Part 37 (1/2)

Sydney fell to her knees over him, grabbing his hand. ”No. No! You can't . . . Caden, listen. Please!”

”Take the book,” the clone panted. ”Get out.”

Every muscle in Caden's body jolted in pain, and when the clone shut his eyes, Caden could no longer see Sydney. He panicked as pain ripped through him, shredding his insides.

The fighting reached the top of the stairs. The clone's hearing discerned shouts.

”I've already killed your friend. So glad you'll be next, Rion,” Mathias taunted.

The fighting around him resumed in a fierce clash. He sensed his replica's consciousness fading when a strong hand landed on his chest. Lucan. Funny how he sensed his brother from just a touch. Oddly, tragedy had made them closer, and he regretted that he wouldn't know what tomorrow might have brought for them.

”Thank G.o.d you mated. The others are keeping Mathias busy. Quick! Kiss him, Sydney.” Moments later, Caden felt Sydney brush her lips gently over his. Nice. He floated, his consciousness like a cloud drifting in a clear, blue sky. The pain was receding, and he welcomed peace.

”Fight, d.a.m.n it!” Lucan growled. ”Take energy from your mate.” Sydney redoubled her efforts, her mouth growing insistent and frantic as the battle around them raged, others holding off Mathias and the Anarki. ”Don't. Leave. Me.” She peppered him with kisses between each word. ”Stay with me!”

”Can't. I'm in a cell,” he managed to get out.

”What the h.e.l.l is he talking about?” his brother asked.

Caden didn't have the energy to answer.

”I-I . . .” Sydney seemed to flounder for an answer, then she gasped. ”You cloned yourself?”

”Hmm . . .” He didn't have the energy to say more. He felt his life force draining, dwindling more with each minute.

”Take me to him,” Sydney commanded Lucan. ”This is a clone. The real him is downstairs. Bring that body.”

”No,” he protested, but it was a weak whisper. The remnant of his energy. ”Go.” Lucan ignored his pleas and lifted him, jolting every muscle in Caden's body. The agony twisted through him, and he had no idea if he could withstand more of the excruciating pain. Sweat rolled down his body, despite the chilly temperatures in the cell. He gripped the bed, wondering if it would break in his hands.

He focused all his energy on staying conscious, not throwing up, waiting for Sydney.

As Lucan carried him down the stairs, the sounds of the raging battle faded in the distance. Caden nearly pa.s.sed out, but he felt every step his brother carried his cloned body with a teeth-jarring agony.

A crash told him that Lucan had exploded the door wide open. Suddenly, Sydney was beside him, pressing her lips to his. Energy trickled into his system, a bit more as the seconds ticked by. Between them, Caden could feel the book. But it was her urgent touch that brought him around.

He opened his mouth beneath her and dipped inside, mingling with her, inhaling her essence. Energy now flooded his senses. He deepened the kiss, and she responded with all the fire and love inside her. His vitality spiked. The energy derived from the kiss was temporary until he could claim her body fully again, but it would hold for now.

Reluctantly, he ripped his mouth away. ”Better, firecracker. Thank you.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he pictured the barely alive replica merging with him, becoming one being. A sucking sound and a jolting collision later, the duplicate settled under his skin again.

”You can clone yourself?” Lucan smiled. ”Impressive, little brother. Mum was right.” She'd predicted he'd be a once-in-a-lifetime hero. He wasn't-yet.

”The others?”

”Upstairs fighting off Mathias and the Anarki.”

”Take Sydney and the book back to Bram's for me. I have unfinished business.” Lucan frowned. ”You have little experience in these battles, and I-”

”I have energy.” He gripped Sydney's hand. ”And the means to get more, if need be. Until you find someone to merge with, you're going to be weak. Take her. For me.”

”Come with us,” Sydney pleaded. ”Don't risk yourself.” He swallowed. ”Bram came back to help me and fight for you, even after he dismissed me from the Doomsday Brethren. He's remained fighting, even though we brought the book to safety. I can't leave him and the others without helping.”

Lucan's smile tilted with pride. ”Go. We'll be waiting.” They exited the cell and began to make their way up the stairs, Caden to join the battle, Lucan and Sydney to get out of the house and teleport. Shock stood at the top blocking their entrance.

”Do you have the book?” he barked.

Sydney clutched it to her chest. ”You're not taking it from us.” With a growl, Lucan reached for his wand, then stopped. ”I want to do this by my own hand.” Without warning, he charged Shock and punched him in the jaw. Shock reeled back, stumbling until his backside hit the stairs. Then Lucan drew out his wand. The leather-clad wizard froze instantly, as if his arms and legs had been bound tightly. Caden worried that Lucan had drained too much of his energy doing it, but understood that his brother needed to hurt the man who had stolen his mate.

”I hope you enjoyed your cheap shot,” Shock growled. ”It's the only one you'll get.”

”If I had more energy, I'd kill you. This isn't over.”

”Anka is with me.” Shock managed to look menacing even immobilized.

”For now,” Lucan conceded. ”Not forever.”

Then he took Sydney by the hand, led her past Shock, up the stairs, and into the morning.

Caden turned the other way and headed toward the sounds of battle to his right.

He rounded the corner to find disaster. Marrok and Tynan had engaged a dozen Anarki zombies and were quickly hacking their way through the men. Caden thought of his friend Brian with a pang and vowed that he'd take that d.a.m.n gla.s.s sphere from Mathias somehow, someway.

Duke and Ice had engaged a trio of wizards in robes who had appeared since the last time Caden had been in the melee. And near the fireplace, Bram and Mathias faced each other.

”You're outnumbered,” Mathias pointed out.

Bram shrugged. ”We're better trained.”

And sneaking up behind him, Caden had the element of surprise. Bram never looked his way, but sent him an imperceptible nod. Time to play . . .

”Even as Merlin's famed grandson, you're no match for me,” Mathias snarled.

He whipped his wand out suddenly, then swung his arm toward Bram. A cloud of black smoke blazed between them, headed for Bram.

Before Mathias could do anything more, Caden snuck up behind Mathias and kicked him viciously in the knees. With a grunt, the evil wizard fell forward, catching himself on his hands, while his wand clattered to the tile. Br.i.m.m.i.n.g with fury and determination, Caden grabbed him by the hair and pounded his head directly onto the tiled floor. He heard an audible crack, and Mathias screamed. Caden raised a hand in the wizard's direction and pictured wrapping invisible ropes around Mathias to secure him. Once the wizard was still, Caden kicked him onto his back. His b.l.o.o.d.y forehead was already starting to bruise, looking darker than his blue eyes, now spitting hatred. He struggled, but seemed to be held by invisible bonds.

Marine training and magic working together. Perfect.

”You should be dead,” Mathias choked.

”You missed.”

Now he just had to find the b.l.o.o.d.y Anarki-creating gla.s.s sphere. Dropping to his knees beside Mathias, he patted the wizard down. It might not be hidden in his clothes, but Mathias struck him as a control freak who would want it near him as often as possible.

One of his pockets bulged, and Caden reached in. Sure enough, he pulled out the familiar gla.s.s sphere.

”This won't be ripping out another soul.”

”I traveled to Africa to find that,” Mathias spat. ”It's rare. If you destroy it, there won't be a h.e.l.l deep enough for you to hide in.”

”If you keep turning my friends into Anarki, I'll rip your stones out through your nostrils, then spit in the hole.”