The Progeny (The Progeny Series) (15 page)

Quinn looked up. “
Yeah, something isn’t right.”

Ascher hurried over to Shauna, grabbing her into his arms.

She struggled against him. “What are you doing, Ash? Put me down. What’s the matter with you?”

“I need you to be very still.”
Ascher closed his eyes. Deadly thoughts were in range of his sensitive mind. The whispers grew louder, screaming about lives being lost and existences ending. He glanced over at his brothers.
Darklings… five miles out.
He held Shauna closer. It was too late to give her to one of his brothers to take back down the mountain.

Quinn’s face
fell blank, his eyes melting then morphing crimson.

Ascher
gazed intently at Shauna. “I need you to listen to me and do exactly what I say.” He pulled her into a cave on the other side of the cliff. “Quinn is going to sit with you. You’ll be fine, I promise. Don’t say anything and no matter what you hear, don’t come out until Tristan or I come for you. Do you understand me?”

She nodded.

He grasped her face to kiss her. “I love you—never forget that. Now go.” He turned to Quinn. “Don’t let her out of your sight!”

“I’ll guard her life like my own.”

Ascher soared back to the other side of the cliff to join Tristan.

“How many are there?”

“Clive sent Ian and Skylar to kill me and seize Shauna.”

“
That’s
not going to happen,” Tristan growled, his eyes blazing red with fury.

Ascher hovered above Laurel Pointe, attempting to get a clear sighting of them before they were too close. They should
have been there by now. He channeled them again and got nothing. “I can’t see anything and their minds are silent.”

“That isn’t good. Focus Ash, try harder.”

Ascher focused on their minds. There was still nothing. Betrayal was clouding his vision. It appeared Gabriel had been coaching them on the imperfections of his gifts, and he realized his feelings for Shauna caused him to miss things. Lose part of his keen senses. Ascher growled as the red tint of his fury crept into his eyesight.

Their minds were in range again. Hate was the key and he had plenty of it. It was the antidote to the weakness
of being in love with Shauna. He let his disgust for Gabe engulf him, and their minds became clear as a bell.

The darklings were less than a mile away,
soaring across Sheridan Square. Ascher absorbed the acid in their thoughts, letting it fuel the revulsion in his. He ran over to the eastern side of the mountain while Tristan followed. “They’re going to approach us from this side,” Ascher shouted to his brother.

They stood at the cliff’s edge
, peering out into the dismal night, waiting for the fiendish figures to appear. Skylar came into view first, his long dark hair flying behind him. Their deep complexions and sinister dispositions made it easy to see why they’d named them darklings. Ian appeared next, his teeth clenched and his face determined.

Ascher and Tristan levitated, taking defensive postures
for a fight. To their surprise, the darklings landed on the cliff edge and smirked at them.

Skylar spoke first
. “We’re not coming to cause a disruption. We just want the girl and we’ll leave.”

“Bullshit.”
Ascher growled at them. “You lie...and you know I won’t give her to you.”

“I don’t see where you have a choice
.” Ian cackled.

Ascher attempted to channel Skylar
, but his mind was a brick wall. Ian’s as well.
Gabe has taught them about the weak spots in my gifts, and they’re blocking me.

Tristan spoke while eying Skylar. “That doesn’t matter
. We can take them. They want Shauna, and I know you’d never do that. Let’s rock and roll, bro.”

Ascher hissed
at them. “Clive sent you here to kill me and take Shauna back to him.”

Ian gawked at Skylar.

“Gabriel may’ve told you about the weak spots in my gifts, but he failed to warn you about a key point. The blocks only hold for a short time.”

With that, Ascher burned Ian’s
subconscious with intense and painful suggestions, causing the darkling to grab his head in pain. Ascher gnashed his teeth and sneered as he continued burning the fiend’s impressionable mind, hate fueling his rage.

Ian whimpered then plummeted to the ground.

Skylar hissed, “He’s the weaker of the two of us.”

“
Undoubtedly,” Tristan observed.

“This isn’t your fight.
Why are you even here?”

“Ascher is my brother. His fate will be no different than mine
,” Tristan replied.

“Have it your way.”
Skylar approached Ascher. “I’ll finish you then I’ll finish him.”

“You’re not as tough as you make yourself out to be
. Take your best shot, Skylar,” Ascher challenged.

Skylar’s face
grew puzzled. “I don’t get it. Why not just give us the inconsequential human and send us on our way? Is she worth losing your existence?”

“If she were
not, would I be standing here?”

Ascher and Skylar ran towards one another like two freight trains on a collision course, their bodies mere blurs of color. They hurled themselves at one another, their hands at each other’s throats
as their bodies furled into a vicious, tangled sphere.

Ascher
’s beating heart made him more vulnerable. He peered into Skylar’s dark mind and saw Gabe talking about the weaknesses in his gifts. He saw Ursula, her eyes red with fury, giving the orders to kill him and seize Shauna.

The images were unspeakable.

There was something else. Skylar was withholding a key piece of important information, and Ascher sieved through his mind. He saw a dark room, a weeping girl sitting in the middle of it. Her back was to him, but he already had his suspicions about her identity.

* * * *

Skylar drew his hand back, attempting to slash Ascher’s neck, but Tristan came to his young brother’s aid, catching his hand.

Ascher fell to the ground with a thud,
obviously drained from the channeling.

Tristan and Skylar whirled through the air
, lunging at one another. Skylar’s sharp claws drew back, lashing Tristan’s cheek. A satisfied grin crossed his face as he surveyed the damage.

A deep growl spewed from Tristan’s mouth as he grabbed Skylar’s neck, choking him until his knuckles strained white. “Give it up, Skylar
. You’re outnumbered.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Ian attempted to stand. Tristan glanced down and saw the darkling making his way over to where Ascher lay, unconscious.

