Defiance Rising (39 page)

“Why? Do you want me to blame you?”

“Maybe,” he admits.
 

“Tough luck.
 
I don’t and these things just happen.”

Bastien falls into a tense silence as he sails so low the tips of the trees snap against my shirt.
 
I cling to him, unafraid but worried about the landing.
 
At the edge of the forest, Bastien dips to hover only a few feet over the ground, under the radar of the Sky Ships that circle the inner blocks of the city.

“There’s so many of them,” I whisper.

He nods.
 
“Looks like Drakon has called everyone in for the fun.”
 
He grinds his back teeth as he flies down several blocks.

I count the small circular manholes as we pass over.
 
When I reach twenty, Bastien veers straight up and levels off at the top of an abandoned building.
 
It is higher than many of the others in this area.
 
The brick along the building face is scorched but the street is clean.
 
Drakon’s army has been working overtime to clean up this section of the City.

“You should be safe here,” Bastien says as his feet touch the ground and he releases me.
 
I step back, slightly wobbly at first, but surprisingly thankful to be on solid ground.

Bastien moves toward the low roof edge, his hand pointed toward the Shard building only five blocks away.
 
“We know Drakon is holding Kyan there.
 
That is where we will concentrate our attack.
 
Keep your head down and, if for any reason the fighting comes your way, I want you to run and don’t look back.”

“But”

“No,” Bastien snaps, rounding on me.
 
“For once you are going to listen to me.
 
If you can’t promise not to get involved, I swear I will fly you out into the woods again and leave you.”

My mouth gapes open at the ferocity of his demand.
 
The urge to fight back rises up within me, but I squelch it back down.
 
“Fine.”

He turns his back on me.
 
“When the battle is over, I want you to leave if I don’t come back for you.
 
Head straight back to the emergency camp and wait.”

Without looking at me, he steps up onto the ledge.
 
“So that’s it?
 
You’re just going to leave me like this?”

I don’t know what I was expecting once we arrived, but this cold sendoff wasn’t it.
 
“I have no other choice, Illyria.”
 
His voice lacks the emotion I know he is feeling.

“You always have a choice.”

“Do I?” He turns and faces me, leaping down from the ledge.
 
“You took that choice away from me a couple months back, remember?
 
What I want, what you want, doesn’t matter anymore.
 
This is the chosen path.
 
You can’t deviate from it.”

His fists clench tightly against his legs.
 
His shoulders are taut as he approaches.
 
“What do you want from me, Illyria.
 
You drew a line and I’ve done my best to respect it.”

“I know,” I whisper, dropping my head in shame. I’ve tried to stop loving him, to try to forget but it’s hopeless.
 

“This isn’t fair,” he growls.
 

I hide behind my hair, wishing I had been strong enough not to call out to him.
 
“I’m sorry…for everything.”

Bastien growls, gripping my arms and shaking me.
 
I lift watery eyes to meet him.
 
His anger falters and he pushes aside my damp hair with a finger, curling it gently behind my ear.
 
“What do you want from me?”
 
He asks gently this time.

Staring into his eyes, I know he will be my undoing.
 
That’s not going to ever change.
 
“I want you.”

His breath catches.
 
“Don’t do this,” he pleads.
 
His grip on my arms tightens.
 
“You can’t ask that of me.
 
Not now.”

I sob and try to pull away from him.
 
“I’m weak without you.
 
I don’t…I don’t know how to live up to Kyan’s destiny if that means sacrificing my heart.”

Instead of releasing me, Bastien crushes me against his chest.
 
He lifts my chin and stares down at me with liquid fire in his eyes.
 
His lower lip quivers as his breathing becomes haggard, fighting with his resolve.
 
Mine is completely shattered.
 

Without closing his eyes, he lowers and brushes his lips against mine.
 
I forget how to breathe as the earth stands still.
 
Every kiss is slow and controlled, but I can feel the passion within him begging to be released.
 
I sink into his embrace, desperately wishing I never had to let go, that time would move on without us and allow me this one small gift.

Bastien lifts me into his arms and lowers me to the ground, covering my body with his.
 
My skin trembles beneath the trail of his lips along my collarbone.
 
His hands roam down my arms, grasping my slender waist as he pulls me up into him.
 
I can’t get close enough to him.
 
My heart aches for more.

I wrap my legs around his waist and part his lips with my tongue.
 
He groans against my lips, as the fires burn deep within my soul, rejuvenating me.
 
I plunge my hands into his hair, begging him.

His hand slips under my shirt, splaying across my abdomen as I press up into him “Bastien,” I moan against his lips, feeling as if my heart has just woken from a long hibernation

He pulls back as the fire in his gaze dies out.
 
He gasps for breath, shaking his head to clear his mind.
 
“We can’t do this.”

Bastien scrambles away, wiping his lips as if I’ve burned him.
 
“I’m sorry.
 
That shouldn’t have happened.”

