"Until I led them straight to them," I said through a strained whisper, my tears falling in a heavier abundance.
He put his finger under my chin, tilting my head to meet his stare. "You couldn't have known."
I could see smoke coming from the direction of the village. "Oh no! We have to go help them!"
Aster kept driving toward Brazil, never slowing. She looked into the rearview mirror, letting her eyes connect with mine. "Mom and Dad got them out."
A new sense of fear shot through me. "What if some of those monsters attacked Mom and Dad? They could be hurt and needing us."
Tallis smiled as Aster responded. "They're perfectly fine. Mom is an incredible seer. Especially in combat. She can see every move before they make it. Dad can drain someone without touch. He's the only drainer known to have mastered that ability. All other drainers need touch. Mom and Dad are even stronger together. Their soul mate linkage gives her the power to show him what she sees the instant she sees it. It's almost as if he's a seer, too. They're pretty amazing to watch."
Her confidence in them gave me a little reprieve, but I still worried. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to them.
Before I knew it, we were in Brazil. There was absolute pandemonium. Rioting and brawling were going on all over the place. It had been so normal earlier. So calm.
"What's going on?" I asked, feeling dumbfounded by the chaos.
Tallis responded with one word in a solemn tone, and I had no idea what it meant. "Kao."
He looked around, warily assessing the scene. Finally, he noticed my quizzical look as he helped me out of the jeep.
"Kao is the son of Graven. He's Ayla's counterpart. Where she brings serenity, he brings chaos. He's not gone either. I can feel his presence." He studied the crowd more furtively. "We'll have to walk from here. There's no way we can drive in this mess."
Aster grabbed different things from the jeep and shut the door. We started shoving our way through the crowd. I bounced off some people, barely keeping my balance, but Tallis kept me afloat amongst the craziness. He kept his hand on me at all times, never letting me get out of his grasp.
He halted suddenly, and I slammed into him from behind. I looked up and watched as the color drained from his fac
e. I followed his gaze and saw a lean young guy standing on top of a building. He was glaring right at us.
He was incredibly tall, and his attire was all black, just as his eyes were. He dropped from the building to his feet without even bending his knees. People seemed to spread, making a path for him, as he headed toward us.
Aster stepped in front of me and Tallis. It had to be Kao. Three or four more women and men followed him. It was an entourage of putrid smelling dramians. The stinging sensation of guilt flooded me yet again. I wanted to rewind time and start the day all over, make the decision to stay and face my problems instead of running away and putting everyone in the line of fire.
"Stay behind me," Tallis whispered, his eyes never leaving Kao.
Suddenly we were joined by Ash who somersaulted down from a building above.
"Well, this is just peachy."
Her light tone was laced with dread. Her eyes scoured the landscape as she seemed to be sizing the dramians up. Then we were joined by Gear, Olivia, Jaslene, Alvin, Everett, Chris, Jay, and Ayla. Everyone stood fearlessly, ready to face whatever these demons threw at them.
Kao stopped walking as a dust storm started sweeping through. I looked at Gear. He caught my gaze and shook his head, letting me know it wasn't him.
Iris and George came into view with Desmond, Allaysia, and Edmond following close behind.
Iris was quick to challenge Kao. "If you think you're ready for this, then let's get started."
Her eyes sparked with power and a fearlessness that made me shiver. She was so strong in so many ways. They crossed over to join us, adding to our line of power, while I stood there, shielded and helpless.
Tallis pulled me tightly against his back. I shouldn't have been thinking about how good he smelled, but I couldn't help myself. I shook it off, trying to focus on the fact we were surrounded by a mob of people wanting to kill us. Ayla stepped up and pulled off her hood.
Some of the chaos lessened, but it was too much for her to ice completely. Kao glared at her, and Jay stepped up, ready to block any attack.
I could see Ayla working hard as her eyes burned toward the crowd. It seemed to be getting better. Kao squinted his eyes, fighting against her magic. She was strong though. Despite all the essences Kao had consumed, Ayla was still as strong, if not stronger than him, because she had found her soul mate, and he hadn't.
Kao stepped back as the clouds rumbled with loud thunder and the sky turned dark above us. He looked at Iris who was staring at him.
"Your move, Kao," she dared in a quiet but deadly tone, letting the wind carry her voice to him.