The Need (9 page)

Natasha piped up, “Jackson there is something you need to know. She is experiencing some episodes.”

I watched as his expression grew serious and he took his seat opposite me. “What sort of episodes?”

Natasha sat beside me and spread her grey dress around her slender frame. It seemed she had time to change and I wondered when she had.

“
It’s her power. Or at least I think it is. You remember how it was. Coming into your full power was traumatic. More so for her I think.”

Jackson nodded and returned his gaze to me. “How do you feel now Aisling?”

I swallowed back the fear that threatened to escape from my mouth and chose anger instead.

“
I want to know exactly what is going on? Starting with who the hell are you?”

He lifted his hands as though to fend off the questions but I jumped from my seat and began pacing.

“
No. Don’t give me that evasive crap. I heard that you’re supposedly my father but how the hell do I know you’re telling the truth? Jon is gone. The hunters have him. And I’m beginning to think that I’m losing my mind.

“
I was happy before all this you know. Actually happy! And now everything is gone!”

I stumbled and my vision seemed to blur. I was in the room with Jackson and Natasha but it was overlaid with somewhere else. Some place dark and cold and I could feel pain.

“
Jon?” My voice was little more than a whisper but I knew he heard me. Pain flared through me as I felt him. He was cold terribly cold, almost as cold as the Other who had touched me earlier.

I felt more than saw the boot that connected with my ribs. I doubled over but knew it wasn’t my body taking the beating. Jon needed help. Power rippled inside my body. Jon needed to use his power but he couldn’t so I would help him. The dark dank room became a little clearer as I let my power flow into me. “Jon, take it.” I pushed the power into him. White heat flared against my skin and I screamed as Jon did. The pain stopped with a pop and suddenly there was nothing but power. It flowed between us and through us. For the first time, I felt truly alive and connected to everything. I knew the heartbeats of everyone who stood in the room. I felt them all. I knew that if I wished it I could stop all their hearts. They would drop dead to the floor. The person who had kicked Jon came at him for another strike. Reaching my hands out towards him I let the power go. It poured from the tips of my fingers and into the man who would dare hurt Jon. His body lit up like a Christmas tree. The power flowed faster until I knew there was nothing left inside him. What was left of his body crumbled to the floor and I smiled.

The ground rushed up to meet me and the cold dank room disappeared. It was replaced with pure darkness and I slipped into it.

Chapter Ten

“
Take him to the ring.” Robert’s words filled Jon with dread. What the hell was the ring and why were they bringing him there.

The two guards that had dragged him into the room lifted him once more and dragged him away. The hunters gathered parted before them like the sea. Many stared at him in disgust. Several others decided to make their contempt of him known and proceeded to spit at him as he passed. Someone lit up the far end of the room and it suddenly dawned on Jon what they meant by ring.

The boxing ring stood in the centre of the crowd that was gathered around it. Jon struggled against the grip of the two burly men that held him. Whatever they had planned for him there was not going to be good. In fact, the likelihood of him surviving a fight with one of the hunters was very slim. These people were trained to fight, trained to kill. Even if they unshackled him, he was easy pickings without his power.

Yeah, sure he was tough and he had taken many beatings in school. He was one of those kids that tended to get into trouble whether he wanted to or not. Usually it was over something stupid, other times the fights had been a little more serious. But he wasn’t a fighter on this scale.

The guards lifted him and dumped him unceramoiniously over the top of the ring rope. Jon put his hands up to protect his face but the shackles were caught in the ropes and he landed on his face. At this rate of going he wouldn’t need a hunter to finish him, he would manage it himself.

Max stepped into the ring after him and Jon swallowed a smart reply. If he faced Max, he knew the other man would make it painful. He would draw it out as much as possible and none of it would be pleasant. Fear filled him as he pulled himself onto his knees.

