Anarchy (The Stone Legacy Series Book 4) (3 page)

Chapter Four

Jayden followed Hawa inside the hotel. The guy to his left—Blade, as he called himself—smirked, his attention trained on Hawa.

Something about that guy put Jay on edge. Maybe it was the cocky air about him, or maybe it was because he had a tattoo of a fucking snake wrapped around his twenty-inch bicep.

But not just a snake. A python.

What a douche.

At least Jayden’s tattoos were artistic. Blade’s insinuated he was overcompensating for something.

Blade shut the door to the hotel, overrun with guests. “I have to go take care of a few things.” He walked toward them, pausing beside Jayden. “You two just make yourselves at home.” He patted Jay on the shoulder and winked. In guy language, it pretty much translated to,
“Don’t make any trouble, and if you touch Hawa, I’ll tear your balls off.”

Jayden clenched his jaw. Blade’s hand slipped off his shoulder and he walked away. “What was that all about?” Jayden said in a low voice.

“Don’t worry about him. He just likes to remind people he’s in charge.”

“Right.” Jayden pumped his fists. He got the message loud and clear. Too bad he gave exactly zero fucks.

“Come on.” Hawa waved him forward. “Follow me.”

Jayden did exactly what she asked. This was no regular hotel. The entire population in sight ranged in age from around six to eighteen, if he had to guess. But most were kids. Young kids, around middle school age.

Every door to every hotel room hung open. A young girl sat on top of the check-in counter, swinging her feet side to side. The tan, weathered paint flaked off as the soles of her worn sneakers rubbed against it.

A group of younger children played around the empty stone fountain in the center of the lobby. Had that thing ever had water? Maybe a long time ago, though now it was filled with empty plastic bottles and random scraps of trash. Surprisingly, it didn’t stink.

The echo of shouts made him crank his neck upward. He spotted a few kids inching along the outside of the railing on their tiptoes, two stories up. “What is this place, exactly?”

“Like he said,” Hawa replied. “The Thirteenth Street Hotel.” She spent a long moment scanning their surroundings. “This place looks like shit,” she mumbled. “What the hell happened?”

“Brisa!” A girl, who couldn’t have been older than twelve, ran toward them. Her frizzy ponytail bobbed with every step until she threw her arms around Hawa’s waist. “Blade told all of us you weren’t coming back. What changed your mind?”

He caught the glimpse of a frown turn down the corners of her lips, but Hawa quickly gave the girl a smile. “I missed you guys. That’s what changed my mind.” She hugged the girl against her hip. “You couldn’t have done all this growing in two years.”

The girl giggled. When she noticed Jayden, her smile vanished. “Is he your boyfriend?”

Hawa’s eyebrows rose. “Not even close. This is Jayden. Jay, this is Chastity. We call her Modem, on account of she can hack into just about anything.”

“That’s right.” Modem’s brown eyes were warm and bright. “I’m the best hacker between here and Fifty-Fourth Street.”

“And she’s a little thief too. So watch your stuff.” Hawa tugged on the girl’s ponytail.

Modem raised her hand. “Excuse me. I don’t steal. I borrow. There’s a difference.”

“Mhm.” Hawa pointed two fingers to her eyes, then at Modem. “I’ll have my eyes on you.” She looked at Jay. “Come on. Let’s get a room before they’re all gone.”

Jayden followed Hawa deeper into the hotel. She rested her hand on the steel railing to the stairs and looked up at rows of endless doors and staircases, and people walking freely through the halls. “I used to stay in room 409. Let’s go see if it’s vacant…or standing.” She rubbed her fingers together and crinkled her nose.

Fantastic. She’d brought him to a dirty, rundown orphanage, run by a guy who called himself
Blade
. The next time she said they were going to a hotel, he’d ask for more details. He snorted, and then gestured to the elevator. “Does this at least work?”

She shook her head. “Hasn’t since I can remember.”

“Of course.” He followed behind her as they scaled the stairs.

