Soul Deep: Dark Souls, Book 2 (14 page)

Never again would she ask him if he had the ability to feel. She was slowly peeling away the layers, stripping off the protective armor to reveal the sensitive core beneath, and what she saw took her breath away. “You’re not that person anymore. No one’s nobler than you, Marcus. No one.”

She meant it, more than she’d ever meant anything. She only hoped he believed her.

He broke the eye contact, returned his attention to the open stretch of highway unwinding before them. “There’s more.”

She went silent, hooking her fingers around the door handle to anchor herself. She knew whatever Marcus was about to tell her was important, that it would somehow shape their future.

“Regan?” Ben piped up from the backseat. “I gotta pee.”

Chapter Eighteen

They took the next exit, where they luckily found a fast-food restaurant. Regan escorted Ben to the restroom, while Marcus got them a bite to eat—breakfast burritos and hash browns to go. The entire process lasted no more than ten minutes, but to Regan it felt like an eternity.

She was anxious to get back in the car, where Marcus could continue his story. She’d known him her entire life as a Watcher, but part of him—a very important part—had always been shuttered, as hidden as the interior of a house with the curtains drawn. Today those curtains had finally parted, and she’d gotten a glimpse of what lay beyond the glass. But one glimpse simply wasn’t enough. She wanted to see more, to explore every darkened corner, every shadowed room.

Her curiosity was a living thing, gnawing at her, twisting her insides. By the time she buckled Ben in and reclaimed her seat in the Taurus, she was about ready to burst from it. “So how much longer are you going to keep me in suspense?”

Marcus started the ignition, ignoring her, and for one halted heartbeat she feared the moment of revelation had passed, that the shutters had been closed again, the curtains drawn.

When he drew a deep breath and began to speak, she exhaled in relief. “The problem with us Hybrids is that we’re not quite as soulless as the Kleptopsychs. Not even close.” The car rolled forward onto the welcoming road, the sound of the motor a soft, purring chorus to his words. “With every life I helped end, my guilt grew. Like an ink stain, it slowly spread until it tainted everything. So I began to purposely foil my missions.”

Now this was beginning to sound more like the Marcus she knew. The urge to reach out and cover his hand with hers assailed her, but she held back, afraid of interrupting him.

“Eventually, Kyros—who possesses some tracking abilities himself—grew suspicious. But instead of terminating me the way common sense would’ve dictated, the bastard decided to promote me.” He met her gaze briefly. Only when his eyes were safely averted again did he find the strength to go on. “To prized stud.”

His implication didn’t register immediately. It bounced around her head for a few seconds before it sank in. Then her lips parted in surprise. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

She didn’t believe his jaw could get any stiffer, but it did. “I was ordered to breed. Kyros was convinced that if I were paired with a firstborn, my offspring would be born soulless. His hope was that this child would inherit my skills, but not my cumbersome conscience.”

“I thought the Kleptopsychs were obsessed with keeping their bloodline pure.”

“Normally they are. But my skills were too valuable, so they bent the rules, just this once.”

Her throat squeezed shut, her pulse quickening. “Who was she? Your mate.” The word left a sour taste in her mouth. For some reason, the thought of Marcus with some strange woman—touching her, kissing her, making love to her—made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Kyros’s twin sister, Kora. She was brought in from Europe for the special occasion.”

“So what was it like, making out with a female version of Kyros?” She didn’t mean for sarcasm to seep into her voice, and yet it did.

Marcus caught it. He shot her an assessing glance, raised a taunting brow. Then the jerk deliberately attempted to provoke her. “She was actually quite attractive—in an ice princess sort of way.”

“I always figured you for the type who likes his women hot.” She shrugged dispassionately. “Guess I was wrong.”

For the first time since he’d begun spilling his guts, the tension melted from his shoulders and a wide smile split his face. “You’re jealous.” Incredulity laced his words.

“I’m not jealous. I’m just making an observation.”

“Sure you are.”

“I’m not jealous,” she insisted, suddenly annoyed. “Are you gonna go on with the story or what?”

“You know, green is actually a good color for you.”

She punched him in the arm, hard. “Shut up.”

“I thought you wanted me to continue the story.”

“You know what I mean.”

Ben began to chuckle in the backseat. “You guys are funny.”

He’d been so quiet since they’d gotten back in the car, she’d almost forgotten he was there. She turned around in her seat to face him. “You stay out of this,” she ordered. Then she pointed an accusing finger at Marcus. “As for you, stop skirting around the issue. What happened after the ice princess came to town?”

“Do I really need to draw you a picture, Regan? Has it been that long?”

If her skin had been green before, it was surely flaming red now. “And did she conceive?”

All levity vanished from his face, and his expression grew rigid and distant again. “Yes. Eventually.”

Another stab of resentment sliced through her, but she held her tongue.

“But things didn’t turn out exactly as Kyros had planned. When a Hybrid breeds with a Kleptopsych, the outcome can go either way. That’s why the Kleptopsychs are usually so careful about these things. The one time they made an exception, they lived to regret it. My human genes won out, and the boy was born with a soul.”

Regan couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You have a son. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

His brilliant eyes fastened on to hers. “For the same reason you refuse to admit Jace is yours.”

Touché.
Their lifestyle didn’t exactly encourage full disclosure. In their world, attachments were viewed as weaknesses. They had the potential to test their loyalty to their mission and to Cal, which was why their leader insisted they take the vow of celibacy. That and his unwillingness to pollute the world with more of their kind.

“What happened to him? Your son?”

A hairline crack fractured his icy composure, and pain pinched his features. “Kyros murdered him. He figured if he stole his soul, he’d have the faithful soldier he’d envisioned.”