“
Ah, it seems you’ve learned your place at last have you Jonathon?” Max lifted his hands and gestured to Jon’s kneeling position. The crowd erupted with laughter. Max returned his yellow gaze to Jon. “Although you’re on your knees, it still seems a little defiant.” Max kicked out, his boot impacting with Jon’s stomach causing him to double over onto the mat.

“
That’s more like it.” The crowd erupted in cheers. Through the fog of pain Jon knew the crowd was here to witness his death. They would take pleasure in it, if it came down to it they would demand it. Jon was under no illusions about what was in store for him.

Max bent down over him and proceeded to unlock the silver shackles, one at a time. Shock filtered through Jon’s brain. This was unexpected. He had thought they would execute him and so releasing him from his chains was something different. It seemed this truly would be a fight and Jon could either curl up and die now or he could fight and with a very slim chance survive. That was if luck was on his side and so far luck had played no part in any of this.

He pulled himself upright as Max stepped back from him. How were they going to do this? Were there rules he was unaware of?

“
So how do we do this?” Jon addressed Max who stood watching him from the opposite side of the ring.

“
You think you could fight me?”

Jon shrugged and rolled his shoulders. If this was a fight to the death, then he would do his best to be the one left standing at the end. The sight of Max laughing threw him a little. Although that could be Max’s plan, to throw him off and then attack when his guard was down.

“
You fool. If you fought me, your death would come all too quickly. What entertainment would that be?”

“
Enough Max. Let his opponent in to the ring. Let us see what Jonathon is truly made of.” Robert’s voice cut through the cheering and Max simply nodded his ascent.

Max stepped out through the ropes and jumped lightly to the floor. Jon watched as a young man stepped forward and Max ushered him to ring. He was about the same height as Jon and his icy blonde hair was artfully gelled into a modern style. As he stepped into the ring, Jon noticed his eyes were not entirely yellow. The outer iris still seemed to hold some of the blue that his eyes had once been. It looked as though the yellow was gradually eating the colour from the inside. The thought made Jon shudder. Could it really be that these were human at one point and through choice became hunters?

“
Really? This is too easy!” The young man was filled with excitable energy and he bounced around his side of the ring. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck to the side. Perhaps Jon stood a chance after all? If this guy wasn’t a full hunter then he wouldn’t have all the skills they acquired from fighting and killing. Jon pondered if the young man before him had ever killed before? Or had he ever fought one of the Croí?

“
A fight to the death. This will be the final step in Aaron’s training. If he succeeds and kills Jonathon then he will become a fully blooded member of the Hunters. If not, death awaits him.” Robert’s voice boomed out over the crowd that had gathered. The room descended into hushed silence. Jon knew they were awaiting death, his death, but heaven help him he would not give it to them.

The young man lunged at Jon and tackled him to the ground. He moved faster than Jon expected. Jon narrowly avoided the fist that Aaron aimed at his face and instead rolled him off his body. Aaron sprung lithely to his feet and Jon followed suit. The two men circled each other for a moment before Aaron tried to once again take Jon down.

Jon spun out of the way of the kick Aaron attempted to land on him. He drew out with his own leg and kicked Aaron in the lower back sending him sprawling forward.

Aaron recovered quickly. Jon tried to wrap his arms around Aaron’s neck in a choke hold but was quickly thwarted. It seemed getting close to the young man’s reach was the wrong move. Aaron swung out and caught Jon’s jaw with his elbow. The blow sent Jon stumbling backwards. The concussion he had suspected he had seemed to rear its ugly head again. Jon’s head swam and black stars danced in his vision. The elbow blow was quickly followed up with a punch to the face. Jon felt the blood as it exploded from his nose. He idly wondered if it meant that his nose was broken.

Collapsing to his knees he felt something stir inside his mind. He knew it was probably just the concussion talking but it felt like Aisling was standing right beside him. He felt her touch on his arm and it calmed him. Aaron’s boot connected with his ribs and he felt them give beneath the blow. If he was nearing the end, did that mean he would be able to see Aisling again?

