Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four (33 page)

I screamed as I heard bones cracking and slammed
my hand down on the lone Tresez’s neck that I could reach. It released a high-pitched squeal and then slumped to the ground, taking me with it.

Conall leapt for me, his mouth latching onto my shoulder. I turned, reaching for his ear and shot a fiery hot flame across his face. A deafening yelp reverberated in my ear, and he dropped me, running off into the darkness. The remaining Tresezes froze in place. I forced myself to sit up, and lifted my one good hand
. The Tresezes scattered.

I pressed my eyes closed for a moment, forcing the pain down. My breath came in short, quick beats. I didn’t have time to lay here and wait for my wounds to heal. I needed to help; I needed to keep moving before Marcus found me. I needed to be ready for him.

Wind whisked over me, and my eyes shot open. Nakari had come for me.

“I’ve got you,” she said.

We came to an abrupt stop, directly in the center of our fighting army, and Nakari disappeared.

“Hold on
to my arm,” Brogan said, and I did what he asked. “Can you walk?”

“I don’t know,” I said breathlessly.

“You have to try.”

Brogan began walking
, and I took a wobbly step, holding on to him for support. Even though I had heard cracking bones, it didn’t appear Conall had broken my leg after all.

“Press down the pain, and focus, Cheyenne,” Brogan said. “I’ve got to get you closer to Kira, our healer, and I can’t carry you and fight at the same time.”

We slowly made our way through the fighting crowd, Brogan jerking to the left and right while I tried to keep my balance. We came to sudden stop, and he pushed me away, charging off into the night.

I stumbled, but a strong arm caught me.

“Right here,” a voice said that I recognized. I looked up, catching a glimpse of Layla as she turned and waved her hand.

“Lay down,” Layla commanded as she opened up my jacket and began a
ssessing my wounds. “Kira, I need you.”

A petite blond rushed to her side
. Her gaze focused and she pushed Layla back.

She closed her eyes and began murmuring as her hands floated above me. She concentrated on my shoulder first, whispering words that were incomprehensible to my ears, and then moved to my leg and wrist.

A tingling sensation poured over me like butter, and I couldn’t help but blink as the pain subsided. Her eyes opened and a small smile grew.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “How’d you…”

“Heal you?”

I nodded.

“I’m a healer
. It’s what I do.”

With those words
, she disappeared from sight. I sat up, brushing the loose hairs from my eyes. Grunts and groans were still echoing around me. A battle still waged. I still had a feat left to accomplish…I needed to draw Marcus out.

A black mist floated by, a mist I knew too well.
Cloakers.

I could only imagine the damage they’d been doing while I was busy elsewhere. I stood up, taking in what
information about my surroundings I could discern, trying to find the largest concentration of Cloakers. It was too dark. Marcus had ensured we wouldn’t be able to see them by blocking the moonlight, but I could change that.

I rubbed my hands together
, creating another fireball, and launched it into the dark skies. A fine mist had formed over the left flank of our army. It was time to blow them away.

I twirled one hand above my head, releasing a single strand of air that resembled a whip. I spread my fingers wide, increasing the width as I sent it over the left flank. Shrills sounded
, and the black mist dispersed, only to form over me.

Shadows that resembled crows screamed as they swirled around me.
The screams, shrieks, and wails hurt my head as faces grew from the black mist. Fingers reached out, touching my cheek and burning me quickly before they disappeared.

I threw my hands down and spread my palms face out, the fire heating my limbs. I winced as each touch cut and singed me more. I waited for the right moment, when their intensity would be at
its highest. My jaw tightened, and I blinked away the rising pain, and released the fire inside me.

Flames shot up the walls the Cloakers had built, engulfing them as they fought to get away. They’d created their own death trap in this blazing vortex; they’d created this inferno. I fed the fire until the screams stopped and watched as their ashes blacke
ned the ground around me.

Raina’s misty figure stood in front of me, taking in the ashes that were once her
Cloakers. Her hands fisted, and then her head snapped up. She shook, her lip quivering from rage, but she didn’t move immediately. Without warning, she swarmed me, her fingers latching on to my arm, and we flew through the air.

“Raina, no!” I screamed
, fighting to release myself. I didn’t want to hurt her if she could be saved.

“Don’t fight me, Cheyenne!” she howled.

I reached out to touch her hand, to send a power surge, when she dropped me. I looked around. The dark valley surrounded me, my army in the distance. Her figure floated nearby, hesitant.

“Save me,” she whispered and then vanished.

I blinked. She hadn’t fought me. She’d sent her Cloakers in to have me stop them. She placed me here to save herself…

“Angel,” Marcus rumbled.

I shot to my feet, searching for him.

“I see you’ve gone against my wishes once again. You brought an army to battle,
but it’s a battle they won’t win.”

I didn’t reply, but instead stilled, listening for his movements. Snow crunched behind me, and I slowly turned. Marcus had allowed the moonlight to break through the clouds
. He wanted me to see him a mere twenty-five feet away.

“And after all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me?”

“You’ve done nothing but bring me heartache and misery,
husband
. I think this is a fitting repayment,” I said, my pulse racing. My fingers twitched at my side, and I blinked to clear my vision. I needed to be ready.

He looked up at the night sky, as if he had all the time in the world to stargaze.

“Beautiful, really,” he said quietly. “There have only ever been two things that have given me peace, the stars and you, Cheyenne.”

I stilled. He’d called me Cheyenne, not angel.

“I’m still here. I can still be saved if only you’d help me.”

