The Honor Trilogy: Books One, Two, and Three of the Honor Trilogy (15 page)

Footsteps approach above me again, but I keep my eyes closed. Any energy I had had to fight is lost. The snake inside me tightens its grip, causing an intense nausea to overcome me. If I’d eaten anything in the last few days, I’m sure it would be splattered across the floor any minute. Two sets of feet stomp down the stairs, but my eyes are still shut, so I can’t see who they belong to. If it were Ethan, I’m sure he’d have let me know already.

My heart beat races, defying my resolve to keep calm and not care, but with that and my stomach’s contents reaching my throat, calm is something I will not be achieving this night.

“Get over there.” I hear a familiar but unsettling man’s voice say before I hear a thump and a moan. “Don’t go anywhere near her. You stay there on that side and she stays on her side.”

Curiosity has gotten the best of me, so I open my eyes. “Storm?”

“You,” the now familiar masked man says. “You stay where you are,
y’here?”

Holding duct tape and rope in his hands, he strides over to me. Paralysis sets in, and I am now unable to move even if I wanted to. The man slaps the duct tape over my mouth then proceeds to tie my wrists together and then my ankles. I am now tied up in the same position as Storm is across the room.

“Now because your boyfriend here acted as a spy on your account…he gets to end his short life down here in the dark…with you…Now be good. I’ll be right upstairs on the other side of that door. My instructions are not to leave the premises…since the boy can’t be trusted.” The man laughs that evil laugh he has and leaves us alone.

Storm bangs the back of his head against the wall and leaves it there, his gaze to the ceiling as he realizes he’s been defeated. He sits across the room, but still, his frustration seeps into me. His hackles are up though… so I know he’s not finished fighting.

I rest my head against the wall and close my eyes again, trying to let go of any emotions I have…including Storm’s. It is
not
reassuring to be both scared
and
angry. Forcing air slowly into my lungs through my nose, I let it out even more gradually – collecting myself more and more with each breath. As my deep breathing continues subconsciously, I contemplate recent events with a bit more objectivity than before. Storm is not dead. This is good. That means Ethan is most likely okay…otherwise he’d be down here as well. Even if they have caught him, I’m almost positive he is likewise not dead – they need Ethan more than they need Storm. So again, this is good. Ethan has explained the situation to my parents…so even if they are worried, they at least know
why
I’ve been abducted. And if Ethan hasn’t been caught, he had to have told them where I am and that I am unharmed. Again…good. I’m sure my parents are enjoying
some
relief about that. The situation may not be ideal…but to get through the rest of this, I have to believe that we will come out alive.

Sometime during my abstracted reasoning, I hear a shuffling sound from across the room. Upon opening my eyes, I see Storm scooting over to me. Looking at him with wide eyes, I silently ask him what the heck he is doing sliding across the floor on his butt.

His eyes narrow, and I believe he is telling me to shut up.

I raise one sarcastic eyebrow in response.

His head shakes a couple times, and with his own raised eyebrows, I’m sure he’s saying, “
I told you to shut up.
”

I mumble a “humph” beneath the duct tape and turn my head up and to the right, replying with my own, “
You cannot talk to me like that.
”

Storm manages to make it over to me using only his
glutes –
which is very impressive to watch, I’ll have you know.
He slides next to me and nudges me with his upper elbow.

I’m hoping my scowl tells him I’m still upset, but when I look at him he’s trying to tell me something. Mumbling arrested words, he motions towards his upper leg.

“What?!”
I exclaim, but it comes out as a high-pitched hum.
What the heck is he asking of me? I’m not that kind of girl.

A smirk sneaks out from behind the duct taped mouth while his dimple dances in amusement. I catch a sparkle in his eye, but just as quickly, it’s gone. He motions with his elbow this time towards his front pocket.

Oh.
Oh
.

He taps his elbow a couple more times on his front pocket while he mumbles some frustrated request.

There must be something in his pocket I need to get.
I look up at him with questioning eyes. No matter what is in his pocket, it’s still going to be awkward reaching for it.

He rolls those intense violet eyes and shakes his head. Then a sigh vibrates from his throat, and he tilts his head in agitation.

