Taken (Book Six) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series) (12 page)

She hadn’t expected him to be honest with her.
She eyed him distrustingly. Just what agreements had he made with Fazendiin?

“So what may we help the Queen of the Svoda wi
th first?” he asked her instead.

“Sharing time is over then,” she pouted. “Fine. There is a
task I need handled straight away. One that will require a bit of finesse.”

KarNavan nodd
ed towards his second, Ardon, who strode to his side, then nodded toward Juliska. She was a shorter woman, with the same lizard skin stripes lining her body as the Stripers were known for, but she held a tall posture and tough gaze.

“A small band of rebels
escaped,” explained Juliska. “They’re hiding somewhere on the island. I want them captured. I want to make an example out of them with a nifty little gift Fazendiin gave me,” she explained, taking something out of her pocket.

She showed it to KarNav
an. It was a small round, smooth stone. “No need to explain what this is to you.”

“I see you’re finally in the loop,” he retorted, somewhat dismayed.

“You may have caught me off guard in the meadow, draining everyone’s magical powers with the stones Fazendiin gave you, but you didn’t actually think he’d keep me in the dark, did you? I’m blood. Best to remember that.”

“Of cour
se, my Queen,” he nodded curtly. “So what of these rebels?”

“They cannot have gotten far, the protections
I have on the island will keep them prisoner here. I want them rounded up and brought to me.”

“Very well,” he began, but she stopped him.

“There’s more. There is a young couple that somehow did escape the magical prison I created, and it is my belief that this band of rebels know something about this. I aim to find out. I want one of these young people returned to me. I believe she may have been taken against her will.”

“I see,” said t
he Striper leader. “There can only be so many places to hide, it is an island after all. Our magic trackers will get on it. It shouldn’t take long to locate them.”

“Excuse me,” spoke the stern looking Ardon. “If I may ask a question.”

“Yes.”

“Do you truly believe these rebels will talk? Even once captured and
their lives threatened?”

“Why do you ask?” Juliska replied.

“It’s just that, I have found that people tend to be loyal in these circumstances, and I have another idea. One that might get you everything you’re looking for, with a lot less effort on your part.”

Juliska cracked a slow smile. “I’m listening.”

##

“Colby, I’m tired, I need to sit for a few minutes,” said Meghan. He had spent hours showing her around the grounds of his home, sharing a few memories of the place, the last being
when his father had found the Catawitch, Elisha, wandering around the gates and brought her to his son. This made her miss Nona and remember how lonely she felt without her by her side.

She had no idea how much time had gone by since he’d taken her. Hours? Days? Weeks? Time did not seem to work the same inside memories.

She had witnessed Colby in classes, which was boring. She had seen his grandmother, whose soul was stuck inside the stained glass, her life never moving forward.

“I’m sorry about your grandmother,” she told him as they took a seat on a moss-covered rock.

“Yes, one of those things done by those Svoda you hold in such high esteem,” he spouted. “They stole her soul and hid her body, thinking they could use this as leverage against my father. My grandmother wouldn’t allow it though. She refused to let him give in. One day, he will find her body and return her soul. We’ll have an actual living grandmother,” he added, sounding thrilled by the thought. “She’s tough though. Strict. I guess that’s where our father gets it from.”

Meghan refused to
reply, partly due to being exhausted and partly due to feeling completely overwhelmed. Traveling through memories was much more tiring than one would think, never mind that realizing that the woman stuck in the stained glass was also her grandmother. She had gained a family she knew nothing about, and wanted to know nothing about. She would never truly be a member of this family. She didn’t see the point in learning about them.

“Let’s eat,” Colby
suddenly suggested.

“The
re’s no food. Memories remember?”

“Lucky for you, I have endless magical powers and can call some food for us. What would you like?”

Without meaning to, her thoughts went instantly to pizza. Her ultimate comfort food. It had been years...

“I’ve never tried that,” he said, catching the thought.

“You’ve never had pizza. How is that possible?” she asked incredulously.

