Gifted Ones

Chapter 39 Amber

Haven stares at me in horror, her green eyes wide and her lips parted in an expression of disbelief. For a second I just take all of her in, the familiarity of her, and let out a long breath. It's been so long since I've seen anyone from home. But she's not the same, not at all. Her skin is pale looking and her eyes are rimmed with dark circles. She's thinner, too, not as healthy looking. But the biggest change is beyond the exterior. There's something different about the way she stands, the way she clutched the rock in her right hand, something behind her expression that I can't quite pinpoint. It sets me on edge.

"Amber?!" She gasps, taking a step back. "How did you get here?!"

"I've been with them the whole time. Oh my God Haven it's so good to see you."

"What happened to you? Damnit Gabriel what did you do?!"

He sighs dramatically. "Truly, her injuries were not directly caused my my men. She came to your house right after your family left. We set a little trap for anyone who might happen to come back, and she did. You can imagine our surprise when the explosion went off just minutes after we left, but it turned out to be a happy accident. After my men went and let you escape, I didn't have a source of ransom. If the Anderson Clan hadn't taken you, and if Vanessa hadn't wasted my other source of leverage, I was at a loss.

"But I had Amber. Sure, she didn't have direct ties to your father, so I couldn't just ask for it, but I had you, Haven. You were too easy. A little, naïve human, who wanted to play with the big kids. None of the others had living family members who weren't in this mission, and every one of them would give their lives for it. They would go down fighting. So, no matter how easy it would be to just take you out, I didn't you couldn't do much against me. Honestly, you were an asset. And look where we are now. You won't kill her, but I will. So you're going to just give the Amulet to me, nice and easy, and I'm going to give you her. Then you're both going to jump into that pit there, and you'll be back above ground, somewhere in Europe, based on the night sky, back into human civilization. You'll be just like the others of your kind, and you can forget about the Gifted world altogether."

I close my eyes, breath hitching in my throat. Three weeks ago. Less than three weeks ago I was at home, on my roof, thinking about my life, wondering how things would turn out. And now I'm here, covered in burns, with a knife held to my throat somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Three weeks ago.

"Never," Haven denies. But her voice is shaking, unsteady. She's doubting herself. I don't know what she'll choose. It occurs to me that my life's in her hands now. It's her decision whether I live or die. If she crushes that Amulet, I'll die. We all will. If she doesn't, the General will slit my throat. I'm going to die. I'm the only one who doesn't have a chance of making out of this alive.

I stare at the eight bodies on the floor. Two are the redheaded members of the Anderson clan, Garret's family, all wiped out in less than ten minutes. The other six are Gabriel's men, killed mostly by the dark haired Mage boy next to me. Soon I'm going to join them, another mangled body on the stone floor.

The thought terrifies me.

"I'll do it now," Gabriel says. "We don't have to wait. You don't have much time. She's innocent, though. Amber's never done anything wrong. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone else. But I'll kill her, if that's what it takes. And you know it."

Haven's eyes flick back and forth from me to Gabriel, panicking. I can see the dilemma behind her eyes, and I understand. But in that moment I just want to live. I don't want to die, and I want her to tell him to stop, to hand him the Amulet, and for us to go home together, forget about the Gifted, and let what is going to happen, happen.

"Amber," she gasps, staring at me, and I snap.

"Please!" I beg. "I don't want to die, please don't let them kill me!"

I look on as her resolve shatters into pieces.

"Amber, no. I can't, please not you too."

"Vanessa," Gabriel says dismissively, waving his hand towards me. A sob escapes my throat, and I let out a small whimper.

There's a groan of pain and a loud bang, and suddenly I'm on the ground, stunned. The General is gone; I see her remains on the wall behind me. The Mage kid stands above me, but his eyes stay completely focused on something behind me. It barely registers in my head that he just saved my life. His mouth opens to form words, and for just a second everything is silent.

And then there's another bang, followed by a high pitched scream, and I scramble up, half running, half stumbling until I reach the pit in the center of the room and throw myself into it.