Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four (25 page)

My words were cut short as a black misty figure came to a halt beside a pine tree.

“You called?” her whispery voice was laced with threats.

“You won’t take me back, Raina,” I said and walked closer. “I can’t save him, but I can save you.”

“Foolish girl. You can’t save me—”

I cut her off. “Why can’t I save you? Why can’t I save the Timeless race and the humans? If I stay with Marcus, he’ll continue to use me. I see that now. I’m merely a pawn to do his bidding, just like you. But away from him, I can accomplish more.”

She didn’t reply, but her lip twitched.

“My mother saw this, knew he was beyond saving and left. You helped her because you saw hope in her, as you see hope in me. I’m the hope she created, Raina. I’m the only one who can do this, but I can’t do it alone. Help me as you helped my mom. We’re family. Family sticks together no matter the cost.”

“I have no family, no future outside of this…” She gestured to herself, as her figure grew hazy. Her dark mist lingered for a few moments in the trees. “I haven’t forgotten,” she whispered and disappeared.

Nakari and I stood immobile, taking in what had just transpired. Raina was letting me go.

“Let’s do this, Cheyenne
. If we don’t hurry, it’ll cost Darrien and Jahlem their lives,” she said.

“
Tell me when,” I said and we disappeared.

We jumped through the trees again, bypassing Trackers and Tresez that were
rushing around, looking for us. Nakari was leading them in circles before we headed back to the meadow. I could only hope that Darrien and Jahlem had stuck together and were nearby.

We came to a stop again, her breathing heavy.

“I see them,” she said. “They’re together near the out buildings.”

With those words
, we vanished from the forest, and were in the meadow.

“Skylar’s on the other side. I’ll bring him to you and then take them out.
It’ll take me too long to go around. The Trackers and Tresezes would catch up. This is the only way.”

She dropped me beside the sheds.
Darrien and Jahlem’s eyes grew wide.

“Get out of here, Cheyenne!” Jahlem yelled
, pointing towards the forest. “Get out while you can!”

I felt the heat from Marcus’s glare on my back. My hands began to glow and power seeped into my veins.

“Get behind me! He can’t reach you behind me! Stay clear of my hands!”

I turned to face the dark monster. An evil smirk was rising
. He thought he had me.

There’s no place you can run, my angel,
Marcus whispered in my mind.
You’ve come back for the best part, becoming the weapon I’ve always dreamed of.

“Never!” I screamed. “You won’t touch them!”

My hands slammed down before me of their own accord. Long, fiery whips stretched out from my palms. My body jerked from the power surge, and I fought to control the direction my arms wanted to go.

My right hand flew behind me, the snap echoed by my neck. I took a step backwards without looking, hoping to draw them closer.

“Get closer!” I commanded. “Hold onto my arms and don’t let go.”

Their hands latched onto me and Marcus’s rage grew intense. My arms thrashed about, the whips trying to make contact with Darrien and Jahlem
, but they couldn’t reach them.

My right arm suddenly flew across my body, hitting Jahlem’s side. My left arm did the same, trying to make contact with Darrien. A deafening roar snapped my attention to my left. Conall was a few feet away. He’d knock them free
, giving Marcus the opening he needed.

I tried to turn and face him, but my legs were frozen in place. Marcus was controlling everything, preventing me from doing anything other than his will.

“No!” I spat. “I can’t move!”

Conall charged
, and I twisted my head as Jahlem stepped back. A moment later Jahlem was gone and Conall flew by.

“Let go!” a familiar voice said.

Blond hair flashed past as Conall’s growl deepened.

Skylar was here
. He was trying to fight Conall while Nakari got Jahlem to safety. Flashes of black, brown, and blond passed through my vision. Every turn Marcus had me make was a fraction of a second short to catch Darrien or Skylar with the golden whips. I wanted to close my eyes, so he couldn’t see through them, but it didn’t matter. He was standing in front of me, controlling the whole chain of events.

