Awaken | ✔️

27. Signals

Clark never came to my house. I flipped through my phone and dialed the number he'd put in, but after about ten calls, I gave up. After a few hours of sitting up in bed, I finally let my head hit my pillow.

Did he already forget about me?

I didn't dream, but I wasn't restless. It was a silent type of sleep. My eyes were shut, and my covers were pulled over my shoulders as my arms wrapped around my body. What woke me was an intense burning against my chest, quickly lulling me from my slumber and forcing me to sit up in a panic. My eyes widened, and my hand immediately went to where the pendant lay. It was burning to the touch, invisible flames licking my skin, and as my fingers wrapped around the object, I yanked it from my neck.

Beth, help me, his voice echoed through my mind. When I closed my eyes, flashes of the old McCarley cabin raced across my eyes. The pendant felt warm against my palm that grasped it, but no longer burning. I waited a few moments before I placed it back around my neck.

I looked toward the window. I hadn't closed the curtains, so the moonlight filtered through, illuminating my room. I slid off my bed, the pendant resting against my bare chest. Help me, I heard his voice again. The vision of the cabin littered my eyes every time I closed them. Please, his weak voice invaded my mind. I looked down at the pendant. The imprint.

I gritted my teeth together as the sudden, sharp pain assaulted my back again. It felt like something sharp was stabbing me, sending intense waves of discomfort down my body. I whipped around, but there was no one there. I attempted to focus on the area around me, trying to sense if there were any unknown, invisible energies. There were none, and I knew I was alone.

The pain appeared again, assaulting my frame, and I could swear I heard Clark's loud yell in my mind. Frowning, I wandered to my closet and slipped on some shoes, hurriedly preparing to go to his rescue, if that's what this illusion meant. I wondered if this was what he had felt through the imprint when I'd gotten into the car accident or when the soulless attacked me only a few hours before.

Walking down the hall, I made sure I didn't wake Cecilia. I peered into her room, unsure if she was home. Letting out a breath, I quietly went out the front door and climbed into my car and began making my way down the road to where the entrance of the cabins were.

I drove faster than I should have. His voice continued to litter my mind, and the closer I got to the cabins the more pain I felt. My fingers gripped around the steering wheel, turning my knuckles white. I pulled to the side of the road, coming to a slow as I stared at the looming trees before me.

I got out of the car, and my hands balled into a fist as I looked up at the trees. When he'd brought me here, he had to lend me his power to let me see in the dark. As I faced forward, I could see perfectly fine, which was another sign of my own power beginning to bloom inside me. I started forward, stepping over the branches on the ground and following where I remembered the cabins would be.

I blinked once, glancing around as I attempted to sense Clark's energy, which immediately came to my attention, a soft touch of electricity and warmth against my skin. "Earth, grant me your power," I whispered, as if my words would somehow awaken the earth fae part of me. I snickered, amused at my own attempts. Almost immediately, my senses came to life. I could hear the rustling of the leaves above me and the moving twigs on the ground as small bugs maneuvered over them. My senses heightened from my request, and where I had sensed Clark's energy suddenly magnified. "Thank you, Earth," I murmured. Another unknown invisible energy began to emerge, however, which made me proceed cautiously as the cabin came into view. The energy was definitely dark fae, but I couldn't recognize who it was.

Fear began creeping up my spine as I moved closer to the cabin. If I focused on listening, I could hear voices inside, though they were feint.

"Do you really think you can kill me?" Clark spoke first, a snicker in his voice. I imagined he was probably smirking, tempting the pursuer.

There was a quiet, unidentifiable male chuckle. "I can surely try."

I gritted my teeth as intense pain began striking my back again. It felt as if something was stabbing me, but I knew there was no one behind me, it was just another illusion created through the imprint made by the necklace pressed against my chest. Inside, Clark yelled out painfully, and I heard a loud thud as he hit the floor.

I creeped closer to the cabin, slowly walking up the steps and standing just outside the door. Sucking in a breath, I balled my hands into fists and gritted my teeth as I barged through the threshold. My gaze was immediately met with Clark slouched on the ground and a young man standing over him. Clark's distressed state wasn't what had me shocked, though.

His wings were huge. Large, black masses protruding from his back, pressing against the floor. Feathers littered the ground around him, signs of an obvious struggle. Shoulders pressed forward, his face was angled downward and his black hair fell past his eyes, which were closed. As I looked him over further, I noticed the large knife poking out of his back, between his wings. I knew from the book I had found, stabbing him there would be the only way to kill him. The powerful energy rolling off him sent chills down my spine. I could feel his pure power ebbing from him, filling the room and engulfing it. He didn't even need to touch me for me to feel the tingling on my arms, which made my stomach twist into knots. He tried to move to straighten his back, perhaps to appear stronger than he was, but he sucked in a breath of pain. As he did, I felt a sudden tinge on my own back as I felt his pain, and the pendant against my chest grew warmer.

I had only looked Clark over for a second before I turned my gaze to the young man standing in the room. His head whipped toward me, and my eyes widened as his eyes fell upon me. His eyes were completely black, the same black I had seen in Alexander's when I had figured out part of what they were. The man smirked at me, revealing white teeth. "You'll regret coming here," he murmured, stalking toward me.

"Give... him hell," Clark choked out from the ground, his voice ragged as he forced himself to speak. He was going to need to learn a new line, but that would be a discussion for later.

"My pleasure," I murmured.