Final Life: Book One in the Transhuman Chronicles

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  My mind plotted the different ways to get an Ouija board. Infiniti was in Breckenridge skiing with her mom, but I could text her and ask to borrow hers and see if she had an extra key hidden somewhere. Failing that, I could try to break into her house, or I could go to Target or something and buy one. One way or another, I had to get my hands on one before my parents returned. Only I had to do it without alerting my bodyguard.

  As if reading my mind, Infiniti texted me. Home early. Party tonight at 7! BYOB!

  Perfect, I’d go to her house for a quick appearance, get the board, and make my exit. In and out—Farrell would never notice that I was gone.

  At exactly seven, I began the escape I had plotted in my room for hours. My heart pounded, my mind raced, and even though I tried to be quiet, it seemed like every move I made shook my room. Chill, just chill. After several deep breaths, I opened my window. A loud scraping metal sound filled my ears. I held my breath, waiting for Farrell to burst into my room, but he didn’t.

  Okay, keep going. I swung my legs out and stepped out onto the steep roof. Below me lined a row of thick bushes. I swallowed hard. There was no way I could make that leap. Then I noticed the backyard fence to the right of the house. If I could make it over there, I could jump from the fence.

  Holding my breath, I tiptoed my way to the fence. I perched myself on it, then jumped. I landed with a thud and continued holding my breath for a while. No sign of Farrell. I exhaled. I had made it.

  On the way to Infiniti’s, I passed Jan’s house. Even though she was still out of town, I swore I could smell vanilla when I walked by. I just hoped she’d be back soon, and with answers. With Trackers on my tail and my birthday less than a week away, I needed all the help I could get.

  At Infiniti’s, music blared and bodies danced. I said a few hellos here and there, but kept my attention focused on finding Infiniti and asking for the Ouija board. When I made my way to the kitchen, I found her—manning the shot bar. Her hair was its usual crazy, curly mess. Her tiny face was red and chapped, except for the area around her eyes where her ski goggles had been. I didn’t want to laugh, but couldn’t help myself.

  "I know, I know," she said, slamming down a shot. "I look like shit." She got a shot glass and handed it to me. "Here, take a shot with me like a good friend!"

  I hated shots, but decided to take one for Infiniti. I tossed my head back and downed the dark liquid. I shuddered as it slid down my throat, burning a trail right through me.

  "Hey, good job!" Infiniti called out. She took one more shot and gave a loud yeehaw. I laughed hard and realized I hadn’t laughed in a long time, but I knew I needed to focus on my goal to get the board. I was just about to ask for it when she pointed over my shoulder.

  "Hey, there’s your boyfriend," Infiniti said.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Farrell was in the den, arms crossed, eyes glaring at me. "He’s not my boyfriend," I said, clenching my jaw, pissed that he had followed me.

  "He's hot, dude. What's the big deal?" Infiniti asked.

  The big deal was not being able to get away, not being able to be with Trent, not being able to live my life. Oh, and dying in a few days. "I don’t know," I said. "It’s complicated." I glanced at my watch. Ten minutes had passed, and I didn't need Farrell over there glaring at me to remind me that I needed to get out of there and back to the safety of my home. "Hey, do you still have that Ouija board?"

  "Nope, Veronica borrowed it."

  My stomach tightened. What? Veronica had borrowed it? I wanted to ask Infiniti why Veronica had wanted it, when Farrell walked my way. He stopped next to me and started to say something when Trent and a handful of soccer players burst into the kitchen. They carried a couple of cases of beer and looked like they had drunk a couple before arriving. Trent wore a Houston Astros baseball cap and dark sunglasses. He acted loud and obnoxious—checking out every girl who walked by. It wasn’t him at all, and it made me sick.

  Trent spotted Farrell and me right away. I braced myself while he walked over to us.

  "Hey, Farrell, buddy," he said sarcastically. "Can I borrow your ex?"

  My mouth dropped, and my heart pounded. I stared at Trent, dumbfounded, but he kept his attention on Farrell. "I mean, she is your ex now, right? At least that’s what I heard."

  Farrell stared stone-faced at Trent before responding. "Yes, she is. And you can borrow her only if she wants to be borrowed."

  Infiniti’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. Trent downed the remaining beer in his hand, slammed the can on the kitchen counter, and grabbed my hand. "I take your silence as a yes."

  He pulled me to the dance floor in the middle of the den. The only light came from a sparkling disco ball in the middle of the room. As if destined to be close to him, the music switched to a slow song. I wanted to walk away, but I froze. He took off his sunglasses and cap, tossed them on the couch, placed his arms around my waist, and brought me close. He buried his head in the crook of my neck, and we moved back and forth with the music. His warm breath against my skin and his hard body against mine sent waves of desire throughout me.

  He moved his hands down to the small of my back and pulled me closer. He whispered in my ear. "You know you want me."

  I pulled away, and he stared at me through hurt-filled eyes. “Trent, please don’t do this.”

  He ignored me. "You think about me, Dominique. I know it."

  "Yes," I whispered, looking down. "I do." And it was true. Even though Farrell kept entering my mind, I often thought of Trent and what it would be like to be with him.

  His hands came up to my face. His eyes searched mine. Gradually, the space between us disappeared. He pressed his lips on mine, opening his mouth tenderly. My mouth opened too, my tongue meeting his. Our kiss was long and slow, but flashes of Farrell filled my mind. And that was when I knew, without a doubt, that Farrell and I had been together in my past lives.

