Under an Onyx Sky (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 4) (7 page)

Whenever she got sick, her father always comforted her. But he wasn’t there, and now it was just her to take care of herself. She would never forgive herself for the pain she caused. Somehow, she had to talk to Gabriel, if he would ever listen to her. Would he forgive her? Could he still love her?

Ava slammed her fist down on the tiled floor as his last look haunted her. No. Gabriel would never forgive her, and he couldn’t love her. Not through something like this. She had chosen her path, and she had to stick with it, no matter what. Even if it was for the good of the Enchanters and Ephemerals.

With her emotions back on, Ava sat in horror as she relived what she had done to Gabriel. She shook her head, but couldn’t keep the sobs back. “Why didn’t he fight back? He just took it. All of them did.”

“I can’t do that again,” Thomas said, pacing in front of Klaus’s fireplace.

They had retreated there again after drinks with Xavier and some of the other Cimmerians. Why they always went to the tavern when there was a perfectly good city to get lost in baffled Ava.

“You’ll have to do it again,” Klaus told them. “Havok will want to see it for himself.”

“What if we become monsters like them?” Gillian asked, her blue eyes wet with tears. “The whole time I wanted to kill the Cimmerians. Why can’t we just attack now?”

Klaus frowned. “I know it’s hard. This mission cannot be easy for anyone. But you all are our only hope. You’re the only ones who can stop him.”

“We know,” Melissa said. Ava could detect annoyance in her voice.

“This is what we had to do when they made us into Enchanters,” Link said. “Even when we changed, we bullied everyone. We tortured each other and punished the prisoners at the time.”

“It wasn’t easy, and neither is this,” Nicole said.

“You remember your life here?” Ava asked.

“Bits and pieces,” she said. “I just see flashes.”

Link nodded. “Me too.”

“Don’t fret,” Klaus said. “It’ll all be over soon. And I promise I will try and help you all out as much as I can.”

“Letting us have this time helps a lot,” Katarina said. Her brown eyes welled as Peter held her close.

“Tell us where they’re keeping the prisoners,” Thomas demanded.

Klaus sighed. “I can’t.”

“You realize we will find out, right?”

“You realize there’s no way you can go see your friends? Havok will find out very quickly and wonder why you’re down there.”

“We can play it off,” Ava said. “They’re the ones who so-called kidnapped us. Maybe we want to punish them more.”

Klaus pressed his lips in a thin line. “You must take a protector with you. Once your emotions are on, it’s easy for Havok to get inside, especially you Ava.”

“Why me? Because he tortured me before?”

Klaus studied her for a moment. Pity flashed in his green eyes. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?” She braced herself.

His face grew serious. Ava hated it when people gave her that look. “Your mother promised your soul to Havok.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

“You don’t know what that means?”

“No.”

Klaus hesitated. “It means your soul is linked to Havok’s.”

Ava drew in a sharp breath and then froze. Her heart stopped beating. Everything seemed to cease. There was a ringing in her ears, and it felt like the walls closing in on her. “I’m
linked
to Havok?” A tear fell out of her eye.

Klaus frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“How is that possible?” Melissa asked.

“When her mother promised her soul, a spell was placed, linking her soul with Havok’s,” Klaus explained, and turned to Ava. “It was supposed to activate once you grew into your powers, but because Havok was still weak, the connection wasn’t as strong. When you went to the Necromancer, it strengthened the connection since his soul prevailed over Colden’s. That’s how he was able to get inside your head so easily for so long.”

“Wait, so was he the one that subconsciously got her to seek out the Necromancer?” Link asked.

“Yes. He found a way to take over Colden’s body, and since he had a connection to Ava, albeit a weak one, he used that.”

Ava gritted her teeth, and rose to her feet. She began pacing in the room, breathing hard. She clenched and unclenched her fists. The more she heard about her mother, the more she hated the woman. She wanted to throw something or punch the wall. She let out a frustrated sigh. “I hate her! How could she do this? What was she trying to prove? How could she be so selfish?”

Melissa grabbed her shoulder. “Ava, turn off the water.”

