Fearless Magic (28 page)

“Maybe,” Jericho mumbled thoughtfully.

“I'll be fine, I just need to get used to it, Ok?” I looked up at him, hoping to reassure him with my confidence and then stood up to stretch, trying to prove that I was already feeling better.

“Something else happened during the mission that we need to talk about,” Jericho said carefully.

I instantly tensed up, terrified that we lost somebody, “What? What happened?”

“I think it's good news, it's just been somewhat of a struggle since you've been unconscious. During the mission, while we were setting up the explosives, Xander and Xavier ran into, literally, they ran right into Talbott. He was on his way back from the airstrip, we think. He was alone on a motorcycle and Xander had the advantage. If it weren't for their explosives, though, I don't think they would have been able to capture him. Although, capturing him was the easy part. Now.... I mean, we're holding him here, but he is somewhat of a difficult prisoner.”

“That's great news!” I exclaimed, finally feeling like I had a tiny piece of the upper hand.

“Well, we thought so too, at first,” Jericho continued, his brow furrowing again with intensity, “Except that he's actually, not that easy to keep locked up. I don't know how much longer we can hold him. As of right now we have to have at least five guys with him at all times, but we don't have enough people to keep everyone fresh and rested. He doesn't seem to get tired. Honestly, he's one of the toughest Titans I have ever come across.”

“Well, I'm sure he wasn't picked to be Kiran's body guard for nothing. Did you use those handcuffs he had on you?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips and pacing back and forth across the small space.

“Yes, yes, but he's.... he's really resourceful,” Jericho admitted.

“I better go see him, yeah?” I asked, wondering if I could handle confrontation. I felt fragile and frail and I hated every moment of it.

“Well, yes, probably. But are you sure you're up for it?” Concern still was written obviously across his face.

“No, but if nothing else, I can use him for target practice.” I smiled and Jericho laughed. My heart literally felt ripped in two with Avalon fresh in my memory, but Jericho made things easier. And I couldn't sit around and cry about it, I had to move on, to try again and next time I would not fail.

“He's downstairs when you're ready. I thought you might want to get cleaned up first, though?” he asked gently, and I nodded enthusiastically. I was filthy and afraid that I smelled bad. “There is a fresh pair of clothes and shower in the bathroom. You won't have hot water, but at least you can wash up.”

“Thank you, a cold shower actually sounds amazing!” I gushed, letting Jericho open the door and point the way to the bathroom.

Outside the bedroom I could hear voices downstairs. Listening to the soft chatter, and bits of laughter of other people committed to the same cause felt like salve to my wounded heart. This house was healing in a way; these people provided the soothing medication I needed to move forward. The Rebellion was still alive, still a force to be reckoned with and with their help we could conquer the oppression. We could not only set Avalon free, but an entire race of Immortals.

I took my time in the shower, washing the blood out of my hair and using a razor that someone miraculously left behind. I didn't know whose it was and that was kind of gross, but my legs appreciated the grooming.

I dried off with a thin towel and changed into the clothes left on the sink. The short sleeved, gray shirt was a little tight and the black, linen pants a little big. I pulled the drawstring as tightly as I could, but still they hung low on my waist, leaving two inches of skin between my shirt and my pants. It wasn't a look I would normally rock, but looking down at my discarded, filthy clothes, I decided I didn't have a choice.

I pulled my long hair over my shoulder and combed through it with my fingers. This impossible mess of tangles desperately needed a trim, but working with what I had, I braided it, using magic to loosen the especially tough areas.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment. I hardly took time to look at myself since this entire debacle started and now I barely recognized myself. I felt decades older and was positive I looked it. My black eyes, seemed impossibly darker, more like a midnight storm than the onyx stone I once compared them to. I could swear I saw the beginning of wrinkles on my tanned face. I had always been happy with my appearance, self-confident enough to know that I wasn't ugly, but now I couldn't even decide. The face in the mirror felt like a stranger, and I didn't even know how to begin to get to know her again.

