HEART OF THE CHOSEN (CASTE BOOK 1)

Chapter 33

“Where are we going?” I asked, anxious but relieved that I was able to get into the car without incident.

“South,” answered Thomas, “Sam gave us an address where we can hide for a while.”

“Did he tell you anything else?”

A heavy silence fell in the passenger compartment of the Audi. Eric broke it first.

“He still hasn’t heard from Carmichael, but he does know of some rumours. Magnus has lost his influence as the head of the Order. Your and Blake’s escape endangered his position as Master Hand. He would be very busy at the moment trying to recover his status, which is a definite advantage for us.”

“And Carmichael? Nothing then?”

“No. He’s still missing since that night.”

Though I knew he was devious, I couldn’t think of Carmichael except with all the gratitude I owed him. He had saved my life at the risk of his own knowing all the consequences of his act. Since then, I had been thinking of a way to help him exactly as he had done for me. But Eric and Thomas refused to take such a risk at the request of Carmichael before the attack. Alone, I had no chance of succeeding. Also, there was no evidence of his presence in London. Sam was sure Magnus hadn’t made the mistake of imprisoning him there. I would one day find a solution and help him.

“Did Sam tell you anything else?”

“Connor and Prisca Burton Race, the other two children of Magnus and masters of their respective territories, arrived in London a few days ago. They are there either to consolidate the position of their father within the Order or to rescue Carmichael. Many caste supported him and Sam thinks that a turf war could take place if ever an opponent declared himself against Magnus. But everyone knows that Connor will support his father.

I was still discovering more about my cousin since my return. In reality, he knew practically all the caste, their history and their evolution through the centuries. His position in the army allowed him to keep track of some of their actions. I understood better now his desire to protect me at all costs. Hiding the truth about my family allowed him to put effective distance between Magnus and me. I missed Sam now, but I knew the situation was far too dangerous for him, as it had been for Olivia. I couldn’t bear to watch my best friend stay like this anymore. I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Olivia, my most faithful friend, hadn’t deserved such treatment. I still hoped to find a solution so that she could go back to how she was, but I didn’t forget the events in London and the effects of her incredible new physical strength. I had talked about it to Eric and Thomas, who didn’t believe in her caste status. They hadn’t recognized in her the physical attraction that made all caste males or females recognize each other. What also escaped me was the nature of her behaviour. She remained absent from her own body, still staring blankly, and seemed light years away from what was going on around her. But while I was thinking this, I noticed, amazed, a certain restlessness in her legs.

“Olivia?” I called her, almost hoping she would answer me.

Unexpectedly, she locked her eyes on mine, and for a moment that felt like an eternity, she clenched her jaw as if what she had to say was stuck in her throat. Her complexion turned scarlet red and a terrible cry finally came out of her mouth.

“They’re here!” she said before sinking back into her catatonia.

“Where are we?”

“On the M3 highway,” replied Thomas calmly, whose assurance I admired, “but if they know how to find us, we won’t get very far.”

And indeed, a few seconds later, a black Mercedes sedan pulled up right next to us and hit the Audi on the side. The Audi slammed into the guardrail so hard it rolled over several times. It took me a few minutes to recover from the shock, the seat belt had saved my life. I pulled my aching body out of the wreckage of the vehicle, dragging myself on my stomach. Up front, Eric was unconscious but the airbag had protected him. Thomas regained consciousness and I held out my arms to help him out of the cabin. He was suffering from leg pain and somehow managed to carry his brother despite the worrying trickle of blood running down his shoes. I realised that his injury was going to take away his caste abilities. Olivia had her eyes open and didn’t look hurt. I forced the door off, then levitated her behind me like Blake had done with my own body when we escaped.

“Eve!” shouted Thomas, “we have to run to that barn over there.”

He pointed out a half-rusted building, isolated in the middle of the fields. A dirt road led there, but a good kilometre bordered by a wind farm separated us from this place. The iron giants sat enthroned on the left of the path and a huge plot of wheat faced them. Thomas began to run, with his unconscious brother on his shoulder. His legs were hurting him too much and preventing him from using his caste speed. I turned around and heard tires screeching behind us. The Mercedes made a U-turn, in the wrong direction on the highway, it was heading straight for us. It slammed through the guardrail and crossed the field at a mad pace.

I closed my eyes to concentrate and extended my arm, palm open straight in its direction. The Mercedes was violently thrown backwards and crashed to the ground. So I took to my heels and ran towards the farm, Olivia still hanging behind me. Thomas was doing his best not to stumble but his running slowed down more. I turned around for a moment and saw four figures in the distance.

“Eve! Stop!”

“Ethan!”

“Stop!”

“No! Why are you here? To capture me again? You’ve already forgotten everything they did to me!”

“It won’t be like that this time, I promise you.”

I saw them move faster and could already see the dark hair of Sophie Conway, Gilles, the clumsy executioner, Ethan and Gregory. When my eyes met the tall red-haired man, my blood froze in my veins. I was seized with a violent convulsion and my heart was pounding in my rib cage. My anger channelled itself into my brain. I rolled my eyes and considered the huge wind turbine in front of me. Taken by an irrepressible mental force, I broke the rotor at the end of the mast and threw the giant propeller right on my assailants. Strangely, I had no trouble performing this miracle. They stopped short and I heard Conway cry out in horror when one of the blades crashed about ten metres from them. Thomas stopped and stared at me, startled, before resuming his run. I imitated him and heard a thud indicating that Ethan was using the same method as me. But the blades crashed too far to slow down Thomas’s run. A blur passed in front of me and I realised that Gregory had all his abilities. He stopped Thomas with a violent punch well placed in the abdomen. I reached out in front of me and threw him over a hundred metres away. Thomas remained on the ground writhing in pain while Eric came to. He examined his brother for a moment to assess his condition and headed in my direction. I didn’t have time to say anything when he lifted me with one arm and propped Olivia on his shoulder. We were already safe when Eric brought Thomas back. He got up, dazed, and painfully clutched his stomach.

