After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) (17 page)

The water beat down on her, cleansing the dirt from her body, but not the pain from her soul. She took her time, shampooing, soaping, and shaving until she resembled a human being once again.

She turned off the shower and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Guilt washed over her as she remembered her mom and her friends who were not getting hot showers and fresh clothes. They were being punished, punished for what she had done. They were sitting in a room, waiting for death.

Paivi dropped the towel on the floor and slid into the clothes that had been left for her. She put on a bra for the first time in ages and a fresh pair of underwear. Not the kind she would have worn back in the days when it mattered, but it was clean. The loose pair of gray sweatpants and matching gray tee shirt were soft against her skin. She grabbed a brush on the counter and ran it through her short hair, combing it down. One last look in the mirror showed a face, hardened and determined. Clean, but darkened by the sun. By contrast, her green eyes shone like emeralds, glittering in the light. She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together and tilted her head. Against her clean skin, the letters and numbers tattooed on her neck stood out. A reminder. Always. She wondered how Stevens planned to hide that.

Time for some sleep. Or so Stevens' people would think.

"I bet you feel better now." Martin looked up from the tablet computer he was reading when she re-entered the room. "You look better."

Paivi scowled at him and said nothing. Nothing would be better until Stevens was defeated. She knew it would happen. Master Song had seen it. But they hadn't mentioned this part. She had no idea what Stevens planned to do with her when they reached Washington, D.C. He was a scared and desperate man and she didn't doubt whatever he had in mind was going to be deadly.

Paivi held her hands out in front of her and waved them at Martin. "Handcuffs?"

He looked at her and the red rings from her previous encounter with the handcuffs. "How about this, if you can behave yourself, you can go without. Why don't you try and get some sleep." He returned to looking at his tablet.

Paivi shrugged and sat down on the bed. It was way cushier than anything she'd slept on lately. She swung her legs up and stretched out. There was something she had to do before they landed and as much as she wanted to drift off to sleep, it would have to wait. She closed her eyes and sucked in a few deep breaths. She was falling into nothing.

She blinked and found herself in a familiar place. The room in her mind, the in-between, didn't look much different from the last time she visited. She glanced at the couch and cringed, remembering her conversation with Master Song. Her heart ached and she wished she could have been better, been stronger, but she wasn't. She was nothing more than an animal in a trap, relying solely on instincts to keep her alive. The effects on the universe and on her soul were of no consequence.

Paivi strode across the room and flung open the carved door. She sucked in a deep breath and put her arms out, the sparkling and swirling cosmos lay out in front of her. She had to warn them.

Paivi only hoped they were still alive.

*

Explosions sounded in the distance. The walls of the sand colored tent around her shook from the blasts. A small cot next to her was covered with a light blanket as well as papers and maps. A lantern burned in the corner, but it didn't give off much light.

There were footsteps near the entrance. Paivi waited, reserving her energy for after someone crossed the threshold. She had to make sure he was alone.

Christian ducked into the tent. His white blond hair was covered with a layer of sand, as was the rest of him. He sank on to the cot and cradled his head in his hands. "Where are you, dammit?"

Paivi pushed her energy out. It struggled to flow to the edge of her skin. She was worried that she lost too much power in that battle. And there was no one around to help. No one that could recharge her.

The edges of her skin gave off a faint glow. Christian looked up, his dirty face streaked with tears.

"You're here?" He gazed at her, his eyes wide with disbelief. "But, wait, why are you clean? What the hell happened?" Christian jumped up from the cot.

"I'm so sorry, Christian. I failed. I failed everyone." Her outline wavered.

"What do you mean? Where are you?" Christian reached out and took her hands. Her skin glowed more brightly, her outline more clear.

The energy coursed through her, replenishing her.

"The battle in Las Vegas," she paused to look into his blue eyes. "I wasn't enough. I couldn't take them on all alone. It was stupid. People got killed because of me. It took all of my energy and it still wasn't enough."

An explosion shook the air behind them. Christian grabbed Paivi and pulled her closer. "Paivi, you could never fail me. Or us. Or anyone. You gave it all you had." He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers.

"He's got me, Christian."

Christian pulled back in alarm. "No. It's not possible."

"I had to tell you, tell someone. I'm on Air Force One right now. Stevens is taking me back to Washington, D.C." Paivi kept hold of Christian's arms and sat down on the cot, pulling him down next to her. "He's going to use me as a weapon."

Christian's face crumpled and he ran his fingers down her cheek. "How did this happen?"

"Again. My fault. And that's not even the worst part." Paivi blinked back tears. "He's got my mom and some others from the camp at some base near here. Somewhere over the border. All I could see on the trucks was the letters NAF and the word el Centro. I have no idea what it means."

Christian nodded. "I'll find out. Don't worry."

"If I don't do exactly what he says, he'll kill them." She hung her head. "I don't know what to do to help."