The chill in the car was palpable. “Oh, Marcus, I’m so sorry.” Regan’s heart ached for him. She remembered how she’d felt when Cal had wanted to turn Jace as an infant. What Marcus had endured was far, far worse. Without a soul to anchor him, his son had undoubtedly turned into a monster.

“When I heard, I lost it. I threw myself at Kyros, tried to rip the bastard’s head off. But I was only one man, and he had an army at his disposal. They incapacitated me, dragged me to the tanks.”

She’d heard about Athanatos’s execution chamber, the copper tanks within which he’d drowned those he condemned to death. Without angel’s blood, copper and water had been the only weapons available to him.

“Did you know they used to leave their prisoners in there for days?” he informed her in a bitter rasp. “The water inches toward your chin, one chilling drop at a time. Your skin turns ice cold, then your organs slowly start to shut down. By the third day, the pain is excruciating. You’re practically begging to die.”

“But you didn’t. Cal rescued you.” She remembered the story, how the Watchers had raided the Kleptopsychs’ headquarters and pulled Marcus out of the tank.

“He could’ve let me die. He knew who I was, what I’d done. Because of me, he’d lost hundreds of recruits.” Guilt darkened his expression again, as did a heavy measure of regret. “But he didn’t. He took me in, gave me something to believe in again. Something to fight for.”

And I took it all away from you.
Her stomach bucked at the thought. She hadn’t grasped the true magnitude of Marcus’s sacrifice until now. Saving the world wasn’t just a calling for him, it was his road to redemption, his way of atoning for his sins and holding the guilt at bay.

Sunlight sifted through the clouds, speckling the blacktop. Green-headed trees swayed in the breeze, their hypnotic dance undeniably graceful. Behind them, Ben continued to bash his action figures together, no longer listening to their conversation.

Regan looked out the side window at the world streaking by. “So where’s your son now? Is he still with Kyros and the Kleptopsychs?”

“No.” His grip tightened around the steering wheel. “Kyros’s plan backfired. He failed to extinguish my boy’s soul. The darn thing was so powerful, it escaped him.”

Her gaze swiveled his way. “So Cal recruited him?”

Marcus shook his head. “By the time I found out about it, it was too late. My son had already chosen his path.” A toe-curling pause followed. “He went rogue,” he finally said, “and I was ordered to kill him.”

Chapter Nineteen

After that startling revelation, Marcus lapsed into silence. Regan was hard-pressed to get anything else out of him. Ben fell asleep in the backseat, and a strange hush descended over the sedan. Only the rev of the motor and the occasional whistle of the wind broke the stillness.

They passed a sign that welcomed them to the State of Washington. A short while later, Marcus drove through a large set of steel gates and pulled into a townhouse development on the outskirts of Spokane.

Regan’s curiosity reached a peak. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Lifting a sleeping Ben, she followed Marcus down a pebbled path toward the center building. Newly planted trees shivered in the breeze, their leaves glimmering in the sunlight, and multicolored flowers dotted the cobblestone walkway.

She took in the perfectly manicured lawns, the neat rows of identical two-story homes bordering the neo-classic building they approached. “What is this, Pleasantville?”

Marcus chuckled. “Sure looks like it, doesn’t it?”

Could the guy be any more cryptic? Dark energy stretched beckoning fingers toward them, growing stronger as they approached. A nasty tingle sprouted at the base of her spine. “Okay, I’m officially creeped out now.”

Marcus swung the door open and escorted her inside a vast reception hall. Several of the tables were occupied by strangers Regan recognized all too well. Her free hand instinctively went to the hilt of her dagger. The occupants looked like everyday people, dressed in chinos and Polo shirts—hell, some even wore business suits—but she knew what they were. She felt it in her bones. “Rogues.”

The creatures turned to stare at them, looking as startled as she felt. Marcus placed a quelling hand over hers. “They won’t hurt us,” he reassured her. “They’re not what you think.”

“No? Because they sure feel like goddamn Rogues to me.” Panic had edged in, and her voice quavered despite her best efforts to remain calm.

Marcus walked ahead of her. “We’re here to see Adrian. Is he around?” he asked the guy sitting at the nearest table fiddling with a laptop.

The creature took his eyes off the computer and looked up at him questioningly. “Who wants to know?”

“Marcus.”

The name seemed to strike a chord in the Rogue because something shifted behind his eyes. With an acquiescent nod, he folded the screen shut and stood. “Follow me.”

If ever there was a time Regan wanted to throttle Marcus, it was now. He’d driven them straight into a nest of Rogues, and she wasn’t sure she had enough blood left on her blade to take them all out if they decided to attack them. Her arms tightened around Ben. There was no question these creatures would hunger to steal his light, considering how bright it burned. How could she possibly defend him against the lot of them?

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispered sourly.

Marcus didn’t bother to reply. He followed Mr. Laptop down a long corridor, past a small kitchen, through a courtyard that led to another building.

The Rogue stopped in front of a unit marked 12B. “Is he expecting you?” he asked.

Marcus’s expression gave nothing away. “No.”

“Then good luck,” the creature warned. “If you are who you say you are, then I’m sure you know how much he values his privacy.”

The Rogue left them standing on the threshold of unit 12B, unharmed.

“I think I’ve slipped down the rabbit hole,” Regan muttered. “Civilized Rogues.” She released an incredulous laugh.

“I figured you had to see it for yourself to believe it.” He rang the doorbell.

“I’m still not sure I do. How is this possible?”

Marcus gestured toward the townhouse with a nod of his head. “He made it possible.”

Just then, the door swung open and a tall stranger stood before them, a man with dark hair and navy blue eyes so much like Marcus’s, her next breath snagged in her throat.

Marcus placed a comforting hand on her back. “Regan, I’d like you to meet Adrian. My son.”