  I pulled away. "Trent…we…we… can’t. It’s just…not…" I needed to get out of there—and fast. "I have to go."

  I made my way to the front door, shoving bodies out of my way. Without looking back at Farrell or Infiniti, I pushed through the crowded foyer, threw open the door, and burst out into the cool night. My heart raced while I walked home, my lips still tingling from my kiss with Trent, but my heart now filled with Farrell.

  When I got home, I flung the door open. I was making my way to my room when I noticed odd shadows coming from the den.

  My heart almost stopped.

  My spine went cold.

  I redirected my path to investigate and found Veronica standing in the middle of my den.

  When my eyes met hers, a pain shot through the back of my neck like a knife. I fell to the floor and landed hard on my knees, blinded. When I opened my eyes, I saw the red landscape. It switched back and forth with my den so fast that it was difficult to make out the scene before me.

  After a series of blinks, I made out the Ouija board on the coffee table. A dark black mist trickled out of it, encircling Veronica’s feet. It slowly drifted up her body. Words failed me. I stared at her in complete disbelief, shaking my head from side to side, not wanting to believe my eyes, my vision still shifting. Pain escalated throughout me and kept me rooted in place, my knees pressing hard against the floor.

  Veronica’s eyes were devoid of all emotion. She said with a low voice, “he came to me in whispers during the night and then during the day—whispers I couldn’t get out of my head. Get the board, he said. Help me find her."

  The mist trickled all the way up to her chest and shot through her with an angry force, her body rigid and stiff until the mist completely absorbed into her. She stood motionless, her eyes closed. Deafening silence filled the room. When her eyes snapped open, she looked down on me—her brown eyes now pitch black.

  "Stand," she commanded. It wasn’t her voice but the deep and raspy voice from the red desert. Farrell had called him Tavion, the leader of the Tainted who had been p
ursuing me in each life. Shivers raced up and down my spine. "Tavion?" I whispered. "How?"

  "My Tracker led me right to you. And this one here, this Veronica, also helped, very willingly I might add. I’ve just been waiting for you to be alone."

  I was about to call out for Farrell when a pounding resounded on the front door—Farrell.

  Tavion yanked my hair. "Stand," he said again. Even though numbness grounded me, he lifted me with one hand, and then covered my mouth with the other.

  Tavion’s cruel touch sent the mark at the back of my neck ablaze with pain, like a fire poker stabbing me over and over. I clenched my teeth, and threw my head back in agony

  "Dominique, I need to talk to you! Please, let me in!" It wasn’t Farrell at the door, but Trent. My thoughts filled with panic. He needed to go away. He didn’t need to die for me.

  "This is perfect," Tavion said through Veronica’s lips. Her black eyes stared at the door before coming back to me. "When I uncover your mouth, tell him to come in."

  I shook my head. He could kill me, but not my friends. I wouldn’t let him.

  Another blast of pain shot me. My body shook uncontrollably. My eyes filled with tears.

  "Tell him to come in, Marked One. Or I will kill him."

  Veronica’s hand slid away from my mouth. “Do it,” Tavion said.

  "C-c-come in," I called out in a shaky voice, hoping Trent would detect that I really didn’t want him to come in at all.

  Trent opened the door and walked to the den. Before he had time to take in the scene, the black mist shot out of Veronica’s chest and went straight into his. The blast jerked him off the floor. He gave a howling yell while the deep black vapor absorbed into his chest.

  He fell to the ground with a thud.

  "Trent!"

  He got up—slowly. He looked at me with a menacing smile, his blue eyes now black as night. He walked over to Veronica, who seemed to be in a daze. He raised his hand in her direction and closed his eyes. His body gave off a dark black glow that gathered into his palm. Then, with a flick, he blasted a spark at her. Her neck snapped with a pop.

  "I have no further use for you," Tavion said with that same deep and raspy voice. Veronica’s lifeless body slumped to the floor. Fear exploded in me. My thoughts flooded with Farrell.

  The front door flung open with a crash. A burst of crackling thunder shook the house. The light overhead exploded while flashes of lightning filled the sky outside and poured through the large windows that lined the den. Farrell rushed over to me. I wanted to warn him, tell him that Tavion had killed Veronica and taken Trent, but my voice didn’t work. Tavion had somehow muffled me.

  As Farrell neared, a huge thunderclap jolted the house, followed by a brilliant bolt of lightning that revealed a white mist with sparks of gold wrapped around Farrell’s body.

  "There you are, Walker," Tavion said through Trent's lips. "Still protecting this one that you have grown so fond of."

  Trent reached down, grabbed my arm, and jerked me to him. With every touch, the pain at my neck exploded inside me, my veins throbbing as if fire coursed through them. He pointed his arm at the ground. Black mist curled around his body and trickled out of his hand until it formed a swirling pool of dark black vapor on the floor, like a swirling hurricane under our feet.

  "Release her," Farrell said.

  "She belongs to me, Walker."

  The pain at my neck throbbed uncontrollably while the dark vapor grew until it poured right under my feet. Weightlessness and nausea came over me, followed by the stench of burnt flesh. I shut my eyes tight, thinking my entire body had caught on fire, when suddenly my feet landed on solid ground.

  Heat smothered me and burned my nose. My chest tightened. The taste of dirt filtered into my mouth. I opened my eyes to find the den gone, replaced by the red desert. Right in front of me was Jan. She sprawled out on the ground, her eyes wide, blood trickling out of her mouth.

  She was dead.