Marked (11 page)

I
suddenly felt like such a fool.

"Donovan,
bringing James back means that we'll have Dominic back here too.
There's a chance that she could heal Alec and have him back on his
feet in hours rather than days."

I'd
expected Donovan to greet my idea with relief. I didn't expect him to
all but collapse against the wall behind him.

"I've
failed Master Alec, the entire pack and the rebellion as a whole. How
could I have been so blind? Even as I walk around on a limb that was
made whole by Mistress Sanchez, I still somehow forgot that there was
a much better way to save Master Alec than my feeble skills."

I
found myself at Donovan's side without remembering standing and
crossing the distance between us. I grabbed his arm and stopped him
from sliding down the wall.

"This
is not your fault, Donovan. You've worked a miracle in keeping Alec
alive and you can't be blamed for not thinking of Dominic's gift
after so many decades where your skills were the best solution—the
only solution—for any hurt suffered by the pack. Alec isn't
dead, this isn't about saving his life anymore, it's about getting
him back up on his feet as quickly as possible."

"But
it could have been the difference between Master Alec living or dying
and it never even crossed my mind. What else have I failed to
consider, what other mistakes am I making even now?"

"You're
going to make mistakes, just like I'm going to make mistakes,
Donovan, but we have to just do the best we can. Everything you said
about me is just as true about you. There isn't anyone else who can
fill your shoes; if you try to step down people are going to die. I
can't do this on my own, Donovan—I need you."

I
shouldn't have been able to hold him up. I was the least athletic
person in the world and lately I'd started losing weight again much
like I had done right after Cindi and my dad had died. I was the last
person who should be able to hold up a grown man by his arms, but I
was doing it and that worried me almost as much as Alec's injury.

Only
a few hours ago I'd been thinking just how fit and wiry Donovan
looked. Somehow Alec's condition had hit the old butler so hard that
he'd shrunk in on himself to the point where he looked like a stiff
wind would carry him away.

It
took several seconds for my words to cut through the despair-filled
haze that had overcome Donovan, but he finally shook himself and
regained his feet. "You're right, of course, Mistress Adriana.
We must all soldier on regardless of our failings. Knowing that
Master Alec isn't there to catch my mistakes is harder to deal with
than I realized it was going to be. I had much of the privilege of
teaching him, but even at a young age he displayed incredible
insights."

"I
know I'm no Alec, but with any luck Dominic will have him back on his
feet in no time flat. They can't be more than a few hours' drive away
from us, not if we change direction and meet them halfway."

"I
wish I could share your optimism, Mistress Paige. Mistress Dominic
has accomplished some truly incredible things, but so far her gift
does not seem to be under conscious control."

"You're
right, but there's still a hope. How long before you can finish
closing Alec up? I want you to get some food in yourself sooner
rather than later."

"If
I may be so bold, Mistress Paige, you are in dire need of some
sustenance as well."

"Yeah,
I kind of missed breakfast, but I'm going to call Dom before I go, so
if you finish up first I hereby order you to go eat and I'll stay
here with Alec until after you're done."

"Very
well, Mistress Paige. I won't contest your orders so soon after
having convinced you to assume command."

"That's
right, otherwise I might disappear with Alec never to be heard from
again."

"A
quote about the unwise nature of making threats which one is
unwilling to fulfill comes to mind."

That
drew a chuckle out of me which was interrupted by a yawn as I
realized just how exhausted I was. Considering that I'd woken up
feeling like I hadn't gotten much sleep, it was nothing short of a
miracle that I was still functioning at all considering everything
we'd been through since dawn.

I
punched up Dominic's number and waited as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Dom,
it's me, Adri."

"Hello,
Adri. I thought you were going to try and avoid calling us."

"Yeah,
but then I realized just how much we need you and James here. We are
in Northern Utah right now. Where would be the best place to meet
you?"

"I'm
not sure. Something unusual just happened and it might not be the
best idea for us to be driving right now."

