Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) (42 page)

“I don’t care. You’ll be mine again, and I’ll lock you up if I have to in order to stop you from harming yourself.”

I gape at the stranger beside me with new revulsion. “You can’t mean that. Please tell me you don’t mean that.”

There’s a brief flicker of hesitation, of indecision, in his eyes.

G chuckles. “It seems you’ve quite the list of admirers, Ms. Owens.” I scowl at him, not even remotely amused. He turns to Ax. “Tempting and all as that offer is, I’ll have to decline. Only she can do this. I want to look into Logan’s eyes as he dies.”

“I will never help you.” I jut my chin out insolently. “I’ll never betray Logan. Never.” I spit venom with my words. “No matter what you do to me.”

“Famous last words.” He clicks his tongue as he gestures at the bulky, beefed-up soldier at the end with dark hair and a matching manner. “Proceed.”

I grit my teeth and push my nervousness aside. I hold my chin upright as I’m forcefully hauled out of my seat. The soldier tugs my restrained hands up over my head. Lifting me up, he fastens my wrists around a hook hanging from the ceiling. A protracted aching pain stretches from my wrists to my underarms, and the muscles in my arms vibrate and tremble with exertion as I dangle a few feet off the ground. Ax and Jarod protest loudly until one of the soldiers seals their mouths shut with a band of tape.

The soldier presses a little button on the side of my restraints, and a succession of precise pricks poke into the flesh of my hands, breaking skin and penetrating bone-deep. I bite down hard on my tongue to stop myself from shouting out. Sweat pumps out of my forehead, slicking my face as it rolls into my eyes and mouth. I thrash about, mid-air, as tiny trickles of blood lick the skin on my arms. Blinding pain blurs my vision.

Next, the soldier rolls his sleeves up to his elbows and readies his fists. Determined eyes lock on mine as his first strike hits me square in the jaw. My head whips back painfully, and murky stars form a new filmy layer across my eyes. The latest wave of fiery adrenaline floods my system, to no avail.

Landing blow after blow to my face, the soldier steps back momentarily to survey his handiwork. Stinging pain sears the flesh on my face, and something warm leaks out of my nose.

Sounds of struggling beneath me indicate Jarod and Ax aren’t prepared to sit idly by and do nothing.

“That’s enough. For now,” G instructs from farther away.

I collapse against the soldier as he unhooks my arms and deposits me back in my chair. Stringy, sweaty strands of hair stick to the sides of my blood-soaked face as the soldier drips water into my mouth. I guzzle it greedily.

“No!” G is arguing furiously with someone. Focusing my vision, I spot him at the open entrance, conversing with someone in the corridor. “It has to happen like this. I’ve waited far too long to exact my revenge.”

The door snicks shut as he stomps toward us, his lips curling in anger.

Still winded, I perk up in the chair, suddenly remembering things Vin and Jarod have both said about him. Acute realization dawns. “This is personal for you.”

It’s a statement, not a question. “Why? Help me to understand, and maybe I’ll see things differently.”

I won’t but it’s worth a shot. I’ve reopened the Eterno connection, and I’m feeding images of our location to Logan, hoping that Vin will recognize this place and come get us, because otherwise we won’t be leaving any time soon.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t need much encouragement. “You’re right. It is personal. I don’t ordinarily share this with anyone but … you … I think you’ll be able to relate to this.” Standing up, he turns and faces the row of soldiers. “Leave us.”

He calmly retakes his seat while his soldiers obey. He only starts to talk when the shrill clanging of the door closing confirms he has privacy. “You understand what it’s like to have your life ripped out from under you thanks to alien manipulation, don’t you, Sadie?”

I shiver in the hot room as he stares intently into my eyes.

He knows about me!

How?

My mind is cluttered with possibilities, but I need to keep him talking. “Yes, I do. You clearly understand my story, so what’s yours?”

The lines on his face soften as he takes us back in time. “I was five, going on six, when it happened. Too young to properly understand.” A look of heartfelt anguish spreads across his face. “My mom was my everything, and they took her from me. She didn’t return home from work one night, and I never saw her again.” He stares off vacantly, lost in the throes of the past. Jarod looks at me with a perplexed frown.