He felt his power rising to meet hers and he tried to warn her what would happen. He tried to tell her of the runes but it was too late. She pushed the power into him and the runes flared to life. The pain burned across his skin and he heard her scream of pain. How could she feel the burn of the runes? It seared through him like hundreds of hot pokers before the binding runes gave with a pop. He watched as the power blew outwards and Aaron tumbled to the floor.

Jon felt stronger, powerful and strong. He got to his feet slowly as though not trusting the power that bubbled in his veins. He knew that he could end everyone in this room. That with Aisling he had that power.

He heard the scream of terror from the crowd that had gathered around to witness his demise.

“
His eyes. Look at his eyes. They burn with grey fire!”

The sound of their panic excited him. He wanted to feel their lives leave their bodies. With just one thought, he could do it. Power thrilled through him and he saw Aisling standing beside him. Her auburn hair hung around her pale face. Her eyes glowed with green fire and he knew she felt it as much as he did. She knew what their power could do.

He turned in time to see Aaron drag himself to his feet. Aisling raised her hand and Jon’s lifted in response. Aaron didn’t stand a chance when they released the power. It poured towards Aaron and flowed over his body like the sea over jagged rocks. Jon watched without emotion as the power ate at Aaron’s insides. It burned them up until he was little more than a husk.

Jon dropped his hand as Aaron collapsed forward onto the mat and broke into dust. He smiled at what he had achieved. He had fought a battle against a hunter and won. Granted Aisling had helped. She had freed him from the runes and released the true power that was nestled within them both. Who knew what they could achieve with this kind of power?

He turned to Aisling who was slowly beginning to fade. The fire that he had witnessed burning in her eyes mere moments before was dying. She reached out to him as though the ghost of her could touch him. He attempted to move towards her but it was too late.

The whisper of her voice floated through his head. “Jon, help me.” Then she was gone. Jon collapsed to his knees. The power flowed out of him and back into the ground. It left him feeling empty and vaguely broken. There was something about Aisling that had not been right. She was sick and he knew it. Whatever was happening to her seemed to be picking up momentum because when she had appeared first it was almost imperceptible. By the time the vision of her had faded, it had felt worse. As though large chunks of her mind was starting to dislodge and float free. Jon wasn’t sure what he could do to save her but being stuck here as a prisoner of the Hunters wasn’t helping. He needed to find her, needed to help her stay grounded. If she wasn’t careful, then the more she used her power the more pieces of her would float free of their moorings until there was nothing left of her. He couldn’t let that happen.

The last drop of power flooded out of his body and Jon fell forward onto the mat. The sound in the room poured back in around him. It was almost as though when he was in control of the power it blocked out the sound. He listened to the panicked babble of the hunters surrounding him. Surely now they would kill him. After what he had done to their little protégé, surely death was the final answer.

Robert’s voice silenced them all. “It seems we have a winner. Not the one I was expecting but a winner none the less.”

Jon watched through half opened eyes as Robert walked towards him. The man reached down and grabbed his arm, jerking it upwards like you see them do in boxing matches or wrestling. Fatigue washed through Jon’s body and he closed his eyes. Perhaps everything would feel better if he could just sleep for a minute.

Chapter Eleven

“
What’s wrong with her?” The woman’s voice drifted down through the fog that encased my mind. Where was I? Thoughts and memories of Jon flooded back into my head. He was in trouble and I needed to help him. I tried to call my power but my body ached in protest. I felt like someone who had gone several rounds with a professional boxer.

Opening my eyes slowly I realised I was still in the decadently decorated room with Jackson and Natasha.

“
Are you alright?” Jackson peered down at me. Was it my imagination that he looked at me like a scientist might observe an interesting specimen that had behaved just as they had hoped? I blinked rapidly and looked at him again but his face was closed off and I could no longer read his thoughts.