More Tresez began to circle us, darting back and forth as my hands flew to the left and right, trying to snare
their prey. A yelp pierced my ear. I’d hit a Tresez. More hits came faster and faster; the contact with snow was stirring up a cloud of mist. Marcus remained stoic from afar, his hands out and his eyes focused.

The crimson-eyed beast roared to life, my chest heaving as it filled
me.

That’s right,
Marcus whispered.
Bring your beast to fight with me, my angel. We’ll end this right now…

A flash of red flicker
ed past, and then Darrien was gone. Skylar’s back touched mine, breathing heavy.

“You’ve got this, Cheyenne,” Skylar said. “Nakari’s coming back—”

His words were cut short as Conall made contact, knocking him to the ground. They tumbled in the snow, Skylar fighting to break Conall’s grip as the Tresez’s jaw crushed his arm.

“No!” I screamed and forced my legs to move.

Marcus bellowed, and I looked up. He’d fallen to his knees in the snow. His head hung low, and his chest was heaving. Was he weakening? Is this how I’d managed to break his hold?

Skylar’s gurgled scream jerked me back to the moment. I snapped the fiery whips in the air above Conall. He had his mouth around Skylar’s neck.

The crimson-eyed beast roared, but not because Marcus had commanded it to. I had. The two narrow golden whips turned to four with the flick of my wrist. The other Tresezes backed away.

I circled Conall, his golden-rimmed eyes staying on me. His jaw tightened, and I saw Skylar’s face grow blue. I snapped the
whips again, the tip of the fiery leather strap striking his nose. He yelped and dropped Sklyar’s head.

Skylar’s head hit the snow with a thud,
but he didn’t move. Rage, pure and hot, rose up inside me. Conall would pay for this.

I slapped my hands together and drew them apart. I began to swirl them above my head
, creating my fire vortex. I’d burn the dog alive for hurting Skylar. Conall backed away, and I moved it closer.

I suddenly jumped the fiery funnel to his right, and he darted to the left. I jumped it to the left, and he began backing up. The blood in
me began to grow cold. A veil dark as night slinked up my legs to my chest. It pressed on further, trailing down my arms and up my neck. The silken cloak crept up over my mouth and nose, threatening to suffocate me.

I tried to scream as my funnel dispersed, tried to fight the overwhelming power cursing through my mind. My eyes began to burn,
and my head splintered with pain. I watched in horror as my hand rose and with the flick of my fingers, the flaming whip appeared.

No! I fought with everything in me to force my hand down, but the more I fought
, the tighter the pressure became on my skull. Inch by inch, my resistance to Marcus’s control grew weaker. Finally my wrist snapped to the left, and the golden whip wrapped around Sklyar’s throat and jerked forward.

“No!” I screeched. I tumbled to the ground as the weight pressing upon me vanished. “No! No! No!” I crawled towards Skylar’s lifeless body. Blood oozed from his neck where the whip had torn into it. I reached for his wrist, searching for a pulse, but there was none. I touched his face, desperate for
a sign of life.

I rose to my knees, tears pouring down my cheek. Marcus was slumped over, his chest heaving, but
his dark eyes were upon me. I stumbled to my feet. I’d kill him. I’d finish this right here, right now.

I raced towards him, my crimson-eyed beast rising to the surface. Rage, dark and full of hatred
, filled me. He wouldn’t control me! Fire raced to the palms of my hands, and I flicked my wrists, creating the long golden whips of fire. I snapped them above my head like wild rattlers, moving closer to my intended target. I threw my arms out in front of me, sending the golden flames toward his body. He held out his hands, attempting to capture them, but I ripped them through the palms of his hands.

He toppled over, holding his hands to his chest. Thick streams of blood ran down his arms. I moved closer, ready to do more damage.

You did this, my angel,
he said.
You killed Skylar, not me.

I stopped in my tracks. His words hit hard. It was my power that had killed Skylar, my power alone. What had I done?