“Bastien…” I beg.

“No,” he waves his hand at me.
 
“That is exactly why we can’t be together.
 
I want you too bad to ever be able to let you go again.”

His face crumples with despair.
 
I don’t have the heart to beg him to stay, to force my weakness upon him.
   

“I have to go.”
 
He backs away.
 
When he reaches the rooftop ledge, he steps up and pauses before leaping.
 
“Goodbye, Illyria.”

Thirty-Three

From my high vantage point, I strain to watch as Bastien leaps from rooftop to rooftop.
 
His dismissal stings far more than I would like to admit.
 
It’s my fault though.
 
I was a fool to beg him to take my back when I had no right to ask for such a thing.
 
Nothing has changed.
 
My destiny remains, as does my vow to be with Eamon.

Even as the pain of Bastien’s rejection floods into my heart, I know that if given the chance to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
 
I’m not strong enough to live without Bastien.
 
I know that now.
 
The question is…how long will he be able to hold out?
 

And what of Eamon?
 
Can I really crush him yet again?
 
I close my eyes and fight back the guilt that crashes over me.
 
I never meant to hurt him.
 
I wish there was another way.

I duck low as the hum of Sky Ships rises into the air, echoing down the long streets that lead to the heart of the city.
 
Moving into position, I peer over the rooftop ledge to see spider drones patrolling the streets.
 
Fear settles into my stomach as I search for my friends among the mass of aliens.
 

There is no way we can win this war…not without my powers.

The sun beats down on me, warming the black roof so I hardly notice the chill in the air.
 
An eerie silence falls over the City, a calm before the storm.

In the distance, a building explodes in a cloud of brick dust.
 
Black clad soldiers race down the street, chasing after a figure that blurs out of sight as soon as he hits the main street.
 
Toren.

My fingers dig into the metal ledge as I watch flashes of red light up the streets before me.
 
Brym leads a small group of soldiers down a side street, pausing to slap small devices onto the walls before racing away.
 
Seconds pass and a ripple of explosions rocks the eastern quadrant.

To the south, a black cloud approaches at an impossible speed.
 
I blink, shielding my eyes to see that it is not a cloud, but an enormous flock of birds.
 
Once they reach the Shard, they circle overhead, cawing loudly before dive-bombing on the aliens below.
 
The Squaddie’s screams rise over the bird’s cries as red laser beams shoot wildly through the air.
 
Wolves, coyotes and mountain lions attack from the north, barreling past my building to tear down anyone in their path.
 

Beus and Brym lead a sneak attack on the Shard’s courtyard but are held back until the bird’s finish their battle.
 
To the west of the Shard, I spy Bastien leaping from building to building, drawing fire away from where Zahra and Aminah huddle.
 
Toren blurs into sight and disappears with Aminah in his arms.
 
I search for him until I see him reappear a few blocks over.
 
He deposits Aminah with Eamon and races back for Zahra.

He never makes it.
 

A spider drone blasts through a building one block between them.
 
I watch in horror as Toren tries to slow as the building tumbles down upon him, but he slams into the debris with enough force to knock the air out of him.
 

“No!” I shout.
 
I slam my palm against the railing in frustration.

Anger bores into my chest as I watch my friends struggling to survive.
 
They won’t last long outnumbered like this.

I rise and pace the rooftop, desperate to join in the fight.
 
My steps falter as Aminah’s shriek pierces through my mind.
 
Illyria!
 
Help us!

I race back to the ledge, searching for any sign of my friend.
 
I cry out when I see that a Squaddie has Aminah slung over his shoulder and two others drag an unconscious Eamon through the double doors of the Shard.

A gust of wind blows my hair over my face and I turn to find a battered Toren limping my way.
 
“Toren!”

His knees give out on him as he falls to the roof.
 
I rush to his side, pulling his head into my lap.
 
A deep gash oozes over his eye, the blood blurring his vision.
 
“Oh God!
 
You’re hurt!”

“They knew our plans.
 
Drakon must have pulled them out of Kian.”
 
He grunts, cradling his ribs.
 
“We can’t win.”

“I know.
 
I’ve been watching.
 
Where is everyone else?”

“I don’t know.”
 
His face pinches with pain.
 
“I haven’t seen Bastien or Eamon.
 
Zahra was gone when I finally got around the debris.
 
I think she’s going after Kyan.

“Eamon?” My brow furrows with confusion.
 
“You don’t know?”

He rises up onto his elbow.
 
“What?”

I glance away, toward the Shard.
 
Aminah’s screams linger in my mind.
 
“Aminah and Eamon were captured.”

Toren jerks upright, wincing at the pain in his side but determined to go after her.
 
I push him back.
 
“You can’t help her.
 
Not like this.”

He opens his mouth to protest but nods.
 
“Then she needs your help.”

“You know I can’t.
 
I don’t have my powers.”

“Then find them!”
 
He roars.
 