I look at him with questioning eyes, but I soon do as requested. With a tumultuous hand, I skim the edge of his jeans pocket. My face burns so hot, I’m sure I’m giving myself a sunburn. Storm lifts his right hip off the floor, loosening the material so the pocket won’t be so tight. My eyes instinctively close, but I quick open them.
God forbid I find something I’m not supposed to.
Pressing my fingers deeper into his pocket, I still don’t feel anything. Storm groans a deep, guttural groan and shifts his legs. Both of us have become extremely uncomfortable, but when I look up at him, he nods as if I should continue. I inhale through my nose and don’t let it out, digging deeper into his pocket as I hold my breath.

Finally, I feel something.

I slide the hard metal instrument up the inside of his pocket and curl it under my fingers. I pull it out, uncurl my hand and hold it out to him. It’s one of those Swiss army knife things. Looking up at him for answers, I find his eyes closed and his face flush. My heart does one of those flippy things and I get all tingly inside. I let out the breath I forgot I was holding.

When his eyes open, he juts out his chin and holds up his wrists.
I’m supposed to cut the rope. Okay. I can do this.
Again, my hand shakes, but I flip up the knife and start cutting through the rope. Luckily it’s not that thick and it doesn’t take me too long to break through it.

Storm wriggles his wrists around a few times then gently takes the duct tape off my mouth. His duct tape comes off next, and he proceeds to undo the ropes around my wrists and ankles and then his own.

He takes in a deep breath and drapes his arm around my shoulder. “Thanks,” he barely breathes out.

Turning to look at him, I notice his face is still red and his eyes are that deep plum I saw the other day. I lean my head against his shoulder and let out my own sigh of relief.

A few silent moments go by before I hear, “Don’t get too comfortable, sweetie. We got work to do.”

“Work?”

“You wanna stay down here forever?”

“We’re
gonna break out?” I ask in amazement.

With that amused grin on his face, he replies, “As much as I’d love to stay down here with
ya, princess…I’d like to be with you on my own terms.”

We let that statement hang in the air while we regard each other silently. Unable to tear my gaze from his, I stand there entranced by the soul behind those eyes. It calls out to me. I want to reach inside him…envelop myself within him. With my breathing growing more rapidly, I try to force myself to look away.

Fortunately, he breaks the trance first. Walking away from me, Storm says, “C’mon, let’s see if this knife’ll work on the door.”

I follow him up the stairs and sit on the top step while he saws on one of the hinges. And I consider intently my feelings for Storm…and for Ethan.

**

An hour later and Storm is getting frustrated. The small knife is not cutting through the old rusted hinge. Giving up and sitting down next to me, Storm looks at me with tight lips and a heavy breath. I know better than to open my mouth right now…Storm’s anger is brewing, and I am not about to let it boil over. We have enough things to worry about.

I lay my hand on top of his leg and try to erase some of that anger.

“You don’t have to do that, angel. I won’t bite,” he says without smiling.

“I know,” I whisper.

“I’m sorry I messed things up,” he confesses. “I really thought I was doing the right thing.” He looks down at his lap and shakes his head. “I wanted to do something right for a change.”

A tear strolls down Storm’s dimpled cheek…I wipe it away with my thumb…smiling while I do so.

“He should have never come looking for you,” Storm says softly.

“But I’m glad he did,” I respond, not really sure why I’m glad…whether it’s because I’ve met Ethan…or Storm.

Storm tilts his head. “Yeah. I’m sure you are.” Another tear drops from his eye and I know
he
thinks I’m talking about being happy to have met Ethan. I don’t correct him.

A set of footsteps screams above us. I look to Storm for instruction. He drops his head in defeat and pulls me close in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he cries.

Storm has given up…for both of us.

Cringing as the door thuds open, I brace myself for something akin to a lashing.

“Thank God,” Ethan chimes.

Storm hurriedly releases me from his embrace and stands eye to eye with Ethan. “I see you know how to take care of your girl.” Storm laughs. “Good thing I was there to do it.” He taunts Ethan, and I have to laugh.
This is not the Storm I’d just spent time with.

“Shut the hell up, Storm, and let’s get her outta here.” Ethan grabs me around the waist and carries me like he had earlier.

“Please put me down, Ethan,” I manage to say with as much dignity as I can. “We’ll be faster if you’re not carrying me.”

Storm snorts as if he’s enjoying this…but I see no humor in his eyes.

Adhering fixedly to his idea of playing knight in shining armor, Ethan continues to carry me across the overgrown weeds over to the old Monroe school building.