“No!” Tristan shouted. “Ascher, wake up brother! Wake up!”

Skylar laughed. “If you go, you might be able to save him, but I seriously doubt it.”

Tristan stared at Ian approaching his defenseless brother and loosened his grip on Skylar’s neck. Quick as a flash, Skylar grabbed at Tristan, succeeding in scraping his sharp claws against his che
st. Tristan wavered until Skylar threw him to the ground.

Ian continued closing the distance to Ascher
as Tristan lay writhing in pain on the cliff floor, mere yards from his half-blooded brother.

* * * *

Shauna huddled in the corner of the dark cave, her knees clutched to her chest and deep sobs flowing from her mouth. Hissing and growling echoed from the cliff floor and into the quiet cavern. Quinn stood guard at the entrance, his attention focused beyond the walls of the cave.

A million thoughts and emotions flooded her. She hated feeling helpless. Each growl, echo and vibration saturated her body with surges of adrenaline.

“No! Ascher wake up, brother! Wake up!”

She heard it
, but didn’t believe it and her blood ran cold. This couldn’t be real. Indifferent about the consequences of her actions, she bounded two huge rocks on her way to the entrance of the cave.

Quinn grabbed her up into his powerful arms and held her. “Ascher told
you
to stay put!”

Sh
auna scowled at him. His reddened stare was of no consequence to her. “I’m not sitting here while he’s out there dying.” She squirmed, attempting to escape his steel band like arms.

Quinn
set her down, putting his finger to her mouth, gesturing for her to be quiet. “I hear something.” His face twisted into a sneer as he clutched his head.

“He’s hurt, isn’t he?
I’m going out there!” Dashing to her left, she attempted to pass him.

Quinn balled
his hands into vengeful looking fists, his red eyes glowing deeper with fury.

Sh
auna stood back, now frightened by what she saw.

“I have to go out there. My brothers are in trouble
, and I need you to stay close to me. I’ll make sure that you’re safe, but you have to do as I say.”

She nodded.

“I mean it, Shauna. Don’t move, talk, or do anything without my permission! I promised my brother I’d protect you.” He scooped her up, placing her on his back. “Do exactly as I say. Do you understand?”

“Yes
.” Before she could process their movement, they flew out of the cave and into the air around the mountain. The cold emanating from his rigid body made her shiver. Immediately, she registered the difference in the cozy 'ride' she’d taken with Ascher and this one. The danger of the situation became apparent, as Ascher’s gentle and warm embrace was now Quinn’s frosty and determined grasp.

She s
potted two bodies lying on the cliff floor. The first form shook and writhed with pain and a closer look confirmed it to be Tristan. The second was still as could be, with no breath even attesting to its life.

Her chest constricted as she realized that t
he lifeless body was Ascher. “Oh God. No!”

“Quiet!” Quinn barked, reach
ing around to silence her. She only sobbed louder and he threw her off his back. “Remember what I told you. Stay close to me.”

Sh
auna struggled to keep pace with his long strides, but her short legs made that difficult. Stunned, she stared at Ascher’s lifeless body, which was still and silent with only subtle flushes of life flashing in his cheeks.

Quinn snatched Shauna toward him, flitting over to Ascher, attempting to deter s
omething
from approaching them. If hell opened its fiery gates, it couldn’t produce a more hideous or horrid creature.

“What the hell is
that,
Quinn?”

“It’s a darkling.” He growled and the creature backed off. He knelt down to Ascher to check his pulse. “He’s okay
. His pulse is strong, but he’s unconscious. He’ll come to in just a bit. He’s healing as we speak.”

Shauna sniffled.

“Don’t cry. He’ll be all right.” Quinn moved her from his back. “I have to do something.
You
need to stay here. I can’t fight them and carry you. Stay here by Ash, and try to wake him. I’ll position myself between you and the darklings. You’ll be completely safe.”

Shauna sat down beside her love, positioning his head in her lap. She watched wide eyed as Quinn made his way over to Tristan’s writhing body. He whispered something to him, scooped him up then flew him to her side.

Quinn charged over to the other creature, his growls thundering and echoing against the quiet night. He was fierce, ferocious and unyielding.

Shauna was afraid, but grateful to have him there.

Quinn lashed the first creature’s chest, sending him plummeting to the cliff floor below them.

The second creature seemed paralyzed with fear. Shauna couldn’t believe how he just stood by and let Quinn exert his uncompromising will. The creature stared at his fallen brother, cocking his head to one side before unleashing a
savage roar. The hideous fiend focused his piercing eyes on Shauna, which made her gulp. He looked as if he’d like to take a bite out of her.

“You Rousseau boys can’t take a hint very well, can you?”
the creature growled.

“We’re slow learners. Good thing we have studs like
you
to teach us lessons, huh?” Quinn replied.

“Don’t
play coy with me, Quinn. They’ll engrave your jokes on your tombstone.”

“
Fuck you, Skylar. Don’t talk me to death. I’ve been itching to fight you. You’ve been a thorn in our sides for far too long. If you think you’re all that…bring it!”

A chorus of growls, grunts and groans came from the air above her, but Shauna couldn’t be bothered with it. Not now. Quinn was tough and could probably hold his own. Her love
, however, was part human and unconscious.

Shauna
held his hand and knew she had to help him. Rubbing Ascher’s face, she sighed with relief when the flush along his cheeks deepened and his eyelids fluttered. A blessed twitch of his hand came as he pierced her with a cold stare, the faintest hue of crimson residing around the edges of his irises. He looked like a stranger, a beautiful one but a stranger nonetheless.