My lower lip trembled, as I stared at him. The heaviness in my heart grew by the minute, and overwhelming guilt tugged at my mind. Skylar was dead… A moment later trees flew by, and I blinked. My lifeless gaze remained the entire time on what lay behind me. Nakari had me, but we’d been too late for Skylar. How many times was I going to be too late?

How many times was I going to fail?

Chapter 19

Nakari came to an abrupt stop, and I collapsed to the ground. The image of my fiery whip wrapping around Skylar’s neck, ending his life, haunted me. What had Skylar done to deserve a death like this? A sob escaped me.

“Cheyenne?” Darrien touched my shoulder, but I pulled away.

“Don’t touch me!” I cried. “I’m a murderer!”

“Cheyenne,” he said again. “What happened?”

“Skylar’s dead,” Nakari whispered, close to tears herself. “He’s gone.”

“Was it Conall?” Jahlem asked.

“No, it was Cheyenne,” Nakari replied.

My heart sank even more, the cracks and crevices growing at an alarming rate. Skylar had come to help, and I’d murdered him. It was just like I’d told Raina. I was a pawn in Marcus’s cruel game, a pawn to do his bidding
, like her. What was to stop me from killing Nakari, Jahlem, and Darrien? I couldn’t even look at them for fear of my powers turning against them.

I’d never be able to look into the eyes of anyone I loved without the fear of killing them in cold blood. Why had my mother said
I had to marry Marcus? How could I beat him if he controlled me? I’d told Raina I could save her, save the Timeless and human races…but I was merely fooling myself.

“We have to go,” Nakari said, pulling on the collar of my jacket. “Stand up so we can leave.”

“Just leave me here,” I moaned.

“So Marcus can come find you again?” she yelled. “I didn’t rescue you just
to leave you out here!”

“I won’t go back to him!” I pleaded. “But if I stay with you
, I’ll kill you!”

“You won’t because I won’t let you,” she growled near my ear. “Now get up
. We have to go!”

I stood, but unwillingly. Nakari’s hand latched into my braid, keeping me from seeing her, and we jumped through the forest. Darrien and Jahlem were barely visible in the distance on horses
that Nakari had likely stolen from Marcus. I closed my eyes. If I couldn’t see them, then Marcus couldn’t use me. In the meadow, my vison didn’t matter, because he was there, controlling every aspect in front of him, but now, there was a slight chance that closing my eyes would prevent his control. I had to try.

How had I been such a fool to return to him? What had I seen
in him that could possibly be saved? There was no good in him worth saving, but at times I caught glimpses of the man who he used to be…

No, they weren’t real glimpses. They were pieces of him long gone that he’d only brought forth to confuse me, to gain sympathy. And it
had almost worked; I’d almost given him my powers. But my powers were worthless unless I controlled them.

The entire time I’d
been with Marcus, I hadn’t learned a thing. I wanted to discover a weakness, anything I could use to defeat him, and instead he’d made me weak. He confused me with compassion and deceit. What used to be clear was now cloudy, and I didn’t know which side was right anymore.

The winter wind chilled me, regardless of the warmth running
through my veins. I knew it had to be even worse for Nakari, Darrien, and Jahlem. And Skylar…he’d been left in the snow. Not even a proper burial. Not even a goodbye from his family, just a brutal death, and I’d been the one to do it.

Snow began to trickle from the sky as it darkened. Nakari had slowed, her breath
ing heavy. I didn’t need to see her to know she was exhausted. Darrien and Jahlem had also fallen further behind. When nightfall came, it’d be even harder for them to see us.

“We need to stop, Nakari,” I said. “You need to rest.”

Nakari ignored me at first, but even she knew better than to deny my words. She released my braid and I walked away, distancing myself.

“Where you going?” she called out.

“To gather firewood,” I replied. Anything to keep my mind from wandering back to Skylar’s pale face.