He looked at me, the harsh lines that had been etched on his face moments
ago washed away, replaced with sorrow.

“It was never Matt who wanted to rule the world
. It was the golden dragon who controls Marcus. There’s still time, please…give me the peace I deserve.”

I shook my head and stepped back. I knew what he was trying to do
. He wanted my sympathy. He wanted me to give him all of me—to share my powers so he could rule. I’d seen his beast, his golden dragon, coming to life on his torso through his tattoos. A golden dragon that wanted nothing more than to devour and destroy.

“No, your powers are tainted, Marcus. It will only drive you more insane.”

A black veil began to slip over his face. His jaw grew tight and his eyes narrowed. Heavy mist poured from his nostrils like an angry wild stallion.

“Then I’ll
soak this valley with your blood and take your powers as I watch you die!” he roared.

His hand shot out
, and a bright light flashed. On instinct, my hands flew up, creating a barrier that deflected his lightning bolt. With the flick of his wrist, he sent another and another, and I blocked each blast.

I threw my palm out, sending a blast of energy his way. He scrambled to the side,
so it narrowly missed him. I shot another, and he rolled to the ground, coming up on his elbows and blasting a bolt at my face.

I didn’t have time to block it, and it grazed the top of my shoulder, burning a hole through my jacket. I spun on my legs and threw my hands down, sending a wave of wind in his direction. He tumbled back, but not before he sent a long
, narrow strip of white light my way.

It snapped beside my cheek
, sending flecks of light into my lashes. I fought to remove the burning specks as I heard him stalking closer.

“You think you’re the only one with special powers, angel?” he shouted. “Do you think you’re capable of causing me pain?!”

I tried to scramble away, but he stepped on my ankle, pinning me in place. I cringed as pain shot up my leg.

“I’ll show you what suffering is
. I’ll show you real misery, my angel!”

He shoved his hand to my chest
, and I felt his power rising. I didn’t wait and did the same with both my hands, but I released my power a fraction of a second before he did. He flew from atop me, landing in the snow.

I managed to get to my feet and slapped my hands together, creating my flaming whips. I snapped
them above his head, keeping him pinned to the ground as I moved closer. I laced one around his arm, yanking hard to flip him over.

Instead of him flipping over, his free hand clamped onto my fiery whip and he began dragging me closer.
My muscles grew tight, locking into place. My legs froze, trying to hold him back. My fingers began to quiver, and my nostrils flared.

That’s right
. I have you now, my angel
, he whispered in my mind.

My fingers grew bony before my eyes. It was like before
. He was draining me of life. I fought to bring forth my beast, but it had grown silent. I had to break his hold! He lay on the ground, his fingers tight around my whips, a sickening laugh now breaking my silent gasps.

Shimmering rays of golden light began creeping up his neck, trailing up his cheeks. The slithering tongue of a dragon appeared next to his lips. I was feeding his golden
beast!

I strengthened my resolve
. I wasn’t going to die like this. He wasn’t going to win! With all the strength I could muster, I kicked his face. His hold released, and I fell back in the snow. I gasped, trying to catch my breath. What had just happened? I blinked, and a moment later I was gone. The cold snow was replaced by auburn hair as I leaned up against Nakari’s shoulder.

We came to an abrupt stop, Dex rushing to my side. He and Nakari helped me lie on the frozen earth. I pressed my eyes closed. I was failing…

“He’s draining her powers,” Dex gasped. “She’s not strong enough on her own.”

“Cheyenne,” Nakari
cried, patting my cheek. “Cheyenne, open your eyes!”

My lashes fluttered.

“What happened?” Nakari’s voice shook. “How is he draining you?”

“He touched me, or at least
he made a connection through my powers,” I moaned. “I—I’m not…”

I stopped myself from finishing. I couldn’t do this. It was like before
. Marcus was using me. No matter how hard I kept trying, I wasn’t strong enough to stop him. I’d never be strong enough…

Nakari grasped my hand. Tears brimmed near her eyes
. She was losing hope. Dex’s rough fingers brushed the hair from my lashes, his jaw tight. He was watching me die right before his eyes and could do nothing to stop it.

“I’m not strong enough,” I whispered, “I’m sorry. It’s like Colt said
. He’s draining the very life from me…”

Nakari’s eyes grew wide. She shook her head and dropped my hand.

“Damn it, Cheyenne!” Nakari spat. “We should’ve seen it sooner!”

“What?” Dex demanded.

“He’s draining her, Dex, draining her of her powers. It’s like he’s using her as his power source through each touch he can get. He can’t take it all at once. He has to take a little at a time or it will overload him! Like a circuit, he’ll blow!”

Dex’s jaw dropped
, and they exchanged glances.

“Get the others!” he ordered and Nakari disappeared.

“What?” I asked.

“You can’t do this on your own, Cheyenne. You
’ll fail.” Determination set in his jaw, and his eyes cleared. “You need our help, our strength to finish this battle.”

I stared at him for a moment, when finally the realization hit me. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen this sooner! Marcus had always taken sips of my powers, never a long drink. His body wouldn’t have been able to handle such a surge. But if I pushed through and forced him to take it all—not just mine, but
the powers from all the other clans as well…

“We can give you our clan powers,” Dex said. “Then it’s all up to you, Cheyenne.”

Dex lifted my left hand, placing his clan ring over my Kvech stone. He began murmuring, repeating phrases I didn’t understand. My body jerked, and I bit back a scream as pain shot through my hand. Would I be able to stand this? Dex’s voice grew firmer, and I lost my breath. I grasped his fingers, and then blinked.