When Ava looked down, she saw the water trickling down in chaotic lines like the thoughts inside her head. Stopping the stream, her vision blurred from the tears, but she batted them away. She wouldn’t cry for her pathetic mother who was too selfish to save her own child. She hated her even more.

Once she calmed down, she faced Klaus. “Okay. Does this mean he can get into my head whenever? Does this explain the weird visions or whatever I’ve been having?”

Melissa and everyone else gave her a confused look. “Visions?”

“I had one right before we initiated with Havok. It felt like a memory or something. Havok was telling my mom to spy on the Elders and the second time was when I saw Havok for the first time since we got here.”

Klaus studied her and stroked his chin. “Perhaps. I wonder if he’s able to see your memories.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know of anyone else who’s been linked to Havok. Or any Enchanter for that matter. I do know that you can still keep him out of your mind. He doesn’t feel the need to torture you, but if you ever feel him trying to read your mind, make him see what he wants. You’ve done a great job of strengthening your mind. Whoever taught you that is incredibly powerful.”

Gabriel had taught her. And she needed to find him to apologize. Or something. She needed him, but knew that was a pipe dream now that she was a Cimmerian and had hurt him. “Where are the prisoners?” she asked.

Klaus sighed. “In the South Hall. The prison chambers are the only thing there.”

“Can I manipulate the guards?” Gillian asked.

“No. It will be very hard to manipulate a Cimmerian guard. They are protected by a charm.”

“Of course.”

“There is one more thing,” Klaus said.

“What?” Thomas asked.

He looked to Ava. “You and Havok’s souls are linked.”

“You already said that.”

He hesitated. “Meaning, whatever happens to Havok, will happen to you.”

Several of them gasped.

Ava’s heart stilled. The churning in her stomach made her want to vomit. The room spun, and she couldn’t catch her breath. She swallowed several times, but her mouth watered. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m afraid I am.”

“Why the hell didn’t you say something before?” Thomas yelled, and lunged for Klaus. Just as he raised his fist, Lance and Link roughly grabbed him, and pulled him back.

“I’m sorry.” Klaus’s eyes widened as he held up his hands. “I thought you knew.”

“Let me get this straight,” Link said, releasing Thomas. “You’re saying we can’t kill Havok unless Ava dies.”

“No!” Gillian yelled. “There has to be another way.”

“We have to break the spell,” Melissa said. “How do we do that?”

“I’m researching it. The spell is powerful, and only an Elder can undo it.”

“There are only four left,” Jeremy said. “Maggie, Gustav, Aaron, and Havok. Maggie is probably a lost cause given that we can’t separate her from Havok. Gustav and Aaron are prisoners.”

“I don’t want to think about all this right now,” Ava said. “I have to see Gabriel.” She needed him. He was the only person who could bring comfort right now. She was going to fall apart. If they continued with their plan, Ava was going to die. She swallowed hard. “I need to see him.”

“Not tonight,” Klaus said with a stern look in his green eyes.

“Why?” she demanded, glaring at him as she tempted to blast him with water.

“Havok will be gone from the castle tomorrow night. Then you can go.”

“Where is he going?” Lance asked.

Klaus hesitated. “He and a group are going out. They’re going to…massacre a town.”

Ava’s heart dropped to her stomach. Melissa wrapped her arms around Ava. “Come on. Calm down. We’ll figure something out. We have to.” She spoke through tears.

Ava breathed in and out and closed her eyes.

Slowly, she began to calm down. For a second, she wanted to see Gabriel through the Scrying Bowl, but thought better of it. She didn’t want to see his injured body lying there thinking about what she had done to him. What was she going to do? How were they going to kill Havok? Could they break the spell? She held onto some small shred of hope. It was all she had.

All she knew was that they had to kill Havok. That was a must. And if that meant she would have to die, she would.

“Today, we’re going to continue the torture,” Xavier said, twirling a police baton. He paced around the room and looked bored. The room wasn’t the same as the training hole. They called it the Torture Chamber. As if Ava needed to be told that. Iron shackles that were rooted in the cement wall with various tools of torture nearby, gave her plenty of information to make that assessment. It was smaller room, with a railing separating the crowd and the punishment ground.