I searched for fallen trees, breaking off the dead branches and stacking them in my arms. I circled back to where we’d stopped and dropped the wood on the ground. I kept my eyes down, and stacked the wood so I could start a fire.

Nakari paced behind me, waiting for Darrien and Jahlem to arrive.

I stretched my hands over the wood, and brought the warmth into my palms. A blue hue grew, turning orange and red. I flicked my fingers, throwing fire into the wet wood; it began snapping as
the flame took hold.

Hoof beats, muffled by snow, came into range. Darrien and Jahlem had finally
arrived. Their horses snorted heavily as they came to a stop.

I moved away from the fire and stood by a tree nearby, keeping my back to them. What Marcus couldn’t see, he couldn’t destroy. If I felt power rising, I’d run into the forest, but
my brilliant plan might not matter. Marcus had proven that he could control more than just my powers. He could stop me from physically moving, too.

No one spoke, and I only caught the occasional crackle from the fire. What was left to say? Nakari had made it clear that I’d been the one to end Skylar’s life. It wasn’t something I could take back. I couldn’t save him like I’d saved Shad. Skylar was gone because he wanted to help me, but in the end I couldn’t repay the same debt.

The snow continued to fall, growing heavier as the skies deepened into darkness. At least the new snowfall would cover our tracks, but it was likely Marcus had already sent his Trackers and Tresezes after us.

He’d want his trophy back. He’d tasted the control he had over me, and he wanted more. I’d seen it when he used me in the meadow
. The sweet taste of blood quenched his thirst, and he demanded more.

An awkward silence hung in the air, each
of us in our own thoughts. Replaying recent events, I was sure, wondering if things could’ve gone differently. But it hadn’t gone differently, and the weight of this was on my shoulders, not theirs.

“We need to go,” Nakari said.

I nodded and stepped back from the tree. I knew I couldn’t look at any of them for fear of causing another senseless tragedy. The now familiar tug on my braid told me she’d taken hold. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see where we were going.

Nakari’s pace had slowed, partly because the snow was deepening and partly to allow Jahlem and Darrien to keep up. Their horses wouldn’t be able to keep this pace much longer, even with the recent rest. We would need to find shelter soon.

Time seemed to have lost meaning as the wind whipped by. It had lost meaning years ago when I found out I was Timeless. Was this how it would be for me for the rest of my life? Running, hiding from Marcus, because I wasn’t strong enough to lock him out? I’d turned into a coward, and I didn’t see a way back.

Nakari and Skylar may have come back for me, but where was the rest of the family? Were they preparing for war? Or hiding like me?

We came to another abrupt stop, and I glanced around. The dawn light brightened the snowy skies. It was morning already. I caught sight of streetlights in the valley below. We’d made it to civilization.

“Stay here,” Nakari said. “Wait for Darrien and Jahlem to arrive. Tell them I went to find lodging.”

I kept myself from looking at the lights below. Since Marcus could control me even from afar, he likely had a connection through my mind that allowed him to see what I saw, but I didn’t know if he was watching all the time or only when he needed to. Was he watching now? A shiver raked me. I’d left him. He was watching so he could bring me back. I had to make sure I didn’t disclose our location.

A snort caused me to look up, then quickly turn away. Darrien and Jahlem had arrived.

“Nakari went to find lodging,” I said, keeping my gaze on the snow at my feet. From the corner of my eye, I watched them dismount. Jahlem moved closer, and I stepped to the side.

“You can’t come near me, Jahlem,” I said. “You’ve already been hurt once because of me.”
At least Jahlem’s injury hadn’t ended in death, like poor Skylar.

“And I’d do it again, Cheyenne,” Jahlem said quietly
, guessing at my thoughts. “All of us, including Skylar, came into this battle knowing some of us wouldn’t make it. He sacrificed himself so you could live.”

Tears brimmed near the surface of my eyes.

“But he wasn’t supposed to,” I replied, my throat growing tight. “He was never supposed to die, and especially not by my hand.”