“What electricity we do have is jacked from some spliced lines. We don’t really worry about overusing it since the lines lead to the downtown corporate buildings.” She shrugged. “They never noticed.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in stealing.”

“Well, if someone took care of these kids, we wouldn’t be forced to.” They reached the top of the stairs and continued down the hall toward a dead end.

His throat closed as a searing pain shot through his temples. He fell to his knees and grabbed onto the metal bars lining the catwalk.

An image of Contessa tore through his mind. Her eyes glowed bright with magic as she read from the book. The atmosphere rippled, and Contessa’s head shot up. She stared directly at him, as if she could see him. As if she knew he was seeking her. Her eyes narrowed, and she stood upright, her stare focused in his direction, her gaze flickering from side to side, searching. For him?

“Get up!” Hawa’s voice shattered the vision, and Jay opened his eyes to everyone in the hotel standing silent, watching him. Hawa hooked her arm under his and hauled him off the ground. He leaned on her, struggling to peer through his blurred vision. “You have got to stop doing that,” she ordered. “Come on. Let’s get you into a room.”

Though he didn’t necessarily
need
to sleep anymore, now that he had no heartbeat, he could, and was grateful to have a place to lie down and rest. Hawa pushed open the door and helped him inside. The room was empty except a rollout mattress laid out on the worn, patterned carpet. Good enough for him. He lay down and pressed his hands over his eyes. “Damn it, that hurt.”

“Did you see Contessa again?”

“Yeah, but I don’t understand why I’m seeing her. It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose. I wasn’t even thinking about her. It just happened.”

“Has your ability always had a mind of its own?”

He shook his head. “Not until I died.”

“Well, until we figure it out, you need to stay away from crowds. If Blade even thinks you’re a threat to the kids, he’ll kick your ass out, or worse.”

“So I’ll leave,” Jayden grumbled. “Who gives a damn what Blade thinks?” He lifted his hands from his eyes and blinked up at her. “Who is he, anyway?”

Hawa walked to the window. “He’s the one who watches over the kids.” She glanced back at him. “And he’s dangerous. Don’t screw with him, Jay. I’m serious.”

He grunted while forcing himself to sit up, and rested his back against the wall. “Why did you bring us here?”

“Because we needed a place to stay, and neither of us has the money to stay in a real hotel for more than a few nights, and then we wouldn’t have cash for food.”

He paused. “Okay, good point.” He rested his head against the wall. A few sharp slams on the door made him flinch.

Hawa turned and faced the door. “What?”

“Open the door, Brisa.” Jayden immediately recognized Blade’s voice.

“Shit.” Hawa glared at Jayden. “See what you did?” She opened the door to reveal Blade on the other side, his features like stone.

He pushed past her into the room and stared down at Jay, who tried his best not to look like a bag of smashed assholes. “What’s wrong with you?” Blade demanded.

Jayden pushed to his feet, fighting off the cyclone in his head. “Nothing. I’m fine.” He flattened his palm against the wall to stabilize himself.

Blade glanced back at Hawa. “You know what the rule is about bringing a risk into the hotel.”

“I know,” Hawa said. “But he’s not—”

Blade squared his shoulders and faced her. “Don’t you think for a second you get a pass on the rules. Our history doesn’t affect a damn thing, and code or not, I’ll throw you out on your ass before I let you bring some
chabón
in here if there’s a reason he shouldn’t be here.
¿Entiendes?
”

Hawa didn’t look scared as much as on high alert. Her gaze flickered between him and Blade until she settled on the douche with the snake tattoo. She nodded.

Jayden stepped away from the wall. “Hey. Lay off. She didn’t break any of your precious codes.” Whatever this guy’s problem was, Jay didn’t love how he talked to Hawa. Pain in the ass or not, she’d stuck by him when no one else did.

Blade fisted his hands. “Are you sick? Because if you are, it could spread, and the hospitals here don’t give a damn about an orphan kid with no way to pay his hospital bill.”

Even if he were sick, it wasn’t the kind of sick that could spread…he hoped. “I’m just tired as hell. Haven’t had a good night’s rest in—” Well, since he died, but he would just skip over that part. “In a long time.” He held Blade’s gaze. “That’s it.”