Her stomach coiled from all the possible scenarios in her head. She had to clear her thoughts. As she watched Xavier pace, she wondered if he was going to the massacre tonight.

“Only today is different,” Xavier said. “Havok will be watching.”

“Great,” Anais groaned under her breath. “He makes me nervous.”

“I’d imagine he would,” Ava said. “Why does he watch?”

“He likes to watch. He’s sadistic.” She shrugged. “Who knows the real reason?”

Ava looked to her. “Were we friends before?”

Anais arched an eyebrow and scoffed. “No.”

“Enemies?”

She shifted her weight and rolled her eyes. “Stop asking so many questions.”

“Sorry. My memory is a bit fuzzy. Just trying to figure things out.”

“Why? We’re here to do what Havok says. What else matters?”

Ava lifted a shoulder. “You don’t seem to want to do it.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

The door opened and Havok walked in, flanked by Maggie and Sorcha. As if on cue, everyone kneeled. Melissa placed a hand on Ava’s shoulder and pushed her to her knees. The thought of kneeling for this man sickened Ava, but she turned off her thoughts.

Havok moved across the floor with an arrogant gait. His shoulders squared, and he knew nothing could touch him. Ava clenched her teeth, hating that she was on her knees. He flicked his wrist and everyone stood. His thin lips turned upward into a ridiculous smile. He owned them all and knew it. They were all his little puppets.

He didn’t say a word. Just watched them. Xavier opened another door, and in came the prisoners. Ava hated the way they looked. They were dirty, their clothes ripped and torn. Cuts and welts on their faces. Gabriel walked in, his intense eyes trained on Ava.

Xavier and a few other Cimmerians shackled the prisoners next to each other. Ava didn’t like where this was headed.

Xavier motioned for Ava to stand near him. She obeyed, and he turned her body so that she was behind Gabriel. Her stomach tightened as she stared at his backside. Xavier ripped off Gabriel’s shirt, revealing a smooth back with a curvature that Ava had once lovingly traced as he kissed her.

“You’re going to create a whip with your water and strike his back.”

“I’ve never done that before.”

Xavier’s eyes sliced into her as if she had said the wrong answer. She had embarrassed him in front of Havok. He moved closer to her. “You’re going to do this.”

“Okay.” She acted a little scared for his benefit.

Gabriel bowed his head as if he knew what was coming to him.

Water trickled down Ava’s arm in a stream.

“Finally let him take you over I see,” Gabriel said with a taut voice.

Xavier moved liked he was about to strike Gabriel, but Ava quickly said, “That won’t be necessary.” Feeling all eyes on her, she told them grimly, “I can shut him up myself.”

Xavier raised his eyebrows. “Let’s see it. Ten lashes will do it. For now.”

Her eyes moved to his back. The smooth contours looked beautiful in the light, but she was about to ruin it. She closed her eyes for a second. She had to do this. “I’ve…never actually used a whip before,” she confessed.

“It isn’t hard,” Anais snapped.

“It’s easy,” Xavier said. “Hold it behind you and bring it forward and up.”

She was stalling but couldn’t much longer. She wished Gabriel could read her mind. She wanted to apologize, but never held the thought.

Ava held the water-whip behind her and brought it up and over, cutting Gabriel’s skin. She jumped at the loud cracking sound. Blood oozed out slowly from each lashing as Gabriel let out a guttural sound.

She whipped him six more times, and hated herself more each time.

As she struck Gabriel’s back, she felt dizzy watching his blood seep out through each mark she left. Just when she thought she would faint, the strangest thing happened. She stepped outside her body and watched herself or someone else strike Gabriel. But when she turned toward the whipper, she saw her mother with a cunning smile.

Ava shook her head, and she was back inside her body.

“Are you just gonna stand there?” Xavier asked. “You still have three more.”

“Sorry. I—.” She shook her head again and whipped Gabriel three more times. The strikes weren’t as deep as the others were, but she was ready to be done.

