Laous shook his head. “Oh no, my son will be coming with us. He’s disappointed me. His betrayal on Hawaii was not expected, and now he cannot be trusted to be away from me.”
Rao did not look up. He didn’t meet Daniel’s eyes—anyone’s eyes. The scars on his face looked quite raw. I’d been under the impression that the burns were old, but … unless the sort of burns he had didn’t really heal, his were fresh.
“Rao…?” Callie’s voice was low, filled with pain. “Has he been hurting you?”
The big man lifted his head just a touch and my eyes grew hot and damp. He looked shattered. Defeated. And somehow he’d still managed to reach out to Colita. Still tried to warn us so we had a plan in place.
“We have to get him back,” Callie said, almost panicked as she lurched forward. Flames burst to life around her, and only Daniel’s hand on her arm stopped her going right through the barrier to Laous.
I blinked a few times, watching the fire dance across her skin without burning her.Holy shit.I was pretty sure there were some things about this world I was never getting used to.
“We will save him,” Daniel said, his words bit out in quiet rasps. I wasn’t sure Laous could hear their conversation, but he looked pleased with himself anyway. Just seeing that he had caused unhappiness was enough for him.
Why were there so many evil people in the world? In all worlds, apparently? I mean, when did it become the norm to expect that your needs trumped millions of others? Who the fuck did this Laous think he was? My hair started to move around my body, like it did sometimes when I lost control of my emotions. Xander noticed straight away, reaching out to brush his hands across the long strands.
“Your hair is definitely a by-product of the ancient energy you carry,” he told me. “Very few Royales’ hair responds to emotions like that.”
If I had been a less mature person, I would have turned and stuck my tongue out at Lettie.See, not completely useless, powerless, and un-Royale.
“Time to go,” Lexen said, striding forward. He touched the barrier and a small opening appeared, large enough for each of us to exit single file. “The barrier stays in place,” he told Laous as we moved closer to him.
The overlord majors pressed close to the other side of the barrier, prepared to help their children if Laous tried anything. There was a heavy layer of tension in the air as we crossed closer, and not just from our side. One of his men started to fumble at his gun, half lifting it, but before he could point it at us, Chase shot out a long branch from his body and snatched it right out of the man’s hands.
Yes, a mutha-effing branch.Tree-shifter.
Noise broke out and Laous threw both of his arms in the air, fire crackling off his fingertips in long plumes. He was either having a lot of trouble controlling his energy, or he was trying to act tougher than he was, but he had power leaking everywhere.
“Enough,” he shouted. “I will be back with the stone very soon. Then the power and money we deserve will be ours. Until then, remain in position. Craig will be in charge while I’m gone. The line of command remains the same after that.”
The noise slowly died down. These men were very used to following orders. Craig reached out and grabbed onto Laous’s arm as we got closer. “Don’t betray us,” he said, his voice loud and clear. “We want what you have promised,” he said.
Laous nodded as he shook him off. “I’m a Daelighter of my word. I will share the power with you. Together, we will rule Earth.”
That surprised me, and I could see I wasn’t the only one. “You only want Earth?” Roland asked from where he was standing right behind the barrier.
Laous nodded. “Yes, the stone is extra powerful here, in a world without any network or true power of its own. This is where I will use it.”
No one said another word. I was starting to see the cracks in Laous now. Up close, his eyes were feverish, his face flushed with a manic sort of look. Like a junkie coming off a high, or ready for the next one.
“Are you ready?” he gasped, clenching and unclenching his hands.
We all nodded. Chase and Lexen turned and bowed to their parents. Xander was still angry with his mother apparently and spared her no more than a single glance. She looked pained by the way he was leaving, but there was nothing I could do to fix the situation she’d caused. I still had sympathy for her though; he was her son, and she no doubt believed she was doing the right thing for him.
As we moved forward, sticking close as a group, Laous fell into step beside us. The Gonzo parted for us to move through them. Rao, and a man and woman, remained on either side of Laous—the Daelighters or humans he was bringing along.
Callie seemed to know at least one of them. She growled in the direction of the chick. “Worn anyone’s skin lately, bitch?”
Daelighter then. The bitch grinned and said, “It took me weeks to get the stench of your dead mother off me. Humans are truly disgusting.”
Callie lunged forward, Lexen and Daniel both catching her before she could land a blow. “You better watch your back,” she yelled, “because I’m going to fucking kill you the first chance I get.” Callie growled, flames springing up across her arms.
I was surprised when Lexen didn’t let her go, even as the fire licked across his hands. Apparently he always rocked the dragon thing, even when he no longer looked like one.
Even though Callie calmed herself quickly, she didn’t stop shooting death glares at the chick, who appeared completely unconcerned, turning her back on us and striding ahead. Two black SUVs screeched to a halt on the main road, just outside the huge gates of Daelight Crescent. Laous got into the second SUV with his people, and Lexen strode across to the front vehicle, yanking the driver right out of the seat and tossing him about ten feet away.
The man didn’t get up, and none of us bothered to care as we piled into the car. Eight people did not fit that easily, but we made it work.
Xander, who was next to me in the very back of the car, turned around as we started to move. “Laous is ready,” he said, “let’s get out of here.”
