Dissever (Unbinding Fate Book One) (39 page)

“What about the Scattered
Akori?” Addy asked.

“We’ll draw their power and
they’ll rematerialize outside of our circle without any power.” Eva seemed to
know what Addy was getting at. “Will’s son will be fine.”

Addy took a quick step
toward Eva. “You said the power would be
restored.”

Stubbs nodded. “It will be,
just not to the Akori and Mesen here. It can never be as it was. The
consequences Eva spoke of are real. She and I will be gone, we won’t return.”
He focused on his sister as he said it.

Eva reached out, placing a
hand on Addy and Tanner. “We need both of you to help us.”

“If it brings them all back—
I’m
in,”
Addy said immediately.

Tanner didn’t look so sure about
helping and flashed Addy a look of concern.

 Stubbs took Addy’s hand. “You’re
just a human, sugar. You weren’t meant to have that symbol on your neck.” His
expression was grim. “You won’t be able to survive what it takes to destroy the
stone. Severing Jackson’s connection to the power will—”

“What about
Tanner
—will
he be alright?” Addy caught Jax out of the corner of her eye standing by, expressionless.

“He’ll be fine.” Stubbs
shifted his eyes between them. “Tanner’s an Akori, you and Jax are not.”

Addy swallowed hard and
forced back tears, glancing at Tanner. They’d come so far and she and Jax
wouldn’t make it through to see the end. Gage would come back just in time to
see her die. It was almost funny and she fought off a sick smile.

She bit the inside of her
cheek, snapping herself out of it, and then nodded to Eva. “If you can promise
me that Tanner will be ok then I’ll help you.”

Preston and Ash were making
their way through the crowded ballroom.

“We have to
hurry,”
Eva said. “Preston
cannot
be a part of what we’re doing.”

“I’m not doing
anything.”
Tanner grabbed Addy by the shoulders, pulling her close to him and looked at
the rest of them. “There’s
no way
I’m helping do something that’ll hurt her,”
he said, then nodded toward Jax, “or
him
.”

Juliette and Jax immediately
began whispering to each other, Jax looked upset and Juliette was waving her
hands in the air frantically as she spoke.

Addy turned around to face
Tanner. “Bernard said the symbols we have meant something. Maybe it’s
this
,
maybe we were
meant
to do it.” She forced him to look her in the eye.  “You’ll
be
alright
and I’m ok with whatever happens to me.”

“But I’m
not
ok with
it, girlie.” Tanner hugged her against him and put his chin on her shoulder. “I’m
not doing it, not if it means losing—”

“If they were
both
Akori
would they survive?” Juliette said quickly, stepping forward to Eva.

Eva nodded as a confused
expression crossed her face. She darted her eyes at Stubbs who shrugged his
shoulders.

Taking a deep breath,
Juliette put her hand on her forehead. “Jackson and Addison
both
have
Akori blood.”

“What?” Addy spun around to
look at Juliette, stepping away from Tanner.

“Jackson?” Eva gasped and
looked between Jax and Juliette. “But how?”

Stubbs grabbed Eva by the
shoulders. “You knew Addison was an Akori?”

Juliette didn’t look at Addy
when she answered. “There’s a reason my family took such an interest.”

“How is this possible?” Addy
was seething pissed as she shifted her gaze to Jax. “Did
you
know we
were?”

 “There’s Akori mixed in the
Sanders bloodline.” He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Addy,
there’s a lot that I only found out after claiming the stone.”

Jax stepped close to her,
trying to take her hand. She pulled it away, shoving her palm into his chest,
making him take a step back. His expression looked like he was hurt, but it
quickly changed to anger.

“You’re just made up of
half-truths and excuses. You do nothing but lie and manipulate me.” Addy looked
at him with rage in her eyes. “When this is
over
—I’m done with
you!”

Tanner stepped between Jax
and Addy when it looked like they might actually start throwing punches.

Jax’s green eyes darkened as
he peered around Tanner at Addy. “You can be pissed at me all you want. You’re
letting hopes of getting your
boyfriend
back mess with your head. We’re
not destroying the stone—not until we know more about the consequences.”

“It’s
not
up to you.”
Addy snapped at Jax, turning to Eva. “What’ll happen to you and Stubbs?”

 “Our energy will be used to
destroy the stone.” Eva took her brother’s hand. “Don’t worry about us. We’ve
had very long lives.”

Stubbs looked back at her.
“Very long.”

Addy realized they were
talking about dying and she got a lump in her throat.

“I should’ve listened to
you, my dear Andrew.” A tear slipped down Eva’s cheek. “Perhaps you indulged my
schemes one too many times.”

Stubbs wiped his sister’s
face. “Never once have I regretted the things I’ve done for you. I’d do them
all again if it’s what you wanted.”

Addy was shocked and
crinkled up her face involuntarily as Stubbs suddenly kissed Eva on the lips.
It was way too passionate for siblings.

Stubbs pulled away from Eva
looking stunned. “Our connection…”

Eva threw her arms around
him and began whispering to him.

“We need some help!” Matt
shouted, causing them all to turn around.

Juliette grabbed Jax by the
arm and they jumped in to help Matt and Renee.

Addy looked around at the
crowded ballroom. No more Akori power would mean no more Scattering and moving
around. Kim and Matt could be together, and Doris and Bernard could retire somewhere
the right way. Molly and Will could finally be free from worrying that he’d
Scatter. Gage would be back—they could have the time they needed to figure out
what was starting between them.

Addy shifted her eyes to
Tanner. He’d be able to go back to his life too. The thought of not seeing him
anymore caused a sharp pain in her chest that radiated through her body. It
wasn’t just gonna be hard to let him go, it was gonna be nearly
impossible
.
Even the thought of Gage coming back couldn’t cut through the dread she felt
about Tanner moving on.

