraculum to stop him. Sebastian came to us and told us what they had been doing. We discussed whether we should continue with his training, but Adam’s mind was so dark by then, he wouldn’t be instructed for much longer. We were… scared of what Adam would become. Nathaniel, Helez and I wanted him to be killed but the others voted against it. We couldn’t just put him back in the cells, he could slide out, use his powers, fight against us. So we strapped him to a table, blocked his powers and left him there.’

  I shook my head angrily. ‘Well that explains what he did to me.’

  ‘I suppose it explains him being at the airport as well, he’s reminiscing, though probably not with fond memories,’ Eli said.

  I sat down on the bed. It was such a mess. Had Adam become so evil because the Oraculum had treated him so badly or was this darkness really there from the beginning? Was there any way that we could work together in eight days’ time when he hated me so much? I looked around at the faces of my Guardians and the Oraculum. They clearly didn’t hold out much hope either which is why they were so intent on killing him.

  I stood up.

  ‘Shall we try again?’ I said, keen to earn my promised few days off.

  Cain scowled, slightly. ‘It might be best if we don’t do it today now that Adam knows you might be there. We’ll have to change the route a bit and get more Guardians to take part to make sure all the locations are covered.’

  I nodded reluctantly but then a smile spread on my face. ‘Does that mean I get the rest of the day off?’

  His scowl deepened before he nodded. ‘Maybe you can practise your powers though so the day isn’t a total waste.’

  I looked over at Seth and he grinned. I had no intention of wasting the day.

  ‘Six o’clock, tomorrow morning,’ Cain said, just in case I had any delusions about having a lie in.

  I nodded and the Oraculum vanished without another word, probably to see if they could find Adam though I knew he wouldn’t be so stupid as to hang around waiting for them to kill him.

  I glanced at Eli wondering if he was going to be as strict about practising my powers as he had been about the early morning wake up call.

  He smiled. ‘I think you’ve more than earned a day off.’

  ‘Well, it means you guys get a day off too,’ I said, hopefully. They had all been working too hard lately.

  They didn’t move and I sighed. There was no downtime for the Guardians. However I spent my day off it would be with my personal guard in situ.

  ‘Where you go, we go,’ Trey said and Isaac rolled his eyes. I wasn’t sure what was going on between those two but Isaac hated that Trey had been accepted so easily amongst the personal guard. Even though he wasn’t officially a member of the guard Trey was always there. My personal guard had never accepted Isaac as Caleb’s replacement after his death, it was only when Isaac had stayed when all the other Guardians had left that they had started to tolerate and respect his presence more. Everyone liked Trey and I wondered if there was some jealousy there from Isaac. Trey grinned at Isaac as if they were best friends which made Isaac scowl even more. I suppressed a smile. Trey knew how much Isaac hated him and loved to wind him up.

  ‘Me and Seth are just going to chill out in here, at least go and sleep for a few hours,’ I tried again.

  At a nod from Eli they all left, leaving only him, Lucas and Quinn behind.

  ‘Can I go to my island?’

  Eli hesitated and I knew why. The last time we’d gone to my little haven, I had come back without them, our bond had been blocked which led to me being kidnapped and tortured by Adam.

  ‘I won’t leave the island unless I bring you all with me.’

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sp; ‘Very well.’

  I smiled with relief and turned to Quinn. ‘Fancy a day at the beach?’

  ‘I might give Izri a call actually, see how she’s doing.’

  I nodded with understanding. Even though Izri had been dating Caleb and had been distraught when he had died, she had been seeing Quinn for a long time before she had started seeing Caleb. Although it had been Quinn who had ended things between them, I strongly suspected he still loved her. They were good friends and I knew it was hard for him when she was grieving thousands of miles away and he couldn’t be there for her. ‘Give her my love.’

  I waited for him to leave and then reached out for the bond of Eli, Lucas and Seth, sliding us all to the middle of my island, near to the little waterfall. As soon as we landed, Eli and Lucas split up to check the island, leaving me and Seth to some much needed privacy.