“My dad
is against anything he hasn’t grown himself.”

“Grown, like veggies?”

“Just veggies,” Colby clarified.

“You mean your dad is a v
egan?”

“Didn’t expect that, huh?”

“Not really, no.”

“He doesn’t believe in what he calls false foods. He wants to eat only what co
mes from the land, says it’s healthier. Keeps the mind sharper.”

“Have you ever eaten meat?” she asked him.

“Yup. But... he doesn’t know that,” he added in a tone that said
let’s keep it that way!

“I won’t tell,” she replied
in an annoyed tone. “Don’t plan on having any conversations with him.”

Colby shrugged. “You might not have a choice.”

“Whatever,” she said, not wanting to argue.

She sighed. N
ow that she had pizza on the brain, she could not let go of the idea of it. She could not help but think of her favorite pizza place, in southern Maine. She could see them tossing the dough, slathering the crust with cheese and sauce and watching it arrive at the table all bubbly and...

“Wh-where are we?” she asked, not rea
lizing they had jumped to another memory.

“At that pizza place you were just thinking about. Don’t worry, no one can see us.”

She just stared at the entrance with her mouth gaping. A man stepped out of the door with a large box in his hand, walking right past them. A car pulled into the parking lot and another man jumped out and ran inside. She turned around and around, in disbelief of where she was. Cars. People. Civilization.

“Please tell me this isn’t a memory,” she said
, her mouth watering at the tantalizing smell emanating through the door each time it opened.

“We
are in the present and I’m about to try pizza.” Colby’s face lit up like an excited child about to open a present.

Meghan wondered if he was always like this, or if this was a side effect of the
new gift
his father had given him. He presented confidence and yet questioned himself constantly. He was independent and yet would do anything to please his father. He loved attention. Was never wrong. Was stubborn. Was...

She looked at him, her eyes wide
with uneasy acceptance.
He’s me.

“Finally getting that are you?” he asked, hearing her thoughts.
“We are not so different, Meghan.”

“We may have shared a womb and parents, and we may even act a bit alike,” she conceded. “But we are very different
people, Colby.”

“Suit yourself,” he said, grabbing the door as a young man
exited with a pizza box. “After you,” he motioned.

Her stomach growled. She frowned, stepping inside.

Colby watched a young woman taking a gooey bubbling cheese pizza out of the oven and cut it into slices. Once she had the box closed, she wrote a name across the top and set it on a counter for a customer not yet arrived to pick it up. Colby simply thought it and the pizza box was in his hands. They escaped the parlor and exited the store. It was a chilly evening, near dusk. At least she assumed it was chilly, as people wore light jackets and scarves; but whatever magic Colby was doing, she did not feel the cold.

They found a deserted picnic table near the back of the store, out of sight and opened the box. A plume of steam shot up into the sky and they each grabbed a slice.
The first bite was truly delectable. Meghan had not had this in such a long time she had forgotten how good it was. In no time, Colby was onto his second slice.

“
I don’t care if this is mind numbing. This might be the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” he mumbled, stuffing in another bite.

She could not stop herself from agreeing. Something about the hot gooey cheesy crust made
all her worries subside. For a moment, life was simply about eating pizza.

She stopped for a minute, watching him.

“Did you... did you just smile?”

His grin dropped. “No,” he instantly retorted.

“I totally saw you smile. I was starting to think it wasn’t possible.”

He finished his slice with a forced frown.

She rolled her eyes, grabbing another slice.

When done, she let out a satisfied groan.

“So should not have eaten that last slice, so full. Ugh! I don’t know about mind numbing, but I sure would have a hard time running away from something right now.”

H
e agreed, patting his stomach.

“You don’t look so good,” she told him.

“Don’t feel so good.”

“Oh, crap! You’re not gonna hurl
are you?”

He was turning pale and
looking sickly. “Wait,” he said, something dawning on him. “I’ll just think it away. Yours too.”

A moment later, she no long
er felt full and overloaded, just satisfied.

“Um, huh
,” she whispered, afraid to encourage him.