"What
do you mean?"

"Andrew
got a call from Isaac earlier. Shortly after he got off of the phone
he lost consciousness. We've been unable to wake him since then."

I
wanted to start pulling my hair out by the roots. Every time I
thought I had a handle on things and knew what we were up against
another issue jumped out of the bushes and ambushed me.

"Does
Andrew seem to be in any kind of immediate danger?"

"No,
but…"

"In
that case, I need you to pack up and get on the road within the next
hour. I've got people here who might not make it if we can't meet up
very soon. I'm sorry to hear about Andrew's condition, but this has
to take precedence. I'd say that we would call and tell Isaac what
was going on, but I've been trying to get through to Isaac, or Ash or
even Kristin all day. I can't believe he called Andrew but blew me
off. What did they talk about?"

"I'm
not sure. Jess, I think, but beyond that I couldn't say."

"Okay,
where should we meet you?"

"Adri,
there are other considerations that you aren't giving me a chance to
tell you about. Andrew isn't the only one who's unconscious. I went
in to check on Alec's mom a little while ago and she's completely
unresponsive."

"You
don't have any idea what happened to either of them?"

"No…well,
there's one thing. Addison says that she was walking past Samantha's
room earlier and she saw flickering lights. Addison thought at the
time that Samantha was just watching television, but James said that
when we checked in the manager gave us a discount because the
television in Samantha's room wasn't working."

"Dom,
why didn't you call and tell me this was going on?"

"Because
you told me we were supposed to be keeping a low profile. James and I
thought it would be best to wait a day or two and see if they woke up
on their own."

Dominic
sounded hurt, but I couldn't entirely blame her. Some of my
frustration had bled through into my voice despite my best efforts.
She had no way of knowing what I was dealing with or how things that
were happening to her and the people she was watching over might
impact all of the rest of our people.

"I'm
sorry, Dom. Please just get everyone in the car. I think the Coun'hij
might have just unveiled another weapon and we need to know as soon
as possible if it's something that Alec's power can counteract. If
not, and the Coun'hij can just pick us off one at a time by sending
us into comas, then we're in even hotter water than any of us
realized."

Adriana Paige
Interstate 15
Northern Utah

Donovan
finished sewing up Alec about the time I finished up with Dominic. In
the end he convinced me to go get something to eat while he washed
up. I exited the bedroom to find that the only people sharing the RV
with us were Ruby, Vik, and a driver who was so focused on the road
that he didn't even seem to notice me.

The
fact that Mallory was in the other RV bought me some time given that
Ruby and the guys weren't going to push me about Alec's exact status.
They asked, but I told them something reassuring and vague and then
focused on microwaving some food for Donovan and me.

Once
we'd both eaten, Donovan and I slept in shifts in one of the bunks
outside of the bedroom. I tried to convince Donovan to go first based
on the fact that he was obviously exhausted, but he pointed out that
the next couple of hours were especially important when it came to
monitoring Alec's blood pressure.

In
the end, I gave in and went to sleep and enjoyed a few blissful hours
where I didn't dream even once.

I
woke up to my phone ringing, which really threw me for a loop. Not
only was I waking up somewhere other than where I'd expected to, my
phone wasn't next to my head like it normally was. I finally managed
to fish it out of the waistband of my shorts about the time it rang
for the fourth time.

"Yeah?"

"Adri,
what is going on there?"

I
recognized the voice—it was Jaclyn Annikov. I closed my eyes
and focused on controlling my breathing. This might be the most
important conversation I would ever have. I needed Jaclyn—we
needed Jaclyn.

"What
do you mean?"

"I've
been trying to call Alec for the last fifteen minutes and
getting nothing, it's not even going through to voicemail. It's a
good thing Alec entered your number into my phone before I left or I
would still be sitting here wondering whether to stick around the
Bishop Compound or get back to my main mission. Can you please hand
your phone to Alec?"