G picks up his head and holds my gaze with a shared sense of understanding. “It’s devastating to grow up without your mother. To never again feel her loving arms wrap around you or experience her tender kiss, her nurturing comfort. I missed everything about her. Her full-bellied laugh, the shine in her eyes when she was happy, and the songs she used to hum when she was making dinner in the kitchen. She loved music, and it was always playing in the background in our house. After she was taken, the silence was crippling, unbearable.”

A sorrowful stain glints in his eyes. “It seemed to me, at the time, that our house mourned her as much as my father and me. What’s worse is that the memories faded as the years rolled by, until I could no longer see her clearly in my mind’s eye.”

I can relate to some of those sentiments, although I’m figuring out the puzzle pieces, and if I’m right, his loss was very real whereas mine was more of the figurative sense.

I had a mother; she just wasn’t present.

“Are you saying your mom was abducted by aliens?” I tentatively ask, tasting the edge of my bloodstained mouth.

“Yes. King Adjani stole her from me.” His nostrils flare.

Oh my God. I’m right. I know who he is! Now it all makes sense. I don’t understand how he’s so well informed, but gosh … “You … you’re Glenn Taylor?”

Jarod’s jaw slackens while Ax observes everything with sharp, keen eyes. G sits up straighter in his chair, looking startled and suspicious at the same time. “What do you know?” He stalks toward me, putting his face right into mine. Flashing emotions ghost across his eyes as he holds my arms. “Tell me!”

“You’re talking about Evana? You’re Evana’s son?” He falls back, his body trembling, shock and hope rippling across his face as he plunges to the ground. He doesn’t need to confirm it; it’s written all over his face. Despite what I’ve suffered at his hands, I take instant pity on him now that I understand his motivation and what has been driving him all this time. He’s waited years to hear this news.

“She’s still alive, G. Your mom is alive.” Tears pool in his eyes as he stares incredulously at me. “I know her. I’ve met her, and she’s a wonderful lady. She gave me a letter for you, and Jarod was helping me track you down”—I glance briefly at Jarod, incredulous that Glenn Taylor was under our noses this entire time—“but we didn’t have enough time to locate you before the invasion. She never stopped thinking about you and hoping that one day you could be reunited.”

I stop talking when I observe the broken man in front of me. G is rocking on his knees and openly crying in front of my chair.

We are all quiet as we watch him try to process the news. When the door opens and one of the soldiers steps inside, it’s only for a fleeting moment. Once he sees the state of his leader, he backtracks quickly.

I use the opportunity to my advantage, filling Logan in on the latest revelation. The news floors him, but he races off in search of Evana.

After what seems like forever, G slowly starts to compose himself. “Do you have my letter?” His eyes beseech me.

I shake my head forlornly. “I lost it when the aliens attacked. I’m sorry, but I can bring her to you. I can arrange it straightaway if you give me your word that Logan won’t be harmed. That you’ll cease your plan to destroy the Saven.”

His head bobs vigorously. “Yes. Just reunite me with my mother. Please. I need to see her.” He’s like a lost little puppy, nipping at my heels for attention, but he appears to have capitulated rather quickly, and that makes me suspicious.

“Can you release us, please.”

“Of course.” He sniffles as he clambers to his feet. Bending over me, he tenderly wipes some of the blood from my face with his sleeve. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intentionally set out to hurt you. It’s just …”

“It’s okay.” Given the circumstances, I think I can afford to be charitable.

Opening the door, he beckons the head soldier in and instructs him to remove our restraints. “And we need to set up a holocon,” he adds. “Bring me a D-pad.” He’s all business-like again.

I gingerly prod my tender, bloody hands and wrists. The restraints had sealed over the incendio deflective bands, pressing them into my already damaged skin. Raised, red welts are sore to the touch, but I’ve no doubt the pain won’t last long once my unspecified self-healing ability kicks into play.

A sudden commotion emits in the corridor outside. Doors clang, slapping loudly off walls, and lurid voices raise the alarm. G dashes to the open door and peers out. Sounds of fighting reach my ears.

The cavalry has arrived.

I quickly connect to Rylan, instructing him to cease attack. G races down the corridor out of sight.

Standing up, I stretch my creaky arms and legs. Ax paces the room, lost in thought, his eyes burning ferociously. Jarod is twisting his head from side to side, attempting to loosen up.