Addy pushed back the thought
of not seeing him anymore and grabbed Tanner by the hands. “I think we should
help.”

He squeezed her hands. “I
still think it’s all just too easy, girlie.”

Addy knew Tanner was right—it
was
all too easy. Nevertheless, the idea of ending all of the fighting
and power struggles was too tempting to pass up.

“We can’t do it without you,”
she said, pulling herself closer to him. “
Tanner, please.”

He closed his eyes and gave
her a reluctant nod. “Note that I’m doing it for
you
—against
my
better judgment.”

 Addy threw her arms around his
neck and they leaned their heads together whispering.

“Thanks,” she said.

 “I do
insane
things
for you.”

 “Bright side—it could
potentially be the
last
thing.”

“That doesn’t sound like the
bright side to me.”

“Me either,” she said,
closing her eyes.

“I’m glad I found you,
girlie.”

“So is that peacock.”

“Right, he owes me one.”

“Tanner, if this works—”

“You’ll have Gage back.”

“Yeah, but you’ll still—”

“I’ll still be around.”

“Promise you won’t just—”

“I promise not to bail on
you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “You haven’t scared me off
yet.”

Addy dropped her arms and
turned to look at the room. She was amazed at how much fighting was still going
on.  She watched Stubbs and Eva with their foreheads together, similar to the
way she and Tanner had been. They whispered quietly to each other. Even with
tears streaming down their faces, they were smiling and giggling like children.

Thinking of her own brother,
she turned to see Jax and Juliette still helping Matt and Renee hold Preston’s
group at bay. Jax glared at Addy with disdain as he cut though a blond haired
man.

“If you guys are gonna do
something, now would be the time.” Renee called to them.

Preston and Ash were closing
in, but it looked like Ash was running out of power and it was taking more
effort to reach them.

“Let’s get it done.” Tanner
patted Stubbs’ back, bringing his attention back to the situation at hand. 
Stubbs leaned over and said a few quiet words to Tanner.

“I don’t understand.” Tanner
stepped back, shaking his head.

Stubbs put his hands up.
“You will if time comes.”

Eva took Addy by the
shoulders. “It was a
mistake
for me to ask Fate to separate you from
him, I’m so sorry.”

Addy thought separating her
and Jax was all Fate’s doing.

“You did what you thought
was necessary,” Stubbs said, grabbing Eva by the hand.

Tanner pointed impatiently toward
Ash and Preston. “We should get started if we’re gonna do it.”

Addy took a few steps back
and grabbed Matt. “If something happens to me you gotta take care of Kim and my
cat, and tell Gage that—”

“I will.” He kissed her on
the forehead and turned back to fighting.

Chapter 35

Grabbing a knife, Stubbs
sliced his palm and used his blood to smear a small symbol on the floor. He
passed it to Eva and she did the same. They looked at Tanner expectantly as she
passed the knife to him. He reluctantly took it and complied.

When it was Addy’s turn, she
didn’t even reach out to take the knife as Tanner tried to hand it to her. “I
can’t.” She shook her head at him. “Do it for me—
please
.” She held out
her arm to him.

“You’re pushing the limits
of our friendship, girlie.” He stepped in front of her, pulling her arm under
his so she was behind him and unable to look at what he was doing.

The pain from the knife
piercing her skin sent a jolt through her and she instantly became lightheaded.
She grabbed Tanner’s shoulder with her other hand to steady herself. He lowered
her hand to the floor and helped her make the same symbol the other three had
already created.

Eva directed Tanner to stand
on the symbol Stubbs made and Stubbs stood on Tanner’s. She moved over to stand
on the one Tanner helped Addy make and Eva pointed to hers for Addy. The wet
blood was slippery under her bare feet and oozed between her toes. Stubbs
carefully placed the Overseer’s Stone in the center.

Eva said a few words. A
swirling wind like when they trapped her in the bloody symbol surrounded them.
Blue rays of light came from every direction. The symbols on the stone shined
brightly. They grabbed each other’s hands to stay in place as the wind whipped
around them.

Realizing what was going on,
Jax threw himself at the group trying to stop what was happening. Juliette scrambled
to stop him. They were both pulled into the center of the circling blue light,
unable to move.

Time seemed to pass slowly
and Addy struggled to keep her watering eyes open in the bright light. The
scene played like a movie in slow motion. Akori were rematerializing outside of
the circle by the dozens. Her eyes burned as she scanned the growing crowd.

Addy caught sight of Matt
and Renee hugging their uncle Josh to her right. Their parents would be back
too. The fighting had stopped and everyone was either staring at them in shock,
or had realized what was happening and started seeking out someone they knew
who’d Scattered.

She was about to give up
when she finally spotted Gage pushing his way through the sea of Akori in front
of them. A wave of heat rushed through her body and the blue light got even
brighter. He froze in place when he saw her.

Addy’s heart was pounding
and it was a struggle to stay rooted where she was. Gage looked exactly the
same as he did the day he Scattered. His face showed too many emotions to
figure out what he was feeling and she wanted to run to him more than anything
she’d ever wanted in her life.

The swirling wind was too
loud for her to hear him, but Addy could tell he was calling her name. Suddenly
he began to rush toward her. Glancing down at Jax and Juliette pinned in the
center of the circle, she tried to yell at him to wait, but no words would
form.

She screamed in her mind for
someone to stop him, and as if they heard her, she watched Will and Bernard grab
Gage, pulling him back. He kicked and fought to free himself the same way she’d
fought to get away from Tanner the day Gage Scattered.