Blade examined him a moment longer, then gave a single nod. “Good. Make sure it stays that way.” He walked toward the door and paused beside Hawa. “I mean it.” His tone had calmed, and the focus in his stare unsettled Jay. “I know you’ve been gone for a while, but don’t let that silver spoon in your mouth distort your idea of what role you play here. It’s not like it used to be.”

Hawa swallowed and then nodded.

Blade held eye contact with her for a moment longer, then walked out of the room. Hawa’s chest fell in a deep exhale. She clutched her stomach.

When she didn’t say anything, Jayden stepped toward her. “Hey. You okay?”

Hawa dropped her hand to her side and nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.” The words came out in a near whisper. She cleared her throat and then walked toward the hall. “You should get some rest. I’m going to visit a few of the kids and see if they need anything. This place has really gone to hell since I left, and I want to check it out a little closer. Then we have some work to do in the hotel to earn our keep.”

“But—”

She stopped and spun to face him. “But nothing, Jay. Everyone earns their keep around here. No exceptions. If you don’t, you’re out.”

Jayden nodded, and she left the room.

He wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of staying in the hotel, or anywhere near that Blade guy. But if he were honest with himself, he had nothing better to do, and these people clearly meant something to Hawa. So he’d stick around. For now.

Chapter Five

That night while Hawa slept, Jay paced the length of the hotel room wall, the silent, still darkness outside his window reminding him that he had nowhere to go and no plans for his future.

He needed to figure out a way to get his seeking ability under control, and fast. But that would require practice.

Maybe he would try to seek Hawa. At least if he sought
her
, he wouldn’t accidentally see something that would make him want to gouge his eyes out—like Zanya and jungle-boy shacked up together. The idea made his stomach turn.

Jayden closed his eyes and concentrated on Hawa’s sleek hair and rich, olive skin. He tried to remember the smooth texture of her voice. How her hips swayed when she walked. How every time she looked at him, her eyes were like a deep, dark cave holding a world of secrets she’d never let him reach. He tuned in to anything that would guide his mind to where she slept, just a few feet away.

Static shook behind his eyelids, and his effort slammed into a steel barrier in his mind. He fisted his hands and leaned against the wall. If he could push through the block, just once, it could free him from the mental prison he was living in. He bore down and rammed harder against the haze. With each attempt, his mind took another blow, and what little energy he had left quickly dissolved.

Jayden exhaled and pressed his forehead against the cool, textured wallpaper, both of his palms pressed on either side of his head.

“What are you doing?” Hawa’s said in a groggy voice.

Jayden blinked and looked at her. She lay with her cheek cradled against a thin wool blanket. “Nothing,” he said softly. “Go back to sleep.” He hung his head. “Sorry if I woke you.”

“Were you trying to seek her?”

He lifted his head. “Who?”

Hawa’s honey brown eyes shimmered in the silky moonlight pouring through the crack in the curtains. “Zanya.”

He paused and shoved his hands in his pockets. “No. I was, uh…” He glanced up at her. “I was trying to seek you, actually.”

“Me?” Her brow furrowed. “But I’m right here.”

“I know. I thought if I could just…” He leaned against the closed door. “Never mind.” There was no point in explaining it to her. She’d never understand.

Hawa blinked and sat up. “What?”

He swallowed. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. That’s all.” A long moment of silence lingered between them.

She turned her face the window. White moonlight washed over her features. “I have a question.”

“Sure.” He slid down the wall and crouched to be eye to eye with her.

Hawa twisted the thin blanket draped over her lap. “What made you so crazy about her? I mean, you love her even though she doesn’t feel the same. How do you do that?”

“
How
do I love her?” He didn’t quite understand the question, or why she’d asked it.

“I mean…” She stole a glance at him. “How can you stand to?”

“I…” He thought about it for a moment. It was a question he’d never asked himself, until now. “I guess the truth is I don’t think about it. It’s how I feel, and I’ve never been the kind of guy to run away.” He shifted his weight. “Regardless of what everyone else may think.”