Afterward, they pulled Gabriel from the shackles and took him away. Next up was Moira. Ava moved to the back of the room, hoping she didn’t show any emotion on her face. But she couldn’t help but think of whatever that was before. Had she had another vision? Why did she keep having them?

When all of the prisoners were put away, Havok moved to the center of the room. The fluorescent lights cast shadows on his face, as if he needed that extra eeriness. “I am pleased with what I have seen,” he said. “Tonight, the army is preparing for the massacre of Tokyo. I will be joining them, but I hope soon that I will no longer be needed. As for the rest of you, rest.”

Havok dismissed everyone and they headed for the exit like kids racing to their cars after the last bell rang for school.

Ava bit her lip. Tokyo? Were they going to kill the entire city? Was this what she and the others were preparing for with all the training? She shut her eyes, knowing she wasn’t doing a good job of keeping her emotions at bay.

She felt a cold hand around her arm and she snapped her eyes open. Xavier stood in front of her with a cocked eyebrow. They were the only ones in the training room. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Because you kinda hesitated back there.” His grip on her arm tightened. Did he think she hesitated because she was whipping Gabriel? Did he think her mind hadn’t been erased?

“I just…I just thought I saw something.”

He loosened his grip, and moved to her hands. “Like what?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

She wanted to punch him. Break his neck. Drown him. But she held back. “It’s nothing.”

Xavier nodded. “I understand you may not want to tell me everything, but I hope one day that will change.”

Highly unlikely. “Yeah, maybe. It was nothing. I spaced.”

Given the doubtful look in his dark eyes, she knew he didn’t believe her. But she was not about to tell Xavier she might have had a vision. Or a hallucination. Havok had done it before, but why would he keep forcing her to hallucinate? And why about her mother? It was just a flash, Ava wasn’t sure if Havok had made her see it or if she just imagined it.

“Why don’t you come out tonight when we get back? You can help us celebrate.”

“Getting ahead of yourself?”

He chuckled. “You don’t think we can annihilate Tokyo?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t have the Elementals.”

“Is that a challenge?”

She straightened her shoulders. “Maybe. What are the terms?”

He moved closer, and she tensed. “If we completely demolish Tokyo tonight, you have to go on a date with me.”

“And if you don’t?”

“Then I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

“That’s fine. Think about it. Although, pretty sure I’m gonna win this one.”

How about you stop flirting with me? Or release all of the prisoners and give yourself up?
“Maybe. We’ll see.”

He smirked as they walked out of the training room. “Will I see you tonight?”

She didn’t want to see Xavier tonight. There was only one man she wanted to see. “Maybe. I might be resting. Captain’s orders.”

“Touché. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow for sure. Have a good one.”

“Good luck tonight,” she said.

He flashed a wide grin that was sure to have other girls falling to their knees with yearning. She pretended it did something to her by smiling back.

The group had dinner as usual in the castle, but no one went to the tavern afterward. Havok had gathered his army for the massacre, and while they readied, Ava and the others retreated to Klaus’s room where she couldn’t hold the emotions. Tonight was the night they would visit the prisoners.

Melissa drew her into a hug and Ava couldn’t keep it together. The tears brimmed to the forefront of her eyes.

“I don’t even know what to tell him,” she whispered. “But he has to know. How will he ever forgive me?”

“He will, Ava,” Melissa said. “You have to believe that. Just tell him the truth. He’ll understand.”

“Go at midnight,” Klaus said. “Persuade the guard to drink this.” He handed Gillian a vial.

“I thought you said they couldn’t be manipulated.”

“They can’t, but there are other ways of persuading people to do things. And everyone is more lax when Havok is gone. You will have exactly one hour. Then you must be back in your rooms.” His eyes landed on each of them. “All of you. One hour. Let Gillian go first so you don’t draw a lot of attention to yourselves. Peter and Katarina have to be with you as well. I imagine a lot of emotions will come forth.”

Ava’s heart pounded. “What time is it?”

“9:26.”

Her shoulders fell. She chewed on her lip, thinking of something to do to bide her time. It wasn’t easy, but she stayed in Klaus’s room with her friends, constantly asking the time. She was nervous and eager to see Gabriel though. She could only hope he would listen to her.