He laid his palm flat against the earth and closed his eyes. A bright light formed around him, pulling all three of us elsewhere. Again, I floated throughout and against the fabric of time, flowing through the tragic memory humans store within their fragile skulls. This time, it was easier to deal with, but it still stung. I saw the darkness of the forest below. I could smell the trees and feel the wind whip across my naked flesh.
Our bodies crashed against the earth, and I slid until I slammed into a number of trees. By the time I was done smashing through the forest, I had taken out at least four.
Donovan stood above me, laughing. “Still haven’t found your balance?”
I groaned and bent to stand. “I’m okay,” I grumbled.
Magnus walked toward one of the trees and started to climb. The tree rustled and swayed from side to side. He jumped out and fashioned a crude knife. “I get her next.”
“Calm down. We’ll all get her soon enough,” I said.
Donovan stooped and huddled close to the cold, damp soil. He dug his hand inside, fishing out a medium-sized sample of earth, worm, and bark. Placing it inside a small bowl, he spit into
the center and stirred with a small blunt instrument. A green glow appeared from the bowl and expanded, flowing to all corners of the night sky.
She’d follow the light, but so would he.
“What are you feeling?” Donovan asked.
“Can’t explain it,” I said, bowing my forehead toward my chest. “But it’s... unexpected.”
“Our intruder,” Magnus said, sharpening his blade with his teeth.
From here to eternity, her desires would be consumed and fulfilled. We would provide her with the loving trust she was so desperate to have. All of her confidence would come back with us, but she needed to accept our needs.
We needed to get to her before it was too late. “I saw him. I lived inside his memories for God knows how long. He is much worse than she thinks.”
Magnus slowly lowered the weapon. “You gave him a scar, too?”
“Accident,” I said.
Donovan laughed, but he still carried a worried expression. “You didn’t tell us any of this.”
I focused on the spot where he’d dug into the ground. “I...” It was so hard to speak. “I have failed the group.”
Magnus stuck the knife into the ground but merely shrugged. “As long as he doesn’t get in the way, we’ll all be fine.”
“His ego is massive,” I argued.
“But is his cock?” Magnus asked.
Donovan chuckled and wiped his hands clean of the green dust. “We can all have a little chat about philosophy before we slit his throat.”
But that wasn’t what I was getting at. I was the one who’d dived into his memories. I knew him from the inside out, but I couldn’t unpack his plans. He knew where to look. I had put her in danger.
“He knows about us. He’s been following her for some time,” I said.
Magnus took the blade back out of the ground and shoved it into a small leather sheath. To shut me up, he simply walked away. “No more discussion. He does not pose a threat to us. Mankind is pathetic. He cannot compete. If he tries anything, I’ll rip his fucking esophagus out.”
Fight against the fire. Become the fire. That was our way. But, sometimes, it was to our detriment to follow our most extreme urges.
Zane’s memories were scattered. The dreams he collected his identity from were worrisome. The memories buried at the very bottom were the most important, and I had found one that seemed to form the entirety of his being.
But I couldn’t get there. Not all the way, at least. Somehow, he had blocked me from entering. That told me all I needed to know.
Zane was taught to hide his energy, and he kept doing it. As an adult, he thrived on manipulation. When he wanted pleasure, he broke the bond of Adeline’s trust, the thing she seemed to value more than anything else. It was worth more than her scientific studies, but he broke it anyway, knowing full well it would shatter her.
He’d never loved her. He didn’t give a fuck about anyone.