Whispering into his ear, I beg, “Please, Ethan. Put me down. This is embarrassing.”

He scrunches his forehead and looks from me to Storm and back to me again. Realization hits him. Ethan frowns and puts me down. “C’mon. I think I found something,” he says quietly, leading us into the building through the wooden shutters he must have previously unhinged. “You first, Honor,” he instructs, clasping his hands together to make a foot stool for me to step up on to...making it easier for me to reach the window.

Storm jumps through the window, then Ethan, who is holding onto the gray wooden shutter. He puts the board back into place and jams a piece of cardboard under it to keep it in place.

“I had to throw them off course.” Ethan talks, but I can hear the hurt in his voice…I can feel it in my heart. I guess it’s hard to hide feelings from an empath. I couldn’t hide mine from Ethan. He can’t hide his from me.

The sun creeping through the cracks in the shutters shines directly on the floor where Ethan is standing. It casts a shadow on a slight groove in the floorboard. Ethan bends down to lift up the piece of wood, evidently familiar with what he is doing. “I took the Dover train into the city, got out, made sure I wasn’t followed and hopped on another train heading back,” Ethan continues saying, as he lifts the board, sets it aside and removes another. Hopping down into the hole, he signals for Storm to join him.

Uncharacteristically quiet, Storm follows Ethan into the hole. “Hmmm,” he remarks.

“I know, right. He had to kill a lot of empaths to get this much.” I hear Ethan say, but all I see is the top of their heads.

“What’s going on?” I ask, stretching out on the floor to take a peek.

Both of them lift their heads. They’re actually kneeling on the floor beneath me, but it’s a small cubby that they’re cramped inside of. Unable to see what they’re looking at, I strain my neck to get a closer look. Hidden in the corner of the cubby are two large glass jugs of dark red liquid – gallons and gallons worth.

“Is that blood?” I ask, disgusted.

“Looks like it,” Ethan says. “We have to get this out of here unseen, but I don’t know how.”

“Just dump it. It’s evil anyway… and then this whole thing can be done with.”

Both of them look at me like I’ve committed murder or something. “What?”

“Honor, we can’t dump it. We’ll have nothing to negotiate with,” Storm explains.

“I agree with
him
.” Ethan says reluctantly.  “We’d have to show them something, but…I guess Honor’s right.  It is evil…being made from all that evil blood. Maybe we should just hide it for now. If this gets into the wrong hands, it can be dangerous. This wouldn’t be enough elixir, either. They’d figure out the ingredients and try to copy it. The only way to do that would be to start killing more empaths…just for their own immortality. That can’t be good…not with the Gaffer in charge.”

“Then let’s just dump it,” I say louder than I should. “I just want to be done with this.”

Storm and Ethan look at each other.

Ethan speaks first. “We’ll figure something out, Honor.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Storm demands in his normal commanding voice now, hopping up out of the hole and helping Ethan close it up. “Even though you led them away, I’m sure someone followed you…by the way, what happened to the guy who was supposed to be standing look out? How’d you get past him?”

Ethan ignores the question and continues covering their tracks. He helps Honor out of the building and leads them through the woods to the back of the school.

“Where we going?” I ask, wondering why we’re not headed out towards the road…where civilization is.

“We can’t risk it.” Ethan sighs.

“Where’s the guard, Ethan?” Storm asks again.

I catch an eye roll and a slight shake of Ethan’s head as he tries to get Storm to drop it.

“Ethan, what’d you do?” I ask him myself.

Sighing, he says, “I had no choice, Honor. He would have stopped me from rescuing you.”

“You killed him!?”

Storm chuckles. “Welcome to the club, little brother.”

Ethan turns an angry eye at his big half-brother. “I did it out of necessity, Storm.” He says enraged. “Not because I wanted to.”

With a shrug and a smirk, Storm laughs it off. “We all end up in the same place, little bro…but hey, look at it this way…since you’re now immortal, it’ll take longer to get there. Someone’ll just
have
to kill you.” Storm pats his little brother on the shoulder. “Oh, but don’t worry about that…I’ll keep you safe.”

I hear the sarcasm in Storm’s voice, but I feel the pain in his heart. He’s just mocking Ethan to cover up a bigger hurt.