Hawa shook her head. “I respect my uncle, but he and the rest of them are blind. They don’t get it. They never have. They always want to be around people. They want to be close to family and rely on others. But the second you do, that person always finds a way to leave you alone. Not being attached is way easier. I know that now.”

He took a moment to observe the sprinter. She sat with her legs crossed and sadness deepening the creases around her mouth. There was a sense of desperation in her eyes. She too wanted to get away from the constant reminder of never being able to find happiness. Maybe even more than he did.

“I guess it’s just our luck,” she said. “Falling for people who don’t love us back.” She flashed a smile, even though it was a little sad. “I guess we’re more alike than I thought.” Hawa lay down and closed her eyes. “Good night, Jay.”

He quietly lowered the rest of his body to the floor and kicked his legs out in front of him, watching as the sprinter’s shoulders rose and fell with every breath.

She was right. It was his luck, but nobody changed their own luck by sitting on their ass. Tomorrow he’d figure out what he’d do now that he was free to go where he wanted without taking orders, or having to worry the girl he loved would be torn away from him. That ship had sailed.

He needed to move on.

Tomorrow.

He closed his eyes.

He’d figure it all out tomorrow.

With his back pressed against the wall, his muscles relaxed and he drifted off to sleep. As his mind floated between asleep and awake, he was pulled into a layer of his subconscious he had never explored.

Standing in a space cloaked in darkness, images wavered in front of him, shadowed and indiscernible. A familiar power lingered nearby. Jayden peered closer at the images. It was as if he stood outside some kind of barrier that rippled and moved like a wall of water. Its cool iridescence gave light to the endless space.

He reached out and skimmed his fingers along the wavering surface. The air around him seemed to shudder. He pulled his hand back to his chest. After scrutinizing the barrier for a moment, he hesitated, and then touched it again. The wall stretched away from his skin.

He examined his fingers carefully. No damage that he could see, but considering he couldn’t feel pain anymore, there was no way to be sure. He reached toward the barrier again, and it stretched further, moving away from his body as he grew close. He stepped toward it, and the entire wavering wall continued forward, as if it were moving with him.

Heat from the sand scorched his skin. As he walked over solid, cracked soil, he noticed patches of brownish-red liquid dried nearly to dust under the hot sun. Sun that seemed so close, he could barely breathe.

Jay shielded his eyes and stared up at a sky of soil and roots writhing above him, somehow coexisting with the burning sun. “What the fuck…”

A familiar voice caught his attention, and he turned to see a watery image of Contessa sitting on the other side of the barrier, on the bottom steps of a Mayan temple, just yards away. He focused and her image sharpened. A stack of blood-smeared papers lay cradled in her lap. He walked toward her. The watery wall rolled in front of him until he stood mere feet away.

Contessa rocked back and forth, whispering as she read a passage aloud.

Jayden examined the witch, who didn’t seem to notice he was there. Hell, he didn’t know how he got there. But his ability had linked him with Contessa several times already. There had to be a reason why.

Contessa hadn’t glanced up from the pages, so he continued to creep toward her until he stood at her side. He examined the pages from what had to be the Popul Vuh, the book she’d stolen from Zanya’s nemesis. He couldn’t read any of the ancient symbols etched over the pages.

Contessa’s red, wavy hair and milky skin glistened like a mirage. She was beautiful, there was no denying it. And she looked a thousand times better than she had the first time his ability linked them. Maybe she was getting stronger.

Jayden pivoted and scanned the horizon. There was nothing but desolation, and marks on the ground from what seemed to be some kind of battle.

When Jay turned back toward Contessa, she rested her head in her hands, sobbing like a heartbroken child. The earth under his feet trembled, bouncing tiny pebbles and grains of sand in every direction. A massive, roaring sound filled his ears.

He spun toward a sea of water as the barrier charged toward him like a tsunami. When the waves crashed into him, he gasped and opened his eyes to the dark room.

Hawa was still lying there, asleep on the mattress.