I breathed a frustrated sigh and then left the bathroom. I knew there were more important things to worry about than meditating on self-revelation or vanity.

I bounced down the stairs, feeling more energized after the shower, although magic still buzzed uncomfortably underneath my skin. The bottom of the stairs opened up into a living room area, where Naima and Grace talked quietly together on a couch. They were close friends, it was easy to see and I longed for Lilly for the millionth time.

They looked up at me, smiling graciously; an idea suddenly hit me. “Where are they keeping Talbott?” I asked and Naima pointed towards a door to my left.

Jericho stepped through the door at the sound of my voice, shutting it quickly behind him. He tilted his chin, for me to join him, putting his hand on my shoulder when I reached him.

“Are you sure you're up for this?” he asked.

“Yes, of course,” I answered, firmly.

“Ok, let's get this over with then. He's been a bit feisty today.” Jericho opened the door and then leaned into my ear, “You smell good.”

I walked through the door laughing, but quickly stifled it when I met Talbott face to face. The magical hand-cuffs that were supposed to diminish magical power bound his hands, and he sat in a chair that was tied to his legs, much like Avalon had been. But he flailed his body and the chair wildly in a stuttered circle. He was furious, rage written across his angular face and I didn't know what do with him in that moment.

“Talbott, settle down!” I scolded loudly, hoping he was willing to listen to my reason.

“Eden, you'd better let me go!” he growled, jumping his chair a foot towards me. The room wasn't very big to begin with, but even I flinched at Talbott's behavior. I was unprepared to take any more magics on and I really hoped he wasn't going to push me into taking his. I sent his chair backwards with magic, setting it forcefully down on the ground and shaking it a little to grab his attention.

“Calm down!” I demanded, “I am here to help you, but if you're going to act like a maniac about it, then I'm just going to leave and you can continue with your escape planning. It really seems to be working out for you.” I rolled my eyes and hoped he would see how ridiculous he was behaving. I suddenly understood why Jericho said we didn't have enough people to contain him.

He resentfully settled down, but still bristled at his captors. He was clearly not used to being the one in the prisoner’s uniform, so to speak.

“Now, I think I have a plan that will get you back to Kiran and get me something that I want in exchange, all right? Assuming that's what you want?” I bribed carefully, watching as he stayed unpacified.

“Yes, I need to get back. There are people counting on me,” he agreed, but I couldn’t help notice he left Kiran's name out.

“I want Avalon, I want to trade you for Avalon,” I said simply and Talbott rolled his eyes at the idea.

“You might as well just kill me now then. Lucan will never give you Avalon.” he snapped, frustrated with me and irritated with his restraints. This side of Talbott proved very entertaining.

“Well, let's just try anyway. Maybe Lucan has changed his mind,” I suggested, playing it cool, despite the exhaustion that was sweeping over me from fighting with the frenzied magic. “Does somebody have a cell phone? I am assuming you have a number to call that will get you in contact with Lucan?” When Talbott didn't answer, I sent him flying backwards in his chair until he slammed into the back wall, “Do you want to go home or not?” I shouted, my nerves getting the best of me.

“I have a direct line to Kiran,” he admitted.

“Fine, that will work. Someone give him a phone,” Te, Caden, Gabriel, Xavier and Bex were charged with guarding Talbott for now and all of them reached into their pockets digging for their phones. I started to believe, I was the only one who left my cell phone at home. I made a mental note to take it with me next time I decided to travel around the world.

“Can I see you outside for a moment?” Jericho asked, pulling on my arm and opening the door.

“Get on the phone with Kiran and find out if Lucan will make the trade,” I commanded before letting Jericho close the door on us.

“I trust you, Eden. But I need to know what the plan is. Lucan is never going to trade Talbott for Avalon, he would rather kill Talbott himself,” Jericho whispered, in hushed, curious tones.