  Although it was late December, the island was still warm although not the blazing sunshine of my last visit. The trees were still a lush green and little flowers grew around the roots and the edge of the pool.

  I glanced around at the peaceful tranquillity of the little glade and a fluttering on the ground caught my eye. A bright blue butterfly with almost iridescent wings was desperately trying to fly but its wing was bent where Eli had inadvertently landed on top of it. I quickly knelt down, placing my hands above it, I let my healing powers flow into the butterfly. I watched as the wing mended itself and the butterfly flapped it around a bit as if testing its strength. I smiled as the grass surrounding the butterfly, which had also been damaged by Eli, straightened itself, the broken blades standing tall in the late afternoon sun.

  The butterfly took off fluttering gently around my head and up into the sky and as I followed its progress I noticed a tree was badly burnt and my heart leapt, wondering who had been here to cause this damage. I stepped closer and realised the tree had been struck with lightning, it was still alive, but had a break in the trunk at least a foot long.

  I placed my hands on the trunk, wondering if I could heal it. Healing a human was different, I had a basic knowledge of how the human body worked, I knew the body needed blood and oxygen and I knew that when I healed a wound I was basically accelerating what the body would do by itself if left to heal on its own. I wasn’t sure I knew how a tree would heal itself and if it even could be done.

  Seth stepped up behind me, bracketing me in his arms as he rested his hands either side of mine. He kissed my neck.

  ‘You’re so in tune with the earth Evie. The weather is a reflection of your moods and when you use a lot of your power, especially when you heal something major, I’ve seen the ground crack under your feet as if you are sucking the power straight from the earth. Reach out for the power of the earth, see if you can use it to heal the tree.’

  I frowned. If I had used the power of the earth before, it had certainly been an unconscious thing. And was the weather really a reflection of my moods? I thought back to the day before when I had been angry over Nathaniel and the attack from the Reapers and how lightning had suddenly lit up an otherwise calm sky. But Seth was right there had been times when I had been filled with a power source that was far greater than mine.

  I closed my eyes and reached for my powers, letting it fill my body as I examined it. I had great strength, I could feel that, but there was limits to it. In my mind, I could see my power was a sphere around me, but around the sphere something else burned bright an unlimited reserve of power that didn’t come from me. I knew I wouldn’t need a lot and I worried about reaching out for the entire power of the earth and what it could do to me. I imagined a tiny crack in my sphere of power and a tiny fragment of the earth’s power dripping through. I could feel my powers buzz with a sudden increased energy. I visualized the tree healing, the great crack disappearing, and as if the earth was responding to my wishes, I felt the strength flow through the roots into the tree. As the power faded from my grasp, I opened my eyes and smiled when I realised that I had somehow managed to do it.

  I turned round to face Seth who was watching me fondly.

  ‘I love your kindness.’

  ‘If I can help and it doesn’t interfere then I will. My healing power is so strong that even if I can’t stop this Armageddon moment from starting, I’m hopeful that I might be able to do something to heal the world after it happens.’

  ‘You’re going to do this Evie, I know you will. And then we can live out the rest of our days on this island and never have to worry about anything ever again.’

  I smiled at his optimism.

  He pulled away from me, undressed and dived into the plunge pool at the bottom of the waterfall. He surfaced, sweeping his hair from his face.

  ‘Come for a swim with me,’ he called out above the roar of the water.

  I undressed too and waded out to join him. I wrapped my arms round his neck and he held my waist as he treaded water to keep us both afloat. I kissed him softly.

  ‘I love you,’ I said, against his lips. ‘And I’m very much looking forward to starting the rest of my life with you.’

  He grinned as he swam us both behind the waterfall, screening us from Eli and Lucas, should they return. He kissed me again as I wrapped my legs round his waist, holding him close. With the roar of the waterfall and the curtain of water blocking out the rest of the world, with Seth’s lips on mine, his body against me, I could forget, for a little while that in just over a week all of this and the world out there could be destroyed.