“For all we know, Drakon is torturing Aminah just like he did Kyan.
 
I can’t…” he gulps.
 
“You have to stop him.”

I lean back from him as my doubt swells.
 
“What if I can’t?”

Toren’s expression is grim as he turns to look at me.
 
“They we are all going to die.”

“No pressure then,” I mutter as I push up to my feet and begin pacing.
 
I have no idea how to tap into my powers.
 
I never have.
 
How does one flip a switch when there is none to be found?

“Bastien.”

I turn back.
 
“What did you say?”

“He’s your trigger,” Toren grunts as he tries to rise to his feet.
 
Sweat glistens on his forehead as he wavers, but remains upright.
 
“You have to think of him.”

“It’s not that easy.
 
Just thinking of him isn’t enough.
 
I have to see...” I trail off as I spin to search the rooftops.
 
The City is vast, spanning numerous miles.
 
It would be nearly impossible to find him on a normal day, but his acrobatics have created quite a stir among the Sky Ships.
 

I squint, raising my hands to block the sun as I watch a tiny figure in the distance leap from a rooftop and slap the underside of a Sky Ship.
 
Red lasers charge as Bastien coils in midair and shoots off.
 
I hear the boom of the blast seconds after the ship erupts into a fiery ball, plummeting to the earth.

“Watch out!” I scream uselessly as the shockwave catches up to Bastien, slamming him to the rooftop of a lower building.
 
I rise up onto my tiptoes, searching for any movement through the cloud of smoke, but I see none.
 

I watch, praying that he will shoot out of the smoke to go play chicken with another Sky Ship, but he never appears.
 

The trembling begins in my fingers, radiating swiftly up my forearms and into my shoulders.
 
Like an uncontained explosion, rage spills into every cell within my body as three Sky Ships converge on Bastien.
 

Images suddenly invade my mind, driving me to my knees as Aminah calls out to me.
 
Drakon has Eamon!

I can see Eamon lying unconscious on the floor.
 
His hair is bloody and matted to his forehead.
 
His left cheek is swollen and a bruise has begun to form on his jaw.
 
His breathing is labored as his back contorts, his face pinched with agony.
 

He’s been like that since Drakon started digging around in his mind.
 
He’s still breathing, but he’s in bad shape, Illyria.
 
He needs your help.

I curl my fingers around the metal railing.
 
It groans under the pressure as it molds to my fingers.
 
“Whoa!” Toren cries, pulling my hands away to inspect the damage.
 
“How did you do that?”

I ignore him, focusing on the surge of energy coursing through my body.
 
My hands shake as they rise up beside me and that air crackles with energy.
 
Rage crashes against me in unrelenting waves, each time building in intensity.

My body quakes and my teeth chatter as I rise up onto my tiptoes.
 
I gasp for breath as my skin begins to burn.
 
Power swells in my chest.
 
“It’s too much,” I cry as currents of agony flood my body.
 
“I can’t control it!”

Toren backs away until his spine presses against the roof access door.
 
His fingers curl around the door handle, ready to run.

Calm down.
 
You can handle this.

“Kyan?” I scream aloud.
 

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
 
Let the Shadow come.

I’m scared!
 
It’s too strong this time.
 
I don’t know if I can

You can.
 
You were born for this moment.
 
His voice is strong, confident.
 

I close my eyes and try to think past the pain.
 
The whispers have risen to riotous jeering in my mind.
 
The Shadow waits just on the edge, waiting, watching.

Command it to come to you.

How?

You will know.

I sink within my mind, imaging myself on a beach.
 
The water is crystal blue, the skies cloudless and the sound of palm trees swaying lazily in the air soothes my mind.
 
I look to the distance and see thunderous, rolling black clouds rampaging toward me.
 
I dig my feet in and hold my ground as it approaches.

The Shadow blocks out the light and I plummet into complete darkness.
 
Only the forks of white lighting that hit the churning water light my vision.
 
Fear cripples me.

I raise my hands overhead and throw my back head, staring the Shadow head on.
You are not in control of me!

My face brightens with brilliant white as a streak of lightning slams into me.
 
My chest burns and my lungs collapse in on themselves as I’m consumed with pain.
 
I cry out as the fire sears my flesh.
 
Tears cascade from my eyes as I struggle to remember to breathe, to think.

Fight for Bastien,
Kyan calls through my rising screams.

I bring my hands to my chest and draw the lightning away, balling it into my hands.
 
The clouds overhead roar as thunder crashes all around.
 
I close my hand over the lightning, sealing out all light as I absorb the energy.
 
I clamp down on my jaw as violent tremors send me crashing to the ground.

“Illyria!”

Opening my eyes, I look up to see Toren kneeling above me.
 
He reaches out for me, but jerks his hand back as an arch of energy zaps him.
 
“What happened to you?”

I rise slowly, holding my head in my hands.
 
“I think I just joined myself with the Shadow.”