I
rolled out of my bunk and slipped into Alec's room. Donovan started
to get to his feet, but I waved him back down as I closed the door
and turned the privacy box back on.

"I
can't hand you to Alec. This stays between you and me, but he was
hurt in our last fight with Coun'hij forces."

"How?"

"They
must have figured out beforehand where we were going to ambush them.
They had a sniper waiting up on the lip of the amphitheater. He got
two bullets into Alec and killed Alec's bodyguard before Donovan put
him down."

"Alec's
still alive though?"

"Yes…"

"You're
obviously worried he won't make it though or you wouldn't be asking
me to keep his injury quiet. Why are you telling me of all people?"

"I
need you back here. If Alec doesn't survive then I'm going to need
help keeping the wheels on."

Jaclyn
swore. "It would go down like this. I finally come out in full
rebellion against the Coun'hij and Alec has to go get himself shot.
You realize none of us have any kind of chance without him, don't
you?"

"I
wouldn't go that far. There are other resources out there that I'm
currently in negotiations with. We lost a lot of people today, but
the Coun'hij lost nearly as many and they have more demands on their
personnel than we do. It's entirely possible they'll blink first and
if that happens we'll have the neutral packs joining us left and
right."

"Well,
you certainly don't lack for ambition."

"It's
not ambition, it's loyalty. I'm not going to just stand by and let
everything Alec has been building come crashing back down. Are you
with me? Will you come meet up with us and help me?"

"Those
two things aren't mutually exclusive. I can be 'with' you and not
meet back up to hold your hand. Please give my regards to Alec when
he wakes up and let him know that I've continued on with the mission
he originally gave me. As things stand,
that's
the most important thing I can be doing."

For
a split second I considered trying to force the issue with her, but I
had very little in the way of leverage to work with.

"Fine,
I wish you the best of luck in your search, but before you go I'll
need you to report your findings."

It
was a small first step along the road towards her reporting to me for
real, but it was a step and we both knew it.

"I
don't think so."

"You
swore an oath to serve my fiancé, Jaclyn. I'd hate to have to
tell him when he wakes up that you've been remiss in your duties."

She
was silent for several seconds before she finally responded. "Very
well, I'll play along for now, but when he wakes up I'll expect you
to tell him that I cooperated with you."

"I'll
be telling Alec everything that happens while he's out of commission.
I'm sure he will reward everyone commensurate with their level
of…cooperation."

If
she chose to read the slightest of veiled threats into that comment
then that was just fine with me.

"You're
on a phone with data capabilities, right?"

"Yeah,
how come?"

"Hold
on just a second and I'll send you a video feed request."

A
second later my phone chimed and once I accepted her request I was
greeted with a scene of desolation the likes of which I'd never seen
before. The aerial view had been bad enough, but it was nothing
compared to what Jaclyn was showing me.

The
grand old house that I'd last seen when Shawn had taken me back to
face off against Agony was completely leveled…only leveled
wasn't the right word for it. The compound had been built on top of a
large underground structure that had contained, among other things,
the challenge arena for the Chicago pack.

That
subbasement was visible now, more than visible in fact. It was as
though someone had set off a massive bomb underneath the house.
Pieces of concrete had been hurled into the air and returned to the
ground dozens upon dozens of yards away from where they'd started.

The
Bishops had a significant amount of ground—especially for a
place like Chicago—but even so the wreckage from the house had
still shattered several of the closest houses. A fire had started at
some point as well and spread to the east, taking out at least three
of the neighboring mansions before the local fire department had been
able to get it under control.

Up
until that moment I hadn't realized just how much security I'd
derived from the knowledge that we had the Chicago pack waiting
backstage to help out if it became necessary. We'd never depended on
them other than to use Shawn's ability to know when someone truly
meant their promises, but even so I'd always known that we had an
incredible tide of hybrids and wolves who could be sent our way if
Alec could convince Ulrich it was time to come out openly in support
of Alec's claim to the throne.