Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (43 page)

He felt the panic and adrenalin coursing through his veins as he jerked the steering wheel left and right, using the center dividing lane to pass around other cars whenever necessary. He didn’t care about the laws of the road. It was taking too long to get there. Why did there have to be so much blasted traffic in Southern California?

Rayne stopped impatiently at a red light, wondering if he should try to slip through the intersection anyway, but there were too many cars coming from the other direction, and he knew they wouldn’t make it safely through. As he pled silently for the light to turn green, he reached his fingers to Sadie’s neck to take her pulse for the hundredth time. She was still alive, but just barely.

He took the moment to run his hand along the warmth of her cheek, just to reassure himself one more time. “You’re going to be okay,” he said to her again. “We’re almost there. Please hang on a little longer.” Then the light turned green and his foot blasted down on the accelerator.

Rayne finally sped his car off Coast Highway after what felt like an eternity, screeching around the corner to wind up the residential streets through the Santa Monica hills.
Just five more minutes
, he thought,
maybe eight. And then we’ll be there. She can make it.

The top of the hill couldn’t come soon enough, but finally he was there. Without stopping to think, Rayne’s fingers shook across the buttons on the box outside the Threshold gate. He knew there wasn’t time to deal with the process of standard border security. Instead of his normal twelve digit number, he punched in the seven digit emergency code that would trigger an alarm at the guard station. The red emergency light began to flash across the screen.

A border guard’s voice came calmly from the speaker. “Please identify yourself and state the emergency.”

“This is agent Rayne Stevens, ID number 021076082180,” he said as fast as his lips would move. “I have a young woman whose Watermark is drained. She needs immediate entrance through the Threshold.”

“You have been identified,” the border guard replied. “Access granted pending emergency verification.”

The gate to the left of the Threshold entrance beeped as it slid open, allowing Rayne to pull his car up the driveway to the guard station. Once he was parked, Rayne jumped from the driver’s seat and ran around the car to scoop Sadie up in his arms.

Two border guards came out to meet Rayne while several other guards stood on alert inside the station. One of the two guards stopped a few feet away while the other one, with the name Chapman stitched into his nametape, approached them to make an assessment.

“How severe is her condition?” Chapman asked, lifting Sadie’s wrist to examine her mark.

“She’s been shot. But her Watermark was already close to empty before she was hit.” Rayne’s voice caught in his throat. “It could already be too late.”

“Who is she?” Chapman inquired.

Rayne hesitated. “Um…she doesn’t have any documentation.”

 “Okay. Thank you, sir. We’ll take care of it from here.” The guard moved toward Sadie, his intent to remove her from Rayne’s arms.

“No,” Rayne said, pulling away. “I have to go with her.”

“Sir, I understand your concern, but protocol states—”

“She doesn’t have time for protocol,” Rayne insisted. “I have direct orders from Hamlin Fairbanks himself to
personally
see to it that she makes it through the Threshold before it’s too late. If that doesn’t happen, do
you
want to be the one to answer to the Ambassador?”

Chapman lowered his eyes. “Sir, I’m sorry, but I have orders too.”

Rayne couldn’t wait any longer. He hated to pull rank, but they were leaving him no choice. “Let me remind you, Agent Chapman, that I outrank every guard at this station. You can follow me and arrest me if you have to, but I
will
save her no matter what the cost, and nobody here is going to stop me.”

“Fine. You can take her through,” Chapman said dryly. “But then I’m escorting you both back to the station to fill out a report. I’m not going take the fall for breaking protocol just because some Keeper has been in the news a few times and suddenly thinks he’s the king of Ambrosia.”

Rayne didn’t have time for insults. “Agreed,” he answered quickly. Then he pushed past the guard who had been standing by the door, letting nothing else get in his way.

Agent Chapman followed closely at his heels as Rayne ran with all his strength through the hall and into the elevator that would bypass security and lead straight to the chamber of the Threshold.

Rayne held his breath until the door finally opened, revealing the familiar glow of light from the Threshold wall across the room. He had finally arrived. Sadie’s hope of survival glimmered only a room length away.

