Part 19 (1/2)
He glanced sideways at her, his eyes hooded and dark. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, looking away from her across to Mirror Lake s.h.i.+mmering in the moonlight below them. It was hard to believe that on the very far side of that large body of water was where she'd first seen Jared's light. It had been little more than a week since she'd met him there and felt the pure magnificence of all that he truly was. She would die before she let Marco or any of his gathered conspirators hurt Jared.
She sat up taller on the rocks. ”You're just going to ignore my questions, huh?”
”Kelsey.” He sighed heavily, his eyes trained on the path below. ”I can't answer these things. You know that.”
Maybe if she could distract him then that would buy some time. ”How about other, less complicated questions?”
”Like what?”
”Like, are you planning to use the mitres? Is that why we're really here?”
”No, apparently”-he rose to his feet, peering through the night vision gla.s.ses and around the large wall of rock- ”I should leave that maneuver in your capable hands.”
”I wasn't trying to use the weapon.” When he made no further reply, she attempted another angle with the man. ”Tell me more about what you were saying, about my being-what did you call it? The beloved of Refaria?”
Nothing but stony silence, his face an inscrutable mask of indifference.
If she could only find a way to distract him, or to somehow appeal to Marco's ingrained sense of loyalty. ”So, you won't answer that either,” she said.
Resting one forearm on an outcropping of rock, he bowed his head and remained quiet for a long moment. At last he turned his head sideways and met her gaze in the darkness. His black eyes, so empty and lifeless before, nearly blazed with energy. ”In our future you were wors.h.i.+ped, Kelsey. By the Refarians, because they yearned for a queen, and by Jared because...” His voice trailed off, and he just shook his head, saying nothing for what felt an eternity, until he finished with, ”We all wors.h.i.+ped you, Kelsey.” His voice had become hoa.r.s.e. Choked. Full of emotion. But then he looked away, shuttering his features and setting his jaw.
How ironic to think she was learning these things now, at a time when her only thought was for Jared's very life.
Jared's life.
. Her heart thundered within her chest, and it was hard to suppress her mounting sense of panic. Her palms were sweating, and she could hear the sound of blood rus.h.i.+ng in her ears. What am I supposed to do? They all needed her to do something-and now. She took deep breaths, trying to get her equilibrium back in check, and in response an excruciating pain hammered in her head. It had begun when she'd traveled through the slipstream, and been there vaguely ever since, intensifying when Marco had invaded her thoughts earlier in the mitres.
What a weird sensation that had been: painful, like something being sucked right out of her. In its wake, a dull throbbing had intensified to what was now a blinding headache. She rubbed her eyes, trying to still the pain.
Then she had the oddest memory. And she knew it was a memory, something that had actually happened, not a fleeting impression.
”What if he doesn't come back, Marco? What if this is it?”
His voice, strong and rea.s.suring. ”He'll be here, Kelsey.”
They were sitting on a rocky outcropping. Not here, somewhere else. Nighttime... and he was surveying the landscape with the same binoculars.
”I can't feel him. Not at all,” she cried quietly.
He looked at her and pressed his hand over hers. ”He'll be here. He will always come back for you, Kelsey.”
”I can trust you,” she announced quietly.Marco dropped the gla.s.ses, staring at her dumbfounded for a full five seconds.”Please tell me I'm not wrong,” she implored.”I am your enemy,” Marco insisted, straightening himself where he sat. ”Make no mistake about that fact.””No.” She shook her head with conviction. ”I don't believe you.”His voice rose. ”You need to believe it, Kelsey.””You might, but I don't, not anymore. It goes against everything that you are.””You have no idea what kind of man I am.” He laughed wryly. ”What I'm capable of.” She realized those words were familiar, though it took her a moment to place them. And then it hit her-Jared! He had used almost those identical words to describe himself earlier that evening.
”I know that there was a time you would have done anything for us,” she said softly.
”Once.” His voice seemed sad, lost.
”Whatever Jared did... to make you turn from him-” His angry glare cut off her plea, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng with fire, and then he stood suddenly. He grabbed her arm, jerking her roughly to her feet. At that exact moment, Kelsey heard a rustling behind them. Marco glanced quickly in that direction, shoving her ahead of him.
”I want you back here. Now.” He dragged her toward the concealed mitres entry, and this time he did
bind both her hands and her feet so there would be no hope of escaping.
Marco stood with Veckus at the highest point of the trail, obscured from the Refarian soldiers advancing below them. They'd ascended a hidden back path, hoping to go unnoticed, but he'd been observing them from the very beginning.
”They're almost here,” Marco stated calmly, studying Veckus's features. Unbelievable-here it was tenyears earlier, and Veckus looked exactly the same as he did in the future. He stood with two other men-Antousians, no doubt-whom Marco had never seen before. All three observed the path below.
”Well, well, Jared will be very surprised to see how the tables have turned.” Veckus sneered. ”The mitres and the fallen king, all in one day. Not bad work.”
Marco bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. ”I am only following your future orders.”
”You follow well,” he said, his eyes narrowing in appreciation. Veckus would be considered quite handsome by many people on Earth, but when Marco gazed at the tall blond, he only saw ugliness and
hatred.
Veckus reached for Marco's field gla.s.ses, and over his comm system he ordered another unit of troops
to make the ascent. ”They will be here very soon, yes,” Veckus said, lowering the gla.s.ses. He turned toMarco. ”And where is Jared's human now?””Inside the mitres,” he lied.”Bring her out.”Marco hesitated. ”She's not to be harmed.” He met Veckus's gaze pointedly. ”You do remember that?”Veckus shrugged indifferently. ”Well, Raedus's directive has changed slightly. We're to get rid of them all.”
Marco stared at the warlord in disbelief. To the Antousians, their sworn word meant nothing and was ever s.h.i.+fting to suit their current needs.
Veckus's hand twitched against the pulse gun holstered at his hip. ”Yes, we'll just have a nice little group
execution and be on our way,” he said with a smile.
They would not hurt Kelsey. Marco would not allow it.
”Kelsey was never to be harmed.” He gave the Antousian a forceful shove in the chest. ”That was our