I pressed my eyes closed, the tears falling once more. Skylar was supposed to have left me alone
. He was supposed to have lost his faith in me.

“He didn’t die in vain,” Jahlem added. “He believed in you, as we do, as all who have fallen before us have. We’ve waited too long for our freedom
. We’ll do whatever we must to protect it.”

I didn’t answer.

“There are vacant cabins at the edge of the forest,” Nakari said, returning somewhat winded. “They’re closed for the winter, and no one seems to be nearby. There’s also a corral with other horses a few miles away. We can drop these two off there. I’m sure the owners won’t mind gaining a few of Marcus’s prized stallions.”

She jumped beside me.

“I’m going to take Cheyenne down first, then we can head towards the corral.”

Nakari’s hand latched onto my braid again, and we jumped down to the ravine below. I kept my eyes on the snow. I had no idea if any signs
were posted; I didn’t want Marcus to see where we were hiding.

The wind stopped, and the white snow below my feet turned red; a red carpet.

“See if you can get a fire started,” Nakari said and then disappeared.

A fine mist passed over my lips,
I wasn’t sure if it was colder in here or outside. I began my search for a fireplace. A potbelly stove sat in the corner of the small cabin. A wooden crate nearby was filled with firewood.

I dumped the logs into the stove and rubbed my hands together. Warmth began to spread in my palms
, and I pulsed out the flames till the wood ignited. I kept them steady until the familiar glow of orange and red appeared. I closed the stove and glanced around.

Nakari had found a vacation cabin. A small kitchenette sat beyond the entry door, and beyond that
, another door lead to a small bathroom with a tub. A couch and rocking chair surrounded the potbelly stove, with a coffee table loaded with pamphlets and magazines, and a red rug underneath.

I moved further into the living room and found two doors leading to bedrooms, each with a double bed. At least they could get some rest and stay warm. I could make myself at home on the couch, just in case any sudden fiery powers burst forth without warning.

A knock at the door caused me to still. Nakari would’ve just jumped in…

“Cheyenne, it’s me, Darrien,”
a voice said.

I went
to the door, opening it and letting Darrien in. I quickly averted my eyes and moved to the kitchen. A small dining table with three chairs was in the corner. I sat, trying to avoid looking around.

From the corner of my eye
, I watched Darrien warm himself by the fire. A few moments later, Jahlem and Nakari arrived.

I closed my eyes, afraid Marcus would suddenly summon my powers and use them against us. I had to maintain what little control I had as long as I could.

“We need to find food,” Darrien said.

Light footsteps echoed in the small space, and then I heard paper being turned. Nakari was searching through the papers I’d seen on the coffee table, probably
advertising the shops and such in the local towns.

“
There are several stores within miles of here,” Nakari said. “I’ll get food, and from the looks of it, all of us need a change of clothes. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

A breeze drifted on my neck
. Nakari stood behind me, but didn’t speak. She sighed, and then another breeze touched my skin. She’d gone.

She’d wanted to say something to me, but at the last moment had changed her mind. Now it was my turn to sigh
. She probably wanted to tell me to run away, to hide and never be seen again. Or better yet, she wanted to remind me that I’d been the one to murder Skylar while he lay helplessly on the ground.

There was no confusion
over Skylar’s death like Daniel’s; I’d witnessed it with my own eyes. I’d been the one to yank the golden whip back. I’d also been the one to check for a pulse and find none…

Heavy footsteps moved
around the small space, and I inched myself closer to the wall, leaning against it.

“Here it is,” Darrien said. “Just look for some matches so I can light the water heater.”

More footsteps sounded, and then the front door opened. I fought to keep my eyes closed; I wanted to know what they were doing. I wanted to have the freedoms I’d taken for granted, but I knew I’d likely never have them again. It would always be this way now, me cowering in the corner, afraid to look at my surroundings, afraid I’d become a weapon again.