Rayne ran forward, clutching his love in his arms, calling out to anyone in his way, “Move…move…watch out,” as he raced toward the Threshold to save her, to bring life back to the one person he couldn’t exist without. She was going to make it. They were so close now he could feel it.

As Rayne flew through the shimmering Threshold wall, his body surged with strength. The air around him filled his lungs with the power of the Healing Water, bringing new hope to his heart. He ran through the Hall of Clocks until he finally made it outside, where he collapsed on the ground, cradling Sadie’s body in his arms, waiting with anticipation for her liveliness to return.

His own Watermark glowed to life, and he fumbled for Sadie’s wrist to watch the blue mark fill her with light as well. He waited. He hoped. He held in his breath. But the longer he held on, the darker her mark seemed to fade.

No. This couldn’t be happening. He did everything he could. Everything was supposed to be okay now. They were here and Sadie was supposed to wake up. The bullet wound was supposed to close up and disappear. Her eyes were supposed to open, looking bluer and brighter than ever before. This was Ambrosia. That was how it worked.
She was supposed to live
.

The heavy air seemed to cloud and blur around him as he leaned over her helpless body. He couldn’t contain the pain, keep the hopelessness from taking hold of him. Rayne’s eyes stung as he wept.
Why? Why her?
She was so beautiful. Her heart was so good. He lifted his head through his tears to stare at Sadie’s face…his warmth, his sunshine, his everything…gone.

He clutched her cold cheeks between his hands. It wasn’t fair. He needed her. She wasn’t supposed to leave him so soon. She made the world a better place. She was meant for something special.

Rayne’s lungs suddenly froze as the word resonated through his mind. Special. Sadie was special…she was different. Her Watermark was different. It didn’t work the same as everybody else. How could he be so stupid? Rayne’s eyes slowly went wide as he realized what he needed to do. He had to take Sadie to the actual Healing Water. She was too far gone. She needed direct contact, a stronger dose than what was in the air for her Watermark to function again. But there was no way he could find any water through the traditional channels in time. He had to take her directly to the source…to the Sacred Pool of Banya.

Rayne lifted Sadie’s body gently, setting her down on the ground at the side of the path. He glanced cautiously at agent Chapman who was standing only a few feet away, allowing Rayne to have a moment alone.

Rayne turned in Chapman’s direction and walked toward him, holding up his hands as if stricken with grief and reaching out for someone to hold onto. As soon as Chapman responded, offering a sympathetic arm, Rayne twisted the guard’s hand, sending pain up his forearm, and allowing Rayne just enough distraction to steal Chapman’s handcuffs and chain him to the metal railing of the fence next to him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chapman demanded as Rayne stole the guard’s radio from his belt and threw it in the bushes.

“I’m sorry,” Rayne said, running back to Sadie’s side. “There’s still a chance I can save her. I have to try.”

It was only a few minutes’ drive from the Academy grounds to the base of the Sacred Pool up in the hills of Banya, yet it was the longest drive of Rayne’s life. There was still the faintest hint of a heartbeat in Sadie’s chest, but he couldn’t shake the fear that it wouldn’t be enough. He didn’t have time to come up with a plan. He was hardly even thinking clearly. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he knew he had to keep moving.

Rayne sped his truck up the long, winding drive to the front gate, not bothering to be discreet. He could see the guard through the window of the security booth, getting ready to come out to greet him. Rayne knew they required special permission and documentation for anyone to enter, even agents, and that was something he obviously didn’t have.

Before he could think it through, Rayne was concealing a bundle of rope in the back of his waistband which he kept behind his seat for emergencies. Then he jumped out of the car frantically, trying to lure the guard over to the vehicle by yelling, “Please, you have to help me. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, I think she’s dying.”

The guard fell for Rayne’s act quickly, probably because it was so close to the truth that it hardly required acting. As soon as the concerned guard leaned into the truck to get a closer look, Rayne grabbed the metal door and jammed it closed around the guard’s head.

Before the guard could gain his senses, which would only take a few seconds, Rayne used the method taught at the Academy to take the guard down to the ground and wrestle his hands and legs behind his back, binding them with rope and rendering the guard completely disabled.