“We don’t have much time,” Eric said, “so here’s what we’re going to do: Thomas and I are going to hide and we’ll take care of Gregory, Conway and the other guy. Eve, you’re staying with Olivia. You’ll have to deal with your brother because we can hardly touch him, he’s very strong. Only you can bring him back to his senses.”

I nodded and everyone went their separate ways while I stayed with Olivia. Eric had hidden behind a huge combine harvester, Thomas was at the corner of a wall, in ambush behind boxes.

It’s going to be fine, I kept repeating to Olivia before an explosion caused the door to give way.

Footsteps advanced slowly. They obviously suspected a trap and Eric and Thomas fell on them as soon as they were a few metres away.

“Ethan!”

“Come on, Eve! We’re leaving.”

“No!”

“Don’t argue, you have to follow me!”

Thomas rushed on Conway, who stopped him as Yanosh had done with Eric in the city. She had taken possession of his mind and was torturing him with an unhealthy satisfaction. Eric faced Gilles, who threw him several metres but with too little force to hurt him. But Gregory took advantage of the situation to pull off a sleight of hand, and before I could intervene, he gave Eric a violent armbar so that his shoulder broke with an abominable c***k. My guardian angel was screaming in pain.

Realising our present disadvantage, my terrified eyes fell on Conway. She inspired me with so much hatred that it wasn’t difficult for me to lift her body and throw her violently against the combine harvester. She immediately lost consciousness. Thomas collapsed on the ground while Gregory placed a murderous left fist in Eric’s face.

The Panchaks were both down. Alone facing my assailants, including Conway who was now trying to get up, I turned to make sure Olivia was okay. I tried to think of an effective strategy, but Gregory pounced on me. When I wanted to stop him, he dodged me and caught my best friend. He was already encircling her neck with one hand. Terrified, I stared at Olivia. My breathing stopped suddenly when I discovered with dismay that her eyes, usually absent, were riveted to mine, ringed with tears. She sent me a slight smile and, feeling that it was the only thing to do to reassure her, I smiled back at her. I wanted Gregory to undo the grip of his filthy hands around her delicate throat, but I had to be careful because she could be hurt by mistake. Seeing a solution, I gathered my concentration on each finger of Gregory’s hand without taking my eyes off my best friend. But a dull c***k prevented me from executing my plan. He had just broken her neck.

An abominable silence invades the place. Eric and Thomas stood up, their eyes wide with fear. I remained motionless, my face showing no expression. When I finally realised what had just happened, when I was sure Olivia’s death wasn’t some horrible nightmare, then my whole body heaved off the ground. I threw my head in the direction of Eric and Thomas who took a step back.

“GET OUT!” I screamed in a final cry of despair.

I no longer had any control. Neither my limbs taken with nervous tremors, nor my heart beating wildly, nor the gaping pain in the depths of my guts. Sorrow was diluting like poison in my veins as my soul was torn on all sides. Gregory was staring at me with demented eyes. He had been waiting for this moment from the very beginning. Conway, who usually displayed an unfailing composure, began to waver. Appalled, her eyes darted from Gregory to me, wondering if this was the right time to flee. As for the third, my brother, he was watching me coldly. I so wanted him to help me, to support me in this dark hour, I would never have done him the slightest harm, so why not?

A new surge of conflicting emotions overwhelmed me, and I gasped. My head was screaming, I had to get it over with. My anger grew even more. Every bit of my flesh was transfixed by this wrath. My skull had been catalysing this latent fury for so long that a new convulsion shook me all over.

Suddenly, I froze. My brother took my hand. A warm wave slid through my arm, flooding me from head to toe in seconds, and the tremors ceased. Now I felt only nothingness. No more feelings, no more sorrow, no more hurt, my body merged with my surroundings, a black hole in the universe.

“Let yourself go.”

I looked around at Ethan. His fiery eyes of determination got the better of my last uncertainties. It had to end like this, anyway, it was inevitable. But with him by my side, I felt more powerful than ever.

“We’re together now, no one will separate us.”

Together, we stared at them with all the hatred that consumed us. We were one. This time, Conway rushed for the exit, scurrying off at top speed. The redhead flinched at the horror of what he had let happen before his eyes. I tilted my head a little to enjoy this delectable scene as I happily welcomed the emptiness that filled my consciousness. Someone had to pay. Someone was going to pay. If I was to be an object of death, then I was going to be formidable.

Our common power proved beyond our most macabre expectations. The ground a few feet below our feet crumbled like burnt paper. A tornado of dust surrounded us now, but my gaze never left Gregory. He backed away, his eyes filled with terror this time. Gilles got up. Ethan squeezed my hand and our shared conscience pulverised him to ashes. Conway was trying to break down the invisible wall I had erected that separated her from the exit. A prisoner, she suffered the same fate as her sidekick and her body disintegrated like a common twig. My eyes returned again to Gregory, whom I was saving for the end, but he had disappeared. I suspected him of constantly using his caste speed so as not to be targeted as stupidly as his comrades. And despite all our will, the tall redhead remained invisible. This failure fueled my rage and an inhuman cry escaped from my burning throat. A gigantic explosion devastated hundreds of metres around.

When calm returned to the edge of the M3 motorway, you could simply see two individuals and a corpse, in the middle of a giant crater.