Zoning out, I quickly link to Logan, providing a further update. I’ve only just disconnected when Rylan, Izzy, and Vin burst into the room, needing to see with their own two eyes that we’re okay. Izzy locks me in a crushing embrace. G returns, standing at the edge of the room. Soldiers pour into the room, firing questions at G, and a multitude of different conversations are ongoing at once, frying my ears and frazzling my brain.

Izzy goes off to find the bathroom, and I flop into a chair beside a clearly seething Ax. I don’t know why
he’s
so mad. If anyone is entitled to anger, it’s me. He was prepared to sell everyone out to protect me, and I’m not comfortable with that. But now isn’t the time to address it. I knead my stiff shoulders. His fluctuating mood swings are becoming worrisome, and his unpredictability has me a little on edge.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this,” Vin says to G. He has a dazed, disbelieving look on his face.

I spin in my seat. “Wait? You didn’t know about Evana?”

“Dad never said a word. Never explained why he had a personal vendetta against the Saven though I asked him enough times.” Vin looks angrily at his father.

“I’m sorry, Vin,” Glenn says, clasping his son’s shoulders. His eyes glitter with excitement. “It’s the reason I adopted you,” he admits in a soft timbre. “You were the same age as me when you lost your mother. I saw a kindred soul.” A tender look passes between them.

A soldier enters the room with a D-pad and Jarod quickly sets up a holocon. Logan and I converse as if he has no idea what’s going on. It’s important to maintain the charade, because I don’t want to acknowledge the advantage that Logan and I have with our ability to mindspeak.

And given Ax’s strange mood, I’m all kinds of keen not to fuel his imagination. The last thing I need right now is him figuring out that Logan and I are bonded for life.

After a little bit, Glenn ushers us all into a larger room equipped like a casual living room. Two big comfy couches beckon to me with invisible arms. Soldiers congregate at the far side of the room, lounging against the wall or seated at the wide oak table, chowing down. While everyone is skeptical of one another, and there’s a definite edge in the air, there’s also a tentative sense of hope. This could be the very thing we need to unite the government and the rebels, to obtain everyone’s commitment to a cohesive strategy to protect Earth. Optimism bubbles inside me.

A short while later, Logan, Haydn, and Evana teleport into the room and everyone mutes. My heart pings around my chest as emotions supercharge the space. Evana cries out as she walks on shaky legs toward G. Tears flow unashamedly down his face, and he’s rooted in place, clutching onto Vin’s hand for dear life. Every pair of eyes is fixated on the scene, and the collective intake of breath is audible.

Evana reaches Glenn and cradles his face in her hands. Her eyes gleam with unshed tears of joy. “My baby.” Glorious sunshine trickles through the pocket-sized window flooding the room with radiant light, emphasizing the fiery coppery strands in both mother’s and son’s hair. Glenn lets go of Vin’s hand and pulls his mother into his arms. They cling to each other, tears gushing freely from their eyes, as Evana whispers in his ear.

As one, we start shuffling out of the room to give them some privacy. Glenn tugs Vin’s sleeve to keep him by his side, and Evana clutches Logan’s hand as we pass.

“I’ll wait outside for you.”
I smile at him, and my heart is chock-f of gratitude to Evana for wanting to include him in this moment. For cherishing him, as if he is her flesh and blood. And we need this. We need her to broker relations, to ensure that Glenn will stick to his word and relinquish his quest to destroy the Saven.

We follow the others out to a small open-air courtyard tucked unobtrusively into the side of the building. Leaning back against the wall, I tilt my face up to the sun, treasuring the luminous gold, orange, and yellow tones that paint resplendent strips across the midday sky. I close my eyes. Glorious warmth seeps through my skin into my bones, and I savor the feeling as it heats all the frozen parts of me.

For a brief moment, all is right with the world.

Nimble fingers sweep carefully over my face, startling me. My eyes flutter open. Haydn is framed against a backdrop of dazzling light, his form bathed in a glorious ethereal glow. Almost like an angel.

Concerned eyes turn menacing. “Who did this to you?” His fingers trace the bloody marks and bruising on my face and neck.

“It doesn’t matter now.”

He looks like he wants to argue but thinks better of it. “At least let me fix it.” He offers me his hand. I stare at it, and him, my eyes searching his face. He bridges the gap and laces his fingers in mine. “Come on.” He guides me back inside, my heart racing the entire time.