Now back to the satisfied feeling, Colby once again rubbed his stomach happily. A young woman came out of the pizza parlor and took out a cigarette.

“Howdy,” she said.

Without thinking, Megha
n replied, “Howdy” back.

The color drained from her face.

“Colby,” she whispered. “She can see us! What does that mean? Did your magic stop working?”

He turned and looked at
the young woman. She blew out a puff of smoke and winked at him. He turned to Meghan with a look of panic.

“Oh no,” she sai
d. “Not here. Not now. You better keep it together!”

“Don’t know how
to turn it back on,” he said. “I must have gotten too comfortable, let my guard down. I’m not ready to go home yet, my dad will find me...” he started spouting incoherently.

Meghan grabbed him and darted into the darkness of a nearby tree line, hoping to go unseen and hoping Col
by wouldn’t make some kind of magical scene in front of normal people who had no idea what was going on.

“Colby,” she said, getting him to pick up his head. “Just keep it together. Take deep breaths or something, focus on just one thing.”

Her mind connected with his and she knew he was losing control again. His block dissolved and she once again found her thoughts jumbled with his.

“Try grabbing on to just one thought,” she told him. She tried to focus her own mind on one thought hoping this would somehow transfer to him.
She thought about Nona and Elisha, and how nice it would be to return to them.

Colby shouted, “No! I’m not ready to go back yet. I need to hide us again.”

“But my friends can help you!” she told him.

“How? And who says I want any help!” he yelled at her. “I just need time to learn how to control it.”

“I don’t know how they can help but I know that they would try,” she said. “I don’t know if this is something you can do on your own, Colby. Why isn’t your father helping you?”

“I don’t need his help
! I can do it on my own!” he replied haughtily.

“We could help you!” she slammed back at him.

“No! I said no!”

Quite suddenly, Meghan’s body sank to the ground. She didn’t move.
Colby’s streaming thoughts came to a screeching halt.

“Meghan,” he called out nervously
. She did not respond or move. He called out her name again. No response. He knelt down and rolled her over.

He let go and stood up, aghast. “She can’t be. She can’t be dead,” he muttered.
“It was just a passing thought. I just wanted her to shut up.”

He leaned down again. “You have to be alive,” he said. “You can’t di
e. You have to come back. Please.”

Just as suddenly as she had fallen to the
ground, her eyes opened and her chest heaved with life giving breath.

“What happened?
” she choked out.

He fell onto his backside on the ground.

“I- I killed you,” he admitted, still shocked.

“Um. What?” she said, sitting up.

“You heard me.”

She stare
d in bewilderment at Colby.

“
I take it you also brought me back to life?” she asked.

He nodded
.

She knew that he was powerful, but to be able to wish someone dead and then back to life again... it had just happened to her and still she had trouble believing it.

“Colby, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, because believe me, grateful to still be amongst the living, but...”

“I need help,” he finished. “I can’t control this thing. I didn’t want to kill you it was just this fleeting thought and then it just happened.”
For once, he had a proper look of horror in reaction to what he had done.

“Then let’s go to my friends. Let’s figure out how to help you.” Before he could answer the ground aroun
d them began to quiver and shake, as if something were digging its way up, underneath them.

A spiteful look crossed Colby’s face.

“What?” asked Meghan.

“I can sense them. We’re being tracked.”

“By our father?”

“No,
these things don’t belong to him.”

“We should run,” she said. “I don’t think you should try to fight anything in your condition right now.”

To her shock, he agreed.

They arose and started to run, Colby trying to regain complete control and get the
m hidden, cloaked once again. The ground underneath where they had been sitting began to crack and something dug its way upward. They stopped; panic stricken, as two enormous creatures crawled their way to the surface. Their thundering frames jumped out of the dirt and onto the ground. No one in the non-magical world seemed to notice; Colby and Meghan assumed they must have some magical protection around them.

Another figure sta
rted to emerge in front of the Trackers; it arrived in a swirling stream of blackness.

“Grosvenor,” they both said together.