"I'll tell the others. We'll have to try and go for them."

"I'll need to know when you do. And it's got to be soon. I only have hours, I think. You've got to let me know when you save them. If you can get to them, I can kill Stevens and end this. If not, I might fail again."

Paivi fingered the chain of Christian’s medallion that worked like her own locket. She had given hers to Torsten when she left for the camp. "Send me a message."

An explosion rocked the tent, this time even closer than the last.

"I have to go, Paivi. You aren't the only one that's failed." Christian glanced furtively at the door of the tent. "The line isn't holding as well as we'd like. As you can hear, the shells are still getting through. The refugees have done well, but we could be doing better. It would help if the Mexican military was better matched. But they're not. We're doing the best we can with what we've got. It's been day and night though. I feel like I'm going crazy. I almost wonder if I'm really seeing you or if it's just my imagination." He chuckled and brushed a hand over her short hair.

"Where are the others?" Paivi asked, squeezing his hand.

"Up and down the front. We're all trying to hold our lines. My group is out there right now. They forced me to go rest, said I needed a break. So much for that. If I don't head back out there, we'll all be blown to bits." He rose to his feet and pulled Paivi up next to him.

"I need you to listen to me." He grabbed her arms and pulled her close. "You have to kill him, regardless of what we can do. If you kill him, you can end all of this."

"But if I touch him, he'll kill the others. I can't be responsible for killing my mom, Christian. Don't make me do that!"

"I don't want you to lose your mom, either. But it would save thousands, millions maybe. I promise you, I won't let you down. I'll try and save them or die trying. But I need you to promise me you'll kill him when you get the chance. Please!"

The tent shook again as a blast landed nearby. A spray of gravel hit the canvas wall.

"I'll do everything I can, Christian," Paivi said.

"That's my girl." Christian pulled her into a hug. Paivi buried her face in his shoulder. "And so will I."

*

Paivi blinked, cringing as Martin's face came into view.

"You okay?" He peered over her on the bed. "You were mumbling in your sleep."

"Did I say anything?" Paivi asked. She stared at him warily and pushed up a wall in her mind, blocking him from her thoughts.

"Nothing I could understand." Martin stepped back over to his chair and sat down. "Oh, and we're landing in a few minutes." He pointed to another seat in the room that had a seatbelt. "You might want to sit down and buckle up."

She rolled off the bed and padded over to the other chair.

There was one last thing she had to do before landing, but she wasn't sure if there was enough time. She buckled the seatbelt and leaned back in the chair, taking a few deep breaths and focusing on the room in the in-between. She needed to know what was going to happen, how this was all going to end.

"Prepare for landing." A voice came through the intercom, breaking Paivi's concentration. She swore under her breath.

The plane rattled on the descent, not allowing Paivi any moments to try to catch a vision of what was to come. The plane came down on the runway hard and the engines roared, the reverse thrusters slowing the plane down.

That was it. Time was up. Paivi had to trust Master Song had his story right and she would beat Stevens in the end. The universe was not going to give her any hints as to how.

"Welcome to Washington, D.C.," Martin said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Paivi could feel her energy rumbling beneath her skin. All she had needed was to touch someone to recharge and Christian had helped immensely. It was nearly back to normal. She eyed Martin as he opened the door to the main area of Air Force One. She had to make sure to keep him nearby. He might turn out to be very useful.

Chapter 23

The sun rose on the horizon. Mist clung to the grass along the side of the road. Paivi sat in the back of the limo across from Martin and picked at the dry skin around her nails. This place was more like home, full of trees and grass. Paivi felt like an alien, in foreign territory where she didn’t belong. St. Andrew belonged to another planet now and Washington, D.C. brought back those memories.

Martin gave her a distasteful look. “We’ll be stopping first to get you a new outfit. You can’t be seen next to President Stevens in that.”

“It’s not like I picked it out.” Paivi shot an ugly look in his direction. “I would have rather kept on my EOS uniform.”

“Right.” He pressed his lips into a firm line and leaned over to the limo’s mini bar. He poured whiskey into a crystal glass and took a sip.

Paivi returned her gaze to the window. The rooftops of the city were beginning to break through the mist, giving them a ghost-like quality. Like she was entering some mystical place.

More like the city of death. Maybe hers.

She folded her arms across her chest. “Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” Paivi glared at Martin.

“That’s none of your business.” He pulled out his tablet and turned away from Paivi.

She decided to stare at Martin instead. He took another sip from his glass. His hand quivered lightly as he returned it to the cup holder. He was definitely older than her, but not as old as her parents. Maybe in his thirties, she guessed. His hair was dark and parted to the side. It was short, but not too short. He wore a blue and white striped button down shirt with navy dress pants. The collar of the shirt was open and the sleeves rolled up. His navy jacket was laid out neatly on the seat next to him.