He hated to do it, since the guard seemed like such a nice guy and Rayne had a lot of respect for other agents, but there wasn’t time to waste.

“I’m really sorry,” Rayne explained. “I had to. She barely has a heartbeat.” Then he dragged the guard’s squirming body into the bushes, stole the gun from his belt, and sprinted back to the guard booth to open the gate.

He sped his truck through the entrance, knowing full well that getting through the gate was the easy part. He had no idea what he was going to do once he got up to the actual security station, where they had video surveillance and fingerprint scanners and hidden lasers that triggered alarms. And it didn’t exactly help that he would be carrying Sadie in his arms the entire way through.

Rayne parked the truck behind the side of the building, leaving Sadie inside while he crept up through the bushes to survey the front entrance. When he peered through the corner of the double glass doors, he realized too late that there wasn’t anyone manning the front desk—not a good sign.

Just as Rayne was about to turn back, a voice came from behind. “Don’t move.”

Rayne’s feet froze, feeling a gun on his back. He held up his hands and turned slowly to face his opponent. He was sure it was the guard from the front desk.

“Down on the ground,” the guard ordered.

Rayne’s weary legs obeyed, falling helplessly to the pavement.

“Please help me,” Rayne said, in his last effort to hold on. “The girl in my truck is dying. You have to help her.” The guard glanced quickly at the truck then back at Rayne, taking a step closer.

Then, suddenly, the guard’s face changed. His gun lowered as he smiled and said, “Rayne Stevens? Holy healing water, man, is that you?”

Rayne didn’t move from the ground, but his eyes shot up at the familiar face in surprise. “Honeycutt?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” the guy said with a laugh. “What in the name of Banya are you doing here? I was ready to hog-tie you to a tree or something. Wow, how are you, buddy? Long time no see.”

“Not good,” Rayne said. “Listen, it’s great to see you, and I would love to catch up, but I wasn’t joking. I have someone important in the front seat of my truck and she’s about to die any minute now. I have to get her into the Sacred Pool. Do you think you can help me?”

Honeycutt holstered his gun and motioned to Rayne. “Get up off the ground already. Do you really think I would shoot the guy who saved my sorry hide at the Academy? I probably wouldn’t even be here today if it wasn’t for you.”

“Thanks,” Rayne said as he stood. He sprinted over to the passenger side of his truck where Honeycutt followed curiously behind him.

“But what’s this nonsense you’re telling me about somebody dying? Is it your grandma or something? You know once they get that old, there’s nothing left we can do.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Rayne said. He pulled Sadie’s body in his arms once again and lifted her out of the seat. “She’s special. Her mark doesn’t work the same as ours. If I don’t get her in there right now she’s going to die, like gone forever.”

“Is this some kind of joke?” Honeycutt said, still not convinced. “Did Ash send you out here to pull a fast one on me like the old days?”

“
No
,” Rayne said, about to lose it. “I swear on the Sacred Pool of Banya standing right inside these gates…this isn’t a joke. Just look at her Watermark. I’m telling you, it’s broken. She’s dying.”

Honeycutt’s brow wrinkled, but he lifted Sadie’s wrist and examined it in the early evening light. His face went pale. “How is that possible? Watermarks don’t break.” Then he paused and lowered his eyes. “Rayne…friend…I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this girl is dead.”

Rayne shook his head. “I’m not in denial here. She has a pulse. You can check it yourself.”

“No, you’re right,” Honeycutt finally agreed. “I can feel it now. It’s faint, but I think you’re right.” His face looked bewildered. “I’ve never seen anything like this. What happened to her?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Can you help me?” Rayne said, jaw trembling. “Please, I’ll do anything.”

“You know I could get court martialed for this, right?”

 “Just tell them I forced you into it. You can arrest me afterwards if you have to, just let me try to save her first. You always said you wanted a way to pay me back for helping you in that final simulation at the Academy, right? So now’s your chance.”

Honeycutt glanced at Rayne’s arms, clutching desperately around Sadie’s limp form. “You’re right,” he said. “I can tell she’s important to you. I can’t believe I even stopped to question it. Come on, I can get you in.”