  *

  Seth shook me gently awake the next morning, the sun had already risen though I could tell it was early in the day. I blinked a few times and looked up into my husband’s eyes.

  ‘Cain is waiting,’ he said, kissing me softly on the forehead.

  I glanced around the glade and saw Eli and Lucas were standing a way off, looking discreetly away from us. I realised we were both still naked. Seth was trying to protect some of my modesty with his arms but my Guardians had seen me naked so many times when I had shifted that I could no longer be embarrassed about a little nudity.

  I quickly got up and finding my clothes by the edge of the pool, I got dressed and slid us all to the castle where Cain, Matthias and Leon were waiting. I reached out for the bond of the Guardians still at the fort and Quinn and pulled them to me too.

  Trey grinned at me as he landed. ‘Hey Eve, did you have a good day off.’

  I glanced at Seth and blushed. I had spent the entire time wrapped in his arms. Trey laughed and clapped Seth on the back. Seth blushed and playfully punched him in the stomach, though Trey didn’t care.

  As Trey and Seth continued to jostle and push each other around good naturedly, I saw Matthias take a few of the Guardians and vanish, clearly taking them to their locations. Cain was talking quietly to Eli.

  I turned to Quinn. ‘How’s Izri and Persia?’

  ‘They’re OK, they’re coming back soon actually,’ Quinn said. I couldn’t help but notice how happy he seemed about this.

  ‘I’ll be very pleased to see them again.’

  ‘Persia has some news for you, she wouldn’t tell me what it was, she wants to tell you herself. I think they’ll be back the day after Christmas.’

  I sighed slightly. Persia’s prophecies were never great. If she had seen something and was coming back here just three weeks after her father had died, chances were the prophecy was not good.

  Cain walked over to me. ‘We’ve decided to keep the route the same, we’re just going to remove the airport as that’s the only one Adam has had any connection with. There will be a Guardian or a member of the Oraculum at each of the places so you’ll be quite safe.’

  Nowhere was safe for me. I didn’t totally trust that the Oraculum had my best interests at heart. I lived in a fort with hundreds of Guardians that either served the Oraculum or had left me when the bonds between us had been severed. Not forgetting the hundreds of Putarians and Reapers that wanted me dead. With only seven days now until the end of the year, the bounty the Putarians h
ad put on my head was astounding. The only place I felt truly safe was on my island. I was sorely tempted to take my personal guard there, block the Oraculum from finding me and live out the last few days in peace and solitude before the Armageddon arrived.

  I saw Leon talking to my Guardians and Seth, Trey and Quinn joined the little huddle, all humour gone as they listened to what he had to say.

  ‘You might as well make a start,’ Cain said. ‘We will place the other Guardians in their locations shortly.’

  It was obvious he wanted to talk to them too. I didn’t have it in me to argue or insist I be told what was going on. I was going to complete this course and claim my three days off. It was Christmas Eve and I wanted Christmas Day alone with my husband so badly and maybe, just maybe, if I completed the course today, Cain would leave me in peace after that.

  Cain looked at his watch and before he could tell me to go I slid to the first location, the river. I passed through this smoothly and quickly slid onto the cave.

  I had done this course so often now, I could do it blindfolded. It wasn’t even a challenge anymore, apart from doing it in the impossible time limit that Cain had set for me. Unless that was what Cain intended, for me to do the course so many times that using my powers became second nature, to turn to them automatically when I needed them.

  I ran forward into the darkness, not even bothering to form my ball of fire as I knew exactly where the abyss was, exactly where the ledge was that I needed to traverse alone.

  Suddenly, I tripped and fell. Something large and heavy was blocking my path. I scrabbled up quickly as the scent of burnt flesh hit my nose. I formed my fireball and let it hang in the air as I looked back to the floor. I gasped in horror.

  Matthias, his eyes blank and unseeing, was lying on the floor of the cave.

  Dead.

  Chapter 5