“I know that,” I agreed, “but I have to get to what I want, without making it seem like I'm getting.... what I want,” I explained cryptically. “Listen, I know that Talbott has this thing about protecting Lilly, but if I start with Lilly, I'll never get her. I am trying to get
them
to offer her to us.”

“You watch too many movies,” Jericho smiled at me, opening the door and allowing me through first.

“You can't have Avalon,” Talbott said as soon as I walked through the door. Gabriel stood next to him, holding his phone to Talbott's ear.

I stared at him for a minute, chewing on my thumbnail, pretending to think it over. “Then I want Ryder Thompson.”

Talbott repeated my demand into the phone, listened for a minute and then shook his head no.

I cleared my throat and tried again, “Then I want the Immortal's that don't have any magic, Ebanks Camera, Oscar Rodriguez, Jett Fisher and Ronan Hannigan.”

Talbott spoke into the phone, repeating my request almost word for word. This time he listened longer, before shaking his head no again.

“All right, Talbott, ask them who I
can
have then? Seriously, what is your life worth? If they don't come up with an answer soon you can let them know that I will kill you, without hesitation or remorse.” I folded my arms, staring defiantly at Talbott, mentally willing him to figure out my plan on his own.

He repeated my words into the phone and then without hesitation, without waiting for a response on the other end he said with confidence, “You can have Lilly.”

I rocked back on my heels, trying not to smile. I couldn't believe it was that easy, “Fine.”

“He said he will only do the exchange if you come alone, completely by yourself,” when I rolled my eyes, he continued, “he will send only one person to do the exchange, but he wants to be assured that it will be you and only you.”

“I can't trust him, how do I know he will really only send one person?” I asked skeptically.

“You don't,” Talbott answered simply, “but if you don't agree, or bring someone with you, the deal's off.”

“Fine,” I relented, thrilled that I was at least able to save Lilly through this whole mess. I couldn't stop the smile from coming so I turned to leave the room, trusting that Jericho could finish figuring out the details. “But tell him, if he sends Kiran, I will kill him on sight. I will literally rip his head off and send it back to him in a box.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

I left the room, remembering I made a promise to myself. Grace and Naima still chatted quietly on the couch, so I approached carefully.

“Where is Sebastian?” I asked, smiling at them.

“He is in that room over there,” Naima answered, her head bobbing a little while she talked. “Eden? Are you alright? Gabriel explained how horrific the mission went and I am worried that maybe you need to rest for a bit longer.” Her pink eyes darkened with worry, their jewel-like tones shimmering against the white of her pupils.

“Thank you, but I'm fine, really. I just realized that Sebastian hasn't had a change of clothes for more than a week now and I want to make sure he is treated fairly, that's all,” I explained and Grace immediately stood up.

“There are extra clothes in the back bedroom, I will get him some,” she offered politely and then disappeared down a hallway.

I smiled one more time at Naima and then went to find Sebastian. I knocked softly on the door, expecting him to be asleep, but was surprised to find Titus inside, laughing with him.

“Am I interrupting something?” I asked, noticing how relaxed Sebastian looked.

“No, sorry, I was just um, guarding Sebastian,” Titus stood up, unnecessarily coming to attention. It dawned on me that Titus and Sebastian were becoming friends. I knew that I should be more worried about that, but I was having a hard time believing Sebastian would ever be a threat again, I couldn't really blame Titus for thinking the same thoughts.

“It's all right; I just need to talk to him for a second, that's all.” I smiled at Titus, waving at him to sit back down. “Sebastian, do you know that we have Talbott in the other room?”

“I think the whole city knows,” he laughed, rolling his eyes.

“Well, I've decided to trade him for one of their prisoners,” I explained, gauging his reaction. When nothing in his face changed, I continued, “Lucan agreed to the exchange, but only if I meet his man alone, like completely alone.” I paused for a moment, letting my words sink in.