Ethan shrugs off Storm’s wisecrack and takes my hand. “C’mon. This way.”

“Where
are
we?” I ask, tightening my grip on Ethan’s hands
.
It’s getting dark and I’m getting scared.

Ethan doesn’t answer.

“Ethan. Where
are
we? Where are we going?”

“The boy has no idea, Honor. Can’t you tell?”

“Shut the hell up,” Ethan says to Storm.

“Guys. Stop this. Please. Ethan, I want to know where we’re going.”

“We’re getting away. Okay?”

“You don’t know. Do you?” I ask.

“No.”

Crap.

“I knew I shouldn’t have followed you.” Annoyed, Storm stops in his tracks. “Before we go any further, we have to have a plan.”

“A plan?” Ethan mocks. “Your plan got you locked up in the icehouse with
my
girlfriend.”

“And wouldn’t
you
have liked to have been a fly on the wall?”

“Storm,” I cut in. “Stop.”

Storm’s smirk disappears and he mouths the words, “I’m sorry,” to me.

“Okay. Storm
is
right though, Eeth. We need a plan. Do you think they’ll find the elixir and leave us alone?”

“No.” Both guys say together.

“Plus, they couldn’t have followed me into the school. I was careful.” Ethan explains.

“Yeah,” Storm chimes in. “But obviously they know it’s near. They wouldn’t have hid us so close. You think that was just coincidence? They know more than you think. For all we know. They’re probably scheming a way to get the blood out of there too.”

“The blood?” I ask.

“The elixir.”

“Oh.”

**

It’s now so dark that Ethan turns on the flashlight app on his phone. Since Storm’s and my phones went missing during our abduction, we have to rely solely on Ethan’s phone.

“Hey. Can’t we just call 911 and tell them we’re lost?” I ask.

“No. We are not getting the cops involved.” Ethan says.

“Uh…this should have occurred to us before, but don’t you have a GPS on that phone? Or can you download one?” Storm presents.

Though it’s dark, I know Ethan’s face is turning red from embarrassment. I guess we all should have thought of that already. He quickly finds the app for GPS and attempts to download it.

“No service.” He sighs.

“Damn,” I think we all say.

“We’re just
gonna have to find our way out,” Storm says.

Ethan squeezes my hand, and we let Storm lead the way.

“Can I ask you guys something?”

Storm meets my question with silence, but Ethan answers quietly. “What’s that?”

“Can we please just dump the elixir? I’m really getting bad vibes from it.”

“I guess…” Ethan tries to answer, but Storm interrupts.

“No. We need to hold onto it.”

“But why?” I whine.

“Okay.” Storm stops walking and turns around. “Suppose we do dump it. What happens when one of
his
men catch up to us and ask us for it? When we tell ‘em we dumped it, do you really think they’ll be all
‘oh, okay, we just thought we’d ask for it. You don’t have it anymore? No problem. Thanks anyway.’
No. They’ll kill you just ‘cause they can. And ‘cause they’re angry.”

“But I don’t like the idea of them having it. Who knows what they’ll do with it. There’s so much. It’ll just get out of hand. It’ll ruin mankind. I just know it.”

While Ethan is still holding my hand, I feel another hand wrap lightly around my other arm. “I don’t care what happens to mankind,” Storm whispers mere inches from my face. “I only care what happens to you. We
don’t
dump it.”

His hot breath so near to my mouth makes me think about our kiss earlier and how much I enjoyed it. But the warm tingle where Ethan’s hand is attached to mine, reminds me that Storm’s kiss should not be on my mind. Digressing from my own thoughts, I turn my thoughts back to the immediate issue at hand – we’re stranded in the dark woods without cell service.

“Leave ‘er alone, Storm,” Ethan shouts.

Storm steps back and says, “Yeah, well at least I’m looking out for her. That’s more than I can say for you.” He turns and begins walking the way we were headed before we had this elixir discussion.

“I look out for her fine. You’re such an ass.” After Ethan addresses Storm, he turns to me. “I take care of you, don’t I?”

“Of course you do,
Eeth. He’s just trying to annoy you. I wish the moon were bright tonight. At least we’d be able to see where we’re going.”
Walking through the woods in complete blackness is making me even more scared than being held prisoner in the icehouse.

Storm stumbles in front of us, causing me to jump. “Storm,” I cry. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Princess, just a branch…I think.”